"What is this thing? I feel tense and cold."
As the thing said those words, I felt like I was about to piss myself. I just thought to myself, "Why did it say that? Was it expecting me to come here to the Land of the Dead?"
I looked over to see Nia, but she was gone. "Where the hell is she?"
"We-are-Echos," the shadow said in a deep, dark, menacing voice.
"And this-is our ground-and you are in it, which means, you are in the wrong place."
As it finished saying that, it came at me with incredible speed. Unable to move or dodge, it struck at my chest, and the moment its hand was in my chest, I felt even colder. My body went limp, and I couldn't hear anything. As my vision started fading, I saw it saying something. I couldn't hear it. It then ripped my heart out of my chest. It's dark. It's cold.
What is that I hear? Suddenly, I jolted up. As I looked around, I was back in my room. I'm home. Why am I here? Was it a dream? All of this feels weird. Suddenly, it hit me. If that was a dream, then my parents, my family, must still be alive.
I got up from my bed as fast as I could. I rushed to the living room and saw both my parents sitting there on the couch, watching TV. As I was watching them, tears filled my left eye. I walked over to them slowly, with lots on my mind.
They looked over at me with a smile on their face. It's like all the worries are gone.
My mom, still with a warm smile on her face, said, "You must've been really tired from work. You sleep for a full day."
I smiled and sat on the couch with them.
Dad chimed in and said, "You slept as if you were dead. Your mom told me not to joke about that. Dusty came by looking for you, but since you were asleep, he treated me to that special ramen of his. Also, why are you naked?" he asked with a laughter.
"Oops. I'll be right back", I said.
After a while of talking and joking with my parents, I went to the kitchen to grab some water to drink. I still had a lot to tell them. All of a sudden, as I was walking back, they seemed to be getting further. I tried calling out to them, but they couldn't hear me. Suddenly, they vanished, right in front of my eyes. Everything around me disappeared. It's completely dark. I woke up screaming the next second.
"Pain is a wonderful thing," the menacing voice said.
I looked over, and it was just standing over me. Tall and still dark. All I could see were its eyes.
"It can drive us to do something we'll regret. It can make us powerful and invisible. Are you invisible, Ice? You may be here right now, may have slaughtered my army, and you may be powerful, but all that, Ice, is nothing. It's nothing if all you feel is power within your pain. You have to be invisible."
This thing looked at me with pity. As it walked away, it said, "As you lay there, Ice, think of what you could've done to change the outcome. You have to be willing to cut anything in your way. Be invisible and you shall pave your own way."
I passed out. I woke up and found myself in a dark room. I looked around and saw nothing. Suddenly, an Echo appeared before me. Not saying a word. The cell I was in suddenly opened, and the Echo was still there. Like it was waiting for me to come out. When I got out, it suddenly turned around and went away slowly. I think it wanted me to follow it. With no other choice, since my hands were tied, I followed.
We reached this dark cave, and at the top, I see this massive figure with a crown-like object on its head. Seriously, I was getting sick of all the darkness here. Suddenly, I heard a voice coming from the top. Almost like the same one I heard before, but this one was darker.
"Welcome to my Society. I've been waiting to meet you," a deep, dark voice said.
I heard a faint whistle in the distance as soon as it said that. It almost sounded like a melody. Who could be whistling like that? This dark figure suddenly grew bigger. I think it was standing up. It raised its arm with someone looking to be in a chokehold. It was Nia. I've read too much manga to be asking myself "How?", but it's no wonder why I hadn't seen her for a while.
"You heard a whistle, did you not? Ice, let me warn you; they say if you ever hear a whistle, that is probably the last thing you will ever hear. Have they ever told you what would happen if that whistle came to you?" The figure asked.
I didn't know what it was asking, but I did not like the sound of that. I didn't care about that though. I was worried about Nia.
I asked, "What are you going to do to her?"
"Oh, her?" It asked.
"This is my little gift to you. Do you know why people die when they hear an Echo? Why things suddenly happen for no reason? Have you ever sat down and wondered why that girl was there at the creek when you got off work? That is because of I. You see Ice, I have control of every Echo here. Every action happens because I have that control."
Suddenly, it made sense. With my eyes wide open, I was looking at The Siren. The God of Death.
"Ice, you must've figured it out. I am who you think I am. I am a Shinigami, the God of Death, whom you people call 'the Siren'. I do have to say, I quite like that name."
Then suddenly, it squeezed its hand. With it, Nia disappeared. With another person close to me gone, I lost it.
