Lotus Moon Chapter 14 Thanks to Tajeri Lynn for reviewing again, as well as VampireNaomi and all the other faithfuls who will hopefully drift in! *.*;;;;;;
Yeah. Ummmm...back to the fic, first of all, everythings going to get a lot more dark and angsty. characters you care about are going to die and haunt those who remain FOREVER MWAHAHAHAHAH! Errr...Chibi got a little overzealous there. Anyways, thanks for reading and back to the fic.
LM 14: Living Shadows
I make my way through the seemingly darkened and twisted paths. It shouldn't be dark. Its only the afternoon. Maybe the darkness is all in my head. No. Its not. The shadow i almost stepped on moved. Not just a flicker, as if in the wind, mind you. It made a loop to the side and around to purposely avoid my step. It had nothing to fear. I do not "step". My true powers surfaced the moment mother died. i sppose the shock just gave it that extra shove forward. Consequently, I simply use my abilities to glide about a little less than an inch above the ground. Just to see if it will react again, or if my mind has actually started to deteriorate. I move the shadow in question, again it moves. How curious this is. I bend over to investigate this matter. As I am about to touch it, I am interrupted by someone that I haven't mentioned before.
"Pssst! Tso Lan-kun! There's nothing there!"
Two sets of juvenile snickers are heard. I turn around to find a relatively tall, female Chi guardian standing over me. Her body is covered in ornate swirls of green and Hikari is clinging to her leg. Receiving a piggyback ride, is Hsi Wu. "I don't see what business this is of yours, Niroto," "Hsi Wu-chan, your brother is grouchy. whatever shall we do with him? I think he's just jealous that I have taken away his playmate. What do you say?" Hsi says nothing, he only grins mischieviously and make sa sort of hissing laugh.
"Are you quite through, Niroto?" " Ayy! What's with you, Tso Lan-Kun?"
"Nothing!"
Why does she make me so angry? Niroto has had no difficulty in enraging me since her arrival a week ago. I used to think that there were no beings that I could despise more than Syra Seo, Shendu and Tchang Tzu, but, this Chi Guardian has proven me wrong.
"Anyways, Tso Lan-Kun, why haven't you come out to see us? We miss you?" I was not going to answer that, but Hsi Wu is quick to provide one for her. He never could say no to a pretty face, especially one who's pockets are lined with sweets. "Oni-san gets headaches, Niroto-sama. He can't come out in the light much. Especially since-" That's ENOUGH!" I shout at him. I lash out momentarily with my power and Hsi Wu is torn from Noroto's shoulders. He shrieks and opens his wings in an attempt to catch himself. Ahgast at what I have just done, I release my grip on my younger brother. He floats to the ground. Hikari is quick to make sure her close friend is unharmed. I have no idea what came over me. I just... lashed out.
Hate...Fire...Burning...moth...beating...cries of suffering...I know this...This has already happened...STOP IT! I DON"T WANT TO REMEMBER THIS!.....I felt such sorrow...at the world...almost...hate...darkness...blue and purple everywhere...NO! I Know What This Is...it is the birthplace of hate...the soul..a heart in darkness births the blues and purples that infect the souls of man and demon alike...but in the darkness...two eyes...burning shifting between blue and purple...she smiles at me...she's evil, I know it...around her lay the bodies of the fallen...before her, Auriel, the golden Chi Dragon bound by tentacles of her construction....This has already happened. Why am I seeing it now?
"We can't have you interefering,"
I hear a shriek of pain and rage, the sound of a soul in anguish, as if it were looking into the eyes of its beloved, only to see that the owner of those ever hyhpnotic orb plunged a knife into its back. The woman's voice can be heard, but its muffled now...a headache begins to form in my head like an irritant sliver. ...She's not talking to me...Who is this woman?...I see her, but...Where am I?...Is this a vision? But then...why is there no immense and terrible destruction?..Only candles burn...those shifting eyes turn and look into me..."Murderer" she says, smiling, revealing sharpened fangs..a moth beats against a lantern...She was talking to me...this dark woman...I'm standing...and...Mother falls into my arms...She's dead...There's nothing I can do...Murderer...what?
