I hadn’t quite expected to meet Ethan in the lobby, but I was very glad I did. There was nobody better in the world to charge into battle with than him.

He grinned at me as I exited the lift, and I noticed that he had a sword sheathed at his side.

‘How did you know he was on his way?’ I said, grinning right back at him.

‘General commotion on the street. And I saw your Aid rush in here, so I knew you’d be out pretty quick.’

‘Ready to kick ass?’

‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’

His grin expanded, and pure determination was coating his face. He was definitely ready. It was time to show the world just what we were made of.

The two of us strode out onto the street, huge grins on our faces. I stretched out my wings, adrenaline surging through them.

Wordlessly, Ethan put his arms in the air as I shot up. It was almost like we’d done this before.

I swooped down, cupping my arms under his before pulling him away into the sky.

The sky was both warm and cold, if that made sense. The actual air and breeze were bitter, making me feel as though my skin and feathers were being stabbed, but the warm rays of sunlight coated my body gently and served a strange contrast.

As the two of us got closer to the north side of the Valley, my heart gradually began to beat faster. This was it. We’d only gotten home yesterday and things were already kicking off.

And from so high in the sky, Ethan and I could see exactly how big of a threat Maltor posed without even getting into the fray. And, Gods, we had underestimated him.

‘Holy shit,’ Ethan breathed, ‘that is an army and a half.’

A huge mass of people were storming towards the Valley, and a few of them had already landed themselves in combat with our own troops. It was hard to deduce just how many of them there were from so high up, but it was sure a damn lot.

‘Drop me,’ Ethan whispered.

‘What?’

‘I’ll catch myself on the wind. I’m a son of Titan after all, and I’ll rock up looking like one, too.’

I complied with his demand, fully prepared to dive after him and catch him if need be. But he was right. I watched as he dropped a few feet before just…stopping. He hovered back up to me in one of the strangest spectacles I’d ever seen.

‘You look terrifying,’ I murmured.

‘I can only imagine what Maltor can see from down there. You look like an angel of death with those wings, and you’re right next to someone who’s just… floating.’

‘He better be shitting himself,’ I snarled. ‘And if he isn’t, he will be once I get down there.’

‘Come on, let’s annihilate these fools.’

Ethan dived down, looking like either a superhero or a supervillain, straight towards the battlefield. I followed immediately after.

As I got closer and closer to the ground, Maltor became more and more clear. He had definitely been watching us. But something was glaringly different about him this time. He had ridden into battle. That fool was standing next to a pure black pegasus.

I landed effortlessly a few feet in front of him. Folding my wings tightly against my back, I glared at him with the rawest intensity I could muster. It was time.

‘Oh, Albert!’ Maltor began cockily, spreading his arms wide. ‘It’s been a while, hasn’t it?’

He apparently trusted his steed, as he removed his hand from it. It stayed put. Weirdly enough, it was eyeing me, seemingly with curiosity. I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want to kill a pegasus, but if it tried to stop me from getting to its master then I would have no choice.

‘Fancy seeing you here, man!’ Maltor continued, with the same cockiness that I used to find funny. ‘Hope you’re not here to ruin the fun!’

Without saying a word, I unsheathed my swords before Maltor could react. I did not charge or lunge at him, but I was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

He copied me. His jet-black swords definitely served a contrast to mine, which were bronze and white. The sunlight bounced off of them in a weirdly terrifying way, and I would’ve been scared if it were still June.

‘Oh? It appears as though you mean business.’

I thought back to the dream of my parents. The one he had interrupted first.

‘How strange. Last time we met it was you who wanted to talk. Now I find that the roles are reversed.’

I thought of the dream about me confessing to Emma. The one he had interrupted second.

I readied my stance, lowering my body and pointing my swords out to the side. My legs were tensed.

‘Tell me, Albert, do you hate me?’

I had to do this.

I perfected my breathing, ready to start this fight.

‘Thunder Breathing, First Form-’

‘Are you talking to yourself? Gods, you’ve gone-’

‘Thunderclap.’

Lightning flew up and down my blades. My head shot upwards, and I glared at Maltor for a brief moment through the storm of electricity encompassing my body. The glare was only brief, however, as I lunged forward.

I blitzed forward faster than he could react, bringing my swords in as I reached him. They dragged across his stomach, creating a huge gash.

‘Fire Breathing, Second Form: Blazing Red.’

I spun viciously, swiping my swords down as I did so, replacing the electricity with intense flames. My swords slid across his back, causing him to cry out in pain and jump forward.

