Chapter 11 : Darkness Gem Bearer

Clover was himself but at the same time, he wasn't. It was like something had taken over his body and now there were two sides of him competing in his head, as more flames shot out of his fingertips, burning the monster and making it scream. One side of Clover, the cowardly one, the victim, was screaming in fear.

Why aren't you hurting? Why is there a monster? Why do you have powers? Because of the gem? Why, why, why. There were always a lot of questions, yet they remained unanswered.

The other side of Clover, the one which had awakened together with his powers, was a whole different story. It was telling him to fight. Don't let it beat you, show it yourself, you will no longer be the victim. Each word dug into him and fueled the flame of anger in his heart. Clover knew who was right.

For a moment, He just stared at his flame-coated hands as the monster continued to scream. The fire danced around his fingers but he couldn't feel any pain. This was amusing to him but at the same time, it scared him. He could feel it. There was a burning power surging through his body and he had a feeling that it was coming from his gem. It was now glowing bright red and there was a letter carved onto it. He didn't need any translation to find out what it meant.

...Fire....

There was a shine at the corner of his eyes so he turned around and saw a shattered glass window next to him. There was just enough glass for him to see his reflection. He saw his own eyes, glowing bright red like the sunset and stared. What had he become? Thanks to his newfound instincts, he saw the tentacle before it lashed out at him. He jumped over the tentacle as it hit the ground and landed on top of it.

"Woah, didn't know I could do that." He mumbled to himself as he sat on the tentacle, surprised by his own actions because he wasn't an athletic person. Clover snapped back to reality when yet another tentacle swung towards him. He slid across the ground as he grabbed the tentacle, as it burned under his hot fingers. As Clover crashed into a pile of garbage cans, he heard a voice from above.

"Clover!" He saw Kaya peeking through the windows, a floor above him, her long silver hair loose and flowing in the wind.

"It's about time you came, silver head!" He snapped as he shot fireballs, aiming for the monster's eyes. However, it was moving too much and he missed. Kaya stared at Clover as he ran around and shot out flames with expertise. His bright red eyes caught her attention and she noticed that his gem was now activated, glowing bright.

"The name's Kaya.." she trailed off, feeling like a proud mother and watched him battle the monster with his flames. "Huh, he didn't even need my help to activate it."

"You helped him, Kaya, one way or another." Kaya jumped when Kiya suddenly spoke, since she was quiet for so long.

"Where the hell were you?!" She shouted, rubbing her head since she hit the wall out of shock.

"Sorry, I was busy and I still am. I'll tell you how to defeat this monster." Kiya said in a rush, as if she really was busy.

"Why the fuck are you-"

"Get rid of it's sight, that will help you both out." Kiya ignored her outburst. "Then, take out it's heart. Since it has a human form, that will kill it."

Meanwhile, Clover was dodging the tentacles while shooting fireball at the same time. He was trying to figure out how to kill the monster, since he had learned it could regenerate its own wounds the hard way. He had already thought of making a fire tornado to burn the monster's ass but there were too many civilians around. So, instead, he made sure that monster wouldn't hurt anybody else. As he ran around, he saw Kaya still staring down at him, an idea suddenly popping up in his head.

"Hey, Cow!" Clover shouted while jumping over a tentacle. "Help me out here!"

"It's Kaya!" Kaya hissed at the nickname cow. Silver head was tolerable but Cow? Seriously? She flinched when a fireball was suddenly thrown at her.

"Clover, you little piece of-"

"Listen, I want you to take the people as far away from the monster as you can!" Clover's back was against the wall, thick flames coming out of his palms and burning the tentacles to a crisp. However, they were just regenerating so it was of no use. Clover had changed, not only because he unlocked his ability to control flames. He was different, now he was expressing himself more.

"...Blind it and take out it's heart." Kaya said while jumping from the window and landing next to him. "It will kill it."

Clover just stared as she ran off and led the people away. He was wondering who Kaya really was and what significance she had with all these events. He took a glance at his gem, then at the flames of his hands.

Could it be, that he wasn't human?

Clover winced when he felt a sharp pain then his eyes widened when he saw a tentacle piercing through his arm. With a shriek of pain, he pulled it out before dodging a tentacle that was aimed towards his head.

"Shit."

He cursed as he clutched onto his bleeding arm. He was sure that he had at least fractured a bone. Now he really was trapped since he was leaning on the wall with a possibly broken arm. The monster growled as more tentacles started growing out of it's back. He clicked his tongues before raising his hand, a wall of fire erupting from the ground. He wasn't sure if it was enough to defend himself but it was the only thing he could do at the moment.

He sighed in relief when he heard the monster scream but his smile faded when the tentacles broke through the flames. Knowing that he had no other choice, he shot out flames from his palm, like a flamethrower. He was already starting to tire out, especially because of his injury, so his flames were much weaker. The monster used its wings to get rid of the flames before stepping towards him. The latter closed his eyes, expecting to feel pain and death. Nothing came.

When he opened his eyes, a hooded boy was standing in front of him. From his view, he could see the boy's black nails and the purple mist coating his hands. There was a purple force field surrounding them and the monster roared while it's tentacles failed to pierce through. His eyes widened when he noticed the boy's ring, which had a gem that looked exactly like his, except it was purple. He shivered at the aura he picked up from the stranger's gem. He could feel its overwhelming power, it made him scared.

"You don't trust Kaya, do you?" The boy said without turning around, his rough yet husky voice taking him by surprise. "Well, you should. She was right about this thing's weakness, you know. It seems pretty hard to take in right now but you should know that Kaya is the only person you can trust."

Purple mist solidified around the monster's leg. A loud snap made Clover flinch, then the monster fell on the ground with a broken leg.

"...If you're wondering who I am..." He said after considering Clover's silence. "I'm just like you but a little different."

"Wha--"

"You bear the gem of fire, don't you? Well, there's much more to it than shooting out flames from your hands. Concentrate and you'll see what I mean."

The boy - the darkness gem bearer raised his hand in a fist like motion, making purple mist solidly around the monster's neck and raising it in the air. The monster screamed again, then blood flowed down of its eye sockets. Clover just stared in both fear and disbelief.

"I've blinded it. I'll leave the killing to you." He waved his hand, making the force field fade. The two bearers just stared at each other, one with an expression of utter confusion and the other staring back in expectation.

"Wh-Who are you?" Clover stuttered. His tough boy image was long gone and it was the first time that he's ever expressed fear after running away from home, which surprised him greatly.

"...I told you, Clover." The boy turned around, his purple orbs locking onto Clover's red ones. He smirked, revealing the tips of his fangs. "I'm just like you, a bearer but different. Also, don't tell Kaya that I paid you a visit."