(A/n: Trigger Warning/NSFW: a rated-M chapter)
Chapter 6: Never Again
Eric
That same Saturday night, Eric was dreaming.
He's snuggled comfortably in his bed underneath a pale blue duvet, his breathing almost inaudible. He always found solace sleeping in cold weather, loving the mixture of his warm duvet and the cold air mingling together. Such tranquility granted him equal dreams, however tonight's dream was different.
It's very dissimilar from what he normally dreamt, in fact, none of his dreams left him in a space full of nothing. Everywhere he looks, he sees nothing but darkness, and no matter how far he runs, he never goes anywhere. He can't even hear the sounds of his sock covered footsteps as he ran, just his heavy panting. After awhile, he collapses onto his hands and knees. He's utterly exhausted after running for what felt like forever. "Just where the heck am I?" He wonders. Over several seconds pass until his breathing calms down, he flops back onto his butt. He glances around, hoping to find something in this void. But alas, he spots nothing. He feels lost, he doesn't know what else to do. "This place is boring...and creepy."
Out of nowhere, Eric feels something wet land on top of his head. He reacts with a startled flinch, then he slowly raises a hand to his head. Once his fingers touch the mysterious substance, he lowers his hand to inspect it, immediately recognizing its colorless texture. "Water? Is it gonna rain now?" He thinks, curious. He wipes the liquid off on his dark blue pajama pants, and looks up to discover that what landed on his head wasn't rain. Instead, little by little, snow is sauntering down from the cloudless sky. "Wait...snow?" Eric stands up as he continues to gaze upwards at the random snowfall in wonder. How strange. It's snowing, yet Eric doesn't feel cold. He sticks a hand out in front of him, one of the little droplets of snow landing lightly on his palm, however it doesn't feel like it did. It feels like he isn't touching anything. He pulls his hand back towards his chest, looking down at the small white particle. He becomes suspicious the longer he observes it. He remembers when he touched the liquid atop of his head just seconds ago, it turned out to have been melted snow. Eric narrows his eyes. "Why hasn't this melted yet?" He then focuses his attention to the snow slowly falling around him. More than a dozen of the snowdrops are on the ground, all unmelted. It's as if the snow is gradually painting the blackness around Eric into a white canvas. The brown-haired child lets the snow in his hand drop by his feet, allowing the frozen vapor to accompany the rest of its kind on the ground.
Swiftly and silently, a gentle wind blows. Eric expected the breeze to be cold, but just like the snow, the wind is blank of any temperature. The snowdrops on the ground flow along with the air current, going past Eric. The brunette watches in confusion and awe as the snow groups up in one spot, gathering a few feet ahead of him. "What's happening now?" Bit by bit, the snow huddles together and begins to change color. Half of the white becomes yellow, red, and black. There is an equal amount of white and red, having greater numbers than the black and yellow. Soon, the white snow takes on the form of a person. Eric's chocolate brown eyes gape at what's happening before him. All of the white snowdrops expand and reach down to the ground, outlining its head, torso, arms, and legs. Shortly after, around the upper part of the chest area, the snow separates a bit, then morphs into two medium-sized lumps.
Eric knows instantly that the snow is forming into a female. "That's...actually pretty cool!"
Soon after, the white snow shapes her hands and feet, followed by her jointed digits on each of the limbs. As soon as they finish shaping the female, the yellow snow begins to take the form of long hair behind her head, forming three rows all the way down to her waist. A few of the red snow moves up to her head and separates to each side, becoming her eyes. The rest of the red and a few black snowdrops take the shape of a dress. Eric watches the little red orbs outline the dress' features, the color covering the female's breasts, then shaping into frills below her kneecaps. Briefly afterwards, the black snow covers over the red frills, coloring the ruffles in their own color. Next, the remaining red and black muddle together under the dress and at her feet. The two colors appear as if they're trying to dominate the other.
"Wow, they're really goin' at it," Eric thinks, intrigued.
