Enjoy this one!
"Feel the holy light coursing through your entire body," Master Wisp leniently whispers. "Gently expel it."
With graceful arm movements, white light simmers from my hands, taking the shape of waves. Master Wisp floats above my head and sighs peacefully.
"Release it at full power."
The light waves swirl into aerial whirlpools. They are caught by Master Wisp, with her crystal-like hands.
"Such pure light. So concentrated, what kind of training did you go through?" she asks in sheer awe above me. I shrug sheepishly.
"Barely any."
"Do you realize how remarkable this is? Actually, you remind of another student I had so many years ago. She too had a light like yours and was very talented…oh."
She suddenly stops talking, seeming disheartened by the memory. I watch her make her descent next to me. "Shade would do anything to defile that pure light. But you must keep your heart strong and make sure no trace of Darkness is to enter."
"Why does Shade want to defile my light?"
"That's what he does Mia! He swallows up whatever Light is in this world and always leads to the destruction. I'm sure you've heard of the stories of countless, evil villains that have control of the Darkness, and its Shade's power they use, not mine," she persists. "Uck, just saying his name makes me sick."
It's clear to me that Master Wisp hates Shade. But when I talked to him, he didn't seem evil or bad.
Without saying a word of agreement, I continue to train, but not without Master Wisp going on and on about Shade until the end of training. As soon as I get to the inn, I drop on my bed ready to pass out.
"Come to the Dark Forest now," an ominous voice that's familiar to me commands. I rise from the bed and sigh; that was Shade talking to me. It would be rude for me to ignore him, even if everyone in the village considers him to an evil spirit.
I sneak out the village, avoiding Michele and the other guards' watchful eyes. The dark, night sky makes the village seem brighter; it becomes even brighter the farther I run from it. Finally, my eyes can take a break for a moment from the blinding light.
"Shade," I affirm his presence left of me. "You called me?"
"You departed from the Celestial Village of Wisp and boldly entered the Dark Forest. You are surely one of the Darkness."
Doesn't he sense the pure Light that Master Wisp keeps talking about? Why does he only see Darkness? How come Master Wisp doesn't sense the Darkness he keeps talking about? So many questions, yet no answers.
"Do you not believe?" asks Shade, probably sensing my disbelief. "Let's put it to the test."
Without thinking too hard about it, I stand in my defensive position and feel the power coursing through my body. When I exert the energy, instead of a bright light I'm used to seeing, a violet stream comes out.
"Woah," I gasp, losing concentration and thus making the stream dissipate.
"Tell me, did you arrive at this village to train with Wisp?"
"Yes."
"She is unable able to train you. Her Light would eliminate your Darkness and you would cease to exist. If you truly want to get stronger, you should allow me to teach you."
"Um," I hum. Didn't Master Wisp say that he would ruin my "light" and swallow my heart? Then again, Mr. Daniel claimed that if I interacted with Shade, I would turn into a monster-that hasn't happened.
"Ok, Master Shade."
'
I expel one last Dark swirl into the almost dawn sky. Tiredly, I fall to my knees and pant heavily. My first training with Master Shade was just as tiresome as my training with Master Wisp-he noticed my control over the Darkness was advanced, started out with basics, and quickly led in to the advanced stuff. Funny though, the moves they're teaching me are exactly the same, excluding the power being exerted.
"You have potential to be a very powerful Dark maiden," he compliments. "But you're holding back."
When I don't reply, he deviates to another issue, "I'm warning you-do not to stray close to the Celestial Temple, Wisp will ruin your concentrated Darkness with her blinding, unwavering Light."
"Can she really do that?" I ask after catching a breath.
"Yes. Stay away from her if you value your life."
The way he said "life" makes me shiver more than the cold. His eye looks up to the sky.
"Dawn. You should go back to the village and at dusk, return back here."
'
"I didn't work you out that hard Mia," comments Master Wisp when I follow her into our private training room. "Didn't get much sleep last night?"
"Not really," I reply with a yawn. Who knows how she's going to react if I told her I was training with Master Shade? She might just stop training with me, or even worse-do something to me.
"Master Wisp, can you please reteach me-" Mr. Daniel hastily barges into our training room before I can completely close the door.
"Daniel, this is private training! Ask the seniors for help, that's why they are available," she shoos him out of the room, and then lowers her voice, "he's a good kid, but his Light concentration isn't even half yours. Darkness always finds its way into the hearts of everyone like him in this village because of Shade."
"Shade is really bad news, Mia," a smaller version of Master Wisp claims while floating above us. "All the people that stay close to him just end up turning into villainous creatures!"
Darkness always finds its way into the hearts of everyone, Master Wisp said. Then I remember when I was in Metropolis with Seth and Don, that not-so-scary guy, who fought briefly with Seth. The aura covering his hands when he was fighting was really Darkness. The anger on his face was unbearable to look at-
That was just a little bit of Darkness. Imagine if Seth really unleashed his true Dark power-it makes me shiver.
"Mia, are you ready or do you want to rest for a little bit?" Master Wisp asks compassionately.
"I'm okay."