‘W-What happened to you?’ he yelled, aghast, as he turned round to face me.

He readied his swords in a defensive position, his eyes wild with fear. I did not care.

‘Fire Breathing, First Form: Clockwork Fire.’

I did not actually hit him, but this was the intention. I merely used the momentum of the move to shoot myself forward to him and make sure that my swords were alight.

He yelped and brought his sword down, but I had already seen it coming. I moved my arm back ever so slightly, causing him to miss. His defensive position had now been compromised.

‘Fire Breathing, Seventh Form: Rising Sunshine!’

My left arm, which had been by my side, rose up with terrifying speed and power, carving his front like butter.

‘Dark Breathing, Fourth Form: Night Slash!’

I brought my arms down. My swords glided across his body from his left shoulder down to the right side of his waist. Just as I hit his waist, I dragged them across his front, over to the left side. From there, I brought them back up to his right shoulder. All of this happened faster than he could even process.

‘Thunder Breathing, Ninth Form!’

‘S-So…fast-’

‘Crash Down!’

I brought my blades down with terrific power, electricity encasing both them and my entire body. Lightning crashed down from the sky as my blades hit the top of his head, and they soared down until they were no longer connecting with anything. The force of it all must have sent Maltor flying back.

I stayed put for a moment as the lightning dispersed. The grass at my feet was either blackened or had simply vanished with the force of the move.

A few metres in front of me, Maltor shakily rose to his feet. He kicked up into the air, flapping his ginormous white wings as he did so.

His left eye was gone. His black T-Shirt was ripped beyond repair. Blood poured from his chest, stomach, head, and back and fell to the grass with purely disgusting sounds.

I took a single step towards him. That was all it took to utterly terrify him.

He roared, darting forward. His left arm was outstretched, his sword pointing directly at my head.

Right before he made contact, I cocked my head to the right. He missed, just barely. His blade grazed my ear ever so slightly. Not enough to hurt, but I definitely felt it.

I swung my right sword up, slicing his left arm clean off. He roared in pain and swung his foot out, which I had not seen coming. It collided with the side of my head, knocking me a few steps to the left.

With a great jump, I shot myself up into the air. My wings subconsciously unfolded and I hovered above him for a moment. That was my mistake.

The dark energy from before appeared, and it did the same job. It seemed to be allowing Maltor to control his lost arm.

The arm shot up towards me, catching me by complete surprise. The blade completely pierced my left shoulder, but I did not cry out in pain. It was merely part of the process.

It flew back out again, and I noticed that Maltor had now landed, his feet firmly on the floor. It was the perfect opportunity.

‘Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Torrential Rain!’

I shot down, my feet pointing up at the sky. I held my right arm out and jabbed downward multiple times rapidly. My strikes caught him multiple times in the shoulders before I pulled off the final strike. I flipped in the air, which wasn’t necessary, and swung my sword down as I did so, taking off Maltor’s right arm.

I landed graciously a few feet in front of him.

I glowered at him. He stared back at me, terrified to the core.

‘My, you’ve gotten faster haven’t you?’ he managed, coughing up blood as he finished speaking.

‘I told you that I would tear you apart,’ I said quietly. ‘I am a man of my word, Maltor.’

Flames encased my blades once more.

‘It’s been a wild ride, hasn’t it? But I’m afraid that I must save the world, Maltor. It’s what I was always meant to do.’

‘You’re a filthy little shitstain,’ he snarled, spitting blood onto the floor. ‘You don’t scare me.’

‘That’s the problem. I should. I am Death, Maltor. You know that more than anyone. You wanna know what Death does? I’d be happy to show you.’

‘Don’t talk all big,’ he spat. ‘This war will be the end of you.’

‘Will it? Will it really? And, please, Maltor, do not tell me not to ‘talk all big’ and then proceed to do the same.’

He gritted his teeth. One of the swords from the ground became coated in the dark energy from before. It shot towards me quickly, and I blocked it with my sword.

It struggled against my power. It was desperately trying to break through.

‘What? You think you can fight me with no arms?’

‘I can and I will. I’ll kick your ass. Watch.’

‘I’ve never been threatened by a dead man before, this is certainly a first. And stop going on and on, please. It’s getting quite boring. I’d rather we skip to the bit where I end your sorry excuse for a life, wouldn’t you?’

He opened his blood-stained mouth.

‘That was rhetorical. You need not respond. I’ll end your fucking life right here. Right now. It was nice knowing you.’

