Saturday, March 31, 2012

Chapter 22 ~~ Chosing Another Path


"Excuse me, but WHAT?!"
Her tails danced in the air expressing her impacience. "I want to purify this world. This world is for humans. We have no right whatsoever to be here. We were not meant to be here."
"But...but we are living beings as well! What right do you have to decide something like that?!"I stood from my place with my fists clenched.
"Sit, Seung Ho,"she spoke, having that merciless spark in her eyes. "I've got all the rights to take such a decision. Why? Because I created most of the creature that you met. Because as their creator I have the power to decide their life and death."
"YOU'RE CREAZY! IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO TAKE PART IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS...YOU'RE WRONG!"
She stood from her place and came towards me. I closed my eyes, waiting to feel her slap on my skin or some other kind of punishment for my disobedience. But all I felt was her gentle touch. I opened my eyes and met that icy-blue color that was filled with thousands of sad centuries and surpressed tears. She stroke my cheek with a motherly gentleness.
"Seung Ho, I want to set my children free. They are all hurting and sad. And this world, this world was not made for us. It's too human for us. Even the night became too distant and cold for us. Help me free my children..."
What was she trying to make me do?
"Trying to hypnotize me won't win me over, you know,"I coldly said, taking a step back. "How about your brother? How about your friends? How about...Woohyun?"
She sighed and turned around. Once she sat on the armchair once again I saw what she was in reality:the world's most feared creature. "Thunder is a demigod and he's not my blood brother, but my sworn brother. He and the others know about my plan and they all joined on their own will since I had no power over them. They were the first beings that I met, not to be transformed by me,"she explained on a really bored tone. "So, what are you going to do?"
"I'm definitely not taking part in this madness! You're crazy!"
She laughed making me hear those bells again. Indeed she was one deathly creature...
"Why did you even bothered saving my ass one year ago? If you were going to kill me with your stupid plan?"I snapped, remembering that the pain inside my chest was the cause of something else. "Why did you bothered pretending that you love me when in fact you only needed me to complete your plan? WHY?!"
"I saved you because I love you."
"You love me?!"I whispered on a dangerous tone. "YOU LOVE ME?!"
I started laughing while tears ran down my face. "DON'T LIE! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE! YOU'RE TO INHUMANE TO KNOW THAT FEELING! YOU...YOU'RE A CRIMINAL!"
That was the moment when something snapped inside of me. It was the only bond that kept me tied to her, the only bond that sent me inside that abyss, taking away my mental health. And suddenly I saw colors. I could see each particle of dust in the air, glowing like fireflies from her silver light. I looked at her and saw her for the first time as she really was:the most beautiful woman, surrounded by heavenly light, bearing the cold and ice in her eyes. My heart went crazy as my eyes stopped on her lips, going down on her neck, feeling that power that was throbbing inside her, flowing though her whole body along with her pure blood. 
"Yes, that's right. I am a murderer. But I want to stop now,"she said, smiling bitterly. "This hands of mine want to stop. I had enough blood washing my skin. I want to stop. And if I'm to stop, I'll protect this world as well. I'll embrace all my children and save them from damnation while I save this world from darkness. This is my last wish as Kwon Min Ah, the gumiho."
Indeed, the world was a beautiful place once you're no longer tied to your maker. "I will not take part in this madness. And I'll do anything in my power to stop you. Remember this, Kwon Min Ah, maker of Yang Seung Ho, I'm not going to stand and watch you destroy the supernatural world. If someone's going to die, then you'll go to Hell alone."
"I understand,"she whispered as her tails dissapeared, leaving only the sun's rays illuminate the room. "Go now, Yang Seung Ho and fulfill your own destiny away from me. We shall meet again in the near future."
I turned around and prepared to leave the room and my maker. But even if the bond was no longer there, the feelings were still vivid. I couldn't bare to kill them all in one night, no matter how hateful I found her. After all, she was the only woman that made my heart beat while being the ugly monster that the crescend protected...
"I really love you. From the very beginning,"her voice travelled to me as I closed the door behind me, ignoring the tears that were soaking my shirt. 
"Since ever..."

