Fantasy The Darker Side Of Things

[Coreonysis]

Every billion years, a war is waged between the Light Realm and the Shadow Realm. The most advanced species in the universe, one that exists in both realms, provides one warrior and their counterpart to fight to the death. The realm that emerges victorious is rewarded with a new age of prosperity and innovation, while the one that is defeated is thrown back into despair and ignorance.

Since the creation of the universe, the champion from the Dark Realm has defeated every Light opponent, blessing their dimension with countless generations of evolution, and eventually human development. The Light Realm, however, learned to adapt from hardship through the survival of the fittest. Only the strongest vessels may live to create the next generation, causing loss in biodiversity and a primitive intelligence as countless species died off before they could adapt to their harsh environments.

Finally, after tens of billions of years, humans on Earth have emerged as the dominating species in all of the universe, with their darker counterparts being the same in theirs. Humans possess a level of understanding never seen since the Light Realm vanquished the Shadow Realm. For the first time, children were produced from parents of both shadow and light, serving as the bridge between both sides of the universe. They are the first of all creatures to have the ability to cross over into the other realm.

These children, serving as the bridge between the two realms, are to be the next fighters to hold civilization's fate in their hands. With their destiny comes the ability to exist in physical form in both realms. For the shadow-dweller, he may exist in the dark corners of the Light Realm, leave the confines of shadow by only the light of the moon. For the light-dweller, she may appear in the rays of light that touch the Shadow Realm and move freely when the sun is at its peak. The images of both may appear in mirrors--an opaque object that reflects light.

As darkness and light crossed at her birth, however, the light-dweller inherited the Sight, the fourth dimension in which everything in the Light Realm has a Shadow counterpart. This gives her the ability to see and interact with matter in both realms. There are limitless possibilities to what she can do, but they all come at a price. As she manipulates the hole in the very fabric of time and space, shadow and light, her own existence is shortened.

 

[Coreonysis]

T

here had never been a day in which Cade had not been trapped within the realm of his enemy.

That was what it felt like, at least. The constant thrumming of light against his bones made him sick. He hid in the recesses and dark corners of the land he had been bound to, simply because he had been born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And by the wrong people.

His parents. They were people he would never tire of cursing. Those two beings who had broken so many rules simply to be together. It made him reel on the inside. He was part Lhuman. That meant he should be able to stand the sunlight, even if just for a few moments.

Nope. If he left the shadows, he would burn.

Cade supposed he was lucky to be bound to someone who was rarely home, and therefore he was able to murk around for a majority of the day. It was a terrible instance, however, when she traveled much further than her normal route.

By being bound to her, he was cursed to remain within twenty-miles. Even that was a stretch. When further than a mile, he felt a discomfort. Ten miles put a strain, and twenty miles would nearly force him to move.

So it sucked.

But he had learned to live with it. And he could feel the pain in his soul lessening, which meant that she was drawing ever closer. It made sense, as the clock on the dark wall told him that it was her normal arrival time. He knew that, yet again, she would be unable to see him sitting on the couch. He had taken to not caring at that point.

His elder had often instructed him to stay hidden, just in case it ever came to the point where she would be able to see him. But it became tedious to stay hidden for so long, especially, when there was virtually no risk of himself being spotted. There was still a decent amount of time before the fight, and if the rumors were true, he would only become visible in the days or months before.

Of course, no one knew for sure. It had been a billion years since the last one.

Cade found that the entirety of the realm of shadows depended on him, yet he wasn’t worried in the slightest. He had been highly trained and groomed for this fight for the entirety of his life, whereas the girl, and by extension, the entirety of humanity, knew little to nothing about it.

He couldn’t believe that she was the one he was to fight. It was a bit comical. She didn’t stand a chance.

He heard crunching of pavement in the distance, signalling that his light-sided counterpart was nearly home. He didn't move from the couch. What difference would it make?

》Cade Amons
“Hell if I know why I’m fighting. But I was born to do it, so I will.《

 

[marshmarrow]

L

ike the virgin heroine in a dime-store thriller, at first she did not see the killer waiting for her to return home.

There's something about the quiet of an apartment that has been without its occupant for a day--an utter stillness; invisible and minuscule dust particles hang in the air, as if they are unwilling or unable to settle without activity to motivate them. Everything, even time itself, seems suspended, taking on a sepia-toned watchfulness reminiscent of old photographs. Waiting to be reclaimed and brought back to the present.

