Kekkai
By SMYGO4EVA
The realm that was a myriad of different colors was a mystery to him.
Fai didn't quite understand what was going on.
These dream worlds are all the same yet different, thus marking what made a human unique, taking a look at what fears held them at bay and what hidden and twisted desires they held for themselves and those around them. It was all very bizarre and intriguing at the same time.
He stood where he was, in the dark place, where he expected to be alone and no one would be there. He was wrong at that fact, as he let his eyes look upon a figure not across, not straight at him, but more adjacent and a few feet away from him.
A woman stood, unmoving, as she dressed in all black clothing, with stains of crimson upon where it would seem to matter most, but her shadowy eyes were fixed upon him, almost never looking anywhere else, narrowed in deep but clear intent.
He shivered.
Slowly but stealthily, the woman walked towards the magician, almost taking in each step she took, enjoying the panicked look that morphed into a focused glare upon the mage's porcelain features.
The only sounds that were heard were her footsteps growing louder by the second. The mage's breath had hitched in his throat with fear and panic. What did this woman want?
When the echoes of the footsteps finally subsided in noise, the gap between the mage and the mysterious woman was almost closed, but they were separated by a few feet. The woman narrowed the orbs called her eyes as she looked in the mage's sapphire ones.
In one second.
She moved.
She had outstretched her hands so she would roughly grab his lithe shoulders, catching him off guard and allowing them to fall onto the cold ground.
She landed on top of him, as he was underneath her.
The woman's once murky eyes were filled with both fury and lust for the magician, having become so dark that they reminded the mage of the color of all that was dark.
He shook under her steel grip.
"Do you even understand what you are doing, magician?" The woman spoke, a harsh and firm tone ascended in her mellifluous voice, still not letting go of her grip on his shoulders.
Fai wanted to look away but he knew that he couldn't, as her eyes caught his in her snare, so he narrowed his eyes, melding in the coldest glare he could muster.
"That depends. What is it that I am doing?"
That statement only made the woman's expression even more adamant, blind hatred burning in her smoldering eyes.
The magician feared what the woman was going to say – or do – next. Seeing that it wouldn't be useful to try and resist.
"Have you forgotten dear mage? You're running away. Running away from the deepest pit of despair that you believe has become your life…there is no escaping your sadness, my dear. It will haunt you until the end of your days…it will tear up your insides, and it will hurt deeply when you do choose to remember it all. There is no choice in the matter. You will remember it. You will remember it all – every single detail. Every last memory you had from the place that you chose to run away from, ones that are stained with blood."
The woman's cold and whispering words sunk deep into the magician's mind, his face etched with fear. It was as if he had been paralyzed, frozen by her words, the iciness of every syllable penetrating his psyche, his thoughts at a standstill.
The woman smiled, pleased with the effect of her words upon the lovely mage, closing her eyes with another plan set in motion.
She opens them once again.
Her smile still intact.
"How can I stay mad at you, my dear? You are too beautiful to even shake a finger at, but alas, your beauty is marred by your everlasting sadness, your torment, and your inability to connect with others. What you will remember will be painful and you think that there is no one who you can go to if you chose to let your emotions wash over you. You don't want anyone to get hurt if they get involved, and if they did, they would leave you all alone, and with no one to blame but yourself."
The mage blinked, his eyes still marked by fear but softened at what she said, being the truth after all. He couldn't connect with anyone because he feared if they were scarred by what he was running away from, they would toss him aside and leave him alone again.
Fai felt a smile slip onto his face, albeit sardonically, at the thought. …Again…
This smile stays on when he begins to speak – "They would, wouldn't they…"
The woman's eyes flicked somewhat in their piercing gaze. What was the magician saying?
Fai continues. "If I show them anything…anything resembling my past…anything resembling my truest and innermost feelings towards them…they would…leave. Maybe not physically…but yes…they would leave me…"
Again, the woman's eyes flickered within the wake of their own dilapidation, but this time, with a more…interesting feeling…
Said magician looks up at the woman, eyes locked onto the ones in front of him, not even pretending to fathom how far they went, and said,
"You have a lot of pain as well…am I right?"
The sentence echoes within the both of them.
Xing Huo's entire body stiffens.
What was this?
She was aware that the magician was very perceptive…but…
The woman smiled to herself.
She should give the magician more credit. More than she had given him already.
She leaned closer to Fai, so that their foreheads met. Fai didn't budge.
This was a true confession, and interrogation, on both parts.
"Yes. I do. As do you."
Before he knew it, he felt her lips upon his.
It was then that at that instant the barrier was broken.
There was the barrier that grew and continued to shield them from reality.
Shattered…
It was then that everything started to fade away…
The colors…the multitude of the colors…started to fade away…