At some point, I must have fallen asleep on that cliffside, only to find myself in a dream—a lucid one. I knew this place wasn’t real, which only made it more unsettling. This time, I wasn’t surrounded by the crimson floor and endless void that had plagued my subconscious.
Instead, I was back at the Faust Estate, standing in the main hallway with its intricate wood furnishings and sparsely decorated interior. Despite knowing it was a dream, everything felt so vivid, so tangible. I could even smell the aroma of a fine stew—sweet yet smoky—wafting through the air.
Almost startling me, I noticed a small boy at the end of the hallway, his wrists outstretched, blood trickling down. At first, I didn’t recognize him, but as I stepped closer, it dawned on me: the boy was me from a time long past when I had tried to take my own life.
He sniffled, dropping a glass shard. The attempt had failed, but the regret lingered. Younger me stood up, his posture slumped, his hair short. "Does the future get any better?" he asked, surprising me with a voice I hadn’t heard in so long.
Even though younger me wasn’t facing my way, I shook my head. He understood and whispered, "Wake up..." His voice grew louder, slowly transforming into Odessa’s voice, until I jolted awake, gasping for breath.
“Alaric...” Odessa shook me, her eyes wide with concern in the faint morning light.
“What—what?” I sat up quickly, my heart racing as I glanced around, trying to make sense of my surroundings.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As I looked to my right, the cliffside came into clearer view—it wasn’t as steep as I’d first thought, only about 10 or 15 feet from the ground.
“What happened?” I asked, still disoriented. Shifting around, my back ached from the hard ground.
She stumbled over her words, “I couldn’t find you when I woke up—” Odessa suddenly punched my arm. “Don’t do that.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I admitted.
Odessa swallowed hard, “I don’t care.”
It was weird seeing her vulnerable side after so long. As a child Odessa used to be so scared all the time, thinking everything was her fault.
Without responding I looked up at the sun to find our direction, “Come on.” I said dismissively. What was I supposed to say?
I started the trek without another word. Odessa didn’t follow at first, but after a good ten seconds, she caught up. The land here was still fairly flat, though we had to dodge the occasional stone or root and duck under low-hanging branches. I pulled back thorn bushes to clear our path, careful to keep them from tearing into my skin.
Hunger began to gnaw at me, like a rat trapped inside, frantically trying to escape. But we couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.
I closed my eyes, relying on the trees to guide me, trying to ignore the pain. Suddenly, Odessa placed a hand on my chest. "Stop walking," she said urgently.
I opened my eyes to find a steep, craggy incline of stone stretching downward before us. The trees above stopped abruptly, their branches and leaves not reaching any further down for another 30 or 40 feet. The drop was sheer, and the landscape below was hidden in shadow.
As I scanned the area, it became clear that there was no obvious path down the incline. Instead, I spotted a few old wooden ladders precariously attached to the rocky surface. They looked weathered and neglected, with faded paint and splintered rungs, clearly unused for decades.
“Shit…” I muttered under my breath. “I’ll go first and check if it’s safe.”
Odessa managed a weak smile, her eyes softening as she poked my stomach gently. “I’m lighter,” she said. “I should do it.”
“Well—” I began, but she was right. With a reluctant sigh, I nodded and added, “Just be careful.”
Odessa took a deep breath and approached the first ladder. It swayed slightly as she placed her weight on the first rung, the wood creaking under her feet. She glanced back at me, before starting her descent.
The ladders were as fragile as they looked, and every creak and groan made me wince. Odessa's movements were deliberate. She paused occasionally to test the stability of the rungs before proceeding, making slow but steady progress.
After what felt like an eternity, she reached the bottom of the first ladder and started on the second. From my vantage point, I could see that this one seemed even less reliable. The rungs were nearly rotten, and the ladder itself was half-buried in the stones.
"Are you okay?" I called out, my voice echoing off the stone walls.
"Yeah," she replied, her voice slightly strained but steady. "It's just a little precarious. But I think I can manage."
Finally, after several more tense minutes, Odessa reached the base of the incline, giving me a quick thumbs up, “Don’t fall off.” She called up.
I managed a light, forced laugh as I placed one hand on the ladder and began my descent. Each rung creaked and sank slightly under my weight, damp from the last rain.
Up close, the ladder reeked of rot and mildew, the stench nearly overwhelming. Splinters dug into my palms, but I had no choice but to keep going. After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached the bottom of the first ladder, silently thanking Llythyrra.
