[KQ] since the day you departed

KIADA

do not misunderstand me when i call myself a shell

i mean a used up bullet casing

The darkness it speaks of is not one that Kiada wishes to believe in, an all swallowing one. Nor is it one she wishes to experience. And she manages to shake her head beneath the cover of the shield, as a separate voice appears and she bites down on her lower lip. Her back brushes up against Jigano’s as the second swipe does no good, and she grits her teeth with the result. But then, there in the light between the cracks of her shield, she can see the bronze soul, the piece of her that’s been missing all this time.

She lowers her shield just enough to look upon it, glancing around in the darkness for the creature that holds it. “It’s there.” She breathes to Jigano, nudging her head upward with a nod as if to show him. And then she focuses on the monsters darkness that holds it, setting her shield and sword back along her spine and side to reach for the crossbow attached to Jigano’s back. “What do you want for it? Surely there’s something better?” She asks, possibly considering a barter for the soul of her loved one, hoping Jigano gets the hint as well, that if things start to go south she’s going to shoot an arrow blindly into the darkness by Ru’in’s soul.

---

Seeing the soul, Kiada puts her shield and sword away, grabs the crossbow Jigano brought, and tries to barter with the monster, prepared to attack just in case.

as in, the aftermath of something lethal

as in, an echo of inflicted evil