Chapter 4: Resolve
The lone girl stood up and slowly began to stumble back to her home. On the way there, a million thoughts were going through her head. She replayed the events of what had just occurred and asked herself why it happened. The only conclusion she could come to was that it must be a consequence of being revived from the dead, and this was the price she must pay. By becoming a monster.
Helsyn no longer considered herself human at this point. After all, she had already died once. That was the only valid explanation that made sense to her.
The next question that came to her mind was what to do with herself. There's no way a wild animal like her could be allowed to run rampant, eating and killing innocent people. At the same time, she didn't know when or how her hunger would return. The first solution that came to her mind was obvious.
Suicide.
She had considered simply ending her life, but maybe she would come back to life again and commit the same atrocious acts against another group of people. Aside from that, she wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea.
As Helsyn continued walking down the now empty village she lived in, she thought to herself how other people would react if they were in her current predicament. She figured they wouldn't be able to think rationally at all. That was the difference between Helsyn and other people.
Even in a situation such as this, it only took a couple minutes before she could calm down and think logically, planning out possible solutions and steps to take. It was clear that she was some sort of monstrous supernatural being, only in the form of a human. So, she simply considered this to be a challenge. Will Helsyn step up and learn to control this newfound power given to her? Or will she give up, and let this opportunity go to waste?
She laughed at herself once more. What was she doing, thinking of such grand things? What could she possibly do; save the world? With the same power that killed three innocent people? It was a delusional idea.
---
xxx
---
Then, Helsyn suddenly recalled something that had occurred during the midst of her killing spree. She thought nothing of it at first, or maybe she never noticed it. Whenever she would kill, there seemed to be a kind of "essence" that would flow out of the victim's corpse. The essence was purple, the same purple that resonated around her unexplained skeleton arm.
It all began to make sense. Helsyn realized she was absorbing the souls of those she killed into her right arm. It explains how the skeleton was able to grow larger and even sharpen itself in the form of claws, because she had already taken two souls beforehand.
Helsyn closed her eyes, and imagined herself bringing out the skeleton. Once she opened her eyes, there it was. She could call and dismiss it at will, without the need of hunger to force it.
She took a closer look at the arm, and stared into her own palm, behind it being the skeleton's own hand. A familiar feeling began to emerge, but she couldn't quite put a finger on what it was.
Helsyn's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, it clicked, and she knew just what exactly it reminded her of. The Cataclysm. The feeling of having her own soul being ripped out of her. How could she forget such a feeling?
She stuck her own arm out in front of her and imagined herself performing the act of absorption. This confirmed Helsyn's suspicions. She had a mini-Cataclysm within her right arm. It was the exact same feeling, no doubt about it.
A million thoughts rushed through her mind once more. She thought about the implications of such a power, how and why it was given to her, and most of all, what she can do with it.
If all she could do was take, then there was no point in living any longer. That would only serve to make Helsyn a devil, whose purpose is to do nothing but take the souls of the living away from them.
But what if she could... give? Give back the souls she takes? Maybe then, if she finds the culprit behind the Cataclysm, she could retake the lost souls and return them to their respective owners, essentially reversing the catastrophic fate of Vindyr.
Again, the thought of being such a hero made her chuckle at herself in an almost pathetic manner. Who was she to play god with people's very emotions and livelihood? But the thought still lingered in the back of her mind— that maybe this was the purpose given to her. After all, she came back from the dead.
Helsyn closed her eyes once more, and held out her arm in front of her. This time, instead of imagining the act of absorbing, she tried to replicate the feeling of release.
There was no response. She tightened her eyes shut even further, and put all her focus into this one goal: release.
Suddenly, a small, purple ball of energy began to form in Helsyn's palm. She opened her eyes and stared at the product of what she had created. This must have been the life essence she took away from the villagers.
She felt the energy surge throughout her arm, and immediately began sprinting back to the site where she had committed her sin. Upon making it back, she maintained the ball of energy within her palm, desperate to make up for the incident she had caused. She stood over one of the bodies, and put all her focus onto releasing the energy like she had just done moments earlier.
Helsyn felt the energy burst out of her palm, knocking her backwards onto the ground. She saw the purple beam make contact with the chest of her target. Holding her breath, she waited for a miracle to occur.
To no avail. Of course. It was too good to be true. To think she could give back the very life she took... it was foolish. Helsyn was all out of tears. She simply sighed and sat beside the bodies. Placing her hands together, she prayed. She wanted to pay respects to these innocent people she had killed, the way they paid respects to her.
Helsyn was by far not a religious person, and had never even performed such an act ever in her life. Still, she felt it was appropriate, and did it anyway. It took a bit of weight off her chest, but not nearly enough to get rid of the overwhelming guilt that would possess her for the rest of her life.