The second ladder was ten times worse. The stone platform at the base was small, barely three feet wide, and I quickly shuffled across it to start down the second incline. On the last step, the wood snapped beneath me, sending me crashing onto my back with a painful thud. “Augh…” I groaned, then forced my eyes open.
Odessa was nowhere to be seen, as if she had vanished into thin air. Everything around me began to fade, dissolving into another nightmare—or a vision, or whatever the hell it was.
The scene was the same as always: a crimson red floor stretching endlessly, swallowed by an infinite black void. Swirling clouds of darkness threatened to suffocate me, closing in like a serpent around my throat. The air was void of scent or sensation, except for a numbing cold that seemed to seep into my very bones.
I was fucking sick of this. If I was here, it meant my body was out there with Odessa, being manipulated by the same malevolent force.
“Let me go,” I muttered, my voice echoing in the emptiness despite its quiet tone.
Someone—or something—answered. All that anger I had felt drained away, replaced by a cold, gripping fear. The reply reverberated across the realm with a low rumble, a deep, rough scorn that seemed to shake the very air.
“You are almost here,” it spoke with the voices of a thousand men. “I can smell the air… taste the wind… feel the grass… It’s been so long.”
The entity paused, and I tried to speak again, but something caught in my throat. The ground beneath me began to tremble, softly at first, but soon it escalated into a violent earthquake. The surface in front of me cracked like shattered glass or thick ice on a frozen lake.
From the fissures, a bright red liquid began to ooze—a thick, glowing blood that reeked of iron. And from the depths, something massive followed. Something gargantuan, a leviathan in size, burst out of the ground like a colossal serpent. Its scales were a pitch-black void, its head the size of a mountain, with teeth like jagged stone monoliths. The creature was so enormous that it took minutes for its full form to emerge, each movement sending shockwaves through the ground.
Then, it angled downward, diving toward me with terrifying speed.
Panic surged through me, and I tried to run, but my body refused to move. In a final, desperate act, I crumbled to the ground, throwing my arms above me as I shut my eyes, bracing for the inevitable.
The inevitable never came. It felt like hours passed before I finally dared to open my eyes again. When I did, I found myself back in the forest, but it wasn’t the same. The trees here were thicker, their trunks scaling much higher than those I recognized from before.
"Odessa?" I called out, my voice shaky.
At first, there was no response, just the rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds. But then, from the bushes, Odessa emerged.
“Alaric—what the fuck?” she snapped, striding toward me before giving me a shove. “Why did you run off like that?”
“Like—like what?” I stammered, still breathless, my heart pounding in my chest. I reached for the trunk of a nearby tree, using it to steady myself as I climbed to my feet. “What do you mean?”
“You just disappeared,” Odessa continued, her eyes narrowing as she looked me over. “One moment you were there, and the next you were gone. I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
Leaning heavily against the rough bark of a tree, I rubbed my eyes in frustration. “Fuck…” I muttered, trying to collect my thoughts. “I—I don’t know if this means it’s getting worse or…” My voice faltered as I struggled to articulate what had just happened. “It was controlling me again, and… and I heard a voice.”
Odessa’s eyes widened with concern. “Alaric, what do you mean, a voice?” she asked, her own barely above a whisper. She glanced warily towards the dense underbrush, as if expecting something to leap out at us.
Without warning, a sharp bang resonated through the forest, making us both flinch. The echo of a man’s voice cut through the quiet, harsh and filled with irritation: “Little shit.”
We exchanged alarmed looks before spotting a figure emerging from between the trees. The man was tall and had long blond hair that cascaded past his shoulders. His clothing was made of soft, felt material, and his face was smooth and unmarred by blemishes. Despite his refined appearance, there was a cold, calculating intensity in his eyes.
“Find a weapon,” I instructed Odessa urgently. She quickly picked up a pair of sharp, jagged stones from the forest floor. I followed suit, grabbing a particularly sharp rock and gripping it tightly.
With our makeshift weapons ready, I nodded at Odessa for reassurance. Then, turning to face the intruder, I raised my voice, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Drop your weapon!”
His eyes methodically scanned the surrounding vegetation before finally settling on us. He took a deep, deliberate breath, his gaze never wavering. Slowly, he released his hold on the weapon, letting it drop to the ground with a clatter. The dagger bounced and rolled briefly before coming to a stop, its blade catching the dim light.