After a short but fierce battle, the red overpowers the black. The red snow splits into two, and encloses the figurine's feet, slightly lifting up her heels. The sole area flattens and spreads a decent size for her toes, outlining a pair of high heel shoes. The black snow separates also, each going behind and under the red snow. The black frozen particles stretch into vertical lines underneath both of the elevated parts of the shoes, their height ranging from two to three inches tall.
Eric blinks, then notices that it took all of the snow around him to make this person and her attire. Suddenly, more droplets of snow descend from above. Eric watches them travel over to the female's physique before stopping, the white snow splitting into groups of four, then turning black. Two of those groups place themselves across her shoulders, becoming straps connecting to the dress, and the last two groups situate themselves above her ankles, forming into straps as well and connecting to the high heels.
For the final touch, all of the snow begins to solidify. First starting with the female's body, then working its way down to her shoes. Her skin is as pale as the snow that made her, her long hair is as yellow as the sun, and her eyes, dress, and shoes are as red as blood. She releases a light breath, and blinks a few times. She directs her pupil-less red eyes at Eric, the chubby child's breath hitching when they make eye contact. "She looks so...beautiful..." he thinks, mesmerized by the woman's stunning appearance.
"You must be...Eric Cartman, I presume?" The lady inquires. She had a sophisticated yet soft and gentle tone of voice.
Eric blushes. He shakes his head to clear his mind of the hypnosis her looks had cast upon him. "Y-yeah. How do you know my name?"
The blonde-haired female is silent for a moment. There's something hidden behind her vacant visage, but Eric can't identify what it means. "My name is Zerphy Faith. I know your name because Inner Guardians are obligated to know everything about their hosts."
There's a brief silence. "...Umm, okay?" Eric utters. He doesn't understand her last statement.
Zerphy strolls over to him, her red and black high heels making not a sound as she approaches. "Inner Guardians are spirits that have been around for many, many years. There are three types: Dark, Light, and Mixed. Mixed Inner Guardians possess both the powers of Light and Darkness but are rare among us. I am a Dark Inner Guardian." Eric appears even more confused. Zerphy stops, now closer to the boy, her thin inched heels giving her more height leverage to tower over him. "If I tell you anything more than that, you will remain asleep for quite awhile, and I know you wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Yeah, that would suck," Eric admits, wasting no time answering. "But at least I would know what the heck you mean about this Inner Guardian stuff."
Zerphy's pale lips curl into a small smile. "I suppose you're right, but for now, I'm only going to inform you what you must know at this very moment." Her smile drops into a line. "Eric, your hometown is in grave danger. A wicked entity known as the darkness is slowly approaching, however one of the darkness' underlings known as a Being of Darkness has already infiltrated South Park. I do not know the approximate number, but it has corrupted over at least twenty humans there. You and your friends must train to defeat the evil not only threatening your home, but the entire world."
In the blink of an eye, the scene around them changes. Eric glances around, quickly recognizing that they're standing outside within South Park, near Stark's Pond. Once again, he doesn't feel an ounce of coldness from the snow seeping into his socks. Nothing appears to be wrong with the place - the sky is dark with only a full moon, no clouds or stars are in sight.
"It may seem normal now, but soon...it will show itself," Zerphy mutters grimly.
Eric stares ahead of him with fearful anticipation in his eyes. Coming out from the shadows in between two buildings is a person, a male, Eric assumes. The man is clad in all-black, the bright moon is unable to reveal his identity as he stands in its ray of light. Chocolate brown eyes watch the individual intently, wondering what he's going to do. But he remains motionless where he's stood, his face concealed by his hood looking up at the moon. "Why isn't he moving?" Eric thinks, impatient yet anxious. After his thought, the male slowly raises a black gloved hand, extending one finger and pointing directly at the moon above. A small red energy springs forth from the tip of his forefinger and begins to expand in size. Without further notice, the medium-sized red energy shoots from the man's finger at lightning speed. It moved so fast that it left Eric utterly stunned. It's only until he sees light fading from around them that he comprehends what just happened. He hesitantly looks up at the sky, his eyes widening in disbelief.
The moon...is gone. The man blasted it to smithereens. The projectile was silent yet very deadly. The moon's tiny remains twinkled like stars from afar in the night sky, descending in different directions until they fade out of view.
