Darkness Within

Deal...

Khalil layed there for a while -maybe five minutes, maybe an hour, he doesn't know how long-, a soft deep chuckle seemed ring out into the forest where Khalil heard and almost immediately, Khalil went to fight-or-flight mode, jumping up from the ground, bringing his powers out and eyes turning all red, looking all around him, both left and right and up and down. At this point, Khalil was feeling both deeply terrified and vulnerable.

Under the moonlight, a shadow had formed a little further in the woods, shining the same red glows that haught Khalil. "Oh lord, I am not ready for this..." Khalil said under his breath as he sent out electric energy towards the figure full power, but just as the energy was about to reach it, the shadow had casted down power just enough to block the electricity like it was merely a child's play. Khalil sent out a fire shield just in case of any counter-attacks before asking loudly, trying to hide the fear in his voice, "Who are you?"

The shadow figure who happened to be on a horse that has the colour of the night stepped into the moonlight and took off its hood, showing the person who was under it. The man was a dullahan and the face was all too familiar to Khalil; scarred, burnt, hair flying everywhere and the face looked almost the exact same as his... The dullahan's head floated up, off the body, continuing to watch the shaking human in front of him as the body began to climb off the horse.

"Brother?" Khalil spoke, voice shaking."No...." The head said after it returns to the arms of the body, coming forward towards Khalil. Khalil was still shaking, the fire shield weakening. "Wh-wha-what?" Khalil stuttered out as he began to cry, trying to find a precious metal on him, failing... "My friend... I am not your brother... I am a dullahan. I was sent from your brother before he passed away tragically. I owed him... so as soon as I heard his prayer before the fight in the wind, I came. I made sure that you take care of yourself." The head said chillingly, eyes growing ever more bloody. "I know someone who can help you, a witch. No, she is nothing like your aunt. I know about your aunt, your brother talked about what she did but this witch, she is nothing like her." The dullahan's head floats up once again as the body climbs back up to the horse. "Come hop on, we don't want to keep her waiting." He said, patting the seating behind him, leaving Khalil shocked and baffled. Stephen talked about he had a friend out in the forest ever since we were toddlers... Could it be him? If Stephen trusts him, then I can too...Right?' The thought went through his head before Khalil climbed onto the horse, quite unwillingly. The horse snorted and headed into the forest throttled down the path slowly, and Khalil hugged the dullahan's body so he didn't have to fall off.

It was a while later when they stopped at a hut in the middle of a swamp lake that the dullahan told Khalil to hop off. "Go, talk to her. Right now, I must do my job but call me whenever you need a ride somewhere."Khalil nodded and watched the headless horseman trot away, but the horseman stopped sharply, turned around and gave Khalil a flaming candle. "Oh yeah, forgot to give you this. It will help you see a little better in the dar." The head smiled, before turning the whole body and left the man in the dark alone with the hut. Before knocking on the door of the hut that looks like it is going to break any moment, Khalil took a long cold breath in and knocked. "Come in! It is opened" A voice called out before the door swung open by itself. Khalil was startled by the movement of the door, then walked in slowly, cautiously, not knowing what to expect.

The hut, although looking broken on the outside, was surprisingly comfortable and relaxing on the inside. A calm energy glowed through this simple home that only consisted of a couch, a bed, a table with a crystal ball and some other basic witch things like herbs. "I see you have come Khalil! My name is Katherine with a "K", and welcome to call me Kat." A elderly witch came into view, startling Khalil, who immediately had fire on his hands ready to fight. "Oh, I am sorry to startle you, my dear." Kat smiled softly, "come sit on the couch, and make yourself comfortable." Khalil looked at her suspiciously and slowly inched himself onto the couch. "I heard from the dullahan that you can help me?" Khalil asked, choosing his words carefully, as the witch nodded. "I saw what happened, I was a friend of your dad before he died." The witch paused, realized what she just said, watching Khalil frowned and busted out a "He what?!" The witch sighed and continued, "Yes, he passed away about a week after the fight you and your brother had, and you are here to revive your brother I assume?" Khalil nodded painfully slowly as he didn't know what to do with this information. "So.... What are my options, Kat?" Khalil asked, getting numb from the news. "To get your brother? Well, there's the obvious way and the hard way ..." Kat trailed on, turning around, getting some books on the shelf, flipping through them. "You can revive your brother with my help...." The witch repeating herself before paused for a moment, hesitating, choosing her words for the next part, "but you will lose some things." "Like what?" Khalil asked, slowly giving up hope. "The obvious option, like I said, your soul.... Second option... would be a lot more cruel..." "How bad can the second one be?" Khalil asked, heart pounding so loud that he feared that the witch could hear it too. "Well... You only need to give up your memories of your parents right now... but later, the evil little sister of your father will come back... and will only leave with your voice..."

