"Erik!"

"Erik are you there!"

Nadir had been scanning the catacombs for hours, desperate to reach the lair of his cousin. But with one lantern and a darkness that coated the very air that he breathed, finding the lake proved harder than normal. Suddenly the air began to cool and Nadir felt a damp wind hit his face, he was close now. Upon reaching the bank of the lake he focused on the small light coming from inside the lair. The mob had been gone for a few hours, Christine had fled and he feared the worst for Erik.

Erik's boat had been sunk, it's oars floating on the surface, he knew that there was another way into the lair, though the ceiling and down through the bedrooms, but he was not willing to risk that wrath of the broken man across the lake.

"Erik, its Nadir" he yelled "Are you there!"

He received no answer.

Nadir knew daring to swim in the lake was a risky business. He remembered the time when he crossed the lake on the boat and Eriks siren nearly drowned him. She was a loyal mistress and he a merciless master. If he had not yelled and Erik had not recognised his voice, he would have become another relic at the bottom of the lake.

He was left with no choice, discarding his cloak and fedora, he stepped tentatively into the icy black waters. After walking in until the water reached his waist, he knew he had to swim the rest. With fast and strong strokes, he was quickly on the other side of the bank, and shook with the cold. Tipping the water from his shoes he suddenly heard one long note from the organ ring off the walls, as it died another followed it and then another, before, long and heartbreaking bars of music filled the air. The phantom was escaping his pain, in the only way he knew how.

Nadir stepped with caution as he knew to disturb Erik whilst he was composing was a death sentence. Reaching the parlour, Naidr saw his cousin. His whole body moving with the music whilst being racked with sobs. His fingers danced upon the keys and he let his pain play through a broken song.

Taking a deep breath Nadir tried to speak over the music. "Erik" he called waiting for no response.

At once the music ceased and Nadir watched Erik turn to face him as the last note fell and died.

Nadir had expected anger but instead he was met with the embodiment of heartbreak and despair. Tears hung from his cheeks and his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.

Taking a deep breath he muttered "Cousin...I am dying"

"Erik, you are not dying, you have been hurt, but you are not dying" Nadir replied

"No!, you don't understand… I am dying of love...love Cousin" Erik exclaimed clutching his chest with his hands

"She is gone from here?" Nadir asked

"Yes" came a broken reply "I let her leave"

"With the Changy boy?" asked Nadir

"Yes... I had no other choice" he replied wiping the tears that clung to his swollen lip

"Does she not love you!" exclaimed Nadir

"She does not, but I love her...and because I love her, I let her go" Erik replied

"What made you let her go, I knew your plan Erik, you were going to leave here with her, whether she wanted it or not" said Nadir leaning against the door frame

"She kissed me" Erik breathed as if he was in a dreamlike state, still imaging her lips on his.

"Erik-" Nadir began

"Did you hear what I said!" he exclaimed "she kissed me, the Angel kissed me, and I cried and so did she… Did you hear me Nadir, the Angel cried!"

Nadir stood in stunned silence and let his cousin continue to describe the first human compassion he had ever known.

"It was that kiss" he sobbed "it was that kiss that ended everything… Then I knew I couldn't kill that wretched boy"

Erik put his hand over his heart, as if the pain he felt was physical. "I watched her leave with him, the Angel has been raised from this hell and is now free to walk amongst her own…"

"She is lost to me… My Angel is lost to me"

"She may come back Erik" reminded Nadir

Erik shook his head "No she will never return to me… After she kissed me, I fell to the ground and begged her forgiveness, I wept on her hands, those tiny little hands...I confessed my cheat and she...she…"

"Erik?" asked Nadir

Erik placed his hand over his deformities "she touched my face Nadir, she held it in her tiny hands and kissed me again and that's when I knew I loved her… I let her go and with her she took my heart and my soul".