23; {Soah}

I stood by the full-length window at the corner of the room I was in, my eyes fixed on the never-ending darkness beyond it. I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but I swear that if I stared long enough, the darkness seemed to shimmer. The sheer thought of what that could mean sent my heart racing.

“You will get used to the darkness soon enough.” A familiar voice pulled me out of my little trance. I turned around to see Dahyun leaning against the side of my door, dressed in her usual full black gear, which made her stood out from the white walls.

There was something else about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. “You said you are Daniel’s sister?”

My question sent the corner of Dahyun’s lips upwards, and she offered me a little shrug of her shoulders, “On some days I really wish I wasn’t his sister, but unfortunately, I am.”

But her features didn’t resemble Daniel’s at all. Daniel had a sharper set of features, he clearly stood out from everyone else with his defined cheekbones and sharp jaw line. Whereas Dahyun’s features were much softer. Her eyes, though, were what attracted me the most.

Daniel’s eyes were a clear pale blue; Dahyun’s eyes were almost black at first but if I looked a little closer, I could see little specks of gold.

“Your eyes, they remind me a lot of someone.” I spoke slowly, my mind was whirring, trying to piece the pieces together.

If I wasn’t paying enough attention, I would have missed the surprise that flickered through Dahyun’s eyes. She shook her head slightly, as though as she was trying to rid her head of something.

She pushed herself off the side of my door, her movements controlled and polished. At that moment, she was like an open book, I could tell that she was visibly unsettled by me.

“Daniel wants you at training room when the clock strikes 2.”

···

I made my way to the training room the moment the clock struck two. Pushing the doors apart, rows and rows of neatly lined assorted weapons greeted me.

I stepped into the room, letting the heavy oak doors shut behind me. The weapons didn’t scare me, but it was the altar that stood in the middle of the room. Beside the altar, there was a short table with all sorts of candles and incenses already lit up and burning.

I was a good distance away from it, but I could smell the strong scent of incense and it made me feel a little light-headed.

A familiar brown hair tore my gaze away from the altar. It was Daniel and he was dressed in a black robe which reached the floor.

I could feel my mind screaming at me, was it to run? I tried focusing on my thoughts, but they were like the wind, I could see it, but I couldn’t grab hold of it.

“Easy there, Soah, wouldn’t want you collapsing before the real game starts.”

Before I could even put together a string of words that made sense, I felt a force drawing me towards Daniel, literally. It was as though I was a puppet and he had control of the strings.

I felt my arms thrashing around and my eyes were darting around anxiously, I realized that there wasn’t a single soul around me. So, whoever is doing this to me, it was definitely Daniel.

 I was set down on the altar the next moment, there were no restraints bounding me, but I couldn’t move at all. My limbs were pinned down and I tried my best to move my lips but to no avail.

No, no, this can’t be happening again. I couldn’t stop the fear that was building up in my chest as memories of the past two ceremonies robbed my mind. I hated myself for allowing Daniel to witness how terrified I was.

His lips were moving, was he comforting me? I could feel the warmth of my own tears on the side of my face. I clamped my eyes shut, not wanting to accept this reality. The next moment, I felt the restraints around my body disappear and my eyes shot open.

I was no longer in the training room, and it only took me a second to realize that I was back at home, where I lived with my Mom.

What’s going on? What’s this sick game that Daniel was playing?

I could feel myself slowly backing into the corner of the room, readying myself for Daniel’s appearance.

“Mummy!” A little girl’s voice pierced through the silence, making me jump.

What exactly is happening?

I watched as my younger sixteen-year-old self dashed past me and into the kitchen. Carefully, I took a few steps to the left, just enough for me to look into the kitchen.

“Mummy! Mummy! Look, a puppy!” My younger self was holding up a puppy excitedly.

That was weird, I remembered vividly that my Mum didn’t allow any pets in the house because she had an extremely sensitive nose.

“Yes, Soah, that’s Ruffles, your stuffed toy.” Angeline answered without tearing her gaze away from the book in her hands.

“No Mummy, Ruffles is gone, this is a new puppy!”

I watched as my Mum’s expression morphed from a tender, loving one into one that was a mix of shock and horror. She was gazing at my younger self in such horror that it made me feel so small.

W-what’s going on? I put one foot in front of the other, wanting to head into the kitchen. But I never got there.

The ground buckled under me and I was into the ground before I could let out the scream that had already reached the tip of my tongue.

I can’t remember exactly when I stopped falling but I was now in a room with black walls. No, I wasn’t even sure that this was a room to begin with. My entire surrounding was pitch black and there wasn’t a single light source, but I could see myself when I glanced down.

My limbs were bloodied, cuts of various sizes and shapes littered them.

Soah.

The voice seemed to bounce off my black surroundings, it sounded so unreal that I thought it was just my imagination.

 Soah. It’s time for you to remember.

This time round, I recognized the voice. It was Daniel. I clamped my hands around my ears, as though it would make his voice disappear.

“No, no, no.” I repeated the same word over and over again under my breath. I could feel myself shivering although I didn’t feel cold at all.

Soah. Soah. Soah.

It was no longer Daniel’s voice anymore. Hundreds, thousands of different voices were calling out my name and it felt like they were all right beside me.

I tightened my grip around my ears, tucking myself into a ball. “No, no, no, get away from me.”

I was shaking now, and I didn’t want to face the fact that I was sobbing.

Soah! Soah! Soah!

The voices are morphing into high-pitched screams and they definitely weren’t human voices anymore. They pierced through my ears and I felt it in every single nerve in my body as they coursed through my entire being.

“S-Stop, please, please make it stop.” I didn’t care that I was practically begging Daniel, I didn’t care that my voice and my entire body were shaking violently from the sobs that were escaping from me.

I felt a strong sense of hatred towards myself. I was supposed to be strong, I was supposed to hide my fears, but here I am, baring it all for Daniel.

My breath hitched and an invisible force tightened around my throat, cutting off my air supply. I could feel nothing but blind terror as I watched black tendrils descending upon me from above.

I watched as the distance between me and the tendrils got smaller and smaller, and before I could process what was happening, they were entering me. It felt as though someone was squeezing my organs gently at first, and then as hard as they could. I let out a strangled scream as the pain overtook every single inch of my being.