Eric can't believe what he just witnessed. How was it even possible to obliterate the moon with something nowhere near its size? He hears the male chuckle evilly before creeping back into the shadows, his deep laughter echoing in the boy's ears. "That was no man, Eric," Zerphy tells him, her lips still a thin line. "That was a Being of Darkness. They possess great power, yet they don't have to do a damn thing to earn such strength." Eric has never heard such venom in someone's tone before, she must really despise them.
As fast as they appeared in South Park, they end up back in the void in the same fashion. Eric regards Zerphy, although he's still shaken up from what he had just seen. Her face was contorted into a scowl, her eyes glaring down at the ground that burned with pure hatred, and her fists are clenched by her sides. Eric can practically feel the anger pouring out of her. Thankfully, he didn't have to stand around in the awkward silence for long. "I apologize," Zerphy says sheepishly as she raises her head. Relaxing her posture a bit, she gives Eric a forced small smile. "I didn't mean for you to see that side of me."
Frowning, Eric shakes his head. "No, I kinda understand why you would get upset at that Being of Darkness. But...when will that...thing shoot the moon?" He asks nervously.
Zerphy nips her bottom lip as she ponders his question. "I'm...not too sure when it will get rid of the moon..." She releases the pressure on her lip, balling her hands into fists again by her sides. "But I can assure you that I will make sure it doesn't happen...No, we will prevent it from happening. I can guarantee it."
Eric is taken aback by the strong, unwavering determination in her eyes. "How the heck are we gonna beat someone like that?!" He exclaims. "He freakin' blew the moon to bits! There's no way we stand a chance against him!"
"It is still possible," Zerphy replies, her confidence unshaken. She places a hand over her chest. "As your Dark Inner Guardian, I will train you. I will grant you the power to hold your own against both the darkness and Beings of Darkness'."
Eric frowns, very doubtful. "...I...don't think I'll be much help," he says quietly. "I get that you're confident about beating the Beings of Darkness' an' all, but...I'm just a kid. It's impossible-"
"It's not." Zerphy gently places a hand on his shoulder. He flinches at how cold her palm is before looking up at her. "It's not impossible for you to fight to protect. Yes, you are still a child, but if you want to continue living, if you want the earth and its inhabitants to continue to live as well...then you must fight. But remember, you are not alone. I will be by your side as will your friends. They will possess Inner Guardians as well and help us fight. Please...do not give up, Eric Cartman."
Chocolate brown eyes and blood red ones stare at each other attentively, each holding different yet discernable emotions in their irises. Suddenly, the sound of a grandfather clock chimes in the distance, startling Eric. Slowly, the abyss begins to brighten in a white color. Zerphy's hand lingers on his shoulder for a few more seconds, then she takes two steps back.
"W-what's happening?" Eric asks as he glances around him.
"It's time for you to wake up," Zerphy answers. She clasps her hands together over the frills of her dress. "Before you go, I must tell you something. It's very important, and you along with your other two friends' actions will shape what comes next." Eric suddenly feels light as a feather. He looks down seeing himself fading. "Eric, you must be extremely careful around your friend..." Zerphy pauses as she tightens her hands together. "Kyle Broflovski."
Against Eric's will, he disappears.
August 13th
Eric's eyes fly open with a start. The transition from dream to reality frightened him, but only a little. He sits up in his bed rubbing his eyes, calmly waiting for his heart to stop pounding against his chest. He looks around his room - he has a dresser, a television, and a game console. But due to his dark-colored curtains blocking out the light from the window, he can't tell the time of day. His mother has yet to buy him an alarm clock since she's always been the one waking him up almost every morning. He guesses that it's daytime. He then thinks back to his dream. "Inner Guardians, the darkness, and the Beings of Darkness'...I wouldn't have believed any of that if I hadn't seen that one Being of Darkness blow up the moon. And Zerphy expects us to beat that thing...she's crazy." He ends his thoughts there, just thinking into it that far was enough to get his spirits down.
