...Hehe...Uh...Hi everyone...Yeah...It's been almost a year. So sorry about that. I'm sure people have left this story by now but I hope those who still are here will forgive me? 2016 was NOT my year. I'm so sorry you all had to wait so long.

Also no editing, at this point i'm happy I made myself write this chapter at all.

Finally for the chapter you may want to reference chapters 14. "Your Soul" and 22 "Part 2. Bargaining" to make any sense.

Chapter 31

What Doesn't Kill You

"…Hello Igos." She purred huskily, lowering her eyelashes and coyly glancing over her bare shoulder. She gave a short, conceited laugh when the look on his face sank in. There was no color to his normal tanned, mocha colored face, he was as white as a sheet, as if he'd seen a ghost.

The premise wasn't completely untrue.

The last fragments of Keres' mind were quickly slipping away into the darkest, unknown places of her brain.

For a moment she gave herself the time to fully enjoy her handiwork. The woman on the throne who had so foolishly claimed to be her love's wife now knelt on the marble floor, weeping hysterically in a language that none in the room understood. The sword was still lodged in her chest.

An older woman appeared behind Igos, completely unawares to the disarray her throne room was in, not to mention her daughter-in-law. She shrieked when she reached the archway, her wrinkled face contorted in fear.

"Good afternoon, Queen Gyorg." Keres said to her almost jubilantly, now turning to face them. She stepped a few feet closer, leaving the woman on the throne to collapse, breathing, but dead inside, at the foot of her throne.

"What's going on Igos?!" the Queen screeched, clinging to her son's shoulder, shaking him violently for an answer. "What's happened here?!"

"Mother I don't know! I don't know!"

Keres smirked at them, then pointed back to the bloodied woman.

"Oh, that? I was just having a healthy discussion with this fine woman here," she sauntered a bit closer still, a dark, sadistic side of her awakening, loving the looks of terror in their eyes. "But could you explain one teensy-tiny detail for me, dearest Igos?"

Now only inches from him, she reached up with a slender hand and stroked his cheek. He swallowed roughly, his chest practically heaving.

"She said she was your wife, dearest. Now, wasn't it but a week ago that you asked for my hand in marriage?" she took his face in both her hands now, forcing him to meet her gaze, savoring the confusion on the Queen's face behind him. "Did you forget?"

"I-I- who are you?!"

Anger suddenly bubbled in her veins. She glared into his glassy green orbs, her yellow eyes narrowing dangerously, grip tightening on his face. She dug her nails into his skin, making him wince as she held him tightly by the chin.

"You mean you don't recognize me? Your own fiancée?"

She dropped her hands to her sides, resting them, closed into fists, against her hips.

"I guess it's only fair," she sighed dreamily, turning her shoulder to him and taking a few swaying, taunting steps toward the bloodied heap of a woman. "I have changed my appearance a bit. Don't you love it?"

"I don't know you." He responded in a shallow, breathy whisper, his gaze never lingering too long in one place.

The woman in front of the throne had quieted down to soft, confused whimpers. Her hands groped at the hilt of the sword, and all eyes fell to her as she cried out, pulling the sword from her tortured skin, allowing her to, at sweet last to collapse face first, a few splatters of her blood landing on Keres' bare feet.

Keres stepped over to the heap of a woman and sighed, as if perturbed.

"Oh my," she laughed, nudging the crumpled up woman on the shoulder with her foot. "Are you dead?"

For a moment, the onlookers believed that the woman on the throne was indeed dead. But as if to spite everyone, the thought-to-be corpse suddenly shuddered, and, head raising slowly, she smiled almost wickedly at Keres.

"T-thought I was t-that easy…to –k-k-kill, hmm?"

Keres could only chuckle in a mocking sort of way.

"Oh no dear," Keres leaned down close, and pushed the woman's head up with a delicate finger under the chin. "You're alive because I want you be."

She whispered something else to the woman that Igos and Queen Gyorg couldn't understand, something in a primal, venomous tongue that had been long forgotten. And for a moment after, the throne room was silent. Time seemed to stop for that painful moment, the moment that would come to change the lives of all those around her. And then she spoke.

"Rise."

And the woman did. She rose up from her prostrate position upon the marble like a machine, the gaping hole in her chest no longer dripping as it had been before. She adjusted her stance, then glared at Keres with a somber, crestfallen expression pulling on her angular features.