Chapter 21 ~~ Conffesion Of The Night's Darkness


The words crashed inside my head. My maker...my maker...my maker...
"Min Ah! What's going...?"
I looked at Thunder with a hurt expression.
"Stay away, Thunder,"she spoke, making me quiver. "We don't know how he's going to react."
And once again I looked at her. What was she talking about? React? was she expecting me to jump on her? Attack her? Bite her? Fight with her and the others? Cry in front of her? What was she exactly expecting me to do? Actually, I was too shocked to think or react. The only thing that I could do was to watch her nine tails move behind her, filling the corridor with that strange light.
"Seung Ho..."
Her call...I could feel it in my blood. Every single cell of mine was pushing me towards her, towards her streched arms, to feel her warm arms around me, to cry in her imbrace...to be happy that she was there, a vivid presence in my life. But the voice inside my head told me to stay away, so my body did not move towards her.
"I thought you died,"I finally muttered.
"Dead?"she smiled. "I wish. No, Seung Ho, I was more present in your life than you can ever imagine. Now come, hear the story of your maker,"she signaled me to follow her in the living room. Which I did. Why? Because the bond between us was not broken. It was weakened by the years that passed without seeing each other, but it ws still there, burning inside my heart more brightly than ever before.
The door closed behind me without anyone touching it. So she had that kind of power...
"Sit."
I looked at her. Sitting there on that armchair with her legs crossed and her tails wrapped around her like a fur coat, she looked more like a queen than like the Kwon Min Ah I used to know.
"Aren't you going to sit?"shr raised her eyebrow.
"I prefer to stand."
"Cocky as ever!"she laughed.
That laugh again! Like the sound of bells tied at a cat's neck. It gave chills down my spine, making me wonder just how deathly was she?
"Step closer. I'm not going to eat you."
This time I had to obey. "What do you want from me?"
She analyzed my expression before answering. "What I want? I want you to stop being so awkward around me. It's not like I'm some kind of monster that it's going to eat you alive! I'm your maker. Aren't you supposed to be happy to see me?"
"Weren't you supposed to be there for me when I needed help?"I replied with a question. "Aren't you supposed to always tell me the truth?"
"No,"she  answered, looking straight into my eyes. "I made you. I'm not obliged to tell you anything. I considered that it would be better for you if I keep my distance. And I think I did well. Look at you! You're a full fledged vampire without any human feelings residing in you. My purpose was to give you the gift of immortality, Seung Ho. Which I did. You didn't need me to feed you or anything like that. I was sure that you could find your own surviving way. Which you did,"she pointed out. "Did I not do well in raising you?"
Her words...they light the fire inside me. My anger was starting to heat up my blood, making it boil in my veins. How could she? Just how could she make me live on my own for so long, endure the sadness of countless decades and become a monster that shouldn't have existed from the beginning?!
"What are you?"I heard myself asking. " 'Coz I don't think you are a vampire..."
"Aren't you playing smart right now,"she giggle. "Fine! Let's play this game of yours. To answer your question:no, I'm not a vampire. I'm a nine-tailed fox, better said, a gumiho."
"A gumiho? Isn't that a mythological being that feeds on human liver in order to get human?"
"And look who studied history!"she mocked me. "What you said is true, but only for red nine-tailed foxes. And I'm a white fox, as you can see. The last one from my kind, actually."
"This doesn't answer to my question:how come you were able to transform a human into a vampire?"I asked, taking a sit on the sofa. Her history was quite interesting and for few minutes I forgot all about the pain in my chest.
"I am this world's last Creator. I was born as I am with the supreme power of creating and transforming. I'm an old fox, Seung Ho. Older than you can even imagine. Almost as old as this world...are you really interested in my story?"
I nodded. After all, she was my maker. Her story was my story.
"I was born on Norway's current territory, under the name of Kylala. The reason I was born as a gumiho, like the koreans named me, is that my mother was a murderer since childhood. She slaughtered her whole family when she was 5 years old. As years passed she commited many murders, but no one dared to confront her. Then she met my father. He was already taken..."
She stopped and looked at me, trying to read my thoughts. "Their society was one of women. They held the power. Men were used only for sexual plesure and for perpetuing the species. My father was the slave of a wealthy woman, but even so, my mother wanted to have him and in the end she got what she wanted, 'coz no one dared go against the leader. One thing my mother didn't knew:my father and his master were in love. Their relationship was the base of nowadays society."
Once again she stopped. This time she was too engrossed in her own memories to look at me. "Mother found out about that after she remained pregnant with me. Surprisingly, she set my father free. Little did he knew about the curse she put on him...My mother hanged herself in front of their house while seven months pregnant. That's the only way for a gumiho to be born in this world:the mother has to die and kill the child inside her. The souls mixture and the powers the child is gifted with make him become what I am today."
"So...what you're trying to say is that..."
"Yes, I was born from a dead corpse,"she silently whispered as the light around her flickered.
***
We remained silent as the room was filled with her light.
"I still don't understand. What do you want from me?"
She turned her icy-blue eyes towards me. This time there ws no coldness. Only a deep sadness and emptiness. Something was wrong...
"You know, I always considered myself a monster. A monster that created monsters, that saw so much hatred and killings and yet did nothing, but enjoyed the show painted in blood. I killed so many innocent people that I lost the count of them. I took lives and ate souls. I killed you and took away from you your mortality. Don't you hate me?"
Was it a rhetorical question?
Then she turned to me, watching me with a fiery expression. "I want you to help me kill them. My children. The night's children. Each and every supranatural being that lurks out there..."

