Your Shadow Is My Light

Chapter 23 - Are you happy now?

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Rayne's POV
"AHHH!"

Clink! Clank!

"HELP! HELP ME-"

SHING! Splat!

My brows furrowed at the deafening racket. There were sounds of steel blades clashing against one another. Sounds of flesh being cleaved apart. The blood-curdling screams. And the strong stench of rust. Death lingers.

Brows pinched tighter. The pungent smell of smog and burning crops was getting stronger by the second. Lashes fluttered. I wanted to open my eyes. But no matter how hard I try to force myself awake, my leaden eyelids just wouldn't budge. I was trapped in a state of sleep paralysis. I know it's one. I remembered hugging Ahri to sleep last night. So all this isn't real! It's just a dream. A VERY realistic dream. Strange though. Usually, all my hallucinations revolved around Brody Cadell. That, or the day Mom died. So what the hell's going on now? There are no swords and wildfires in the cheap one-room rental.

"Mama... Please wake up..."

Thump. Thump.

My heart skipped a beat. Then came the suffocating twinge. Not only because those gut-wrenching words perfectly mirrored that of my own a long time ago, but because it also sounded eerily familiar. The despair. The desolation. I know those feelings the clearest...

Ahri?

My eyelids quivered. Something's wrong. Why does that voice sound like Ahri? Is she crying? Who made her upset??? I'll bloody pummel them!

Wake up, Rayne!

The voice choked with unspeakable grievances continued to torture my soul, "We need to help Papa-hic-I promise, I will kill those despicable humans. I promise... Please... Open your eyes..."

Different from her usual jovial tone, this time was particularly shaky. The throbbing pain in my chest intensified. I let out a strained grunt, wincing at the feeling of knives carving into my heart. There was a sense of déjà vu. I've heard this distressing sequence before. Witnessed this tragedy before. A long time ago. And I hated it. I've always hated it.

The spiralling grief tugged at my heartstrings. It resonated with me. I could feel her anguish as if it were my own. The stinging heartache quickly turned into regret. Especially when I heard Ahri sniffling quietly, soft as a persimmon. The heartbreaking whimpers rippled my consciousness. From the nasally undertone, it's as if she's holding back her tears.

Impossible.

That pompous ancestor is no pushover! She's not like me! Ahri never shows this kind of weak fragility. No one can bully her. And it should be like this! The wilful Gatekeeper deserves to stand far above the rest, aloof and lofty.

Who fucking trampled on her pride?!

Fists clenched by my sides, nails digging harshly into flesh. My heart trembled. Within the next second, eyes shot open. Only to be stupefied by the carnage around me. It was a bloodbath. Orchards of peach blossoms were set ablaze. Wheat fields went up in flames. Stringy innards and dismembered limbs laid scattered. Mangled corpses were strewn everywhere. But what's most horrifying was that all of them had the same unique features-vulpine ears and furry tails. Kumihos. Monsters who were rumoured to be near unkillable.

Thump. Thump.

No...

I wrinkled my nose at the bloody smell. My stomach churned. Gurgling in protest. It's been a long time since I felt this shaken by manslaughter. I thought I had grown used to the barbaric ways of Runeterra. Numbed to the demise of others. Yet... I feel like puking now.