“Happy now?” he asked, then looked us over before adding, “You do the same.”
No…” I began hesitantly, but Odessa’s sharp interruption cut me off.
“The hell we are,” she said with a firm edge to her voice, already recovering from what they did. “How can we trust you?”
Holding one hand in the air, the stranger unbuckled another dagger from his belt and tossed it onto the ground with a metallic clatter. “You can’t trust me… but you probably should,” he said, his voice steady and clear, carrying the kind of precision one might expect from someone of a more refined background. An elitist of the highet sorts, like the Faust family. “My name’s Osavan, or just Avan if you prefer.” The man continued, “This area you two are traveling through… I don’t recommend it.”
“And why not?” Odessa questioned further.
Osavan chuckled softly, a sound that seemed almost out of place. He bent down and, with a sickly motion, picked up a severed head by its hair. When he stood upright, the head dangled grotesquely. Its face was disturbingly familiar—reminiscent of the monsters we had met earlier. The eyes were snake-like, and the skin was mottled with a sickly purple hue. The mouth was lipless, revealing rows of sharp, uneven teeth.
“We saw those upland…” I started, trying to make sense of the scene before us. Odessa let out an exasperated groan at the sight. “Except they… dissolved… were less grotesque than that.”
Avan made a face of mild distaste. “You ran into an outcast,” he explained, his tone slightly condescending. He smiled as he took a step closer, his demeanor shifting ever so slightly. “Lucky for you, they don’t attack—unlike these little…” He paused as Odessa raised her stone, his smile faltering for a moment. “…shits,” he finished with a wry grin.
“We’re trying to get to Auriver—could you help us get through?” I asked, my tone casual.
Avan paused, considering my request, as if weighing the pros and cons of our predicament. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. “I suppose I could… but why Auriver?”
“Personal business,” I replied plainly, offering no further explanation.
“Hm.” Osavan nodded thoughtfully. “When you’re ready, I’ll be up ahead.” With that, he turned and began to walk away, disappearing into the dense foliage.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Odessa turned to me with a concerned look. “What are you doing?” she whispered urgently. “We can’t trust him.”
“I know,” I said, my words tinged with bitterness. “But he trusts us… with his back turned, we’ll take him out.”
Odessa studied me with a puzzled expression, her brows furrowed. “You’ve changed, Alaric,” she remarked.
“How so?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I don’t know… you’re less...” She paused, searching for the right words. “More willing to hurt others.”
“Didn’t you want that?” I challenged.
“Only when it’s necessary,” she insisted, her voice firm. “So… despite my gut feeling, yes.”
Holding the rock firm I manuevered forward, Odessa lagging behind, until I spotted Osavan again in the distance. This time in a small clearing. A stone in the middle.
I emerged from the shrubbery, eyes burning into his back as he studied the carvings on its face, “These are everywhere.” Avan noted, “They feel strange. Powerful even.”
Stopping to look at the stone myself, it was a perfect copy of the one Dunstan, and I stumbled upon before. Strangely enough the grass around its base did not grow despite adequate sunlight, “What is it?” I asked, almost forgetting the plan.
“Don’t know,” Osavan admitted with a shrug. “And you can put the rock down.” he said suddenly, causing me to flinch. “I’m unarmed.”
I exhaled sharply, breaking from my guarded stance. “I can’t take any chances. We need to find Auriver.”
“So why waste time on me?” Avan scoffed, his tone dismissive. “Just go.”
“Not without—”
“Murdering me?” He interjected, his voice taking on a strange, almost mocking tone. “No... I think you want to. You want the blood, don’t you?”
“No—no, I... I don’t.”
“You’re a murderer, Alaric.” Osavan took a deliberate step to face me, his eyes piercing. “A killer born and raised.”
“How do you know my name?” I demanded.
He shook his head silently, then took another step forward, “What do you want from me?” Avan asked, “I could merely walk away yet you insist I must die. I offered to guide you through the woods, protect you from those creatures, yet your firm on killing me.”
“Stop it.” I backed away, my heart racing.
“You’re just like all the rest of them.” Osavan’s expression twisted into a snarl, his eyes darkening. “Hungry for blood, craving control—something you’re so starved for. So do it.” His voice grew more sinister and warped. “Kill me. Bash my head open and let it pop like a balloon. Let the blood splatter everywhere.”
