บท 25: The old friend
The figure came closer with a large smile on her face. She had the appearance of a young girl.
She had wet hair falling around her face and on her back. Her innocent childish face had two red round eyes, her skin was livid and she didn't have visible legs. It seemed like half of her body was in the mist.
The mist embraced the cold body of Arja and returned her before raising her, ready to impale her on the spike in the street next to the others.
Arja's pendant fell from her shirt and the figure noticed the shiny jewelry. The mist brought her dead body to the silhouette, she grabbed the pendant with her hand. Her long nails were like claws. She analyzed the pendant for a while before opening her eyes with stupefaction. A voice from everywhere in the city raised and broke the dead silence.
"Arja?!"
In a few fast moves, Arja was transported to another zone outside of the city. The lake where they were passing time to chill became a swamp. The lake was no longer and the water went everywhere, mixing with the blood and other fluids from the dead people around. The smell and the vision of this place were particularly terrific.
On the other side, was a little wooden cabin. Arja was placed on what seemed to be used as bedding a long time ago. That was a wooden plank without specific comfort. Only the size could make people think that it was supposed to be a bed.
The figure jumped on the freshly dead body. In one second she opened her mouth and two large canines were suddenly visible, she has bitten her arm and threw it on Arja's face.
"Oh no no no no, it has to work, tell me it works! Arja!!!"
The creature was losing control as she was panicking more and more. Arja started to cough.
"Arja?! I am so sorry Arja. Are you okay?"
Arja opened her eyes, at first she searched for Hagalaz and was relieved to see him sleeping on the floor near her, then, she was stupefied by what she saw and she couldn't restrain a scream.
"Altraya?!"
Arja realized very fast that her friend didn't age at all. She was the same teenage girl she was when they saw themselves for the last time. Altraya threw herself at Arja's neck, she embraced her with joy.
"Arja, I am so happy to see you. You are alive. I am so happy!"
Arja couldn't believe what she was seeing, she was relieved to see her friend then, when she tried to hug her in return she saw her hands passing through her body. On a second look, Altraya's body was only half a body, her lower half and her waist were just a fog.
"Altraya, what happened to you?"
Altraya raised herself, still sitting on Arja's body. Arja noticed that her friend had no weight She had no solid form.
"The same thing that will happen to you very soon sister."
After these words, Arja's head started to burn. She felt all her muscles being tensed, it was like they were trying to escape her body. The fire was burning her from the inside. She yelled as loud as it was humanly possible.
"What the f*** is this!!!"
Arja rolled on the floor, her hands on her head, she tried to rip off her hair and skin. The pain was insupportable and she was screaming with an indescribable suffering voice. It was a mixture of rage, pain, sadness, and so many other emotions. She was overwhelmed by adrenaline very fast and stood up, without thinking of what was happening she threw herself through the wooden wall, making a huge hole in it then she ran outside into the swamp. After some time, her vision became blurred. She was watching the things around her in a furious state. Everything appeared red in front of her and she had this irresistible need to demolish everything.
She felt like a beast was unleashed, like the frustration of suffering for all these years was submerging her in one second. She had no strength to resist it. She had no desire at the moment to control it. She placed a first fist shot in a wall and it felt as if it was made of sand, it was an old house near the lake. Arja's fist was bleeding and this excited her even more. She needed more, so she punched again and again and again. She screamed with rage after every punch, every assault was more brutal than the precedent.
Arja demolished a full district in no time, she ran to the palace. Arriving at the main place she stopped and yelled. Like in her dream, a little tornado formed around her and started to demolish everything around her. The dead bodies left on the floor for years flew around with the wind.
Arja was in the middle of the capital's main place, yelling with rage surrounded by dead bodies and pieces of skeletons that seemed to dance around her while the wind was ravaging the buildings around and ejecting bricks and other stones everywhere. Arja was overwhelmed by the anger. She was panting between two screams. Her vision was blurred, she could see the entrance of the palace where the explosion happened, and she saw the main road where the bodies were exposed as trophies. She placed her two hands on her head, she had the feeling she was about to explode. Blood began to run down her hair between her fingers and when she looked at her hands she immediately stopped and screamed.
Her fingers had become claws, her nails were now long, spiky, and silver. They were strong and sharp like weapons. She was horrified to see her hands. She had changed, and she didn't know what she was yet.
As she closed her mouth she felt a bloody taste, she passed her hand on her lips and she felt that her mouth also changed. She now had long canines on both sides of her teeth.
Altraya appeared in front of her with a smile.
"I didn't expect you had so much hate in you, Arja. That was very impressive."
Arja had the reflex to put her hand on the throat of her friend, she was furious to see her, and unfortunately, her hand passed through her body without touching anything solid. Arja was merciless and beat her as strongly as she could. Her fists were passing through her body. Blinded by the rage, she threw herself on Altraya and hurt the floor. Altraya came closer, she crouched down and talked to her in a gentle voice.
"You cannot hurt me Arja, nobody can. Come with me."
Altraya was moving slowly, floating in the mist. As she was walking Arja realized she was dizzy. It was a strange feeling, she was absent from her body but at the same time, she was also in extreme pain. She felt heavy and each step was painful. They followed the main road and then they turned just before the former fabric vendor, Arja was watching the streets of her childhood with regrets, and all her emotions were unleashed. They went into a little dark alley.
"When we were young I was following him there and I was losing him each time. I didn't understand where he was going. Do you remember Arja? The white monster. I was so obsessed with him."
Arja listened, trying to keep her calm with a lot of difficulties, she was completely confused with an irresistible desire to smash everything around. Altraya walked in front without paying attention to her. The dark street ended and there was nothing to see. Altraya placed her hand on some stones on the wall in front of her in a specific order. Then a mechanism was activated which moved the stones of the wall to leave space for a person to pass. Behind was a tunnel going deep underground. Arja was about to start a light with trembling hands. Her claws were making things extremely complicated. Altraya stopped her.
"You don't need this anymore. Follow me."
After a few steps only, they were in total darkness. Arja realized that she was able to see in the complete dark. She didn't understand what happened to her yet but she followed her friend. They took a long path that seemed to be dug with bare hands, Arja was checking the ceiling from time to time, she thought that it could fall on them at any moment.
Altraya suddenly stopped and showed her something. Arja thought it was another of her strange dreams, that nothing was real. The thing in front of her was a mirror. She was shocked to see her reflection after so long a time. She touched the eye patch on her face unconsciously.
She watched closely and saw the wound in her neck, the blood dried on her, that was so much that it covered the top of her chest, neck, and chick, then she watched at the shiny armor, this masterpiece was hiding a massacred body. She didn't realize how much she changed after the loss of Typhon.
Altraya took her hand and stepped into the mirror. Arja followed without asking questions. Once they were on the other side, Arja discovered a large circular room.
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