Illumination

Chapter 9

“To view the power of Emotion, even amongst non-Manifesters, one needn't look far. Fueled by Love, a mother desperate to save her children from a wreak is able to lift the heavy debris that bar her way, an impossible feat under normal circumstances. Fear heightens a man's senses beyond their regular limits as he scans the darkness around him and gives him almost supernatural swiftness when he takes flight. Lessons taught by Pain are etched deep within our minds and bodies, helping to ensure that we aren't likely to make the same mistake twice. A touch of Sorrow helps us to empathize with the troubles of others and makes way for the healing that follows Grief. Emotion gives us all of these things and more.”

Excerpt from A Treatise On Emotional Manifesting

It startled me how alive one could feel on the edge of death.

I channeled as much Hate and Pain as I could, feeling the energy surging in and around my body, like twin serpents of thorn and flame slithering across my bones.

Sensing the change that had come over me and the sudden wave of power behind it, the demon reared back, hissing through needle teeth, sharp talons raised.

The Emotion filled me from within like a flash flood, until it overflowed, surging through my pores. A dark sludge, like that of burning tar, sealed my numerous wounds, realigning my broken nose in a series of pops and giving power to my aching limbs. While my injures had been tended to, the energies did nothing to numb them and if anything, only served to amplify what I felt, in turn feeding still more Emotion into my already ravaged body.

Yet the Emotion did more than affect just my wounds.

My hearing had changed; I was now deaf to anything beyond the pounding of my heart and my own horrid screams. My sense of smell had been altered; the burning stench that polluted my nostrils was the only thing left to me. The air around me ignited, wreathing me in fire. While the flames did not burn me, they eagerly devoured the sights and sensations of almost all that was around me, leaving me nothing beyond my own raging storm of Hate and Pain.

A blast of energy, dark and pulsing, streaked toward me. My inferno consumed it, shielding me like a cloak made from the fire of an angry sun. A second blast of shadow collided with me, but the blow only served to draw my attention.

I saw the demon's lips move, no doubt to taunt me further, though I could make out nothing over the din inside my head. Even if I had been able to hear, I wouldn't have wanted to. All I wanted was the demon to be gone, banished, utterly destroyed. I clenched my fists, screaming in a voice that was not my own. With fire trailing behind me, I charged the fiend, a meteor bent on destroying all in my path.

My left hand exploded into motion, connecting with the creature's right side to devastating effect. Bits and pieces of flesh and eye sprayed out, leaving a smoldering hole. All the while, the flames around me lashed at the fiend, searing its hide and scorching most of its remaining eyes. I moved in with a right handed swing, aiming for the demon's head. Before my second punch could connect however, spiked claws tore through my shoulder, knocking me off balance. With unnatural speed, my left hand snapped out, wrapping around the thing's throat, using my enhanced strength to try to crush its windpipe. Yet, in my blind rage I had forgotten an important part of my training.

Demons have no need to breathe.

A searing pain stabbed through me, and I found myself lifted off of the ground. The demon slammed me into one of the nearby storage containers, its body held close to mine, as my feet dangled just inches from the floor. I felt my power wane, newfound strength leeching away as my mind and body grew numb. Even the flames around me, so ravenous before, had guttered out. I knew that the hurt I felt should have only made me stronger, yet I now had trouble breathing and could scarcely move. The world around me grew dim, the edges of my vision fading to grey.