Post by Khaos on Feb 15, 2021 18:54:13 GMT -5
Click Here for the Roleplay
Damien watched as the water dissipated before his eyes, the vision of his encounter with the Shadow Lord fading from his sight. He blinked away the memory, his eyes beginning to adjust to the omnipresent darkness that surrounded him. Damien’s gaze fell on the woman dressed in white silk once more, her back to him as she kept an ever watchful eye over the unaware souls that wandered aimlessly to their final destination. Had she been preoccupied this whole time? Maybe she hadn’t seen anyth-
“You saved the girl,” the woman stated, keeping her back to Damien.
Shit…
“So it would seem,” Damien responded, cautiously taking a step towards her.
“Curious,” she said, more so to herself.
Damien came to stand beside her, forcing his eyes to try and look upon her face once more. Still, the veil kept her face concealed just enough that identifying her was futile. Regardless, there was something about her… her aura, her voice; it seemed so familiar. Not wanting to seem impolite, Damien forced his eyes away as he followed her gaze to the boats, watching as the non-corporeal bodies marched in one-by-one, filling to capacity, before they pushed off. Damien took note of how everything seemed to flow so smoothly, so systematically, and with purpose. For some reason, this made him uncomfortable within his own skin as he cracked his neck to the side, trying to push this feeling away. He made note of how the boats always knew when to set sail once at capacity and how another boat would instantly appear once the previous one was far enough off shore. For that brief moment, the souls would wait patiently on the edge, staring listlessly into the beyond.
“How do they know what to do?” Damien blurted out, not even thinking before he spoke.
“Could you not feel it?” the woman responded, a slight smile twisting its way across her lips. “That pull into the light? It’s like a moth drawn to a flame, or so I’ve been told…”
Damien knew of what she referred to, the memory of his first encounter in the In-Between still very much fresh in his mind. Time passed by differently down here. How long had he been wandering aimlessly in the abyss before she finally revealed herself to him? Furthermore, how long had he been stuck witnessing his past discretions?
“I don’t very much like fire,” Damien countered, his hand going over the scar directly above his heart.
The woman in white noticed this, casting a side-glance over at him.
“Curious,” she repeated again, her eyes shining brightly.
“What is…” Damien began, before a crippling pain overtook him.
Damien fell to his knees, the searing pain burning into him. He felt the intense heat, how the fire reached out to touch his skin, like fingers set ablaze. He was frozen, unable to move away. He struggled against his restraints, helpless to save himself. He gritted his teeth as the flaming medallion touched flesh, the smell scorched into his memory.
“You belong to me now…”
The pain began to subside, and Damien felt cold – numb – once more. He raised his head as the ghosts continued to wander past, neither a one disturbed by his screams of agony. The woman in white knelt over him, her eyes searching for something buried deep within. Apparently not finding what she was looking for, the woman sighed and straightened upright, offering her frail hand to Damien. Slightly embarrassed, he accepted her help as she pulled him to his feet once more.
“You’ve been marked,” the woman stated matter-of-factly.
“So it would appear,” Damien sarcastically retorted, brushing himself off, despite not having any physical trace of dirt or grime on his clothes.
“That is powerful magic,” she continued. “The kind that not even…”
Her voice trailed off as she turned away from Damien, her gaze going to the River Styx. Damien followed her gaze, watching as the boats all departed in orderly fashion. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but when he began to ask the woman “what was wrong”, she shot him an icy stare that warned him to remain quiet. Damien shook his head as he allowed himself a chance to look around at all of the damned that meandered past. They were all of various ages, genders, and ethnicities. None stopped to look at him as they passed by, nor did they seem to be aware of anyone else’s presence. Like moths to the flame…
And that’s when he felt it, that searing heat again… only this time, it wasn’t on his person. Damien directed his gaze back to the water, seeing that the once murky blackness was now alit with assortments of reds, oranges, and yellows. The sight was almost blinding as he raised his hands up in an attempt to shield his eyes. It took him a few attempts to blink away the brightness, finally able to discern that one of the boats that had been sailing into the “great beyond” had caught ablaze.
“What did you do!?” the woman hissed, her eyes darkening and her hands forcefully gripping him around his shoulders.
