Night Battle

I woke up on a cold pavement. Cold sweat dripped down my neck that made me shiver in my seat as the cold icy wind stabbed the back of my neck. I pulled up Amane’s hood that was wet to the touch. I felt the sweat dripping down on my face but I didn’t have the heart to use Amane’s jacket to wipe it off.

“Where’s Amane?” I thought to myself.

I looked around for signs of Amane but I couldn't find her anywhere.

“She went out to get you something hot to drink”

The deep voice echoed inside of my head once again.

“Who’s there!!” I asked.

The deep voice laughed.

“I’m inside of your head, Idiot.” The voice replied.

“Who are you? What do you want from me!”

“Fool, I’m your shadow. Look down” The voice ordered.

I looked at my own shadow and saw it having the creepiest smile that sent shivers down my spine.

“How are you talking? Why are you here?!”

“Oh my god, calm down. Stop panicking, will you? I don’t know what’s going on either.”

I composed myself and took a deep breath.

“Good, now let me explain what’s going on here. I’m your actual shadow, and for some reason you’re able to hear me now.”

“What do you mean “now” ?”.

“It’s exactly what it means. Ever since we’ve been born I was already conscious, I could think on my own. We were raised by our mom together. I guess that’s how shadows are.”

I don’t know how to feel about this. All this time, my own shadow has his own consciousness and has been aware of his existence. All the things I’ve done, he knows—Wait, can he even read my mind? I guess not.

“I can, Idiot. We have the same set of thoughts. We’re basically one being.”

“Well if that’s so then how are you able to talk to me right now?”

“I don’t know, I guess Amane helped you awaken some ability.”

“Wait, you told me that I looked stupid! How could you insult me if we’re one being?”

“...”

“...hey answer me!”

My shadow went silent and Amane came back rushing with a heated can on her hand.

“Yuko, you’re awake!” cried Amane.

“What happened to me?” I asked while gently sipping the heated can of tea in my hand.

“You consumed that shadow and started screaming bloody murder. I should be the one asking you, what happened?”

I told Amane about my shadow that started talking.

“Are you sure you can trust her? You just told her everything.”

“It's fine I think.”

“What did your shadow say?’ Amane asked as if the situation was normal. I was surprised that she willingly believed me. I mean– your own shadow talking to you? No one would believe that fact to be real.

“Well he asked if we could really trust you. I said we can.”

“Idiot! Why would you say that!?”

“Well ignore him.” I quickly replied to Amane, paying no attention to my shadow’s tantrum,

“I think I can explain what’s going on. Well not really explain but I can make sense of what’s happening right now.”

Me and my shadow listened eagerly to Amanes next words.

“So when I was still a shadow living in my owner’s body, I had my own thoughts as well, just like what’s happening with you two right now, minus the communication…I always thought I was like a second consciousness. We both have the same things we like but when my vessel was being forced to do something—I said what we really felt that my owner couldn't say herself. You could say I’m her suppressed feelings—things she doesn't say on the outside is what I say on the inside…. I don’t know if I'm making sense right now…, am I.”

“She’s right I guess, I always screamed at you when you do stupid stuff like letting other people talk down to you, or talk behind your back and you just smile like an Idiot.”

When my shadow gave his piece, I had flashes of memories of my past self working part time jobs and imagined my own shadow screaming at me on the inside. It’s kind of funny thinking about it.

“Well, my shadow completely agrees with you. But I don’t know… he’s kind of rude and I don’t curse but he curses at me a lot, ” I whispered.

“I can hear you, you know?”

“That I don’t know, he just loves you a lot I guess.” Amane grinned.

We had a quick laugh while I felt my shadow being completely unhappy about what Amane just said.

"By the way” I started “You have any Idea how my shadow just consumed the other shadow? I felt like I was being burned alive”

“That I don’t know, I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Amane replied.

The other shadow that was with us the whole time slithered closer to me.

“This shadow said he has something to tell you.” Amane started with a confused look.

Just then my own shadow started moving again and consumed the shadow by surrounding it. Amane called out to me but it was too late.

I felt an icy cold hand grabbing my neck and choking me until my vision went hazy. I wanted to scream but something freezing cold was blocking my mouth. The pain was unbearable, I couldn't move and I felt suffocated as if my whole body felt like it’s going to explode…

Just then, images started flashing in my mind, memories that I have never seen before… it was someone else's!

There I saw a pale figure with long black hair choking me to death. My feets were barely touching the ground, and I felt as if my life was slowly fading away. I tried to look closely at the face of my murderer and was horrified when I recognized the face.

My vision went black and I was once again back and this time in the warm embrace of Amane.

“It was Miss Irene!!!’ I yelped. “Miss Irene was the Entity that killed the man!”

