Duality

*Hey guys! The chapters, unfortunately, aren't ready yet. I want to ensure that before I release the chapters they match the quality of writing I want to keep and the vision I have for this story. I will have to delay a little bit longer, but for now, here's a short story that relates to the story in a way that'll be explained later." Thanks for your patience.

~~~~~

A stream ran across his face as he stared at his ruby-colored hands, fresh with the scent of regret. He could hear the banging thud of the stone door faintly breaking as a fist pounded against it.

He then heard an eerie creak as the door slammed open and footsteps disrupted the gentle silence of the cabin. Louder. Closer. The footsteps rang in his head as his ears stood up. He felt a chill on his ears and his hands moved to cover them. His legs felt like bent tulips, unable to support the weight of his body. A shrill noise permeated the air as his fingernails clawed the wall, seeming to search for something. Finding a soft linen cloth, he tightened his grip and pulled hard straining his hand.

The linen let out a soft cry as it slowly broke away from the wooden frame on top of the window. Sunlight invaded the unnerving darkness within the room. The sun burned his eyes like a concentrated inferno prompting him to shift his hands from his ears to his eyes. The blood from his hands shifted course onto his eyes as the moisture of his face spread the color unevenly across his face and appeared demonic.

He looked back once again and as the footsteps neared, he leaped out the window soaring temporarily as the wind caressed his face until his face met the dewy field of grass outside. He looked back at the wooden door of the room, now just hanging by one hinge. An expression of grief overtook his face as his back turned for the last time, never to return to the place he called home.

He ran, limping towards the lush, green forest ahead. He kept moving while looking side to side as his eyes scanned every leaf that it found. The trees around him grew taller as the sweat from his face slowly vanished. After nearly an hour of straight movement, all the muscles in his legs loosened at once and a sharp thorn penetrated his calf. He opened his mouth to cry in pain, but the regular melody of birds chirping remained uninterrupted. His eyes focused on a lone tree in front of him and a slight smile crept onto his face. He crawled on all fours, wincing at every step, under the shade of the tree, resting his back against the firm bark. Finally free from the scorching sun, his eyes closed under the shade and his consciousness drifted into darkness.

A small boy was running through the open fields, laughing happily. He turned back and saw a radiant smile directed at him. She waved at him, telling him to return. As the boy got closer, he could see her flawless, glowing skin reflecting sunlight and creating a warm angelic glow around her. The boy ran back as quickly as possible and jumped into her arms with the innocent smile of a child.

"Did you have fun?" she asked him while still embracing him.

"A lot. A lot of fun. Can we come back tomorrow? Pleeaseeee?" The little boy loosened his head from her embrace and pouted.

"Of course! We'll go anywhere you want to." the woman smiled back at him. Her face tensed up as she looked around. The worried look on her face only evolved further as nothing crossed her sight.

"Where's your brother?! I haven't seen him in a while," she asked him.

"Oh, he's in front of some little sapling and keeps trying to chant something at it." He replied while his face frowned slightly.

"You left him alone?" She asked, frowning slightly as well.

"He told me to. Do you not believe me?" the boy face drooped.

"Of course I believe you. I'm just worried since he is still so small. He hasn't gotten as big as you yet." She smiled at him once again. "Let's go find him."

"Ok! Let's go!", the little boy jumped out of her embrace fully and began to walk towards some shrubbery. He closed his eyes and dove straight through the bushes, landing on his palms. "Come on!" He shouted towards the other side of the shrub.

When she neared the bush, it separated in two and moved to her sides with not even a leaf daring to touch her. Another tiny little boy appeared in view, even smaller than him. The boy's arms were flailing in the air as he seemed to yell at the sapling. The duo walked closer to him as they could now hear him chanting something repeatedly.

As she reached to touch the little boy, the tree suddenly began growing. It's roots stabbed through the other trees and grew high into the sky, blocking out the sun entirely and creating a massive region of shade. The little boy jumped back in surprise. Off balance, he stumbled onto the floor while a rapidly expanding root head his way.

The woman jumped in front of the root, but it stopped mysteriously right in front of her face. As if the tree was afraid, the root shriveled up and receded back into the tree, disappearing from sight.

She picked up the little boy off the floor and pulled him into her embrace as tears rained down her face. The older boy sprinted over to her and began to wipe her tears and kept telling her not to cry. He frowned once again as he looked at the boy shuddering in her arms. A flame formed within his eyes and his hazel pupils developed into a bright red.

"Come, let's take your brother home." the mother said as she felt a chilling wind coming from her right.

The boy turned his frown into a smile instantly as he saw he turn to look at him. "Ok. Let's go!"

They walked quietly for some time until the boy couldn't withhold his curiosity any longer. "Mother! Mother! Why do the leaves keep moving away from us? Even the little bunny over there won't come and play with me."

She looked to the sky with a melancholy look and ruffled the boy's hair with her free hand. Noticing something was awry, the boy hugged her tightly, unwilling to let go. "I'm- I'm sorry. I won't ask anymore. Please don't cry."

"How can I cry with you here? You wouldn't let any tears get off my face." she smiled at him again. "But how are we going to get home if you don't let go?"

The boy let go quickly let go, afraid of that look on her face. He clasped onto her hand and skipped along.

A little later, the small boy woke up from his deep sleep and poked his head out to look at where he was. He felt the warmth of his mother's embrace and tucked his head back into her bosom.

"Are you finally awake?" She asked him gently. Not getting a response, she let him down on the floor, but his hands streched towards her instantly attempting to get picked up.

She hesitated temporarily but relented in the end as she picked him up once again. The little boy curled up into a ball, clutching her tightly.

The older boy kicked some leaves to the side as the fire in his eyes appeared once again.

"What happened? Merlin, why did you kick those leaves?" she asked as she turned around quickly.

"I just wanted to play with the leaves!" he responded giddily.

Although she could feel something wrong, the mother was unable to tell exactly what it was.

They continued walking back until they came upon a log cabin. The older boy was frowning at his brother every time his mother diverted her glance.

Reaching the door of the cabin the mother smiled at Merlin. "Let's go home. I think Nox needs some sleep."

The man came to after an unknown time. The sudden memory caused his eyes to swell up with tears.

"I won't forgive you." He whispered to himself. "Never."

The pain from the massive thorn caused him to once again lose his consciousness.