“I said—” Without a second thought, I swung the rock, smashing it into the side of his head. “Stop!” The force of the blow was almost immediate, and I didn't fully process the impact until I heard a gurgling sound.
My gaze fell on the side I struck. His flesh was torn open, exposing raw, bloodied tissue. Red-hot liquid spilled from the wound, and blood erupted from his mouth, mingling with a chilling, monotonous laugh that seemed to echo endlessly. In an instant, Osavan collapsed, his body going limp and lifeless against the ground.
“Fuck—fuck.” I gasped, my breath coming in short, ragged bursts. I glanced down at my hands, smeared with blood, but quickly shook the thought from my mind. “Odessa—” I spun around, only to find her missing from where she had been. “Odessa?” I shouted, desperation creeping into my voice.
I darted through the trees, my heart pounding as I called her name over and over. “Odessa!” My voice echoed through the forest, growing hoarse and strained. Each step felt heavier, the eerie quiet of the forest pressing in on me. I couldn’t afford to panic, but with every passing second, the dread of being alone and the fear of what might have happened to her mounted.
I was moving so fast, darting between trees in a frantic, erratic search, that I didn’t even realize I had circled back to where Osavan’s body lay. Slowing down to catch my breath, I noticed a figure crouched over the corpse. My heart skipped a beat as I recognized him.
“Dolion?” I called out, my voice trembling.
He didn’t immediately acknowledge me, his attention fixated on Osavan’s lifeless body. “Dear oh dear... what happened here?” Dolion murmured, almost to himself, as he slid a finger across Avan’s bloodied face.
My mind raced with questions, confusion twisting my thoughts. “How are you... why are you here?” I stammered, unable to make sense of his sudden appearance. The unease in my chest grew, the situation becoming even more surreal with Dolion’s calm demeanor amid the chaos.
Dolion unknelt, his movement slow as he turned to face me. His eyes held a strange. What seemed to me like sickly approval. “Didn’ see you both in Auriver. Used a spell to find your location,” he explained. “You’ve become violent,” he continued with a nod, a smile creeping onto his face. “That’s what you need to survive in this world.”
His words made my stomach churn. I could still feel the weight of the rock in my hand, the sickening thud of it connecting with Osavan’s skull replaying in my mind. “I don’t... I don’t want to be like this...” I muttered, my voice faltering. “Something snapped inside, and...” I looked up at him, "Where's Odessa?”
“In your distraction, dear friend, soldiers of the kingdom captured her.”
“What?” I began to panic, “How did they catch up to us—or... or even know where we were after Ikevine teleported....”
Dolion held up a hand, “Shhh...” he whispered, a touch of sternness in his voice. “She’ll be fine. The soldiers are likely holdin’ her for questioning or ransom. They’re not interested in harmin’ her, not yet. They still want you.”
“But—” I started.
“First things first,” Dolion interrupted, his voice firm. “We need to get rid of that ol’ curse that’s been plaguing you. If you go after her now, you’ll be more of a liability than a savior.” His eyes narrowed. “I can teleport you to the ceremony site where we can perform the ritual. Once the curse is gone, you’ll be stronger, more focused, and better equipped to rescue her.”
My voice cracked, “How did they know?”
With an almost silent sigh, Dolion tilted his head, his expression shifting to one of mild disappointment. “It seems Dunstan gave you both away... for the protection of his brother...”
Dunstan? There was no fucking way I could believe that. Not after everything we’d been through. My voice came out sharp, “How do you even know where the monument is?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. “You said it was somewhere outside of Auriver...”
Dolion’s demeanor changed slightly. The familiar accent that colored his words wavered, slipping away for a moment before returning once again. “Because...” he began, his voice steadier, “After Dunstan made it back, I went t’ look. I knew you would be fine.” The old man walked until we were close, and put a hand on my shoulder, “Your abilities, your powers, my dear...” he began, his voice low and coaxing. “Once the curse is gone, you’ll be free to use them. It’s been sucking your energy away, draining you of what you could truly be. But once that vacuum is gone...” He paused, his gaze locking onto mine, “we can harness the energy... we can get Odessa back from Chlodovech.”
Swallowing hard, I hesitated for a moment, my thoughts racing before I gave a small nod. "Okay... I trust you," I finally said, the words coming out on a shaky breath. "Take me there."
Dolion didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he brought a finger to his mouth, biting down until his teeth pierced the skin. As blood welled up, he grabbed my arm with a surprising gentleness and began tracing a symbol on my palm. The touch of his blood was warm and unsettling, sending a shiver down my spine.
