[attr="class","crashIMG"]

[attr="class","crashLyrics"]Haunter of the Dark

[attr="class","crashBody"]
Trigger Warnings: Violence, Some Torture, Drug use
[break][break]
The street lamps dimly lit the sidewalks in response to the darkening sky. A pale young woman, dressed in a black business suit, stepped out a set of glass doors of a multistory building. Cissnei yawned and stretched as she exited. A breeze passed by, and Cissnei inhaled it deeply in an attempt to remove the stale condo air from her lungs. Who thought it was a great idea to stop up the windows? She would have to have a talk to the building owner. She could smell the rain forming in the air, and the clouds themselves continued to darken the sky.
[break][break]
Before crossing the road, her ochre eyes looked up and down the street. The people were finally starting to settle, despite the many shortcomings of the past years. They had cleared the gangsters from her self-designated Turk territory. It gave a favorable appearance to her small business.
[break][break]
Cissnei, too, had come back to settle into her new living space after being reinstated. In the condo building was her Angel Eyes Detective Agency. It was starting to pick up traction now that she dedicated a bit more time to it.
[break][break]
She made her way down the street, her mind still in thought about the myriad of tasks that needed to be accomplished by the end of tomorrow.
[break][break]
Then, she suddenly heard a noise from in between an apartment complex and a convenience store. She turned to see what it was, but it was hard to make out the black shape in the darkness. She gave a frown, her hand unconsciously going to the comfort of her weapon. She made a move to take another step toward the apartment, but she heard a voice call out, “Please.” Cissnei turned to look down the dark alley again, this time a child walked out into the light of the street lamp. The previous black shape seemed to disappear – perhaps a trick of the light.
[break][break]

“I’m sorry. Did you need something?” She crouched to talk to the child, whom at this point looked a little distressed. The child looked like a street urchin with long ratty hair and dirty clothes. The oversized shirt fell messily over one of her shoulders, revealing a dark circle. Cissnei wondered if it was a bruise, and studied the child a little more. “Are you alright? You shouldn’t be out here alone at this time of night.”
[break][break]
“You shouldn’t be either.” There was something strange in that child’s voice that sent chills down her spine. She looked up to see two shadowy figures moving quickly toward her. She went for her weapon, only to find that the child was grabbing her arm. What the hell was this? She shook the child off, and went to jump back to gain distance from the advancing shadowy figures…only when she took a step back, the child had now latched onto her leg, “Don’t be afraid.” Those words had the opposite effect on the coppery haired Turk. She felt the patter of icy rain as it began to fall.
[break][break]
The figures were only yards from her, and she grabbed her PHS, knowing at this point capture was probably going to be imminent. Her fingers worked quickly to hit a random speed dial, before someone advanced on her from behind. A large hand grabbed her wrist in a crushing grip. She noticed the black sleeve as she struggled, and a hand that glowed a stunning blue protruded from it. Her phone fell from her hand, and she felt almost certain that the sheer strength of the grip just broke her wrist. The other two were now assisting the third that grabbed her wrist. Unlike the larger Turks, her size worked against her in close quarter combat.
[break][break]
She found that the child had disappeared from her leg, and she began to resist the attackers. She tried to pull free her wrist, and began commanding them to let go of her, for the benefit of whatever was on the other line of the speed dial. She twisted and punched the attacker behind her, only to find that her fist hit something much harder than human flesh. She activated the fire materia in her gloves and thrust her palm into the mask of the cloaked figure holding onto her. Flames sparked in its eyes, and it let her go. It held its face in pain. She squirmed out of the weaker holds of the other two attackers, and activated her haste materia. She dropped to the concrete and side swiped one just behind its knee, causing it to fall on its back side. She began to dash, but stopped short when she noticed two more shadowy figures advancing on her. She turned to look behind her. The previous three recovered and were making their way to her. She reached for her weapon, but noticed it had disappeared. ‘God damn that kid,’ was her thought.
[break][break]
She looked to her right, seeing a newly constructed building. She ran to it and tried the door, but it was locked. Frustrated, she kicked the door to try to bust it down. The door still did not budge. It was too late now. They had caught up with her, and one of them wrapped an arm around her throat and pulled her in close to its chest. She continued to try to wriggle free, but the attacker lifted her off her feet. She tried kicking off the door to knock it off balance, but it was made of sturdy stuff. She felt a cloth cover her mouth and nose. A sweet scent filled her lungs, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
[break][break]
---------
[break][break]
She woke up in a dark room without lights. She heard resonating incantations from guttural voices. She moved slightly and groaned. She felt the bruises from her scuffle. The ropes on her wrists were already biting and chafing the tender flesh. Sitting up, her head felt oddly hazy, and her vision blurred. The dizziness won, and she laid back down to bite back the nausea. What the hell did they give her? The sound of pattering rain could be heard, and lightning struck outside, revealing a reinforced window behind black curtains.
[break][break]
Someone approached, and there was the sound of a door opening. The presence of the person hovered over her. Cissnei glared up at the person. “Why?” Her voice came out raspy. Were they a rival gang? Did they think they could use her as leverage for something? The questions couldn’t escape her bruised throat, and eventually got lost in her muddled mind.
[break][break]
“You are a suitable host,” it's fingers through her coppery locks. “The color of mute flame and the skin of ashen rock.” Cissnei got a sick feeling in her stomach. “If you aren’t the chosen one, then I don’t know who else would be.” If her head wasn’t so mucked up, she might have thought this man was a would-be stalker claiming his prize.
[break][break]
“Host?” Speaking in sentences was too much of a feat.
[break][break]
“The host to bring forth peace through destruction,” it said almost gently, if it could speak gently. “All those people fiddle about endlessly, creating chaos for themselves and others. Wouldn’t the world be much more peaceful with them gone?”
[break][break]
------
[break][break]


