The Broken Doll

Chapter 19

Astral took the news as well as Dark would have hoped. That is, he only blinked and looked at Dark blankly, not looking like he understood, but Dark knew that he understood perfectly well. He could sense that emotionally, he was pretty tired, so he induced his twin to sleep and went downstairs, where the spellcasters and Yuri were talking in Yuma's downstairs room.

"Whatcha talking about?" Dark asked. "Do you have an alternative to helping Shing?"

"Yes, there are several alternative cures," Dark Mist began, but he looked to his partner before speaking. It was a quick glance, but there was hesitation in it. "However the cures all involve a sacrifice, be it her lover, a friend, or this entire town. I think we'd want to keep the casualties to a minimum, no?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't think killing this entire town would make anything better."

"So, the next best cure here is to sacrifice someone close to her."

Dark pursed his lips, knowing that she and Astral were close. While the sacrifice wouldn't really kill Dark himself, it would very much put him in a zombie-like state. He was unwilling to go through that experience for the rest of his life, but he knew a kingdom's survival was on the line.

"I'll try to convince Astral of it," he finally agreed. "He was the closest one to her aside from Yuma."

Yuri nodded gratefully. "Well, I have to go back. I don't know how much longer Vegeta and Vector will hold out on their own. We'll be awaiting her return." He nodded to the spellcasters, who made a portal back to their kingdom. "Goodbye."

Dark waved as the others left through the portal. He looked outside and saw the sky turning pink. He had to find Shing and see what she was up to.

~.~.~

She watched the sky turn pink and red. For some reason, just like last time, the name "Shing" didn't seem to suit her anymore. She was no longer that girl; she was now someone who caused nothing but pain to those around her without a second thought, and she did it gladly. She felt no remorse, just constant pain in her chest.

The girl whispered into the wind. One person in a couple came over to check out the noise, and she brushed her hand against him, whispering once again that he would die at midnight. The man, woozy from her touch, went back to his lover. She knew that he would die at midnight as promised. The thought of the emotional torment the woman he loved would experience evoked a giggle from her.

And so she continued luring people in, touching them, and sending them back off. By midnight, she could feel their life forces wink out like candles. With each life that blinked out, the pain in her chest lightened for a bit; it resembled joy.

When the sky lightened again, she found some shade to sleep in and curled up.

~.~.~

Dark, having observed everything Shing did, flew all the way back to Astral, who was just now waking up. He didn't feel as empty as before, but he was emotionally unstable. On the way there, Astral picked up on Dark's thoughts and knew that he would have to be the sacrifice to cure Shing. Dark, heartbreakingly enough, felt the resignation, as if he didn't want to live anymore.

So, he decided to use words. "Are you sure you're willing to die? This is your life, after all."

"Under any other circumstance, I would want to find another way. However, we cannot go back home. The only person who can see us and give us company is cursed, and the only way to cure her is to die."

"And you'd leave me alone."

Silence on the other end, but it was thoughtful silence. "We need to weigh our options then."