The witch looked through books and finished talking, looked up and saw Khalil walking around the hut with his head down, giving a strain smile and a pitying stare.

'I definitely won't give her my soul because I know that Stephen would want me to have my soul in my body. But I am not sure about Aunt Mary though...' Khalil thought to himself, debating.... 'She is right about Stephen practicing black magic but I should know better than that... I had been too foolish last time...What if I don't win?' After a good while, still debating, Khalil paused and looked back up at Kat. "Well, can Stephen help me fight her?" The witch flipped through the book and read a passage silently, nodding. "Yes, but only when you really needed it." Kat said before she noticed the relieved smile on Khalil's face. "And I assume you had your choice? The memories and the fight for your brother?" Khalil nodded, knowing Stephen can be back soon, sat back down to the couch. "Oh, before I start, I must warn you one more thing: When Stephen comes back to the living world, he wouldn't be as kind, forgiving and patient as you remembered, okay?" Kat quickly told Khalil about the fact as she just remembered he really needed to know that. "It would be fine, Kat. It was my fault that he died like this." Khalil said with a sigh, "He had dealt with my temper for more than two decades, I can deal with his temper... I hope..." Whispering the last part, he closed his eyes, sinking into the couch even more.

Kat looked at Khalil sadly, she knows the feeling of losing a loved one to a stranger who happened to be a family , before she started doing her job. It was a long, painful and silent process for Khalil as he wasn't really a patient type of person, and also the fact that he longed to see Stephen again.

'Every action has a consequence.'Stephen murmured under his breath every time both of them got back from school to their cold beds on the ground after they got kicked out. 'And Dad's actions had forced us to live out in the cold, in the winter ...dying..." At the time, Khalil didn't think much about this but after Stephen's eyes turned grey, Khalil realized what he meant, only breaking him from the inside even more than before. 'I am sorry, brother... Let me make it up to you...' Khalil thought to himself as he shed a tear.

Suddenly, two knocks on the front door were heard, and both Kat and Khalil's heads snapped to the direction. Kat smiled and whispered to Khalil, "It worked. Now go! Leave this place and good luck." Khalil smiled, nodded and went to open the door, only face to face with a pissed off Stephen. "Brother, it is so great to see you again!" Khalil cheered, as he approached Stephen with a big smile and open arms, trying to give him a hug but as soon as they met eye contact, Khalil stopped dead in his tracks, "Never mind, no hugs." The witch on the side watched nervously, having the knowledge of Stephen, before he was killed, could easily destroy everything with ease both in magic and without, and probably bring him back from death only giving him more powers than before. Stephen turned to her as she gulped down a little bit of spit, "I am sorry about my brother, we will be leaving now." Khalil smiled at the witch bitterly, waved his goodbye, and mouthed, "Thank you."

After the boys left her hut, Kat sat down in front of her crystal ball, and called out, "God and Goddess, watch over them... Protect them... protect my grandson... May they never know who I am to them...Never let them be like me, scarred and broken...she took my daughter too..." And with that, she inched herself onto her bed, and took a long and never waking sleep.

"Thanatos, you are too kind...." Hypnos shook his head as his brother took the witch's hand. "It's our jobs, dear brother. It's not my choice to choose how they spend their last moments but it's my decision to bring them comfort before bringing them down." Thanatos said back, looking out in the window before he sinks down into the shadow with the witch's soul. "Com'on."