CloudWings is back. In this version, it's a race of time between Pandora and the Baskervilles to finding the fifth door. An all out war where there are more lives lost than survivors.

I was at a point where I didn't give a damn anymore.

All of a sudden, years of fatigue washed over me. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. If Sharon or Reim were here, they would call me an idiot for giving up on life. But they didn't understand. No one did. I have lived too long, greater than humans were capable of. The strain of the decades made me fee like my age.

I leaned against the stone wall, its cold surface sending a shiver up my spine. But it proved that I was still alive and that's all that mattered. My gaze rested upon the grand doors in front of me, waiting patiently for the angels of death to arrive. I knew my prolonged death would swiftly be delivered. I smiled, soon I would escape this mad world.

My mind wandered to the events that happened mere minutes ago.

I was running down the halls with Oz and his chain. Raven was behind me. He was bringing up our group from the rear, gun in hand for anything that may lurk in the shadows.

We saw the great wooden doors that would lead to the fifth door. Alice swiftly opened them with a rather forceful kick I might add. The doors opened showing another hallway lit with torches. Suddenly, my chest ached. I slumped against the wall in order to try to calm my beating heart.

The others noticed my movements and I inwardly cursed my weakness. Before any of them spoke, I forced myself to open my mouth.

"I'll hold them off."

The trio looked at me like I finally lost what was left of my sanity. Raven's voice cut through the awkward silence.

"No, we need you for whatever is down that hallway."

I shook my head. We both knew why I wanted to stay behind. Raven told Oz and Alice to go ahead to the fifth gate before the Baskervilles showed up. They nodded reluctantly before dashing down the dimly lit passage.

"They're coming you know. We all won't make it if there isn't someone who won't hold them off."

Gilbert's eyes hardened with this fact. He knew it too and in his mind, his top priority was to keep his master safe. He cursed and nodded, knowing what I said was true.

"Break... Just be safe okay?"

I smiled my signature smile that labeled me as a creep and spoke in a cheerful voice.

"What is this? Is Gil-chan going to be lonely with her nee-chan?"

He blushed and just stomped angrily away from me. Before he left, he said something that would keep me going for the rest of my dwindling life.

"Hmph, Break! Come back alive so I can shoot you full of holes..."

My eyes widened at those words. I understood the hidden meaning laced between his words. I knew that I wasn't going to come back yet I felt like I should at least say,

"Of course my cute Gil-chan. Hurry up and catch up to Oz-kun now."

He paused and out eyes met, a tacit understanding passed between us. He left, sprinting down the halls with his black cape billowing behind him like a walking shadow.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind. There was no use dwelling in the past. My gaze once again rested on the wooden doors that I closed in a futile attempt to slow down the Baskervilles. Through all my experience of battles, I knew how seconds can end up saving your life or ending another.

They say when you're about to die, you relive your whole life. But I just felt empty, a hollow shell as I felt my time was ticking away.

I didn't know how long I stood there lost in the abyss of my own mind. Maybe the Mad-Hatter finally corrupted my mind to the point of no return. No matter, I would soon perish.

I never knew how death could make everything else seemingly disappear. I always fought for survival, to kill or to be killed was my motto. My body seemed so heavy yet my mind was light, free of what this dreadful life didn't have to offer.

Insanity, it was the thing that let me stay sane in this world. Ironic isn't it?

My chest tightened and I gasped. I staggered and shut my eyes, holding back the pain that was shaking my entire being. With clumsy hands, I unbuttoned my white shirt, revealing my seal. I saw the ugly scar of my mistakes and sins, reminding me how tainted I was.

At that moment, I started to shake. What was happening? My body was shivering but I wasn't cold. My heart began to race and my mind was void of the empty peace from before. Then I realized what was happening. I was afraid. I was afraid of death.

I was a man who has faced death straight in the eyes and merely shrugged it off. But I knew, that I would somehow survive. I looked at my open hand, noticing that it was jolting with apprehension and terror. I closed my hand into a tight fist, my skin turned into a shade paler than white.

Too late...

Those were my first thoughts as I heard echoes of footsteps down the hall. I swallowed down my fear and stood. If I were going to die, I wouldn't without a fight.

I smirked, that's how Xerxes Break does things. The footsteps were getting closer. I took my cane and unsheathed the blade hidden within. I saw my reflection, a hollow man who looks like he needs to spend some time in the sun.

There were voices now, the angels will be here swiftly. I did something I never did in the eighty or so years I've been alive. I prayed. Not for my life, I prayed for the others that would be left behind in this pathetic world.

I prayed that Sharon won't be lonely when I was gone. Or that Shelly-san stay healthy without someone to boss around. Even for Reim to not shed tears over this fool. I sent my blessings to Gilbert and his group and that everything will be alright.

All my life, I knew that good won't prevail like those fairy tales. But, just once, maybe...

I can hope that god will have mercy on our souls.

What did you people think? Love Break as a character and this was just epic to write.