Damien felt unnaturally cold to her touch, the chill running through his spine. He felt something else though, that connection he had been missing. Damien’s eyes rolled back as he felt the darkness surge through him, flowing off him like a type of mist as it reached out, clawing at the woman in white. He briefly heard her struggle as she vehemently cried out for him to cease but the darkness, like it always does, consumed them both.
The flashes of images overtook him and though his eyes were closed, he could feel them pin balling back and forth; moving left to right, then right to left. Like watching a movie, or reading a book, the pieces of the puzzle began to become clear. He was watching her life flash before his eyes; her memories becoming intertwined within his own. There were times when the memory would slow down, almost come to a complete halt, and then play in real time. Other times, the memories moved too fast for him to really understand what was happening. At first, Damien tried to free himself from these visions; force his way out of her head and back into the darkness. He could still hear her screams, pleading with him to relinquish his hold on her. But try as he might, he couldn’t control this dark power. Whether she liked it or not, the two of them were on this roller coaster down memory lane together.
He watched as this woman in white, now a young girl, chased after her brothers and sisters, laughing and smiling as she did so. Her brown hair, which was naturally long and wavy, was neatly braided into an “x” shape in the back of her head, where it then stretched out into pigtails. She wore a bright yellow sundress, cut off right above the knees, which was stained with dust and sand from the times she had fallen in pursuit of her elder siblings. As they ran through the village, it was evident that this place was one of poverty, their houses made of a dark blue adobe mixture, which stuck out like a sore thumb against the arid climate.
“How are you doing…”
Damien heard her words carry across the wind as he turned every which way to find the source of her voice, but she was nowhere to be seen. He turned back, watching the younger version of the woman-in-white continue her chase, until she fell down roughly to the ground, scraping her knees in the process. Though in pain, she refrained from crying out, taught at an early age to never show weakness.
“Please, stop…”
Damien watched as a young man walked up to the girl, pulling her from her feet. He knelt down and took a look at her knees, blowing the dirt and blood off of them gently. The girl, suddenly shy, forced a smile at him as he winked at her. She mumbled some sort of “thank you” before attempting to move past him to – once again – find her siblings, only to find his hand firmly on her shoulder, keeping her still.
“I don’t want to see…”
The man leaned in, whispering something into the girl’s ear, to which she seemed to flinch at the mere mention of. Keeping his hand on her shoulder, he stood up and directed her into a nearby building. Despite his better judgement, Damien moved to follow, but he suddenly felt the darkness closing in around him. The world seemed to fold inward upon itself as everything around him began to fade to black. He fought against it, struggled to push forward. What was this man doing? Why didn’t the little girl want to go with him? He almost didn’t want to know the answers to these questions. But, somehow, not knowing seemed worse. As much as he tried, he couldn’t keep the darkness at bay. The last thing he remembered was the sight of a blood-stained sickle slashing down towards him.
Damien woke with a start, finding himself back in the In-Between, the smell of burning wood off in the distance. He tried to regain his bearings as he looked over at the boat, now half submerged in the depths, the fire still burning bright. All other boats had ceased their movements and the apparitions remained still, vacantly staring off as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. His eyes fell on the woman-in-white, as she sat before him, her face down. Whatever energy that had flowed through him had been a reflex, not something that he had meant to happen.
“What… did you do?” the woman asked again, this time more subdued, as if the life had been drained out of her.
Damien forced himself to his feet, taking one last glance back over at the burning boat, watching as it sank into the darkness, the flames crackling in protest as the water smothered the last remaining embers. He forced himself to look back at her, wondered if her question was in reference to the boat suddenly lighting afire or his dark powers forcing their way into her mind.
“I’m not sure,” Damien truthfully confessed, moving to her side.
Much like she had done previously, he offered her his hand to help her to her feet. She refused, instead pushing herself up so that she could stand up-right. She seemed weak as she moved to go back to the nearby dais. Damien, again, went to assist her but she shooed him away, refusing any help. Taking a seat, Damien nervously glanced about, realizing that no further boats moved across the river. Everything had come to a screeching halt. The well-oiled machine had come undone in the matter of seconds. For some reason, Damien couldn’t help but smirk at that. There can never be order…
“What you saw…” she began.
“I didn’t mean to,” Damien interrupted, apologetically.
The woman waved his apology off, as if she could care less that he had stepped into her memories and witnessed what he had. Rather, it seemed more-so that she was upset to have had to simply relive that moment again.
“What happened with that man?” Damien forced the question out.
