Do You See What I See

If walls could talk, they wouldn't know the right words. Instead, they would weep, for tragedy was right on the cusp, biding its time until the perfect moment. It wouldn't be much longer, now.

An automated recording rang out relatively softly like it was running out of energy

Caution.

Caution.

Caution.

You are now leaving the consciousness of a demon.

You are now leaving the consciousness of a demon.

Caution.

Caut---

The demon surgeon Tenevro came to and opened his eyes, another successful endeavor under his belt. A shadow was cast on the wall opposite him despite the absence of a specific light source needed to create one. In a silent flurry Aang the Shadow scurried off, speeding around each of the four walls in the abode until it eventually disappeared through the crevice between the flooring and wall.

Later today he would more than likely be operating. He had nothing scheduled. In fact, he never had anything scheduled. He didn’t need one. And there was a method to his madness. His bond with the lifeforce of Yarah, also known as Demon World, allowed him to skip such distractions. A relationship that could only be possible via proxy with the omnipresent Shadow, an infinite well of knowing.

They were both demons themselves, although the surgeon preferred living day-to-day in his humanoid form. It catered much more effectively to precision, an attribute beyond essential for his field of expertise.

Originally he worked alone, until one day that all changed. Despite the present-day team of two, he was the only one to possess a physical body. Aang was a different story, yet still served as an invaluable and irreplaceable piece. The dynamic duo.

In the beginning stages of their work relationship communication proved difficult, amongst other things. Over time that all changed. Strange may it be, their connection had grown into something much deeper. Something exquisite. One of several brain implants performed by the Surgeon himself, on himself, allowed for a temporary soul-link. The Shadow didn't have a soul, per se, but luckily it had something close to serve as a replacement. That was beside the point, anyway.

Tenevro had implanted a special device of his own creation capable of transferring the user’s mind into another as long as a wide array of special conditions were met. What those were, as well as the secrets of his countless other procedures, would remain a secret until the end of time and beyond.

The Surgeon already possessed upper echelon precision and steady hands. Then via synergy with the Shadow he had reached a level even further beyond. That’s when the real fun began. Mysterious new doors had been open. Ancient rituals and dark rites could now be performed with pinpoint accuracy. Such is required to avoid absolute catastrophe. Let’s just say, the price a patient would pay for one of these operations did not come cheap. And Tenevro was extremely selective when choosing potential candidates.

His work had become his life, and he had found his lifelong companion. Sure, he wished for more, but all things considered, he was content.

Every morning he linked souls to become a new being, Tenaangvro, the Shadow Surgeon, as a baseline synchronization. The entirety of his documents, plans, etc., and miscellaneous, were all stored on an advanced computer type of device. The program that ran the device was based on his own personality and it would reel off various instructions or steps depending on what was asked of it. In a smooth, even keeled voice, it would even continually announce the status of an incoming or outgoing soul link. It was basically as effective as having a third member of the team. Right now, it remained on standby.

He arranged his tools one last time before his next patients were due to arrive. Last he checked they had already made their way through the heart of the forest, defeating the evil monstrosities lurking in the trees. It was the only known route to reach this far-off place which doubled as both a home and workplace. Many travelers had attempted the journey. Almost all had inevitably failed, due to one reason or another. The bones of the fallen littered the forest floor while any and all flesh was quickly and hungrily devoured. Every. Single. Speck.

In the beginning he made attempts to try and save the unfortunate. Then one ungrateful heathen ruined it for everyone, and he no longer cared. It wasn’t his fault they were unprepared or ill-suited for survival under extreme duress and against all odds.

Those that made it were not automatically seen. They must present a worthy reason for Tenevro to apply his talents on whatever operation was sought. And that was only after they could prove their tolerance for pain.

Preparation was of the utmost importance. It had a become something like a ritual, and a very soothing one at that. Preferential arrangements and spots for all the tools. The smooth rhythm of sharpening each scalpel. Setting up each light at just the right angle.

While he would do so, the walls would talk. The extent of Aang’s powers were unknown even for the demon it called Master. It was more of a fitting title referring to level of skill versus a title signifying an imbalance of power. In both their minds, they were equal. The status quo never changed, never needed to be further discussed, because both of them truly felt it. Different yet equal.

Immersing itself into every crevice of reality, the atoms and particles and elements, the Shadow could pull out memories from the walls themselves. These recollections were the basis of great stories. A surreal feeling hearing an epic tale being told so magnificently, especially when it’s entirely personal.

Forever and ever, as long as Aang would live, each of these walls could talk, and the darkness would come to light.

