˂Sailor Heart & Eclipse sailorheart@hotmail.com Soulsower Soulsower - Prologue The young woman removed the ancient tile that covered the entrance to the cavern. The scripture was faded from years of weathering, but she recognized the symbols from the book she carried. This was the place. Here is where the Soulsower was trapped by Buddhist monks centuries before. Now she would free it again. The temple had long ago been reduced to shambles and the gaunt female stood under the moonlight. It was enough light, though, so she could read the passages in the book. It was not written how to free the Soulsower, but she had done enough research to know that if she were to simply say the chants backwards, it would reverse the spell that held it captive. This was the moment. How she had searched for one of her own kind! And now here is where one ay lay. Here dwells what age-old Japanese monks named the Soulsower. What they called an evil eyond destruction. It preyed on the life energy of blessed humans; a resource she was beginning to nderstand as a fountainhead of immense power. The Soulsower would surely be grateful that she released it, and she would be allowed to participate in its reign of terror. She prayed it still lived for it has been down there for years without sustenance. It was said to be beyond destruction. There was only one way to find out. Her voice was strong and her mind full of hate for all those who were not her kind as she chanted: "ahsimyh iciw ogyteer uw ayriveb annipo uro issahtoop ininahs igyh omopgir annam!" At first there was nothing. No beast rose to her command. Then there was a low, guttural moan like an animal in pain. She gripped the book tight against her chest and forced herself to stay by the entrance of the cavern. Part of her felt triumphant that she had raised the Soulsower, but another part of her was numb with fear. Suddenly it grew silence once again. The young woman waited for a sign of the demon, but it did not come. She wondered if it even had enough strength to leave the cavern. It may not be able to move for it may be so weak. She edged closer to the entrance in hopes that there would be enough moonlight to illuminate its depths. Slowly she bent over to look down. There was nothing that she could see. It appeared empty. Yet it was there and at that moment made its presence known. A warm rush of air surged out and enveloped her body. It clung to her and was almost suffocating. She took a few steps back in surprise repressing the instinct to flee. Ensuing those jumbled emotions, there a pure jubilation unlike anything she had ever known. It was ot her feeling this joy, but it was the creature she had released. The Soulsower had come to her and hey had melded together as one. They were sharing its ecstasy. Neither would be lonely or lost again. She reveled in the greatest moment of her life. Her thin body tingled, feeling truly alive for the first time in her life. From within her own head shecould hear it: "I am free. Finally, I am free. Thank you." What her human emotions could not feel, though , was the unnatural evil that she had, in fact, released.