Amare Flos (Demon Slayer)

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Eira's vision began to lose focus, an overwhelming dizziness overtook her entire body. As the terrifying, blood-covered hallucination of Ali slowly limped his way towards the closet that Eira was in, she only felt more and more weak. Her entire body was shrouded in a jail of extreme anxiety, fear and hopelessness. Eira had fallen deep into this nightmare hallucinatory sequence, her own paranoia had taken over logical reasoning. 

"Eira!" Kaze's voice reached her. Eira felt a cold splash of water on her face, which grappled her back into reality. She gasped deeply, her eyes met with the pale worried faces of Asumi and Kaze. All of her sensory systems were completely out of tune, even her ability to detect auras acted somewhat statically. 

"Are you ok?!" Asumi held a strong grip on Eira's shoulders as she pleaded for an answer, a bad approach to someone who had just awoken after fainting but somewhat justified due to her immense worry and fear. Asumi's eyes met with Kaze's and she signalled to the letter that lay flat on the floor. Kaze kneeled down and grabbed the paper, slowly studying the message. 

"Ali has Eira's brother," Kaze glimpsed up at Asumi, flipping the paper for her to read. "Eira, it says he's safe and unharmed,"

The entire room seemed to dim with a heavy mood, Eira slowly sat up and wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. Her mind was fixated on one goal. 

"I can't believe what's in the letter. I have to get to my hometown by tonight," Eira picked herself up instantly, but as she stood, she felt the weakness in her legs. Almost immediately, her body met the hard floorboards again. Kaze came to Eira's assistance, but for once she rejected his help. Eira pushed herself up and panted, her deep breaths felt unsatisfying, her lungs felt contracted, and no matter how much air she took in she felt as if her lungs weren't expanding. Within her was an impending sense of doom, the letter had triggered her unresolved trauma of watching her mother being eaten by a demon. Her inability to protect her mother, a trauma she had covered up by obsessive training, constantly getting stronger to battle her own self-blame. Her completely forgotten self-blame had resurfaced at a massive scale, a dangerous amount of anxiety burned inside her, she didn't want to lose her brother the same way she lost her mother. By being weak and too scared to act.

She was strong now, right? She was strong enough to protect people, right?

"I'm coming with you if Ali's there," Asumi's words were loud and clear, a testament to her determination to follow through with her statement. Eira's neck could've snapped at the speed that she turned to look at Asumi.

"No," One word, blunt, short and quick. Eira swiftly expressed his discontent with Asumi's statement. 

"Why not?" There was a slight confusion in Asumi's tone, but she held open-mindedness regardless of her dissatisfaction with Eira's reply. 

"Why not? Because the letter said I have to go alone, I am not risking my brother's life because you want to see your boyfriend, Asumi," Eira clenched her jaw as she overpowered Asumi with her argument. She wasn't in a stable enough state to hold back any hostility.

Even if her initial words were solidified by determination, Eira's discontent pierced through Asumi's desires. Asumi seemed to shrink in her stance, even if she had continued to argue, one look at Eira's eyes could show the heightened state of worry and instability that she was plagued with. Asumi backed down.

"I… understand. Be safe, please." Asumi couldn't seem to look at Eira directly, rather she stared at the wooden floorboards. Kaze stood silent, the thick tension in the air a testament to the sudden situation. 

Kaze seemed to step back, he didn't want to be caught in the middle of an issue that wasn't of his concern at all. Just as he had this thought, in the corner of his eye, a green glint reminded him that he still possessed Ali's sword, almost as if the sword was telling Kaze that this was another opportunity to be given back to the rightful owner. 

"You know…" Kaze stepped back forward.

Eira shot him a cold glare. 

"Never mind," Kaze stepped back once again. His life was more important than returning a sword. Good call Kaze. 

Within an hour, Eira was completely ready to begin her journey. She hadn't calmed down in the slightest, a constant flash of fragments of her nightmare that painted a horrible conclusion in her mind. Eira gripped her sword tightly in her palm. The morning wind blew on her hair as if there was nothing wrong, as if her brother wasn't in danger. Kaze and Asumi wished Eira farewell at the gates. 

"Have a safe journey, and don't be afraid to take a break too. We'll meet up once we're both back." Kaze's comforting presence was the only thing that provided any sense of stability to Eira. She shared a quick hug with Asumi and offered the only form of a smile she had to the two as she stepped out of the Wisteria House's gates. As soon as Eira turned her head, she sprinted at an incredible speed. 

A heavy heart weighed Asumi down, she was burdened with worry and fear. Her slender fingers reached for the blue flower in her hair. She removed her hair tie alongside the flower, her black hair cascading down her shoulders. She stared at the flower and its occasional moments of glow. 

"Well, I think I might head to my mother's place too," Kaze turned to Asumi and smiled, it was his only attempt to diffuse the situation's tension. "Have fun in retirement, I'll visit you when I join you." 

In the midst of the chuckle that Asumi and Kaze shared, Eira continued to sprint at her full speed. Flying in front of her in the sky was her albino Kasugai crow. Outstandingly, the crow managed to speed ahead of Eira, serving as a navigator. The wind violently attacked Eira's face, the immense speed dried her eyes almost instantly, however, it was a small nuance that demon slayers had to get used to. Most developed a pattern of rapid blinking to compensate for the consequence of travelling at high speeds on foot. As weird as it was, it worked. 

