[Prompt: Noel killing Hope with a cruel twist. Implied Caius/Yeul; Noel/Yeul; Established Noel/Hope]
This was naught but the beginning of his own eternal nightmare, when it seemed like his dream had finally begun. Caius never left Noel's heart even long after their fight, he lingered, he waited, and plotted the worst way to make sure he was to suffer and take his place.
So he had to do the one thing to drive him to the brink of desperation; He had to blow out the one light in his life, his precious Director Estheim, the so called reason for existing. But he himself couldn't do it, because the other knew not to attack him. He had to make sure he was overcome by emotion, no rational thought to weigh himself down with.
He had to make Noel do it himself, and how easily it went, all according to plan one could even say.
—-
He'd let his guard down much too easily since he'd started to live with Hope, he didn't need to worry about threats he'd come oh so very accustomed to back home, especially the very one making him do as he was now. His body was betraying him in every way, shape and form. His mind was there but it had no influence in the actions it dare make anymore. Something much more evil, something far more malevolent had taken over, and it had such a familiar name; his former mentor turned enemy. What had he done to deserve such a horrific treatment now? He'd simply decided to live in peace, after trying to fix the mistakes of the past. Guess that was not in the grand scheme of things this time around. He could only try and convince the other to stop this madness. "Caius, please stop this, I'm begging you to, leave him out of this! If your issue still lies with me, then fight me, torture me until I breathe my last breath and my lungs feel like they've been scrubbed out with a brush made of ir-" he was silenced with a snap of his own physical fingers. There was no reasoning with him, why? Why when it seemed that his words were getting to him back then? What changed…? And why, oh goddess why, did Hope have to be sacrificed in the end? So many questions, and they only had one answer, one he himself would never learn. He could only watch, mouth-metaphorically speaking- agape at the atrocity about to be committed by this wolf in sheep's clothing. An act the hunter had executed a thousand times, he'd made his fiancé a mug of his favorite tea, but now, instead of having a pinch of sugar, his hands poured a tasteless demon, a familiar poison he used to bait traps for animals. Now it was to be his love's last drink. Something in him had to give, just the slightest waiver in the somewhat absolute control over him, something to be a warning signal…But try as he might, nothing. He felt like a caged canary, picking at adamantite bars. A completely futile effort indeed. But he could one more time, just a bit of reason…he prayed. But the words wouldn't come out. He was being muzzled now, forced to watch this spectacle with a front row seat. "Good morning Noel…Did you sleep well after last night? Thankyou again for doing such a thing for me…I hadn't celebrated my birthday like that since I was a child!" Hope beamed, flashing a bright smile at him. The smile was returned, but it lacked something, he just couldn't see it then. That was his first warning. "Are you okay my love? You seem rather, sad today…Is there something I said or something I did..?" Brown locks would shake softly, before he spoke.
"I'm a little tired is all, I didn't sleep much, I was busy marveling at your beauty all night." he gave a characteristic smirk, and the director returned it with a familiar blush, and a playful shove.
"You flatter me too much, do you know that? And you made me my favorite tea on top of it all…You're much too perfect for words Noel, really." He smiled taking the hot mug from his, humming a happy tune. Noel could only internally scream as the other downed the entire mug of liquid, not even noticing. "That was unusually bitter Noel, did you leave it in the water for too long…? It tastes a litter stra-" He was cut off, his breathing stopping, well he was choking really. What had been in that tea, and why wasn't Noel doing anything to help…No, something wasn't right about him. He grabbed onto the hunter's shoulder, looking up at him, and seeing the missing piece.
Those weren't Noel's eyes. His eyes were always a vibrant blue. They sparkled when he spoke, they changed with his every emotion. Now they were dull, and blank, and…they glowed red and purple. A malevolent reminder of Noel's past, how it haunted him at times. and now it all came rushing to an apex. He could only glare, all he had the strength to do anymore.
"W-w-what did you do to Noel, why must you keep making him suffer like this…" He spoke between labored breaths, life slowly fading from his body, like water evaporating from a lake. "Leave him be!" He snapped up his head, growling at the other.
"He's gotten in the way of things for much too long. This will be his penance for the sins committed against me." He smirked, trying to push the other off.
"What did he do to you? All he ever did was look up to you like a father, and then you betrayed him…."
"He got in the way of my being with Yeul. She wanted him as her guardian, instead of I. The only way I could please her is this way…I need to ensure her happiness, and this boy is the key. It's a shame you had to get involved…" He shook his head softly, feigning pity in his eyes, as he laid the director down on the floor.
"I…I don't see…How this involves me in the least…" He struggled to speak, vision getting hazy, unable to keep his eyes open fully. "Give him back…" He spoke in barely in a whisper at this point.
"I'm sorry but I have my own priorities. Your will is of no consequence to me." He rolled his eyes, pulling out a small silver knife, the very knife Noel had been given by Hope a couple days ago. He pressed it up against Hope's throat, not breaking the skin just yet. "I hope you rest well director…" He glared, before quickly sliding it across his pale skin, ripping through muscles and blood vessels, slitting the man's throat without a single thought. The actual Noel on the other hand…Was broken. He felt, so to speak, numb. Hope had just been killed, and it was his fault. There was no saving him this time, no paradox to be resolved…He was gone. A look of pure horror forever frozen in his handsome features, splattered with his own crimson life. He felt sick. And worst of all-
-He felt dead, as dead as his love on the floor.