The Black Swan

Chapter 9: A Different Light

In front of her laid the familiar sphere of luminescent energy - her source of power. It radiated an intense aura that she had grown accustomed to - though the glow might have been too bright if it had been seen by another.

This... This is my power. Yoonie instantly recognised it, albeit having never seen it with her eyes. She extended a hand towards the sphere in curiosity. It feels lukewarm; not like the warmth of the sun, but reminiscent of a fresh spring water bath. It's delightful, assuring; so beautiful.

Then, the whiteness of the world vanishes. It centers on a point in the empty room, like a vacuum having sucked out the light from the surroundings. Like glass, her energy shatters. The crystalline remnants cascade onto the ground - falling, and falling, without end. Her eyes tried to search for a source of light in the room - to find that there had been none. And like a ragdoll, her lifeless body pummels out of the sky, as Yoonie had been sent into a freefall. The fear of falling so immense, her lungs having forgotten how to breathe, and her screams void of any sound.

She finds the floor, crashing down on her back and landing sorely. Throwing her head forward, the crystals impaling from behind knocked the wind out of her lungs, causing her to cough out a viscous liquid. Yoonie gasps for air, suffocating in the darkness. Alone, unknown of this place and why she had been sent here.

Am I... dead?

Then, the area around her neck sizzles. The skin is prickly and the sensation is unbearable. Yoonie clutches a hand over it, almost feeling a phantasmal smoke emanating from her earlier wound. There is a presence that looms over her body. She looks up - it's dark. But even in the darkness, Yoonie knew that she wasn't alone. The being seemed to be staring at her, then it leaps forward. Like a sponge, she could feel herself absorbing the energies of this unknown being - melding into one entity. She was still herself - but one thing was for sure...

What was that? ...I don't feel like myself anymore.

------

"...nie? Yoonie!"

She stirs awake. Her blurry vision adjusts to the surroundings, and she soon realises that she was bedridden in the Capital's hospital. Seated right next to her had been Yuri, while a constantly-pacing Lia stops in her tracks to regard the nearly-woken Yoonie.

"Wha... What happened?" Yoonie tries to sit up against the headboard of her bed with the help of Yuri.

"After a team of The Full Moon came to our rescue, Soyeon and Miyeon attacked you, and ran away." Yuri recounted their earlier encounter. "Thank god you're alright."

"How are you feel-" She stops mid-sentence. Then, as if taking a double-take, she stares more intensely at Yoonie's eyes - dead straight into her gaze. Yoonie recoils backwards, partly afraid that her senior was about to reprimand her for her recklessness.

Or maybe she was just (gay)-panicking.

"Yuri, are you seeing this?"

"Yea, that's weird." She mused. There was a change in Yuri's look as she understood what Lia had been referring to. "Yoonie, quick - what's the colour of your eyes?"