Under his breath, Dolion muttered in a language I didn’t recognize, the words strange on his tongue, their meaning lost on me. As he chanted, the world around us began to blur and shift. My vision was overwhelmed by a variety of flashing colors, each one searing into my eyes with a burning intensity. The ground beneath my feet seemed to vanish, leaving me suspended in a void where time and space no longer held meaning.
Just as suddenly as it began, the sensation ended. The world snapped back into focus, and I found myself standing in an entirely different place.
Before us loomed the stone monolith of the ceremony site, an imposing structure that curved upwards in impossible arcs and shapes, defying the very laws of nature. It looked as if it had been shaped by human hands, yet its form was too unnatural, too alien. The surface of the stone was stained with dried blood, the dark, crusted trails winding down the edges like veins. It looked ancient, as though it had stood for centuries, perhaps even longer, bearing witness to countless rituals and sacrifices.
The stone itself wasn’t of any ordinary color. It was like granite, yet darker, almost as if it absorbed the light rather than reflected it. Up close, the monolith's surface revealed a grainy texture, dotted with small, white specks that seemed to pulse faintly with an inner light. The stone was cold to the touch. It almost felt... alive.
Almost immediately a headache formed. Putting a hand to my head it sharpened before spiraling throughout the rest of my body, “Fuck...” I groaned, “What’s happening?”
Dolion’s grip on my wrist tightened as he pulled me closer, his voice low, “It’s the curse, my dear... It’s trying to stop you from destroying it.” Whilst speaking he knelt down and began tracing a circle on the ground with his bloodied finger. The shape he drew was grotesque, resembling a distorted face, its lines uneven and jagged.
The symbol began to glow, a deep crimson light pulsing from within the earth. The air filled with a stench I couldn’t quite catch. Then, with a sudden flash, a body appeared within the circle, lying motionless but stirring.
“Wh-what...?” I grunted, the pain still coursing through my veins. The sight before me was bewildering, and my mind struggled to make sense of it.
Dolion, however, wasted no time. He unsheathed a dagger with a swift motion, thrusting it into my hand. His eyes bore into mine, “Kill her,” he commanded, “It’s the only way.”
I hesitated, my breath catching in my throat as I looked down at the figure on the ground. That frightened me more than anything.
It was a woman, her long brown hair cascading down like fine silk. Her face was familiar, middle-aged yet strikingly beautiful, with a soft button nose and gentle features. She was the woman from my dreams—the one who had held my hand, the one Vesperus had torn away, the one whose father was beaten to death.
The pain that had gripped me moments before began to diminish, as if the curse was relinquishing its hold, sensing my hesitation. “Who is this?” I whispered frantically.
“Your mother...” Dolion responded, his tone blunt.
Of course. My mother. The realization clicked into place, one I should have realized much sooner. “And... you want me to kill her?” My voice quivered.
Dolion’s expression remained resolute, his grip on my shoulder tightening. “Alaric, my dear, it’s the only way,” he insisted, “You barely know her. To break the curse, you must kill one of your own blood. It’s a blood curse.”
“I...” The dagger hovered above the woman’s stomach, my hand trembling, I tried to push away the gnawing doubt. He was right, I supposed. I didn’t know her—how could I? They took her away, ripped my true family from me before I even had a chance to know them. But still, something inside me hesitated at the thought of ending her life. “I... I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Alaric... you must,” Dolion urged, “Odessa’s life depends on it, my dear. Remember how you felt when Rufaek and the others took her? The anger, the helplessness.”
“Yes... but...” My voice trailed off.
“Alaric?” Dolion’s voice sharpened, almost impatient sounding. 46Please respect copyright.PENANA0DTEWs1sgk
With a slow, low tone, I finally spoke again, “How did you know about Rufaek?” My heart began to pound, faster and faster, as I fixed my gaze on Dolion, “I never told you about that.”
“Alaric—” He started to speak, but I cut him off.
“And... and this woman...” I glanced down at the motionless figure, my mind racing. “How did you get her here?” As I stepped backward, Dolion’s eyes followed me, but he didn’t respond. “Alon used the same magic as you... the same speech...” The realization hit me hard, “Fuck...” I spat, “How did I not realize?”
