Vessels

Chapter 7

"Vessel? What's a vessel?" Nami asked in a panicked tone.

Her cousin was standing now facing the possessed man who had threatened his family. The air crackled and snapped, and an electric current whisped around him.

"Simply speaking, a vessel is someone who harbors a Spirit in their body. You're friend there appears to be one of them." Aris responded. "That power isn't his own, but the Spirit that lives within him. When a Spirit feels threatened they will take over the vessel completely."

"It would appear I riled something up." The possessed man spoke, his voice harsh and menacing. 

The energy disappeared, the crackle stopped, and Raiden lunged towards the man with full force, his scream broke through the silence as his fist made contact with the mans face. Newfound power surged through Raiden's body and sent the man flying backwards through the air. He slid against the ground and rolled himself until his feet made contact with the ground and he skidded to a halt. A crooked smile crossed his cheeks and he stood up as though he was being yanked up by a string. His hand was held out and plant vines slithered around him, bending to his will. They surged foreword towards Raiden but were stopped easily, burnt down by the heat of his electricity. As the vines turned to ash the man burst through the smoke, his fist making contact with Raiden's cheek. The man swung his other hand but Raiden blocked it easily, swinging his own into the man's stomach.

"That Spirit is going to kill that man. We need to stop him before he does!" Min shouted over to the two.

"Raiden would never kill anyone!" Nami screamed.

"That's not Raiden right now, that's his Spirit and if we don't stop it now that man will die." Aris stated bluntly, not taking her eyes on the pair in front of them. Their movements continued back and forth, each swinging at the other with great force. 

Nami watched in horror, her eyes glued to the fight. She had never seen her cousin like this before and it scared her, her body trembled. 

"Raiden, stop!" 

Raiden turned to look towards her, his eyes flashing brown for just a moment as he heard her screen when the man kicked him backwards sending him sliding across the ground.

"That's our cue." Aris said and stepped foreword. Before Raiden could scramble back to his feet she moved her hands upwards, encasing him in a cone of solid Earth. 

"Now, Min!" She shouted at her companion. 

Min stood in the street, arms outstretched and fingers entwined as he chanted something to himself. His hands began to glow a brilliant blue as he spoke and the man across from him started to grow angry. Aris was usually here to hold the man in place but since she was preoccupied with keeping Raiden from breaking out of the cone he had to cast his spell quickly. The man lunged towards Min in a fit of rage when he stopped suddenly, his body glowing blue. 

Min's eyes shot open and he pulled his fingers apart until his arms were outstretched at his sides and the shadow was pulled from the man's body. The man fell to the ground, out cold, and Min held the shadow in place. It snarled and snapped at Min as he continued chanting. One hand was held in front of him in a fist, the other crossed over it several times. The shadow seemed to writhe in agony, yellow threads formed over his body glowing hot, sparking  and igniting, reducing it to nothing but a cloud of black smoke and ash that settled to the ground.

Aris let down the barrier of rock and Raiden ran foreword at her, wrapping his hands around her neck, burning her. She screamed out in pain when Nami ran towards Raiden, slamming against his back and wrapping her arms around his torso. 

"Stop!" she begged, shaking as she held onto him.

"Nami..." He released Aris' neck and she sunk down to her knees, Min rushed towards her.

The threat now gone, the electricity faded away, and Raiden's eyes returned to normal as his eyelids fluttered shut and he dropped to the ground, exhausted.