"YOU MONSTER! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" I yelled.
It pointed at me. "Look down closely at that chest of yours," it said.
My eyes widened. There's a hole in my chest. This can't be real.
"What is a heart, Ice?" it asked. "Can you see it? Can you touch it? Or can you feel it? As it was ripped out of your chest, did you feel it? Or did you just die? If I replace your heart with another, would you be able to feel emotions? Would those emotions be your own? Would you be able to care? Would you be able to cry? Would those tears be your own? This loneliness I feel as the God of Death, do I feel it because I have no heart? Or is it because I have one? Ask yourself how you are still alive with no heart in your chest. Maybe with a newfound heart you can find one to give to the girl."
With that, it raised its right hand slowly and snapped its finger.
Suddenly, I heard a loud ring in my head. Then with agonizing pain all over my body and especially my head, I dropped to the ground.
"You see Ice, when the whistle comes to you. You won't die, but you will wish you did. You will experience the most painful memory you have multiplied by a thousand-fold. And with that, you will see those experiences again as if you are there, on repeat, to the point where you can't take it anymore and cease to exist. You might be asking yourself why I chose you specifically. Well, it's simple. That is because you can see us. And that is a problem I cannot accept or have. With that, I bid you farewell, Ice."
I couldn't stand the pain. Seeing my parents killed time after time. Being in the car and each time, not being able to do anything to stop or help them. Trying to do something different each time to stop it, but it ends up the same. I just want to die. But I can't. Why don't I just die? Why can't this damn whistle stop?
I was on the ground. I felt blood coming out of my nose, ears, and eyes. Why was I bleeding? It felt like I'd been here for weeks. I can't move. I have no energy. I can feel the skin melt off my body, making me look like a skeleton. This agonizing pain, this torture, I just want it to end.
I started to remember days with my family. I remembered when it was just peace and laughter. I'd been cold that I forgot what it was like to smile and laugh with jokes around the family. It reminded me of the time when I was 13 and my mom found my dad dead in the kitchen. Turns out that man mixed some liquids to look like blood and pranked my mom to make it seem like he was dead. I always laughed at that. My mom was in shock and ran to grab the phone to actually call the police. Tell me why this man laid there until they actually showed up? But now I look like him, except its real.
Everything was dark.
As I was lying there, still in pain, I heard a familiar voice. "Ice."
I opened my eyes. It's my mom.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Ice, you need to wake up. Open your eyes," She said.
I'm confused. What is she saying? I asked, "What are you saying?"
"You need to go save Nia. She is in much pain and needs your help. Wake up!" she said.
"I can't," I replied
She shook me, "WAKE UP!"
I sprang up. I'm back in the cell. I'm not dead. I look down my chest. There's no hole. What the heck is happening? I notice where the hole was now has this black mark on it. The pain is gone. What was that though? Why did I see my mom? I look up and I don't see any Echos. I still have my dagger inside my pocket. Let's try to get out. I grab my dagger and with the now given magic, I can turn it into a katana. I will have to thank Nia later. I slash the door of the cell and walk out. As I walk out I sense a familiar presence. I turn around. It's Zok.
"A rose with falling petals has lost the love it once had," he said.
What the heck is he talking about.
"A fair warning, Ice. The girl which you look for is not here. You shall find her at His Lords realm. You are not ready. May I suggest you go back to your human world for you are a no match for His Lord," he said.
I asked him, "Why are you telling me this and why are you helping me? You can easily strike me where I stand."
"I have no need to strike the weak for they are pathetic. I am not like my brother. You may have met him earlier," he said pointing to my chest.
"You mean to tell me that Echos are related as well? I may be overthinking. Why do you guys look completely different if that is the case? You are a human are you not? The thing I met that made a hole in my chest was a shadow figure and I can see you plain as day you look as a human," I said.
"We are brothers, but you can refer to me as a Lost Echo, while my brother is just an Echo," he said.
And with that, he vanished into the shadows.
I have more questions than answers but I take his advice. I go back to the world of the living. Thank goodness the portal was still open.
It's been 6 months. During that time I used it to train harder. I also hung out with Dusty so that way he doesn't feel like anything is going on. Two days after I got back from the Land of the Dead, Zok let me know that Nia is still 'alive' and that I have about 8 months to save her. I have no idea what he is up to giving me that information but i felt like I could trust him on what he said. I just have to be wary. He also told me the chant to open the portal. Now its time to head out and save Nia.