SPIRITBINDER: The Boy Without A Mark
Chapter 49: Death

Chapter 49: Death

Morvane’s spirit hovered above the lifeless form of his body, the weight of death pressing upon him. His once vibrant eyes, now vacant and unseeing, stared up at the night sky. His heart—the one that had beaten for justice, for his friends, for a better world—was still. The world around him seemed distant, as if he were trapped in an endless void.

I’m dead... Morvane thought, his ethereal form unable to grasp the finality of the situation. I couldn’t save anyone. I failed.

As he drifted, disoriented, a dark figure materialized in the distance. It was a presence he knew all too well, though he had never truly understood it.

"You forgot about me, didn’t you?" The voice was low, almost mocking, filled with an ancient hunger.

Morvane blinked, his ghostly form recognizing the sinister energy emanating from the figure. Drevon, the demon who promised to guide him, now stood before him with a twisted grin.

"Drevon..." Morvane whispered, the name carrying both dread and disbelief.

"Your demon," Drevon purred, his eyes glowing with a malevolent light. He reached out, his clawed hand grasping Morvane’s spirit with an unnatural strength.

Before Morvane could react, Drevon forcefully shoved him toward his physical body. The pull was intense, like a gravitational force yanking him back into the mortal coil.

As Morvane’s spirit merged with his lifeless body, a surge of energy coursed through him. His eyes snapped open as consciousness flooded back, raw and immediate. He gasped for air, feeling his heart beat once again, though it was no longer his own.

Drevon’s voice echoed in his mind, cold and commanding. "That’s your second life, Morvane. A gift from me... though you may not see it as such."

Morvane’s breath came in ragged gasps as he struggled to understand. Something was wrong. His body felt alien—unnatural. A power, dark and overwhelming, was coursing through him.

Before he could try to control it, Drevon’s voice spoke again, this time more forceful. "Now, I will possess you completely."

Morvane’s vision blurred as the demon’s influence overpowered him. He felt his limbs move without his command, his body bending to Drevon’s will. A wave of black fire-like energy pulsed from his hands, and the pain of losing his fingers and hand—his most recent injury—was gone. In its place, a terrible, consuming power surged through his whole body.

His eyes...

They were no longer the familiar amber they had once been. Now, they were black, empty voids, reflecting only darkness. He could feel the demon’s presence inside him, pushing him further away from who he once was.

A burst of energy propelled him upward, and Morvane—or what had become of him—leaped into the air with inhuman strength. He soared, as if the ground itself could no longer hold him.

As he descended, black fire crackled around his hands, dark and destructive, as though it were his very essence. Power—the kind he had never known—radiated from him in waves. It was no longer his own, but Drevon’s.

Below him, he saw Drace—alone, vulnerable, still crying. The boy who had once been his enemy, but now... now Morvane could feel no empathy for him.

With a roar, Morvane launched the black fire at Drace, the energy spiraling toward him like a serpent of destruction. It was the demon’s power, but Morvane couldn’t stop himself from unleashing it.

Drace looked up just in time, his face stricken with guilt and confusion. But the last thing he saw was the raging inferno of black flames, closing in on him, before the world around him went dark.

Drace, still kneeling on the ground, wiped his tear-streaked face, his hands shaking. He had barely processed what had happened to Morvane—the violent end he had brought upon his friend—and now, somehow, Morvane was back. But this... this wasn’t him.

Morvane—or the figure that stood before him, eyes black as night—loomed, his form taller and more imposing than before. His movements were unnatural, mechanical, controlled.

"Morvane?" Drace’s voice cracked with disbelief as he looked up at the being before him. "How... how are you alive?"

The figure’s lips twisted into a smile—though it wasn’t the kind that had once graced Morvane’s face. The smile was cold, predatory. "Alive? No. Not anymore." The voice that emerged was unmistakably not Morvane’s. It was deeper, darker, filled with malice. "You’re bright, aren’t you?" the demon mocked.

Drace’s heart sank. "This isn’t you, Morvane. This isn’t the man I fought alongside. This is..." He couldn’t finish. His mind couldn’t grasp the horror of what he was seeing.

The figure before him stepped forward, the air around him crackling with a dangerous energy. "Oh, I am Morvane, in a sense. But I am also Drevon. And Drevon speaks now," it declared, voice dripping with contempt.

Drace took a step back, his fists clenched in fury and fear. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he couldn’t let this... creature destroy everything. Not again.

He gathered his strength, his magic swirling around him as he prepared to fight. "I won’t let you hurt me."

Drevon—though Morvane’s body stood before him—let out a chuckle, his black eyes flashing. "Hurt you? Oh, Drace... I’ve only just begun."

With that, the battle began.

Drace surged forward, unleashing a torrent of destructive energy. His magic was raw, untamed, a fury of powerful forces and manifestations, intent on tearing Drevon’s form apart. Each strike was powerful, the air rippling with the force of his attacks. Yet, every time his magic made contact with Morvane’s body, it seemed to pass through without leaving a mark.

Drevon’s form twisted and weaved through the onslaught, moving with the fluidity of someone who knew no limits. Every attack Drace launched was countered effortlessly, absorbed by the demon’s control over Morvane’s body.

"You think your power can stop me, Drace?" Drevon taunted, his voice echoing in the air. "I’ve been around for centuries. You’re nothing but a child throwing tantrums."

Drace’s attacks became more desperate, more frenzied, but nothing he did could touch Drevon. The demon’s laughter echoed through the battlefield as Drace’s energy continued to spiral out of control.

Why isn’t it working? Drace thought, his heart racing. Why can’t I hurt him?

Every move Drace made, every incantation he uttered, only seemed to fuel Drevon’s power. The demon was toying with him, enjoying the battle as if it were nothing more than a game.