She shivered the crust of snow off her sheepskin boots before stepping inside the pitch-black interior of her prewar apartment. The dusting of snow melting on the shoulders of her coat left dark pinpricks as she unbuttoned and hung it up to dry. A black cat slid through the door after her, jumped on the back of her faux-leather sofa, and regarded her undiscovered roommate with half-closed alligator eyes.

Riese Black nudged the door closed behind her with her hip, and let her purse and briefcase land with a muffled thump beside her, taking a deep breath, savoring that hushed, almost reverent, feeling of welcome.

Except it wasn't there.

Something was different. Time had not stood still. Activity had not ceased.

Someone had been in her home.

Someone who might be there still.

She hesitated, feeling awkward and irrational. Everything appeared normal; her door had been locked, no sign of forced entry, and nothing appeared disturbed.

Still... Something was strange. The apartment felt different. The air seemed displaced, somehow. As if someone had, rather recently, moved within these walls, among her things, inside her haven. As if her apartment was giving a warning in its own quiet way.

Silliness, Riese thought. You cannot see, smell or hear any evidence that indicates there has been anyone in your apartment in the last eighteen hours. A rational human being does not base her actions on a "feeling" that her apartment is giving her.

At this point, the virgin would scream horrifically, clasping her hands to her cheeks as her pursuer reveals himself and lurches for her throat.

When her eyes finally drifted downwards to the cat, her first thought was that the man laying on the sofa was dead. She stood rigidly, her spine ramrod-straight as she suddenly became aware of the crackling silence, marred only by the distant staccato of a dog barking, the faint hum of traffic, the slight vibration of the building's air ventilation system. There was nothing out of place. No object obviously missing, moved, or ransacked. Everything was as it should be. Except for the part about a strange man entering her home and arranging himself where he saw fit.

She fumbled instinctively for a moment behind her back, underneath her sweater, before remembering she no longer had a match or a shard of glass or a paperclip tucked there. Before remembering she was not in The Hole and the war had ended. She could handle a Manhattan deadbeat. She took long strides the couch, towering above the stranger, standing behind him so that it would be uncomfortable for him to look at her.

"State your identity and your business here, or I'll gouge out your eyes and staple them to your neck," she growled, her hardpan accent swaggering each syllable, but the vitriol remained as cold and smooth as if it had been uttered by the Queen of England. She stood a foot or two away from the edge of the sofa, arms crossed, assuming a position saved for chauvinistic doctors or aggressively uncooperative patients.

Her father's Model 39 was fully loaded in her nightstand drawer. If trouble arose, she was confident she could slip upstairs and get it before he could catch her. He was reclined, she already a half-second head start.

She had not survived monsters to fall victim to a garden-variety squatter.

》Riese Black
" Nec possum tecum vivere nec sine te. "《

 

[Coreonysis]

I

t did not take Cade very long at all to figure out that something was not as it should be.

For as long as he had been assigned to this girl, watching her, practically living the life she created for him... She had not been able to see him. He had lived unmolested within her quarters for years, and she had never given the slightest indication of understanding that he was within earshot, let alone being able to outright see him.

He supposed that today would have been a good day to begin listening to the elders. Because now an excuse would have to be crafted, and the element of surprise was no longer a plausible factor. When the day of the fight came, he would have to defeat her with skill, and not with the cheap tactics one of the three mentors had instructed him to use.

This, in all honesty, sat fine with Cade. He had never been much of a coward anyway.

He didn't look to the woman above him for a moment. He knew everything about her features; the way her eyebrows were quirked, or her lips were turned down in a bit of a grimace. He had studied her every bodily feature for years, figuring out how she worked, how her muscles stretched, how her knuckles tensed. Instead, he looked to the black cat that sat staring at him.

The animal was interesting to him, like most animals. There weren't many anymore within his realm, except for the very wealthy. With the advancements had come the decimation of most wild and domestic life, and therefore, cats were only affordable to the people who practically bled money. He would have sat up and petted the animal, had the woman not been looming above him. And so he began to spin a tail, one that he hoped would lead her to show a shred of sympathy. He hoped, after all this time, to know what made her tick.

"Please, ma'am." His accent was odd, and he couldn't hide that fact; the voices of the shadow realm had a gruff lilt to them, and he hoped that she would take it as a voice crafted on the battlefield. "I am a soldier who has no home. I was discharged and now have nowhere to go. My family actively resists the war and will no longer take me in. I was not planning on taking anything, and just wanted a place to sleep for the night. I will leave; just please don't hurt me."