"Tso Lan-Kun! What the hell is wrong with you?
what am I doing?
"What are you doing?"
What is she going on about?
"BAKA TSO LAN!"
Niroto? Than I must be back in the land of the living.
"...could have killed...should be more careful!"
Her voice fades in and out.
That woman of darkness looked at me.
I'll never forget what she said to me.
"Murderer."
"Tso Lan Kun!!!"
A fierce stinging sensation on my cheek returns me to the presence of Niroto and the others. In fact, the stinging sensation feel was caused by the impact of her hand. I can only stand there and stammer in disbelief and confusion. Niroto shouts something in her native tongue to Hikari. Hikari gingerly takes Hsi Wu's claw in her hand and leads him away. He resists momentarily, but its impossible to resist a pair of impossibly green eyes. The two of them make their way to Rumiko-hime's bungalow and disappear behind a sliding door.
"Tso Lan-Kun?"
Niroto...her voice sounded strained almost tearful. Why? I look at her and her green eyes are filling with Chi tinted tears. She suddenly bites her lip and slaps me fiercely across the face. Her hand leaves a harsh stinging sensation. Who knew my face was so sensitive? She really didn't slap me that hard. Those Life essence eyes of hers hold be transfixed despite their inherent fury. Why do I notice them now? It is still the same annoying Niroto who follows me around. The same noisy intruder who refuses to let me concentrate on my studies, the one who teases me incessantly and...now has had the gall to slap me, the son of a demon lord in the face twice in the same day. Wait, I must be cautious, Gods, Im sounding like that treacherous Syra.
Syra has been spending noticably more time absent from us, I can't say I miss her but it is unsettling.
I heard father talking with Teng the other day. She mentioned that syra's aura is becoming more prominent, an endless vortex of blues andd purples. Father told her she never trusted anyone and should not be so judgemental. Teng said: "Yet, I am still alive. Kung, if you were anyone else, I would slap you," I left, knowing she knew I was eavesdropping, but her suspicions and observations continue to plague my mind even now.
Niroto is still staring at me as I drift back to reality, a shadow drifts behind her with no discernable cause. It zigs this way and that on a definite path to some predetermined destination. I push Niroto aside as I follow the shadow along the wall before it vanishes in the shadow of a tree. Her huff of indignation falls upon deaf ears, I have far more important things to attend to now than an irrate pest. But, Niroto has also caught sight of it as well. Her eyes burn with an angry fire. She unstraps a curved dagger from her thigh and hurls it into the tree's shadow. A hiss is heard as a small puff of purplish fog floats up from the dagger's point of contact. Niroto stalks forward angrily and removes her weapon. After cleaning it in the glass, she returns it to its place. She mutters a curse in her native tongue. I pick up the word "again", but I am unfamiliar with her dialect. She looks at me, serious for the first time.
"Tso Lan-Kun, have you seen these before?"
"Yes, what...what are they?"
"They are Shadow Khan, Spirits of darkness, but they are incapable of acting alone. They need another more powerful mind to overwhelm their hive like mindset. There are two types, natural Shadow Khan, which are created in dark rooms which are left unattended for long periods of time, and there are those who are created from poisoned Chi guardians. Bit by bit, their personality fades until the toxin of evil destroys their very soul. These are a plague which pose a danger to the people here as well as the Chi well,"
"Chi Well?"
"You mean you don' know? You have to be kidding,"
"What? Is it something I should be concerned with?"
"Kami-Sama! You're serious! Geez..I mean.. don't you know where you live? What makes your temple so damn special?"
"I had no idea it was something special. Why is it so fdifferent from other temple?"
