"The uh, prevalent theory in my mind, is that, spiritually, or metaphysically, we are some form of energy. This has been born out by scientific research, studying the smallest particles that modern technology allows. And, well, I think it's mostly true. There is certainly something deeper, some bond or connection between all of us that can be drawn upon. A sort of well, that you can drink from, if you've brought your bucket."
"I don't think that's entirely accurate. I mean, who's to say you're not drawing from your own well? I mean, sure, a deeper layer of ourselves, I get that, but what is the cause to assume that energy is connected to any other? None of us want to feel alone, but isn't it possible that you've got some sort of confirmation bias going on there, that all of us do?"
"Sure, confirmation bias is a possible explanation. We are social creatures, unlikely to feel whole without some form of counterpart to otherwise meaningless interactions. But it would be foolish to assume that the only connection between my soul and the vast multitudes is some perverse desperation, some selfish attempt at justifying my own needs and desires. No, I think we can both agree there's a little more to it than that."
"Okay, so we're all connected. A boundless field of energy constantly experiencing the ripples of each individual's actions. For what? Just to be the billions of manifestations of some singular entity? What entity? God? The universe? Existence itself? There is no discernible reason for it."
"Balance. Each molecular piece keeps the strand together, every individual soul keeps the whole of us from devouring itself. No one lives or dies. No one comes or goes. We are all just here, satisfying the natural order of the universe. Existing, wholly because we must, else all that we know and don't know would collapse in on itself. You and I, we will always be here, maintaining the natural order of things, the balance. The only question that remains for us is, who is the sword, and who is the sheath? I play at destruction, and so do you. But something restrains us, some magnetic force that keeps us crashing against each other, when anyone with half a brain would tell both of us to walk away. So we don't tap into that deeper potential, the torrent that would dissolve our balance, because you know as well as I do, our lives would not be the only casualties that would result. There are greater forces at work here, and to unleash those at the wrong time would only bring chaos and true destruction. The kind we don't wake from, the kind that no one wakes from."
"So, you really think this fire could burn brighter, if we weren't bound by the rules of this universal energy?"
"I know, that if we ever found a way to tap into it mutually, to assure that balance was maintained even as the power was increased by orders of magnitude, we would cease to require these nightly rituals, this feeding. We would simply be outside their boundaries. Have you not wondered what lies just outside this? Have you not questioned the walls that you so carefully built, the restraints you've dressed in since that day?"
"I have. I've questioned our sanity too. Questions are not answers. Questions don't give me cause to proceed. If you really think we can escape this, you're going to have to answer me."
"Close your eyes."
He took her by the wrist, let his fingers trace the radial and ulnar arteries down to her hand. The flesh by the veins always ran warm after they had fed, though hers seemed to retain the heat longer than his own these days. His growing appetite had become a source of contention between them, and the thought tugged lightly at his focus. She flinched slightly as his touch crossed the the marks just beneath her palm. Her eyelids flicked up, the gray flecks in her irises burned crimson for a second before settling to a muted glow.
His strength was now hers. His well, his life force, opened to her in a way it never had been before. She felt a renewed sense of awe, the same that she had felt when he first woke her. The universe had shifted, somewhere, the balance he spoke of had been quietly disrupted.
"Now rise, you must strive to regain the balance, to equal the disruptions I have caused."
"I...I don't.." Her voice trailed off, and she could sense the exasperation in his breathing, it tore her focus from what welled inside her, just a moment. Just a moment, and yet, an eternity in the world they were in.
"Sshh. You must. I am here, as you, within you, and around you. You are my equal now, do not hesitate." His voice soothed, crafted order of the chaos that surrounded her, she regained control of her thoughts, and addressed the fire she found burning within her.
A moment too late, they found, and the shadows darkened the edges of her flesh. He held fast, watching her fade into the encroaching darkness. Balance would be maintained, it always was. Her eyes grew wide with terror, but he kept prodding her. "Focus. Breathe."
The shadows withdrew, and the soft light of the candles danced across her face.
"Balance," she smiled, "will be maintained." She knew now, his torment, his pleasure, his hidden depths. He stood, scuffing the circle they had drawn themselves in.
"Now, let us leave this place."
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