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I swatted away his blade as though it were weightless. It hit the ground with a dull thud. Maltor watched the scene with nothing but complete terror in his eyes. His cool villain façade had very quickly crumbled.

I shot forward, bringing my swords around, perfectly poised to take his head cleanly off. Time itself seemed to slow down. This was it. It would finally be over.

The ground itself shot up, creating a wall between me and Maltor. My swords clashed against it with tremendous force, but they didn’t break through.

Maltor couldn’t control the earth.

The soil wall in front of me slowly cracked and crumbled, and, as much as I tried to stop them, my eyes widened at what I saw.

Quinn stared right back at me, sword raised.

Maltor stood behind him, smirking cockily.

Quinn and I were standing so close to each other that the tips of our swords almost touched. This close, I could see that his eyes were no longer the ‘lifeless son-of-Hades’ eyes that they had been just hours ago. He stared at me with intense will and determination.

‘Admirable courage,’ I said coolly. ‘I was only intending to end one life here today, but I won’t hesitate to take a second.’

‘Don’t do this, Albert,’ Quinn responded calmly, his face completely straight.

‘Do what? Do you expect me not to fight? Well, I suppose this can hardly be called a fight. That was a beatdown. And you shall suffer the same fate if you do not step aside and let me kill him, Quinn.’

‘I’m afraid I can’t do that. If you want to kill Maltor then you’ll have to kill me.’

‘This one will hurt me. Goodbye, Quinn. But, I must admit, dying for his lame ass is not quite the ideal way to go, is it?’

‘It’s a death I’d welcome with open arms.’

‘Then lower your sword.’

I perfected my breathing once more.

‘Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Godspeed.’

I shot forward with more speed than ever before. Quinn and I flew through the air with absolutely disgusting velocity. I was in complete control, however.

We hovered above the ground, darting around erratically, nothing but the sheer power of lightning keeping us above the ground.

I had to give credit to Quinn, his sword had been perfectly poised so that my lunge did not take his head off. And he was still holding up. Even though the two of us were moving almost faster than the eye could see, my sword did not break through his guard.

I wondered just for a moment what this looked like to everyone else. Surely they wouldn’t be able to make out me and Quinn through the storm of electricity.

Quinn’s hair was flying wildly in front of his face as he flew backwards, and his glasses were mere millimetres away from flying off his head. His eyes were filled with a mixture of shock and anger.

‘T-This is fast, don’t you think?’ he gargled.

Godspeed could not be performed for long periods of time in quick succession due to how much energy and power it required. I had to get this over with quickly so I still had enough energy to take off Maltor’s head.

‘Congratulations on holding up,’ I replied coldly. ‘I don’t even think Maltor could’ve.’

‘Y-You don’t sound angry.’

Lightning crashed down from the sky, striking me and Quinn. I landed graciously on my feet. Quinn, however, was sent spiralling through the air.

He landed in a heap with a dull thump just a few feet away from Maltor. Maltor looked purely horrified. His shoulders had regenerated, but his arms were nowhere near finished.

Quinn hastily got to his feet, holding his sword in front of Maltor as a last attempt to protect him.

‘Take this, you bastard!’ Maltor roared.

The two swords on the ground levitated quickly, surrounded by the dark energy. They flew towards me, one coming for my head, the other coming for my stomach.

‘Fire Breathing, First Form: Clockwork Fire.’

My fiery sword effortlessly deflected the two of them.

‘That was weaker than last time, Maltor. Are you getting tired?’

‘As if,’ he snarled, panting.

‘How did you move that fast?’ Quinn gasped.

‘I just trained for six months, did I not?’

‘You don’t sound angry,’ he repeated.

‘I’m not angry at you, Quinn.’

He and Maltor stared at me, their eyes wide.

‘H-How? I just openly betrayed you. When Maltor-’

‘That was a different time. I’m changed now, Quinn. I realise now that it is not your fault you betrayed me. You did not want to, correct? You made a mistake during the war with Amy, and now, no matter how much regret you are filled with, you must follow through. You’ve come too far. You have to betray me.’

He stared at me. He, too, didn’t seem angry, more so disbelieving.

‘But, I will warn you again. I’ll give you another chance. Step aside. Or my next attack will go through.’

He didn’t budge.

‘Oh? Still trying to be a hero? Shame. Heroes always die the worst deaths.’

‘A death protecting Maltor would be a death I am proud of.’

‘Then your views are twisted. I shall hang your head next to his when I place them both on the front of The Tower.’