With a sigh, he removes the duvet from over his lap, not caring about the abating warmth. Perhaps the cold will distract his mind for awhile. He swings his legs over the edge of his bed, then gets off ambling towards his window. He moves the curtains out of the way. To his great surprise, it's only the crack of dawn. The stars are in the process of vanishing as the sun gingerly rises from behind the mountains, tinting both the sky and the Cirrus clouds in a golden-blue hue.
Eric's eyes relish the beauty of dawn. He's never seen such a sight since he has never woken up this early before, especially of his own accord. "I wonder what I should do today. I have school tomorrow-" He pauses mid-thought. Even though he shoved what his Inner Guardian told him in the back of his mind, he comes to a sudden realization. "Zerphy said that she would train me, but how will we do that if I have school?" Eric heaves another sigh. He continues to gaze out the window, allowing the sky to ease his troubled mind until he closes the curtains. He goes to his bathroom to use the toilet. After he's done, he walks out heading towards his bedroom door. He opens it, but notices something off in that instant. He doesn't hear or smell any food cooking. Frowning, he enters the hallway, then walks down the stairs. He looks into the kitchen across from the living room, disappointed that his mother is nowhere to be seen. "I wonder if she's gonna cook breakfast today..." Eric enters the living room to get to the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator hoping to find something to eat, but there's not much inside. He forgot that his mother is supposed to be going to the store today. Instead, he pulls a carton of orange juice towards him and goes to get a glass cup from the dishwasher. He pours himself some juice within the refrigerator. Once the glass is filled halfway, he fastens the lid back over the juice carton, then closes the door, turning around to see his mother entering the living room whilst covering up a yawn. She's wearing a purple bathrobe and matching colored bedroom slippers.
"Good morning, mom," Eric greets her.
Surprised by his voice, his mother halts by their light brown sofa. "Oh...Eric, what are you doing up so early?"
Eric walks back into the living room. "It was too cold in my room, and it woke me up," he lies before taking a sip of his juice. It wouldn't do him any good if he tells her about his dream when he's just as unsure about it himself.
His mother watches him sit down on the couch with a tired frown. "I see. Sorry, sweetie, I forgot to turn on the heat before I left yesterday."
"It's okay," Eric says softly. He grabs the remote next to him and turns the television on. He starts flipping through the channels as his mother walks into the kitchen. He hears her open the refrigerator, then close it shortly afterwards. She re-emerges in the living room. "Remembered that you needed to go grocery shopping today?" Eric asks, his attention still on the t.v.
"...Y-yes," his mother replies bashfully. "Um, Eric...do you have any plans for today?"
Eric pauses his thumb, looking over at his mother, then knitting his eyebrows at the anxious expression he sees on her pale and slightly flushed face. "No, not really."
"O-oh, okay," she says, still nervous. "Well, eat whatever we have left until I go to the store later." She walks over to Eric and plants a gentle kiss on his forehead. He makes a gagging sound as he uses the back of his hand holding the remote to wipe his forehead. His mother giggles at his disgust while she heads back up to her room.
Having no other choice but to watch a cartoon that wouldn't even capture the interest of a baby, it takes Eric a couple of minutes to drink up his orange juice. He turns the t.v off before returning into the kitchen, depositing the glass into the sink. "Wait, she didn't ask me if I wanted to go with her to the store," he realizes with a pout. He makes his way up to his mother's room, but stops in front of the closed door. As soon as he's about to open it, he hears his mother's hushed voice from inside.
"I'm really sorry, but I won't be able to make it today." She pauses for some seconds. It sounds like she's on the phone. "Yes, I know it was today, but I told my son I was going grocery shopping later. Please, can we-" She stops suddenly, Eric assuming the person she's conversing with interrupted her. After the passing of a few seconds, he hears his mother sigh in defeat. "Yes, I understand...I'll meet you there at three," she murmurs, ending the call.