"I don't believe this. You have live dhere all this time and you never knew? "
"Knew what?" "The Chi Well located in your temple is the lifesblood of this continent! Didn''t you ever wonder why even in years of drought, your father's kingdom flourished? Its because the lifespring is locate din the well inside the sanctum. That's why we've all been gathering here, to defend it1 With the arrival of these Shadow Khan, our security must be increased. Have you seen any more like that one?"
Niroto motions toward the place where she impaled the shadow.
"Several times, but before today I thought they were only tricks of the light,"
I had no idea a Chi Guardian can turn pale. But sure enough, Niroto's olive face drained of its vibrant color and her mouth twitched at the corners. She took a few steps back before turning toward father's palace.
"Lord Kung must be informed of this immediately!"
She takes off, but stops after a few moments. She looks back at me with an exasperated look.
"Are you coming or not, Tso Lan Kun?"
"Coming,"
Together we race up the steps to father's palace, or rather, Niroto races and I float swiftly beside her. I reach to open the enormous door at the top of the stairs, but before I can touch it, she pulls it open and races to the foot of father's throne. As she kneels before him, she begins to incoherently ramble about the incident which has just occurred, but she stops in mid sentence and looks up in horror at the sight before her.
My father sists in his throne, at first glance all appears well, but upon further inspection, a trail of black and crimson can be seen from the floor befor eNiroto's hands to the foot of the throne up my father's robes and to a gaping hole in his chest. Niroto quivers with revulsion and jumps back.
The clicking of claws on the shiny marble floor is heard and from behind the throne, blood covered sword in hand and finger ever twitching her whisker comes Syra Seo. Eyes burning, she snorts a flume of brimstone before speaking in a rather wicked singsong voice.
"My my, it looks like we have visitors. Do say hello to them Marl darling. Oh, that's right you can't..."
With a sudden arch of her wrist, she brings her sword up and around before bringing it down on the neck of my father, promptly beheading his corpse. Witht hat motion, she finishes her ghastly proclamation:
"BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD!"
The disembodied head flies into Niroto's arms. She can only stand there shaking as a noticable amount of shadows congregate.
"Niroto!" I call out, but it is too late.
From the shadows in the floor arise masked, red eyed warriors. Phantoms of darkness and decay, The Shadow Khan have emerged. End chapter 14. Don't Worry, there's plenty more
LM 14: Living Shadows
I make my way through the seemingly darkened and twisted paths. It shouldn't be dark. Its only the afternoon. Maybe the darkness is all in my head. No. Its not. The shadow i almost stepped on moved. Not just a flicker, as if in the wind, mind you. It made a loop to the side and around to purposely avoid my step. It had nothing to fear. I do not "step". My true powers surfaced the moment mother died. i sppose the shock just gave it that extra shove forward. Consequently, I simply use my abilities to glide about a little less than an inch above the ground. Just to see if it will react again, or if my mind has actually started to deteriorate. I move the shadow in question, again it moves. How curious this is. I bend over to investigate this matter. As I am about to touch it, I am interrupted by someone that I haven't mentioned before.
"Pssst! Tso Lan-kun! There's nothing there!"
Two sets of juvenile snickers are heard. I turn around to find a relatively tall, female Chi guardian standing over me. Her body is covered in ornate swirls of green and Hikari is clinging to her leg. Receiving a piggyback ride, is Hsi Wu. "I don't see what business this is of yours, Niroto," "Hsi Wu-chan, your brother is grouchy. whatever shall we do with him? I think he's just jealous that I have taken away his playmate. What do you say?" Hsi says nothing, he only grins mischieviously and make sa sort of hissing laugh.
"Are you quite through, Niroto?" " Ayy! What's with you, Tso Lan-Kun?"
"Nothing!"
Why does she make me so angry? Niroto has had no difficulty in enraging me since her arrival a week ago. I used to think that there were no beings that I could despise more than Syra Seo, Shendu and Tchang Tzu, but, this Chi Guardian has proven me wrong.
