CHAPTER 31: Argument.

Sirin stood in front of an exhausted Hendrik. They had been sparring on the training field for quite a while now. Hendrik's arms below the elbow had already turned painful and red from blocking Sirin's attacks.

"Alright, enough for now." He managed to exclaim.

Sirin only raised his eyebrow. Tough a lot of humans here were a lot stronger than those he had previously met; Hendrik was quite pathetic.

Sirin could also not find the reason behind this sparring. How were any of them supposed to get better if they weren't allowed to actually hit anyone and simply wait for the other one to figure out how to block the attack?

He shrugged. "Verry well then."

This time they didn't wander into the woods but stayed rather close to the training field. As they placed themselves on one of the stone walls that were there to avoid people falling down the mountain, Sirin couldn't help but notice how few people were out today. Usually everyone was following some ridiculously tight schedule that he couldn't bother to follow. But now only the older students were out.

Hendrik noticed his questioning gaze and painfully smiled. "Most of the younger students are now preforming a ritual higher up the mountain."

Sirin turned to face his friend. "But you look like one of those littler humans. Why aren't you with them?"

"I-" He hesitated for a moment. "The ritual is for forming the base of your centre. You can further strengthen it with training, absorbing energy, or just with taking potions and pills if you're just too weak and lazy. The truth is, I have a wound. And until it is recovered, I can't form a core again. But I doubt that will ever happen."

Sirin tilted his head and gave Hendrik a questioning gaze. "Does it hurt?" He eventually asked.

"Nah, not really. And hey, if I can't grow in power like the others, they have no reason to keep me in check as much, so it's easier for me to break the rules and have some fun. Don't you agree?"

Sirin slowly wagged his tail as he listened to Hendrik. "I mean if you're fine with it, then so am I. But I doubt that is the case. Am I right?"

Hendrik stood up and pretended to check his bag for a moment. "Nah, when I'm done here, I will just go back to my village and follow in my parents' footsteps. Its no big deal, it's just a waste of my years. But hey, I managed to make some friends here, so it is not that bad."

"I might be able to help you."

Hendrik froze after he heard Sirin speak. "What do you mean?" He asked as he clutched the leather handle of his bag.

"Though I'm really inexperienced in things like this, my kind usually makes deals with you mortals. And more often than not they want power in some way. I'm sure that I can offer you power as well."

Hendrik laughed. "Sorry but I doubt that you can restore my core much less grant me a new one."

Hendrik was once again reminded of what a strange creature he had managed to befriend as Sirin grinned from ear to ear while his blue pupils seemed to glow a little more than they usually did.

"Oh, but I'm not talking about your ways of gaining strength." He spoke in a surprisingly sweet tone while the current vibe he gave off would suggest otherwise. "How about you help me gain more strength, and I will share some of it with you. As far as I know you wouldn't need some sort of 'core' for that, and you don't seem to mind breaking some rules."

"What is it that you need then?" Hendrik asked as he felt his heart beating faster. For some reason he had the feeling that this creature sitting in front of him was not the same one that he had a casual chat with a just a few moments ago. This creature was far more threatening. Before this he couldn't see a reason why the salt had turned black, or why the teachers had described his friend as a vile being, or a living evil spirit. But now he started to understand.

"Souls." Sirin's voice nearly echoed trough his mind. " Those spirits all of you won't shut up about are basically conscious souls and these just so happen to be my main food source. If you can give those to me, I can afford to share my strength with you. Isn't that more convenient than wasting your time here?"

"But those are people. Even if they're dead, they're people. You can't just eat those! "

The white creature in front of Hendrik just kept smiling and was even wagging its tail. The disgustingly large grin, the black eyes with the glowing centres, the pure white skin that looked like all colours had been lost as long as he looked at it, never before had his friend looked so unnatural to him.

"Oh? But I can." The creature spoke. At this point Hendrik was certain that it was speaking directly into his mind. "And I have."

Sirin stood up and came a little closer to Hendrik. "Don't pretend that this is so terrible. Its only natural for my kind. Besides I could go out and fetch some souls myself as long as I don't stray too far from here. But I'm offering you a chance to not be lesser than any other human here."

Suddenly the threatening feeling the creature gave of dissolved as Sirin placed his hand on Hendrik's shoulder. "Look, I'm just trying to help." He said in his usual melodic voice. "If you don't want it, then its fine. Just know that I'm here for you as long as I'm in this world."

Hendrik took a few steps back to be freed from Sirin's grasp. "What the fuck are you? Why would you ever think that I would want help in that way?"

Sirin tilted his head. "I'm a demon. It's not like I have been keeping that a secret. I also don't know why you people are not familiar with the term. And what do you mean, in that way? It's just an equal exchange, you won't be the one eating the souls."

"Is this why you're here?" The young man hissed. "To make sure our loved ones won't get the rest that they deserve."

Sirin bit his lip. He didn't understand why the human was freaking out this much. He understood that humans cared for other humans. But Hendrik didn't know these spirits personally, plus they were already dead. Furthermore, Sirin only wanted to help his mortal friend, and he simply needed at least some sort of contract for that to keep a connection so that he could share some of his magic.

"I- I'm sorry. Yes, I did come to this world to feed." He stammered.

"The teachers were right, you're a monster."

"Please help me understand." The tip of Sirin's tail was slightly trembling as he spoke. "Why do you care so much for these lost souls? Why do the living worry about the dead? The person they were is gone anyways. Why am I a monster for simply doing what I need to do to survive.?"

"Because they are still people with thoughts, and emotions, and memories. You can't end an existence, it breaks the order of these worlds, these spirits need guidance to rest and eventually move on to the next life. You have no right to rip that away! And what do you mean, you need it to survive? You don't look dying to me. If you really gain your strength from these souls, then you are just addicted to power!"

Sirin didn't know what to do with this. In hell power meant survival. There might only be young demons around his territory, but an old and strong one could pass by at any moment. Yes, he could stay in the mortal worlds for some time and be relatively safe, but he needed and wanted to go back home at some point.

Not wanting the argument to turn into a complete fight in which he might accidentally kill this weak mortal he turned into a shade demon. And with a final fierce screech as a warning, he disappeared into the shadows.