aster stiffens at the shrill shrieking behind her, not startled per se, but perturbed by her own impropriety. even under the velvet veil of night, the devils’ handiwork demanded discretion. sloppiness attracted attention from passersby, always the same, pupils dilated as black moons and jaws agape. and the incessant squalling, blubbering bubbling in the back of their throats for maligned mercy akin to stuck pigs. humans’ hysteria at bearing witness to the inevitable end seemed so performative, honestly. their terror is momentary, a fleeting feeling before the residue retracts into the subconscious. what did they know of suffering, after all? all the manmade horrors scrawled in storybooks and skulking across television screens could not prepare them for the spectres lurking in the shadows.
some of which don flesh and bone as silk and satin.
the suffocated corpse suspended in an umbral embrace suddenly collapses to the concrete below, empty eyesockets staring sightless at the sky, twisted maw framed in a soundless scream. sable spiderwebs woven upon brick walls uncoil, tendrils slithering towards the master that summons them until the horror fades. aster tuts disapprovingly, directed at herself as much as the petrified girl behind her. red slits from the skull mask sitting upon the crown of her head stare balefully before aster spins around. rot and ruin paint her aura in macabre shades, all death and decay and festering wounds and hissing cockroaches and all omens foreboding. importune is any soul to meet such an inauspicious entity, a harbinger of harsh winters and famine and disease. yet, the pallid, bony figure seems no older than the girl before her, still a girl herself.
aster’s reaction is delayed as she appraises her unwanted guest, drooping wide eyes black and inky unblinking, expression unfathomable. a frown tugs at bluish lips before she averts her gaze towards the cadaver and back again. back and forth, her eyes flit before aster narrows her lids in distaste.
❝You have eyes, and your eyes do not deceive you unless you are willingly blind as well as deaf and dumb.❞ she says tonelessly, shot through with the faintest venom of a fangless snake. ❝Senseless crimes occur everyday. You hear about them on the radio or read them in the papers, maybe gossip with your friends at school about the juicy details before you forget. The only difference is now you’ve seen one with your own eyes, so now the danger is real, is true. Seeing is believing, so they say. So, now confronted with this startling new reality, what will you do?❞
a jeering note breaks the monotony of her soliloquy, a derisive lilt that smiles in her voice.
the horror increases upon the sight of the killer in front of her. this manifestation of evil has distinguished itself from every thing sayaka has encountered previously. even then, fear always fills her with each encounter. though, her duty to eliminate such evil veils the fear until the threat has vanish. in this instance, she questions her ability to do ANYTHING. for, she knows nothing about this danger. what she knows is she currently struggles in defeating the evils she is intended to alone. with her lack of knowledge and ability, she’s at a still point. combined with her fear of the unknown, she’s paralyzed in fear.
what she sees, she can barely consider ALIVE. for the figure, presenting as a girl similar to sayaka, appears as if a soul has left her indefinitely. the blue tint to lips, tugged down to indicate a distaste for sayaka’s protest. there is an eeriness, for sayaka should have fled this scene moments ago ; though, she lingers for she is not alerted of an immediate threat to her life. perhaps, her senses are misconstrued. though, curiosity keeps her stance planted, shaking eyes locked onto the lifeless girl speaking to her.
FEARFUL EYES narrow at the girl’s introduction to the rest of her statement. an attack of sayaka’s abilities to understand triggers ANGER OVER FEAR. true, this is the first time that sayaka has witnessed a legitimate murder occur. though, death is a concept that is too familiar to her. the loss or near loss of friends close to her heart, the attack of innocent lives every day----she’s quite accustomed to the evil that influences humans to behave in a way that is intended to take their lives. though, this being the first time that she’s witnessed an actual murder of an innocent life, she’s LOST as to the steps that must be taken in this situation. without further knowledge of this being’s abilities, sayaka knows an attack could lead to her imminent doom. so, charging and battling till the power from her gem is nothing but darkness is not an option here. what she desires, is to know what’s going on.
❝ kill you ? ❞ she begins. as much as she would love to exterminate all threats to the lives of innocent beings, she knows attempting such a thing in this instance would be FOOLISH. ❝ i don’t even know what you are. other than a MURDERER. what i want to know is why. ❞