Soulless

A Change of Pace

Alastair’s P.O.V.

 When I was apprenticed here, under the control of General Ahriman, not once did I have thoughts of killing him. Today, while I stand here, watching this battle unfold in front of me, I have a different perspective. When I took that swing at him, it actually satisfied me, as though I had some long drawn-out grudge against him and wanted to release that anger in the form of violence. I can’t recall anything terrible that he has done to me, until today.

When I look at Alia, she looked enraged. She has both swords gripped so tightly that her knuckles turn white. Blood pours from a stomach wound, which she seems to not worry about. I notice something strange though, in her eyes. They were still the beautiful hazel eyes I am familiar with, but they had a light to them, as though she finally has a soul. But she never did anything to reclaim hers, so it can’t be that.

We both attack Ahriman in unison, her blades crashing into his chest, and mine driving straight through his back. I know this won’t be enough to kill him, because he is a greater demon, one with increased resistance to injury; he may look severely injured, but he really isn’t.

“You can’t kill me, Kali. No matter how hard you try, no matter whose body you take over, you won’t succeed,” he taunts. The demon possessed Alia’s body? No wonder her eyes have the light of a soul.

Alia, or rather Kali, screams. For a human girl it is extremely earsplitting. She falls to her knees and clutches her head, breathing heavily, a pool of her own blood forming around her. Has Kali over-extended herself? Is this why she is now lying on the ground, a nervous wreck curled up into a ball, shaking from fright?

I move over towards her; for some reason the sight of her in this condition makes me want to pull her into my arms and comfort her. But something stops me, a barrier of some sort that Kali has created around herself. Something’s happening to her; a transformation into one of her forms, perhaps? But she’s in Alia’s body; won’t that kill her!? Ahriman laughs with malevolent satisfaction, clutching his chest wounds which I am happy to know are probably paining him now.

Alia has told me of the many forms Kali can take when she is summoned into the physical world. A demon dog the size of a small house, with chocolate brown fur, vicious fangs, and three heads. A large bird with dragon’s wings that spits fire. A behemoth with a giant axe and incredible strength. Of all the forms Alia has mentioned to me, I’ve never heard nor seen this one, which leads me to believe it is not supposed to be summoned at all.

Drago and I watch in horror as Alia’s body morphs into one of Kali’s forms, similar to what was beginning to happen to that lost soul, Carina. Only this one happens much quicker. Her hair turns an inky black, like demon’s blood, her nails elongate into sharp, blade-like claws, her wounds seem to get bigger and more blood falls onto the ground. She forms wings, large ones that have no membrane or skin or anything; they’re just bones.

When she lifts her face, she has no features. Her mouth and eyes are simply gone; her nose is just a small bump on her face. Silver chains seem to come out of nowhere, and wrap around her arms, legs, wrist, ankles, and her neck. The physical portion of the bond between her and Alia. This demon’s face ‘looks’ at us, and I feel frightened for the first time in years.

My heart sinks at the sight of her; such a pure woman turned into the foulest demon I’ve ever seen. And it is trying to kill me. One clawed hand swings at me, scratching my chest, leaving a bloody wound. Drago and I have not the slightest idea what to do. We can’t attack her, because it’s still Alia’s body; any damage we do to this thing, we do to Alia.

“This is the true form of the great demon, Kali!” Ahriman says, awestruck. I’m getting tired of his presence. Which is good because he slinks out of the room, the coward that he is. He’s probably too frightened that he will be a victim to Kali’s attacks, which seem to be not aimed at anyone in particular. Because it probably can’t discern friend from foe anymore.

I remember Alia telling me about Kali’s “special” attack. She worms into the minds of her victims and inflicts any pain she feels onto the person she chooses. It damages her and Alia in the process, so it must be used only in situations of dire need. I feel as though Kali has decided to throw away that caution because my head begins to hurt and I feel a sharp pain in my stomach, as though someone stabbed me with a blade. Drago also appears to be affected by the mental attack.

At this point I run out of ideas on how to stop Kali. I fall to my knees, my “injury” beginning to hurt violently. I grit my teeth and plead with the demon to stop, to go back to simply being in my friend’s head. I dislike her true form.

Miraculously, this seems to make her pause, as though she is confused. It falls to the ground, hands pressed against its head. The wings disappear, her hair turns back to its brown-blonde color, her hazel eyes and human mouth return, and the chains fade, but I know that they are still there. I get up and slowly walk towards her as the pain leaves me, and kneel down on the ground beside her.

“Alia?” I say, praying that it is her back in control.

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Alia’s P.O.V.

I can see again, through my eyes. Kali is back in the recesses of my mind, sulking and refusing to speak to me. I can feel with my hands, as they are pressed against my head, because it hurts so much. My vision is still blurry but I can see the figure kneeling before me. Is it Alastair? I pray it is, but my hope starts to vanish when he calls my name.

My vision begins to clear when he does, and I look up into the face of what used to be Alastair. A large portion of his skin is scraped and bloody; parts of it are falling off around a large, deep wound down the side of his face. Blood pours from an enormous head wound, and a rip in his arm. His eyes have a faraway stare, as though he isn’t really looking at me. A ghost from my past; the poor boy I couldn’t save. Our souls were taken instead, and I suffered from the guilt for the rest of my life.

I sit up straight, heart pounding. He reaches a bony hand towards me, and I can do only one thing. I let out a horrified scream, scramble to my legs and run as fast as I can. Past a red eyed demon, through the hall, up the stairs, and into the afternoon sun, and my legs buckle underneath me from lack of blood. I’ve left a trail of it, now he will find me. I feel something pour from my eyes, not tears, but blood. Tears of blood. I see him and the red eyed demon slither up the stairs, reaching for me.

He says my name again, and puts his bony hand on my shoulder. I scream again. “Get away from me!” I yell, real tears now coming from my eyes, mixing with the blood.

“It’s just me now Alia, you’re safe!” he says, his voice sound more kindly towards the end of the phrase. I breathe heavily, and suck in another breath, ready to force myself up to run away once more when my vision blurs and I’m staring into the clean, healthy face of Alastair, not a gory memory.

“Alia?” he says again, his eyes sad and pleading. I slow my breathing, and stare into them. It is him, and I am safe now. The memory is gone, the horrible illusion has vanished. The red-eyed demon is just Drago; he’s a friend not an enemy. I don’t know what else to do but to throw myself into Alastair’s arms, crying into his shirt stained with Ahriman’s blood. I can almost feel his surprise, but he wraps his arms around me, and whispers comforting words, telling me that everything will be fine.

I am overcome by relief, and suddenly, comparing the memory to Alastair, I remember something. I know why he looked so familiar when I first met him. He is that boy from my painful memories; the one I was powerless to save, in a time when I knew little about true fighting, because I lacked experience. In a time when I was without Kali.

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Author's Note: I apologize for the random P.O.V. switch; this should be the only time it happens. I wanted to describe what was happening to Alia, and since she switched positons with Kali, it would have been hard to describe the event from her P.O.V.