𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐈𝐭 {𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨}

🕊 18 : Are Not Energies Which Are Lost... 🕊

The moonlight shimmered across the pool water. The water rippled at the slightest change of wind. Chishiya and Niragi stood behind me, hesitant.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Chishiya asked, taking a step closer to me. I raised my hand to stop him.

"No. But I have to figure something out before I ruin people's lives."

"Nisha..." he trailed. I shook my head.

"Let me do this."

I stepped into the water, walking to the deepest end of the pool. I closed my eyes, inhaling slowly. I focused on slowing my heartrate, then inhaled one last breath. I felt energy coursing through my veins as I allowed myself to sink further and further into the abyss of the 12 foot area. Feeling myself hit the bottom of the pool, I allowed my mind to remove itself from the physical situation and instead imagined myself on a small island, grass fading into the ocean. It didn't make any sense, but it was beautiful. In front of me was a large willow tree. One which had dazzling lights floating among the life on its branches. The clouds were a beautiful pink, the sky a gradient of reds, pinks, purples, oranges, and sharp blues.

I could feel my lungs burning at the lack of breathing, and ignored it. I imagined the man I killed, alive and standing before me. I watched him closely, his sly smirk, his gross hair, and his black eyes. I stood from my sitting position on the soft grass.

"You gonna apologise? You really hurt me, you know... I just wanted to take you home." He chuckled, walking towards me. He tried to intimidate me, but it didn't work.

"No. I don't have to ever apologise for defending myself. Did you know that you hurt me?" I stopped as our feet were a few inches from touching.

"What is this?" He looked... almost frightened.

"I hated you, you know. For trying to do what you did. I was pissed."

"Oh yeah? How pissed?" He egged me on. I knew he was baiting me. That the darkness was baiting me.

"So pissed that I wanted to tear you limb from limb and make you suffer for an eternity." I paused, realising that I felt nothing anymore. "But now, I feel nothing." I chuckled as he shrinked in fear. "I look at you, a man who would go as far as to try to rape someone just because they felt like it, and I feel nothing. Not guilt, not rage, not sorrow, not fear, and I most certainly do not consider myself a victim anymore. Rather, I was a woman who went through a trial in life. One which shaped me into a better person in the long run. I killed you. And that changed nothing. What changed was the fact that I can look at you right now, and I can laugh in your face.

"Because you have no power over me." I smirked.

He stopped breathing, staring at me with sheer terror. He stumbled back, attempting to get away from me. He knew what was next. I knew he had access to my mind. I darted for him, and this time, instead of killing him, I pressed my forehead to his. I closed my eyes and thought of every happy memory. I allowed happiness and joy to overtake my senses. Though he struggled and screamed to let him go, I tightened my grip on the back of his head and kept our foreheads together.

"You have no power over me, because you are me. We are equals. You will never have the power to hurt me, because you are me. You are the darkness that I need in order to keep a healthy balance within myself. I see you, I feel you, and now I wish to know you." I whispered, pushing so hard on the back of his head that his completely disappeared, shattering into a million pieces that surrounded me.

These shards formed into a black sphere. One with glowing red streaks. It reminded me of hot coals at the bottom of a dying fire. It was warm to the touch.

It was my rage pressed into a sphere. I quickly pocketed it and went back to my sitting position, finding my physical body once more. The burning in my lungs was absolutely unbearable. I hurriedly pushed off of the bottom of the pool with my feet, breaking the surface a few seconds later. I inhaled the fresh air and spoke a silent prayer to the universe, knowing it heard me because I was borrowing its very own energy.

"Oh thank god you're okay!" Kuina shouted from the edge. I furrowed my eyebrows at the rising sun.

"What's uh... What's going on?" I asked. Hatter and Aguni stood off to the side, making glances at me as they spoke in hushed whispers.

"It's Niragi..."

Fuck.

🌕

The silence in the elevator is deafening. Only Hatter and Aguni could come with me. Chishiya and Kuina were told to wait in Chishiya and I's room. I stared at the metal doors, waiting impatiently for it to finally reach the basement, where Niragi was.

“Nisha... I have something to tell you.” Kuina said softly before the light flicked on.

“What is it?” I was far too worried for Niragi's health to even consider speaking to Kuina right now. Not until I saw her safe and sound.

“You should know that Niragi is quite different. Physically he's fine...” she hesitated. “You see... You were down there all night. He only waited a couple of hours before seeking out that—thing—and attempting to kill it or at least weaken it.” She tried to explain. I raised a brow, wishing she would just tell me what was going on.

“Kuina... What is wrong with Niragi?”

Everyone stayed silent, waiting for Kuina to spill the information. I sighed with frustration as the silence stretched on into minutes. I was growing impatient quite fast with Niragi's possible life on the line.

“Niragi took that thing into himself. The darkness incarnate has gotten him.”

Silence. I was trying to process what she was telling me. Our eyes stayed glued to each other's. I knew Kuina was waiting for something. Anything. I chuckled with anger and resentment toward that thing.

“Oh no the fuck it doesn't.”