On the day of her 14th birthday, this balance was partly attained through a sort of celestial witchcraft. She was drawn to it, fascinated by it. Nobody believed in it, of course, but she cared not. It helped her greatly. She was amazed by the power it granted her over herself, the connection it finally gave her with the world she'd been separate from for so long. However, within her, a door was opened wide, wide enough to let something else in. Something dark. Upon her 16th birthday, she found a demon stood above her as she lay in bed. She knew he was that which was wrong within her all her life. She realized the shape of the shadow cast over her whole life. This demon wanted her, wanted the power she had in her long before she explored her unique form of witchcraft.
He told her he would return to her upon the full moon, in one week. She realized that she was not given her power. She realized its dark mirror resided within her, waiting to bloom forth and wreak havoc upon humans. She would not let this happen. It was here she realized that she would have to fight for her soul. She studied the darkness, studied deeply the damnation before her as she continued to practice her salvation. Once more, balance became her priority, balance between eternity and infinity. She learned both sides of herself, the luminance and the black alike, learned them well enough to resist the temptation. She was finally at peace with herself; no demon nor unholy spirit would wrest her contentment from her grasp. Nothing in this world would bring her back to such a poor state.
She worked almost ceaselessly, every chance she would get. She studied to the last moment, consequences for the outside world be damned. Soon, the time came. The week had passed. The clouds revealed the beaming moonlight, a portent of demonic fate. Not far from Steorra's front door was the demon. Steorra crossed her arms, clenching her fists, and stepped towards the demon, who attempted to pull her toward him, toward damnation. She repelled this magnetic force violently, pushing him down. He stood back up, attempting to do the same once more. And once more did she retaliate similarly. He stood again, conjuring flame, hurling it her way to knock her down. Her ability to repulse what he'd cast grew only stronger as the conflict pushed on. He snarled, summoning true hellfire, a deep blue flame. She shouted violently, holding it at bay. She took deep breaths, shuddering as she glared upward at the foul thing hoping to claim her soul.
Closing her eyes, Steorra gathered the purest of energies from within her spirit, the flame he spat out at her glowing brighter from within, slowly turning white, along with her now-glowing eyes. The flame grew highlighted by a veritable rainbow of colors, focusing the world's energy from around her into this formerly demonic fire. She grinned broadly; she'd earned her contentment. She forced the flame back at him into a widespread field, leaving the demon no room to escape. He made naught a sound as he blew apart into ash, gliding away on the forceful winds gathered by this brief encounter. Steorra sighed; for the first time in her life, she felt some form of genuine stability. Something was finally right. Her power would only grow from then on. And so would her happiness.
- Evelyn Raczynski
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