Speech = ``…..´´
Thoughts = [… …]
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When he had decided to..indulge the girls need to vent out the emotional built up that had placed her in distress.., he had done so more mechanically than he had expected, almost as if driven to do it before he had formulated a well thought rational plan to tackle the matter.
He had also expected with no small amount of resignation a long tirade before him. Where she would try to grant him empty and useless words of gratitude he did not want between sobs, break down in tears or just remain silent as the grave while she tried to work out on her own to check and quell her disruptive emotional impulses which were granting her no small amount of grief.
Try being the key word...
Looking back, it was not like he loathed such development…, or lacked a profound understanding or interest of her current situation. Apathy was not at play here.., not yet, he was… merely tired of it.
The realization dawning on him like a heavy load over his shoulders, making him feel, if only for a brief moment the weariness of his bones. Of the copper taste like taste of ashes made from ashes in his mouth, of the malevolent tide of nothingness woven into his very bones, pulling from him...
He clenched his jaw albeit slightly…, dismissing those feeling of weakness, though the bitterness they brought was still there.
It would always be there..
How many times? How many times the same rhyme had passed before his eyes? A hundred times? More..? Their faces became blurry in his memory…, but not the look in their eyes as they stared at him through the mist.
Blue, green, red...they were all the same. Bearing that look of betrayal…, of loss, of misery now reflected on those eyes of the little girl standing before him. The one that she had wore back in the confines of her own mind, and one that persisted under the erratic stream of emotions flying left and right.
She was confused, she was happy…, hopeful, angry, hurt and more, so much more…
In other words, she was a mess, one of his own creating and one that he did not needed to be a seer to know that a few simple words would not patch her wounds, and they will leave scars.
He almost grunted with annoyance at what he had thrown himself into whether he had intended it or not..
Given the way of things have gone.., that should have been obvious. What it had not been that much was the way she swung between a formal and informal disposition, her voice and composure shifting between that of the child she was and then the one of a more mature individual. Whether it was by her own nature or his own power channelled through her veins at work he did not know yet. What he knew was that her mind as in turmoil as it was…, was holding into dear life to control her own emotions.
She had tried to hide them…, she really had, but she may have been wearing them on their sleeves under his glare as her eyes changed colours in an almost endless glinting show of red and blue lights while the conduits started to flare up all across her pale skin. Marring it and making her appearance became more...exotic if not grotesque in some sort of way.
After all, there were few kind words to say about a small blond thing having the appearance of a toddler trying to emulate their warrior elders by painting her face in war paint. If only that was war paint...
The bright glow of those marks would always remind him of his...failure. A reminder of sorts..
The fact she had not noticed the changes taken place or how her fangs were easily sliding out the covers of her lips, sharp and long was nothing more than a small mercy..one that he knew would not last long in time if the apparent inquisitive nature of the elf whelp had anything to say about it..
He was not a nanny, but emotions he could deal with…albeit poorly. Sadly, he had forgotten that such things never came alone when they did.
And so, to top it all.., he had been mildly assaulted by a little blond haired gremlin who had jumped and grabbed onto him like a cat. Burying her head into his chest while clinging to him with all the strength she could muster.
He had dodged beams of light, bullets and time breaking attacks that had defied comprehension. He should have seen something like this coming a mile away.., and yet he was still caught unprepared when the girl embraced him.
His body betraying him for a lapse moment, prompting him to stand up in attention as if her mere touch burned him while she refused to let go. Not the fact that she was bare as the day she had been born, but rather the unneeded, brash act to wrap her slender arms around his neck what startled him.
If the dead could see him now, he knew they would not let him live this one down any time soon..
He was glad that he had fought back the first urge that had come to mind to flat her down into the ground, forcing his arms to remain rigid and still before he managed to articulate them properly. That did not mean he enjoyed the close contact pressed against him. Especially one that he had not allowed nor given permission to…
Thankfully...that part was already over…
Sadly, another was about to take its place as he watched the way those eyes had shrink to small blazing pins, eyes sinking while her cheek bones grew more and more pronounced, her lips growing stiff and then opening with an expression of barely hidden shock and feral anger before they uttered in words what her body had already spoken.
``Diabolos.!? A demon Lord!?´´
Her voice was loud, easily dispelling whatever silent peace the village had in an instant.
