"I trusted you..."
The voice was distorted, quiet, just above a whisper. In a normal place, it wouldn't be audible. But in the silence that he lay in, it was like a scream. It was a woman yelling for her children to come back. It was a dog being attacked by a boar from the wilderness. It was a man whose wife was killing him.
It was a son who had to watch his parents kill each other. It was a son who watched his father crumble to the floor.
"You knew better, you liar. I trusted you... we all did..."
Harsh. Cold. Unforgiving.
Like everything he heard lately.
"I know what you're doing. I know you're trying to say that this is right. We both know you're lying to yourself."
Not true, he thought, like he did every time he heard the same thought. Not always the same voice, but always the same words. Always the same meaning. Always the same emotions. Hate. Accusatory. Disappointment. Always someone he knew.
He wished he hadn't talked to so many people. Even the old women he would run into in the street did their share.
"You're a liar. A traitor. A coward. You're weak. You don't deserve to live."
It wasn't worth trying to convince himself it wasn't true. He'd tried. It never worked. Might as well not drag it on forever.
"Wake up, Dameon. We're still watching you. Never forget us. We wait for you to die."
He sat up on the palette that was torture every night. Didn't scream anymore, it wasn't worth it. Didn't cry anymore, it did nothing. Still reacted, but not outwardly.
And then he was faced with the cold glare of Ahriman as he smiled. "Don't worry about the regret. It'll go away as soon as this is started." And then, "It always does. Pretty soon you'll run out people to drive you. Happens every time."
Liar.
What. The. Heck. I don't even like Dameon.