"Did I…see that right?"
Viola stared down at whatever was left of the creeper, reduced to dust by her own fist that emitted a strange hue seconds ago.
"It glowed violet…I'm sure of it. And for how long has it done that?"
She turned around and called for Emily, but there was no one there, only the dense and dark forest. Little rays of sunlight would pass through, and the place was empty and quiet, just like before. "Emily?" she raised her voice, walking around a bit. "Did she run off to find another one—"
A loud crunch from a dried leaf echoed throughout the woods, and Viola immediately turned to the noise. "Is…someone there?" She saw flowy dark-brown hair peeking out from behind a tree. "Hello?" Stepping closer, she could see a speck of red at the top, slowly revealing part of a flower crown.
Well, that clearly doesn't belong to Emily.
"It's dangerous here. Please, leav—"
"BEHIND YOU!"
Viola swiftly dashed to the side and heard a loud crack. She saw a creeper's fist stuck inside a tree trunk, and lurched forward with a jab to its side. The beast was hurled backwards into a tree, and wood splinters flew everywhere. Before it could recover, Viola launched a barrage of punches all across its upper body, each one packing enough force to crush its flesh and rattle the tree behind it.
There it is…again!
Her hand glowed a faint violet just before it connected to its chest. A burst of energy travelled outward, straight through the creeper's flesh, heart, and the tree. Viola quickly stepped away as the tree creaked and its top half dropped on the creeper. It rested above it for a while until the being turned to dust.
"What were you doing?!" Emily suddenly spoke up behind her. "It almost got you!"
"There's someone here!" Viola turned and pointed at what she saw earlier, only to find an empty forest before her. "Huh? Where did they go?"
"Are you seeing things now?" Emily laughed. "No one would be here this deep into the forest. Have you been sleeping well? You're probably hallucinating."
"N-No! I'm serious!" Viola stormed to the tree where she saw the strange figure. "Right here! There was a person!"
"You're not sick, are you?" Emily walked up to her and gently placed a palm on her forehead. "If you're tired after nearly a week's worth of hunting, you could just say so."
"I'm fine!" Viola frowned and slapped Emily's arm away, catching the sight of her own hand and realising. "And there's also this…strange violet colour." The other's breath hitched suddenly. "It happened twice today…and I'm pretty sure it has happened every time I've fought a creeper." She made a fist, as if trying to create the glow again. "Emily…do you know what that is?"
"N-No? Perhaps…some kind of kinetic energy due to the force of your punches?" Emily grinned nervously. "Or…you need sleep."
"I said, I'm fine!" She sighed and began walking away. "Let's find one more for today, and I'll show you what I'm talking about!"
And they did not find another one.
But the fruits of their efforts would ripen as the missing people cases grew fewer and fewer, until it seemed there were none.
However, the town never mentioned even the slightest bit of rumour about the creepers, despite a few of them having seen and lived to tell the tale. Every blame was put on either wild animals or criminals. Some had even seen Viola fighting off and killing a creeper. Yet, none of them would later talk of her. Emily saw it as a good thing, since no one would rat them out.
Not even a single one would talk of us or the monsters. That's impossible! Is there something stopping them? Why did the stranger say that no one will believe me? And why was Emily the exception?
"We've become this town's heroes!" Emily would exclaim in joy. "Well, not that anyone knows about us. But hey, at least we're saving people! We'll be heroes in our hearts!"
What are you hiding, Emily?
Emily still refused to properly open up about herself, despite coming quite close to Viola. Let alone reveal what she did aside from gathering info on creepers, she wouldn't even show what she kept inside her enigma of a backpack that she always carried.
Does she live alone? Or with a family? Does she have an actual job to sustain herself? Is she even a local? Questions like these crept up on Viola's mind with no answers in sight, making it difficult to trust her partner completely, no matter how close they got.
The only thing I know about her is that…she likes sweets. And she likes them a lot. Quite in line with her overly positive energy, I suppose.
However, during the past three days, something else began bothering Viola. The feeling of being watched had followed her home, and the dreadful sensation was especially pronounced when she was alone in her room. Sometimes, she'd see shadows out of the corner of her eyes. And every night, she would have strange and inexplicable nightmares, usually involving the creepers, which ruined her sleep.