"Anyways, Tso Lan-Kun, why haven't you come out to see us? We miss you?" I was not going to answer that, but Hsi Wu is quick to provide one for her. He never could say no to a pretty face, especially one who's pockets are lined with sweets. "Oni-san gets headaches, Niroto-sama. He can't come out in the light much. Especially since-" That's ENOUGH!" I shout at him. I lash out momentarily with my power and Hsi Wu is torn from Noroto's shoulders. He shrieks and opens his wings in an attempt to catch himself. Ahgast at what I have just done, I release my grip on my younger brother. He floats to the ground. Hikari is quick to make sure her close friend is unharmed. I have no idea what came over me. I just... lashed out.
Hate...Fire...Burning...moth...beating...cries of suffering...I know this...This has already happened...STOP IT! I DON"T WANT TO REMEMBER THIS!.....I felt such sorrow...at the world...almost...hate...darkness...blue and purple everywhere...NO! I Know What This Is...it is the birthplace of hate...the soul..a heart in darkness births the blues and purples that infect the souls of man and demon alike...but in the darkness...two eyes...burning shifting between blue and purple...she smiles at me...she's evil, I know it...around her lay the bodies of the fallen...before her, Auriel, the golden Chi Dragon bound by tentacles of her construction....This has already happened. Why am I seeing it now?
"We can't have you interefering,"
I hear a shriek of pain and rage, the sound of a soul in anguish, as if it were looking into the eyes of its beloved, only to see that the owner of those ever hyhpnotic orb plunged a knife into its back. The woman's voice can be heard, but its muffled now...a headache begins to form in my head like an irritant sliver. ...She's not talking to me...Who is this woman?...I see her, but...Where am I?...Is this a vision? But then...why is there no immense and terrible destruction?..Only candles burn...those shifting eyes turn and look into me..."Murderer" she says, smiling, revealing sharpened fangs..a moth beats against a lantern...She was talking to me...this dark woman...I'm standing...and...Mother falls into my arms...She's dead...There's nothing I can do...Murderer...what?
"Tso Lan-Kun! What the hell is wrong with you?
what am I doing?
"What are you doing?"
What is she going on about?
"BAKA TSO LAN!"
Niroto? Than I must be back in the land of the living.
"...could have killed...should be more careful!"
Her voice fades in and out.
That woman of darkness looked at me.
I'll never forget what she said to me.
"Murderer."
"Tso Lan Kun!!!"
A fierce stinging sensation on my cheek returns me to the presence of Niroto and the others. In fact, the stinging sensation feel was caused by the impact of her hand. I can only stand there and stammer in disbelief and confusion. Niroto shouts something in her native tongue to Hikari. Hikari gingerly takes Hsi Wu's claw in her hand and leads him away. He resists momentarily, but its impossible to resist a pair of impossibly green eyes. The two of them make their way to Rumiko-hime's bungalow and disappear behind a sliding door.
"Tso Lan-Kun?"
Niroto...her voice sounded strained almost tearful. Why? I look at her and her green eyes are filling with Chi tinted tears. She suddenly bites her lip and slaps me fiercely across the face. Her hand leaves a harsh stinging sensation. Who knew my face was so sensitive? She really didn't slap me that hard. Those Life essence eyes of hers hold be transfixed despite their inherent fury. Why do I notice them now? It is still the same annoying Niroto who follows me around. The same noisy intruder who refuses to let me concentrate on my studies, the one who teases me incessantly and...now has had the gall to slap me, the son of a demon lord in the face twice in the same day. Wait, I must be cautious, Gods, Im sounding like that treacherous Syra.
Syra has been spending noticably more time absent from us, I can't say I miss her but it is unsettling.
I heard father talking with Teng the other day. She mentioned that syra's aura is becoming more prominent, an endless vortex of blues andd purples. Father told her she never trusted anyone and should not be so judgemental. Teng said: "Yet, I am still alive. Kung, if you were anyone else, I would slap you," I left, knowing she knew I was eavesdropping, but her suspicions and observations continue to plague my mind even now.