"You see, Drace," Drevon sneered, his eyes glowing in the darkness, "you don’t stand a chance against me. I’m far beyond your petty attacks."

Drace gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down his face. He couldn’t give up. He couldn’t let Drevon win. But with every attack he made, every power he unleashed, it felt as if the distance between him and victory grew further and further.

He was losing. And Morvane, the person he just pierced in the heart, was now the very thing he had to fight against. And in that moment, Drace realized—he wasn’t just fighting Morvane. He was fighting a demon.

The air around Drace crackled with intensity as he unleashed his most powerful manifestation yet, every word laced with venom. "I wish you drop dead," he muttered through gritted teeth, his voice filled with raw power.

For a moment, the body of Morvane—the shell of the man he once knew—fell limp to the ground, his eyes closing. Drace thought it was over. He dared to believe that, at last, he had broken the demon’s hold.

But then, the silence shattered.

Morvane’s body jerked, and his eyes snapped open, glowing with an unnatural, black light. The once familiar face twisted into a grotesque mockery of the man Drace had fought alongside. The laughter that erupted from his lips sent a chill down Drace’s spine.

"You thought demons die?? HAHAHAHAHA!" Drevon’s voice, cruel and mocking, came through Morvane’s mouth, each word a dagger to Drace’s heart. "Play with me more with your outstanding power! I love it, I love it!"

Drace’s fists clenched in fury, his magic surging with a fury that threatened to tear the very earth apart. How dare this demon mock him? How dare it mock Morvane’s sacrifice?

"No!" Drace shouted, his eyes blazing with rage. "This ends now!"

He manifested again, his voice shaking with power. "You’re gonna be paralyzed. You’re going to lose your sight. Dead. Your bones will crush. You’ll lose your power..."

He unleashed a torrent of curses and manifestations, each one more destructive than the last. Each one aimed to break Drevon’s hold on Morvane’s body, to cripple the demon’s body until it could no longer move, no longer mock him. But every word seemed to fall flat. His attacks hit, but they had no effect.

The air around him grew thick with frustration. Drace could feel his energy draining with each failed manifestation. The more he tried, the more Drevon laughed.

"Is that all?" Drevon sneered, twisting Morvane’s body with the grace of a puppet. "You’re powerless, Drace. A little boy pretending to be powerful."

Drace’s breath quickened, his pulse racing. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t give up. The fight was no longer just about power. It was about something deeper. Something more personal. It was about his friend.

"You don’t know anything about me!" Drace shouted, his voice shaking. He raised his hands, his power surging. "I’ll show you what real power is!"

But as the final manifestation left his lips, Drace felt something shift.

The ground beneath him trembled. The air around him crackled with an eerie energy. But it wasn’t his magic. It was Drevon’s.

Drevon’s laughter echoed louder, a triumphant roar that rattled Drace to his core. "You’ll never defeat me, Drace. You’ll never break me. Not as long as I control this body."

And with that, Drace knew. He was losing.

The power that had once flowed from him so easily, so effortlessly, now felt like it was slipping through his fingers. Each failed manifestation, each desperate attack, only served to remind him that he wasn’t strong enough.

Drevon was too powerful. Too cunning. Too ruthless.

"Why won’t you die?" Drace whispered to himself, his heart heavy with defeat.

But just as despair began to take root, a new surge of energy erupted from within him. A spark of determination, of raw willpower, rose within his chest. He would not give in. Not now.

The air around them felt thick, suffocating. Drace’s breath came in shallow gasps, his body trembling from the wounds that had nearly shattered him. But as he struggled to speak, he felt something cold, something wet.

Blood.

He gasped, his vision blurring as he looked down to see his body... half of it.

The pain was overwhelming, but there was no time to feel it fully. His heart was racing, the blood slowly pooling beneath him. His mind was clouded with confusion and disbelief.

How did this happen?

He collapsed to the ground, his remaining breath escaping him in ragged gasps. His hands trembled as he tried to push himself up, but his strength was waning. The sight before him sent a chill through his spine: Morvane’s body, still standing tall, unbroken.

Drace barely heard the words that came from his mouth. "Who are you really? What are you?" His voice was barely a whisper.

But as his vision darkened, Drace’s eyes caught something... something strange.

Morvane’s eyes—they weren’t black anymore. They were back to normal, soft and filled with confusion. The wounds Drace had inflicted upon him had healed, as if they had never existed.

Morvane took a step toward him, his expression a mix of concern and bewilderment. "What happened?" he asked, voice trembling.

Drace’s lips curled into a wry smile, even as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "You are now the only villain. Or maybe you’re the hero who killed the villain, which is me," Drace laughed weakly. His voice cracked, like a man trying to find meaning in his last moments.

"Too bad, I thought I won when I pierced your heart," Drace murmured, a sense of finality settling in. The corners of his vision began to fade, everything growing darker.

As his breath slowed, he managed a final, bittersweet smile. "I’m glad... you’re the one who killed me. Your power... it’s evil. Yet you chose to be good. That’s something." He paused, the last of his strength fading with each word. "I... I applaud you for that."

Drace’s chest heaved for one final breath.

And then, his body relaxed, as the last of his life slipped away. His head fell to the side, his eyes wide open, staring blankly at the sky.

Morvane’s confusion deepened. He looked down at Drace’s lifeless form, his heart aching with a sense of guilt he couldn’t fully understand.

Tears welled in his eyes, a surge of emotion overwhelming him. Morvane fell to his knees beside Drace, the weight of his actions sinking in. His mind raced, but he couldn’t grasp the reality of it all.

Morvane’s heart shattered as he looked at the bloodstained earth, and with a heart-wrenching cry, he whispered, "What did I do?"