The Sound Of Drizzle: A Shadow

"Hey, Calida...do you_ ever hear a voice?"

"A voice?"

     "Yeah….like in your head. Whenever you feel stuck_ Does it talk to you?"

"Wait. Isn't that what people typically call a conscience. I mean everyone has one of those."

      "No; I don't think you get it. That isn't it at all….I know what a conscience is_ and what I hear….that isn't it. There is no way it could be."

"Right, I see now…..you are going crazy."

     "I am not! I thought for sure you'd know but now that I think about it, what could have given me that idea?"

     "Then at least, answer me this. The voice you hear_ does it at all sound anything like me?"

      "No….and I am glad it doesn't. Hearing my own sister's voice in my mind would just be creepy."

      "So, you can't hear my voice then…..if that's the case, then it should be that. Already influencing him even before he is able. You really don't have any patience."

      I don't know why…but when I heard her say those words, I knew beyond all reasonable doubt _ that those words_ weren't meant for me. It felt as if, at that moment;  she was looking right through me.

....

     "Finished ... .already."

"Who the hell is this? Who is talking to me?" The black fog-like aura that coated Kano's eyes intensified as he laid helplessly on the ground.  Rain washed him down as the downpour continued. He laid motionless at the mercy of the beast, the Panthera Leo Krugeri bystier. 

      "Oh….Seems like my voice can finally reach you now….." he heard a deep voice. It spoke to him with whoever it belonged to nowhere in sight.

     "It's...you_ again." As soon as he blinked, he saw all his surroundings disappear. All that was left was a dark void. In that void, he was submerged in water. He laid helplessly at the base of void as he could hardly move his body. 

     He was hyperventilating as his body began shivering from the cold he felt. Though he was submerged in water, he could still breathe, as naturally as he did before entering that place. 

     Again….the exact same voice again. Why?….why do I always hear it_ but never know who it belongs to.

...…

About a year ago;

    The house…was always empty. In the end, I guess I grew accustomed to that and I never thought much of it. For whatever reason,  Calida…..was the only person that I knew to be my blood relative. I knew that fact to my bones that it scared me. 

     My thoughts…..my feelings were always in disarray_ yet, I knew it to be true. I knew….that she was my twin sister. 

     The thought that my mind obsessed over was always the same. Why…..why was the first day of my memory, the day that she was consumed by flames. The day that she promised…to come back someday.

    Ten years passed since that day and not once_ through all that time_ did I ever see her.

     Like an infinite cycle,  Kano's life played out like a song on repeat. Always performing the same tasks. He woke up early every morning, did his chores, went hunting in Redstar, made a delivery to Fortune's Vitus, did some training  and cooked his own meals, before turning in for the night. Sometimes,  he would forego the whole meal part. He skipped meals quite a lot.

     "Water bullet," he said as he began releasing a blue aura.  Just like every single day, he was in Redstar Forest,  much like everyday, he was practicing how to control his magic. His daily quota was projecting five hundred bullets of water.

     After projecting a hundred bullets, he fell to the ground exhausted from maintaining his magic. He was trying to learn rapid fire. Minimizing the time between each bullet's creation without sacrificing its speed and power.

     He was laying on the ground, trying to catch his breath when he looked at the sky. Dark clouds were looming across it.

      "It looks like it will start raining soon….I should probably finish up and get going."

      He got back to his feet before a sudden wave of drowsiness washed over him. With it came a strong headache and  a wave of fatigue.

He fell to the ground as he was hyperventilating. His whole body felt hot.

What is wrong with me? He thought before he fell asleep. 

      Lighting flashed as thunder echoed across the sky. A heavy downpour then followed. Considering the fact that he was surrounded by a lot of tall trees, the forest wasn't really the ideal spot to fall asleep. Especially during a storm as grave as it was.

     Tap…tap…tap, he felt the water drumming against his skin. The sound of drizzle echoing through his mind. He opened his eyes, before he thought, Wait! It is already raining. He sat up before he got back to his feet. 

     I guess I must have fallen asleep. When he turned around, he saw someone standing in the rain. Her silky black hair tipped crimson, she wore a white mask patterned by red glowing feathers. Past the mask, her eyes were glowing a bright crimson. 

     He froze for a moment as he had no idea who that was. He then began releasing a blue aura.

      "Hey Asim…..why were you sleeping in the rain?" She asked before she took off her mask.

"Huh…..Who are you? How the hell do you know my name?"

      "Umm…you don't remember me. Ahhh_ Okay then, try and guess."

He nodded left and right before he added, "I honestly don't have time for this…..just tell me what you want and be done with it."