"Again? And why now?"
Viola groaned, feeling a mild and familiar pain strike her head. She glanced at the mirror of her room and noticed a pair of crimson-red orbs floating above and behind her, staring like eyes. She jumped and turned around, and they vanished. Almost letting out a breath of relief, she looked into the mirror again, only to see that they were back—this time, with black smoke hovering around the orbs, as if making a face. The smoke then formed a pair of hands and reached out to grab her shoulders.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
She let out a scream and stumbled away from the mirror. Looking around her room, she sighed in relief to see the smoke and orbs no longer present.
"What even was that?!"
Her eyes became heavy, and the headache persisted. "I must be hallucinating from not getting enough sleep these past few days. Maybe Emily was right." She clutched the side of her head as she walked towards her bed. "There's still time before she comes, so I'll just…" She got on the bed and swiftly lay down, closing her eyes.
"No nightmares…please."
(Dream)
When her eyes opened again, she was welcomed by a red ceiling. No, a red sky. She got up from where she lay, standing in the middle of a dark, empty road, with tall structures on either side. Above was cloudy with a few openings, and the only colour it gave was crimson red. It looked serene and chaotic.
"Where…am I?"
Slowly, she walked ahead. The road was full of cracks, and some rubble was scattered around. The pavements were dusty, and the light posts were either flickering or broken. The structures were no different. They were unlit, some windows either shattered or missing, and the painting had long since grown dull. An eerie atmosphere hung over the area, weighing heavily on her shoulders.
"A large abandoned city? And what's up with the sky…I've never seen something like this before—"
"Oh, who do we have here?"
The girl jolted in her spot when a voice announced itself. It was deep and distorted, echoing throughout the area with no source in sight. The feeling of being watched crept up her spine, the chills settled on her skin, and her legs began to shiver a little. It was as if the nightmare she dwelt in manifested a mouth.
"A visitor? A lost soul? Or perhaps…"
Viola gulped.
"The Hunter herself?"
"W-Who are you?" She dared to ask, while the voice let out a loud, bone-chilling laughter.
"My identity won't matter, for now. But, I must say that I am quite impressed. A mere human capable of taking down, not one, but several of my minions? The prey hunting the predator? Impostrous! You are not just any human, are you?"
Viola remained silent, rooted to her spot.
"Your physical prowess is off the charts! Such an abnormal existence, dare I call you a human! Your power…it's quite similar to the ones you hunt, don't you agree? My minions may be the monsters, but you, my dear…"
The voice snickered before continuing.
"A Demon!"
In the distance, several feet ahead, black smoke materialised into a circle, almost like a face levitating in the air. Viola's heart rate rose to her mouth when a pair of crimson red orbs and a curved red line formed inside the circle, resembling eyes and an eerie smile.
"Since you've piqued my interest already, I'd like to make use of those abnormal feats. So, why don't I give you an offer? One you can't possibly refuse~"
"And if I refuse…?"
"Do not seek what you cannot bear. Listen—"
"I-I don't want any part of this!" Viola slowly began stepping back. "I don't even need to hear your offer, I'm sure it wouldn't be something I'd agree to!"
"Oh, looks like you've upset someone."
Before she could respond, agonising pain struck her body, and blood gushed out in large amounts from her side. She checked the source of her misery and let out a scream when her entire right arm was missing. With tears streaming down her face, Viola looked ahead again and noticed a new figure. A shadow person, about her height, with crimson-red eyes. Their hands held long and black, metallic chains, a portion of which was red with blood.
Her blood.
"I apologise. This one is a little…impulsive."
In a split second, and with a swift motion of the shadow's arms, chains were sent flying low towards Viola, slicing off both her legs. Screaming in agony, she fell face-first on the rough floor. With her one remaining limb, she tried to reach out to anything that could ease the pain. But she only met her tormentor, who continued whacking the chains on whatever was left of her body. These chains were specifically sharp, as every hit dug deep into her skin, spilling blood everywhere, crushing her bones and organs, and her screams eventually stopped. In the end, the shadow person's chain crushed her skull.
