Moth and Moon

Rot

Before Xie Lian opened his eyes, he could hear distant screaming. Shrieks of people afraid, in pain. He blearily opened his eyes and saw the overcast sky above, still bright enough that he had to squint. There was a dark shape circling above, glinting with silver. E-Ming? Where was Hua Cheng, then? Maybe E-Ming had been separated from Hua Cheng when Xie Lian had. He prayed that he was safe, wherever he was. He remembered that image of Hua Cheng's severed wing with the red string still tied around its base, and it felt like a stab to the gut. He hoped that that had just been another of Bai Wuxiang's tricks.

Xie Lian sat up so that he could assess the situation. He was at the entrance to the town, lying in the road. He saw something dark in the distance, crawling through the fields, and shot to his feet. It was the many-bodied demon. And it was heading right towards him. E-Ming descended and landed on his shoulder. Ruoye was still on Xie Lian's wrist, and he gently pried the snake free.

"E-Ming, please take care of Ruoye," he quickly said. He handed Ruoye to the little dragon, who chittered in concern but took Ruoye in his talons. Ruoye stared at Xie Lian, tongue flicking in and out. "It will be okay," Xie Lian assured, although he didn't know if it was true. E-Ming flew away to safety, carrying Ruoye. Xie Lian was left there, standing all alone. He didn't want to risk his friends' lives, which meant that this battle was one he would have to face by himself.

Instinctively, Xie Lian drew his dagger, although it wouldn't do any good against the monster. It would be like using a shovel to try and make a mountain crumble. But he had to try. If he didn't do something, Bai Wuxiang was going to let the demon eat everyone in the town. He'd already failed them enough. Failed so many people. He didn't want anybody else to get hurt. There was only one way that he could defeat the many-bodied demon on his own, and he hated that it was exactly that Bai Wuxiang was trying to get him to do.

Xie Lian didn't have a drop of magic in him, and didn't have the power of flight- just himself. Himself and the powerful resentful energy rolling off of the monster. Dark magic, which channeled evil energy from another source and didn't rely on one's own magic, could be done even with iron shackles. It was an absolute last resort, because dark magic was so hard to control and chaotic. Xie Lian knew this from firsthand experience. The last time he'd used dark magic, he couldn't contain it. And someone else had paid the price.

But he didn't see what else he could do. There wasn't a point standing there and waiting for the many-bodied demon to come to him, so Xie Lian held his dagger out to the side and started running towards it. The terrain was covered in slush and mud, and cold water splashed up as he ran through puddles. His boots pounded against the ground, and he steeled himself for battle. The monster rose to meet him, wailing in a hundred voices. It towered so high that it cast a shadow over Xie Lian. It extended a slimy mass of its body towards him, hands inside of it groping and clawing.

Xie Lian dashed out of the way moments before it slammed to the ground, putrid chunks flying everywhere. The stench of rotten flesh and blood was so strong that he gagged. With a dreadful creaking, sucking noise, the many-bodied demon pulled the makeshift appendage back into itself. Xie Lian ran in the opposite direction as the village, trying to draw the creature's attention. Half of the demon rushed towards him, while the other continued towards the village. The oozing sinews between the two parts began to stretch, like it was going to split down the middle.

While the many-bodied demon was struggling with itself, Xie Lian cautiously opened up his body to its resentful energy so that he could convert it into dark magic. The chaos of a thousand souls in agony crashed into him, and he nearly stumbled. Flashes of colorful memories flooded his brain, so vibrant and raw that it stabbed his head with sharp pain. Glimpses into the human lives of the people the monster was made from. Weddings, village festivals, family homes, conversations. Xie Lian managed to shut some of it out, but it was just too much. The current was sweeping him away.