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Chapter 20 ~~ To Sink In Dirt


She looked at me and gave an awkward smile. "What do you mean?"
I studied her expression. I took her hand and pulled her into my arms. "You are my precious angel. Never leave my side, ok?"and I kissed her. She didn't pull back or froze on the spot. She gave back the same passion I wanted her to feel, the same feelings were travelling between us like the waters of a river.
"Ahem!"
We broke the kiss and she rested her forehead against mine panting.
"Get a room you two!"whistling.
"Let's take it slowly. You still need to recover, don't you?"
I nodded silently. "Thank you guys, for saving my life,"I turned towards the guys.
Awkward silence. "Whatever!"waved his hand Joon, trying to hide his blushing cheeks.
"Puppy,"I sticked my tongue out like a lil' kid.
***
I don't quite remember the next few days. Only the feeling that I slept most of the time, having this feeling that I was always watched by someone dear to me that was encouraging me to complete my transformation. I was waited for to go to her side...
The third day of sleep ended the moment I rose from my coffin in the middle of the night. Now the transformation was complete and I could finally see the old me in the new skin. I left the basement and ran up the stairs, looking for a bathroom. I needed to see me...The house was silent when I opened the bathroom's door and entered the blue room. And there it was. My reflexion in the big wall mirror. White skin, flawless skin, slim fingers always prepared to kill, big brown eyes flooded with a mix of feelings, perfect, white denture and a light that was surrounding the present self like it never did before. What was that light and where did it come from, I never asked myself. Why? I was way too happy and relieved to stay and think about small things like that one. I was missing Min Ah...I was missing her like Hell!
I got out the bathroom with a smile plastened on my face. I was going to make her a surprise and prepare dinner. I approached the kitchen door's only to remain steady and listen to the voices inside. Thunder, Mir and Joon were having a talk to Min Ah and it was rude of me to interrunpt them, wasn't it?
"Are you serious about this?"asked Thunder.
"Like never before,"I heard Min Ah's naswering on a strange tone. "It's only right to do such a thing."
"But how about him, Min Ah? Will Seung Ho be able to do what you wish?"asked Joon. "He may be the strongest vampire ever and all that shit, but think about what you want him to do..."
"Joon, you're a werewolf, aren't you?"spoke Mir. "I'm a fairy, one of the last, and Thunder is a demigod. Aren't we all in the same situation as he? Aren't we all fighting agains our own kind?"
What were they talking about? And why was I eavesdropping? It wasn't nice...
"Min Ah, are you 100% sure about doing this?"spoke Thunder on a worried tone.
"Thunder, I'm sure about what I want to do and that's final."
"No need to be bitchy with me. I'm only concerned about you, Min Ah."
"I know and I'm sorry. But Thunder, this thing that I want to do it's something I dreamed of since a long time ago and you know it. And you know as well that it can't be done without him. We need him in order to achive what we all worked so hard for."
"So in the end it all goes to him, huh? It's all up to him choice."
"I'm afraid that it isn't. That's the first thing I had to take care after we approached him..."
I placed my palms over my ears, trying to protect myself from those worlds. But it was way too late. Her words were crashing inside my head like the waves of a stormy sea. Needed me? For what? So in the end it was all a charade? A facade?
I took a step back, not wanting to believe what I just heard. The door opened and I remained looking into Min Ah's eyes. It took me some time to find my voice...
"What are you, Kwon Min Ah?"I mumbled as I took several steps back. 
For the first time in my life I was afraid of a woman.
"WHAT ARE YOU?!"I yelled, thins time having tears going down my face.
"Seung Ho..."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT! WHAT ARE YOU?! WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Seung Ho...please calm down. I don't understand..."
"DON'T GO SHITTING AROUND WITH ME!"I growled, this time the fury taking over me. "So there was a reason behind your so called love, huh?"I continude whispering on a dagerous tone. "There was a reason for loving me, huh?"
"No. I love you ever since I saw you. Seung Ho..."
"DON'T LIE! Just...don't lie..."
I knew how I must have looked in her eyes. Weak. Hurt. Crashed. But I didn't care. Instead, I took a good look at the woman in front of me. The air around her was stiff and the energy hat surrounded her was not that of a weak human. And her eyes...her pretty eyes were cold and distant, full of mixed emotions that I never saw in her before. She was...a different Min Ah...
"Who are you?"I asked again, this time more calm and more demanding. "Tell me please..."
She took a deep breath. I think I'll always remember those few seconds of silent and the moonlight burning the window on the left. Her face bathed by the silver light, her whole body illuminating, her eyes...her eyes becoming that icy-blue color...a globe of light swallowing her and then a woman with nine tail standing in front of me, looking at me all glowing and with merciless eyes.
"I am Min Ah, the nine-tailed fox. Your maker."