*Oh look. Another chapter.*
*You should go read it. Like right now.*
*Those events, though. Whoa there. Whoa.*
*Comment your predictions in the comments.*
*Enjoy the chapter! >:D*
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FAUNA
I finally steady myself, and run after Eternal. "Eternal, wait!" I shout as I suddenly come to a halt. I trip over my own two feet as I hurl into him. I curse myself in my head as I notice that my snout is buried in the area between his two angel wings. I immediately take a step back.
He turns around to face me. Just as before, he stares right through me- an ice-cold stare. The same look in his eyes when he was in the rocking chair. I shudder very slightly.
He softens his gaze as he looks in the direction of my shoulders. "What's the matter?" I gulp as I realize he noticed me shudder, even though I tried my best for it not to look too noticeable to others.
"Oh, me? I... I..." I stutter.
"Go on. What is it?" Eternal says, the hostility in his eyes gone- for now.
"Ha, you know me. I'm a curious, young girl." I say, wrapping a strand of my pale golden hair around my index finger on my right paw. "I'm curious about what you meant by Twinkle and I are "Mira's fox descendants". What did you mean by that?"
After a long period of silence, he says, "Oh that. Yeah......"
"Well?" I say, gesturing for Eternal to continue.
"As you wish," he says as he crosses his legs. "You and Twinkle are Mira's fox descendants. That connects to your blindness, Fauna," he points a finger at me, "and like you said, you are very curious. So curious that you opened your eyes too soon."
"Does this connect to the reason why I was born blind?"
Eternal holds back a laugh. I look at him, annoyed. "Oh, you weren't born blind. You became blind due to your own stupidity and curiosity."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, feeling offended.
"You opened your eyes for the first time before it was safe for you to. Twinkle, however, waited. Unlike
you."
"Do you have to be so hostile? Gosh!"
He sighs and then continues. "When you and Twinkle were still fetuses in the womb, you both......"
I ruffle my wings. "Oh, not this poop again! Just go out and say it already!"
"Back then, Mira's spirit cradled your fragile fetus bodies. Mira's pure spirit is so bright that it's impossible to look at it straight on. Especially from up close, so it's like the Sun. Mira's spirit covered your entire body from head to tail, even when you were out of the womb, for a few days. Five, six days; maybe a week. When you first opened your eyes, Mira's spirit still was attached to you. The spirit is unnoticeable by all- except you, Fauna. Seeing the extremely bright light that made up one of Mira's wings, blinded you. Either that, or just simply seeing the presence of Mira in front of your eyes. Either way, that's what caused you to be blind."
I droop my tail. "So it's my own fault I was blind?"
"Technically yes," Eternal replies, straight-faced.
I feel a hot tear roll down my cheek. I whisper, "You're completely right. I'm so, so, so stupid."
"Exactly! That's what I've been trying to tell you, Fauna!"
I sniff. "You're supposed to be comforting me now."
He just laughs. "At a time like this? Ha!"
"You suck," I say, straight-faced. As I go fly higher, eye-level with Eternal, I suddenly stumble back. I hold my right paw up to my right eye. I sniff. "Hey, why'd you do that for?"
"You deserved that for knowing too much. Sure, it was me who told you all of it, but you asked for more information," I feel his hot breath on my paw covering my eye, "Greed."
I release some pressure in my paw as I continue to hold it up to my eye. I frown at him. The tips of his angel wings seem like they're fading to a darker color, and the hostility glare in his eyes returns yet again.
As he flies away, swearing every step, I then take my paw off my eye. Out of that eye, I only see one thing- pure darkness.
I know for a fact that it's not only because he gave me a black eye. The reason is much, much darker.
I practically feel a wave of pure darkness wash over me, sending me out to sea on a stormy night.
CALLIAH
In the dank and abandoned basement, I look at him in amazement. His tail brushes the brim of a huge metal kettle- both nearly invisible; spirits. He takes a deep, nostalgic sigh as he stares down into the huge kettle.
"Ah, it's such an honor to meet you in person- sorry, I mean spirit- here. I wasn't expecting you to come so early."