I jumped out of Amane’s embrace and rushed towards the shrine.

“Haruki is in danger. What have I done? I left him with Miss Irene!”

I ran until everything around me was a blur and screamed out Haruki’s name with all my might.

“Haruki!!!”

I heard Amane chasing me in the background asking me to slow down, but I persisted. I don’t know who Miss Irene really is, but that creature that killed me in that vision had made all my warning bells ringing.”

I heard a loud crash coming from the shrine. “Haruki!!” I screamed. Dust and debris went flying everywhere and there I saw Haruki blasted 20 ft. in the air. He squirmed, trying to regain his balance and quickly searched his pocket for something. He brought out a golden trinket and placed it on his lips that made a whistling sound. Not a second later a giant sapphire dragon came swooping in and caught Haruki mid air.

I exhaled a breath of relief and called out to Haruki. He saw me rushing towards the shrine and directed Heather, his giant sapphire dragon, to land him there.

We were both back to the entrance of the shrine and Haruki swooped in and landed beside me.

“What’s going on?” Haruki asked whilst trying to catch his breath.

“Miss Irene is the one who killed that guy in the park.” I panted.

“What happened to you, how were you blasted in the air like that?”

“I heard you screaming, I knew that was your voice.” Haruki started. “But Irene forced me to stay. She wouldn’t let me go and convinced me I was imagining it. Until I heard you calling my name and decided to leave but she suddenly blasted me with something. If I hadn't defended myself to whatever that was I could’ve died.”

Not a moment later Amane came rushing in.

“Who is this?” Haruki asked while placing his hand on his katana.

“Easy there Mister, I’m not your enemy.” Amane started.

“Haruki, this is Amane. Please trust her for now. Our real enemy here is Miss Irene.”

Haruki nodded and accepted my plan. He positioned himself in front of me and Amane in hopes to defend for us.

The pile of dust was settling ever so slightly and a familiar figure was slowly coming from the debris. It was Miss Irene, her face looked stretched and had a weird bump on each side of her cheeks. She looked skinnier yet taller than how I remembered her to be.

As she walked closer a Dark shadow-like tail was coming out behind her and smashed the concrete floor to bits, Her tail vibrated aggressively and whipped the pavement as she got closer.

I looked at Amane to ask her if she knew anything about Miss Irene, but I think the look on her face answers my question. She had a terrified look on her face as if a disaster was about to approach her. She squeezed her arms that were shaking furiously and tried to keep her cool.

“Yuko, Haruki.” Amane called out while her voice was slightly trembling. “She is no ordinary Entity.”

“What do you mean?” Haruki asked

“That monster in front of us is one of the seven henchmen of the headless liar.”

As soon as the headless liar’s name was uttered from Amane’s mouth. Haruki’s breathing shifted and he grabbed his katana with all seriousness. He was ready to throw hands.

“She’s known as the demon of lust and she fights with incredible speed.”

“Haruki, do you have a plan?” I asked while darting my eyes between our enemy and my companions.

Before I could get a second glance at the enemy, Haruki yelled “Duck”. Without second thought we all ducked and a huge concrete statue was flinged right at us.

If we were late by just a second we would’ve been smashed to bits.

“What was that!” I yelped.

“She’s too fast! We’re no match for her!” Amane cowered on the ground.

Haruki was no better. He was too stunned to move. His eyes were staring blankly off the distance as if he was seeing something.

“S-she’s gonna charge at us.” Haruki mumbled whilst his eyes were shaking like crazy.

I glanced at Miss Irene who was getting ready to charge in on us like Haruki foretold.

“What are you staring at? Grab their damn arms.!”

I grabbed both their arms and the adrenaline rushed through my head, I dove with them face first through the pavement. And a giant crash followed soon after. Heaps of dust were flying everywhere and the crash might have awakened both Haruki and Amane back to their senses.

The dust helped us have time to take cover and plan something out. We hid ourselves in the bushes and discussed whatever strategy we could come up with.

“I’m going to fight her. You two run away and call for backup!” Haruki ordered.

Haruki is the only one with proper training and battle experience, so I get where his sense of responsibility is coming from.

“No!” Both Amane and I spat in disagreement. The enemy is way too strong for even Haruki to handle, if we leave now he might die fighting Miss Irene.

“I can fight too.” Amane suggested. “Yuko and I can provide you some backup. You can’t fight her alone.”

“I FOUND YOU”

A loud primal scream just echoed through the freezing night. Chills run through the back of my head and a giant serpent-like black tail just swooped in with lightning speed and snatched Amane right in front of us.

Amane struggled with all her might to get out of the clutches of Miss Irene. The tail tightened and squeezed Amane until she couldn't breath.

