Diamondback

Prologue

Eyes are the windows to the soul.

That's what Dad used to say. What he used to say every time I lied, every time I hid my tears, every time I was too embarrassed to say "I love you." What he used to say before I went to that jewelry store to get a gift for Mom's birthday. What he used to say before the bullet pierced through my heart. What he used to say before my world faded to black.

I wasn't afraid of death. Not entirely. I mean, no one wants to die, but it's inevitable, right? I thought it wouldn't hurt so much. I thought I'd have more time. As I laid there on the tile, my blood pouring out from my white hoodie, I looked into the eyes of those robbers. They were cold and desperate. Was killing an innocent fourteen year old really worth all the riches in the store? How could the world be so cruel?

Goodbye, teen years. Goodbye, family. Goodbye, Roseorn.

Or so I thought.

Right as I took my last breath, I found myself in the middle of a green field with a beautiful, blonde girl smiling down at me. Her dazzling pink eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She stretched her hand out to me in the form of a greeting.

"You must be Zypher."

Over the next year I spent with her, I gained all the answers to my racing questions. Her name was Eliza, a fitting name for someone with so much elegance and mystery. Though she didn't look that much older than me, she was in charge of choosing lucky souls to resurrect and gift "powers" to in order to train them to protect Roseorn, a nearby bustling city, from this inevitable danger she always droned on about. There was no special reason she chose me, I guess. I was just the easiest soul to get a hold of. As cool as it sounded, she confessed that she didn't have any experience and that I was her "first passion project." Whatever that meant.

According to Eliza, powers are based on your personality, what's deep in your heart, or what killed you. And mine was black magic, meaning I got a cracked black diamond smack dab in the middle of my forehead. It's supposed to be cracked, right? I, um, I hope so. As many questions as I asked about why I got black magic out of all things, Eliza would only shrug, saying she had no idea either.

Comforting. Real comforting.

Though my family had lived near Roseorn, I wasn't allowed to see them. I guess that's understandable. If the ghost of my child showed up at my doorstep, I'd pass out on the spot. Being separated from them wasn't so bad as long as I thought of myself as being their secret guardian angel.

And Eliza was there. Eliza was great company.

She was intelligent and kind-hearted with loving and welcoming eyes. Her voice was mature yet delicate like an angel and when she looked at me, my knees wobbled like an immature schoolboy...which I am, if we're being honest here. Throughout that year that we spent together, I guess we may have budded into something a little more than friends? I mean, I was literally living in her house and spending every waking hour with her, so it was gonna happen someday, right? Well, I can't complain. I've had crushes before. It's not a bad thing to be in love.

Still...it doesn't feel right.

She's only supposed to focus on making sure my resurrection went well and that my powers are in good shape, so isn't falling in love with me something that would prove to be more of a con than a pro? Plus, just because a guy and a girl are each other's only contact, doesn't mean they're meant to be. Maybe it's a mistake. Happy accidents happen all the time, so maybe this was one of them.

But accidents carry consequences. They always do.

Today's the day I was supposed to become a full black magic user and become eligible to start "protecting the city" (whatever the heck that entails), which sounds super exciting, but as much as I raved on and on about it, Eliza's smile seemed pained. I remember the way she held my hand firmly as she led me to a dark, unfamiliar room of the house and the way she kissed me as if she was too afraid to let go. I remember the fearful tears she held back as she placed me in the middle of a dark incantation, scratched into the floorboards.

She promised it wouldn't hurt. She promised that we'd stay together.

This was only a ritual to bring out the rest of my powers, so I didn't understand why she was being so cryptic about every single one of her movements.

It wasn't until my body jolted into the sky, practically tearing away at itself. I didn't have it in me to scream. No noise was able to escape my body. A tumult of voices spilled into my head, stabbing away at my brain. They didn't belong to other people. No, I recognized them as the depths of my own thoughts. All at once, the confusion ceased and I fell to the ground, writhing around on the floor in pain. The room was deathly silent and for some odd reason, misty.

Eliza's pretty face appeared through the fog.

Good. It must be over.

Her eyes widened, tears streaming as her mouth fell open in a bloodcurdling scream.

"M...Monster!" She tried to step back, but ended up slipping and slamming into the wall behind her. I reached out for her, but she only screamed again. "N-No! Get away from me!"

"Eliza..." My voice echoed throughout the room, bouncing off of the busted walls. The new menacing tone of it had me emulating the same look of fear that Eliza had plastered on her face. My hands...My hands were pitch black, swirled with orchid tattoos and long, sharpened claws for fingers. All of the breath I once had control over escaped my lungs. What's happening to me? Oh, God, what's happening to me?

"Zypher, don't come any closer!" She scrambled to her feet, fumbling to the farthest corner of the room. "I...I made a mistake!"

"M-Mistake? Monster? Eliza, you're kidding! Calm down and help me. We can fix this!" I took a step closer to her, but she whipped away from me, screaming again.

"I can't, Zypher! You're a mistake! A monster! I messed up when I resurrected you!"

I took another cautious step closer and she ran to the large desk on the other side of the cluttered room. "Eliza, just a few minutes ago, you promised that I could stay with you forever, right? I'm still the same Zypher from before! I'm no different than the Zypher that you just talked to!"

"Yes, you are!" She hurriedly flipped through the pages of a dusty book on the desk. "Listen, you're not you anymore! You won't be if I don't do something fast!" She slammed her hand down on a page. "I got it! I have to stabilize your powers, then maybe you'd have more time!"

"More time? More time for what?!" She wasn't making any sense. At a time like this, she wasn't making any sense! She jumped at the very sound of my voice, cowering in fear. I never wanted to see Eliza look at me like that. With deep-set terror in her eyes. They were always so full of love and compassion, but now I see nothing but contempt for what I've become.

"Your sanity!" she nearly cried. "If I don't do something now, we're gonna lose you to that thing that you are now!"

I flinched at the word. A thing, a monster...a mistake. Coming from her mouth, my soul couldn't take it. "Th-Then help me! Eliza...please." Her beautiful pink eyes saw right through me. Finally, she took a breath.

"'Through human contact...is the only way to end your contract,'" she read aloud. "Zypher, this is the only way I can help you."

I was careful not to move from the spot that I was standing in. "Wh-What contract?"

"Zypher...I'm sorry." She held her hand out towards me and a pink light began to flash.

"Eliza! Eliza, wait! Tell me what I'm supposed to do!" I ran towards her, but by the time that I was close enough to reach out, she was gone.

Everything was gone. 

~~~

A/N: Heyyyy, y'all! Thanks for tuning in and joining Zypher on his journey! What're your thoughts so far? Don't forget to drop a vote if you like what you see so far :)