He hated the sound of his pleading voice; Cade was never one to ask for help. But sleeping somewhere else for the night would prick at his soul, due to his distance from her, and he would rather plead with the girl he would soon be killing than deal with that through the entirety of the night.

His stomach growled. That was perfect timing; a homeless soldier would not have eaten in weeks either.

He twisted his face into one of sheepishness and stood slowly, hands in the air, as he backed towards the door. "I-I won't come back. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, ma'am. But..." He looked to the floor, almost seeming crestfallen.

"Do you know of anywhere that will take in a soldier like me for the night?"

》Cade Amons
“Please don't take the storm from my bones. It's the only thing keeping me upright."《

 

[marshmarrow]

S

he regarded him, all at once, with pursed lips, which were partially hidden by a curtain of glossy black hair. Her raised brows were startling dark lines on her pale face, and they framed her smoke-colored eyes, her straight nose. Her beauty was severe, like glass formed by lightning striking sand.

Riese Black, standing within stabbing distance of the man who entered her locked home unwarranted, was as fastidiously put-together as if she were about to give a speech on etiquette. She unsheathed wicked smile as he finished his tale of woe, one that slashed across her lips like a razor. She finally seemed to relax, her eyes losing some of their sharp sadness as she assessed him, but they narrowed as she dissected his bullshit with clinical precision.

He was a perfect stranger, not one whose story pulled at her heartstrings, but one she had common ground with. Soldiers who wanted to brag about the war did so for hours at a time. Riese sensed he was among the many men who had seen the monsters, still had the nightmares, and did not care to discuss either.

When asked, she too found herself refusing to elaborate.

His intrusion, in some twisted way, allowed her to come to a conclusion she had worked hard for many years to never let come true. She had nowhere left to hide. She could not quite decide whether to fly into a blind panic at that or not. Habit said run. Instinct said stay.

She wanted to stay. But old habits die hard. And rear their ugly heads in times of stress.

Times of stress. Riese tried to apply her most analytical problem-solving skills to the question of why this particular event was causing such a violent reaction. She had faced far worse monsters than Manhattan nobodies in her day and had been left less shaken by the circumstances or the aftershocks.

Well, let's see, Riese. He isn't trying to kill you.

True enough. That certainly did tend to make a normal person feel more secure when inviting people into their home. This man, however, was neither first nor last in a long line of questionable individuals who, for reasons similar but numerous, had found Riese's presence in the world unacceptable. The stranger in her home didn't possess a singularly exceptional trait to make him stand out in that group.

Liar.

Riese slammed the door closed on that particular train of thought since it was being damned uncooperative and turned her attention back to the person of interest. She seemed to thaw a few degrees, even as she seemed to impale him with a colorless stare and the grin faded from her face, touching her tongue to her lips. The note of desperation in his voice was genuine, even if his pressed Saks shirt said otherwise. His stomach growled pitifully, and Riese couldn't help but roll her eyes, making a sound between an amused snort and an irritated sigh. She had seen and experienced enough brutality to last her a lifetime, and she did not care for it to come from her own hands.

She looked at him tiredly as she lowered herself into the overstuffed armchair that had been around since she first moved in. Almost immediately, the cat bolted from the sofa to hop into her lap, regarding the intruder in his domain with an identical expression; exasperated and alert at the same time.

"Are you a murderer, a rapist, or a thief, Mister...?"

》Riese Black
"Ubi bene, ibi patria."《

 

[Coreonysis]

H

er questions left Cade in a bit of a dilemma.

For the entirety of his left, the man of the shadows had been training for this very interaction. The elders had taught him how to speak, what to say, and what would make her tic. But the interesting thing was… At that moment, staring into her pits that the untrained would call eyes, he felt that everything they had taught him would sound scripted.

And so, he fell into character.

“I have seen and done things on the battlefield that should never be forgotten.” This, for the most part, was true. He had trained on the field, fighting and mercilessly killing tens, or hundreds, of scientifically engineered conscious beings. When he had entered the realm of light for the first time, he was shocked at how… Primitive, most of their technology seemed to be. He had heard that their losing of the great battle would send them back many generations, but the severity of their losses… It never ceased to amaze him.

“I cannot say without a guilty conscious that I am not a murderer. I have killed while fighting, and I have done so many more times than I would like to remember.” His eyes were cast in a somber sorrow, one that looked and felt so real he almost cast himself into the depressive stupor that would naturally accompany it.

