Your Shadow Is My Light

Chapter 36 - When the abyss swallows

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Kai'Sa's POV
"One mid-grade health potion," I murmured, placing a small mana crystal on the countertop cluttered with various medicine.

The guy manning the herb stall squinted at me, hesitant to speak. I could feel the sting of his gaze poking my nerves. Both literally and figuratively. Wherever his line of sight passed, excruciating pain erupted, threatening to knock me out cold.

KREEE!!!

While chirping shrilly, that pesky bugger continued to scrape my insides. My face paled and I grimaced, almost hunching over as intense agony ripped through me. My hands slammed down on the edge of the tabletop, just shy of face-planting right there and then. The non-stop pricks were too much, even for my high tolerance level. It's like being electrocuted intermittently. I could hardly squeeze out a voice, it was that unbearable. Flesh unravelled, organs shredded. That antisocial parasite was determined to kill me if it meant getting its way.

Beads of sweat rolled down my swollen temples. I blinked rapidly, desperately trying to hold onto my waning consciousness. It certainly didn't help when that manic pest was having a temper tantrum, turning me inside out in a fit of rage. Incessant screeches howled in my mind, filled with anguish and paranoia. My knuckles turned white from how hard I was exerting. It got so bad that even splinters of wood chipped off under my death grip. Nails pressed into the rough surface, inadvertently raking out stretch marks when I clenched my fists.

Needless to say, the vendor was less than pleased with the conspicuous divots chiselled into his fragile stand.

"Hey, hey, don't smash my stall!"

A pity his dissatisfaction never registered in my head. Everything was seemingly drowned out by a droning buzz. Except for the constant ringing and the pounding headache, I could barely hear anything. While I was shivering and convulsing from the inhumane torture, that attention-seeking critter continued screaming at me to get away from any and all life forms. They're dangerous, it insisted.

Shut up!

Agony stabbed me in the gut. Oh it didn't appreciate the sass, alright. So I'm getting disembowelled as a result.

"Listen hear, you rascal-"

I glanced up, reddish eyes boring into his. Unknowingly, bloodlust leaked out, enveloping him in a chokehold. The rest of his threat ended up stuck in his throat as he lost much of his earlier indignation. He choked, fidgeting uncomfortably. Lips parted, then closed, before a weak plea was uttered. A stark contrast to his previous harshness.

"L-look, I'm just a guy trying to m-make a living. P-please don't make things difficult for me, ma'am."

The corners of my lips twitched as I forcefully pulled out a wry smile that's even uglier than crying.

"Sorry. Got a little light-headed," I replied in a low whisper.

Inhaling sharply, I closed my eyes and tried to control my erratic breathing. After a few puffs, I lowered my head, pulling down the hood even further. Darkness shrouded my bloodless face, perfectly concealing the inhuman slitted pupils. Whew. Almost repeated the same blunder. Fortunately, he hadn't yet noticed the hideous purple marks branded onto my skin. Otherwise, it would be more than just a disgruntled complaint by then. The last thing I wanted was to be chased out of town by pitchforks and tiki torches. Once was enough. With Dad's current predicament, his body really can't handle another week of homelessness.

At this point, countless eyes were already looking in our direction. Not wanting to arouse more suspicion, I pushed over another beast core. One too many over the agreed price. Anything to get out of this dicey situation, pronto.