Wretched Blessing

Chapter 17

        "You are finding your way to unspeakable power, my young (animal)."

        I remembered those words from somewhere, in a time that felt a thousand years ago. The memory was too distant to pinpoint, the image unable to be conjured alongside the deep rumble of words. All I saw was darkness. A pitch-black darkness that detained my limbs no matter how much I moved. I struggled to break free from it, my head twisting from right to left in a maddening search for light.

        "Continue along this path and you will grow strong enough to find me...to join me."

        Why did those words sound so familiar? Where had they come from? Baring my teeth, I stepped forward a few paces—at least it felt like I did—and gained no ground as I fought to locate the source of the voice hidden in blackness. I stretched my hands in front of myself to make sure nothing stood there, invisible. No sensation met my fingertips. I grew frustrated, grinding my teeth together and thrashing around childishly, wanting something to communicate with my senses. Anything.

        "You are perfect."

        At those words, I ceased my ineffective movements. I remembered where I had heard them from. They came from a dream, one of many where a black figure with snake eyes haunted my disturbed nights. They came from Mephiles before I knew him by that name. Back then I had called him my (animal) spirit, my guardian, and I had named him Black. Those deep words that echoed in the darkness were his first to me. Why did I hear them now? That encounter had taken place months ago.

        I wish I knew where that voice came from. But it's so dark, I can't see. Why can't I see?

        "Open your eyes."

        My eyes opened. I found myself standing in a chamber of bright and smooth crystal walls, pink and purple as the dominating colors. In the center of the room, some meters in front of me, a structure protruded from the ground, filled with liquid. This structure was formed from a stone material, solid and bold, unlike the crystals that made up the dimension.

        "(Name), approach the Time Pool," Mephiles' voice rang out, the demonic entity nowhere to be seen. I did as he said, albeit with hesitance. Each step I took reverberated throughout the chamber until I stopped at the edge of the pool. "Look in the water, like I had shown you before. What you experience will be different from what you saw in the lake. There, you saw the world at its present. But here you can view past, present, and future. I want you to look into the past, (Name). Witness what happened during the night of your first transformation into a (animal)."

        My heartbeat thrummed as I listened to him. What I might see frightened me, but curiosity expanded in my chest like a balloon. If I really could see into the past, then I'd know the truth. I'd know how I had become so different from the other were(animal)s—how I had become special. Clasping the pool's ledge, I leaned forward over the swirling liquid that shone with oily rainbow colors. Despite the colors, I saw my reflection easily, and I glared into my own (eye color) eyes. My image warped and rippled, replaced by other familiar images as I thought of the past. The scene I wanted enlarged in the pool, and I watched myself in awe—an average human girl before the monster inside expressed itself.

        A forest of dark, leafy trees rustled in the night breeze, my (hair length) (hair color) hair blew to the side. I traveled alone. Even as a young girl I had always felt the urge to walk underneath the stars, whether they were hidden by blue sunny skies or visible when that flaming ball of fire dropped below the horizon. Tonight, I felt different, and I didn't know why. An itch had lingered in my bones ever since the last ray of light disappeared, forcing me to leave home earlier than usual.