He answers me, his face still staring into the kettle. I feel a smile spreading across my face as I hear his deep, menacing voice. "It shouldn't be such a surprise, darling. It's honestly not that shocking that I should be here with you." His tail-tip gently brushes my face at the jawline. I feel warmth come to my cheeks. I rub my cheeks, embarrassed at the sudden thought. I gulp as I lower my paws back onto the kettle's wide brim. "Especially since you held my reincarnation in the womb. That was very kind of you, Calliah."
I look down at my stomach, feeling the warmth in my cheeks come back. I skip a heartbeat as he takes his head out of the kettle's opening. As he presses his cold nose right under my own nose, I feel my heart beat even faster.
What am I doing? Could this possibly be.... Love?
"Thanks for bearing my second form. Knowing that you made it possible for me to live a second time in a physical form means so much to me," he says in his deep voice in a whisper. His warm breath heats my dried, cracked lips. He presses his own lips between my nose and my upper lip. I feel myself melting due to his dark heat. His hot, dark heat mesmerizes me.
"Oh, you. Why do I feel your heat? You are just a spirit now, nothing more."
His ears perk up. "Just a spirit, Calliah? JUST A DARN SPIRIT?"
I hesitate before saying, "Y-Yes. You're just a spirit."
The dark purple blazes that run through his hair meeting in the center in the shape of a phantom web, glow a dark-yet-bright purple. The purple illuminates the dark room we are in.
As he speaks just a claw's length away from my lips now, he says, "I obviously am not just another average spirit. And besides," he giggles mysteriously, "if I really am a spirit, you wouldn't be able to feel me. Nevertheless, this."
I did feel him. The kiss. I felt it. "H-how?" I ask, astonished. "If this you is not just a spirit, then.... then..... Who are you?"
He simply shrugs as he replies casually, "What do you expect? I'm one of many talents, and I hold a whole lot of power. I'm the ruler of them all. No matter what they say."
I clear my throat, and then change the conversation back to the kettle. "Are you sure this is the best time to do it?" I ask, staring into the kettle. A thick, dark black liquid bubbles in the kettle. Dark purple bubbles fade to a light shade of purple- lavender- as they rise up and hit the inner sides of the kettle.
"Yes, I'm positive. This is the best time," he says as he stares into the kettle alongside me.
"Ooh, this is so exciting! My reincarnation is going to now get my phantom ability powers as well! Duke Fierdan, my reincarnation. My precious, younger me. It's time for you to be completely reborn into your full name, Duke Fierdan Canis!"
"Okay, just tell me what I need to do."
After I follow the directions he told me to do, a single black flame rises up in the center of the kettle. The dark phantom flame flickers and then dies. The liquid in the kettle no longer bubbles or anything. Everything in it just stays perfectly still.
I blink as I suddenly see the pure phantom liquid drain out of the kettle. As the last drop mysteriously vanishes like the rest of them, I ask, "How was that all possible?"
He answers me, in a satisfied tone. "I am Fierdan, the fox who joined the phantoms to become their king of them and the fox section of Jamaa." His eyes glow intensely as he stares at me. Right through me. "I am Fierdan."
The next second, he disappears as fast as the phantom liquid.
Duke now has both his fire powers and his phantom powers. His true identity is now revealed. But how will others react to him? He is now officially Duke Fierdan, the deadliest fox to currently live.
How he said those last three words before he disappeared. I don't think they can ever escape my mind.
I imagine Duke saying it, reincarnation and original staring at a mirror, being completely identical. Equal in deadliest; the most dangerous. It's as if he's radioactive. So toxic....
They both say the three words.
"I am Fierdan."
DUKE
I told Twinkle that I need a few minutes alone. I breathe a sigh of relief because she wasn't too suspicious. I stand up tall, surrounded by dead brown grass that sways in the warm breeze.
Escape my mind, darn you. Go away. Stop being so obnoxious, stealing all the rest of my thoughts in my head away. Stop being the only thought in my mind. Stop it. I am not interested in what you want, Fierdan.