‘You’re insane.’

‘You want the death of billions. I believe I am being reasonable. Now, Quinn, I will not ask again. Step aside.’

He still did not budge.

‘It truly was nice knowing you, Quinn. I hope you don’t hold too many regrets as you pass on.’

I readied my sword, positioning it perfectly for a slash.

‘Ice Breathing, Four-’

‘Albert! Wait a second!’

I froze.

I heard hurried footsteps slowly approaching and knew exactly who it was. My anger was slowly fading. I began to panic.

Emma ran in front of me, spreading her arms wide.

‘Don’t kill him!’

I stared at her, trying to keep my face expressionless. I heard more footsteps behind me; we were gaining a crowd. As much as I was dying to turn around, I kept my stare pointed directly at Emma.

‘What are you doing?’ I said coolly. ‘I am going to kill Maltor. And if Quinn tries to stop me he will suffer the same fate.’

A flash of fear crossed Emma’s face.

‘You can’t kill him, Albert! Quinn’s our friend!’

‘So was Maltor. And Quinn just showed us all who he truly sided with. I am in perfect reason to take both of their heads home with me.’

Emma gritted her teeth. She looked as though she was thinking extremely hard.

Behind her and Quinn, I could make out Maltor’s sickening smirk through the plumes of steam pouring from the ends of his ‘arms’. That shot my anger levels up.

‘Emma, I will not kill you. I will, however, ask you to step to the side for a moment. If you don’t want to watch this then don’t. But I cannot be stopped.’

‘Please, Albert! Don’t kill him!’

‘Why the fuck shouldn’t I?’ I roared, finally snapping. ‘Emma, look at what they want! You can’t seriously be defending that bullshit!’

‘I’m not defending their bullshit! I’m defending Quinn!’ she fired back immediately.

‘But why?’ I countered, my voice hitting volumes that shouldn’t have been possible. ‘‘He’s our friend’; well, tough! He betrayed us and he will face the consequences, whether you like it or not! Now you either give me a good reason why I shouldn’t kill his sorry ass right now or you get out of the damn way!’

Emma closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth.

‘Because I don’t want Quinn to die! I love him!’

My entire body went cold. It was like I’d been punched in the gut.

Ethan stepped forward, putting his hand on my shoulder.

‘If you won’t kill her, Albert, then I sure as hell will,’ he snarled, and such rage was coating his face that even I was scared. His body was crackling with electricity. He looked like a demon.

He lunged forward, his sword aimed perfectly towards Emma’s stomach. And he would’ve made it, too. The only thing that stopped him was me.

I shot forward, just barely faster. I swirled around and blocked his strike with my own sword. He stared up at me in disbelief.

‘Albert?’

‘Don’t make me sick!’ Maltor toyed from behind me. ‘He’s blinded by love!’

Ethan’s blade rattled against mine.

‘Don’t kill her,’ I murmured. ‘If you’ve gotta kill someone, for the love of Titan let it be one of the other two.’

He glared up at me. ‘I’m not gonna let her hurt you like this and get away with it.’

‘Oh, yes you are. For now, at least.’

He slowly pulled back and I lowered my guard also. As I turned back to stare at Emma, I saw that she was watching me in horror.

‘Pick, now,’ Ethan growled. ‘Albert or Maltor. You have five seconds. If you’re too slow then I won’t hesitate to slit your throat and stick your head on The Tower with theirs.’

‘Maltor,’ Emma said immediately after Ethan had finished speaking.

The feeling of being punched returned.

‘Emma?’ I breathed.

‘Don’t worry about her,’ came Asbel’s low voice from behind me. ‘Leave her sorry ass with him.’

‘What did he do to you?’ I said quietly to Emma. ‘There’s no way you’re doing this cuz you want to.’

‘It’s not what he did, Albert. It’s what you did.’

‘What?’

‘Albert!’ Ethan shouted. ‘Leave her! If you wanna stay, at least kill Maltor!’

‘You left me for six months without even consulting me beforehand-’

‘To save the damn world!’ I yelled angrily.

‘I thought we really had something! Clearly, I didn’t mean as much to you as you wanted me to believe!’

‘What in Titan’s name is that supposed to mean?’ I sputtered. ‘Would you rather we stay together in a tarnished world?’

‘I’d rather you didn’t leave me! And don’t even get me started on Natasha!’

‘Oi! Leave her out of your little trouble-in-paradise argument!’ Asbel intervened.

