Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Five years ago

Or so I thought.

In the quiet solitude of the room, the illusion of being alone wraps around me like a comforting blanket. Yet, an imperceptible shift in the air raised the hairs on my neck. Unseen eyes seem to linger, and an inexplicable presence sent shivers down my spine, revealing that solitude might be just an illusion. There is someone else in the room, as if a hidden predator silently shares the space with me, watching from the shadows.

As the awareness of the hidden predator intensifies, I summon the meager amount of magic I had in my body to confront the unseen presence. In my head I was quickly going through every single spell I have learnt. I am confident that I will be able to win in this confrontation. I am good at magic. So good that I don't even need to chant the spell to cast it. Unlike others, I am the only person in the village who is able to do this.

Tension thickens the air as I speak, “W-who?”

A subtle rustle or a faint growl responds, sending a wave of apprehension through my body. Alright, I am definitely not alone. The air in front of my door twists and shatters like invisible glass. Almost instantly my magic was out of my control as dark magic was now spreading its tentacles all over my room. It's Jonna and his shadow creature.

I looked at Jonna in silent uncertainty, with my senses heightened, I tried to stop the purification of dark energy. If I don't then I will lose all my magic leaving me vulnerable to whatever Jonna was planning. The look that he has in his eyes was not entirely sane. It seems that the creature has taken control of him.

The room pulses with an eerie energy as I cautiously backed away from them. Shadow Jonna seemed to writhe, revealing glimpses of him and Jonna merged together, the shadow Jonna has overtaken the left side and the right side was still human Jonna.

The boundary between the two halves is a visual nightmare, the human side was not entirely conscious. His brown eyes were dull and seemed almost dead. It was at that time that I saw a smile splitting up in the shadow Jonna's face and a dull red hole formed in place of his eye socket. The creature finally had facial features, and I instantly knew I was not going to be a big fan of it.

He took a step forward in a very rigid manner and I froze with my back against the bathroom door. He continued to step forward and with each step his walking posture and gait improved. Within four steps he was standing in front of me. He bet down till he was face to face with me.

“ Give me...” He rasped, his cold breath hitting my face.

The dark energy surrounding him was slowly seeping into my body. I could feel my magic rotating inside me like a whirlpool sucking in all the tainted energy in and filtering it. I was frozen like a chicken under the knife of the butcher. My magic would not listen to me and my mind was on the verge of collapse. The wall inside me was cracking. The wall that keeps the funny thoughts at bay is important for me to live like a normal human.

Yet all I could do was stand frozen looking up into the eyes of the creature. I did nothing as it extended its shadow we close towards my chest.

“ Give me your spiritual sea…” he cackled as if his mouth was not moving in the way it wanted it to. It seems as if the human Jonna was trying to take over his body control. The shadowy claws were ready to claw its way into my chest to take what it wanted. And then it happened. The wall inside me broke.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. One moment I was in my room and the next I was flying. I was flying like a bird over the trees towards the blue water body ahead. With some confusion over the sudden change of events, I tried to look around. But it was as if I was not the one controlling my body, it was as if I was pushed to the back and someone else was there in my body, controlling and moving around as they pleased.

Did the creature take control of my body? Am I going to be like Jonna? I shuddered at that thought.

Before I could think of my miserable fate again I had reached the beach. With a quick dive my body descended down and I felt like my inwards were knotting up. I landed safely on my feet thankfully. And that was when I noticed. That I was holding something in my hand. It was like a wet cloth or a rag but was black and slime was dripping all over the white sandy beach. My heart almost stopped breathing and in reflex I tried to drop the thing I was holding.

But of course I was unsuccessful. I was not in control of my body. I walked forward dragging the dirty cloth like thing in my hand till I was close enough for the waves to wash up the shore and touch my feet. Then putting my whole body strength into my arm I threw the thing into the sea.