Incandescent

She really is like the sun, my sister is. It makes sense, but that fact always catches me off guard. Her whole worldview is so contrary to my own that it’s startling. Every shift in her mood is distinct and noticeable, every nuance of her thoughts is written openly on her face. I can’t imagine allowing myself that kind of vulnerability. In all the time I’ve known her, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her tell a lie. She shines light on deception as easily as she makes it glow from her fingertips. No matter how many times I’ve tried to hide things from her, she always finds a way to get the truth out of me. Some small part of me hates her for that, as much as someone like me can feel hate. Even among other Incandescents, I’ve never met anyone as deeply passionate as her. Her joy brightens the room, quite literally. Her sadness is a pit so deep she thinks she’ll never climb out. Her anger flares with an unearthly heat, burning down all in her path. Her fear is the only emotion of hers I understand.

Fear is my element, the place where people like me thrive. Maria is so filled with life that it spills out in waves. I’m nothing like her. Emotion is nothing more than a distant memory. I shut that all away, draining it to the point of becoming an empty shell. I stared down the void and let it consume me. In return, it grants me a taste of itself. Wherever the shadows fall, my power spreads its wings. Those that feel, they’re terrified of us Hollow Ones. Darkness spreads from me, a twisted reflection of her light. Shadows bend to my will, corrupting shapes into nightmares. I can look someone in the eye, learn of all their fears and regrets, and drown them in it. There is no remorse, there is no hesitation. All that exists is the void. Most run from it, as well as from those of us that choose to embrace it. Maria understands me as little as I understand her. Her powers grow with the strength of her feelings, mine with the strength of my apathy.

It may be the result of nepotism, but she’s probably the strongest Incandescent I’ve ever seen. Light splits into rainbows of color around her at the slightest whim. Her skin glows with inner heat. I’ve only seen her rise to true anger a few times in my lifetime. Her rage transforms into deadly power. It’s a light so strong it burns all it touches, leaving the subject of her aggression little more than a burnt-out shell. No matter what she does, the visuals are extraordinary. She’s far more powerful than I’ll ever be. Her body is as strong as her spirit: tall, sturdy, and always brimming with energy. Even with all that power locked within… she’s still so gentle with me. She knows my limits better than I know them myself. When we spar together, her control is perfect. She has the sun to guide her to greatness but has never burned me with it. I attempt to return her kindness when I can. When I’m around her, I make an effort to simulate an emotional spectrum. She finds the idea of true emptiness as foreign and uncomfortable as I find being overemotional. Seeing me react with anything other than a flat stare seems to make her happy. I think she believes that they’re honest, that they’re pieces of my childish ways showing through. Or, maybe she’s just biting her tongue and hoping I remember joy. Added happiness enhances her abilities, so I continue. We don’t discuss it, it’s better that way.

As fierce and strong as she is, she’s not invulnerable. Not long ago, I witnessed a crack in her seemingly invincible exterior. An unending extreme passion as a guiding force tends to lead to fights. Eventually, you’ll pick a fight you can’t win. We’d been at the market. A fight broke out between her and another Incandescent, this one an older man. I don’t remember the cause, nor does it matter. All I know is that he threw the first punch. While she appeared to have him beat in terms of raw power, he had far more experience. In broad daylight with two Incandescent summoning powerful lights, my power was at a minimum. There were no dark places to hide in, no cast shadows to bend into fears. Simply lights so bright it reveals all the ugly imperfections of the world, hiding nothing. I pulled away from them, I couldn’t contribute so there was no point risking physical injury. That was the plan, at least until I heard Maria cry out.