She jolted awake with a scream. Panting heavily, she examined her body and especially her limbs. When she found that she was alive and unhurt, a small relief washed over her. But not for long once she noticed her surroundings. A large, dark and empty room, with several big windows to the side. She was inside one of the buildings.
"Now then, back to where we were."
Viola's heart raced upon hearing that voice. Though this time, she remained silent and rooted to her spot.
"No arguing? Good. Seems like someone learnt their lesson." The voice chuckled. "My offer is a rather simple question, and all I seek is an even simpler, single-word answer."
Viola gulped again.
"I would like you to join me."
"Join you…?"
"Simple, isn't it! Just say 'yes' and we're in business!"
"I-I would like further elaboration! It's not simple at all! Like, what would I be doing if I joined you?"
"You've met my minions. You already know what the job is."
"So, become the thing I'm trying to rid my home of? No, thank you!"
Agonising pain hits her left side this time, as a strong gust of wind flew inches away from her face. Looking at the wall behind, she realised that it wasn't just a gust of wind. A large, void battle axe was stuck to the wall, forming a huge crater. Holding her breath, she checked on her left, only to find not just her arm, but a big chunk of her side sliced off.
"You've upset someone yet again."
Ahead was a different shadow person. This one looked more like a creeper, but with crimson-red eyes and way larger in size, almost like a creeper brute. Before she could even let out her breath, the creeper-like shadow dashed forward and punched her in the head, crushing it.
She woke up again in a different location. This time, in an alleyway, with a few dumpsters around and the road ahead in an opening, while behind her was a tall wall—a dead end. She didn't realise it until a sharp pain struck her ankle, but she was surrounded by several shadow tendrils originating from the ground and walls, as if growing like tree branches, each having a demonic mouth at the ends.
"You wouldn't want to upset this one."
Letting out a scream in terror, several more mouths went in and bit all over her limbs, keeping her standing in place. Another shadow person with crimson-red eyes manifested before her eyes. This one had an extra layer that resembled wearing a dress, with a hood over their head.
"Same offer, same answer I seek. Would you like to join me?"
Viola was close to saying 'yes', but immediately shook her head. She knew what was the right thing, but feared the consequences. A sigh came from the distance, presumably the voice, before all the mouths lurched at her and began biting all over her body. She cried out loud and screamed until a particularly large one bit her head off.
Next, she opened her eyes on the roof of a tall structure. Panting heavily and holding herself together, she looked around and basked in the view. She noticed something new—a large dark forest on the horizon. But, as much as she loved nature, an extremely dense aura emanated from it that just screamed at her to stay away. And it wasn't because the forest looked terrifying. The fear came from something else…someone who lived in it.
"Enjoying the view here, aren't we?"
Jolting in her spot, she turned to meet two more shadow people. One looked just like the brute creeper with crimson-red eyes, but it had blades in place of its arms. While the other was a normal shadow with long hair, and only the back was visible to her.
"This one doesn't like to speak much, if at all."
The creeper-like shadow attacked first, but Viola clenched her fists, avoiding its swinging blades and landing a heavy punch to its gut. The impact was strong enough to send it flying out of the roof, with a force that caused the structure to rumble slightly. She smiled a little, thinking she might be able to beat this one.
But the moment her head turned to look at the other figure, crimson-red eyes glared at her as the female shadow's hand was lifted straight, facing its palm at Viola. A split second later, several thin strings were launched from the shadow's palm, extending into a cobweb twice the size of Viola. Before she could react, the strings went through her body, and she fell apart into a million pieces.
Waking up in a different location again, this time, she was in the middle of a large room that would've been empty if not for the several large pillars placed all around in an irregular pattern. She looked around gingerly in search of the next tormentor until one finally walked out from behind a pillar. Another shadow with crimson-red eyes and hair tied into short twintails, but this one also had a curved line carved into the face, forming an eerie smile.
"This one is quite playful. Maybe you'll have fun!"
Viola attempted to attack first this time, but the shadow figure formed a black hand fan and swung at Viola from a distance, causing a strong gust of wind to push her back, slamming her into a pillar behind and forming a large crater. Before she could even fall forward to the floor, the shadow girl reappeared in front of her and, with the other empty hand, dug through the flesh into her gut. Viola spat out blood, stumbling to the floor after the shadow pulled out the bloodied hand and licked it.