“USE IT! ARE YOU SCARED WHAT THEY MIGHT THINK OF YOU!!!” shrieked Miss Irene with her primal scream.

Amane looked at us with her void-like eyes and mouthed something. Just then Amane raised her left arm that was jet black in colour and transformed into a sharp blade that slashed Miss Irene's serpent-like tail.

The injury didn’t faze Miss Irene one bit. Instead she was laughing deliriously.

“Behold, the monster!” Miss Irene laughed maniacally. Her face has become morphed with an unflattering bump on her cheeks. Her arms were slowly becoming elongated and growing out of proportion.

Amane looked back at us. Her eyes had no white on it and were pure black. Her left sleeve was ripped in shreds exposing her shadow-like arm.

“Don’t look at me!” Amane cried.

“Are you seriously trying to team up with these sky-dwelling racist freaks? You think they will accept you? A mere shadow.”

“Amane, don’t listen to her!” I cried in pain while Haruki was staring blankly at Amane. Is Haruki afraid of Amane?

Not a moment later Haruki sprinted unto Amane’s side and pushed her out of the way.

“Haruki, what are you doing?”

Just then a huge boulder just crashed on where Amane was previously standing.

“Ahh you saw it.”

Miss Irene laughed maniacally again and screamed at Amane for her betrayal. “You ungrateful bitch. You think these two boys will accept you once they find out the truth?!”

We all ran away hoping Miss Irene wouldn’t follow us. Piles of dust surrounded the place and we prayed that the monster wont find us.

“Go save yourselves I beg you,” cried Haruki. “Please take Yuko with you and run away. I can't lose him here.”

“Haruki, I'm not a kid that needs protection. Let Us fight with you!”

“You don’t understand what situation we’re in? You don’t know anything about fighting! What if you die here?! What will I tell our grandfather!!”

“You don’t have to tell him anything because I won’t die!!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“YOU TWO STOP” Amane yelled at the both of us.

“We’re all going to die if you two keep shouting like this”

Haruki and I reluctantly backed off and avoided each other's gazes.

“Now listen, Haruki, let Yuko fight. Give us time to come up with a plan while you distract Irene.”

Even though Haruki was hesitant, he didn't dare argue against Amane and obeyed without uttering a single word of complaint.

Loud crashes soon erupted and Amane and I frantically thought of a way to somehow defeat Miss Irene.

Heather, Haruki’s dragon landed by our side with a worried look on her face. It seems Haruki fighting alone really made her worry.

“Don’t worry Heather, we won't leave Haruki alone.”

I patted Heather's head and noticed A compartment on her saddle.

“Amane, look!”

“Oh a weapon compartment? Sweet.”

We hurriedly rummaged through Haruki’s belongings trying to figure out what might help us in our situation.

“It’s all blades and little gems, how will this be useful in fighting that monster?” complained Amane.

Through my nonstop rummaging I managed to find a long rope that seemed indestructible.

“This rope…”

I lifted it out, trying to get it in view in the ongoing battle behind us. And just then, an idea stuck in my mind. I hurriedly told Amane.

“Im in” Amane was on board and grinned menacingly.

She quickly ran towards Haruki and yelled at him to switch places. Confusion was visible through Haruki’s face but nevertheless he didn’t question her and went along with Amane’s wish.

Is Haruki afraid of Amane? I'm going to ask him later.

Amane quickly sprung into battle. Mounds of concrete hurled her way but she avoided them with ease. Amane effortlessly jumped through obstacles and focused on maintaining her distance. She moved her shadow-like arm with precision and assisted her in her every obstacle without fail.

Haruki found his way back to me and Heather, looking like he was stuck by every disaster imaginable.

“What happens if you infuse light into this rope? Will it be indestructible to Entities?” I asked frantically as to not waste time.

“Well it won't be entirely indestructible, but it will hurt— you plan on tying her up?”

“Yeah. I'm thinking if we can stop her from moving just for a while I could get close and… you know”

“Are you sure you want to be the one to do it? I understand if you refuse, it's your first time after all-”

“No” I cut in. “The future I'm destined to walk in, does not allow me to have fears like this one, I must face them now.”

‘Fine, if that’s your decision then I won't do anything else.”

Haruki grabbed the long rope from one end and took his main gem from his braid and focused on transferring his stored light magic to the rope.

A few moments had gone by when something came crashing our way. It was Amane. Her clothes were all tattered up and there's bruises all over her body.

“She’s too fast,” she whimpered.

“AMANE!!” Haruki and I gasped. Haruki quickly helped her up and made her lean against Heather’s wing.

“A-above” Amane uttered with her weak voice. “Her only blind spot is above her heads.”

“Amane you just rest here, you already done enough to stall for time”

“What do you mean heads?”

