“It was the year one hundred forty-four. As the mindless demons rampaged over the world, humanity fought back with everything they had, but their hope was not lost just yet. A few of the hunters defending their land decided to group up and go pay the Demon Emperor a visit in an attempt to stop the problem from escalating any further, and so they took their leave just past midnight. They marched through the pitch-black forest, swarming with the mutilated citizens of the demon race until they finally arrived, but what they witnessed next shocked them. Nothing was safe from these newly born monsters, not even their own people, as the hunters witnessed on arrival. Upon entering the Emperor’s Residence, something big was laying on the ground, in the center of the building. It was quite unclear what it was until the dust being spread in the heat of battle finally cleared. What they saw was a carcass of the dragon that had previously been defending the Valkyrie. With disbelief on their faces, they walked all around it, keeping their glance pinned. Distracted from their surroundings, one of the hunters suddenly touched something with his foot. As anyone else would, he looked down with curiosity and what he found shocked him to his core. It was the head of the Valkyrie they all knew and loved. For them it meant no way of returning. The demon race has crossed the line.”

“Wait, but they wanted her dead so why did that bother them?” As it can be seen, I don’t understand them. They got what they wanted, shouldn’t they be happy about it. My other half continued. “Indeed, they did. Perhaps they were upset by the fact that they weren’t the ones to do it as she belonged to them or maybe they didn’t actually want to execute her, we will never know. But what we do know is that this very moment was where the Ancient War truly began. A declaration of war in the form of executing one of their people. They didn’t attack immediately, what they did was return back to their land and spread the word together with hatred towards the opposing race. Meanwhile, in a forest near the Valkyrie’s home village, the prince, now labelled as a traitor, sat on the dirt. He achieved all that he wanted, but now his beloved wife was gone and only one last thing remained on his mind - joining her even if it meant leaving their child behind. It was his only true desire left. The prince made his way back into the emperor’s residence just to find the dragon he left behind dead.” Wanting to pay respect to the loyal creature, he began to walk on the black and white tiles covering the ground in the entire structure, when something heavy dropped behind him, lifting all the dust off the ground. The prince knew he had no time left as the warden had come for him, but he didn’t mind, he was exactly where he wanted to be during his last moments and so he gladly sat on his knees, awaiting the axe to swing and end his life with a satisfied expression. That was the end for both the Valkyrie Irina and the Prince Hared.”

“The war raged on for many years and humanity was pushed back, forced to give up most of its land while losing more than half of its population in the process and in the year five hundred and twenty-seven the war ended after a strike to the demon race that people refer to as an attack from the heavens. Then, after another few years, a group of hunters walked over the soil of what used to be the Valkyrie’s village, it was a group made of four male hunters and a single huntress. The huntress, impatient to inspect the remains and curious about the surrounding area, sneaked away from the group while they were making their plans. She checked out one structure after another until suddenly, for no specific reason, the dark forest surrounding the village caught her interest and pulled her in. As birds sang through the woods, the huntress walked on and on until she was met with a wall, a mountain to be specific, and that mountain had a big cave in it. With a single gulp, she set foot into the pitch-black hole, while using its walls for navigating in the darkness, but something began to glow at the end of the tunnel, a glow that moved around. Unable to contain her curiosity, the huntress rushed towards the light and within a matter of seconds, its source had been discovered.”

“A huge hollow space and within it thousands of fireflies, but what piqued the huntress’s interest was a pile of bones with a dragon’s skull in the center of it. Ever since the war ended, dragons are very rare and so they became endangered, that’s why these bones were a very valuable discovery for her, but that wasn’t all. Next to the pile shined a crystal, around the height of about the waist of an average adult person. The crystal seemed very unnatural as it was, but when the young huntress took an even closer look, beyond the glow reflecting shine laid something that she would never expect, something that anyone would identify as a newborn baby. She felt shocked, yet somehow excited and it made her want to scream. She wasn’t satisfied with just looking, so she laid a single finger on it and the crystal replied with a strike of blinding light. It was one unexpected thing after another for the huntress. The shine did not last long enough and soon it was replaced by a sound instead, the sound of crackling. She uncovered her eyes and fear took over her. Her plan was to take the crystal with her but now it was on the verge of breaking, and so with desperation she tried to hold the pieces together with her very own hands, but it helped nothing. The separated pieces began to disintegrate into air and all that was left was the child that seemed to be frozen in time just moments ago, but now is crying its eyes out. The huntress swiftly takes it in her arms and attempts to calm it down, it was rather easy.”

“As she held the baby for some time, she began to take a liking to it and made a decision on her own - the baby will be in her and her husband's care. She then returned to her group to tell her about her discovery and definitely didn’t miss out on showing off her daughter. One of the hunters in the group happened to be her husband and he was very conflicted about the situation, but he did not get a chance to get his thoughts together as his wife made sure about its gender and named it on the spot. The baby previously named Daemelin and was abandoned has now been taken into care by the very person its biological father hoped for and was given a new name - Yuuna.” As if giving me a chance to think, my other half suddenly makes a sudden pause longer than usual and wanting to avoid awkward silence, I say the first thing that comes to mind - “Isn’t that cool….Yuuna.” She smiles at me, this feels rather…..wait, there’s no way. I walk over to her and grab her shoulders “What was the huntress’ name?” I ask as I give her a killing stare point blank - her expression turns from all smiley to sudden fear. “Y-Yuuna, you are scaring m-”. Without a chance to finish her sentence, I begin to aggressively and impatiently shake her body in an attempt to get the answer out of her “What was her mother's name?! Spit it out already!”. The wibbly wobbly me lookalike, puts all effort into just giving me an answer “E-Elis, Elis Endou!”.