A part of him had warned against to reveal this much, but after the fact that her life had been turned upside down for literally nothing, he had concluded that albeit risky, she deserved to know the truth of the matter.
If only to let her known that she was not the one at fault. To allow her to create a target to her own frustrations rather than herself. Someone could have considered that mercy…, but it was anything but for it would not wipe away her suffering. Just distract her from her current path..
What happened afterwards...
He extended a hand, casting a small flame between the edges of his fingertips, yet instead of giving light, it took it...leaving his face shrouded in shadows. With only the red, burning hot coals in his sockets to remain as bright as they had been before. Like twin bleeding stars locked in place…
Some that were soon joined by the scarring in her flesh, making it appear like the traces of a constellation bathed in red..
``Indeed, by his hand…, you hero descendants suffer from this curse that he laid upon you…, one that transforms your given vessels by life itself and makes a mockery of them..as you were forced to see by your own eyes´´
A tremor wrapped around her lips, her body becoming rigid as her eyes became lost...remembering before she shook herself out of it.
She was starting to take control of her own emotions, that was good...
``B-but those were merely tales for children.., heroes.., demons, curses...they were always real?´´
He nodded, they were, perhaps too much...
There was awe in her voice, almost hiding her disbelief as the words were uttered through her frail body. Not at his words, he came to realise.., but rather at herself. Her eyes still staring forward, still fixated at him...yet showing how her mind was trying to wrap things to make them make sense.
He did not press her on…, allowing for the seconds to turn into minutes if there was need for it.
A chair of black glass rouse from the ground, just in time as he leaned back. Holding his weight even if its form and nature spoke the impossibility of that happening.
The sound of laughter was not something he was expecting to witness, scoffs and even a grunt of denial, yes...but not laughter..
And she was, the tremors of air coursing through her chest could not have been misunderstood by anything else. The girl was laughing, or perhaps.. chuckling softly at some unheard joke which he was not privy to.
He grimaced, feeling a strong sense of deja vu burning inside his veins…, throbbing and scratching at the walls of his skull as he stared at it though he could not recollect when or where he had felt it before. He would not have much time to consider before she placed a hand over her lips shyly, ending the startling sound, eyes glimmering in red before they returned to a more softer hue of blue.
Lines creasing her young face, making her look older and more mature for a brief moment before she took a deep breath and her body tried to loosen the tension that had wrapped with an iron fist around her.
``I always pegged those stories to be a bit outlandish, a way to explain things and to tell a lesson of unity...´´
She looked up at him, her cheeks heating up before she shook her head.
`` I was such a fool...´´
``Your misgivings about your situation are noticeable, and I understand them. Yet surely you have heard the stories., about how three valiant warriors fought and defeated this entity to save the world...´´
``I have…, I don't think no one hasn't heard about how the three tribes came into be.., or they believed how they had.´´
He leaned forward. ``Then why is there doubt in your heart?´´
She halted, looking back at her hands for a moment...clenching them tightly before switching her attention back at him.
``Its...its just a lot to take in, I don't know what to say, its just that I thought that they are not suppose to be real´´
``Are they..? Are they now…?´´
She did not answer…, he did not mind, but this time he did not wait...
``Every story always holds a modicum of truth, where the passing of time creates divergences in the tale shown. Such tales were as real as you and I are, and as he drew his last breath...with a bloody gurgling shriek he put the curse that made you become in nothing but a rotting mass of flesh. Something that you are awfully familiar with as of late..´´
She flinched once more, her hands clenching tightly..but there was not as much pain in her eyes this time. She nodded...the stiffness in her body slowly growing laxer, until it melted entirely when he placed a hand over her exposed shoulder. She almost seemed to mellow at the touch, but that had to be a mistake..
A second passed, then another...
He was about to speak, before she beat him to it first..
``So is all Diabolos fault…´´
This time it was his moment to doubt. His eyes narrowing behind the mask, not at the lack of emotion behind the statement, but realizing that there was not enough good answer to keep her from remaining as such.
``Not enterally..´´
``What do you mean..?´´
``He may have been the blade to cut your life short, but he was not the one to deal the killing blow. This time however…, a different hand took matters into changing history for its own benefit..a group of madmen..´´
``What..!?