Niroto is still staring at me as I drift back to reality, a shadow drifts behind her with no discernable cause. It zigs this way and that on a definite path to some predetermined destination. I push Niroto aside as I follow the shadow along the wall before it vanishes in the shadow of a tree. Her huff of indignation falls upon deaf ears, I have far more important things to attend to now than an irrate pest. But, Niroto has also caught sight of it as well. Her eyes burn with an angry fire. She unstraps a curved dagger from her thigh and hurls it into the tree's shadow. A hiss is heard as a small puff of purplish fog floats up from the dagger's point of contact. Niroto stalks forward angrily and removes her weapon. After cleaning it in the glass, she returns it to its place. She mutters a curse in her native tongue. I pick up the word "again", but I am unfamiliar with her dialect. She looks at me, serious for the first time.
"Tso Lan-Kun, have you seen these before?"
"Yes, what...what are they?"
"They are Shadow Khan, Spirits of darkness, but they are incapable of acting alone. They need another more powerful mind to overwhelm their hive like mindset. There are two types, natural Shadow Khan, which are created in dark rooms which are left unattended for long periods of time, and there are those who are created from poisoned Chi guardians. Bit by bit, their personality fades until the toxin of evil destroys their very soul. These are a plague which pose a danger to the people here as well as the Chi well,"
"Chi Well?"
"You mean you don' know? You have to be kidding,"
"What? Is it something I should be concerned with?"
"Kami-Sama! You're serious! Geez..I mean.. don't you know where you live? What makes your temple so damn special?"
"I had no idea it was something special. Why is it so fdifferent from other temple?"
"I don't believe this. You have live dhere all this time and you never knew? "
"Knew what?" "The Chi Well located in your temple is the lifesblood of this continent! Didn''t you ever wonder why even in years of drought, your father's kingdom flourished? Its because the lifespring is locate din the well inside the sanctum. That's why we've all been gathering here, to defend it1 With the arrival of these Shadow Khan, our security must be increased. Have you seen any more like that one?"
Niroto motions toward the place where she impaled the shadow.
"Several times, but before today I thought they were only tricks of the light,"
I had no idea a Chi Guardian can turn pale. But sure enough, Niroto's olive face drained of its vibrant color and her mouth twitched at the corners. She took a few steps back before turning toward father's palace.
"Lord Kung must be informed of this immediately!"
She takes off, but stops after a few moments. She looks back at me with an exasperated look.
"Are you coming or not, Tso Lan Kun?"
"Coming,"
Together we race up the steps to father's palace, or rather, Niroto races and I float swiftly beside her. I reach to open the enormous door at the top of the stairs, but before I can touch it, she pulls it open and races to the foot of father's throne. As she kneels before him, she begins to incoherently ramble about the incident which has just occurred, but she stops in mid sentence and looks up in horror at the sight before her.
My father sists in his throne, at first glance all appears well, but upon further inspection, a trail of black and crimson can be seen from the floor befor eNiroto's hands to the foot of the throne up my father's robes and to a gaping hole in his chest. Niroto quivers with revulsion and jumps back.
The clicking of claws on the shiny marble floor is heard and from behind the throne, blood covered sword in hand and finger ever twitching her whisker comes Syra Seo. Eyes burning, she snorts a flume of brimstone before speaking in a rather wicked singsong voice.
"My my, it looks like we have visitors. Do say hello to them Marl darling. Oh, that's right you can't..."
With a sudden arch of her wrist, she brings her sword up and around before bringing it down on the neck of my father, promptly beheading his corpse. Witht hat motion, she finishes her ghastly proclamation:
"BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD!"
The disembodied head flies into Niroto's arms. She can only stand there shaking as a noticable amount of shadows congregate.
"Niroto!" I call out, but it is too late.
From the shadows in the floor arise masked, red eyed warriors. Phantoms of darkness and decay, The Shadow Khan have emerged. End chapter 14. Don't Worry, there's plenty more