The earthquake came to a halt, I can’t believe what I’m hearing, It’s the same name my mother had. I’m beyond amazed, my legs give out and I find myself sitting on the flooring. Numerous thoughts begin to flood my mind, as if being filled up with water. “So, you are telling me that I’m a half demon…..and the people I thought were my biological parents actually weren’t? Please tell me now, if there’s more.” As I look down at the ground, my head begins to ache. It feels so heavy that it could fall off at any moment, as if the thoughts within it had physical weight. “I will continue then.” She responds casually. The hunters, now your new parents, Elis and Rogue took you home with them where you first met your two sisters, Lena and Charlotte. For the following few years, the two of them would take care of you and play with you, every time your parents were out on a job. You were a sweet and kind child, the thought of killing a fly has never crossed your mind, up until a certain day - your sixth birthday.”

“It was the usual day, just like any other. Your sisters and the friends you have made with them were the only ones there to celebrate it, but you didn’t mind, you were happy that you had someone to spend your day with. You had so much fun that you didn’t notice your body going through a change on that very same day. Your friends left for the day and the three of you, living in the same room, were ready to go to bed but before that you have decided to make your way down from the second floor and get something to drink, but as you made your first step down the stairway your mind blacked out, for a few seconds you lost consciouses and the only direction your body could move in was straight, down the stairs. Your sisters heard the loud thud-like sounds and came to check up on you, just to find you lying on the floor, as a clear red fluid was leaking from your head.”

“Shortly after, your consciousness returned and you found yourself in the arms of the oldest sister, Lena, while Charlotte was away, seeking help at your neighbors. The black-out your mind experienced was a sign of exhaustion, but something was odd. You haven’t been doing anything that could cause exhaustion of this level, but the reason for it soon became apparent. As you attempted to get up, something pained you, something more than your damaged head, the pain was coming from the center of your stomach. Suspecting that you have damaged it during the fall, you remove the cloth covering it and discovered something more than you expected. This was no ordinary wound but a stigma-like, circular mark with multiple ends extending from it, across your body, flashing in black and white. As seconds passed by, the pain inflicted upon you multiplied and soon sparks of energy began to emit out of your body - two of opposite nature, your spiritual cores were not compatible in any way. You were losing control.”

“Why don’t I remember any of this?….do I have some sort of amnesia caused by the loss of control?” I ask the story teller as my it is apparent that I’m upset. “You have your mother to thank for that. Surely you haven’t forgotten her ability.” That’s right…my mom could alter a person's memory but also use sealing powers, I just never assumed she would use it on me. “Yuuna, I understand that you are frustrated, but she didn’t have a choice. Your parents were lucky enough to come back from work early, hoping they would get to see you before your birthday is over, but instead they came back to a half-destroyed house in flames. Two of their daughters were sitting outside crying as you were stuck within the crumbling structure that succumbed to the raging inferno. Being a fire user, your father had some resistance to the hellish element and so he rushed in, to your aid. When he found you, you were almost unrecognizable. A big part of your body was covered in some kind of a dark matter with tentacle like pillars sticking out of your back, and your behavior resembled more the behavior of an animal than a person. He attempted to get you out of there but you rebelled against his intentions and instead attacked him getting both of you out of the flaming graveyard, but you also inflicted a wound to one of his kidneys, with your own hands, that would never heal until his final day.”

“The father desperately pinned you down, long enough for your mother to get you and seal away whatever was causing you to turn out the way you did, but she didn’t want you to feel guilty or run the risk of the powers awakening due to the fact of you knowing that you own this kind of power, that’s why she made the decision of altering your memory. It wasn’t a decision easy to make, she didn’t want to destroy the memories you have made living with them, but it had to be done to protect you and everyone around you.” And that was the end of it…all these memories I have up until my sixth birthday are artificially made. “What about my sister? Do they still remember everything?” She nods. “They do, they knew all this time and despite that they care about you. But that’s not all….”

“On that day there was one more thing that happened. When your mother altered your memories and sealed off your powers, another change was made. The Yuuna everyone knew and loved was gone forever, instead replaced by what is sitting on the ground before my very eyes. Your personality changed for the most part, but that isn’t the main change. Until now nobody has noticed but…Yuuna, you aren’t even half human anymore. Ever since that day, the only human thing about you is your resemblance and your thought process. Have you thought about why your consciousness looks so sinister and dark? Have you thought about how you came back to life in the forest a few days ago? That death took another chunk of the humanity left within you, it is also the reason for your ability loss. Yuuna’s consciousness disappeared forever and the demon side of her, one of the spiritual core’s energies manifested and took over the body while inheriting her memories, thinking it’s Endou Yuuna. And then there’s me…her human side, there’s nothing much to tell about myself, I’ve been stuck here the whole time, only being a spectator of the outside world. I guess we have Yuuna’s mother to thank for weakening us enough to be able to coexist.”

Then, without giving me a chance to take in everything, she looks up above and sighs. “It seems our time is up, we will have to continue next time.” And with that, the world surrounding us crumbles without giving her a reply as my mind is overwhelmed. The next thing I know, I’m laying down in my bed. I attempt to reach to the familiar ceiling when only a few words to explain my situation come to mind.

“What the fuck.”