#Blind acolyte Shuri

[diamondsinureyes]

Dazzlin Di's Creature Feature

10.3.23|Eldritch| "Divinity" Fandom: Black Panther Pairing: Namor/Shuri

Shuri Udaku has been regarded as many things

Prodigy...

Princess...

Futurist...

Faithless...

But she always saw herself as a scientist first and foremost-the one who will question, who will push against boundaries solely to test their strength. Shuri sees life as a constant quest for truth and she longs for the answers others shy away from, or disregard as irrelevant in the face of tradition.

And despite the mutterings of the elders, Shuri has plenty of faith-faith in the empirical. Faith in what she sees with her eyes and rationalize with her gifted mind.

Until this.

Until H̶̢̛͉̯͖̪͙̳̹͐̏̄̆̈̽̓̆́̏̿̐̓̂̚ǐ̷̡̜̝̪͓̱̘̻̝̖̩͓͐̽̃̋͂̎̋̋̒m̷̡̞̫̘̝̗̟̲̀̈̓̐͌̀͒͘͜

Now, in this space beyond time, Shuri relies on other sensations to divine truth. The touch of fingers, the caress of claws-

("̵T̴a̴l̷o̶n̸s̷,̴"̵ The correction comes gently. Ḧ̵̛̤͖̹̥̬̓͋̌̚ę̵̘̾́͊̌͝ͅ is always gentle with breakable things such as she.)

Shuri notes the feel of feathered scales against her bare skin, how they cut through the rushing air, or how they remain dry and protective amidst the overwhelming pressure of deep water. She measures the moments between each heated breath against her neck. Struggles to comprehend the way the world trembles when H̷̨̠͂̓ͅe̸̮̖͌̂̋̀̋ rumbles, pleased with her thoughts and observations.

Once, Shuri relished in transcribing her findings, in watching her ideas take form on paper.

She can no longer write them down, cannot visualize in the literal sense. No, sight was the sacrifice for this...for this gift.

For that is what Ḩ̷̬̗̯͈͉̭̌̍̓̚͜͝ë̶͖̉ has given her.

Ḧ̵̛̤͖̹̥̬̓͋̌̚ę̵̘̾́͊̌͝ͅ expresses regret when she remembers the baobab trees, the rhinos grazing, her brother's smile. Shuri feels it caress her lungs as they are guided to expand and contract. She is reminded that she had the opportunity to remain, to say no, to make the right choice.

But curiosity will always be Shuri Udaku's fatal flaw.

Now, Ḧ̵̛̤͖̹̥̬̓͋̌̚ę̵̘̾́͊̌͝ͅis her eyes.

H̷̨̠͂̓ͅe̸̮̖͌̂̋̀̋ is the air she breathes and H̷̨̠͂̓ͅe̸̮̖͌̂̋̀̋ guides her through every breath.

Shuri exists within H̷͙͑i̵͙͆̌̀̊ṡ̷̖͇͈̝̠͙̔͗ Darkness. And if that is her eternity, an eternity of blind bliss, of sensations so otherworldly that her gifted mind nearly unravels to process them?

Shuri recalls long ago reading the colonizer religion with its books full of laminated script--holding accounts both great and terrible--and a particular verse comes to mind.

She smiles as she is lead through her Darkness to a bed of downy feathers and silky scales and warm skin.

There is no fear within her--of evil or anything else. Nothing but burning curiosity, endless hunger, and sweet, slow-consuming desire for the Being before her.

The Darkness coils around her, and speaks:

Ṁ̵̮͚̯͚y̵͕̍̆͘ ̷̰̟̳͚́͑̕S̵̗̳̖̀̅̚h̴͍̰̥͠u̴͙̾r̴̰̀ͅi̶̢̲̠̹͌

And she is filled, fed, consumed.

Surely this is rapture, Shuri divines. Surely this is truth.