      She sighed before she replied, "So, you don't remember then. Fine. I am….you know…your sister."

      "Huh ... .stop joking around.  My sister looks nothing like you. Please don't try to sell me your story."

      She touched her hair as she thought. Not long after, she realized something.  He was about to start walking away when she said, "Wait! So you just don't recognize me right?"

The tips of her hair became dyed blue. Her eyes too were the same. "So…how about now…can-....." 

       Before she could even finish speaking, he hugged her. Grabbing her tightly.

"Calida….."

     "I guess…I will take it that you still remember me then," she said before she let go of her mask. It quickly turned to flames before it disappeared. 

....

    "This memory seems so important to you that it had me wondering. Throughout all that time that you were alone, you had Mr. Vito to train you. He even supported you. Then tell me…..tell me why you thought this moment to be special….and don't even tell me it was because of blood. Because Mr. Vito is your blood relative too." the voice said.

     "I don't think you'd get it," he said before he started forcing himself back to his feet. Two blue glowing stripes emerged from the water and wrapped themselves around before forcing him back to the ground. He continued hyperventilating as his breath ran short.

      When he blinked, he saw Anemone laying motionless on the ground. Completely at the mercy of the beast. Anemone? 

No….. As soon as he blinked,  his surroundings changed. He was back in that void once more.

      "Do you think you can answer me now?"

He began struggling, attempting to escape from the stripes that held him down.

      The voice sighed before it continued,  "Though I can't really understand why you value it so much….there was a part of it that I enjoyed….more than you'd like to know."

.....

     The downpour continued as they took shelter in a cave in Redstar Forest. Calida started a fire with her magic using some logs which he and her gathered. They were damp and as a result,  she had to dry them using her flames before she proceeded to ignite them.

    "Calida,  I wanted to ask you….since when did the tips of your hair turn red?"

"I thought you saw them do that..you know, the very day I left."

     "Wait but didn't the tips of your hair turn to blue from black. I mean like I saw it."

"I mean like you aren't wrong," she said as she grabbed the tips of her hair, "They were blue for a while but then they turned red when I devoured-.." She then chuckled before she added, "I just realized,  I know for a fact this isn't the question you wanted to ask."

      "Was it that obvious? Those flames, you know….the ones that consumed you…what were they?"

     "Beats me, but look, while I was away, I learned quite a few tricks. But look, this one is my favorite…..can you give me your hand?"

     He held out his hand slowly before she grabbed it. She then proceeded to close her eyes before she said, "Dream Scape."

     He saw her seated in front of him. The next thing he knew, everything disappeared,  he was surrounded by darkness. 

   His surroundings began forming again. The sound of drizzle meeting the ground echoing across his mind as trees were towering over him. On the ground,  he saw a little girl lying hopelessly on the ground. She laid among a few corpses.

    He picked her up. He felt tears wallowing up in his eyes and he began taking shallow breaths. He couldn't breathe from the strong pain he felt from his throat. He heard footsteps.

     With the sound of drizzle echoing through his mind, he began releasing a dark fog of aura. A blue and black fog. As soon as he caught sight of his enemies, he grabbed it as it began solidifying. "They…..are all dead."

      As he laid on the ground in the void, his left arm began releasing a black and blue fog like aura. The aura spread as it left his arm.

      From it, a silhouette of a child formed. It was made up of the black and blue fog.  Its eyes, a bright blue accompanied by several dots. Its mouth was made up of a blue aura as well. It grinned. 

      He began forcing himself back to his feet. When he blinked,  he saw Anemone lying on the ground as the beast was gathering flames at its maw. His left hand began releasing black and blue fog-like aura. It moved to his palm before it started gaining form.

    The black fog-like aura that coated his eyes began changing to blue before it was completely devoured. From the fog, a crystalline estoc began to form. And he grabbed it with his left hand. 

     When he blinked again, he was back in that void lying before the child. The blue stripes that trapped him skewered his body. When he blinked again, he was standing before the beast with the estoc in his hand. A blue stripe emerged from his elbow before it wrapped itself around it.

      He locked his eyes with the beast before it roared. It then released a stream of flames at him. 

     Right, I remember now….I thought so much of that because I really started believing that she died. That was why when I saw her, I don't know.

     He gripped its hilt tightly before he muttered, "Water Art: Discordant Torrent."

     Just a little special form the Kano and Calida scene in the cave:

      As soon as Calida opened her eyes, she saw that he was crying before she released the art, the dream scape. "I am sorry….sorry if I did it wrong…..I thought I focused on a memory you will forever remember."

     He smiled before he replied, "It is, I really can't forget_ that rainy day."