Who Am I? (Book 1)

Chapter 8

I had to explain everything once again, every detail, and I felt this strong anxiety building up. Julia didn't pressure me though, she was very understanding and compassionate (something a lot of people thought I lacked ...) When I was done explaining she seemed lost in thoughts, she sat still for so long, so I reached my hand towards her. "Hey ... are you ...?" She quickly stood up and I almost fell off the bed. "You don't have a choice anymore". I was confused beyond words, and Julia was more serious than I've ever seen, even more so than when we were under attack. Her face was pale, unreadable and ... emotionless. It terrified me, why would she change so sudden? "What do you mean with that? What can I not choose anymore?" I tried to sound confident, but it came out as almost a whisper. "You must go through with the journey ... and you'll leave today". 

We went down to the kitchen, Julian and Julius were both off to work, but they had prepared food for us. We were both silent, but then Julia broke it. "I will answer your questions as thoroughly as possible". She refused to meet my gaze, almost as if she didn't want to talk at all. But I needed answers. "How can those shadows invade The Valley?" Julia had already explained that their home, The Valley, was guarded by ancient magic. "There is another way to become a shadow, you must understand that people who's committed atrocities cannot enter this valley even though they're not corrupted by Death. The shadows here are demons, they're stronger than Death's servants ... A demon can only be born when someone possessing magic powers becomes greedy". Julia looked out the window, and for a moment I thought she looked a bit sad. "What do you mean with ... greedy?" I didn't really wanna pressure her, but I needed to know this. "If someone wishes for more power than they were given, they will easily be corrupted. If they continue looking for more powers their compassion and moral slowly dissipates, they lose their conscience, the only thing that matters is acquiring more power no matter the cost. As corruption takes hold of them their powers amplify tremendously and they receive more powers, though ... it is not benevolent powers. Just remember Julie, a demon can never be your friend. In rare cases, they feel attached to someone but you must never trust them and at the same time, you can't let them know of your suspicion. Luckily for you, the demon that attacked cannot have been very powerful ..."

 "What happens if the demons catch you?" My throat felt really dry, probably because I was almost caught by one. "If Death desires you, he will strike a deal with the demon. If not, they will either devour your soul, thus stealing your life and power, or they will possess you, stripping you of your free will to act and think". So, possessing wasn't just fantasy ... "So, hypothetically speaking ... if someone were to be possessed, can you see it? And what exactly happens when someone's being possessed?" The atmosphere in the house was dark, I could sense that this wasn't something Julia liked talking about. "If someone's possessed their eyes turn bloodred, including the sclera, and their skin turns grey like ash. There are, however, two types of possession. If the demon is powerful they can take away your free will and control you, if they aren't powerful enough or simply don't want to complete it they leave a corrupted mark. The corrupted mark will slowly spread as thick black veins from the place they touched you, all the way to your heart". My wrist felt cold, even though I was inside the house. "Isn't there a way to cure them? And what happens if the veins reach her heart?" I was almost whispering, but everything was quiet so it didn't really matter. "There is indeed a cure ... but we don't know what it is yet. When the veins reach their heart the offer belongs to the darkness for all eternity. The only way to save them is to end their life". Julia stared longingly at the forest, she had this ... sadness in her eyes, as if she was waiting for someone to return, but knew that it would never happen. "You seem ... sad. Did you know anyone that was taken by the demons?" I tried to not be too forward, but I wasn't sure if I succeded. Julia hesitated a little before looking directly at me. "Yeah, I knew someone ... my parents was taken a few years ago".