Shadows of A Lonely Man: Chapter 9 - Cruelty

"Well..what happened after that?" She asked

Vincent looked at her his eyes grew colder (if that could happen) she could see he was trying to remember, the thoughts of a pained mind trying to open up locked thoughts that were cast away many years ago. She tilted her head a little and and smiled sweetly at him.

"Hey..take all the time you need, "

Vinent nodded



When he awoke the pain was gone and replaced by an awful feeling of guilt, he knew by now that Lucrecia was surely dead and it was his fault. He swallowed and realised he couldn't see anything, at first he thought he was blind but came tor ealise as his eyes grew accustomed to it that he was in a very dark room. A small buzzing zipped through the air and then a light above him flickered once and then came on almost blinding him once more. It was when he tried to cover his eyes that he realised he was strapped down and unable to move. He heard a door open then shut, the shuffling of feet and then a small cackle. It was Hojo.

"Ah.Mr. Valentine comfy?"

He laughed again and Vincent struggled then the pain from his chest shot through him again and he gave a grunt.

"Now now..don't move like that, I have numbed your chest with an anesthetic but im afraid it tends to hurt if you try and move, its my own concoction"

Vincent growled and looked around, he couldn't see the small man anywhere but he knew he was around, he could hear him rumaging through some metal objects started to wonder what was going to happen. Another door opened and then closed and hojo's voice sounded once more.

"What do YOU want?"

The second voice was heard but he couldn't hear what was being said, it sounded like a low mumbling like he was deliberatly trying to keep his voice down.

"Fine fine!!" said Hojo "Stand over there!"

He heard the second persons footsteps as he passed the table Vincent was lieing on and caught a glimpse of him. He wore a blue uniform and a blue helmet, Vincent figured he was a ShinRa troop. Then Hojos appeared over him holding a small scalpel, he slowly cut away the buttons on Vincents white shirt and it was at that time that Vincent realised his jacket was missing. Hojo opened the shirt and pushed it aside resting the scalpel on his chest and smirked.

"Now im afraid that I havent quite perfected my concoctions yet Mr. Valentine so brace yourself.because this could REALLY hurt"

He picked up the scalpel and lowered it pressing down on his chest with the blade, it cut the skin and bled but it didn't hurt and Vincent looked at Hojo, then the blade pierced even further into his chest and pain slashed through him like a blade and his screams echoed around the room..

"That's all I remember of that incident" Said Vincent.

Ceilia looked horrifiyed, she stared at him for a good 2 minutes and Vincent simply looked at the floor, he coughed once and then looked up at her. His brow furrowed and he shook his head a little, Ceilia realised she was staring and averted to gaze.

"So..what after that?" She asked

"I awoke years later, 28 years to be precicise, I was inside a coffin in a room that looked really dark. There were skulls littered on its shelves and the wooden door barred my escape. I couldn't open it and I couldn't find any other way out. My guilt clouded my judgement, so I decided to rid the world of myself and sleep for eternity to pass my sins."

"Sleep?" Ceilia asked "But why?"

"If I could keep out of the worlds way I could repent in private, Lucrecia.it was my fault, I could be in solitude, this body.the room..it was my damnation"

"Well.what else do you remember?"

"I slept again, Lucrecia came to me in my dreams, my sins attacked me and there was nothing I could do. The world was lifeless to me and me to it but there are some things that cannot be laid to rest."

Ceilia watched him, her eyes moved over him, she could see how dark he was though his skin was pale, it wasn't a skin darkness but more of a personality he seemed icy and cold like he was no longer living as if he were a vampire, but vampire's don't exist.

"I woke again 3 years later.."

"You woke yourself?"

"No, I slept in what I had come to realise was a coffin, a big blue coffin probably a cruel joke by Hojo to mock what I once was. The man that woke me is someone you should remember, I remember it like yesterday. The lid of my coffin spun off and I was faced by a man of about 21, he had Spiky blonde hair and was dressed in one of the old SOLDIER uniforms, he went by the name of Cloud Strife.."