Contains spoilers for Examtaker. (Helltaker DLC)
When she spoke, she didn't whisper, weep, or even tear up. She spoke with such grace and confidence that Justice knew she was being spoken to.
"Do you remember what I said to you?" She softly murmured.
-0-
It's just Loremaster and her thoughts once again. She thought it'd be different this time, but it seems that every time that she decides to leave herself alone with her thoughts, she ends up on the ground with liver failure, an arm torn off, and the other caked with dried blood. (Usually hers.)
It's beginning to form a pattern.
Her thoughts are bad company to keep, she thinks. Not just because every time she's left alone with them, she ends up like this, but that they have nothing to offer her but criticisms. It hurts. It really hurts, to say the least. To look into a mirror and not see a part of yourself that was always there. She thinks she's crying, but she can't feel the tears. She picks herself up, and keeps moving forward.
-0-
"We would be together until the end. We would always take care of each other. If the end came early, we would stand as one. And god forbid, if the end separated us, we would remember the good times, and would keep moving forward."
"But you," She chokes. "-you're still alive."
"You're just sleeping."
"So I'll wait forever."
-0-
"I'm fine. Leave me alone."
Someone takes another cautious step forward.
She grits her teeth, and stops writing.
"I told you, I'm fine. Just leave me alone!"
"Sad experience are sad no matter how many times you experience them… Please don't just ignore it because you're used to it. We're all here to help. "
Her form slackens, and hope blossoms deep within her chest. Her breath catches in her throat with anticipation, and she turns to find-
Nothing.
Nothing but a empty room.
-0-
"As long as you still can breathe, I'll always be there for you . As long as you survive, I'll stand with you. As long as you live, I will never lose hope. For one day, one year or even my entire life."
-0-
Loremaster sits alone on the control deck, watching the final clip of subject 67 passing through her latest trials. When the colossal figure passes through the gate, she thinks she's supposed to feel triumphant or something like that.
She hopes she can convey enough of what she thinks she's supposed to feel through her face alone. It's not an exact science, which irks her greatly. Sometimes she feels so much that none of it really comes out, and her face goes blank. Sometimes she feels nothing at all. This might be one of those times. This is where she defaults to her usually impish grin, smiling and throwing praise upon 67, with a voice that even seems hollow to her, with a body that she has to pretend isn't rotting around her bones.
Subject 67 turns to look at Loremaster, and says nothing.
-0-
"You protected me."
"You can sleep soundly now."
"I will protect you."
-0-
Maybe... finally resting a little wouldn't hurt, now that she finished her goal. She'd be sleeping with the ghosts of the dead – but what else is new?
She's not suicidal. She's not. She's just…. worn out.
Sleep would be nice, but she knows if she goes to sleep now, she won't wake up.
Fuck, Azazel thinks to herself. She's tired. She's really, really tired.
I'm back?