"The Moribund People"
5
"A Touch of Blessing"
November 3
He entered the dark citadel that he saw in his dreams with slow steps that briefly splashed the water around. He entered this demonic place under the rain; bent, but not broken.
Balamb Garden's shadows embraced him; and carried his determination in the arms of a cold promise. The dead shadows swirled around him, but his steps, weren't interrupted by them. The demons that swirled, spiraled and changed shape behind him let loose their diabolical smiles, their blazing eyes full of mad joy, and their claws eager for the blood he was about to shed on their behalf.
Their dissonant laughters filled the empty corridors; as the presence of this man brought only so much pain to fit into such a place.
Emptiness had engulfed the open area. The fountain was desolate; the marble floors, the directory, the seats around it were all deserted. The cold breeze pushed the raindrops towards him, and his weapon. The raindrops hit him in his face; but his eyes and lips only savored the salty, yet clear taste.
The sound of rain drowned all else.
He was in the quiet place now.
His eyes scanned the area; looking at the inside of the citadel. The slight blur of the dream did not disturb him. The haze revealed such a terribly lonely place. There were none but the old prayers that rested in this citadel. The chapels were now all but echoes; echoes of the murmurs, screams, shouts, and all else that engulfed it.
He thought he could pray. He bent down onto his knees; and united his palms. Feeling the darkened disturbance, and the eerie feeling of the citadel embrace him, he bowed his head down. His hair covered up his face, and droplets kept on dropping as his demons did the same.
"Ayreona..?" his lips let out; no more than a broken whisper, "Ayreona, are you there..? Ayreona, if you can't help me, I can't stand this... I have been lonely all this time, trying to crawl through this wreckage... Ayreona, I'm too old for games. I'm so weary of this crusade, always the crusade, that never helped me at all. Hyne... please help me through... help me..."
Tears, tearing through his cheeks, and joining the whirlpools below. His sadness wrecked through him; shaking his body with sobs and broken promises, continuing to fall through his lips; only as insane babble and blubbering.
But suddenly, his tears ceased. His sealed lips, parted to reveal his clenched teeth. Snarling, he stood up; opening his arms to his sides, screaming to the skies and to the dark corners of the citadel.
"I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO EASE HER PAIN!"
The scream echoed.
"AND I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, THAT HAS HELPED HER SADNESS, TWO YEARS OF SIMPLE LULLABIES THAT WERE NEVER FULL OF LIFE!" his tears rose to his face one more time, "Never... Damn desolate. But I knew then, that my love couldn't do it; my stare wouldn't help her, my embrace was only a wisp of air... I'm her true love... Oh Hyne..."
Rage and sadness collided; held him in a tight rope and pushed him into a rip tide. He shook; he shook himself to pieces, for the final time; for his broken mirror was only a pile of dust. He let go of all that filled his heart at once, but his words; oh yes, his words continued to pierce through the silence... his words that were sharper than a blade.
"I BROKE DOWN! I GAVE IN, and I let it happen, I let it flow! Did it ever matter to you at all? That I wasn't strong enough? I could barely, BARELY love her with my true heart, SHOW HER MY TRUE SMILE! But you all know, don't you..? You all know! Piece by piece I lost my sanity; so did you! The love of Ayreona; the love for LIFE! Piece by piece you lost your true faces! You all TURNED YOUR BACKS AND WATCHED US DO IT TOO, SO YOU COULD JUST TAKE YOUR KNIVES; AND PUSH THEM IN! GO TO HELL! GET OUT OF THIS CITADEL, SHOW YOUR FACES; SO YOU WON'T BEG FOR YOUR LIVES BEFORE ME ANYMORE; SO YOU WON'T FIGHT THIS WAR AGAINST YOURSELVES ANYMORE! COME ON, DO IT! This is the true agony you all saw... WHEN IT ALL CRASHES DOWN, WILL THERE BE HEARTS BIG ENOUGH FOR A TOUCH OF BLESSING? Not a tear... not a smile... Where is your support? Where is your help? Where is your GUIDANCE? The love of Ayreona? The love for Death? None... just agony... that rages in my heart..."
His snarl reached its peak, and with his lungs; he released his last breath with the air that filled him with her scent ever since.
"I hate you!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author's Notes: The title is an Evergrey song, and the chapter itself was written while I listened to Evergrey's "When the Walls Go Down"; the final song of their album, "The Inner Circle". As of now, here is Squall Leonhart's pain... alongside with the previous chapter, which carries the name of an In Flames song, this sums up what he has felt.