“You’re only human,” Dolion said simply—or rather, Vesperus said simply. In a moment his body molted away and distorted like that of a snake shedding its skin. Before me stood Vesperus—the dark sorcerer who had supposedly cursed me. Yet, despite the marks etched into his flesh, he still somehow felt and looked so young.
“So... so what is this?” I demanded, pointing to the lifeless body while holding the dagger upright in my other hand. “Murder for the sake of murder?”
Vesperus shook his head slowly, a patronizing smile creeping across his face. “Everything has a reason, Alaric. Even in this reasonless world.” His eyes flickered away from me and settled on the looming monument behind us. “To complete the curse, you needed to sacrifice one of your own blood... but you were too weak to do that.”
I swallowed hard, taking another step back, “Why the fuck would I ever do that?”
“Because...” Vesperus snarled, “I sent you out there with Odessa to harden you. To make you accustomed to killing. Yet, as humans tend to do, you broke easily.” His voice dripped with contempt as he drew more blood from his hand, tracing another symbol that hung suspended in the air between us. The air around us began to plunge, darkness enveloping everything. The world vanished, leaving only the two of us—trapped, isolated in a void.
“In order to complete the curse,” Vesperus continued, his voice echoing in the blackness, “you needed to sacrifice one of your own... as a blood offering. But I couldn’t force you to do it... no, it had to be your will.”
“So...” I let out a bitter, mocking laugh, trying to seem more confident than I was, “You were driven by some spark of hope that I’d actually follow through?”
Vesperus’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, the flicker of a more profound anger passed across his face. “Hope? No, Alaric, not hope. I was driven by certainty. Humans are predictable in their weakness. I knew you’d falter. But in that faltering, you would prove something far more valuable than obedience—your true nature.”
Vesperus thrust his hand into the air, and suddenly, the darkness began to shift and warp around us. A scene materialized, piece by piece, until it solidified into a memory—Rufaek and me in that basement. Seeing myself like that, from an outside perspective, felt so surreal.
“You killed him in cold blood,” Vesperus’s voice rang out, “Oh yes, he knew what was coming, but the man himself wasn’t responsible for what they did to her... yet you murdered him anyway, leaving his people to fend for themselves.”
He lowered his hand, and as quickly as it had appeared, the scene disintegrated back into the void right as I stabbed Rufaek. “You are a killer, my dear friend,” he continued, “You would have driven that dagger right into your mother’s stomach without a second thought—if only you hadn’t hesitated.”
“That’s not true,” I said through gritted teeth, “I’ll fucking—”
“Kill me?” Vesperus laughed, a harsh, disdainful sound. “All you humans are the same... filthy little insects that plague this beautiful, innocent world. Not fit to roam the very land you tread upon.”
Human? He claimed to be, but at this point, he was something far more monstrous, unworthy of the term. “So, what’s your plan?” I muttered, trying to steady my voice, “Finish the curse... and then what? What does it actually do?”
“Not everything I spoke of was a lie. You’re a conduit of power. There’s blood rushing through your veins filled with such... succulent, immense energy, that you yourself do not have the conviction to use.”
Holding his hand forward, a blade materialized in his grasp. The weapon was a grotesque fusion of metal and flesh—purple with lavender veins, its surface undulating as though alive.
“You like it, my dear?” Vesperus purred, his tongue trailing up the length of the blade, leaving strings of saliva in its wake. “Mmm... her name is Fastidire.” He tilted his head. “There is another like you... a Masavoran of the same bloodline... harder to reach. But since you failed me, she’ll have to do.”
Vesperus took a breathless, deliberate step closer, his gaze locking onto me. “You’re no good now... like spoiled meat... I wonder what you taste like?”
I tried to move, to escape, but an invisible force held me fast. Vesperus’s smile widened as he watched me struggle, enjoying my desperation.
Now only inches away, he slid the blade against my forearm. The sudden, sharp pain made me cry out pathetically. He pulled my arm toward him, his lips parting as he tasted the blood that flowed from the wound.
“Bitter... contaminated...” he murmured. The sorcerer reeled back, his face smeared with my blood, “I would kill you but... that doesn’t seem like fun... does it?”
“Fuck... you...” Was all I could say yet that too came out as a whimper. Everything was happening so fast, my whole plan crashing so hard. Dolion... a facade. The curse... unbreakable. My life-- almost over.
“T-t-t...” He clicked his tongue, “A duel it is.” Leaping backwards, the void around us shattered like glass, fragments of darkness falling away as the forest and monument materialized once more. The sudden change was disorienting, my senses scrambling to catch up with the shift.