Suddenly, I see a faded black faintly mixed with purple aura surround me. Very tiny flames flicker on every tip of my fur. My dark brown- almost black- tips of my hair are set on fire- the black fire. The black flames reach up towards the sky. Black fire, the darkest fire possible.
What in the name of Mira is happening to me!? I look at my paws. My usual bright orange flames that shoot out of my claws turn into black flames as they shoot out of my claws now. I blink my eyes several times. Now I don't even see my light brown fur- only black and dark gray.
Without intending on doing, I cry out in agony. Pure darkness is overcoming me; taking over me. Taking over. When I finish screaming without gasping for a breath of air for a few minutes straight, my throat feels raw. The words "spawn", "reincarnation", and of course that blasted word, "Fierdan" keep on repeating in my mind.
I then somehow feel this purple substance enter my eyes. My eyes tilt, in a look of pure anger. Why do I feel myself smiling- evilly? I then feel the black tips of my ears growing longer; the angles of my ears becoming more sharper, refined. What's going on!?
Huge flames shoot out from my shoulder blades. They shoot out until they're the same length as my arm-span. My tail tip- originally white- gets set on fire as it comes in contact with my fiery wings. Is this why I suddenly had a feeling I had fiery wings shoot out my shoulder blades that night I kissed Twinkle on the Tall Tower's roof?
I close my eyes so only purple intertwined with my original amber eyes peers through. I flap my rather large wings. The wings simply orange, purple, and black flames. I'm not exactly sure why I form an "X" with my two arms across my chest.
I hear Twinkle's voice, faintly. I curse myself. Twinkle! She can't see me like this- whatever "this" is! I open my eyes, wide-eyed. Wait, where did my gray T-shirt go? It's replaced with this bright, somewhat glossy, only black jacket. The material of it is not soft at all. A tough material of some sort.
I panic. Am I wearing any pants? I then start praying that I do. I sigh, relieved as I see dark black- just as dark as the jacket- pants reach down to my ankles.
Curious, I unzip the black jacket. A black T-shirt appears there. I see my own muscles through the shirt. The area where my heart is begins to glow a bright purple outlined in black. As it stops glowing just a few moments later, I zip up the jacket.
I smile. Even though I have no idea what happened to me, I like it. It's almost as if my dark thoughts have become physical. I feel more comfortable this way.
I hear Twinkle's voice faintly again. My fur turns back to light brown and white again. Everything else still stays the same.
Yes, I like this "new me". The multi-colored flames that make up my wings flicker in a dance-like way.
I curl up on the ground, and then close my eyes. My fiery wings wrap around me like a blanket.
Twinkle doesn't find me for the rest of the night. I like that she doesn't know me in this form.
For the first time in a while, I don't sleep curled up against another body. That body being Twinkle's.
That thought makes me happy.
I roll over in my sleep, feeling the wings warm my forearms.
Why do I feel happier sleeping alone tonight? Why do I not care about Twinkle anymore? Why...
TWINKLE
Where in the world is he!? He's been away from me for a few hours now. What in the world is going on!?
I gulp. Is he okay? He never slept a night without me ever since our first kiss.
I yawn. I'm way too tired to go looking for him. He's probably fine. He just needs to be alone for the night.
But why?
I gasp. Is he possibly upset with me? I shake my head at the thought. He wouldn't be upset at me for kissing him? He wouldn't be, right?
I shake my head again. No, it has to be something else. It has to!
Annoyed that I can't seem to fall asleep no matter how hard I try, I go up to look for Duke. I wipe my eyes, and start exploring in a direction.
After walking for a few minutes in the same direction, I see black flames rise up and out of the dead grass. Startled, I run towards the multiple dark flames.
I lose my breath and skip a heartbeat as I look at what caused the black flames. Or should I say "who".
Covered in dark flames like a blanket, wearing pure black clothes, the tips of his hair now flames, lays Duke.
As I stare at his body that moves up and down as he breathes, I ask myself a question in my head.
Who are you, Duke?
I then tiptoe out of there. He never knows I was there.
I quietly walk back to where I was before. This time, however, I fall asleep instantly.
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