"Or maybe not."
The curved line on the shadow's face grew wider as it placed the non-bloodied hand on its face, seemingly in ecstasy from the taste. It then continued to gut out her organs until she passed out dead.
The next location she woke up to was a bit unusual. There was not just a new shadow person, this one being taller than her and seeming masculine with shorter hair, but also the whole floor she lay on was covered in black matter. Several shadow hands appeared from below and began tearing her apart limb by limb, until her head was severed.
"This one didn't even give you a chance!"
At the seventh location she woke up to, she surprisingly felt peaceful. She was lying on a large flower field encircled by the forest she saw earlier. The woods felt dark and eerie, and the flowers were crimson-red like the sky. But unlike all her previous encounters, this one seemed calming.
"Ah, meet my favourite!"
The seventh shadow was a bit unique and different from the rest. It had a tall, feminine body, with long and rather majestic hair. And Viola couldn't clearly see how many flowers were crowned on the top of its head because her vision blurred as she panted rapidly.
"This one has a presence that brings serenity…"
The shadow knelt beside her, plucked a crimson-red flower from the field, and began gently caressing her face with it. It would have brought Viola some comfort if she hadn't been suffocating due to the absolute terror of the same person.
"…and chaos!"
The shadow lifted its hand high above Viola's head, pointing the underside of the flower, which had a rather sharp end, towards her. The shadow brought it down and drove it into her neck. Viola choked and coughed out blood until her vision was eventually covered with the empty black void.
"Still going to resist?"
Viola opened her eyes to find herself standing back at the first spot. Looking around, she did not find any shadow person this time. Instead, it was the voice's face, with crimson red eyes and a curved line of the same colour, forming a smile. But this time, black smoke was all around and covering the entire road ahead of her.
"Do you wish to go through all that again?"
The voice laughed, and Viola made a run for it. She sprinted away from the voice, as fast as she could, with a faint hope of escape. She half expected another shadow to stop her, or even the voice itself to take action. But, she was caught off guard when the surrounding area was completely covered with blackness. She continued nonetheless, and it felt like she was running in the empty, endless void.
"Or perhaps this might do something."
Even in the darkness, a glimmer of hope shone through. Familiar silver hair caught her vision, and her heart skipped a beat. Several feet ahead was not another shadow person, but someone from the past, an old best friend she had always yearned to see again. And just the sight was enough to bring her joy in this darkness, even if they turned their back on her.
"W-Why are you avoiding me?"
Before Viola could reach out and touch this person, the figure would vanish and reappear even further ahead. Viola continued trying to reach her, but she'd vanish even further away, until Viola was exhausted and the figure was too far for her to catch up.
"Don't leave me…please!"
Viola tripped on her foot and fell to the floor. Before she could get up, she began sinking into the void, and the distorted voice kept laughing the entire time. She shouted at the figure to help her, but there was no response, and she eventually went under.
"It's so dark and lonely here without you…please come back…"
Sinking deeper into the black void, immense pain and sadness invaded her heart. She did not know where the despair came from, but she knew one thing. Seeing a glance of her past companion again, she wanted nothing more than to be by this person's side.
"I could help with that. Maybe if you accepted my offer…I could tell you the girl's whereabouts. Perhaps, I would even take you to her myself~"
"That doesn't sound too bad…right…?"
"One word is all I seek. And one word is all you need to see her again. So, what's it going to be, Violet?"
Viola didn't even think twice about her decision, with all the pain and sadness piling up inside her. She opened her mouth and said, "Ye—"
"Don't listen to Him! Wake up!"
"Who said that? It sounds familiar…"
"Ignore it! Listen to your heart. Just say what you were going to."
The voice seemed a little annoyed by the interference. But Viola ignored it, as instructed. She opened her mouth and said aloud one word. And when she did, reality began shattering like glass all around her, and bright white lights invaded the dream realm.
"Please, Viola! Wake up!"
All she could hear was a certain blue-haired's voice getting louder and desperate, drowning out the distorted one. Until she was guided back into the waking world. But, not before hearing the distorted voice speak out one final sentence.
No laughter. No cruelty. Only certainty.
"Your Fate has been sealed, Viola Eryndral."