Eric quickly retreats to his room once he hears shuffling going about inside. "What was that all about?" He thinks once he's in his room. He leans against the door. He's noticed that his mother has been going out a lot, though the times varied. Sometimes, she would go out in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, or at night only to come back the next day. Eric doesn't know what kind of work she does, but he's aware that it's been exhausting her. The dark circles under her eyes and her sickly skin complexion are clear signs that she's being overworked. There would also be some days where she wouldn't leave her room at all. Whenever she did that, Eric's concern worsened. "I don't have a dad, and I don't wanna lose my mom either thanks to some dumb job." He always wonders why he doesn't have a father. There were some occasions where Eric wanted to ask his mother of his father's whereabouts, but whenever he mustered up the courage to bring up the topic, he would hesitate in the end. "If I had a dad, mom wouldn't have to work so much. She wouldn't have to always look like she's dying..." Fighting back the tears, Eric pushes himself away from the door, deciding to go outside for a bit after he freshens up.
/
"Mom, I'm heading out," Eric calls out to his mother, who is still in her room. He's standing at the front door clad in his usual attire consisting of a red jacket, yellow mittens, brown pants, and black sneakers, however he's wearing a light blue hat with a yellow puff ball on his head. His mother bought this hat for him last month for his birthday, and it's something he will always treasure. Eric waits for a response from his mother, but she remains unresponsive. "She's probably asleep," he figures. He leaves out of the house, inhaling the cool, late morning air. He stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets, warming them up further. Not many people are out on this cloudy day, though the sun can be seen beaming through the clouds. A few pedestrians are strolling along the sidewalk, including Eric, and about four cars are driving cautiously on the roads.
One person catches Eric's eye. Across the street from him is a boy wearing a familiar orange parka. "What's Kenny doin' out here this early?" Eric stops, eying the boy. He notices how Kenny is trudging as if he's a zombie with his head cast down. "What's wrong with him...? Oh yeah, he died last week." Eric almost laughs at the reminder of the poor boy dying before they'd even gotten to school last Wednesday. "Oi! Kenny!" He shouts, but his loud voice fell on deaf ears. Kenny continues to walk away. "Wait, what was he doin' over here anyway?" Eric thinks, confused. He glances in the opposite direction of the sidewalk Kenny is walking on, spotting a recognizable olive-green house a few blocks away from where they are. "Was he over at Kyle's house?" He wonders out loud to himself. He looks back at Kenny's sullen figure one last time before resuming his own walk, now with a destination in mind. "Now that I think about it, me and Kyle have never hung out before." Eric remembers when Kyle deemed the two of them frenemies, having had enough of his teasing. Eric can't suppress a chuckle as he pictures the little redhead mad with flushed cheeks. But then again, the glares he always received from the boy were a bit intimidating.
"Eric, you must be extremely careful around your friend...Kyle Broflovski."
Eric freezes in his tracks. Even though he believed Zerphy's warnings and explanations about Inner Guardians, the darkness, and the Beings of Darkness', he isn't sure if he should trust her warning about Kyle. He never saw Kyle behaving out-of-character as of late, aside from him nearly clinging to Stan every so often. "I swear Kyle's gay for Stan," Eric thinks teasingly. "But I haven't seen him acting really weird at all lately. Zerphy's crazy just like I thought." And with that, he continues walking forward.
After a few minutes trek, he slows down on the sidewalk in front of the Broflovski's residence. For some reason, he starts to get butterflies in his stomach and his heartbeat quickens. He clenches his fists in his pockets. "The heck am I so nervous for? It's just Kyle," he thinks, trying to give himself some reassurance. He takes a deep breath, then walks to the Broflovski's front door. He raises a gloved fist to knock on the brown wooden door, his nerves increasing as he waits for it to open. He stares down at the porch littered with bits of snow. As seconds quickly tick by, he begins to get impatient. "I know it's early, but jeez, someone's gotta be up." He raps on the door one more time, a bit harder, then waits again. However, when ten seconds pass, the boy huffs and turns around, walking away from the house. "I thought Mrs. Broflovski would be up, at least," he grumbles. He slows his pace once he's back on the sidewalk. "Now what can I do?" He asks himself. "I could probably go over to Stan's house...but what if he's still sick? He wasn't at school at all last week." He shakes his head. "I'm not gonna risk it. So going over his house is out. Then there's Kenny...never mind, scratch that. Guess I'll just spend my Sunday at home again." The chubby child takes his time going home, letting his mind come up with some productive activities he can do throughout the day. "I always watch t.v and eat chips on the couch or play video games every weekend. I wanna do somethin' new. Maybe I should take up mom's offer and walk around, get some exercise...Pfft, nah, I'd rather watch boring t.v shows than do that. Guess that's what I'll do...without eating any chips." Eric's stomach rumbles at the thought of his favorite snack. He rubs his belly. "Just hold on a bit longer, mom will buy some snacks later."
