Chapter 2

He woke up on the ground. The dull pain still radiating from his missing arm. The snow had piled on top of him while he slept, he was surprised he was still alive. He didn't want to be.

Half tempted to remain on the ground, he eventually pulled himself out of the snow. It was cold, but his skin was burning. His arm straining, he fell back to the ground. Instead of trying again, he focused on the energy in the air.

The energy was cold, like the air it was in.

The ghost was in front of him, trying to talk to him, but he couldn't hear her over the ringing noise. Frustrated, she eventually gave up. However, one voice cut through the static in his ears

"I can give you the power to live". A woman's voice resonated in his head. Unlike the ghost, who was talking to him, this was like one of his own thoughts. An intrusive and parasitic thought. He could tell, the woman had no thoughts of helping him, she only was helping herself.

He couldn't think of anything else. His mana veins were gone. He could sense the magic in the air, but he couldn't manipulate it.

Before he could agree to her, he heard a voice, and saw a figure approaching. It looked like someone survived, he recognized them. He drifted back to sleep as the figure approached.

———

I immediately ate some of the food I got in the bag the woman gave me. It was just dried jerky, but it tasted like heaven. After eating, I looked at my hands. They were still dripping with blood.

I couldn't bury the body, but I wanted to. I left the area as fast as I could. Being around a dead body, someone I killed, just wasn't an option.

I continued walking the halls, and eventually came across a mirror. It was hanging from the wall, and was long enough for me to see my entire body in it. My hair was a platinum blonde and nearly reached my chin. My eyes were a vibrant blue. I was glad to finally know what I looked like.

I was disheveled, my clothes were dirty and torn. My face was covered with dirt, and my feet were ripped from the jagged ground. I stood for a few minutes, just taking in the image. I looked tired, and I was.

As I looked, I noticed something. My mirror didn't follow me perfectly, it was delayed by half a second. It wasn't much time, but I could see it. My reflection stopped moving with me altogether.

My once blue eyes turned red, and the reflection tried to break the mirror. It was a monster. I stepped back and raised the dagger. The reflection stopped trying to break the mirror and looked at me.

"Hey, get me out of here." A ghastly voice came out of the mirror. I wasn't sure if I should respond or not. "What? Are you deaf?" The voice came out more upset.

"I don't trust you." My voice was shaky.

"Ugh, just hit the mirror". The voice was tired of trying to talk to me.

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Carefully, I hit the mirror with the handle of the dagger, and once I did, my reflection disappeared. In its place was a woman whose hair was white, like snow. Her eyes were blood red. However the most shocking thing was the two horns sticking out of her forehead.

"You are a monster!" I backed away. The woman just appeared to be annoyed. The woman walked through the mirror, but once she did, her body became see-through.

"Figured." She said as she looked at her transparent body. "Hey." She glanced at me. "Can I have your body?"

I turned around and started running.

"Hey!"

As I rounded the corner, I stopped running. In the middle of the hall was a large spider, with the upper half of a human sticking out of it. As soon as I saw it, it noticed me. Its heads turned to look at me. That's when I realized it. The human half was the woman I killed earlier.

This thing had taken her body and was using it. I could feel the anger boiling in my stomach, but it was still overshadowed by my fear. I could feel the monster's gaze piercing my skin. I was frozen.

"Well shit, you're screwed."

I couldn't disagree with her. I could see no way out of the situation.

However, I wasn't given much time to think of a way out. The spider rushed at me, it was fast, too fast for me to react. The only thing I could do was put up an arm. The two pincers on the spider's face sliced my hand clean off.

Pain overtook me. The burning and itching feeling washed over where my right hand used to be. Suddenly, goosebumps rose from the back of my neck and I ducked, letting the pincers miss my head. I sprinted down the hall, fumbling for my dagger.

There were no thoughts going through my head. All I heard was ringing.

"Hey, if you give me your body, I can kill this thing." The ghost was floating alongside me. I glared at her and she backed off. I rounded a corner. My breathing was uneven, and I was already almost out of stamina. I hugged the wall and waited for the spider, which came barreling through the opening.

Once I saw it, I stabbed down towards one of its legs.

*Snap

The blade of the dagger just broke in two as soon as it hit the spider, who was now looking at me.

One of the pincers stabbed through my diaphragm. More pain overwhelmed me. At this point, my fight or flight triggered, and I did the first thing that came to mind. I bit down on the pincer.

My vision went black.

———

He woke up in a bed, wrapped in damp white bandages. His body was sore, and he was dizzy, but he still forced himself upright. He looked over at his missing left arm. He felt as if he deserved it.

"You look like shit." The ghost said. She sounded like she was mocking him, but she was truly worried.

The door to the room opened, and a girl, no older than 16 walked in. She had long brown hair, but the weirdest part was the two wolf ears atop her head. She even had a fluffy tail.

Once she saw that he was awake, she gasped.

"Akuma! You need to lay back down." She was very worried.

"I'm fine." He said. "Is…." The girl seemed to know what he wanted to say. She had a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but we are the only survivors that I know of so far."

He just sat there, dejected, for a few minutes.

"Thank you, Kori, for saving me." He said, his voice a bit empty and dry.

"I just returned the favor. You need to get some rest, and some new bandages." She said, handing him the new roll.

"Get some rest, and let me know if you need anything." She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.