Eira didn't stop in the slightest, even as her body began to show signs of strain. Her determination ablaze as bright as the sun, she was immensely fixated on making this usually three-day trip into several hours. She stared at the sun, it still hung on the east side of the sky, it wasn't noon yet. 

"Cadell. Please be safe. Mountain Gods, I pray to you, look after him." Eira's jaw clenched as she prayed desperately for her dear brother. 

Even at this time of year, snow occasionally fell on Eira's mountain, frequent enough to maintain a white coat over the mountain. It had been several hours since Eira embarked. The night was dark, the village was additionally cast in the shadow of the larger peak next to it. Fortunately, the peak wasn't large enough for the village to be at risk of avalanches. On top of that peak was where the gods supposedly lived, it was very much climbable, and according to folklore it had been before, as Eira had mentioned to Ali a long time before. The moon was positioned perfectly above the peak. From the village, it was a beautiful sight. A sight for any of those courageous enough to step outside. The village was quiet, not a single whisper or sound. The villagers were deeply embedded with fear, the previous night had been downright terrifying for the entire village. 

An abrupt scene that still struck fear into any that dared to remember. Everyone was asleep, then suddenly the earth rumbled as a figure dropped seemingly from the sky and landed in the centre of the small village. A demon. The demon that had asked a single question. 

"Is this the town Eira is from?" 

The familiar name led to an eruption of whispers. Of course, not audible whispers. 

Only a single courageous person answered the question.

"What business do you have with my sister?" Cadell exited his house, armed with his father's sword. The blue glint had never left the sword, even after the lack of use. Cadell met eyes with the demon. Those who were curious peaked through doors.x

Silence… And then Ali seemed to walk towards Cadell. Everyone looked away when Cadell shouted. 

For the following hour, there was a loud racket in Cadell's house, screams, shouts and the occasional shatter. The village remained frightened even in the morning, as Cadell exited his house with no sign of harm and attempted to explain the situation, many shouted: 

"The demon has transformed into Cadell!" 

The morning was desolate, activity came to a standstill. Even then, Cadell stood in the centre of the village and shouted. 

"Eira will come and fix this!" 

This sparked the entire village to have a shared lingering thought throughout the day. 

"Please Eira save us," 

As the moon watched over the village, it was met by silence. It was silent enough to assume that everyone was asleep. The truth ran contrary, everyone was wide awake, powered by fear. The demon could break into anyone's house at any time. Many hid the corners of their houses, armed with whatever they could find. What people failed to notice was the crow that was circling above their mountain, almost like a beacon. 

Only a single house had the light on, Cadell's house. 

"You won't gain anything out of torturing me like this..." Cadell spoke softly, his words careful and calculated. "Just end it…" 

Cadell's blue eyes closed as he braced for the impact of the final move. His entire body tensed in hopes it would lighten the fatal blow. 

"I was hoping you'd concede like this," Ali grinned and laughed with a sinister undertone. He pulled his arm back, ready to unleash his final strike. 

"Checkmate," Ali moved the final piece needed. The chess board was pathetic on Cadell's side, he had lost all his pieces except for his King and a single Knight. Ali continued the game only for his own pleasure. Cadell sighed deeply. 

"You know, I really thought I was good at the game!" Cadell groaned. Ali began to laugh but was interrupted by a blood-curdling screech outside. 

"Ali!" Eira's voice projected into every house in the village, people flinched at the sudden scream, but immediately after were filled with hope that the situation would become better. Some people were so confident they ran out of their house and cheered for Eira. 

Eira's chest heaved, her entire body felt as if it was overheating. An indescribable fatigue crawled on every cell. Even in the cold weather, vasodilation triggered to cool down Eira's overworked body. She attempted to take a step forward, but her legs failed her and she fell forward onto her knees. She trembled with exhaustion, a consequence of the massive burden she had put on her body. 

With a loud sound of agony, Eira strained as she pulled her sword out and stabbed it into the earth. The light blue blade seemed to shine with a sense of fulfilment as it stabbed into the snow.

"I'm here Ali!" Eira closed her eyes as she transferred her strength into pushing herself upwards. Both hands pulled herself up using her sword as support, she groaned and clenched her jaw as the sweat on her face dripped down onto the white snow. The pitch black that her closed eyes saw provided a moment of comfort. 

"Don't worry, I see you, Eira." Ali's voice immediately put her into a state of paranoia and alertness once again. The phrase was scarily similar to her nightmare. 

Eira instantaneously opened her eyes. She glared at the person who had caused her so much grief. The prior confusion of her hate had seemed to disappear; she saw the person who she thought was going to hurt her brother. 

Ali stood there, staring right back at Eira. 

"Cadell… Get away from him!" Eira's eyes moved to Cadell, who stood by Ali's side. Her muscles cried with fatigue as Eira attempted to pull out her sword from the ground. 

"I'm going to kill you, Ali! Get away from my brother! I'll kill you!" Eira's very words were filled with such a saturation of rage and hate. Her vision seemed to blur slightly, presumably from the intense fatigue she was experiencing. She could've sworn in the moments of blur, she could see him—that same blood-stained Ali from her nightmare, the person who hurt her brother. 

"I'm going to kill you!" Eira's throat strained from her screams.