The mass of black shadows snapped its head towards the blonde, to releveling a snarling deformed face, the skin melting from its twisted features. Its hands where wraps of black shadow that seems to come off it in wave. A creature you hear about it horror stories and tales of terror to keep people away from treasure trove and tombs. A nightmare wrapped in fresh tearing darkness.
"How the fuck do we kill it?"
"You don't"
chapter 17
Z blinked wearily, her sight coming into focus as she regained consciousness, only to see something unreal. Before her was a happy family – their faces blurry as the parents and signal kid played in what seemed to a large garden. "Mummy! Mummy!" the little boy giggled running up towards the women who bent down to scope up the child. "Where did daddy go?" the kid asked looking around for his missing father.
"He has to go back to work sweetie"
"Aw but he said he would play with me!" the child pouted while the mother signed.
"It's time Dinner anyway my little trickster, then off the bed..." the women spoke her voice like honey. Golden and pure.
She watched off in the distance, as the pair slowly made their way to a familiar looking manor house.
The scene changed, dissolving to shadow before reshaping. This time she had the full view of the child, curled in the shadows as he listened to his parents talk in the background his features hidden but the misery rolled off him as the young child listened.
"…but sweetheart, we don't need any more! We have more than plenty. I didn't marry you from the money, I wouldn't even care if we have non I just want you to be in our lives, go play with him more. He needs his father" the women begged.
The man was silent, before his voice cut though the darkness around the child making him flitch. "No, that child need to grow up if he wants to be able to run this company. I am not having an prankster mess up all my hard work"
"But he's a child-"
"I don't care, I am not losing any profits because of his mess ups, and it will all be in the palm of my hand soon"
"But hone-"
"No buts that's is finally"
"bu-"
SLAP
The sound of skin against skin made the child flitch before curling further in on himself his sobs barely heard over the growing shadows; whispering sweet voices into the father's ears. Corruption already seeping into his blood steam.
This scene dripped like a wet canvas the colours and figure draining away to nothing just to be repainted it grey shades. The once bright happy family, corrupted by one mans greed – his demons stronger than most. This time instead of the happy family it became darker – the father seemed to grow shadows covering his feature and controlling his action like a puppet. He was yelling, growling at his wife before him who seemed shocked by his actions, at the unknown man who had taken the form of her husband. "Why did you give that money to charity? It belongs to me!"
It was all starting to come together.
"I donated a small portion, we have plenty more than enough. Those people have nothing, and it's not just yours" the women countered.
"How dare you! No one gave you that right, no one! That money belongs to me and I am the only one who has control over it. I control it all – money is the life line, without we will perish. I can buy anything I want!"
"Will money buy you happiness? Will money buy you a new wife? This greed is consuming you dear! You are not the man I once married and loved, I hope you lawyers are good because I will take away that money you love more than me" the women hissed, turning on her heels.
The darkness shifted – enveloping the man. The corrupted no longer spreading – it no longer needed to, the demon, shadow, monster already had the control it needed, the greed had consumed him and his sanity. The red covered his eyesight as rage controlled this actions, "it's mine all mine!"
There was a piercing scream, and blood dipped onto the wooden floor. The man panted heavily, knuckles bloody as his stood over the body of his dead wife. The door creaked open, "father, I heard mother scream is anything alri-"
The voice caught in the child throat as wide eyes took in the sight before him. Z wanted to move to cover – hide the kid from the sight but it was no use she knew that. She was planted on the stop, watching a scene that happened so long ago. His eyes trailed the growing pool of blood, towards his battered mother. Her face swollen and beyond repair. Limbs twisted and cracked in the wrong direction but it wasn't that that caused the shiver to run down the child's spine, it was the sight of blood dripping slowly from the father's busted knuckles. Each drop adding to the collection on the floor. The man's eyes wide with a crazy gleam to it. "Come here boy. Come here to your father." He took a step forward, shoulders slumped over. "Let's play a game. Don't you wont to play with your father," another step forward, another step back.
"Father, w-what ha-happen to m-mother?" the child stutter unable to comprehend the situation at hand.
"Mother here is taking a little nap, why don't you join her" he man hissed, lunging for the small boy who struggled to escape the older man's wrath. The boy darted about, screaming for his life. He was scared – scared of his father, scared of his women who laid limply on the floor.
Grabbing the closest thing, he throw the old vase at his father's face. Shattering, leaving sharp shards protruding from his face and neck. More blood ripped into the collected pile as the darkness grew consuming the man and turning him into something… deathly his soul warped beyond repair.
It was an unfair fight. A one sided massacre.
Z expression was blank as she watched the scene before her unravel. She had guessed, but this confirms it. The thing that roamed these halls were one of those. It rarely happen. Most tortured souls destroy themselves before darkness took full control or the darkness was never able to control the individual…
The living manifested of greed. These demon like creatures continued on even after the host had pasted, consuming all in their path. Consuming souls – energy everything and anything just to grew stronger each time. They just wanted to feed and devour all. To continue on the task at hand – in this case keep all the treasure for himself to feed his everlasting greed.
She would know.
She had plenty under her wraps.
All different, yet all the shame. No wonder they wanted to feed – they wanted to get their soulless hands on something of power to consume it. To get stronger and break free of the chains she put on them.
"So you now know..." a women's voice spoke softly, little over a whisper.
Z turned spotting the floating figure, the only noticeable thing in the darkness that sounded them.
"Please stop him, I couldn't not – I can't now. All I can do it protect my son's soul from the corruption..." the eerie voice spoke, though the figure didn't move. Z stayed silent watching the women, she knew who it was despite never seeing her face.
She now knew who the child ghost was – why it was hard to detect and see his presence.
A mother's love to save a child even in death.
"Please end this once and for all." The mother sobbed, "Please look after my child as I cannot no more…" the image before her started the crack as bit by bit started to break away turning into white specks of light till she was alone once more.
Z eyes shot open as she took in a ragged breath if as breathing for the first time. Coughing slightly, she sat up moving the broken bits of wood off her shaking form.
"Looks like we have a fucking request…" she muttered darkly.
Her Nen increase as the darkness around her shifted, becoming alive. She looked up, to the top of the hole – to where her comrades were most likely seeing the corruption for the first time.
"Hey, am I the only one who can see that?" she heard phink questioned in shock.
"Nope I can see it to" paku and machi responded.
"Good, that thing grim"
She could sense the mass of black shadows, above her and moved with uncanny grace, often never seen in the living. She could feel the powerful shadows moving above, a nightmare wrapped in fresh tearing darkness.
"How the fuck do we kill it?" someone asked as she came to the lip of the deep hole she had been dragged down.
"You don't"
to be continued...
hey all!
short chapter i know... delayed chapter i know i was supposed to update yesterday...
anyway what do you think?
got one more chapter and its on to the next arch? or shall i add some more ghosty chapters into the mix before spider arch? XD
i wanna know what you think!
love you all
happy hunting xxx