Dark Choker

Syren stood up and stretched his arms as Gula was finishing himself up. Whisper stood right next to him and watched the creature.

As it neared its end, a blade pointed straight at Syren's neck.

He raised his arms and exclaimed, "Woah. Woah. What's going on? I thought we were friends, Tyra?"

Tyra held her blade without any hesitation.

"I saw what you became. You're not human. You're a monster just like that worm."

"I'm human. It's just hard to explain."

"I have all the time in the world," she replied without lowering her blade.

He gulped. "Well, you see, it all started with waking up in front of some runes. Then, the sun went black. I can also see a demon or a whisperer thing. A worm popped out. Oh, but before that, I wanted to get some food and supplies. And before that, I think that, umm..."

As Syren was continuing to explain the situation, he only made it seem more complicated than it really was to the point that both Tyra and Whisper were confused. He jumped from one point back to another that twisted to his original thought that would eventually led into his fourth point that would coincide with the second.

"What?" Tyra and Whisper exclaimed.

"Maybe, I should start from the beginning," Syren replied.

"I'd rather not," Tyra said.

"I'd rather be dead," Whisper said.

Syren continued to try and explain the situation as best as he could, but while that blade was pointing at his neck, it was very hard for him to concentrate. On the other hand, Whisper looked over at the final piece of Gula twisting into nothing. And from that nothing, a shadowy mist appeared. A black choker appeared on the dirt ground. For a moment, it looked as though he was staring at the night sky before it immediately vanished into just a dark space.

"Hey, Syren. Look over there," Whisper said as he tried to nudge Syren with no success.

As Syren looked over and saw the black choker, he felt a strange sensation. It was calling to him. He wanted to go over there and just take it. But there was still a blade pointed at his neck.

"Ahh. I'm so confused. Are you a monster? Are you human? Or are you just some psychopath making me question my own sanity?" Tyra complained. For a moment, she took his eyes off of him wondering what to do. She didn't believe that he was a monster to be hunted like the others, but he clearly wasn't something to be left alone.

"While you are wondering, can I take a moment to be right back?" Syren asked before just running away as she wasn't looking, "Thanks."

"Hey!" Tyra shouted as she gave chase.

Syren ran over to the black choker and quickly picked it up without any thought. He stared right at it in the palm of his hand. He felt a strong connection to it as he fondled the choker. It was as though a piece of himself.

Tyra caught up to him in no time and nicked him in the back of his neck with her blade. That quickly brought himself back to reality, but it was only momentarily.

"Alright. I didn't understand most of what you were saying, but whether you're a man or not, I do understand one thing. You caused this eclipse. You broke the natural laws of this world," Tyra said with a stern look on her face, "I can't let you leave. I'm gonna take you with me to the other members of the Silver Order. They'll know what to do. Don't try to resist."

As she talked, Syren continued looking deep at the dark choker in his hands.

"Wait," Syren said, "This thing. It feels so... nostalgic."

The dark choker slowly wrapped and melted itself around his hand. It started to seep underneath his skin, but he didn't feel any pain or fear. It dug itself deeper into his body and travelled its way up the arm. And as soon as it reached his neck, his eyes were met with a strange vision. Everything was so dark around himself, but there was a projection in front of him. He saw himself eating old and discarded food. At first, he thought it was the time after his parents were dead. He remembered that he needed to scrounge for food as nobody would talk him in. But this was different. He was chained up. There was an iron restraint covered in soot around his neck that choked him as he tried to swallow. And as he ate, he looked up and saw his own parents staring back at him with dark eyes. Syren was confused. He never remembered any of this, and even if he had, it didn't fit with his own memories. He remembered and loved his caring parents.

And without warning, his whole body felt like it was being dragged back deeper into the black mud. He tried to scream, but there was silence. He awoke confused and dazed. It felt so real and unreal at the same time. It felt real just like any other memory, but it didn't make any sense to him.

It may have felt like minutes, but in reality, it was less than a second. He touched his neck and felt something there. The black choker on his neck that protruded a dark mist around it. It didn't hurt. As a matter of fact, it felt like it was a part of his own skin.

