A real fanfic about Eternal Darkness; Anthony POV, from the end of
his chapter to the beginning of Paul's.
Charlemagne... Charlemagne...
I failed you, Charlemagne; I was too slow to act, to fight, and were I able to reach you sooner you might still be alive.. At first I took comfort in knowing that the scroll- God, that accursed scroll!- had worked its devilish curse on me and not you... but in truth I had only prolonged your life by bare hours. If only I could have known, could have learned more... but there was not time. Not enough time, Charlemagne, and all those traps, those secrets, those beastly perversions of men that shambled around, hunting with eyes that could see without seeing... God.. those eyes, piercing me to my very heart...I can still see them, Charlemagne.. I can feel them... I am still here.
They didn't move my body after I collapsed. They just left me there, crumpled before your throne; a pretty pair of spoiled meals, they called us, before they took your body away. And then I was alone; I couldn't move for all the pain. I hurt, from my bones to my very soul, and I could not even open my mouth nor work my voice to beg for mercy... I could not even reach for you. I failed you again, Charlemagne. I couldn't even keep them from further desecrating your poor corpse, and ravaging this little church. The sounds they made- the things that burst from the monks from time to time- they chittered, like rodents, telling each other to take what was valuable and secure the rest; they wanted this place, Charlemagne, they wanted your humble church to use for their own ends. They took everything, and then locked me in here... left me as I lay, one hand on this blasted heavy blade. I could only watch as they stripped this hallowed place of its glory.. if it ever had any.
The demon monks stole all the money from the coffers, even your royal jewels, your Highness! But don't worry.. one of them tripped over me as it carried the chest away, and he let a single ruby fall from it. I still have it, Charlemagne, and no one will take it from me, even after my flesh has rotten off of my miserable bones. I will protect it as though it were your very life, Charlemagne. This red gem is you- your courage, your life, your blood... it is all that you are...all that you could have been. I won't fail you again, Charlemagne! No one will ever take it...
I think we are alone, Charlemagne... I have not heard the shuffling of dead feet in ages, and the lock on the door hasn't clicked. Sometimes, I think I see .. things. Blood, unctuous and dripping down the walls, onto my face, in my thinning, rotting hair... God, have mercy on your foolish sons! Even in this peace and silence I still feel that dread, that urgency, compelling me as though I am still stumbling about this horrid, demon-ridden place, searching for you and trying to save your very life, Charlemagne! How long have we been swallowed by this darkness, this madness? For how long has mankind trodden, knee-deep in this evil yet unable to see it?
Alas... I am still here, Charlemagne, protecting you. Fear not, Charlemagne, I am here.. what I could not do in my life, I will do now, in this wretched, cold half-death. If I could only move, if only the pain would stop... I suppose it does not matter now. The darkness has no time and no age; the sounds on the edges of my mind are far more merciful than the sight of them being made. God.. Did you see those things, Charlemagne? The blood, those sounds, those ghastly men, that thing with many heads and loping, misshapen arms, as a rag doll sewn together by the Devil's own hands....Don't worry... we've not lost our minds. I saw them too...
The door... it opened-- Oh, God, the light, it burns my eyes, what have they come for!?
I see a robe, Charlemagne, a monk! Oh, God, no, not again! What else do you want from us!? I will protect you, Charlemagne!
As I rise, shaking and brittle from the stone, I feel the sword clasped in my hands. The monk is afraid- and he should be. I will not be fooled again! I know what the pretender is, and I strike. My arms are weak, but my body still moves, and my blade is sharp with both the magic I laid upon it so long ago, and the will of God in my hands!
He has magic, this monk; it burns me, skin and soul at once. But I will not fail- I will not fail, vile beast! What have I to fear? Charlemagne will not be forfeit this night.
It is over. I am fallen... God, not again, I've failed my king once more.
I see the face of this man who stands above me- he is saying words, an absolution... A true monk, a real man of warm, beautiful living flesh... I am dying... God, finally, I am coming home to Your sweet mercy... I will escape this husk... My voice won't rasp enough for me to beg to know his name, to wash his feet and kiss his hands in gratitude, to tell my story... but even as my pathetic vision dims I see he knows it all too well. He has the flesh-bound book.
And yet, somehow, my mind is cleared as I realize that the battle is not over, Charlemagne has not been avenged, the world is still in danger...my story has not concluded. I have another calling, to that place where the strangeness began... I still have another chance.