While he was in his thoughts, he realizes that he's nearing his house and sees a shiny red car in their driveway parked right behind his mother's black car. He arches an eyebrow, and starts walking a little faster, eager to see whom is over at their house. They hardly ever get visitors. But then he recalls his mother talking on the phone earlier. "I thought she said that she would meet them in the afternoon." Eric finds himself sprinting to his house, worrying for his mother's safety.
Panting from his run, he reaches the front door and quickly twists the doorknob. To his surprise and relief, the door is unlocked. He pushes it open, and slams it closed, alerting his mother and whoever else is over of his arrival. While he catches his breath, he looks down seeing nonidentical black dress shoes right beside his mother's flats, low high heels, and a few other pairs of shoes that belong to both him and his mother. "A guy is over here!" Without further delay, Eric rushes upstairs to his mother's room. Standing in front of the closed door, he gulps nervously as he places a hand on the doorknob, freezing when he hears a voice inside.
"Ooooh, r-right t-there. Ahhh..." the voice moans.
An alien feeling churns within Eric's stomach. Hearing his mom talk like that was...very unsettling...
"Oh, so you have two sweet spots, eh, Cookie?" A deep, masculine voice purrs. His mother along with the man inside her room both start moaning, the male talking sweet nothings to her all the while.
Eric feels queasy. He covers his mouth with both hands, trying to keep his nausea under control. But it becomes difficult the longer he listens to his mother and the man's pleasure-filled voices. "W-what's going on in there? A-are they..." The possibility of his mother having sex with some stranger confounds him. Was this...what she was going to do later? Eric backs away from the door with tears surfacing in his eyes.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" His mother suddenly exclaims in a panic. Eric goes rigid with a fright.
He hears the man chuckle. "What do you mean what am I doing? This here," a piercing, loud smack makes Eric flinch. "Is what will increase your pay as it always does. But that's only if you cooperate," the man teases.
"N-no, please don't! First, you show up when you said to meet this afternoon, and now you do this?!"
Eric undergoes a mixture of emotions that overwhelm him. His ears pick up every voice and sound from within the bedroom, but he doesn't want to hear them. He doesn't want to hear his mother scream protests at the man. He doesn't want to hear the man laugh or hit the floor with whatever item he has in his possession. He doesn't want to hear anything. He covers his ears, shutting his eyes tightly but some tears manage to slip from underneath his eyelids. He tries his damnedest to block out the noises, but it's pointless. He can still hear the voices and the sharp blows of the man's item through both his covered ears and the door. Suddenly, his mother screams, then she whimpers. "M-mom...h-he's hurting her!" Feeling hopeless, Eric lowers his hands from his ears.
"Aww, why are you crying?" Eric hears the sick man ask as if he's talking to a baby. "We've done this many times before, so why the sudden disinterest?"
"Y-you...aren't s-supposed to be here...Please...leave..."
The man is silent for a second, then he bursts out laughing, startling Eric. "You expect me to leave when you were enjoying yourself just minutes ago?!" The man laughs even harder, his laughter resonating awkwardly throughout the house. He starts calming down after nearly a minute. "Yes, I did go back on our agreement. But that's because..." Eric hears him pause for a second. "I couldn't wait any longer to see you, especially after our phone call earlier." Eric cringes at the man's low and seductive tone of voice.
His mother moans in sensual gratification again. "P-please, m-my son-"
"Oh, I don't care if he hears us, or you, rather. He's bound to know what you do sooner or later." The man chuckles mischievously.
"What...does he mean?" Eric wonders.
"N-no!" His mother shouts. "He can't know! Just leave already, and I'll meet you at your place instead!"