“As for a rapist, I have never taken a woman who did not want me. But I have taken ideals and torn them to shreds, and if that is not a form of rape, then may the stars name it. For I have no idea what else to call it.” The beings he had killed were new to the world, bred to think like heathens. And yet he could never deny that he had always wondered what kinds of things the heathens thought about.

“And finally, as for a thief… I have stolen your peace at mind.” Talking about her was a risky move; he knew it would put her on the defensive. But it could also cause her to open up to him; he was admitting openly that he found his own actions to be counterintuitive.

As she sat down, he felt a bit more at ease. He preferred to be at a higher and more ready position, especially with the person he had been training to kill his whole life standing within the room. His thoughts flicked to why he couldn’t just kill her right then, at that moment, but he immediately dismissed the idea. He had been warned heavily against doing that, and therefore he wouldn’t attempt it.

“So yes, I do believe I am indeed all three of what you have stated. But if you look far enough… I believe you are as well.”

His eyes were devilishly serious as he looked to the girl whom he had been trained to hate. "And it's Cade. Cade Amons."

》Cade Amons
“Jag är trött på att leva i skuggorna.”《

 

[marshmarrow]

S

he monitored him with a searching look, as if she were X-raying him. He was hard to pin down, his motives slipping through her fingers like sand, eluding close examination. The question she asked had created more uncertainty instead of clarity.

There was no doubt he was well-educated, a professional -- he was not threatened by women, or by many men, she suspected. He possessed the lofty air of someone who likes to live comfortably, his every need seen to, yet there was still a feral charisma he possessed, lying just beneath the surface of his groomed exterior. He was the kind of man who, when in want of something, generally took it, leaving the consequences for others to deal with. Despite her distrust, he was having a profound effect on her emotions. She had to struggle against what her consciousness told her -- it was a convincing liar.

In one minute she could feel proud of her intact sense of humanity, in two minutes she could be shot dead. It was true, war changed people, but it had changed her far more tan she had could think was possible.

He wasn't in her home because he needed to be, but because he simply thought he could be if he so desired. With each passing second, the layabout persona he tried to pass off to her only became less believable, replaced by a groomed mobster with a criminal army at his disposal.

At the angle Riese was sitting, the light of the moon illuminated her figure from behind, outlining her dark head in silver. She absently rubbed the cat's ears, considering, having never taken her eyes off of the man across from her. She tried on a statement of disbelief or contempt, but settled for a diplomatic frown before speaking again.

After all, she didn't want to be on the blacklist of one of the Five Families. She didn't want to be the one to stand in his way. However, she was generally a woman who, when presented with a choice, preferred to pick the one she benefits the most from.

In a low voice, "Give me one reason I shouldn't throw you out, Mister Amons." Direct without malice, but she would not let her guard down for one instant. Even in the shadows, she watched closely for any sudden movements, sitting on the edge of her seat. He did not yet know her name, or indicate that he knew it. She could use this to create distance, along with addressing him more formally. Asserting her dominance. He would come to know soon enough, that out of all the empty-headed women in New York, he had met his match.

》Riese Black
" Me metue, nam secutor veritatis sum. "《

 

[Coreonysis]

C

ade stared at her for a good moment. It was obvious she was apprehensive, and for good reason; there was a stranger in her house. Little did she know, however, that the same stranger had been staying in her house for a long, long time, unbeknownst to her.

The fact that she could see him meant that the time was approaching. He thought he could use that little tidbit to woo her, per say, while still maintaining his air of honesty.

“Because I am a soldier, like you. We know how this world is. We know that people like us aren’t treated well after they leave the forces, even if the break is only for a little while. And my time is coming upon me again; within a few months, I will be called back to a fight that possesses a fifty percent chance of me dying.”

This fact, was, of course, false in his mind. In Cade’s mind, he had trained for too long, and too hard, to be that easily killed. He had the fight in the bag; there was no way a measly human from the light realm could defeat him.

“You can throw me out if you want to. I have no way to stop you from doing that. But I ask from the bottom of my heart not to make me sleep on the streets tonight; my body is tired and all I want is a good night’s rest.”

His body, however, spoke the opposite story.

His muscles were taut and well defined, and it still looked like he could run for miles and miles. But his eyes… Those were tired. They were tired of constantly inspecting this girl, trying to find her weaknesses, her strengths. He hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep since he had arrived.

So he supposed that part of his sob story was true; he did need a rest.

Cade sat down upon the couch, hating to put himself in a more unsafe position, but knowing it would put her at ease. And that was really what this whole thing was about.

