The sound of hoarse coughing could be heard echoing down the hallway that ultimately led to the king's chambers. No one botheree to go towards the disturbing sounds, though, as they all knew that doing so would only lead to the rising of the king's wrath. The king himself was on his knees, coughing into a silk cloth that he hoped would muffled the sound but soon realized that it could not silence it. With each cough, his body shook so violently that his kimono slide off his shoulders and onto the floor, revealing his body. His body was at its thinnest and signs of malnutriton were present. It was hard to eat when your throat was too sore to get anything down, or when your body seemed to reject everything that you ate.

After two more intense spells of coughing, it finally subsided, leaving the king with a sore throat and a burning sensation in his chest. Groaning, he slowly pulled the silk cloth away from his mouth and was not surprised at all to see the blood that had collected onto the cloth. He paid it no mind though; he knew that it was simply a new addition to the various stains that had already had their place on the once white cloth.

Tossing the cloth to the side, Hyugi realized that he no longer had the strengh to support his body weight and collapsed to the flood, breathing heavily. He had to lie there for a while until his vision stopped swimming as it usually did once he was done coughing his organs out. [I]I wonder...I wonder how much longer I will be able to take this.[/I] The king thought to himself as he clutched at his neck. [I]I've been able to ignore the affects of this since I ten...but I don't think my body can take it anymore.[/I] It was getting so bad that he often went days just lying in his bed, desperately wishing that his body was normal like everyone else's as he did when he was younger...but that wish seemed as though it would never come true at this point, which is something that Hyugi had finally accepted. 

[I]If I die right now, I think I will be okay with it. At least I would get to see mother.[/I] The thought was enough to provoke a sad smile from the king and he closed his eyes, silently willing himself to just drift away away into death. He never had the chance to meet his mother, but had heard many things about the former queen. Maybe he'd finally get a chance to experience all her kindness himself. 

[I]Hyugi....Hyugi....you can't just leave the kingdom like this. War would consume the nations and result in their destruction...However, with my help, I assure that you will live long enough to see peace between all three kingdoms...[/I] A familiar voice nagged at Hyugi, making him open his eyes once more. It always seemed to bother him whenever he had thoughts of death and he instinctively moved his head so that he could stare at the leather book that was currently taunting his concious. 

The book was composed of dark leather that was tough enough to endure even the most severed of tears. On the covered was a round seal with a golden clasp that held the thick book closed. In addition, the word Demonis was engraved into the leather and filled with gold so that the letters popped out. Demonis is a spell book that was passed down through the Hisoro family generations...though no one ever got the chance to use it due to various reasons.

Hyugi usually ignored the book, not wanting to break the family's tradition of leaving the book closed. However, he'd become more and more drawn to the book since his rapid health decline when he became the king at only nineteen years old. Now, as he stared intently at the book, he knew that he would be the frist to open the book and use its power, especially if it could somehow heal his sickly body.

With a sudden surge of energy, Hyugi reached out and grasped the book with his hand. He the pulled it close to him and took out the key that would unlock the clasp and allow him to read the pages. [I]Is this really what I want to do?[/I] The king asked himself and he hesitantly fingered the key. He had no idea what would happen when he opened the book...though if it was going to kill him somehow, then he hoped that it would be quick.

[I]Hyugi....Hyugi....Hyugi....Hyugiiii.[/I]

The book seemed to chant and, after a while, Hyugi could no longer ignore its call. Taking a deep breath, he inserted the key and turned, watching as the clasp came undone and the book opened. During that time, the king had closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate, but as he open his eyes, he was surprised to see that the pages were blank. "What...what the hell?" He asked, his frustration and anger growing as he flipped widly hrough the pages. "Where is the writing!? Where are the spells!?" All the hesitation and fear of his ancestors for nothing. Hyugi was in such a rage that he barely noticed the tiny writing in the middle of one of middle pages. Raising an eyebrow, the king leaned forward and squinted so that he could see what was written there. It seemed like a name, a very exotic sounding name at that. [I]Maybe this is the spell...[/I] Hyugi thought and then proceeded to say the name outloud:

"Kinn."

As soon as the the last syllable left this lips, the entire room suddenly became cold and became three shades darker as an unexpected wind blew out all the candles he had lit. A howling sound rang in the air at such a loud pitch that Hyugi ended up dropping the book so he could cover his ears. His heart beat widly as dark shadows rose up from the blank pages and wrapped around his bloody cloth. It was then swept away towards the middle of his room, spiraling so far up that Hyugi was sure that it was going to break hole through ceiling. This dark energy continued to spiral around the room, knocking over items and disorganizing paintings until, finally, it clear. However, what it left behind surprised the king more than the actual appearance of the dark enegry itself.

"Who are you and how did you just come from this book?"