``Ignore it mortal…, this matters do not interest you nor they should matter to you at this new point in time. Your past life should now be forgotten, for your sake..is better to keep their name unknown, let we invite misfortune to befall you so soon..´´
This was not her war….
Not in this time, not in this era. Not if he had anything to say about it.
Perhaps..was that his purpose? He had questioned before at the human capital with disdain, now he felt not as much bitterness at it. Was it her..?
She did not like it, though that was understandable if not predictable. Still, his decision would be final. And so he watched what could only be considered a space collision, something that could not be stopped, leaving one helpless to watch it happen.
He could feel the wavelength of her emotions wash over him. Sparkling brighter than even the marks in her face as she stood up from the bed once more, clenching her jaw and exposing those fangs into the air as she did.
And yet..he blinked as he took notice of something that was not suppose to happen. She wasn't angry at him…
Why?
The girl took a step forward and landed on the ground gracefully before she then knelt in a supplicant position.
``I know that you must have your reasons, some which I can not yet to phantom, but I don't mind if I put myself in danger. Please, I must know... who are they? Who did this to us..?
He wanted to scowl. She was making things harder than they should.
``Ignorance is a bliss. Do you really wish to laid that weight on your shoulders?´´
She did not waver under his gaze, she did not doubt. Raising her hand and placing it above his before graving it tightly, trying to squeeze the sharp talons with her slim fingers. The seriousness in her voice and the strength of her eyes not matching such gesture...
And for a moment, she did not see the girl that stood before him, but someone else...
``I don't want to, but I must..´´
He sighed. Why did the two had to be so similar...
`` Those who you seek….they are the Cult of Diabolos...´´
``The cult..?´´
The name tasted alien in her lips. Yet he knew she was burning that name into her mind. That she was pushing her to remember it, pressing it hot against her own brain if needed to.
``These men have dedicated their lives to rule the world through the shadows, changing history for their own ends, and when history did not agree with them…? Accidents happened. Your curse was treatable once, but they erased it, pushing you and everyone else to rot and suffer. Changing the name of the curse and calling it the possessed, making you not victims of a cruel past...but blaming you as sinners under the eyes of the gods..´´
``Why? Why do that..?´´
A good question, yet one with no clear answer. Or perhaps one with too many answers...
Why did men make misery for others when they had the power to do something different? Because they could.., because the universe worked that way. Because anything else was a pipe dream...
That was the truth he had learned…, that was his truth. The only truth.
But she did not needed that. She needed something better…, and she was not him.
``Because they have a goal, a desire to resurrect the bloody creature.., they want the possessed to experiment on them to bring forth the demon. They don't care about what race you are from, they don't care what suffering they bring, they turn children into murderous machines, they slaughter the innocent for mere pleasure.. there is nothing they will not debase themselves if it gets them closer to achieve their twisted goals´´
He pause for a moment before he continued.
``You...and everyone else, are nothing but buildings blocks in their path to glory...´´
He spatted the words scathingly, leaning a little bit more forward, looming over the girl. Her eyes never blinking, never wavering from his.
``But I wont allow them to succeed…, they will drown in their folly before they rule the day´´
That he swore., for it was the only thing he could. Almost unaware of the timid smile that had started to warp around her lips at that.., her hold over his hand growing stronger even if that meant clutching the sharp edge of those fingers that were now digging into her flesh…, blood slipping down her arm, the red streak dividing itself like the roots of a tree as it descended.
And yet he could feel her heart at ease, her soul...calm, like a pool during the aftermath of a storm. And behind it all, something else as-well. A strange feeling...slowly flouring from the depths of her mind into being. Warm...almost fuzzy, but too nascent to get a clear idea of what it actually was.
``I know you wont... ´´
They were four simple words, and yet they bore a particular strength that was hard not to detect. As if she had uttered a universal truth so certain that was unbreakable. It would not last long as her smile grew cold once again.
``So...everything was for their own selfish desires…?´´
``Yes..´´
He replied, unsure why she would ask such a needles confirmation. Then he realized when the air around him started growing colder, almost frosty. She had closed her eyes, but the marks still glowed.
``I wont forgive them...´´
She seethed out, her voice ghastly dark.
``No one will…, they will pay for what they have done. Even if I become the enemy of the world to do so, I wont stop..´´
She open them up, there were tears threatening to spill over.