His brows were furrowed in a sort of despotic way; he felt as though he had all the power here, even though that was nowhere near the case. He could still die by the lead bullet; he could still have the air choked out of his windpipe or break his neck by falling down the stairs.

But the amount of confidence he possessed presented a near air of immortality.

“So I am asking you, woman-without-a-name, to let me stay here, regardless of the fact that I know absolutely nothing about you. I’ll put my trust in you because I am tired, and want somewhere to stay. I would ask you to do the same, but I understand that you have absolutely nothing to gain.

》Cade Amons

" Death tastes bitter to those whose palate is cleansed. "《

 

[marshmarrow]

The corner of Riese's mouth twitched, undecided between a smirk or a frown. It was true, she had nothing to gain, but she also didn't want to kick him out onto the curb--where he would end up frozen, robbed blind, or dead, perhaps all three by sunrise. The nurse lived one of the more unsavory neighborhoods of Manhattan, but it wasn't so bad if one knew whom and what to avoid.

Cade seemed like the type who wouldn't know. She made a note to never again let strays into her home. Cats or humans.

She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, which had ticked past five a. m. Riese rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling the after-effects of her 18-hour shift and the start of a headache. She could see the exhaustion she felt reflected in the stranger's grim expression, and so she acquiesced, giving a slight nod.

"You just don't take 'no' for an answer, do you, mister?" She hesitated before extending a small white hand for him to shake, each finger topped with a cleaned, trimmed half-moon. Neither her hair or nails were "done" in the beauty-parlor sense, but short and functional.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Riese Black, formerly of the Navy Nurse Corps. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Amons. Make yourself at home, but I ask that you stay in the kitchen and den areas. The bathroom is right over there." She pointed him down the hall, stifled a yawn and wondered how much sleep deprivation could drive her to madness. In her state, her willingness to let a stranger, no less an unmarried man with a dubious military history, into her home could be very easily expolited, and it would be even easier for him to overpower her. For almost a year she had accepted that she was never again going to be completely okay after her experience in the war, but she could only hope her ability to protect herself had not diminished, even if her common sense has.

 

[Coreonysis]

I did it. I've won.

Cade's thoughts flashed back to the countless training sessions he had undergone, training for moments exactly like this. Where he needed to gain her trust, and in the end, would use that to his advantage. He prevented the devilish smile from crossing his face, however; any emotion other than regimented gratitude would be perceived, and he didn't want her to know anything past what he showed her. He was meant to kill this woman, and if she killed him before the fight was supposed to proceed, well... He didn't know what would happen.

But he knew he wasn't going to let it happen.

"I thank you. I know that this is absolute madness for you to be doing, Ms. Black. Especially since you were in the military, and you know how disgusting and paltry men can be in the presence of an unmarried lady. But I assure you I'm nothing like the rest; my sense of dignity is much more... Pronounced."

If only she knew the importance of that statement.

In the Shadow Realm, children were raised differently. Because of their countless advancements, the elders know that anyone could obtain technology that would help them take over the entirety of the realm. So children are caged, disciplined, and taught that everything they do is to be for the good of the realm. And Cade wholeheartedly believed that; this fight needed to occur because the Shadow realm needed to remain dominant. They couldn't lose to the pesky humans of the light; that would be a disgrace unimaginably crippling.

"The world has darkened, Ms. Black. I am glad to know that there are still kind souls who walk this desolate planet." He sat down on the couch, obviously contented with her answer. He hadn't truly slept in a long, long while. That night would be a blessing. Breaks weren't exactly something that was encouraged in his mission, but by God did he need one.

 

[marshmarrow]

Reise sighed, giving Cade one last look before standing and collecting her groceries left on the floor. Walking just a few steps to the kitchenette, she began putting them away. Fresh fruit, real cream, and a full loaf of baked bread were few luxuries Reise allowed herself, as her meals in the Navy were carefully rationed. Closing the icebox with a sense of finality, she stored the paper bags away to be reused and began clearing her kitchen table.

Books, formal documents, and notes scattered across the cedar surface were neatly shuffled and placed on a shelf. Reise's eyes lingered on a particular opened letter, before she folded it and tucked it into a pocket of her white cardigan, half-listening to Cade as he spoke.

Certainly, he was nothing like the men she had met in the Navy--upstanding men who knocked before entering a room and remained humble when recieving their medals and recognitions after the war was over. If Riese had to hazard a guess, he was discharged without honor. When he returned home without recognition, perhaps he was disowned by his wealthy family. The military left their mark on his record, and he has been unable to find a job since. A classic story of unemployment rendering a seemingly otherwise bright and capable man to resort to desperate measures.

