Torch

The stars twinkled in the sky, their beauty painted across the empty void. The thousands of stars that remained as bright for millennia on end, dimmed as Ali dropped to his knees with disbelief in his eyes.

Ali's heart felt as if it was being choked and stabbed over and over. His eyes remained wide, his hands trembled as they reached out to turn Akaza on his back. Kammu watched with a sadistic sense of amusement, he kept his left arm behind his back. He hid a sword behind him, one that was picked up by Eira from the bloody battlefield. She had ordered him to finish Akaza off if the Wisteria poison didn't, or whenever he felt it was 'right'. A strong sense of power flowed through his mind, intoxicating him with superficial superiority. He grinned and held back a chuckle. The two people who had taunted and laughed in his face only a few days ago were now both on the ground in front of him, practically at his feet. He wanted to savour this sight for as long as possible. 

"Akaza…" Ali's hand trembled as he placed it over his mouth, his eyes wide and his entire soul tainted with disbelief and confusion. Akaza was the very definition of strength, power and discipline in Ali's mind. Now that he lay on the ground in this disturbing defeated state, it felt as if his construct of strength had been torn down. As if reality had been flipped upside down. Akaza weakly gazed up at Ali, his pupil who's breathing was shaking, and his body was trembling.

Akaza wasn't sure how long he had left, every second that passed by, the wisteria in his bloodstream throbbed more intensely. He could feel each cell of what remained of him die, one by one. His body's severe wounds weren't regenerating at all now. 

"Why aren't you healing?" Ali's fists clenched tightly as he fought a losing battle against grief and confusion. Akaza, the definition of power, strength and discipline in Ali's mind, now lay defeated and left in an embarrassing state. 

"What the hell did you do to him?" Ali's emotions manifested into an intense culmination of anger, sorrow and mistrust. His eyes glared at Kammu, piercing through his smug expression. He wasn't sure how to feel. Never in his brain had he ever thought of Akaza's death. Akaza seemed invincible. Ali was shattered.

"I told you, it was 'The Shadow' who did this, a powerful demon slayer," Kammu fought his instinct to step back, "You can go find him if you want revenge," 

"E…" Akaza's throat choked as he attempted to speak. He was trying to say 'Eira', he wasn't going to let Kammu twist Ali's perception of the truth. He felt a pool of blood leak into his throat. His eyes widened as he realised the implications. Every word that he spoke was a threat to his life. The damage he had sustained was so severe that if he spoke, blood would pool in his throat. Since Akaza was on his back, this posed a severe danger to him. He had to choose his words carefully. 

Just the syllable he had spoken had sent an agonising frenzy of pain pulsating. He took a deep breath as he stared at his precious pupil. He stared at how Ali's body twitched with emotions too intense, he could see Ali didn't know what to do. The confusion that welled deep inside him and the anxiety that was rising due to it. Ali's breathing was short and shaky, twitching every time he sharply inhaled. Akaza's heavy eyes wrinkled a bit as a slight smile spread on his face. He wanted to admire the student he taught, just one last time before death. Memories began to flood his mind, how he felt saw an unmistakable spark within Ali. Akaza knew the potential of Ali's power immediately. Even with his stubborn mindset at first, and his harsh tone, Akaza persisted in cultivating Ali's skills. With every punch and kick he threw and every training session, Akaza relived all of those moments in a few seconds. 

Memories of when Ali first smiled. When he first said thank you, when Ali first landed a hit on him. A sadness filled his heart. Ali was the student Akaza always wanted. The relentless determination, and stubborn desire to become more powerful. Akaza hoped, in another universe, they were both human. Teacher and student at a dojo. That way they would have fewer problems. Akaza smiled once again as he inhaled deeply. 

"Ali," Akaza's words came out hoarse, a gap between every syllable. A gap of agony that surged through his body. Akaza knew his last words couldn't be something stupid. He didn't want to die with his last words only telling Ali who had killed him. 

"It's ok… to cry," Akaza's statement silenced the entire forest. 

Ali froze for a while. 

Ali bit his lip as he stared at the sky with his eyes clamped shut. Why did it feel like Akaza was saying goodbye? He hated every second of this painful interaction. He felt tears slowly seep out of his shut eyes, his ears turned red and his fists clenched tightly. Ali gave up. He dropped to the floor and tears began to dampen the ground below as he sobbed uncontrollably. Many associated crying with weakness and vulnerability, there was nothing weak about showing emotion or tears. Ali put an arm around Akaza's damaged torso as he cried. 

Akaza gulped deeply as he witnessed Ali break down. Akaza hadn't felt loved in a long time. Not since his fiancee Koyuki when he was a human. Why was he thinking of her all of a sudden?

Akaza wondered if she awaited in the afterlife for him. His ears were filled by the sobs of Ali. Once again, Akaza spoke.

"Take my eyes…" Akaza strained, he could feel the blood pooling in his throat, "Absorb…"

Akaza coughed roughly, blood flew out as he coughed. The blood splattered everywhere as he felt his eyes blur and his body become ever so weak. With every breath he took, another cough crept up his throat, creating an agonising cycle of coughing. 

