Tenebris' Death Wish

Zharina Marie Stephanie Lugo

"Is your mother even aware of what you do for a living?" Tenebris yelled as she disabled her enemy, cutting into the expensive tent containing children kidnapped from the village. "Better not tell her, my friend," I replied and tried to listen to the opposing force chasing us in our whole desert journey. While I prepared to fire four arrows all at once, I knew the clanging sounds of armor and heaving horses were coming from the west side of the place. Arrows sliced into thin air, seeking its target under the heat of the sun. Shrieking voices drenched in pain echoed amid the desert, and I could hear the voices of children cheering alongside with Tenebris. "Okay. I just need to remind you we are not heroes but assassins, Ravi. We should do this quickly. Help me untie the hostages."

In every step that we took, the sand felt like fire beneath my feet. I love to be barefoot wherever I go, and the pangs of pain seem to be simply an old friend visiting between these toes and nails that I own. The camels silently followed my direction, pulling the gray wagon with ease. "Are they alright back there?" I asked even though I could hear them snoring inside into slumber after eating all of the food that we stole from the smugglers. These children had been missing after the Rebel Blade thieves robbed their homes and kidnapped them. They were about to be sold to the neighboring continent, and thinking about it made me mad. Yet something disturbs me too much. After defeating the thieves earlier was a great victory, but the negative energy was still glowing in my mind as if it was always following us along the way.

Embracing the gust of the wind brushing on my face, I knew that the golden border was a few feet away from us. The fainting sounds of voices rang, with foreign accents responding to the soldiers. "Tenebris, wake up the children. Let them wear the silver robes from the metal chest." I ran behind the caravan, and she tossed the thobe. I inspected the cloth and realized it was made of silk and gold strings. "Where are they even planning to sell these expensive robes?" I folded the sleeves and worn my mask. Upon falling in line, I tried to slither into the conversations ahead of me to memorize the energies nearby. "What is your name and motive upon crossing the border?" The female soldier's low voice connected to my head, letting me hear the response of her interviewee. "I came here to deliver goods for the market." The response sounded the brittle voice of an older man as if it was keeping something else behind its wagon. He handed the guard a bar of gold and dragged his vehicle to the border.

Feelings surged into my bones, and my hair began to slither on my neck. "Not now. There are too many people here. And I found out most of them are thieves and smugglers." I whispered beneath the fox mask, securing my hair from falling off. "But someone inside that wagon is in danger." A cold voice hummed. As soon as we could cross the border, I left the wagon near a gigantic Cinder tree to do what I think was right.

Darkness was always my friend, and now glowing lights were everywhere, leading me into the unknown voice. "Somebody, please help me." The voice grew louder inside my thoughts, and the light hummed when I touched the side of the wagon. The light was overwhelming, and all I could hear was a loud heartbeat. A calloused hand landed on my shoulder, noticing his presence was filled with negativity. "Hello, child. The nice mask you got there." The stranger whispered like a predator watching me closely.

I dusted off his grip and continued to climb to his wagon while dragging my hands into the wooden boxes. "What do you think are you doing, kid? I think you're on the wrong wagon?" I stopped touching the surface when I found the crater glowing brightly beneath my palms. "This one is not yours." I directed my face towards the stranger. I felt darkness and excitement surging in his veins. He started to attack with a dagger and managed to grab my left hand. "Mind your own business. Unless you want me to turn you into a carcass as well?" His hissed and snatched the mask I wore. He was in disbelief upon looking into my eyes. "Oh, so your blind?" That was the time when I had to respond in a spell. "Ut mors tua, et anima mea erit." Anger gnawed, and my hair began to slither violently like serpents. It strangled the opponent and threw him outside the wagon. He as able mutter gibberish words on the ground, but the venom from my locks had already seeped into his skin.

I punched the glowing crater and saw a boy who was about my age gazing towards me. His face was filled with filth, and a trail of dried blood was above his left eyebrow. He was feeble and weak, and without hesitation, I carried him towards our wagon until the spell wore off.

"Can you trust her?" He spoke in an innocent tone. I was about to respond, but my vision began to fade while my locks turned lifeless again. With energy disappearing in every move that I took, I failed to puzzle the message he was trying to convey. "Stop creating a scene. It's not easy crafting a mirage around you with all the people around us." Tenebris slipped into my mind.

I knew saving them was against the Phantom principle, but his energy was overwhelming my thoughts. He was a stranger, but I couldn't help saving his soul. Handing him over to Tenebris was uneasy when he began to repeat the question in my head as soon as I fainted into the ground.

I woke up in a strange place, honeyed with energies of peace and silence. Emotions of people glowed soft and steady like strings swimming in the darkness of my vision. I knew Tenebris had dropped the children safely in the city, and we were already in the room of the oracle that I wish to seek. "You travelled this far to get rid of it. But why?" The oracle's voice was always soothing as if it was entering my thoughts in a dream. I failed to respond and listened to my breathing.

The question continued to dart back and forth, freezing my mind with answers. Assassinating royalties, stealing treasures from travelers, and reading forbidden scrolls of magic did satisfy my ego for years while I enjoyed watching my fox mask painted on posters all over the cities. Innocent children wanted to be like the Phantom Huntress, whose face was never revealed, and only the locks of her lethal hair could wipe out an army in a blink. I was an instrument of death and vengeance without my mother's knowledge, but doing good things reminded me of her voice. Her kindness and words made me go against the Phantom principles, and now the Phantom Huntress' dream was to shed light and hope.

"For me to grant your wish to regain your sight, you must be willing to sacrifice your greatest power." The oracle's reminder danced in my skull. "The oracle is a liar! Don't listen to her!" "She wanted to get rid our you." Hissing voices surged in the air while I continued chopping my hair. I

was hungry to see life permanently, and giving up my past was part of the plan. Starting a new life as an ordinary villager with my mother would be a wish granted full of hope and happiness.

Upon peeling my eyes into reality, curtains and walls of gold and silver surrounded the room. People wearing robes with hues of the ocean towered in front of me. The floor was filled with shredded locks of my hair, yet it was drenched with colors of rage, sadness, and fear. Slowly turning my gaze towards the stranger in the corner of the room, the reflection of light on the dagger took my attention. Pointing the weapon below the woman's face, the stranger's face was conveying an unmistakable warning. "Well done, Phantom Huntress. I never thought deceiving you was easy. Your friend was my greatest advantage that kept you in a cursed mirage for years." The oracle was securing the dagger with her old arms shaking hysterically. "I don't understand. Who do you mean, friend?" I stared at the hostage, with her eyes tired and powerless. Yet her heartbeat shared a familiar melody with mine, and I saw her glowing like sunshine, just like my mother's soul.

With the last drop of energy escaping from my limbs, I flailed towards the direction of the oracle. I held my grip on their robes and landed on their feet to prevent her attack. Pain and agony conquered my body while a group of strangers pulled me away from my mother.

Confusion stirred my vision upon witnessing Tenebris emerging from the door. She stood motionless beside the oracle, wearing darkness and chaos in her obsidian eyes. Her presence was not here to save us from danger, but instead, she peeled a smile and uttered something worse. She was a mirage that lured me into despair, pretending to be real and sincere until the end. "Ravi, you poor thing. How stupid were you to trust your life to an illusionist like me? But since you could now see the wonders of this world, how about watching your mother perish?"

"I'll be glad watching you perish instead, Tenebris." Like a monster waking up from slumber, my hair grew violently radiating hues of bloodshed and rage. My vision began to darken once more, and the souls of my locks were rejoicing upon taking down the traitor.