The Midnight Massacre

"What the hell is happening to me?…"

My heart raced erratically as adrenaline surged through my veins, igniting a mystical energy deep within me. The vibrations rippled through my entire being, signaling a transformation I had never experienced before.

My eyes lost focus, a blankness washing over them as if some unseen force had taken control of my consciousness. Red lines streaked across my body, visual echoes of the turmoil raging inside me.

"S-Saki... everyone... these bastards!" My thoughts were a chaotic whirlwind of anger and determination, clouded by the chaos unfolding before me.

With a sudden surge of tension, I shut my eyes tightly, my brow furrowing in intense concentration. It was as if an invisible force guided me, pushing me beyond my limits.

Then, as if awakening from a trance, my eyes snapped open, glowing with an intense blue light. I could feel one of the thug's hand on my shoulder, I gripped their hand tightly with my palm, signaling the impending transformation.

"Die…", I whispered.

In a blaze of blue fire, their entire body was engulfed, the flames licking at their skin and burning it to the bone. Blue ashes scattered around me, carried by an otherworldly wind that echoed my whispered words.

"The Moon Goddess Erios has granted me the power to turn both good and evil into ash. I am your savior... I am your king!"

Dark blue flames erupted from my hand, casting an ethereal glow across the scene. I took measured steps forward, each footfall lighting up the ground beneath me.

"Disappear!... Disappear!... Disappear!…" My voice carried an otherworldly resonance, creating a dark atmosphere that seemed to weigh down on the group of thugs like an invisible force.

One by one their bodies were obliterated in almost an instant.

My eyes glowed blue, a shadow partially covering the left side of my face, adding to my mysterious and menacing appearance.

I had completely snapped.

I felt as if I was uncontrollable, similar to that of a wild animal that desperately wanted to break free and kill its prey. My heartbeat was rapid & I felt a strong primal urge take over me. My once calm & clear minded demeanor had changed to that of a wild beast.

As the blue ashes and flames flew all around me, one of the last two remaining thugs, wearing a hat and shades, spoke with fear and uncertainty clear in his voice.

"W-what the hell is he!?" His eyes widened in cowardice as he struggled to comprehend my irregular powers, reflected in my eyes as blue fire.

"I don't know... but we can't let ourselves get our asses handed to us, especially not by a school student," another thug declared, flicking a pocket knife out menacingly., the other one stated.

Their plan was to rush me down. From both sides, leaving me unable to fend myself.

"DIE BASTARD!!!"

"AHHHH!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

"ALL OF YOU ARE WEAK!."-I shouted.

By merely touching the shoulder of the thug, he had completely burned to a crisp within nanoseconds. It was almost instant, as if the skin and flesh on their bones had just disappeared without a trace of anything indicating that he was human.

My laughter pierced through the tension, a dark shade covering my face as I spoke with chilling conviction. "Hehehehehe... HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"All of you deserve to die!…All sinners must die!"

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, Saki's vision blurred, overwhelmed by the surge of power and fear. She lost consciousness, but in her fleeting awareness, she caught a glimpse of my blue flames, a sight that would haunt her dreams for nights to come.

"Saki…im sorry."

I let out a faint whisper while looking at Saki who was unconscious at the time. The last thing I could remember from that night was picking her up in my arms and holding her. That wild beast side of me had faded away once the thugs were killed. Due to how much energy I expelled during the conflict, I fainted.

The next day I awoke to the comfort of my own home, my head hurt like hell, but for some reason, I felt odd.

"My injuries. They had already healed so fast! It's like they never happened."

I had no clue what was happening to me, or why those guys from before randomly attacked me, but a recent memory of Saki sent me into a rush. I remember holding her last night, but where exactly was she? And how did I get home last night?

"While getting out of bed, I feel something squishy and plump. Next to me. Due to trembling uncertainty, I ripped off the covers, and next to me there appeared to have been some kind of woman.

