Demon Soul (1)

XV

"Well isn't this just weird."

I huffed while Nox watched me, exhaustion setting into my bones. We'd been attempting to gets my abilities to manifest, but it seemed as if they weren't in the mood to come out and play today. I clapped my hands together, taking a deep breath while I closed my eyes. I needed to do this, it was essential to my survival.

"I can do this, come on, let's keep going."

"If you say so." Nox sighed. "Just focus Nyx. Imagine...an attacker. Something that would trigger your powers and sent you into action."

"This is different." I added.

"It seems to work whenever you're in real danger."

"True." I nodded, allowing myself to focus.

I saw myself in a forest, surrounded by thick trees and snow. Birds were chirping quietly, and I even saw an arctic fox slip into the clearing before slipping back out. But then the sunlight shining through the canopy turned dark, the forest becoming sullen, silent. The birds were just staring at me from the branches while I waited for something to happen. That something came in the form of a rustle, followed by the slender, shadowy arm of a Night Mare reach out of the bushes. I felt terrified at first, but then I saw who it really was. My rage grew.

"Ronin..." I whispered, before a growl erupted from my lips. Everything ran cold and I jumped to my feet, my eyes still closed while I held my hands at my sides. They felt heavy, and I knew they'd grown to be covered in ice. My eyes flickered open and I could look down at myself, gazing at the horror I'd become.

"That's odd."

I looked up at Gabriel, who crossed his arms over his chest. My breath was coming out in puffs of frost, my skin slowly becoming covered in the stuff. I looked at my reflection in the many facets of my icy hands, seeing my hair had gone dark, and so had my eyes.

"What's odd?" I asked.

"Your eyes, it's not usual for them to be black." He chuckled, brushing his finger along my jawbone to tilt my head. "Yuki's have white eyes, but this isn't necessarily what we're looking for right now. You're having trouble just conjuring things up when you're as you are naturally. This is our attack guise, and I can see that your trigger to send you into it is anger. Do you get angered easily?"

"Only by one person." I whispered, letting everything fall. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought, isn't it?"

"Not really. I want to take a different route." Gabriel smiled. "Take a seat in the snow, and close your eyes. I want you to imagine yourself in a pool of stars, surrounded by cliffs and fog."

Easy. I smiled as I imagined a place I'd been to before, feeling the water lap at my hips and my dress splay out around me. I'd done this before, I know I had. I looked down at my hand, raising it up into the air. An obelisk rose beside me, inscribed with demonic symbols as it glowed. I smiled even wider, creating crystalline bushes and tombstones as the water rippled. But an image invaded my vision, that of a child. The ice weaved itself into the figure of a girl, clasping her hands in front of her while she smiled.

"Nyx."

My eyes snapped open, and when I looked around, I could see that what I'd imagined had sprouted around me. The boys looked proud, but they were staring at something right in front of me. My eyes slowly slid over to the spot, and I saw her. The girl from the Nether, in an icy façade, blinking wildly.

"Nyx..." She said again, surprised at her own voice. She giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Who's this?" Nox asked, looking entirely too confused. Gabriel had a puzzled gleam in his eyes, but he hid it behind his curiosity.

"I don't know her name..." I shook my head slowly. "But she's been speaking to me while I slept."

"My name...I don't have one, yet." She said calmly. "This is my first time in the world of the living."

"So you live in the Nether?" Gabriel asked.

"Are you a Shadow?!" Nox squeaked, and I snorted in amusement.

"Not quite, Nox." The mention of his name seemed to settle Nox down immediately. "And yes, I reside in the Nether, for now."

"You're not human then."

"I never said I wasn't." She shuffled around where she stood. "Nyx and I are alike in more ways than one."

"Half breed." Nox's eyes widened. "You can get in and out of there just as easily as walking through a door."

"Technically I could, if I had a physical body. I suppose that's how I was able to manifest in this one so easily."

"So, you're just like me. Half human and half demon." I smiled. "Why don't you have a physical body?"

"Let's just say I haven't been conceived quite yet." She said. "But, there's something I need to talk to you about. All of you. The Night Mare in the area is no ordinary Night Mare, as I'm sure you've already figured out. He and I are...related. Something I'm not too proud of at the moment, even though he was in a similar situation as both of my parents are going to be in. It's the reason why he was...executed."

"I-Incubus." Nox stuttered, the color having drained from his face. "You're a Cambion."

"The first of my kind that will have seen the light of day in over a hundred years."

"Wait, what's a Cambion?" I asked.

"The child of a human and an Incubus or a Succubus. We're fated to have powers beyond the imaginings of both the mortal and immortal." She shifted uncomfortably. "They weren't wrong."

"So what did you need to warn us about, besides the obvious." Gabriel inquired.

"He's caused a stir in the Order. They're sending more Hunters to the city, you're all in a lot of danger." She sounded genuinely worried. "Some of you are in a little more danger than others. But at all costs, they can't find Nyx. If they do, this is all over. Everything."

"Everything?" I whispered.

"The future lies in the hands of you and a select few who are going to save humanity." The girl said ominously. "I'm losing my hold on this body, so I'll have to make this quick. The Council has some big plans for the Order, and unless we can stop it, everyone is going to die. Humans and demons alike."

"The Council? Who are they?" I looked back at Gabriel.

"A group of demons that rank amongst the oldest and most powerful. I was invited to join them at one time, but I chose to decline."

"A wise decision." She nodded. "Lohryx is responsible for all of this."

"He was always power hungry." Nox spat. "That Incubus is going to destroy the world, how are we going to stop him?!"

"Trust me," The girl looked over at me with a smile. "I'll be meeting you again soon. By that time, things will already have been set in motion."

"Is this why you've been speaking to me this whole time?" I asked her, watching the color in her eyes blink in and out.

"You're one of the strongest people on this planet, strong enough to contest the King of Demonkind. And you won't be alone. I just needed you to realize who you were."

"Thank you." I said to her, watching the girl finally fade out of the shell. It was nothing more than a still figure now, smiling at me. I let her fall to the ground in snow, as I did with the rest of the creations around me.

"I guess we have some explaining to do on that whole matter." Gabriel sighed. "Come on, let's go inside for some lunch. I'll explain more while we eat."