Thirteen Years Ago

"Here, have a drink." A woman with the kindest eyes I had ever seen handed me a cup of hot chocolate. I took it, the warmth of the mug sending comforting tingles on my palms.

"How are you feeling, dear?" the kind woman asked gently. The fog in my mind refused to clear. My mouth opened to answer her, but no words came out. I didn't know how to answer her. I didn't know how I was feeling.

"Does it hurt?" She pointed at something below my neck. As if on cue, a felt dull throbbing pain from where she pointed.

"Y-yes," My own voice felt so alien to me like I was hearing it uttered by someone else.

"Let's put some ointment on it, okay?" She took a vial from a desk drawer and applied some of the ointment on my skin. It stung a little. I flinched. She gave me an apologetic look and blew on what I assumed was a wound.

"There." She gave me an angelic smile. "What is your name?"

"Uh..." What is my name? Who am I? "I...d-don't...know." My eyes landed on a full-length mirror somewhere on my right. A little girl with brown hair and haunted eyes stared back at me. Her pale complexion bore scattered bruises that were just healing. Below her neck was a mark resembling an inverted "L," with the patch of skin around it still an angry red. For some reason I couldn't explain, my eyes started to tear up. I blinked the tears away. What is happening to me?

"I...I can't remember anything!" Panic started to swell within me. I turned my eyes back to the woman as a single tear dropped, followed by more. A lot more.

"What is happening?!" I stood up, but the sudden movement made me feel dizzy. The woman held my shoulder to steady me.

"It's okay, dear. Please calm down." She pointed at something on my wrist. "Your bracelet says 'Reianne.' Is that you?" I followed her pointed fingers and saw a bracelet around my wrist.

"Reianne," I uttered the name under my breath. Another wave of tears threatened to fall at the mention of the name, but I held it back, not wanting to worry the kind lady anymore.

"I don't know. Maybe? Who are you?" I asked her, my voice hoarse.

"I am Cerce, dear. You can call me, Granny Cerce. Have you met my husband? You can call him Granpa Shao. We will take care of you." She stroked my head in a loving gesture.

"See this mark here"--she pointed at the mark under my chest--"be careful that you don't scratch that, okay?" She winked at me and I nodded.

"Why don't you drink your hot chocolate and sleep a little?"

I nodded at her again. The fog in my mind kept me in a daze, and it wasn't long before sleep claimed me.

I always thought that my scythe-like mark was a birthmark. Now, I understood what it was. It was not a birthmark. It was a seal.

I felt the blood from my wound seeped into the bandages wrapped around my chest. They had broken the seal. Something stirred in my gut, something hungry and primal. I began to shake, and I clutched my stomach to steady myself. I felt energized, invincible. The air around me buzzed with electricity. I had no idea what was happening, but the feeling was familiar. As if something in me welcomed back an old friend.

The men gave a collective gasp, and the chain around my neck slackened. All of them stepped away from me.

"Y-your eyes!" said their leader.

"What about them?" I could not hide the smirk forming on my face.

"What are you?!" The men's panicked voices sounded almost melodious.

I laughed. "Wouldn't you want to know." 

The tremors in my gut became so unbearable, even my hands were visibly shaking. Hungry. I was so, so hungry, and the men...they looked so...alive. The energies around them swirled,  basking them in glowing light. I knew that I could drain all their life force with just one touch. I can take it all.

My shaking hand, which seemed to have a mind of its own, reached out to them. They flinched and stepped back some more.

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to play with me?" I teased them. Pure terror was etched on each of their faces.

"Get away from us!" their leader yelled at me. He turned to run, but I was faster. With a sudden lurch, I was on him. Clutching his shirt, I threw him on the ground and gave him a kick in the ribs. I remembered the feeling of his hands on my body, and I kicked him again and again. I might have overdone it a little because he spewed blood after.

Oops.

I looked at his other companions who were all frozen on the spot. I gave them the most malevolent smile I could muster. "Breathe. I don't want you passing out before I'm through with you." 

They snapped out of their frozen state.

"Y-you don't scare me!" said one of them.

I laughed again, more sinister this time. "Let's start with you then!" 

I grabbed his neck and gave a squeeze. His energy drained into my fingertips with a jolt, feeding my innermost depths. Moments later, he slackened. I let go of his lifeless body as my own hummed in approval. I felt myself expanding, buzzing, before the depths of my being absorbed every life force the scum had to offer.

But it was not enough.

I turned to the other men. One by one, I drained their life forces. For the first time after thirteen years, I was feeding, and it felt good. It felt liberating. I was powerful. Invincible.

After the last of the gang members' bodies laid beneath me, I turned my attention to their leader. His eyes were filled with terror as I approached. He had not moved from where I left him, either from resignation or his broken ribs, I didn't know. I didn't really care.

"Hey, what do we say to the God of Death?" I said as I smiled at him. He flinched and clutched his broken ribs. "Today, definitely today," I finished.

I grabbed his neck. I looked at his eyes the whole time as I drained his life energy, the same way he looked at mine when he broke the seal. The lights in his eyes flickered and dimmed. He gasped one last time before finally losing consciousness. I threw his body to the ground together with his gang where it belonged.

Moments later, the electricity and power that permeated the air earlier began to dissipate, and I started to feel faint. The shaking that started to subside came back in full force. I took one ragged breath after another in an effort to stay conscious, but my heart started beating at an inhuman speed that I thought it would burst. Beads of sweat formed on my face and dropped on the ground one after another. I let out a growl. I did not realize that I was already on my knees, clutching my chest.

This must what it felt like to be drunk with energy.

"We should stop meeting like this."

I looked up and Gio was there. I stared at the person beside him--a girl with features similar to mine. A name floated in my mind.

"Quin," I said. Then blackness consumed me. 

There you have it. The Reaper, the more lethal kind, was unleashed. Poor, poor degenerates of the earth for having the misfortune of meeting her.

Yours forever,

RF