The Misfortunes of a Black Cat

Chapter Fourteen

The Gift

As the delicate rays of sunlight gently kissed his pale face, Adrien instantly squinted his eyes, hoping to minimize the intensity of such profound brightness.

He rubbed the sweat away as his mind was once again flooded with very distressing, vivid memories of the previous day.

His heart ached as realization quickly gripped his mind with so much force. He wasn't expecting to be knocking at death's door yet again. Why was this even happening to him?

He felt so hopeless as he lay consumed by such intense, depressing thoughts. The guardian had told him that his fate was altered immediately after the power of destruction touched his spirit, yet he still had hope. He hoped that one day, he would be able to break free from all of this darkness and eventually feel a single drop of light radiate from deep within his shattered soul.

He didn't know what that was, but he knew that he needed answers and soon. Time was his enemy, and he needed to think fast before it was too late...

Marinette, his dear Princess. She was his everything, and he just couldn't bare the thought of leaving her behind. There had to be some way to change his fate, but he had no idea how to do that.

He was fighting a war, but it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Everything about it, was beyond all comprehension. Since he couldn't fully understand the essence of the magic that was slowly, but very surely killing him from the inside out, he was unable to think of a solution.

His mental state had weakened significantly in such a short time span, and he just didn't know how long it would be until the dark energy would take complete control over his entire mind, body and spirit.

"Plagg?"

The black kwami looked up at Adrien with glassy eyes and sighed.

"Are you okay?" The blond asked, a little concerned.

"Uh... Yeah, just peachy!" Plagg laughed uncomfortably.

Adrien looked at his tiny friend and raised an eyebrow. Plagg didn't seem like his usual sarcastic self, and that worried him a little.

"Are you sure? You seem a little... Different..."

Adrien looked at his companion with concern written on his face as he patiently waited for a response. What could Plagg possibly be thinking about?

Plagg hesitated. He wasn't naturally an emotional being, but this whole situation really pulled him out of his comfort zone. He wanted Adrien to be healed in an instant, but deep down he knew that reality was incredibly unforgiving at times.

"I uhm..." Plagg was unable to finish his sentence. As his eyes caught a glimpse of Adrien's dull yellow ones, all sense of logic faded away into nothingness. He felt his tiny heart split into two, as he remembered the agonizing sounds of torture that Adrien had endured just days before.

Adrien just watched as his kwami began to cry on his shoulder. He didn't know what to do, but after a few seconds Adrien placed a hand over the tiny being and smiled.

Adrien always knew that Plagg cared about him, but this whole conformation made his heart melt.

"Plagg... I'm not going anywhere. You do know that, don't you?"

Plagg remained silent for a moment. Did Adrien not understand how serious this was?

"Are you sure about that?"

The teen's smile faded away in an instant. His heart began to beat uncontrollably as he tried to comprehend everything. Did that mean that his greatest fear was slowly, but surely becoming a living nightmare?