Amentia

Chapter 61 - Weapon

In the same second, the giant made out of darkness stumbled for the first time. Aurora didn't notice it as she lunged forward again to attack it with her glowing staff. The blow had no discernible impact and the giant found its strength again to send the Goddess flying away one more time.

As the multiple wounds across her face, upper chest and arms were being healed by Meiko, Nati watched Aurora try time and time again to cause damage to that walking nightmare. Did she not realize that her method wasn't working, or was it just that those constant heavy pulses this thing emitted clouded her judgment? But, more importantly, why wasn't it working? How was it possible that a being that could give life to an entire planet was powerless against a monster made out of dark emotions?

Meiko was moving on to heal Anna's long cut on the side of her chest when Nina got up from the ground, exchanging glances with each of the girls sitting in a circle around her. Her eyes had lost their confusion and found clarity in this chaos. Without saying anything, she walked out of the circle and took a few steps forward with her head tilted back and her eyes focused on the giant ahead, which was still battling against a very stubborn Goddess. When Nina stopped, a bow and arrow appeared in her right hand. The girls watched her back curiously in silence. What could a simple arrow do to a monster that an actual God could not defeat? Anna in particular paid attention to something else and noticed that the depth of Nina's breathing was similar to the way Meiko breathed in the moments before using her power. There was a ritualistic peace to it. For a long minute, Nina simply stood there, unmoving, her breathing getting slower and slower.

And then the arrow lit up. Its entire inner and outer structure was now made of the brightest white light. It was also the only thing that Nina had conjured from her mind that had a melody of its own; the rest of her creations all sounded like Nina, not like separate entities. For a second, Anna thought she could hear voices inside the arrow's melody like how she could hear her mother's voice in the air of her house on certain mornings. It was the sound of happiness and a much-needed comfort amidst all the heavy and dark emotions that were flowing around.

Nina lifted her arms and readied the bow to shoot, wincing at the pain in her ribs and trying to breathe through it. She'd never shot an arrow before, but this wasn't a real arrow and it would reach its target if she made it so. She settled the bow and arrow a bit better, took a shallow breath to avoid feeling pain on her ribs, and fired the glowing arrow at the enormous mass of darkness that stood before her. Everyone, including Aurora, stopped to watch as the arrow flew through the air leaving a soft trail of light in its path and disappearing when it hit the giant's arm.

The giant stumbled for the second time and slowed its movement in confusion. Nina was already conjuring a second arrow when the dark giant's faceless head turned towards her, noticing her presence for the first time. Nina felt its glare deep within her and almost fell to her knees, the bow and arrow disappearing from her hand. As it turned its whole body towards her, a whirlwind of emotions rushed through her and froze her in place. So much anger and desire for destruction, so much self-hatred and desolation. They felt so foreign and so familiar at the same time, like forgotten memories. It was an ocean of them, its violent currents drowning any hope for escape. It was so inviting, so easy to sink into, cozy in a way that only sadness can be.

As the giant took a step towards Nina, tears began streaming down her face. She saw the monster coming, but its gravity was so strong she couldn't move. Her chest felt so heavy, it was like inhaling the sorrow of the entire world. The girls sitting on the ground behind her felt it all too, and were almost too slow to react when the black silhouette swung its arm and tried to reach for Nina with its hand.

As screams rang in the air, Nati scurried up from the ground and threw herself at Nina just in time to dodge the giant hand, which thankfully moved quite slowly due to its size. Nina cried out in pain and her sight got blurry as Nati's whole body fell on top of hers, and the hand passed by right above them.