"Hmm, as pleasing as that sounds, we've already gotten this far, so we might as well finish here. But since you don't want your son potentially hearing anything...Ah! I know." Eric listens to the sound of footsteps inside the room, his mother questioning the man on what he's about to do. But then she starts panicking again, and her words become smothered as if something was put over or in her mouth.
Eric stares at the door in utter despair. He drops to his knees, fresh tears further dampening his cheeks.
"You Must Do Something, Eric. You Must Protect Your Mother."
Eric's eyes widen in shock. He recognized the sudden voice. "Z-Zerphy?!"
The voice of his Inner Guardian speaks to him again. "Protect Your Mother. Kill The Man Causing Her Harm."
Eric pales. "K-kill...?" His heart starts hammering inside his chest at the single word, his breathing coming out in shaky breaths. His mind numbs, but he hears another smack followed by his mother's muffled screaming.
"Yes, Eric. Kill. Don't worry, I'll Help You. I Won't Let You Handle This Alone." Appearing out of thin air before Eric is a knifeāa sharp kitchen knife to be exact. Its handle is patterned in red and black stripes. Eric's eyes enlarge with horror. He stands up and backs away from the deadly weapon, hitting his back against the wall. He knows that this knife doesn't belong in this house. "Take The Knife. Use It To End That Bastard Of A Man's Life. Scum Like Him Do Not Deserve To Live," Zerphy prods, a hint of malice in her tone.
Eric instantly declines by shaking his head. "N-no, I can't kill-"
"Yes, You Can. You Have Every Right To Kill Those That Cause Harm To The People You Care About. Hurry, Before It's Too Late. The Man Will Come Back In The Near Future And Onwards To Do As He Pleases With Your Mother."
Nearly sweating under the pressure, Eric timidly nears the floating knife and stretches out a hand towards it. "I-I'm doing this...for my mom. I-I can't lose her." As soon as one of his stubby fingers touches the handle of the knife, he suddenly envisions himself bursting through his mother's bedroom door, then stabbing the man without a moments hesitation. It was a satisfying vision, even more so the image of the man laying unmoving on the floor surrounded in a pool of his own blood. Eric smiles. He grips the handle tightly in one hand, then grasps it with his other hand, bringing the knife close to his chest. He glares at the door with chocolate brown eyes burning with anger and resolution. "I'll save you, mom...Even if it means killing someone." He approaches the door, releasing his firm hold on the knife to use one of his hands to turn the doorknob. It's unlocked. Slowly, he pushes the door open and breathes in an indescribable stench.
"Stay Strong, Eric." If Zerphy hadn't given him encouragement, he would've vomited up last night's dinner and this morning's orange juice on the spot. He opens the door a little wider, ignoring the fetor as best as he can. The room is dimly lit, the source of the faint lighting coming from a lamp on his mother's nightstand. The window's singular curtain is blocking out the sunlight. Eric gets a glimpse of a figure on his mother's bed, their identity vaguely distinguishable. Until he pushes the door open all of the way, its hinges producing not a single creak. The hallway bringing forth additional lighting into the room, he can now clearly see a naked, sweaty, and well-built blonde-haired man on his mother's bed, but he can't see his mom anywhere. In the male's hand is a black whip, though he'd shortened its long length by wrapping the end of it around his wrist. Lastly, Eric sees an opened cardboard box on the floor near the bed. He can't see what's inside it.
"Do Not Hesitate Any Longer," Zerphy softly insists inside his head. "Kill Him Quickly, And Free Your Mother." Before Eric can even think to do anything, the man on the bed cocks his head back.
"Hmm, who do we have here?" His visible blue eye widens slightly at the sight of Eric holding a knife. "What the hell?" He turns his head away. "I didn't know you allowed your kid to walk around with dangerous weapons. How uncivilized." He punishes the woman by striking her with the whip, eliciting a stifled yelp from her.
"S-stop it!" The man tilts his head back in Eric's direction, seeing the boy shaking. "G-get away from her."
The man smirks. "Heh, or else what? You'll stab me?" He taunts fearlessly.
Eric feels his resolve crumbling. "Kill Him Now, Eric."