Tenevro continued with his long-established pre-op routine having never deviated from it ever since inception. New additions would be implemented here and there, although for the most part things stayed the same. He was nearing the end of his mandatory checklist of things to do, items to sterilize, things to arrange, and attire to don. All of it was done by memory. Never had he blundered doing something out of order. Only when he decided one hundred percent to operate on a patient would he put on the necessary gear. The number of potential clients to make it all the way here only to leave empty handed for one reason or another far surpassed the small list of clients who were ultimately rewarded with their desire.

Meandering over to a large open window partially obscured by silk curtains, he pushed them aside to catch a look at the peaceful scenery outside and smiled. He loved the place he called home and took great pride in it.

Leaves of all colors majestically floated down from the trees a moderate distance away and onto the lush green grass. The temperature was perfect. A stone path with two parallel flanking rows of massive rosebushes in all different colors—evenly spaced out on each side-- led from the front porch entrance of his abode all the way to the edge of the forest. The structure stood atop a hill as the highest point of altitude in the immediate vicinity. Comparatively speaking its height was nothing super significant. Still, it could take a toll on anyone hiking up a hill for the first time.

The plot of land the structure stood on was flat with eventual drop-offs in each direction. This surface area on top was shaped roughly like a trapezoid when looking down. Geography like this made the increase in altitude look less like a hill given there was no peak. Due to this configuration, an interesting illusion was created when looking from a certain vantage point. The pathway and accompanying rosebushes made a similar pattern to columns in a hallway, meaning anyone looking out from the front door towards the horizon—on the same visual track as the pathway—it created a linear perspective optical illusion that was quite cool.

It was fascinating just thinking about how much vision could be manipulated or distorted in an infinite amount of ways. And that was just scratching the surface of how eyes functioned and how they could be tinkered with.

Upon stepping down the small set of stairs at the place’s entrance, Tenevro strode a few more paces, taking it all in. The Sun was shining and the weather pleasant. If only, if only, this moment could be captured and harvested into a reality. Alas, woe begone, that wish was nothing but an unreachable dream.

All of this… before him. Pure tranquility. Crisp, refreshing air. Warmth. Was he growing soft?

A simple and sleek chalet surrounded by all types of nature. Lakes, prairies, grasslands, mountains, woods. And within that, four walls, the ground, and a roof. Home sweet home served as the main and only base of operations. He never had to leave, nor had any desire too. He'd been through enough. He was tired. He wished to live out the last of his days trying to leave a legacy to inspire progress. Great details of his work were recorded, waiting for the right pupil to find them and carry on his work. If they fell into the wrong hands, the world would have to wait. Wait for a time when the Universe course-corrected as it always did.

Moderate living quarters were located in the far corner on ground level. The operating station off in a separate corner. Many sleepless nights were spent in the study connecting the two rooms. There was a basement as well, rarely frequented. Now it lay abandoned, an old labyrinth of other mysterious curiosities and wondrous features. After a while they had lost their charm.

Plus, he had more important things to attend too. Things that required time and energy.

But not for Aang the Shadow. There were rooms blocked off by doors. Doors sealed with locks. Locks that could only be opened by one key, held by the Master. That was no problem for Aang, who could go anywhere he desired. Do anything he pleased. Be as free as he could be, given the cursed set of chains that would forever remain attached. Instead of causing mischief and mayhem, an alternative route grew more and more appealing the stronger their bond became. An unlikely pair, but a damn good one at that. There was no recollection of a fiery demonic origin, but it knew it had been created by some degree of nefarious means. The past was the past, and thus, sometimes should be left and forsaken right there. So now, what went on in those basement places truly were an enigma. The Surgeon’s partner was content with its new life.

Obviously, there was a catch. There was always a catch.

From a place in between worlds lived a Shadow. Through dark depths and long tunnels it lived, buried in everlasting exile and torment. Until one night, when a hand was offered. Without thinking twice, the Shadow grabbed hold, waiting...

Wishing...

Wanting...

What could be worse than the life he was already stuck living?

A brief pause ensued. It was one of acknowledgement, but neither side could know for sure.

And with one fell swoop, the darkness was brought to light.

It held no body. It held no form. It's only physical, visible characteristic consisted of a shadow on the wall. It held no facial characteristics, but sometimes created one resembling the standard model consisting of two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. A crude representation, almost repugnant, like it wasn't deformed yet might be related. An image that had to be seen to be able to formulate the correct minimalist details.

Shadow operated in two dimensions, still being partially stuck in the place in between worlds. This state of being afforded a collection of different powers like manipulating matter in that world and bringing it forth into the other it had most recently entered. However, this window of time was relative, as it was a significant chunk for Tenevro, who had stumbled upon the creature in his self-created teaching techniques and adopted the creature as his own.