Such as breaking into a woman's home.

Yet, somehow, Riese knew she was missing something, an underlying yet obvious detail. She had to find out the last piece of information, and fit it into the rest of the puzzle she created. That was how Riese has always been--unrelenting until she found a solution. Even if she was dead wrong, there was more to Cade than what meets the eye. His precense, athough unwarranted, was welcoming. After all, she had her choice of weaponry if he had come to her with malicious intent.

"Mind if I turn on a light?"

Her back to Cade, she flipped a switch on the wall and the fixture above the table slowly flickered to life, casting a warm glow about the room.

 

[Coreonysis]

Light.

The bright, burning thing that the beings of shadows hated so much. The thing that separated her world form his; her world being the illuminated cage of beings so much alike himself, yet so different in so many ways. His own world… The darkness was freeing. The lack of light was what caused them to win the war each and every time- simply due to the fact that they had to evolve to be better. Faster stronger.

Because unlike the light, the people of the dark weren’t at the top of the food chain.

Cade hissed as she turned on the light, quickly getting up off of the couch and moving to stand behind a wall. But it wasn’t enough, it was still too bright, the light could still be seen. He finally moved to the place he always hid when she turned the lights on; the closet in the middle of the hallway.

He stood, amidst the shirts and hanging towels, and only then did he realize what he’d done.

Immediately, he began to spin false tales within his head. He could obviously tell her that his fear of light was the result of some form of PTSD; perhaps he’d been caught in a bomb’s blast, and now whenever he saw a light, it brought him back to that time.

But would she believe it?

Cade had studied this girl for years. He knew what made her tick, every single little thing she did was under constant observation when possible.

And he knew she probably wouldn’t.

A crazy thought passed through his mind; perhaps he could tell her the truth. She likely wouldn’t believe him, and would evidently kick him out of her house. But that wasn’t the concern at the moment. The concern was coming up for an excuse on why he stood in the closet, amongst her clothing, terrified of a simple light.

Cade sighed. Things had just gotten a bit more difficult.

 

[marshmarrow]

It wasn't until she heard a door creak shut did Riese realize Cade had left the room. Padding out into the hall after him, her brows furrowed when he seemed to have disappeared in the dark corridor. She noticed at once that the bathroom was unlit, the door ajar, so that only left the bedroom, the study, and the closet.

She didn't take more than two steps before she noticed the shift in the stagnant air around the closet. Fine-tuned to the manner in which her house settled at night, she followed her intuition and pulled open the door.

At first, it was too dark to see, but as her eyes adjusted she could make out Cade's outline. He had an unusual expression on his face, lacking the contentedness he had exhibited before. Riese, despite herself, matched it with her own puzzled look.

"What business might you have in here, Mr. Amons?" She stepped closer to him, about an arm's length from where he was sandwiched between a shoe rack and a linen basket. She grabbed him by the arm with more force than one might expect, pulling him out into the dim hall.

She felt strange, like her belongings had been somehow tarnished by his precense among them. Of course, she had bunked with tens of fellow nurses in hospices, barracks--anywhere needing a 24-hour watch on the ill and wounded, no matter how small the accomodations. Sometimes it would be so cramped that if one girl wanted to sleep on her back, everyone would have to roll over to make room. Although she reasoned with herself that he had done no true harm, she shivered as she imagined him sniffing around in her possessions.

"What were you doing in my closet?" Her question came out as a growl, and she pulled him down to meet her eyes.

 

[Coreonysis]

Cade flinched at even the dim lighting of the hallway, shutting his eyes compulsively though it didn’t help in the slightest with his skin. The photonic reactions against his epidermis left large, ugly rashes along the entirety of his body, though it hadn’t gotten to that point yet. Only direct lighting would cause such marks, where dim lighting like what they stood in just caused pain.

“I… Needed to get away from the light.” He admitted, looking to her with what he hoped were sorrowful eyes. In that moment, a million thoughts raced through his head. Thoughts regarding what he should say, what he should do, or if he should actually tell her about the fight.

He figured, once again, that she would deem him insane. But was that really an issue at that moment? If she were to believe him, what would come of it then? Would she begin training? Would she try to figure out a way to avoid it, even though it’s been going on for billions of years?

There was no avoiding their fight.

The shadows and light could never coexist peacefully. One would always follow the other.

Cade Amons had always been a cautious man, yet in that moment, he decided to throw caution to the wind. To completely disregard everything his elders had ever told him, and tell her just why he had rushed to her closet the moment the light turned on.