~~~~~~~~

"I'm finally back." A man yelled out as he rushed towards a stone cabin. "Mother, I'm finally back."

As he reached the door, he saw it closed. He knew that his mother was notified that he was arriving today. The door should have been open. He rushed up to the door and knocked quietly, hoping for the door to spring open as he jumped into his mother's arms.

As he went to knock for the fourth time, his nose scrunched up automatically, overtaken by a mysterious smell. He whiffed the air again to understand what the scent was. After the third whiff, his eyes opened wide were wide in horror. He began pounding on the door with his fist, breaking some of the stone pieces with each thud.

No response.

He moved back and readied his arms. He chanted something under his breath and the door slowly began to open with an eerie creak resounding through the whole cabin.

Softer. Farther. Each step he took felt like he stepped farther away from home. An eerie feeling overtook him as he took quieter steps, sensing danger ahead. A ringing sound vibrated his eardrums as he went to cover them.

He crept closer to the room where he spent his happiest moments. As he reached for the wooden door, barely hanging on a hinge, a sudden burst of sunlight stung his eyes.

He hesitated temporarily to open the door. His heart beat faster as blood surged to his head. The ringing became louder as he fell down to his knees in front of the door.

After a few minutes, he finally braved his fears and pushed open the door. It creaked loudly and collapsed as the hinge was unable to support it any longer.

His eyes opened wide as tears flushed to his eyes. He crawled over weakly, splashing in the red fluid leaking on the ground.

His hands covered his eyes as he attempted to unsee everything, but instead, his face adopted a demonic look. He opened eyes to hopefully wake from the nightmare it should be, but it wasn't. He saw the lifeless body of his mother laying on the ground. Her radiant smile still on her face as her eyes remained still, in shock.

He cried out with pain enveloping him. A black misty aura surrounded him and a ghastly feeling emanated from him. He touched her gentle face once again for the lady time as her body disappeared not even leaving the bones. He felt the power surging through him as he absorbed her life essence.

The man looked out the window to the trail of blood left behind. "I won't forgive you, even if you're my brother. I'll find you and I'll chase you, for my whole life if I have to. I'll make it my mission to end your life as you ended hers."

The shadowy aura enveloped him entirely as he turned his back and vanished, never again to return to the place he called home.