DARKNING [Completed]

9. A light in the dark...

torn between zhan and sean, and desperate to stop their fight, yibo shift into raven form.

"stop this fight now!" said yibo.

for a moment, both men are startled. yibo can almost hear their thoughts - clear and loud - as if they were speaking to him directly.

"yibo, you did it!" said zhan happily.

"told you, it will happen when your body and mind are ready." said sean.

"it just happened! why are you so hostile toward each other?" asked yibo.

"i'll explain everything afterwards!" said zhan.

"step aside, yibo! you are not yet skilled enough to stop this fight." said sean.

the two ravens once again resume their readiness to fight. powerful wings flap, shaking the branches of trees, swirling the air in a mighty storm.

'i must do something to stop them!' thinks yibo.

suddenly, yibo can feel the endless well of power inside him. it seems right there - in his grasp.

'all i need to do is reach for it!' thinks yibo.

yibo close his eyes. at that moment, he can sense everything around him - the trees, the grass, the birds and insects... he can feel the light brush of the air against the tips of his wings.

"what's happening?" asked zhan.

yibo open his eyes to see that both ravens are watching him with their beaks open in surprise.

'i don't know how to explain it, but i can feel the rush of my own blood. i can hear their hearts beating fast' thinks yibo.

"i've never sensed so much power!" said sean.

"yibo, can you control the power inside you? can you redirect it?" asked zhan.

"i guess..." said yibo.

"do not push further! it might be too much power. you need to learn how to access it!" said sean.

the power yibo can feel inside him is intoxicating. he can feel it consuming him, trying to take over!

"stop it, yibo! it's dangerous!" said sean.

'i can do this! i've never felt so much power inside me!' thinks yibo.

yibo try to pull more of the power that he sense inside him. he close his eyes and feel the buzzing energy flow through him. the tops of his wings seem electrified.

"what's happening?" asked zhan.

yibo follow zhan's gaze and he see two trees trembling like leaves caught in the autumn wind.

'the trees feel weightless. i can pull them out like thin twigs if i so much as think about it.' thinks yibo.

the ground is shaking. the trees threaten to fly out like rockets at any moment.

'oh my... what am i doing?' thinks yibo.

"yibo!!" shouted zhan.

something inside of yibo is pushing every last bit of reason away.

'i must stop!' thinks yibo.

it takes everything yibo have to make himself cut the mental connection to that well of power, and then he start falling...

'oh my... what's happening?!' thinks yibo.

yibo is falling. his wings feel alien. as if they are not part of his body. zhan is faster to react. as yibo start falling, zhan throws himself between yibo and the ground.