I squinted my eyes at her. "Sure, I think you are."
She then reached up and grabbed her surgical mask, pulling it down and revealing her true face. She had her mouth cut open from each corner. Her left scar going almost all the way up to her ear and the other scar going down through most of her cheek, showing off her perfect teeth. Her pale almost turquoise eyes stared deeply into mine. Then suddenly her trench coat changed. She was in a bloodstained yellow kimono, holding a cloth where her mask used to be.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?" She asked.
For some reason, I wasn't scared. In fact, she felt, familiar. Very, very familiar. I grabbed the hem of my face mask and lowered it for her. Revealing my scar to her.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?" I asked.
As I asked that question, a vision came into mind. The scene showed a woman in a kimono again. She cowered in fear as a samurai man came over, brandishing his blade for her to see. Without warning, the man sliced the woman's open mouth. Cutting her ear to ear. Then for a second, the scene changed to a woman in a dark cloak. Her skin was pale and her eyes were hidden from view. She reached out her hand seemingly to me.
"You've received a terrible fate haven't you?" She whispered.
Then the scene changed once more to a woman at a salon. She was getting her hair done, when another woman rushed in. Grabbing her head from the hairdresser and slicing the woman's mouth ear to ear with scissors. The scene changed for a moment again, back to the lady in the cloak. But this time I could see her eyes, her eyes were a bright silver.
"You were treated so unfairly. It wasn't fair to you was it?" The woman asked.
Then my vision became clear once more. Seeing the women back in front of me. This time though, she didn't dress like any of the other ones from before. She was in a tattered white dress. Blood splattered on the top and she was crying in pain. Looking me over with desperation in her eyes. Her mouth still cut ear to ear like the others though.
"Please, goddess of death…" She mumbled. "Everyone thinks I'm a monster…"
I opened my mouth, but it wasn't me talking.
"I'll save you, my child." I said.
Suddenly the darkness faded and I was back. But the sight before me wasn't exactly welcoming. Hana was on the ground with his chest cut open. While Sui was kneeled down next to Homura, a bubble of water was around Homura's missing hand.
Himitsu was the only one up and fighting. Her hair was longer than before and flowing in the wind. A frosty mist was coming off her body and she was wearing a gray kimono. While she slashed aggressively at the slit mouth woman. Who blocked her strikes with her scissors. She must've fused with Yumiki.
Himitsu stomped on the floor and a rush of ice exploded to life and tried to crash into the Slit mouth woman. However, she dodged easily and danced around Himitsu like she was nothing. Himitsu however wasn't just randomly firing ice. It was a decent shadow trail that she dove into. The slit mouth woman leaped into the air like she could fly and just barely dodged Himitsu launching from the darkness at her. Now fully coded in the back armor. Then the slit mouth flew around and slashed at my sister, who guarded herself with her arms. But the scissors managed to cut through my sister's armor like butter, and pushed her back. Then Slit mouth woman flew close, getting in her face.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?" She asked her.
Which seemed to paralyze my sister. Flashes of Face changer came to mind. This was just like when I summoned him! I need to take charge! Just a little bit of Karma.
'Yes, yes, let the hate out.' A voice beckoned
I thought about the helplessness I was feeling. The rage and anger that fate once again was trying to hurt someone I cared about. Then, the cold rush consumed my body, and I saw my right arm become consumed by the darkness and I rushed at her. However, she didn't move to dodge or block me. She just let me grab her throat and slam her into the wall. A warmth rose in my chest and I couldn't help but smile.
"I'm the king of monsters! You are not going to touch my family!" I roared.
As I spoke her surgical mask fell from her face, revealing her mouth to me. Her eyes stared into my own and she just tilted her head.
"Are we beautiful?" She asked.
Which brought me back a bit, my grip on her throat loosened. Laughter filled the back of my head as I remembered kids making fun of me. My cheeks burned, like I could still feel the staples that were popped into my cheek to fix me. The cold rush of my body started to consume me again.
'You're a monster Nyx.' The voice beckoned.
I opened my mouth, and suddenly Casey's face came into mind. My whole body started to relax, and I let go of her neck.
"We, are beautiful." I answered and looked her in the eyes. "Just not to everyone. Even you have someone who'd find all of you beautiful."
The woman shuttered and she started to tear up. "Goddess of death, why did you do this?" She whispered.
"I saw your vision too." I said. "That was one of us, right? That's why you're mad? A death child made you like this?"
"I just wanted love." She mumbled.
"Who did this to you?" Himitsu asked. "We can help ."
We both looked over to Himitsu, and the woman suddenly ran from my arms. Rushing out the door and off into the night. Himitsu panted and looked at me. Her silver and gold eyes staring into mine with concern.