For a moment, the woman seemed lost in thought, as if she was still there, stuck in that memory. After a long silence, she finally turned to Damien.
“We all have our demons, Damien,” the woman stated, nodding her head back in the direction of the silver reflection bowl. “It’s time you face yours."
“You saved the girl,” the woman stated, keeping her back to Damien.
Shit…
“So it would seem,” Damien responded, cautiously taking a step towards her.
“Curious,” she said, more so to herself.
Damien came to stand beside her, forcing his eyes to try and look upon her face once more. Still, the veil kept her face concealed just enough that identifying her was futile. Regardless, there was something about her… her aura, her voice; it seemed so familiar. Not wanting to seem impolite, Damien forced his eyes away as he followed her gaze to the boats, watching as the non-corporeal bodies marched in one-by-one, filling to capacity, before they pushed off. Damien took note of how everything seemed to flow so smoothly, so systematically, and with purpose. For some reason, this made him uncomfortable within his own skin as he cracked his neck to the side, trying to push this feeling away. He made note of how the boats always knew when to set sail once at capacity and how another boat would instantly appear once the previous one was far enough off shore. For that brief moment, the souls would wait patiently on the edge, staring listlessly into the beyond.
“How do they know what to do?” Damien blurted out, not even thinking before he spoke.
“Could you not feel it?” the woman responded, a slight smile twisting its way across her lips. “That pull into the light? It’s like a moth drawn to a flame, or so I’ve been told…”
Damien knew of what she referred to, the memory of his first encounter in the In-Between still very much fresh in his mind. Time passed by differently down here. How long had he been wandering aimlessly in the abyss before she finally revealed herself to him? Furthermore, how long had he been stuck witnessing his past discretions?
“I don’t very much like fire,” Damien countered, his hand going over the scar directly above his heart.
The woman in white noticed this, casting a side-glance over at him.
“Curious,” she repeated again, her eyes shining brightly.
“What is…” Damien began, before a crippling pain overtook him.
Damien fell to his knees, the searing pain burning into him. He felt the intense heat, how the fire reached out to touch his skin, like fingers set ablaze. He was frozen, unable to move away. He struggled against his restraints, helpless to save himself. He gritted his teeth as the flaming medallion touched flesh, the smell scorched into his memory.
“You belong to me now…”
The pain began to subside, and Damien felt cold – numb – once more. He raised his head as the ghosts continued to wander past, neither a one disturbed by his screams of agony. The woman in white knelt over him, her eyes searching for something buried deep within. Apparently not finding what she was looking for, the woman sighed and straightened upright, offering her frail hand to Damien. Slightly embarrassed, he accepted her help as she pulled him to his feet once more.
“You’ve been marked,” the woman stated matter-of-factly.
“So it would appear,” Damien sarcastically retorted, brushing himself off, despite not having any physical trace of dirt or grime on his clothes.
“That is powerful magic,” she continued. “The kind that not even…”
Her voice trailed off as she turned away from Damien, her gaze going to the River Styx. Damien followed her gaze, watching as the boats all departed in orderly fashion. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but when he began to ask the woman “what was wrong”, she shot him an icy stare that warned him to remain quiet. Damien shook his head as he allowed himself a chance to look around at all of the damned that meandered past. They were all of various ages, genders, and ethnicities. None stopped to look at him as they passed by, nor did they seem to be aware of anyone else’s presence. Like moths to the flame…
And that’s when he felt it, that searing heat again… only this time, it wasn’t on his person. Damien directed his gaze back to the water, seeing that the once murky blackness was now alit with assortments of reds, oranges, and yellows. The sight was almost blinding as he raised his hands up in an attempt to shield his eyes. It took him a few attempts to blink away the brightness, finally able to discern that one of the boats that had been sailing into the “great beyond” had caught ablaze.
“What did you do!?” the woman hissed, her eyes darkening and her hands forcefully gripping him around his shoulders.
Damien felt unnaturally cold to her touch, the chill running through his spine. He felt something else though, that connection he had been missing. Damien’s eyes rolled back as he felt the darkness surge through him, flowing off him like a type of mist as it reached out, clawing at the woman in white. He briefly heard her struggle as she vehemently cried out for him to cease but the darkness, like it always does, consumed them both.