As he stared at the ground for that moment, he could see the brown color of the dirt. A dark beam shot out from the black choker towards the eclipse. It reached and shattered shattered the darkness. He looked up and saw the blue sky and the shining sun above him. It lasted for a second before the shadows came back just as muddled covering up the light. But Tyra and Whisper also saw it for that one moment. All three of them were stunned.

Syren stood up and touched his choker. It was only for a moment, but it couldn't be a coincidence that the eclipse faded in the same moment.

"I think I understand," Whisper replied solemnly as he stared back at the black sun, "Gula was a part of you - is a part of you. And Gula was conjured by your ritual. The ritual must undo itself if all of those creatures return back to where they came from. Unfortunately, it seems we'll need a lot more than just the demon of gluttony to revert this mess."

Syren began walking away until Tyra pointed her blade once more.

"Stop. I'm not letting you leave anywhere," she ordered.

"Right. You can't hear Whisper," Syren replied as he pointed to the choker, "I'll tell you briefly. I caused this mess. That monster was my fault. All those people. All those deaths. I take the blame. And so I have to be the one to end this. When that worm died, the eclipse broke for a mere second. The choker is one of seven. I saw seven tears in the sky that poured out of the sun. This worm was just one. If I can find the other six, then I suspect this eternal eclipse will end. I have to find them. Please."

"Hmm," Tyra said as she stared back at him. He was serious. He felt solely responsible and wanted to undo all of it. She understood what he wanted to do, and she could tell that he was truthful and honest. He could have lied about it, but he didn't. "I won't let you leave. I have a responsibility, too."

As soon as she finished saying that, she sheathed her blade. "I'll be coming with you, Syren. After this is all over, I'll be taking you to the Silver Order to be tried as a criminal."

Syren smiled and replied, "I think that's fair. I certainly feel like I deserve it after messing this whole ritual up."

Tyra returned the friendly grin. "I'll also be making sure you stay alive. If those kind of monsters need to die and 'return to you', then it's my duty to make sure that mission succeeds. The main creed of the Silver Order is to hunt monsters. As of now, you're just a dangerous mage. Not particularly a high priority compared to demons."

The two of them began laughing. However, Tyra didn't really believe that Syren was human. To her, he was some kind of monster. She just didn't know what. But in the meantime, she kept up a smile - even if it was fake. She needed to find other members of her order to determine if he was telling the truth and what to do with him.

"They're both like children. Why am I fated to always be the third wheel?" Whisper complained as he stared off into the distance. He kept thinking back to the seven tears in the sky. He definitely knew that those seven represented the seven sins, but that wasn't the problem. It was that he himself saw seven beams that worried him. He expected six.

At a quick glance, Whisper thought he noticed somebody watching them. It was strange. For a second there, he felt the same kind of presence that he felt when Gula first appeared. But there was nothing.

Tyra said to Syren, "So, do you know where to go?"

"It can't be too hard to find these things. If they were anything like Gula, they'll probably find me," Syren replied.

"Actually, you have something that can help you find them," Whisper replied as he pointed to himself, "I'm a whisperer. I'm similar to demons, and these demons are exceptionally specific to you and me. I can feel them. And I'm sure they can, too. We can all feel each others' presence."

"We should move quickly then. I'll follow you, Whisper," Syren replied.

"Right? This Whisper fellow is the guy in your head you keep talking to?" Tyra asked.

"Yes," Whisper and Syren both replied, although Tyra could only hear one of them.

Syren smiled and replied, "Just follow me. I have an idea where they are. And then when it's all over, you can kill me."

"Hah. Sounds fine to me," she replied as the three of them began walking away, "By the way, Syren, you'll need to explain the situation to me again. This time please start from the beginning. And don't jumble up everything."

And so Syren, Whisper, and Tyra have begun their journey as the black sun is closely around them at all times. But they weren't the only ones searching for the seven demons spawned by the eclipse. There was another.