He’d thrown sand in her eyes and kicked her, a cheap shot. He stomped on her ankle. That cracking noise and the pain etched on my big sister’s face made something deep within me twist in a way it hadn’t since I was young. Heat and tension sparked through my limbs, something strong. I stepped forward, the awful alien sensation fading as I felt the void call to me. I let it rise, giving myself over completely. This man had harmed one of my own, and he deserved retribution. All the light and heat around me was drawn in, casting shadows that shouldn’t have been. I felt the crowd flee at the realization of what was among them. They didn’t matter, all that mattered was the Vicious, Aggressive, Evil opponent that needed to be eliminated. He turned at the sudden darkness and chill in the air, a spike of fear building within him as he realized what that meant. I didn’t hesitate, Maria needs me delays were unnecessary. As soon as his eyes met mine, I dragged him down into his special hell.

Darkness is not a thing in and of itself. It is simply the absence of light. None of my powers can cause physical damage, not in the way that light can burn. However, mankind has feared the dark for as long as they’ve known light. It’s a simple trick, the one I used, but quite effective. I pulled the light from his eyes, the heat from his skin, the noise from his ears, wrapping him in the crushing weight of nothing. I took him into my domain, the empty world of silence. It doesn’t matter how fragile my body is, the void is eternal and I am its vessel. He thrashed and cried out, but all was lost under oblivion. I was a god there, and I wouldn’t let him forget it. I allowed him to perceive me, to stare up from the ground like a roach. My shadows changed, face flickering into a thousand others. They all held the empty stare of the void, all reaching but unreachable. Light sputtered around his hands, but any energy he could muster was swallowed into nothing, making no difference. In that place, he was utterly helpless. The Incandescent, for all their power, let their fears, their guilt, their despair all rest so openly in their eyes. It’s far too easy to simply root through them and ring them dry. A recent Guilt hung so tantalizingly in the back of his mind, perfect. He’d been a gambling man, spending thousands in one sitting. He’d stolen jewelry from his aging parents and sold it, using all the money in card games. The shadows moved over my face, carving out the image of his mother. I sensed his fear spike, his screams grew louder. Her voice echoed alongside mine, utterly lifeless.

“You’ve ruined me. You’ve taken our family history and thrown it to the wolves, all to try and tamp your greed. Was it worth it, Danial? Look at what you’ve done to me,” I moved the shadows again, his mother’s face growing gaunt, cracked, and wicked. He wailed, covering his face with his hands. I felt the void ripple, a vague pressure that slowly built in my skull. I knew I couldn’t maintain it, the light of the world was trying to push the void back to its resting place. Our voices grew louder. “Look at your guilt, this is all your fault. You’ve destroyed your legacy and us with it. All so you could lose again and again. I hope you’re happy, Danial. I’ll hate you until the day I die.”

I pulled away, calling the void back into myself. I let it return to its natural place, far from here. The man lay huddled on the street, weeping. I left him to sulk in his overwrought pit of guilt. I only had eyes for Maria. I could tell that I had pushed myself harder than was wise, but I didn’t feel it. There would be time for that later. She was still on the ground, clutching her wounded leg. She looked up at my approach, face pale and sweaty with pain. My hands were shaking and something cold had twisted in my stomach. I helped her stand, most of her weight rested on my shoulder. Her ankle was already beginning to swell, I’d need to wrap it. With both of us weary, it would be a slow walk home.

That event still sticks in my mind, even all these months later. She’s healed and is as energetic as ever. Still, I can’t stop thinking about it. When we go to the market together, I watch the crowd, waiting for any sign of his return. If he were to show his face again, I’d make him regret it. I’m sitting beside her now, leaning into her warmth. The void is cold, always so cold. Much like dark, cold is an absence, not an existence. I’m cold, and I always will be, just like she will always be brimming with heat. She wraps her arms around me, and I reciprocate. It’s an animal reflex, a natural draw to warmth. Nothing more, I’m still empty inside. It doesn’t matter how inviting she is, I am and will always be Hollow. My head rests on her side, her steady heartbeat slowly singing me a lullaby. That safe heat rising in my chest is merely residual from her. When I leave, I’ll settle back into cold silence. Not yet though. For now, I’ll stay with her and tell myself it doesn’t mean anything.