There is still time...
Charlemagne... Charlemagne...
I failed you, Charlemagne; I was too slow to act, to fight, and were I able to reach you sooner you might still be alive.. At first I took comfort in knowing that the scroll- God, that accursed scroll!- had worked its devilish curse on me and not you... but in truth I had only prolonged your life by bare hours. If only I could have known, could have learned more... but there was not time. Not enough time, Charlemagne, and all those traps, those secrets, those beastly perversions of men that shambled around, hunting with eyes that could see without seeing... God.. those eyes, piercing me to my very heart...I can still see them, Charlemagne.. I can feel them... I am still here.
They didn't move my body after I collapsed. They just left me there, crumpled before your throne; a pretty pair of spoiled meals, they called us, before they took your body away. And then I was alone; I couldn't move for all the pain. I hurt, from my bones to my very soul, and I could not even open my mouth nor work my voice to beg for mercy... I could not even reach for you. I failed you again, Charlemagne. I couldn't even keep them from further desecrating your poor corpse, and ravaging this little church. The sounds they made- the things that burst from the monks from time to time- they chittered, like rodents, telling each other to take what was valuable and secure the rest; they wanted this place, Charlemagne, they wanted your humble church to use for their own ends. They took everything, and then locked me in here... left me as I lay, one hand on this blasted heavy blade. I could only watch as they stripped this hallowed place of its glory.. if it ever had any.
The demon monks stole all the money from the coffers, even your royal jewels, your Highness! But don't worry.. one of them tripped over me as it carried the chest away, and he let a single ruby fall from it. I still have it, Charlemagne, and no one will take it from me, even after my flesh has rotten off of my miserable bones. I will protect it as though it were your very life, Charlemagne. This red gem is you- your courage, your life, your blood... it is all that you are...all that you could have been. I won't fail you again, Charlemagne! No one will ever take it...
I think we are alone, Charlemagne... I have not heard the shuffling of dead feet in ages, and the lock on the door hasn't clicked. Sometimes, I think I see .. things. Blood, unctuous and dripping down the walls, onto my face, in my thinning, rotting hair... God, have mercy on your foolish sons! Even in this peace and silence I still feel that dread, that urgency, compelling me as though I am still stumbling about this horrid, demon-ridden place, searching for you and trying to save your very life, Charlemagne! How long have we been swallowed by this darkness, this madness? For how long has mankind trodden, knee-deep in this evil yet unable to see it?
Alas... I am still here, Charlemagne, protecting you. Fear not, Charlemagne, I am here.. what I could not do in my life, I will do now, in this wretched, cold half-death. If I could only move, if only the pain would stop... I suppose it does not matter now. The darkness has no time and no age; the sounds on the edges of my mind are far more merciful than the sight of them being made. God.. Did you see those things, Charlemagne? The blood, those sounds, those ghastly men, that thing with many heads and loping, misshapen arms, as a rag doll sewn together by the Devil's own hands....Don't worry... we've not lost our minds. I saw them too...
The door... it opened-- Oh, God, the light, it burns my eyes, what have they come for!?
I see a robe, Charlemagne, a monk! Oh, God, no, not again! What else do you want from us!? I will protect you, Charlemagne!
As I rise, shaking and brittle from the stone, I feel the sword clasped in my hands. The monk is afraid- and he should be. I will not be fooled again! I know what the pretender is, and I strike. My arms are weak, but my body still moves, and my blade is sharp with both the magic I laid upon it so long ago, and the will of God in my hands!
He has magic, this monk; it burns me, skin and soul at once. But I will not fail- I will not fail, vile beast! What have I to fear? Charlemagne will not be forfeit this night.
It is over. I am fallen... God, not again, I've failed my king once more.
I see the face of this man who stands above me- he is saying words, an absolution... A true monk, a real man of warm, beautiful living flesh... I am dying... God, finally, I am coming home to Your sweet mercy... I will escape this husk... My voice won't rasp enough for me to beg to know his name, to wash his feet and kiss his hands in gratitude, to tell my story... but even as my pathetic vision dims I see he knows it all too well. He has the flesh-bound book.
And yet, somehow, my mind is cleared as I realize that the battle is not over, Charlemagne has not been avenged, the world is still in danger...my story has not concluded. I have another calling, to that place where the strangeness began... I still have another chance.
There is still time...