Ali felt a crushing sense of fear and grief slam onto his shoulders. His chest felt tight, his lungs small and his heart trapped. Akaza's statement unloaded an ungodly amount of pressure onto him, as well as consolidating an imminent demise for Akaza. 

Reality felt fake. As the seconds blended seamlessly together, time ticked ever so fast, yet the same as always. The trees that rustled, the wind that blew and the stars that shone. Ali wished it was all a dream or some hallucination. 

Akaza continued to cough, reality stabbed Ali's heart. 

Kammu had foolishly watched on too long. He didn't know what 'absorb' meant in this context, but his first crucial mistake was letting Akaza live this long. Ali rose from his broken pose, his knees were weak and trembled slightly. He wiped his tear-stained face, but it wasn't of much use as he began to sob once again. 

He stared at Akaza, who once again, smiled. He nodded softly. 

The ritual Ali hated, not only was he forced to do it by himself, but on someone he cared for deeply. He stared at Akaza's bloodshot eyes, red with damage, age and emotion. Ali took a deep breath as he stared at his trembling hands. 

The next minute was only seen through blurry tears. Ali's fingers dug into Akaza's already soft and damaged eye sockets. Kammu watched on with a grotesque interest. Ali roughly pulled the eyes out. The blood covered his hands, only further contributing to his tremble. Ali held the eyes in one hand, and with the other, he violently pierced his own eye sockets. Ali's body throbbed with agony as he quickly placed the eyes into his own. He felt some sort of physical relief as regeneration began. Yet, the emotional turmoil remained as intense as ever. 

Akaza didn't want Ali to feel any worse. So he held in the screams of agony that begged to be released from his body. He had no sight. He couldn't see anything. It was a bizarre 'sight', he had never thought of what it was like to be blind. Many people assume you see black when you are blind, but in reality, a blind person sees 'nothing'. What is nothing?

Akaza wished he could have his sight back only for a few seconds, to see Ali with eyes that read 'Upper Moon Three'. He was filled with pride just by the thought.

Next, he felt Ali's hand lay flat on his torso.

Ali could feel Akaza's weak heart struggle to pump blood, a dormant buzz began to fill his entire body. Hesitation lurked in his body. Kammu stupidly watched on, his grip on the sword was tight, yet he had no intention of using it. He was hypnotised by intrigue as he watched Ali. 

Silence. 

"Akaza," Ali choked between syllables, "Thank you for everything," 

"You're strong Ali," Akaza could barely speak, but he wanted to leave a final message to his beloved pupil. 

"You're strong." His final sentence sounded like a gargle. 

Akaza was on the brink of death, but that didn't mean his power had disappeared. The entire abundance of his intense strength and willpower lay dormant in his body. Simply unable to be used due to his physical state. 

Through tears, Ali was fully immersed in sorrow as he began to absorb Akaza. A faint glow on his palm as he felt the colour and energy drain out of Akaza's corpse. Ali felt his veins fill with an excruciating amount of strength. Strength so potent and concentrated, transferred from Akaza to Ali. As if he was passing down the torch. The future became the present. Kammu's eyes were wide as he watched Akaza transform from a corpse, to a grey dust on the floor. Ali lifted his hand out of the pile of dust. His entire body throbbed with a newfound saturation of strength. 

This was the most amount of power Ali had absorbed ever. It was extremely painful. It felt as if all of his blood cells were exploding with restlessness and energy. His entire body being stabbed by the uncontrollable strength. 

Ali began to breathe heavily as he was faced with ferocious agony and relentless emotions of sorrow and grief. He put both hands on his face and felt his throat tighten. 

His pale blue skin erupted with veins, they swelled over his entire body. Kammu's eyes widened as he witnessed the crescent-shaped marks on Ali's body transform. They freakishly grew cracks around their edges and took on a faint glow. Ali dropped to the floor and held himself as he began to scream in agony.

Kammu gulped with terror in his eyes. Fear opened the door to stupid decisions. His palm tightened around the hilt of the sword he hid behind his back. He grunted as he lunged forward and risked a swing to slice Ali's neck, the complete opposite of what Eira would've wanted. The sword halted right as it clashed against Ali's tough skin. 

Silence took over once again. The agony had stopped. But that didn't mean Ali had recovered from any of the events tonight. Emotional, physical and mental damage had been done. Akaza's death, the excruciating pain he had just endured and this 'Shadow' person he so desperately wanted revenge on. He was on the edge of losing it. That slight prickle he felt when Kammu slammed the blade against his neck. 

That slight prickle pushed Ali off the edge. Kammu, who had lost against Lower Moon One, Ali. Now stood frozen in the face of Upper Moon Three, Ali. Kammu felt a shiver down his spine, his entire body paralysed as Ali's head slowly rose and stared into his eyes. A wide-eyed expression of nothing but pure hatred. 

Blood Demon Art. Turbulence.