"Ah. Much better," Keres cooed, reaching out and patting the woman on the cheek. "You certainly are a strong one, strong as an ox-no a bull," She looked toward the frozen pair at the throne room doorway, tilting her head innocently. "That's what you'll be called now. You'll take you name from the language of old. Goht…"

In the darkness of the inner mountain of Snowhead, three people raced through the labyrinthine caverns like the devil was on their heels. But one member of the group was falling behind.

Link gasped, unable to hold the swift pace any longer, and nearly fell, his still healing side roaring in protest. The wound from the Mountain Demon's knife hadn't healed yet, and he feared that much more movement might cause the wound to rupture. And yet a darker fate resided in the shadows behind him. He could hear the padding of great paws approaching him, but he didn't dare look back.

A low rumble of a growl came from the beast's throat, he could see the foggy puffs of hot breath waft past him. The wolf was very close now.

He stood deathly still as the pounding of Kan and Gea's footsteps grew distant and eventually faded away altogether. His heart was still racing against his ribcage, but jumped into his throat when something wet and cold pressed against the palm of his hand. Desperately, he fought off the urge to yank his hand away. He knew that should he do that the beast might startle and attack. Instead he stood as still as his body would allow, save for the shivers that were slowly but steadily growing worse with every minute. It seemed as if the cavern has suddenly gotten very much colder in that moment.

It was an eerie lack of warmth that seemed to sap away the will to live.

He felt sharp, pointed teeth drag against the bare skin of his wrist. Was the beast sampling him? His heartbeat grew faster yet again, he struggled to keep himself steady. Much more and he felt like he would surely collapse.

For what seemed like forever, he stood there, completely still, the beast right behind him, maintaining contact with small sniffs and nips on his exposed skin. All the while his eyes remained closed. He figured at that point there was no reason for them to be open. He would be met with unending darkness no matter which fate befell him. Whether the wolf attacked or left, darkness came with both endings.

"Link," he heard Kan's voice whisper hoarsely over the distance. He cracked his eyes open to find the older man standing several yards away, able to just make out his figure amongst the cloying blackness that enveloped them all, a dim torch in his hand. "Very slowly…turn around."

Kan's words confused him. Turn toward the manic creature that had been chasing them so frantically? Had Kan lost his goddess-loving mind?!

"Link-!" Kan said, this time louder and more desperately. "Link turn around!"

And slowly, he did.

And as he did, he came face to face with the beast. In the darkness, the wolf's amber colored eyes glowed bright yellow, the pupils narrowed into slits.

"Back up, Link." Kan coaxed, his voice staying low, but getting louder each time he spoke.

"Back up."

He did as he was told. Taking one shaky step backward after the other. But with each step he took the wolf seemed to grow more agitated. It once again began to growl, a froth beginning to form around its lips as it followed him a few steps, hackles raising up again.

As soon as he was in arms length Kan moved suddenly, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him violently across the floor with a loud grunt, throwing him aside and putting his own body between Link and the wolf. Seemingly offended or startled, it wasn't clear which, the wolf let loose a sudden, savage bark and started toward Kan at a frightening pace, fangs borne.

But Kan didn't run. He stood his ground, throwing his arms out to prevent the beast passage.

And then words passed the older man's lips caused an audible reaction from both viewing parties, Gea having returned cautiously only a moment prior.

"REMUS STOP!"

And the wolf obeyed. Stopping in its tracks and looking at the man, almost in shock of the savage tone he carried in his voice.

Kan had just called the wolf by his son's name. He had called him Remus. Both Link and Gea stared on in shock as the honey and chocolate colored beast fidgeted nervously, claws scraping on the hard limestone flooring, never breaking eye contact with Kan.

"Remus. This stops now. I know you're in there," Kan pleaded with the beast. "I want my son back now. Come back to me."

Link took a sharp breath through his nose, his chest jolting, and watched as Kan lowered himself to his knees, arms still spread wide. Eye to eye with the beast he'd called his son. The beast stopped directly in front of the older man and eyed him wearily.

"Please, give him back."

Link and Gea both glanced at each other in the darkness, and by the time they had both returned their attention to Kan and the beast, the beast was gone. They could only assume that it had retreated into the shadowy caverns they had come from. Kan still sat on his knees, his arms slowly falling to his sides. And for what seemed like forever, they all remained still, even time seemed to slow down in those confused moments, each person lost in their own minds, unable to comprehend the others feelings or point of few.

In that simple moment, what little trust or camaraderie there had been between the three of them was suddenly and violently thrown aside, shattering like glass…

So yeah. There you have it, I finally updated this story. Again, I apologize for the wait. I hope you all had a nice time while I was gone 'cause the angst train is barreling down the tracks!

Thank you again for reading.