---
xxx
---
She wondered why it didn't work, giving the souls back. Was she really destined to only take? To steal, and consume all life in this world? Such a fate made her sick; she thought it would be better if she had stayed dead.
Maybe she wasn't strong enough. Maybe, all she needed to do was hone her abilities more, and then she would be able to do more with it. Helsyn wasn't a hopeful person by any means, but still, she wanted to hope there was a way to make up for her sins nonetheless.
Well, if she wanted to get stronger, she would have to go on an adventure beyond this human realm. There was much more than just this in the world of Desiderium, along with beings much, much stronger than her. If she could learn something about her powers, or meet others who underwent a similar occurrence, then she could get a better understanding of how these abilities given to her worked.
The gods of the five realms also crossed her mind. Perhaps they could give her answers. They were gods, after all. Or maybe they knew who was behind the Cataclysm in the first place. These were all questions Helsyn wanted answers to.
She had never felt motivated to do such heroic things before, but she felt this was the least she could do to make up for what she had done. She glanced once more at the corpses scattered around her, and came to a conclusion.
She would travel across the five realms, for multiple reasons. First, to get stronger, and to get a better grasp on her soul devouring abilities. Second, to find out who was responsible for the Cataclysm. And third, if everything worked out... she would consume the lost souls taken by the Cataclysm and give them back to their original owners.
All of this was based on a hunch. That Helsyn's fate wasn't just to consume. And that she could fight back, and control these powers given to her for the sake of a greater purpose. She wouldn't let these circumstances put her down. After all, it was still an opportunity to her— she was supposed to be dead, after all.
"Look at me, thinking I'm able to make a difference."
Helsyn spoke to herself in a gentle, but teasing manner. It was ironic that a person like her could even think of thoughts such as these. But it was the events that had occurred all throughout the past week that influenced these decisions.
There was one more imposing question that Helsyn had not yet answered. How would she deal with her insatiable appetite? The solution was not a perfect one, but it would be the only one. She decided to only consume those who she believed deserved it. Travelling the five realms, there were bound to be all kinds of bad people, enemies, and monsters she could devour. Of course, it wasn't a foolproof solution, but there was nothing more she could think of.
She had made up her mind. Helsyn stood up, this time, determined. The corpses around her stood as the cost of her newfound purpose. In a strange way, she was excited. She had never done anything like this before. The thought of doing such grand things would usually hold absolutely no interest to her whatsoever.
But, perhaps due to the second chance given to her, Helsyn felt as if this time, she could make a difference. That it was worth putting in the effort. It would be a tough, difficult road, but again, its only the least she could do, given her circumstances.
---
xxx
---
Eventually, Helsyn made it back to her beloved home for what would be the last time. She showered and cleaned the blood off of herself. Afterwards, she would then proceed to do something she hasn't done in years.
She opened her wardrobe. There laid a plethora of beautiful dresses and accessories that belonged to her, but hadn't worn for a long time. Not many knew this about Helsyn aside from her parents, but she used to have an interest in fancy clothing and fashion. She would eventually have to give up on her hobby due to not being able to afford it.
She decided to choose one of her favorite dresses: a black gothic lolita dress that went down to her thighs, adorned with ribbons and frills. She then proceeded to put on a pair of black thigh highs and high heels. Helsyn looked at herself in the mirror, but was still unsatisfied. She figured her hair was a bit too messy for her liking.
After combing and straightening it out for a bit, she tied her hair in a single side ponytail. For the final touch, she grabbed the red flower she always wore and attached it to her hair, a symbol of her old self.
Helsyn took one final look at the mirror and twirled around, feeling somewhat proud of herself. She smiled, then sighed. She was beginning to feel like she didn't deserve to be feeling this way.
Flashes of the corpses she mutilated and ate played in her mind. Regret and guilt filled her very being, but she took a deep breath, and exhaled. This was the only thing she could do. She had to keep moving onwards. No more laying in her bed and doing nothing.
Helsyn sat on her bed and contemplated for a few minutes before standing up again. This was the last time she was ever going to be in this house. Although it was quite empty and was nothing more than a place where she would rot for eternity, it was a place she valued. She thought about how easy it would be to just go back to bed and sleep.
But her mind was already set. The very first thing she would do is go to the inner part of Vindyr in order to find her parents. Helsyn had already accepted the fact that they were both probably hit by the Cataclysm, but she wanted to confirm it for herself.
She walked towards the front door, and grabbed the door knob. Upon opening the door, Helsyn was greeted by a dazzling sunlight. It was already morning.
Usually repulsed by sunlight, the girl uncharacteristically looked up at the sky and stepped out onto the pavement before her. The door closed shut, and she continued to walk towards the sun that seemed to call for her, without looking back.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone