Drowning in lapses of a timeless void,

  Agony was all that breathed in a heart abandoned by love

  Dearly traced in every drop of blood.

  Such a memorable misery.

  A sweet lie could seal the pain away and numb a fool’s desire,

  Until only hatred was left to offer resolutions for those hungry wounds.

  Light the match and burn the soul.

  This path to resurrection is a tragedy unfolding,

  Stepping over an unwanted past to erase pain with bloodied hands.

  This karma isn’t mine.

  Those scars I will not bear.

  Let it all fade away,

  As I hold onto things that never belong to me,

  And claim a life free from suffering.

  A man’s voice was heard yelling behind a door that was ajar.

  “How many times do I have to tell you the energy needs to come from your core?!” The voice boomed, followed by a whipping sound slamming a delicate surface.

  “That is just brute force, it won’t last at all in battles! You need durability! You need strength! You need focus!” With a tearing loudness, his voice reverberated through every angle of the small room, pinning on the figure of a child, whose face bore a forced smile stained with tears.

  Tears? Is that all I receive from all the effort I have put into training this prick? That child’s tears burned his mind like raging fuel, and immediately he jumped on another streak of lashing anger.

  “You dare cry when I'm trying to teach. Stop before I whip those tears away!!”

  The child swallowed his pain and almost choked on his fear that was gripping his throat. His red eyes swelled with an irresistible ache as he searched the room for a sign of warmth, yet every object he could see, from the bedside altar to the study desk crowded with spell script and the leaky washbasin, was a passive display of wounds he had never learn to heal. The small room carried the wave of violence like a dying womb that bred what would eventually be painful memories.

  Amid these noises, a figure of a fragile woman appeared uptight, peeping behind the door with both hands stiffened on the handle. Behind the shadow of the door, she looked like a worn-out mannequin; helpless and lifeless.

  The room slowly faded out, yet the sound of the whip violating the flesh of the unguided child kept repeating.

  Zun woke up from the nightmare with sweat all over her face. There were traces of tears on her cheek that tasted strangely cold.

  “It’s that dream again, and that child.”

  She sighed heavily and stood up to wash her face. Her room was in the attic. It was a room no bigger than a stifling cell that looked like a corner screened off from a larger en suite room. Despite the window beside her bed, the moonlight couldn’t reach the end of the room, leaving darkness lurking throughout the night. This room, as she could vividly recall, was also the room where the violence in that dream took place. The only difference was the altar, which was never once placed in her room. Instead, Zun had a smaller space set up on the study desk with a small jade figure of Lord Father and her favourite antique incense holder that was shaped like a small lotus flower.

  She shuffled towards the washbasin and glanced at the round mirror, giving herself a look of a smile as she turned her face from left to right. Out of the blue, a reflection of a young man blinked behind her image.

  “Do you feel safe? Why don’t you run away… or are you the same as me?” he whispered, with a voice glazed with tenderness.

  Zun instantly turned to look over her shoulder, but there was no one.

  This is not the first time. This place is haunted by the ghost of that man who experienced abuse as a kid. He would often come to my dreams with those tears and painful memories. This house is a hell, she signed. And what a shame, it’s also where I call home.

  Zun opened the window to let fresh air in and burned an incense to pray for the young man’s spirit.

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  “Feel the love of the Lord in your heart. May your tears dry and the sun shine through your scars. Hope you find peace soon. I pray that the problem in this house won’t bother you too much. At least today the stupid old man isn’t here.” She hesitated and continued, “Funny how life could be so cruel.”

  She chuckled coldly and dispersed the smoke. The night air teased a freezing breeze across her face and she leaned out to catch a breath of the cold.

  Suddenly she saw patches of blood stains all the way down the street and caught sight of a huge clown with a big teddy bear beside a kid and his younger sister. The clown was holding the little boy’s hand and leading him down the street.

  The younger sister froze. “Brother I’m scared. Can’t we go home?” Her brother looked down at her equally confused and scared, “Don’t worry, sis. Mr. Clown, where are we going?”

  “What? Of course to the playground where you can find all the candies and toys. Aren’t you excited?”

  “But it’s getting darker and there's no one around.”

  “Don’t be silly, Tin! It’s the perfect time for adventure!” The clown claimed with an almost infectious charisma. “Seems like you have never had fun besides being a good boy and good girl for your parents. Playgrounds like this are only up at night! And you guys are gonna have a huge feast.”

  Almost instantly Tin nodded, “Yeah! We gonna eat big cakes and lots of ice cream, ok!”

  “Yeah, but why can’t we call mommy.” The little girl asked.

  The clown smiled. The atmosphere became quite unsettling.

  “Because Mr. Clown said adults don’t like Mr. Clown.”

  The clown turned to them with a sad face that lacked hints of integrity. However, in the eyes of the two naive children, it was enough to quiver their hearts.

  “Yes, they treat me like a thief just because I get along with their kids.” Faking a cry he continued, “But I just want to have friends.”

  “Don’t worry, Mr Clown. We are your friends!!”

  “What’s going on?” Zun appeared behind them, interrupting their exchange with a bold tone.