The next week was agonizing. The days blurred together. They never fed her, but only gave her water with whatever tasteless drug mixed in. Perhaps they were trying to starve out her will power until she agreed with them. They would come in with heated blades cutting into her flesh, and chanting that reverberated in her skull. They kept offering this host position to her, and she kept refusing despite her altered mind.
[break][break]
Then one day, a knife was left on the stand next to the bed she rested on. She wriggled her way over to it, trying her hardest to turn onto her side and use her fingers to inch the knife into her palm. She leaned her elbow deep into the mattress and pressed the sharp end against the rope. She rocked her body back and forth, trying hard to cut into the rope. After a few minutes of struggling, she felt the rope give way. The pain of the rope leaving her wrists caused her to flinch. She did not bother to rub the pain out. It wouldn’t help. Her hands shakily moved to deal with the ropes on her ankles.
[break][break]
When she tried to stand, the effect of starvation and drugs caused her to stumble and catch herself on the wall. The world spun, and she leaned hard into the wall until she stabilized. She felt for the buttons of her shirt, but she just didn’t have the dexterity in her swollen fingers to fix the tattered shirt properly. She noticed her boots near the edge of the bed and stumbled to shove her feet into them.
[break][break]


Her heart dropped when she heard the door open. She stared at the large male in front of her. At least, she thought he was a male. His form was monstrous as if made of crystal and flesh. Before she could even think of making a move, she felt an arm slam across her jaw. She didn’t collapse from it. That’s when another swing caught her in the ribs and she was sent flying across the room. Her back hit against the edge of a table, and she let out a sharp gasp. The pain ran up her body, causing her to crumble. Blood flowed from her lip and gravity took it down her chin. She squinted up at the culprit, who paced back and forth by the door, debating on his next actions. She saw eyes glint down at her from behind the mask. In her state, there was no way to fight her way out of this. “I suppose,” she noticed he began speaking in his deep voice, “you are not a suitable host after all”.
[break][break]

Cissnei, trying to figure out the right words to stay alive, spat out blood, and gambled on the words, “No. I suppose not…”She was not going to agree to destroy the world. After all, she lived in it. She was unsuitable to be the host of destruction. No amount of brainwashing, drugs, or sweet words that promised relief would convince her otherwise. Her eyes glared up at him. The tension built in the room.