``You would do so for me? For everyone like me, who have the noble blood forsaken to die because the truth was hidden?´´
``I have to…, because I must..´´
She nodded, pleased by it... ``If that is what you want, then I will devote my life to it..´´
``….´´
[What..!?]
Unbeknown to the confusion in his mind, the elf started moving back and forth the room.
``I am guessing they must be formidable if they have enough say to pull the strings behind the scenes with or without regards of the consequences of their acts..´´
``Yes, but-´´
``Which means that they hold positions of power in politics, to make people under their control don't know the truth. To sway the opinion of the public and make their evil acts look benign. Like true puppeteers…, always there, yet always out of reach until its too late. Terrific...´´
``Indeed, but-´´
``They must probably have roots all over the world, their numbers must be quite large as-well to even try to attempt take over the world. We will need an organization of our own, with same minded people like us to fight them off. We would also need a location secure from their eyes to grow until we can bare our fangs into their foul throats before we cleave them apart!´´
``...´´
``Then we will hunt those bastards down to the very ends of the earth until none of them remain. We will burn those sinners, we will drag them out in the light, screaming for mercy as they received the just punishment they deserve. None, none shall be spared….!´´
``No..´´
His voice was forlorn, turned into a whisper so low to the point that it took a while before she realized that he had spoken, a few more seconds to acknowledge what he had said. When she did he felt something start clicking in her mind, like the gears of a clock.
She halted, cocking her head to the side, confusion drawing in her eyes, silently asking him if she had heard him wrong. That he was not saying what she thought he was...
There was hope in her eyes... and yet he would have to disappoint her. Such feeling was not new to him though...
``I must do this alone….´´
After that time seemed to slow down around them, the air becoming stale if not static, but not her body... as small raptures started to spread through her fine skin. Small at first, then growing in intensity as the seconds passed by. Lines formed around her eyes and cheeks as she seemed to hold her breath, her ears twitching as if someone was caressing them all too roughly, eyes blinking as they stared at him and then beyond him at the same time...
A shred of discomfort washed over him at such sight, but he shrugged it off with ease...
``But I-why..?´´
Why..?
Why…!?
There were a million reasons why he had to. It was his duty, his desire, his wish, his undying curse…
He had bathed himself in the blood of millions, his hands were already drenched in so much blood, literally or figuratively that even the passing of several lifetimes would not wash the stink out of them and the fires of war where no strangers to him.
He was a monster..
But she was not..
Pure like fresh snow…, he did not wanted to see her visage change, to be tainted with the violence that would be unleashed. One that she may not survive...
It was selfish…, he knew that, but in the grand scheme of things. Wasn't it better this way..?
``I did not granted you a second chance at life only for you to wasted it in the tides of vengeance. Many would murder for such a chance´´
He was not lying…
He would have if he had been given such luxury...
When my people saw what I had become...I run. When I saw the slavers find me, I run…
He removed his hand from her shoulder, clenching his fist.
``If I run now...I wont stop running the rest of my life´´
``You don't know that...´´
Her smile turned pained. ``That is the only thing I know for certain in my heart that will happen..´´
He grinded his teeth, fire started to spark out. ``You are squandering your life like a fool..´´
``But it is mine to squander. I know you are trying to protect me…, and I am deeply sorry to disappoint you with my unfair request.., but I want to aid you, I want to see the world you are going to built..!´´
She was too young, she did not understand. She was a child...
Or at least that was what he told himself.
`` Once the first steps are taken...there wont be coming back. Are you willing to spurn a better life in the sun for one where you will be forced to hide in the shadows..?´´
She bit her lip, her eyes hardening. But her resolve remained as resolute as ever..
Something that would have been worth of praise given her youth and who she was standing up to, but right now it was only vexing him.
``I am prepared for it...´´
``Everyone says that at first…, they are all wrong´´
``Not this time..´´
He scoffed. She was brave if not bold, he would give her that...the fire that was burning inside her was more than just righteous fury, it was determination. She would not back down...even in the face of death itself.
Perhaps that was why he did what came next.
``Two days…´´
``What?´´
``I will give you two days to think this through, to let your temper died out and consider your choice carefully. Then..we will know the truth of your words´´
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A/N
Here comes another chapter, I hope you like it..and if not? Then I am sorry, I will try to do better next time. Feel free to comment to give some feedback.