'Swoosh, woosh, slash!' "Haaaah!". Deep in the bowels of the Casian kingdom, twin swords cleaved the air in twain, while the exertions of a woman shackled to fate echoed throughout the royal training grounds. Her innocent eyes now ferocious and fierce, her grip was firm and her strides powerful. With every swing of her swords, a magnificent sound spliced the atmosphere, as her short hair danced in the aftershock. However her once vibrant soul seemed listless, her heart empty; truly it was as if the real Juri had long departed, forcefully dejecting herself from the cruel destiny that stripped her of the goodness she had known for but a little.
"Two!" barked a familiar king. And at once, two armour clad soldiers charged at the princess 'CLANG, SWISH, POW!' They were dispatched of as quickly as they were sent. "Five!" king Sol snarled. Immediately, five swordsmen rushed towards their foe!
Suddenly, 'WOOM!' The first of them swung their sword horizontally like a hatchet. Instinctively, the dexterous damsel ducked, poised to pounce for a counter attack. However the second swordsman came crashing down with a mighty strike, Juri rolled to her right, slicing at her attacker's heels simultaneously. Just as he fell, the first, third and fourth of them tried to catch her in a pincer attack. In the midst of their assault, Juri spun like a tornado with her twin swords, cutting down all three of her attackers. 'THUD!' All three of them fell to the floor, their blood slowly pooling on the white floor.
'Clap, clap, clap!' "You are simply magnificent Juri, all of that without even using Qudra or even having any armour for protection! You truly are my daughter." the wretched royal praised, while he showered his daughter in applause.
"Are they going to be ok?" Juri asked, more concerned about the well-being of the soldiers who were just used as meat-bags.
"Worry not my daughter. We have unparalleled medical science at our disposal. As long as you don't aim at their vitals, they will be just fine. Think of it as a necessary evil, in order to quell the greater evil that looms over us!" king Sol explained, trying to alleviate her worries in a twisted way.
"R-right..." the princess replied, with a lowered head and downcast eyes.
"My jewel, you still have one more warrior to beat. He is one of my top swordsmen from my infantry unit. They say a sword and shield in his hand is greater than a gun in the hand of any other. Do not use your Qudra. Engage him in armed combat and show him what our royal blood can do!" the corrupt king bellowed!
'Tup, tup, tup, tup, tup!'. The two fighters surged towards one another! 'CLAG!' A vicious collision reverberated throughout the room from the impact of Juri's twin swords slamming into the swordsman's shield. Briefly, they were locked in a power struggle, pushing back and forth against each other. However Juri's mother had spoken the truth about her augmentations. Verily the princess was unlike any Casian before her; an evident truth that manifested in Juri's overpowering of her foe.
"This strength... from such a tiny woman!? No! I won't stand for it! I won't stand for such humiliation!" the swordsman yelled. Mustering all of his strength, he swung his shield upwards, knocking Juri off balance, the force of the push drove her arms skyward. "Ha! In the end you're nothing but a little GIRL!" the swordsman shrieked in volatile insecurity. Instantly, he thrust his sword towards Juri's stomach...
'KAPOW!' With eminent elegance, the sovereign of light kicked the swordsman's sword upwards! Before he could draw another breath, she pirouetted and sliced downwards. "YAAAAAAARGH!" the swordsman yelled, while a gash from his forehead to his solar plexus burst open like a spring of water.
"Poor baby, did a little girl do that to you?" the violent vixen uttered menacingly, as her fallen foe crumpled to the floor.
"HAHAHAHAAAAA! THAT'S MY GIRL!" the loud father boomed in approval of this legislated violence. "Our royal blood stands above and conquers all!" he added.
The princess's eyes were still downcast, her hair dangling despondently and her white clothes spattered in blood like psychotic abstract art. "Thank you father..." she replied quietly.
"Now, I have but one more test for you..." the bender of time revealed.
"Hmph." Juri said confidently.
"ONE HUNDRED!" the king of Casia roared. At once, one hundred armoured soldiers rumbled towards her!