Looking away again, the naked man gets off the bed, revealing a revolting display of Eric's mother. She's naked also, forced to face the headboard since her wrists are tied to it by a red string. Her butt is in the air, her butt cheeks tinged a vibrant red. Her long, brown hair is sprawled messily on her back, and a creamy white substance is leaking out from her entrance, trailing all the way down her thighs and onto her bed.
Horrified and greatly repulsed, Eric quickly averts his gaze while covering his mouth, feeling sick to his stomach again. The man laughs at his reaction. "This is what your mother does, kid. Her job is to have sex with men, and she's been doing this for yeeears." Eric feels betrayed. He's always been aware of his mother working hard to provide for the both of them, but this was something he least expected her to be doing. He feels both hurt and angry that his mother stooped so low to earn money. The blonde-haired man slowly glides a finger down the center of the woman's back, who is unable to restrain her body from indulging at his touch. "You hate her now, don't you?" He asks Eric, smirking deviously at him. "You're disgusted at her, so much, that you even wanna kill her. That's why you have a knife, right? You heard her moaning and crying out in pleasure-"
"Mmph mph!"
The man stops his finger just right above Liane's butt crack, bending down to meet her caramel-colored eyes exuding tears. In her mouth is a gag. "Oh, what's that, Cookie? You wanna continue, even though your son is in here?" He asks, evidently faking his astonishment. "My, how disgustingly bold of you~"
Eric drowns out his mother's suppressed and incomprehensible complaints, the color of his eyes dulling. A collection of memories flash through his mind. All are of his mother.
She's always been by his side as he grew up, taking the utmost care of him as a single parent. It was only until he was 4 years old that he started to notice her frequent outings. Whether it was in the morning, afternoon, evening, or night; she was gone to work, leaving Eric home all alone. No matter how much he begged her not to go, she would always tell him with a sweet smile that she had to go out and make money for them to live in stability, although those kindhearted smiles of hers were forced, masking her pain.
"I don't like when you leave every day, only to come back the next day..." Eric feels like crying all over again, but his eyes can't produce any more tears.
The next set of memories are of his mother looking ill and sapped of energy, but she always brushed off her discomfort with a smile. An obviously weak and forced smile...
"I always thought that your job was making you sick...Turns out, I was right...and I hate it...I never wanna see you look like you're dying...Never again..."
Eric blinks slowly. As soon as he re-opens his eyes, he sees himself standing in a blank white space. However, he's not alone. His mother is there with him, standing before him wearing a pale blue dress and white flats instead of her usual attire, which was a light blue sweater, red pants, and black flats. She's smiling at him. It's genuine and beautiful. "Eric," the boy's mother extends a hand towards him. Eric stares at her hand, confused. A tender breeze sways their brown locks and his mother's dress. "Let's go, pumpkin...Let's live happily together, just the two of us."
With a bright smile, Eric gently places his hand on top of his mother's.
"Eric, Snap Out Of It!"
Startled, the boy gasps as light returns in his eyes. He blinks twice, focusing on the present.
"Oi, kid." Eric hears the man rudely address him. He doesn't look at him since he's still naked...and standing beside his equally nude mother... "How long are you gonna be in here for? Or could it be...you actually wanna kill your own mom?!"
Eric feels himself becoming angry as the man laughs in amusement and disbelief. Yes, he's disappointed in his mother, but not to the point of wanting to kill her. He still loves her, and always will. No matter what she does to herself...But at the same time...he also can't bring himself to kill this sadistic man like he was initially determined to do...
"Eric...Allow Me To Take Over."
Eric stiffens after Zerphy finished uttering those words in a soft and sinister tone of voice. He starts to feel a slight tingle in his eyes, then his vision becomes red, but only for a brief moment. His chocolate brown eyes are now a scarlet color. He doesn't know what's happening to him all of a sudden, but what's even stranger to him is that he isn't scared. Rather, he fully embraces the negative emotions he's feeling, as well as Zerphy. He silently grants her permission to take control.
"No...I wanna fucking kill you."
Before the man can say or do anything, the red-eyed child charges at him at inhuman speed. His knife ready to pierce through him.
Blood splatters across the floor.
