"Rythian, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, I heard that, Zoey. It was probably just something banging against a wall in this wind. Honestly, I'm surprised Blackrock's still standing in this storm,"
"No, there it was again. It sounded like knocking. You should go see who it is,"
"But why can't you go?"
"Because I'm already in bed," Zoey grinned, diving under the covers of their shared bed. "Rythian, if someone's out there, you can't leave them in this storm,"
"Right. I see how it is. You make me go out and get the door while you stay in bed. Really nice, Zoey," Rythian muttered, but he smiled at her so she knew he was kidding. Before he left, he saw something odd glint in her eye. "Zoey, are you alright?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be? Just go check the door, Rythian, stop trying to get out of it. Don't worry, I'm sure everything's going to be alright," She teased.
He had no choice but to slip out the door and down the hall. The storm was raging above him, and from the top floor, the rain was so loud overhead that he was surprised he could hear himself think.
Once he was at the bottom floor, the knocking sounded again, and more insistent this time. He was surprised anyone could even stand to be outside in such weather. What was even more surprising, however, was the person standing at the door. Or rather, lack thereof. There was no one to be seen anywhere near the castle, but Rythian stuck his head outside the door to check anyways. Caught on the corner of the castle was a large branch from a nearby tree. After a moment, the wind swung it into where the door would have been, had Rythian not been standing there.
While the door was open, the rain slicked the floor in the doorway, and the wind blew out every single torch in the hall. It was almost pitch black when Rythian pulled his head back inside. He swung the door closed and turned around, taking in what little he could still see in the hall. Just before the door shut completely, a blot of lightning illuminated the area. Rythian screamed and flailed his arms, his feet slipping on the wet ground. He landed hard on his back, staring in terror up at . . .
Nothing. There was nothing there. Rythian managed a weak chuckle as he lay there. He could have sworn he had seen a flash of red in the brief glow of the lightning. That was stupid, though, and Rythian struggled to sit up in the puddle that he lay in. The puddle that was oddly sticky and warm, with a strange smell.
No, no, he wasn't about to scare himself with made up tales of monsters. The only real monster in the area lived far away, and was probably heading to bed, just as Rythian should have been doing. He stood and wiped his hands on his pants, making his way back to the stairs in the inky blackness. He climbed slowly; his feet were still wet from the water (he reminded himself it had to have been water, anything else was impossible) downstairs. His chest was also starting to ache as if he had been burned, and he was having trouble standing on his right leg. Rythian decided he must have just landed wrong when he fell, and continued.
A sudden scream made Rythian's heart skip a beat. "What are you doing? No, stop, don't hurt me! No!" Zoey sobbed. An ear-piercing scream followed soon after, but Rythian was already running. He took the stairs two at a time, saving Zoey the only thing on him mind. He burst into their bedroom, and nearly threw up.
Zoey lay in the bed, covers pulled hastily over her. Shaking, Rythian walked up and pulled back the covers. A massive sword wound had torn her shirt in two, blood still dripping from the edges. Her eyes were open, but glazed over, devoid of the bright shine that she had never been without. Rythian raised a hand and drew her eyelids closed, acting more out of respect than any real wish to accept what had happened.
It was only then that Rythian noticed the blood trail leading out of the room. He took one of the only lit torches from the wall and followed the trail back down the hall, eventually leading to the stairs. Rythian could not help but notice that there seemed to be a spot of blood on each step Zoey had been dragged over. When he finally reached the bottom, the trail led to a pool at the door. A closer inspection with the torch showed Rythian that the puddle was not rain, but blood. His clothes were stained red from lying in the blood after his fall earlier, and the trail picked up again after the puddle, leading out the door. Rythian dropped his torch before walking outside, and saw that while the rain had washed away any blood that might have once been seen, there were lines in the dirt where Zoey had been dragged.
At this point, the cold shock of what had happened had worn off, and was replaced with burning anger. Lalna had to have done this. Rythian had no doubt as to what had happened; Lalna had killed Zoey, and Rythian had tried to drag her back to Blackrock to save her. It was strange, however, that Rythian had no solid memories of this happening. He was able to piece certain memories together- he and Zoey leaving to go fight after Lalna had called them out- but after that, there was just blackness.
