OK, so I had to change the rating from T to M after writing this chapter. Don't you readers think for a second I enjoy tormenting Vince and his children like this! But it is what it is. I need to build these characters before actually giving them a happy future.

That said, WARNING! Suicidal thoughts and heavily implied suicide up ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Have you ever heard of the old saying, "don't fly too close to the sun"?

Recklessness, the will to defy limitations, an overly ambitious mindset... Truly, your goal could become your own ruin, causing harm to yourself and others in the process. Avoid repeating Icarus's mistake at all costs, or else you'll regret it.

There's a Mythorror who learned this the hard way.

At first, the demon only wanted to show off. He knew he was strong, but no one around him seemed to take him seriously. So he challenged an infamous demon who dwelled near a lake in the area- what was its name again? Derwy? Derwen...? Ah, Lake Derwent, that's the one! The demon never really bothered remembering it- and managed to win.

Obviously, the lake became his, and he started to make a name for himself. He, too, was challenged by others who thought they could overpower him, but he defeated them all. It looked as if he was invincible. Everyone knew his name. He grinned whenever his foes praised him, feeling all warm and accomplished in the inside.

He wished for more, for everyone to know him, to know he's the strongest!

But after some time...they understood the demon was too much for them. No one could defeat him. Now, they feared him. Instead of praises, they called him a monster, and made sure to never cross paths with him.

The demon didn't wish for this. He simply wanted to look cool and have fun and be strong—but not once did he wish for things to end up like this, to derail like this. He...he hated being alone. It made him feel cold in the inside. No matter what he did, he felt like an idiot, like a failure. When was the last time he grinned like back in the old days?

When will this agony to come to an end? the demon sighed, staring at his lake with puffy, red eyes. There was no one who'd answer him. No one will. Everyone just avoided him, there was no use leaving this lake, either.

He...he was tired of living like this. He longed for that warmth, those praises... He didn't want to be alone anymore. He would gladly throw away his strength if it meant going back to those old days...he would do anything if it meant correcting his dumb choice.

"Would the lakebed...be a comfortable place to sleep?" the demon thought out loud. He could end this where it all began, and he'll be free once and for all.

My heart sank, and it suddenly became hard to breathe. Because of the Vision, I knew what he had felt, thought, said—and then did. He...actually went into the lake...and...and—!

In the blink of an eye, I found myself elsewhere. I was floating in the air, in front of me a merman sitting on a rock surrounded from all sides by salty water. Waves were fiercely crushing against the rock, causing droplets to fly into the air. The merman was idly resting his tail in the water, his arms wrapped around himself as he stared in silence at the sunset.

Usually, he could be seen together with other mermen, tormenting the poor fishermen who sail these waters by throwing fish at them while laughing and sporting scary grins. But he spent most of his time like this, alone. The others didn't like him all that much, due to the pranks he pulls on them on a daily basis and for having such a short memory. He didn't mind; there were some things he hated about them, too.

What he actually hated was being alone. It was at times like these, when he was all alone with his thoughts, that unpleasant memories began to pollute his mind. They weren't his memories per se, no. They're the wicked part of a person's spirit, which stays behind in this world when their owner meets the end of their journey, accumulating to form a new being, namely a spirit like him.

Those memories weren't his, but they're a part of him. It's almost the same thing that's happening to me now. Those memories...vile and filled with nothing but hatred and anger, were haunting him. Sure, he was mischievous and badly behaved himself, but those...those atrocities he saw in them...were humans really humans? They were in a league of their own, and he's glad he wasn't a part of it.

He asked his fellow mermen once if they're unnerved by their own "memories", but they simply shrugged and said they didn't bother them. How could they not feel the same way? He didn't understand. Seeing...hearing...and feeling those horrible memories, as if he was their owner, made his skin crawl.

That isn't me, that isn't me, that isn't me, that isn't me—the merman kept telling himself, but once those memories filled his mind, turning him into a blubbering mess, making him unable to think of something else, it was of little use. The nightmarish visions just wouldn't stop. He was drowning. He was a merman, and yet he was drowning!

He gasped loudly in pain and stared at his left wrist, which was covered in deep scratches. He was so detached from reality he hadn't realize he was clawing at himself in agony. But...he could finally breathe again. Even if it was for just a moment, the pain made him forget those memories.

"Huh..." the merman whispered in surprise. He then let loose of a shark-like grin. "I wonder how long can I last until it's game over."

DON'T! I screamed in my head, watching in dread as he dug his claws into his bloody wrist and—

I came to with a start, sitting up with a sharp gasp and desperately clutching my left wrist. It hurt, dammit, it hurt! My skin was perfectly fine, but I still felt the pain. The sight of Lake Derwent and claws sinking into a bloody wrist flashed in front of me when I closed my eyes; it made me shake like a leaf. My fingertips were trembling, too. Badly. I...I doubt I'll manage to hold something in them today.

I clenched my free hand and brought it to my forehead as I took deep breaths, fighting back tears of both pain and sadness. To think Willauk and Adaro...those two who are always all smiles...would...w-would...!

I didn't manage to keep all the tears in.