“To tell you the truth… I’m not from your world, Ms. Black.”

And then the secret was out.

Cade slumped a little bit at the relief that was brought by those words; he’d been stalking this woman for years now, begging and pleading for the day to come so he could fight her and then return home. He hated the realm of the light; living in the shadows of their buildings like a lowly animal.

In his realm, the light was the shadow. And yet no beings were forced to walk among it like the corpses of animated disguises.

“And I’ll tell you the full story if you’ll sit down and keep an open mind.”

 

[marshmarrow]

What the hell?

Riese released him from her grip as if she had been burned, taking a step back as Cade convulsed in pain. She stood stunned for a half-second, blinked, before she remembered she was a trained nurse and rushed to help him. At his desperate plea, she led him quickly into the study and sat him down at her desk. He seemed to have calmed down in response to the darker room. She was still trying to process what had just happened in the last few seconds that she almost didn't hear Cade speak.

"... Not from your world, Ms. Black."

"Wh--" Riese began sharply, but was silent once she realized she heard correctly.

She pursed her lips, her interpretation or opinion on Cade's confession had yet to register. Quietly, she pulled up another chair from the corner of the room to sit across from him, hands folded neatly in her lap as she waited expectantly for an explanaition. Even in the pitch darkness, he seemed even more drained than before, and Riese realized she probably did too. The pain behind Cade's eyes was more akin to what one would see in the eyes of a man who underwent years of torture, rather than a moment or two.

"I'm listening."

 

[Coreonysis]

Cade sat up hesitantly, the marks that had begun to form on his skin slowly fading away in the darkness of the study. He relished in the absence of light, wishing for the millionth time that the realm was permeated by dark, just as his was.

But now, the hardest part was upon him. He had to explain to her the reason he was here, and that would likely include the fact that he had been stalking her. For years. Trying to figure out what made her tick, and how to kill her as effectively as possible when the time came to fight.

And considering she could now see him, well… It meant the fight wasn’t very far away.

He was surprised, however, when she sat down and waited for his explanation. He never took her as somebody to believe in his tale, even though he did bear the marks on his skin to prove his story. He looked deep into her eyes, though he knew she probably couldn’t see his very well in this lighting, and sighed in resignation.

“There are two worlds, Ms. Black. Two very, very different worlds, and you are only privy to one of them.”

There was a note in his voice that spoke of ancient knowledge, information that had been passed down from elder to elder until finally, it fell upon this man’s ears.

“When the universe was first formed, the being who created it decided that it would have a mirror. That mirror is the realm of the shadows. Everything is mostly the same, besides the beings that walk the planet and the realms that light permeate.”

He didn’t break her gaze once.

“Where light lies in your world, shadow lies in the other. Light is the principal state, just as dark is the principal state to yours, and only a source of dark, like a source of light here, can change that.”

This was when he turned his entire body, so he was pointed directly at her.

“That being also decided that every billion years, there would be a fight between the realms. Since creation, beings from the realm of dark have defeated those from the realm of light. This caused your own realm to fall back many times, halting scientific development and stalling life. This, however, caused humanity to become stronger. You’ve almost caught up, considering how survival of the fittest works and all that jazz.”

The elder tone was over, and his own haughty, self-serving voice had returned.

“Anyway, I’m from the realm of the dark. You’re from the realm of the light. And I’ve got no idea why, but we’ve been chosen as the vessels for the next fight. Which is happening soon. Very soon.

 

[marshmarrow]

Her lips parted in stunned silence, Riese blew out a long, soft breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Her brows had an impatient convergence as she collected her thoughts, more puzzled than confused. It was a full minute before she found herself able to speak. When in doubt, she began reciting facts, hoping her avoidance of an issue would turn up a solution.

"I invited an older, powerful, emotionally-damaged man into my apartment at almost five o'clock at night." She gave Cade a pointed look. "A man who lied to my face about his origin and military service, decieved me to quarter in my apartment, and still tries to convince me of a cockamaime story which tells of my imminent death, based on its precedent.

"A man who demonstrates clear symptoms of a photosensitivity disorder, as indicated by an immediate rash. Only a few cases have been observed under scientific conditions." She peered at his arms, the blisters vanishing by the second, "His rapid recovery is a marvel in itself, completely independent of medical treatment. However," she flicked her gaze back to Cade's weary face, "all signs point to a man who is very accustomed to being in natural darkness, perhaps from the time of his birth. I'm not a psychologist, but the very idea of being in light -- natural or artificial -- probably sickens you. Just as many people are afraid of the dark."