The princess stood poised, with her swords at the ready. Slowly, she turned towards her father "Can I?" she asked.
"You may." he nodded.
Immediately, a bright pillar of brilliant golden light beamed upwards from the vixen, piercing the vision of all who gazed at it. With her enemies blinded she dropped her twin swords. 'VM!' angelic wings flared out from her back. Their golden feathers floated mystically, dazzling all momentarily. 'Flutter, flutter!' With a few powerful flaps of her wings, she ascended towards the ceiling and remained in place. Suddenly, her prevailing light began to gleam and glare aggressively and the entire training grounds began to tremble and shake.
"W-WHAT'S GOING ON!?" one solider screamed in terror!
"Angel wings... shattered feathers...." the sovereign of light uttered. An unsettling high pitched sound roared as her golden wings shot razor sharp feathers through each and every soldier.
"UWAAAAGH!" they screamed in agony, their movements bound by the seizing light that stabbed into their bodies. With decadent grace, she extended her wings, in response every shard of light, every piercing feather exploded like grenades!
Juri's eyes began to twinkle, a golden tear sparkled like a jewel in her cerulean eyes. "And now... angel's tears, absolute light..." the sovereign of light murmured.
"No Juri! Don't use that here you'll kill them!" king Sol yelled in an odd display of mercy. "We will have plenty a chance to test that out on some monkeys later on..." he quietly thought to himself.
"Yes, father..." Juri said obediently. She descended slowly, surveying the carnage that she had unleashed. The grotesque scene of severed limbs, spurting blood and groaning soldiers sickened her, blackening her heart to a terrible shade. She looked around the whole training room. It was a vast room of nothingness, white as far as the eye can see. They say it's conditions can drive a man to madness, that only a Casian can survive in such a place. "May I be excused father?" she asked abruptly.
"Indeed you may, rest up my daughter. This world needs you... I, need you." king Sol said.
Juri nodded before sprinting to her chambers. The very moment she reached her room, she darted for her toilet and retched heavily until she had emptied her stomach. Juri opened the taps, rinsed out her mouth and washed her face. She let the taps run for a while, partially soothed by the sound. Taking a deep breath in, she reluctantly looked up at the mirror, afraid of what she'll see. Afraid of what she's become.
She peered into her reflection with disgust. The dead dull eyes and vile face of someone whom was nothing more than a tool, a mere weapon stared back at her. "A betrayer, a killer. That's what you are." her reflection spoke suddenly, or rather it was Juri's extreme trauma and stress manifesting as hallucinations.
"Shut up! I- I didn't have a choice. I don't have a choice, I don't! He... (sigh) he probably hates me by now. And if I don't.." Juri began to sob. "If I don't destroy the one thing I love then the kingdom of Casia and the whole world at large will be no more!" she continued, yelling at her reflection.
"Lies, excuses and words of the pitiful. You don't love him, you love the idea of him. You're nothing more than a leech who used him and left him for dead! Wouldn't a true lover stand by their one and only, even if it meant facing down the jaws of death together?" her reflection verbally accosted her.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW!? Maybe I am evil, maybe I am all those things so I may as well accept it! No?" the princess shrieked.
"You're a coward..." her reflection uttered and made a spitting motion at her.
'KACRACK!' Juri punched straight through the mirror, before another bullet of truth could shoot her down. The distraught damsel began to breath heavily. "This world is cursed, this world and everything in it. Once this is all over I'll..." the sovereign of light trailed off, as she raised a dagger of light to her neck.
"Perhaps in the afterlife you can forgive me. In the hereafter, we could finally be together. Let's leave this world, Jinto..." uttered the mouth of a lamenting soul, weary of the world...
YOU ARE READING
The Black Stars of Melanin
AdventureThese chains... they bind me. Her face... it reminds me. My love was turned to hate, my freedom revoked by those who subjugate. That nightmare became a reality. That fateful day when the blood-red sky wept. And the rest of the world slept. When we...
