Nobody really noticed at first, or if they did, they didn't really care. All easily explained, of course. No need for worry.
And it started with Xenodocious. The well known coder of Darkness, naturally. It made sense for her to take the closest ones, and his passing was peaceful, though he was missed.
Most of you would think that it is a conspiracy gathered from the sands of spun out time, the one thing that we are powerless against, the one thing that steals our friends, our relationships, our life.
And then others began to fall. The wicked puppetmaster, Chapuz no longer exists, though his legendary power capable of killing gods remains. The therapist artist, Shrink. Youngsot. Napalm. Incredibly powerful members left one by one, or so we thought.
The next target was obvious. To slowly topple our structure, our head would have to vanish. And vanish he did, our beloved zanzarino, a Ghost of the Past.
Perhaps it was only her prowess, her maternal instincts, her ability to sense, that Higurashi was not taken. Of course, she tried to track the infernal spririt that she felt, but eventaully always passed it off as paranoia, disregarding the clear connection.
Until it came for her, that is.
It was a rather bland and placid day, free of activity, a day that left Higurashi longing for humans. She had entered chat and was quietly conversing with a young man on his elemental affinity when she felt a tug. Pausing the conversation, she investigated the strange magic, and recoiled when she realized that it was draining her, of all things.
She left rather suddenly, from the chat, or so it appeared, but she had other things on her mind.
She descended into an empty space of the forums, and waited. When she felt the pull begin, she tugged back, forcing her opponent into reality, into her space. Even her grizzled experience did not stop her from shuddering when she saw the abomination of nature.
It was a wispy wraith, barely there, though it bent light and seemed to vanish. Its eyes glowed a faint dark purple, strangely hypnotic. And its form... indescribable, beyond words. Perhaps the closest respresentation was the sensation of seeing yourself in a mirror through someone elses' eyes. It was unnatural, bent correctly but not how a human should be.
Steeling herself, Higurashi called, "Who are you and what have you done?"
Barely a moment passed before a chill wind broke through the clearing in the alternate dimension that Higurashi remained in, whispering vile things just below the range of comprehension. Higurashi was sure that if she had been able to hear... she resolved to reflect on that later.
Whatever this thing was, she was certain it was responsible for the vanishing of many, its draining pulling away the emotion, the time that people had left on the forums, to sustain its ghastly existence.
Then, with a start, Higurashi realized that it was what was left of one of those members. Not the first one to vanish, but one of the Ancients.
ScaredGirl.
However ScaredGirl had been drained, by whatever, was unknown. What Higurashi did know, though, was that it was no longer her precious friend, her companion against the children new to the forums.
Higurashi knew what she had to do, despite her heavy heart.
Pretending to not recognize ScaredGirl, she slipped on a mask.
Snickering at the chill wind, Higurashi again called, "You have no power here. As the matron, I protect."
She spoke the last word, and in the next split second, cast an impossibly powerful Thunderbolt at the wraith. The wraith, however, countered with an incredible Siphon Life, the cerulean blast meeting the dark one. Lightning arced, dancing over the absorption of light, and then cancelled out where it slipped into the pure negative.
The blasts were held for a few seconds, then undone and retried, each matching the other in intensity. There seemed to be no way to turn the tides.
And then darkness fell. Higurashi had let down her guard, not noticing that the wraith of Scaredgirl had been casting a cloak. In the dark, the black blasts carried a strange negative light, just barely warning Higurashi of their location.
The wraith's blasts increased in intensity, slowly overpowering Higurashi. Higurashi responded with a Silence, and the blasts stopped. However, without the blasts revealing where the ghost was, Higurashi had no concrete way to attack without giving up her position. At least, not directly.
Pulling a powerful Mindgate into existence, Higurashi pulled the next few movements from ScaredGirl's mind, before it was viciously Stolen from her. She managed to note a Dusk Mantle, and cast it as well, just in time to vanish through a sudden wide beam.
The cloak was dissipating, and the shade's violet flickers grew visible again, and Higurashi again knew what she must do. Thinking quickly, she downed an ethereal potion that made her impossible to target. The wraith howled as its target slipped away, and began to dissipate into the air. Desperate to not let the ghoulish apparition fade to devour another, she crystallized her magic and smashed it, her mind growing large with Wisdom. Even the mantle of dusk could not protect the thing from the following powerful blast.
And that was that. Perhaps anticlimatic, but it is not a show, a television finale. It is a death, of a friend, of those long gone, of the ones that Higurashi remembers though we may not. Respect her, and love her. She does more for us than you will ever know.
