Micheal tore through the open, rolling hills in a frenzy. He had to find somewhere, ANYWHERE. Somewhere he could get rid of Shrignold once and for all! He wasn't sure if he was still in his head watching or away some place, but he didn't care. He was in control, and that was all that mattered. The panic mixed with spite that stirred in his chest felt all too similar to him though, so even when he was gone, he was reminded of him. He he he he, too many annoying pronouns, was what he thought at that moment.

A metallic, mechanic drilling rang through the air, coming from far to the left of Micheal. He turned his head and spotted something tall and gray off in the distance, surrounded by rocks and cliffs. Hmm... maybe...

The sky grew cloudy and gray as he walked closer to the sound. Rain dropped down in sprinkles, then showers as the strange structure drew closer. Micheal was cold.

Shrignold watched in anticipation. Oh, YES this was perfect! This silly little child thought he could use his own tricks against him. And now he was leading him right to the perfect trap. He'd have his body back in no time. He resisted the urge to laugh and expose his existence.

Micheal cleared over one final hill and gazed down into the rocky valley. An abandoned construction site revealed itself to him, with creaking, rusty metal stacked high into the sky and craggily, sharp piles of rock coating the ground below. Micheal's head suddenly filled with the sound of a deep bellowing moan as one of the piles of rebar rolled off a ledge from the force of the rain and hurtled towards the ground, stabbing right into it. Metal skewered the ground like a kebob and the child uneasily removed his hands from his ears. Micheal whimpered before shaking his head and looking for a good spot to lay his trap.

The ran buffeted the butterfly as the two of them crawled down and around the valley. Lightning crackled in the air. He had to wonder how it had come to storm so heavily in just a few minutes. Or had he just lost his sense of time in all the chaos? Neither option seemed too agreeable.

Shrignold waited for them to descend into the pit and reach the construction itself. He could more easily gauge the height, and pick the best option to kill the freak off. Micheal hesitated for a moment though. The metallic structure looked so intimidating, piercing the dark, stormy sky. Like a hulking, lanky beast it consumed everything in his vision. It called to him. The child swallowed nervously and stepped onto the concrete foundation.

Shrignold immediately took control of the body's arms and grabbed onto the corner of the scaffolding, ramming the body's skull into the hard metal and knocking Micheal out. He felt himself tumble to the ground and shoved his consciousness into the rest of the body, forcing it awake. Shrignold cracked his neck and hoisted himself onto another piece of the construction. Latching his hands around the skeleton of the building felt like a delicate ballet as he danced higher upwards.

He eased his way to the very top, closer and closer and closer to the sky. He needed the fall to be very long, so he'd have time to escape. The rain pelted his eyes but did him no harm. The wind buffeted his thin body but all it did was make him fight harder. He was too excited to even notice. It'd been so very long since he made a lesser being suffer like this, toying with them. It really was in his nature to pull off a stunt like this. His body began to ache as he neared the peak but he couldn't let go, no matter how broken his fingers got. Yes, he eventually had to acknowledge the bone poking out of one of them. But it was no matter; he would not have to deal with it for long.

The wind and rain pushed and shoved against him as he stared up into the sky, and then back at the ground. The world looked so pathetic from up here. He could barely even see the roughened ground below him. But he didn't have much time to ponder, as just then, Micheal woke up. The kid shoved him out of the control seat and gasped in terror at the height he'd reached while knocked out. He felt a rat gnawing at his stomach and forced his eyes shut. There was no time for fear! He had to get out of here now!

Shrignold groaned in frustration and jolted the legs forward. "You are NOT winning this! A mere child such as yourself cannot defeat the the god of love!"

Micheal shrieked and tried to roll backwards to negate the distance gained. Shrignold twisted the arms so that he only made it halfway back before tripping over himself.

"Why can't you leave me alone?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" Micheal sobbed.

"You don't understand anything." Shrignold hooked his fingers around the edge of the scaffolding and tried to drag the body towards the edge. "This body is mine. It's PERFECT for me. It hasn't been yours in FIVE YEARS. I am a GOD, you do NOT take precedence over me!"

Micheal shoved himself to his feet. "No. NO! I'll get rid of you NOW!" He whipped his head around and spotted a large metal pole balancing on the edge. Shrignold was too in control now, if Micheal knocked himself out, then Shrignold would have no choice but to command the body. And then he'd perish from the fall. Micheal hurtled himself towards the pole but was stopped in his tracks by a tugging sensation around his neck.

It felt as if someone was pulling him backwards with a string tight around his throat.

"STOP- Please STOP STOP I CAN'T BREATHE!" he choked out.

"You're coming with me!" Shrignold replied. The body inched further and further backwards until their feet were just one inch from the edge.

"N- no!" Micheal threw himself forward one final time.

But it wasn't enough.

Shrignold JOLTED himself backwards, sending them toppling over the edge of the construction. The two tumbled and hurtled through the pouring rain as they watched the sky shrink in their view.

Shrignold called out for his king. He felt Malcolm's arms curl around his being; his being that didn't exist. He was enveloped by a cold, crumbling sensation as he returned to his king's mind. And then he fell silent. Quiet and silent in Malcolm's mind without a vessel. Without an existence.

Micheal let out a horrified wail as he felt a scalding feeling wracked his body; Shrignold was gone but-

"NO!"

...

The rain crashed down into a rocky valley. Some humans from a nearby town had started building there. The local inhabitants said it was a bad idea, but they didn't listen.

Unfortunately, that proved correct. The manager of the operation died in a mysterious incident, and all building ceased 6 years ago.

The construction hadn't been touched in ages; people were too scared of it. It felt oppressing, like a curse had settled over the land.

The lightning flashed through the sky, illuminating the darkened valley.

Illuminating the butterfly's corpse.

His spine and skull were shattered, and brain matter, bones, and blood was splattered across the rocks. His arms were twisted and distorted from the impact, and his eyes were pried open in terror.

...

Malcolm sighed and gestured to his court whatever people.

"Go fetch my dear Shrignold's vessel. He's got someone waiting for him in the lobby."