"W-what the hell…who are you!!!? How did you get into my house?"

The woman had fairly soft skin and appeared to have been a couple years older than me. She was wearing a Blue dress, with back length Jet-Black hair, and a skull Hair clip, with Bangs that curved upwards in one direction. Her eyes were very blue as well, and despite being next to me the whole time her body felt very cold almost as if she was dead.

"Eh…you insolent lech!" She punches me in the face while backing away from me as far as possible.", her cheeks were flushed pink.

"H-hey who the hell are you calling a pervert? You're the one who was sleeping next to me. What's up with that?", I asked while flustered.

"How stupid are you? Don't tell me that you seriously forgot our contract from last night."

A sudden flash of memories rushed into my head yesterday, hearing a voice whisper to me. I immediately realized that the person in front of me was none other than Erios. The goddess from the Moon.

"Wait a minute, you're Erios?"

"Obviously who else would I be? It's not like you have a girlfriend or anything.", she teased.

"Well now since I know you're a complete stalker, what happened to Saki? I was with her last night.", I asked.

"Saki? Oh you mean the girl you have a crush on. Well, I used up all of my energy to clean up your mess and save her life. Which is why I'm stuck here now until I can regain my full strength.", Erios stated.

"How long does that take?",I ask.

"Well, anywhere from 12-100 months.", Erios sighs.

"I'm sorry this is all my fault. I feel responsible for bringing you all the way here.", I nodded.

Erios shook her head in disagreement.

"It wasn't in vain. After all its my responsibility to look over the soul king. Ever since you accepted my contract we must be together 24/7. At least until your powers stabilize, there's no guarantee that you will even be able to control it,"

"So let me get this straight. What exactly is my purpose as this so-called Soul King?", I asked.

"You remember those guys from last night, correct?"

"Yeah, I remember that they ambushed me and Saki out of thin air."

"Well not exactly, those weren't ordinary people. They were beings called "Tears" that controlled those men and you killed them by accident…The flames of the soul king are supposed to cleanse the soul of the target. Your flames are way too unstable for you to do your duty, especially in an emotional state.",Erios crosses her arms & sign.

"So then why offer me the contract?"

"Well I-. I erm, needed a virgin to fulfill the role." Erios blushes.

"Eh?…Why a virgin of all things?", I ask.

"Isn't it obvious, a soul king needs to be chastised, which means from now on the chance or possibility of you having casual sex is completely gone. The minute you have sex is the minute you lose your powers. So kiss that idea goodbye."

"What!? That's not fair. Crap, I guess I really will remain a virgin until the day I die.", I pout.

"Your duty as the Soul King is to cleanse the world of sin, and make a peaceful world.",

"W-wait but cleansing the entire world of sin is impossible. Do you know how many people engage in such activities?"

"Yes I'm aware, but you need to listen to me. Things don't work that way in this world. In your world Tears take control of people, and make them more violent, aggressive, and wild-natured, almost animalistic. Similar to the group you encountered yesterday."

"Your flames are the only thing that can cleanse their souls and return them to their former selves, to maintain balance in this world.", Erios gets closer to me & stares me down. She was very serious, and wanted me to pay close attention.

"If a world has too much sin, then your entire world as you know it will crumble. This isn't just a fight against the Tears themselves but against the society you live in, and corporations. We must think on a bigger scale to eliminate as much sin as possible to reduce Tears from manifesting."

I think I'm beginning to understand what Erios is saying but, I'm all alone.

How can I accomplish such a grave task by myself?

"You do realize that I can read what you're thinking right? We're connected by minds as well. So don't get any funny ideas.", Erios gets up and puts on her clothes.

Erios had another outfit, presumably it was the one she had taken off before sleeping. The dress was very god-like, and fully covered her legs, the top was similar to a blouse but with long sleeves. She even had a necklace that resembled the shape of a cross.