  The clown looked sideways with a bloodshot glare. He saw her standing on the blood trace and cursed to himself. “I’m taking my little brother and sister out for some fun.”

  Zun activated a talisman paper behind her back, and the spell symbol on it lit up. “Wow, how exciting. What kind of fun? Will you be so kind as to take me too?” She ignited her talisman.

  The clown took out an axe hidden inside the big teddy bear, but before he could endanger the two kids, Zun threw the burning talisman at him and swiftly grabbed a dagger from her sleeve. She cut herself and wrote a spell on the blade, turning it into a holy dagger. The huge clown stood back and climbed on the lamppost. He launched at her and tried to slam her to the ground, yet Zun was still quicker. She dodged his grip and slashed his shoulder deeply with the dagger. He turned to throw her with his utmost strength, but she landed swiftly on her foot, unhurt.

  “Damn, this girl is agile. She is an Angel specialised in holy spells.” The clown looked down at his stab wound and noticed his hand was chopped off.

  “I gotta retreat.” He thought and ran hastily.

  Zun approached the kids and drew a protection seal on the floor. “Stay inside this seal. I’m an Angel, a member of The Exorcist. Don’t worry, I will protect you. Just stay inside this seal, no matter what. This will at least prevent any impurity from coming close to both of you.”

  The brother tried to cover his sister. Both were trembling uncontrollably, eyes stricken with tears as they clung to each other. “Don’t worry, we will be alright.” Tin whispered as he struggled to fight through his quivering voice. “We www - will get back home safely.”

  Zun looked at them and felt a painful knock on her head, tensing her body. The vision of the little boy from her dream, trembling as the whip struck him, flashed before her eyes.

  They are just kids, how cruel can you be? Rage quickly built up like surging waves within her. She took off her coat, which bore the mark of a holy spell and covered the two kids.

  “Cover yourself with this coat and just close your eyes and wait for me.” With a subtle note of reassurance, Zun gently brushed the little boy’s hair and turned around to chase the clown. And as expected, it didn’t take long for her to catch up with the wounded demon.

  The clown felt her energy and got visibly disturbed. “Stupid Angel, get away from me! Or you’re gonna regret it.”

  "It’s bold of you to threaten me when you’re too weak to even run.”

  The clown’s face turned pale white. Zun was not joking. He couldn’t read her movement as she slipped down the roof of an adjacent building, disappeared and reappeared beside him before landing a forceful kick. He lost his balance and skidded across the pavement, leaving behind traces of blood. Without sparing him another breath, she bound him with her chain infused with spells.

  “Do you think nobody will notice you when you are carrying such a bloody axe in that disgusting stuffed toy?” Zun couldn’t help but smile at her victory, realising how she had turned the fate of the clown from being a predator to a prey, and aimed her dagger at him smugly. Good, seems like my training is paying off. She celebrated and looked at her captive playfully.

  “Before I disperse your wicked soul for good, do you have any last words?”

  The clown quivered at her arrogant remark.

  “Huh, no words? No begging for mercy? What a shame! I thought you might as well call your friend so I could put up a good fight.” Zun shrugged jokingly. Her smile is still stuck on her face like a nail in a coffin, but the atmosphere around them quickly became dense.

  Zun was shocked.

  The stillness got so intense that even the fall of leaves could be heard in the distance. As if in response, an icy wind blew, piercing every inch of her skin. In the very next moment, Zun got thrown off the ground, across the street, and hit a lamppost. She coughed out blood, and her vision blurred. She could make out the figure of the two kids at a distance, standing inside the spell she had cast, with their backs against her. Further in front of them, a taller figure of a woman, shrouded in ominous energy, could be seen approaching them. Her movement, stealth, and bending like a shadow.

  “No…” Zun could barely let out her words as if her throat was sealed. She gathered her strength and attempted to stand up. “Don’t leave the seal!” she tried to shout again, but it only came out as a whisper. The little girl seemed to have released herself from the grip of her brother and was running toward the suspicious woman. The very next moment, Zun blacked out.

  “Where is this place? It’s so dark here. Did I fail my duty as an Angel?” Zun heard the cry of the two kids. “What is happening? Where are the kids? No, I need to protect them. My head hurts. Dammit. I can’t see anything.”

  Then she heard the scream of the clown. “Let me go, please. Let me goooo!!!”. The scream was followed by the shriek of the little boy. The sound of blood drops deafened everything. It was unmistakable. Each drop, heavier than the other. Finally, she could trace some figures through her blurry vision. Looked like other Angels have arrived.

  A figure stood out among them. He was looking down at her with a side glance filled with distaste. It was unclear whether he was wounded, but not unlikely. Zun was half awake at this stage. She scanned the surroundings and noticed all the demons were gone, but the little girl was nowhere to be found. Her brother was gaping blankly at the street with a dreadful scar on his chest. He was bleeding profusely, but he looked detached, like an empty shell.

  The man broke the silence and spoke in a stone-cold voice. “Seal off this place and take both of them away.”

  “Yes, Captain.” The other Angels replied.