Subtle, Riese.

Before he could interject, she added quickly, "I suppose I believe you, not because I believe you're telling the truth, but because I believe I'll find the truth if I go ... to this dimension you come from. This 'Dark Realm'."

Her arms crossed, she weighted the implications of what she'd just said, but her mind was blank. If they were really to fight, she had to learn as much as she could about her opponent, or death was certain.

She didn't relish taking a life or believing this man's stories, but she supposed she had no other choice. Still, a few pieces of information didn't sit quite right with her.

"How is it you know so much about this fight, while I know nothing?" she demanded. "Clearly, your world is far more advanced -- you can even visit mine at your leisure. Tell me, is there a World War III? Do the Yankees win the World Series again?"

She slumped down, her head in her hands, tired from her excruciatingly long shift, playing hostess, constantly having a fight to win, an obstacle to overcome, even months after the war ended.

Resigned, "I want you to take me to the Dark Realm. It seems to be my only chance at defeating you. You know so much about my world, it's only fair I get a glimpse at yours."

 

[Coreonysis]

Cade stared to the woman in front of him for a long, dreadful moment, his eyes not narrowing nor widening. He simply seemed to exist, in a state of limbo, for what seemed like minutes. Finally, he spoke.

“How is it that a woman of your caliber can accuse me of lying, yet still ask to see the dimension from which I hail? How is it that a woman like you can spend her entire life in the military, witnessing death and destruction by the millions, yet refuse to believe in a single fight occurring every billion years? I do not visit your world at my leisure; I visit it at my expense. I remain in this god-forsaken dimension because the elders have sent me here to observe you, in order to learn your ways so I can win without any doubt whatsoever.”

He still hadn’t raised his voice; he still spoke at a normal volume, though it was apparent that he looked down upon her.

“Our worlds have widely diverged since the last fight. There were no world wars in my world; the countries all converge in one union, and agree on a majority of world matters. Our technology is perfectly green, and our people are born faster and stronger than any other race. Except, of course… For you.”

His gaze changed then, to an odd one full of confusion and complexity. “We still don’t understand why that is. Why your race bested the odds and came out on top. But it doesn’t matter. We still have the know-how, the technology, and the wits to defeat you. So why would I bring you to my realm?”

He crossed his arms.

“Why would I give you any advantage, when my goal in the end is to kill you?”

 

[marshmarrow]

Riese's eye twitched, a muscular contraction that was completely invisible, but one tell-tale sign of the beginnings of her flaring temper.

She knew Cade was right, and she cursed herself for letting her confusion, fear, and exhaustion overcome her and break her defenses. Her fists clenched and teeth gritted, she slowly began to sort out her emotional turmoil and formulate less ignorant questions. She could feel Cade weighing her value, knowing her worth to him was quickly plummeting into already-obsolete depths.

She raised her head, her will to argue with him disappearing, her expression returning to familiar territory: icy and withdrawn. But curiosity sparked behind it, igniting into a slow burn by the second. It was shameful how her thirst for truth had driven her to this point.

"If your world is as advanced as you say it is, what would be the harm in taking me there? My life is meaningless in this world and the next -- nothing I learn in the short time I'm there could possibly compare to what you spent preparing for these moments."

Her head tilted to one side, an idea surfacing. "Perhaps I could tell you how we in this world have remained so tenacious, despite our odds. Take me there, and I could discover that reason for you. I'm one of them, after all."

 

[Coreonysis]

There was an odd flicker in the back of Cade's mind. It was as if... Her words made sense. It was almost as though the words of this human, this girl he'd been studying for the past years of his life... This insignificant speck that had, for some reason, become significant... Had told him something that he hadn't thought of before.

Honestly, he didn't like the feeling very much.

"Why do you wish to go to a realm in which you won't be able to walk in a majority of the space? I am restricted to the shadows here, where in turn you will be restricted to the light there. The shadows will cause terrible burns on your skin, and I can promise you that you will not be able to avoid them for long."

He cocked his head at her, obviously not understanding why someone would condemn themselves to his own fate by choice.

She did, however, offer something valuable.

If the elders were to get a hold on how exactly the humans had become so resilient in the light realm... It would help them greatly in future battles. It would aid them in their fights, and in taking over portions of the realm like many wanted to do.

So the information could be a weapon, or a defense.

"I am prepared to take you, but know that when you come back, you won't be the same."