"Well it's been fun chatting but-", I take a look at my phone and realize that I'm completely late today for school. I can't believe I'm five hours late.

"Well…I guess there's no point in going today, after all I still feel a bit lightheaded from last night."

I get up out of my room, head downstairs, and turn on the TV. Erios follows behind me like a ghost.

I sit down on the sofa, in the living room, erios sits directly next to me and I turn on the news channel. I was wondering what was going on today in the city. While watching, a message notification beeps on my digital watch, opening it seemed ike Saki had sent me a message.

I must've not seen it earlier.

I slid upwards, and it read: "Hey Alan, how come I haven't seen you today at school?"

I decided to shoot her a text, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I'm still home recovering."

"Recovering? Can I come over? If you're feeling bad maybe I can bring you a couple of things. Anything for a friend right?"

Erios notice my text. She doesn't say anything too serious, although she looks pretty concerned.

"No thanks,I'm fine. Just gonna rest today. I will return to school tomorrow."

"I see, well I hope you feel better.", Saki sends a smiley face.

I guess Erios must've wiped Saki's memory. Age didn't seem to remember anything from last night.

I sigh in relief. It's for the best. There's no point in me getting involved with her. I've changed since yesterday and I'm afraid that I could hurt her.

An upcoming news story appeared on the television, bringing up the events that occurred yesterday in Tokyo Shiba Park.

"You see Alan, this is why you need to be careful.", Erios groans. She seemed to be pretty upset about the situation. Bringing too much attention to myself wasn't a good thing.

If there were any cameras in the area that managed to pick up a single trace of my face, then things could get pretty bad. Luckily once I unleashed my flames I managed to burn most of the park to a crisp.

"We're fine Erios, there's nothing to worry about."

"..."Erios grunts, she takes a death stare at me, She was holding herself back from saying something. Despite having the looks of a teenage girl, she sounded mature and was responsible.

I felt a sudden urge to pee, so I went alone.

"Hey do you always have to follow me!???"

"Yes we cant be apart no more than 10 ft."

"Well. I have to pee."

"Okay and…?", she stared at me deathly, she was committed to her obligation that she would follow me to the end of the earth. Even if it meant following me to the bathroom.

I took off running, slammed the bathroom door, locked it shut, and phew, I really missed my privacy.

I approach the sink, and grab my toohbrush, and begin brushing my teeth, while taking a glance in the mirror of myself I realized that I wasn't no longer myself to begin with.

My black hair had become even spikier and , and underneath my lip I had a beauty mark similar to Juudais. Maybe this had something to do with the contract. I even took off my shirt, and was greeted by rock solid abs, as if my body was carved out of stone, my muscles had also gotten noticeably bigger. I jumped back in fear, and screamed, Erios heard me and she rushed to the door to check on me.

"Alan, what's wrong?"

Alan opens up the door.

"I don't look like myself anymore, I look more like you. What the hell happened to me? What is the meaning of this? Why do we look like twins!?"

"Well it has a lot to do with the contract, you and the soul king have become one, so, naturally, your appearance would shift and alter. Also the soul king candidate takes on a form similar to the contractor. Which is why you look like me, it's cool isn't it?-"

"Oh like hell it is, if people see us together, then what am I supposed to say, wait no…what if no one at school even recognizes me, i look like a completely different person now.

"Don't worry about it. In fact it's not even noticeable. Just act normal and I doubt anyone would be able to tell.", Erios suggested.

"Lastly, about my powers. How exactly do I control them? Especially to prevent the same events yesterday from occurring.", I asked.

In my mind I knew that I had unimaginable power, and did not want to kill people. Yesterdays incident was an accident and I had no intention of ever repeating it again.

Erios took a deep breath and came up with an idea,

"I have a perfect idea for tomorrow!", Erios's eyes glimmered with excitement, and could hardly anticipate the events to come tomorrow, which scared the crap out of me.

"Tomorrow…you will begin your training!.", Erios smirks.

[END]