No, that was not true. Rythian could remember in all-too-vivid detail Zoey falling to the ground, but he chose to ignore that.
Rythian walked back to Lalna's castle. If there had not been so much wind, he would have used his flying ring, but he did not want to take any risks. He made the slow trek, trying to piece together what had happened. He had not come any closer to the truth by the time he arrived at the end of the trail.
He could not believe what he was seeing. He tried to come up with some explanation, any other explanation for what was in front of him, but there was no denying Lalna's body lying lifeless on the ground.
Rythian was so sure it could not get worse. He was so sure the most terrible part was over. As he gazed at Lalna's corpse, all his memories of what had truly happened hit him like a brick.
"What to do now, Rythian? I've got the better armor, I've got the upper hand, I've got everything," Lalna grinned. Rythian subtly looked around for Zoey, who had taken a different route to the castle and was currently standing five feet behind Lalna. "And would you look at that, Rythian," Lalna sneered. He darted backwards, grabbing Zoey by the waist and throat and holding her in front of himself. "Now I've got your girlfriend,"
Seeing Zoey in the hands of someone like Lalna did something to Rythian. He felt something within him snap, and before he knew what had happened, his consciousness was pushed to the back of his skull. He could only watch while his Ender side hijacked the controls. Pulling out a red mater katar that now crackled and sparked with Ender energy, Rythian charged. Lalna hadn't been expecting Rythian to charge into battle, and did not have time to dodge the sword. Unfortunately, that meant he didn't have time to move Zoey out of the way, either.
"What are you doing? No, stop, don't hurt me! No!" Zoey sobbed. An ear-piercing scream followed soon after, but Rythian was already moving on. Lalna couldn't comprehend what he had just witnessed. Rythian had struck Zoey down without a second thought, simply because she was in the way of himself. Now that he was defenseless, Lalna had another moment to live. Rythian brought the sword across Lalna's neck almost entirely severing it from his body. He was dead on the spot.
After Lalna was dead, the Ender side released Rythian. He collapsed next to Zoey, who was staring up at the sky. Her eyes focused once Rythian drew nearer, but she was too weak to even turn her head and look at him.
"Zoey, I- I didn't mean to-" Rythian sobbed. His voice hitched, and he stared down at her.
She smiled. Her breathing was labored and shallow, but she managed to speak once more. "You did this. Rythian, stop trying to get out of it. Don't worry, I'm sure everything's going to be alright," She breathed before her eyes closed halfway and glazed over.
Rythian couldn't take it. He lay there for too long, until thunder cracked and rain started to pour. "Everything's going to be alright," He whispered, taking her arms and dragging her with him. "Everything's going to be alright. Everything's going to be alright," He chanted this to himself as he drug her body back to the castle. At the doorway, he had to stop and rest for a bit, but he managed to make it all the way up to the bedroom and lay her in the bed, drawing the covers gently up over her.
He lay there on the ground next to her a bit longer, before he heard a knock at the door. He paused a moment before answering a voice only he could hear, "Yeah, I heard that, Zoey. It was probably just something banging against a wall in this wind." Another pause while he listened. "But why can't you go?" He glanced up at the bed, where she lay under the covers. "Right. I see how it is. You make me go out and get the door while you stay in bed. Really nice, Zoey,"
Rythian sunk to his knees in front of Lalna's body. The whole horrid truth had come to meet him, and meet him it did. He wailed into the wind, a wordless, primal howl, one of wounded love and decimated sanity. He lay there for too long before sitting up again.
Lalna's body? What was that doing there? Rythian checked himself for injuries and found himself covered in blood. Zoey would have to hear about this, and soon. He looked down and noticed a ditch dug in the ground, as if someone had been dragging something heavy. For some reason, this made him incredibly, almost unbearably sad, but the emotion passed quickly. He started on his way back to Blackrock. The whole way there, one sentence rang throughout his head.
"Don't worry, I'm sure everything's going to be alright,"