Just then, a huge figure approached us. She no longer looked human. Her limbs were stretched beyond human capabilities. Her three heads that were once bumps on her cheeks grew into hideous beasts. The bull on her right bellowed with fury and the ram on the right rumbled with delight. Her serpentlike tail grew more in length and was vibrating, ready to strike at any moment.

Amane, who I was surprised to see, still had the strength to stand after facing that monster, she jolted up and urged us to continue on the plan. Her face was full of dedication, having full faith in the “heat-of-the-moment” plan we just came up with. All three of us were ready, Haruki finished imbuing his light magic onto the rope and swiftly hid it in his scarf.

“Im trusting you on this Amane” Haruki started.

“You don’t have to worry about that” Amane replied

All our eyes met and was followed by a slight nod. Signifying the start of the plan. We all dashed towards Miss Irene. And just as soon as Miss Irene was about to strike, Haruki yelled “Scatter”.

We followed Haruki’s warning without fail and was soon followed by a crushing blow from Miss Irene’s tail. Dust flew everywhere. I got as far as possible and looked for a high place to deliver the finishing blow.

Amane and Haruki struggled to dodge all of Miss Irene’s attacks and were getting more injured by the second. Her tail whipped at a terrifyingly fast speed. I could barely see it because of it.

Whenever they try to attack while the other is busy fighting the tail. Miss Irene would swiftly counter them and push the attack back. It was clear we could never win a close up fight.

When I got into position on the roof of the shrine, I managed to get Haruki’s attention and started our plan. I clutched the golden dagger that was given to me by Haruki when we first met. I never thought this would be the time where I would finally get to use it. Haruki nodded his head and took out the rope he was hiding in his scarf and threw it towards Amane.

The two held onto the rope with all their might. And soon enough the serpent- like tail was entangled through the rope. The two jumped around Miss Irene while she frantically tried to get the rope away.

The more they moved, the rope became more entangled. Miss Irene tried to break free from the ropes embrace but was too late. I hurled myself towards Miss Irene with the Golden dagger aimed into her heart. The dagger glowed with exhilaration and landed onto the monster’s chest with a crushing blow.

All three heads howled with agony as I thrusted the dagger deeper into her heart. She was no longer Miss Irene, but a monster that once disguised itself into a human. Her long limbs quiver and her tail limped with anguish. The animals in her head let out a loud skin-chilling cry.

As I pulled out the dagger from her heart. The monster let out its one final struggle. Although dishevelled in appearance, the monster tried to transform into a beautiful lady with golden hair and rounded face. It was the appearance of my late mother.

“Son,… you won’t kill me.. right..?” The monster pleaded with my mother's appearance and voice, sounding exactly like her.

Emotions swirled up within me. Hate, despair, sadness, pity. The appearance of my late mother suffering in front of me drowned me with despair and at the same time, rage, for a disgusting monster would dare taint the pure image of my mother, having made her dishevelled appearance now vividly in my mind. I stumbled in my place and the grip I had on my dagger began to loosen up.

“Yuko snapped out of it!” Amane screamed with all her might. “That is not your mother, it's only a copy of her image. Do not be fooled!”

The monster impersonated my late mother’s appearance and was crying and begging me to spare her.

I couldn't handle it anymore. I tightened my grip and slashed the throat of my mother’s neck, her image changed back into its original hideous form.

My mother's pure soul should’ve never been disrespected by some lowly monsters like you.

“You deserve to burn in hell” I uttered with full intent.

A few moments of silence went by. Haruki bit his lip and looked side by side to both Amane and me. Amane did the same while gripping her shadowed arm.

I could feel the tension in the air. Well, I was understandable, I lost my cool and did something that wasn't expected of me. I myself never thought in a million years I would slash my own mother’s neck even when it was not really her.

“Sorry, I lost myself there…” I uttered.

“Yuko, what you did is nothing to be ashamed of. That is the monster who killed your mother and stole her soul. You ought not to think badly of yourself.” Amane approached and patted my shoulder.

“But she told me to not take revenge…”

“Yuko…” Haruki started. “Aunt Thalia may not want you to take revenge, but I know that she’ll be happier if you are able to release yourself from the pain of her death.”

I clenched my hand where there wasn't an ounce of blood. When I killed Miss Irene her whole body turned into dust and disappeared by the gust of wind. There was no blood anywhere, nor traces of her. It's as if we fought nothing.

A few moments later Amane stepped up and alerted us that we were being watched by a lot of shadows.

“Im probably gonna get targeted by my other entities from now on…”

“Is it because you fought with us?” I replied.

“Yeah… these shadows might have reported me to the headless liar. I might need to go into hiding for now.”

“Hey… Amane,” Called Haruki, “Why don’t you come with us to Euryphaessa?