"I think, she's a familiar of mine now." I said.
"Let's regroup and we can talk about it." She said and ran over to Hana.
That woman in the vision. She felt familiar, come to think of it. Face Changer had a woman he made a deal with, right? Was this the same person? A rogue death child morphing people?
…
Thankfully Hana and Homura turned out okay. Thanks to Suis healing water thing we were able to close the wounds and reattached Homura's hand and apparently her ear. Himitsu got herself fixed up and asked to go on a walk with me into town. She wanted to talk in private, plus she wanted to ease tensions and buy some dessert.
As we walked down the road she didn't say a thing. That is, till the compound was completely out of sight.
"Nyx, what exactly happened to you back there? You went still for a moment when the slit mouth woman came in. You said you think she's your familiar? Like you connected to her?" She asked.
I nodded. "To be one hundred percent honest with you. I have no idea what happened to me. All I know is that I definitely connected to its soul. But I saw a lot of weird things…"
"Well, I'm all ears. It sounds like you're the only hope at this point to figuring this out."
"Well, like before she shifted into a bunch of different versions of herself. The one in the Kimono and the one in the trench coat. One told a story of a girl who was attacked in a salon and the other was a girl attacked by a samurai. Both incidents have the girl ending up with the cut mouth. Then they all faded away and showed a girl with tattered white clothes, and she was talking to…one of us." I said.
"One of us?" She asked.
"Yeah, a woman who has silver eyes. She kept calling her goddess of death. So I think it's definitely someone related to us."
"What was the time period?" She asked.
"Sorry, but I don't know. I do know however, that she felt real. If that makes sense? Like that was her true self. She was begging for help. Then when I got through to her, she asked why did she do this to her."
She nodded.
"So far it sounds like a tulpa. Usually when you read a tulpas soul you either get the Creators or the stories that brought it into existence."
"That's possible? Tulpas?"
"Yeah, mages can make them easy. While people who manage to use their souls energy can. But also if thousands of people fear it. Negative energy from people can create it. Even if they don't know how they did it. That's how Slenderman became real."
I'm gonna just ignore that…
"Well, is she's tulpa then?" I asked.
"No, I don't think that's just it. When I try to bind with the soul, I do sense a soul. Not conjured energy."
"Is it possible for a tulpa to possess a human soul?"
"I've never seen it. But maybe if I go to dad's studies I can find it. Especially since you said you saw a woman with silver eyes. Maybe one of our kind knew how to do it."
"Maybe that's why she's attacking you guys. She thinks you're the Goddess of death. "
She shrugged. "It's possible, but considering you're the owner. It's possible she wanted to stop anyone from hurting you. After all, she never once aimed at you. Even when you had her throat. She could've stabbed you."
I groaned. "Right, so it's like Face changer all over again…"
"What did you do then?"
"I tamed it, but I couldn't do it without Karma's power. And I don't think I can exactly scare her straight." I huffed.
"Nyx, for a soul connector, you're all alone. I would've allowed another familiar but my own to fight alongside you. Yet, you haven't brought anyone but Thomas here, and you sent him home."
I grumbled and scratched the back of my head.
"It's complicated."
"I'm a therapist, I live complicated."
I sighed.
"I don't feel comfortable, with people. It's always felt like. The people closest to me vanish. So the idea a if a soul bond…makes me uncomfortable. So, I let Nova have Scar, I let Face Changer roam with restrictions. And I don't know if Thomas counts but. He's better off guarding Casey."
Himitsu and I both stopped outside of the convenience store. She turned around and gave me a very serious look.
"Nyx, you cannot function alone. The fact your specialty is making bonds should speak for itself there."
"Yeah but-"
"You're at your worst when you're alone. You've basically admitted that every time we have a little chat."
"But I don't trust people! Everyone always walks away eventually…"
"Casey didn't, even when you hurt her. Didn't you say you aren't gonna disrespect the love people give you? I know Boa hasn't been great all of the time. But what she did for you with Face Changer should speak volumes. Not to mention your mom."
I looked away from her.
"It's just hard. Going through all of my past today. It's, it was horrible…"
She walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nyx, if you want to change. You'll have to accept people. Like all of your familiars. And I don't want to add pressure, but if we're gonna stop the Slit mouth woman, you are literally the only one."
I took a breath. "This chosen one crap reeks. Why can't I just hide away and draw?"
"Because deep down. You know you want to feel loved. It's just easier to avoid it and say it'll never happen. Then facing heartbreak again. That's what it was like for me before I met Hana. He fought so hard to get past my walls. I yelled at him, hurt his feelings and he never gave up on me. Kinda like Casey with you."
I nodded. "Right, I appreciate you. Being blunt, cuz you're right. Love is scary."