The moment Shadow received its name had become a forgotten memory. A trivial, unimportant moment of time that happened so fast neither had fully experienced it enough for the creation of an imprinted memory that would not fade.

Aang.

Once it was said, it stuck, as many great names often do.

The Shadow did its best to do whatever it was supposed to do in order to please the Surgeon. Rules of physics and space and time did not apply for the creature, its inside like an infinite reality that resembled space. Random objects and clutter and things that were difficult to explain floated and littered throughout the place.

Tenevro and Aang, a legendary duo for the ages. Whether or not they were doing God's work, whoever or whatever that may be, was most definitely up for debate. Neither of them cared.

Sitting in a cross-legged position, the Shadow finally detected its master's presence manifested as a carbon copy of his body, except this one was only a fragile construct that was supposed to be the catalyst in Tenevro reliving memories through the eyes of Aang. Going back about a year, he had done three different and distinct operations on three different people. In order to continue his studies, he needed to go back and see exactly what he had done and become a better surgeon, ultimately leading him to his ultimate goal of performing a never been done before, special procedure.

Born to a regular demon family in a regular demon town, life became chaotically irregular in the blink of an eye.

Completely out of nowhere, starting with one and then the other only seconds apart, his parents had spontaneously combust. A plague was afoot in part of demon world and spreading, fast. Tenevro was spared for unknown reasons as he watched the entire population get utterly wiped out. Uncanny didn't even begin to describe it.

But for some strange reason, the Surgeon did not feel pity nor loss. He felt... curiosity.

There was no time to stroll down memory lane.

Aang did not have a standard pair of eyes in which see nonverbal communication via body language. However, Tenevro didn't let that stop him, knowing the creature could see from all angles and thus, gave the signal. A slight downward nod of the head.

Shadow obliged, and both were thrust into a cinematic memory of the first operation master wished to re-live.

The shadow Aang transitioned from the inside of the wall to the outside, listening to the incoming visitors navigate forward along the trail en route to the abode. Several branches snapping could be heard here & there along with the scurrying of a group of ravens who deemed the travelers too close for comfort. At long last, they broke through the edge of the forest and into a grassy clearing. The trail gave way to a cobblestone pathway winding its way around isolated trees, all of which belonged to a different species. Some bore fruit, like apples. Others were scenic & beautiful. A few contained special medicinal properties found in their bark. Several garden beds surrounded by chain-linked fencing to protect against outside destruction were scattered on both sides of the walkway. Each plant served a purpose similar to the trees. A significant majority of fruits, vegetables, medicines, & more could be found on site somewhere within this far-reaching compound & plot of land.

There were two travelers who looked like a humanoid man & woman, although there true forms were more than likely hidden behind this facade. No doubt they were both demons. This was, Yarah afterall, an infamous region of Demon World with a vast and rich history.

The surgeon stepped into the front doorway, the main door having been open since this morning in favor of a slimmer screen door to allow fresh air in while keeping the bugs out.

Halfway to their destination, the couple continued walking, although slowly, as they glanced left & right taking in the magnificent scenery.

Caution.

Caut--

The soul-link between the Shadow & the Surgeon was complete. Tenaangvro was ready to operate.

They moved into another room specially dedicated for procedures requiring absolute precision. Everything from the initial incision to the resulting Magahjan Eye must be placed in such a way to connect with the brain but not pierce it in anyway. The neurons must be allowed to fire & signal between the biological parts & the arcane implant. For increased stability it would be attached to the tiara left on the ground from earlier, which in turn would be fitted to the horns & skull.

An agent was delivered intravenously to induce a deep sleep, but it was only a matter of time before the excruciating pain would override everything & jerk her awake. In preparation she was strapped down. Hands, feet, legs, arms, shoulder, head... all strapped down. Tightly. Any movement could ruin everything. Precision could not be stressed enough, down to sizes smaller than a micrometer. Smaller than the size of a neuron, 1/750th of a millimeter.

Reaching out from all four walls, the floor, & the ceiling, Aang surrounded Aradia's body. They were both two entities & one at the same time. The two in the one. The one in the two.

What made the shadow so special, amongst other things, was its body occupied a dimension all in its one. It could momentarily transfer a person into this dimension, thus being aware of every square inch of the body & able to direct the Surgeon's movements.

The first incision was made, directly into the forehead where her 3rd eye would go.

And with it, the first roar of excruciating agony, far worse than anything Aradia could have imagined. Tear drops of blood streamed down her face. Tenaangvro backed away momentarily, cursing himself for agreeing to this. Knowing there was no turning back now. Waiting for the screams to subside & continue again.

By the time he was finished, Aradia was unconscious.

"Even if she wakes, this is only the beginning."

The man shrugged.

"I figured as much."