The flashes of images overtook him and though his eyes were closed, he could feel them pin balling back and forth; moving left to right, then right to left. Like watching a movie, or reading a book, the pieces of the puzzle began to become clear. He was watching her life flash before his eyes; her memories becoming intertwined within his own. There were times when the memory would slow down, almost come to a complete halt, and then play in real time. Other times, the memories moved too fast for him to really understand what was happening. At first, Damien tried to free himself from these visions; force his way out of her head and back into the darkness. He could still hear her screams, pleading with him to relinquish his hold on her. But try as he might, he couldn’t control this dark power. Whether she liked it or not, the two of them were on this roller coaster down memory lane together.
He watched as this woman in white, now a young girl, chased after her brothers and sisters, laughing and smiling as she did so. Her brown hair, which was naturally long and wavy, was neatly braided into an “x” shape in the back of her head, where it then stretched out into pigtails. She wore a bright yellow sundress, cut off right above the knees, which was stained with dust and sand from the times she had fallen in pursuit of her elder siblings. As they ran through the village, it was evident that this place was one of poverty, their houses made of a dark blue adobe mixture, which stuck out like a sore thumb against the arid climate.
“How are you doing…”
Damien heard her words carry across the wind as he turned every which way to find the source of her voice, but she was nowhere to be seen. He turned back, watching the younger version of the woman-in-white continue her chase, until she fell down roughly to the ground, scraping her knees in the process. Though in pain, she refrained from crying out, taught at an early age to never show weakness.
“Please, stop…”
Damien watched as a young man walked up to the girl, pulling her from her feet. He knelt down and took a look at her knees, blowing the dirt and blood off of them gently. The girl, suddenly shy, forced a smile at him as he winked at her. She mumbled some sort of “thank you” before attempting to move past him to – once again – find her siblings, only to find his hand firmly on her shoulder, keeping her still.
“I don’t want to see…”
The man leaned in, whispering something into the girl’s ear, to which she seemed to flinch at the mere mention of. Keeping his hand on her shoulder, he stood up and directed her into a nearby building. Despite his better judgement, Damien moved to follow, but he suddenly felt the darkness closing in around him. The world seemed to fold inward upon itself as everything around him began to fade to black. He fought against it, struggled to push forward. What was this man doing? Why didn’t the little girl want to go with him? He almost didn’t want to know the answers to these questions. But, somehow, not knowing seemed worse. As much as he tried, he couldn’t keep the darkness at bay. The last thing he remembered was the sight of a blood-stained sickle slashing down towards him.
Damien woke with a start, finding himself back in the In-Between, the smell of burning wood off in the distance. He tried to regain his bearings as he looked over at the boat, now half submerged in the depths, the fire still burning bright. All other boats had ceased their movements and the apparitions remained still, vacantly staring off as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. His eyes fell on the woman-in-white, as she sat before him, her face down. Whatever energy that had flowed through him had been a reflex, not something that he had meant to happen.
“What… did you do?” the woman asked again, this time more subdued, as if the life had been drained out of her.
Damien forced himself to his feet, taking one last glance back over at the burning boat, watching as it sank into the darkness, the flames crackling in protest as the water smothered the last remaining embers. He forced himself to look back at her, wondered if her question was in reference to the boat suddenly lighting afire or his dark powers forcing their way into her mind.
“I’m not sure,” Damien truthfully confessed, moving to her side.
Much like she had done previously, he offered her his hand to help her to her feet. She refused, instead pushing herself up so that she could stand up-right. She seemed weak as she moved to go back to the nearby dais. Damien, again, went to assist her but she shooed him away, refusing any help. Taking a seat, Damien nervously glanced about, realizing that no further boats moved across the river. Everything had come to a screeching halt. The well-oiled machine had come undone in the matter of seconds. For some reason, Damien couldn’t help but smirk at that. There can never be order…
“What you saw…” she began.
“I didn’t mean to,” Damien interrupted, apologetically.
The woman waved his apology off, as if she could care less that he had stepped into her memories and witnessed what he had. Rather, it seemed more-so that she was upset to have had to simply relive that moment again.
“What happened with that man?” Damien forced the question out.
For a moment, the woman seemed lost in thought, as if she was still there, stuck in that memory. After a long silence, she finally turned to Damien.
“We all have our demons, Damien,” the woman stated, nodding her head back in the direction of the silver reflection bowl. “It’s time you face yours."