With a swift gesture, Vesperus conjured two swords from his blood, the weapons materializing with a sickening splatter. They clattered to the ground between us, their edges gleaming ominously in the dim light.
“I’ll make it fair,” he declared, “No tricks, no magic. Just a bit of fun.” His smile was twisted, sickening almost.
Without a word, I lunged for the sword, my fingers curling tightly around the intricately designed handle, and heaving it into the air. I wouldn’t go down without a goddamn fight. Even if he killed me, I’d make sure to get a fucking hit in.
From the way Vesperus held himself, it was clear he was no seasoned fighter. His stance was awkward, his feet placed unevenly, and his grip on the sword looked unfamiliar. It made sense—after all, someone who relied heavily on magic probably wouldn’t need to hone their skills in combat.
The fight felt endless, a cruel dance of survival and agony. Vesperus's demeanor remained unnervingly calm, as if this battle was just another game to him. Despite the weight of my fear, it was also my driving force—fear of being overpowered, fear of dying at his hands.
With a sudden burst of movement, Vesperus lunged at me, his blade clashing against mine with a jarring impact that sent shockwaves up my arms. I managed to deflect the blow, but the pain in my wrists was sharp and unrelenting. The force of his attack sent him sprawling past me, and I quickly spun around to face him. His next move came as a swipe aimed at my waist, which I barely managed to block.
"Exhilarating, no?" His voice was taunting, and his eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure.
I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reply. My focus remained sharp, every muscle in my body straining as I braced for his next attack. Fear drove me, a primal instinct that kept me alert and fighting. It was all I had left.
Suddenly, Vesperus charged again, this time aiming for my feet. I stepped back, only to realize too late that it was a feint. With a swift, deceptive maneuver, he grabbed my wrist and shoved me roughly to the ground. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs and sent my sword skidding out of reach.
Hovering above me, Vesperus kept my legs pinned to the ground. His sword now above my throat as he tilted his head with a cruel, mocking gaze. “Disappointing, but... you are only a boy after all,” he taunted. The sorcerer raised the sword high, ready to deliver the fatal blow.
In that instant, something unexpected happened. The curse, which had caused so much suffering, seemed to finally act in my favor. It turned against Vesperus, the same force that had once caused me so much pain now working against him. The familiar energy, which had intervened before in Heladon, the Faust Estate, and the Forest, surged with a violent intensity.
A wave of force erupted from me almost invisible in appearance. Vesperus was thrown, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud. Seizing this rare opportunity, I scrambled towards my sword, my movements clumsy from exhaustion. I struggled to my feet, each step heavy.
“Hah... ugh...” Vesperus’s smile persisted even as he lay sprawled on the ground. His gaze, though weak as if the blast drained him, still held satisfaction. “He’s not the one, Belzarok. Let me kill him.”
“Belzarok?” I panted, “Who the fuck is Belzarok?”
Vesperus didn’t answer. Instead, he attempted to draw more blood from his finger, his movements sluggish. But he was too slow. I slashed downward. The sword cut through his throat with a sickening, squelching sound. Blood erupted in a violent spray, and Vesperus’s body convulsed violently, his eyes glowing with a dark purple.
As his body went limp, my rage was far from ended. I needed more—more than just his death to feel any semblance of justice. I raised the sword high above me and brought it down with brutal force, driving the blade into his face. I pushed through the resistance of his skull, the steel cutting deeper, cracking disgustingly.
“You took...” I growled through gritted teeth, pulling the sword out with vigor. I placed my foot on his chest, using it as leverage. “My life...” I plunged the blade down again, slicing through his eyes. “You took everything I could have been...” His face, now a grotesque mask of blood and gore, still did not satisfy.
Growling lowly, I threw the sword aside, its clang barely registering in my mind. I sank to my knees, fists clenched. Without hesitation, I began slamming my fists into his face, over and over. His blood, black and foul-smelling, stained my hands and dripped onto the ground. The scent of decay.
Minutes dragged on as I pounded away, my arms growing heavy and my energy waning. Finally, I collapsed from sheer exhaustion, sprawling on the ground next to Vesperus’s mutilated corpse. My chest heaved with heavy breaths. I had done it. The curse was over. Vesperus was dead, and with him, the torment that had haunted me for so long.
What a fool I was.
ns 15.158.61.8da2