IMPORTANT NOTICE: There has been a recent influx of AI related scams and other such events in both FFN and AO3. If somebody asks you for money, art commissioning or personal information, DO NOT give it to them. If you see anything fishy, let it be AI story reviews, copy pastes or similar instances, please report them.

Quick AN: This is a reupload of the original prologue. Minor changes are done to it.

Story playlist can be found via my author profile on FFN. I strongly recommend taking a stroll through it.

More chapters are incoming soon (I promise this time, so worry not.). Each chapter will take roughly a week to be uploaded (I will try my best to be as consistent as possible.). If there is an unforeseen change in the upload schedule, I will let you know through my Tumblr blog.

This story is a love letter to AOD, AKA the "broken masterpiece". I've been in love with this game ever since I first laid my eyes on it as a kid.

Despite the more obvious sense of "impending doom", it's always given me this strange sense of melancholy. I am unsure as to why; It could be because of the darker color palette, the rain or the minor key centric score. These two feelings are at the front and center of this fic.

I will not bore you further. I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I did writing it. Cheers!

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

In the very beginning, all I could recall was the vague voices I thought I heard in those moments. Two distinct voices, one was feminine. It sounded powerful, carrying traces of rage. The other was of a man, and unlike her, he spoke in a passive tone, tranquil and careless of her fury. But they could well have been just things my dying mind had imagined now that I look into it, I don't know…

Then other gruesome details began flooding my mind. That one last glimpse I gave to the "dead" creature, the unbearable pain, the sticky sense of blood pooling up beneath me rapidly, and the most horrifying of all, the helplessness I had felt…

I woke up as the faint imagery faded and left its place to the sight of plain white walls. It took me a second to figure out where exactly I was; in a small hospital room. It was no different than any I saw before, simple decoration, the smell of various medicines, and of course, quite an uncomfortable bed. The soft hues of the sunset lit up the room.

I decided to continue laying still until the dizziness somehow stopped.

Then I noticed something by my bedside: a pile of clothes. It didn't take me long to realize these were almost identical to the ones I was wearing when I got wounded. My trusty Boran X was also there, but the Chirugai was nowhere to be found.
There was something in between the layers of fabric. I dug it out and examined it; a piece of paper, on it was a neatly written note:

"I found you unconscious back in the Strahov arena. And if I'm going to be honest, I didn't really think you'd survive that wound at first."
 I feel like I'm being a bit too honest here, but I just can't help it. So, sorry about that.

A smile slowly appeared on my face as I was reading the lines.

The reason why I'm writing this was to tell you that I've got some news for you. So call me when you wake up. I'm staying at a hotel nearby, so it won't take us long to meet.

-LC."

I let out an amused scoff.

She had come back for me.

I steadily got up from the bed and took off the IV tubes off my arm. The drugs were still wearing off, and my back and stomach still felt sore, so I decided to take my time when walking around for a little while longer.

I changed into the clothes I found and walked out of the room, carefully inspecting my surroundings. The small hospital seemed empty except the two nurses roaming in the hallways and entering the rooms of the other patients. I managed to sneak past them and made my way to the exit.

A chilling breeze washed over me as I trudged through the door. In front of me stood exactly what I needed in that moment: a phone box.

I dialed the number on the paper, and waited for her to answer.

"Who is it?" she asked in a formal tone.
"It's Kurtis." I said. "Still alive and kicking. It seems you were wrong about your assumption, miss."
She snickered slightly. "Seems like Boaz couldn't rip that wit of yours from you…"
I smiled.

Lara continued. "Where are you now?"
"Right outside the hospital." I replied. "So, what was the important news you wanted to tell me?"
"Stay where you are. I'll tell you when I get there." She hung up.

A short moment later, the young woman appeared in the distance. She looked around for a second before spotting me.

"So how are you holding up?" she said while making her way towards me.
"Normal?" I answered, shrugging. "I'll be forever glad I have fast healing powers."
"Let's just hope that you won't be needing that anymore." she said, with a half smile on her face.

"And I forgot to give this to you." She reached out to her backpack and pulled out a golden disk.

My Chirugai. Seems like Lara had gotten the message.

"Thanks." I muttered as I slipped the object into a loop of my belt.
"Well, I guess you're dying to know what I'm going to tell you."
"I'm all ears." I said.
"The news is… Eckhardt is dead."

My brows shot up. "Really?" I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

My quest for vengeance was finally over. I could finally rest.

"And there's another thing." she muttered, the joyous glimmer in her eyes faded. The triumphant sensation over me quickly vanished along with it.
"What is it?" I asked under my breath, curiosity and worry now mixing up in me.
"Have you noticed anything unusual, a few days before we met, I mean?"
"No." I shook my head in confusion. "Why'd you ask?"
"Because..." She frowned, sighing. "Nevermind... I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

I felt utter disappointment rising up in me, but I decided not to insist.

"You look ill." she said, carefully examining me. "Go get some rest, we'll talk later."
I nodded in approval.

"So I guess this is goodbye, at least for now." she mumbled.
"Goodbye." I said.

But as I was watching her walk away, a jolt of pain suddenly overtook my body. The aching was down to my bones. It felt as though fire flowed through my veins. The stitches over my wounds felt like they were going to blast open any second.

The pain left me as quickly as it came.

I stood there for a moment, legs quivering with surprise. This sensation...

It was there with me as long as I can remember. It had come to me right before many, many turning points of my lifetime, countless times.

And in that moment, not sure whether it was out of pure instinct, or my past experiences, I knew that the times ahead would affect my life in a way I could have never predicted.