‘No!’ Emma spat angrily, her face red from rage. ‘Maybe if Albert weren’t such a dickhead then her name would be kept out of this!’

‘What?’ I scoffed, realising what she meant. ‘Don’t tell me you think I love Natasha!’

Her silence was enough.

‘Emma! Really? You’ve sided with a genocidal maniac just because you misread the situation?’

‘I misread nothing. I saw the two of you shopping earlier, too. Everyone did.’

‘We were-’

‘Shut up. If I wanted your input I would’ve asked for it.’

I stared at her blankly. My throat was burning. Tears were desperately trying to enter my eyes, but I was holding them back. Barely.

After what felt like an eternity, I sighed.

‘Fine. You win. But, I am sorry to say, you’re just a tad too slow.’

Within less than half a second, I had blitzed my way past both her and Quinn. My sword rested an inch away from Maltor’s neck. He had known I was gonna try that. His neck was surrounded by the same dark energy as his swords had been. I couldn’t break through.

‘Too predictable,’ Maltor teased. ‘Quinn!’

Wordlessly, Quinn grabbed Emma’s arm and Maltor’s shoulder. He stared at me for a brief moment. Strangely, it looked as though he was trying not to cry. But then he shadow-travelled away. One minute, the three of them had been there. The next, they were gone.

‘Albert, you okay?’ Ethan tried.

Such an indescribable level of rage had taken over my entire body in an instant. He had gotten away by the skin of his teeth. I should’ve killed him. I definitely could’ve, so why hadn’t I?

It was taking all the willpower I had to keep this rage quiet. I had to hold it in for now. Once I was home, I could let it all loose with no consequences. Just for a while, I had to let my blood boil.

‘Isn’t this Maltor’s pegasus?’ Ethan continued, hastily changing the subject.

Looking up, I saw him standing next to the pegasus that Maltor had ridden into battle on. That’s when I remembered something. As descendants of Titan, Ethan and I could talk to horses and pegasi.

I walked over slowly, sheathing my swords. I gently stroked the pegasus’s neck.

‘What’s your name?’

The pegasus stared at me for a moment. When he answered, it was strange. His mouth did not move, but I heard the voice in my head. It was smooth and calm.

Midnight. That’s what he called me, anyway.

‘I can see why,’ I said soothingly. ‘This is a magnificent black coat.’

Midnight shuddered at that, as though a shiver had run down his spine.

‘Look, Midnight, I have a proposition for you. How would you like to be my pegasus, huh? The two of us would make a good pair. We both have those gorgeous black wings.’

You cannot have wings, sir. You are a human.

‘You think so?’ I teased as I unfolded my wings from my back. ‘They look just like yours.’

Midnight stared at my wings. If pegasi could look awestruck, he did.

I like your proposition very much. Nice to meet you, master.

‘Oh, please, if I can call you Midnight then you can call me Albert.’

I am bound to call you ‘sir’ or ‘master’, sir.

‘Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Permission to get on your back?’

Permission granted, master.

I leapt up onto Midnight’s back. Once on, I scratched the sides of his neck appreciatively.

‘Gods, you’re a strong pegasus,’ I gasped. ‘But when we’re home I think we’ll get this saddle off you.’

I believe that that’s a bad idea, sir. You need the saddle to ride me.

‘Oh, I think we’ll do just fine, we have great synergy already. Trust me, Midnight. If I’m not restrained by anything then you shouldn’t be, either.’

I am most thankful, sir, but I still believe that that is a bad idea.

‘I’ve made a few bad decisions today already, Midnight, I can make one more.’

I glanced around at the battle around me. It seemed as though Maltor’s army had been ‘defeated’. By that, I mean that they were on the retreat. The RoCitian soldiers did not pursue them but merely watched and jeered as they withdrew.

Dozens of bloodied bodies lay across the field, and looking at them made my stomach churn. That was their first attack and we’d already lost a lot of lives. Of course, some of the corpses were bound to have been on Maltor’s side, but it didn’t make it any less sickening.

‘Come on,’ I murmured to my friends. ‘Let’s go back to The Tower.’

I tapped the side of Midnight’s neck gently and he understood instantly. He ran forward towards the Valley, opening his magnificent wings as he did so.

It was definitely strange, flying on a pegasus, I was much more used to using my own wings. I dealt with it, however, and gently guided Midnight down to the ground a few blocks away from The Tower.

He flew powerfully, and every beat of his wings sent us across a huge distance. The two of us seemed to slice through the sky like a blade as we descended, and I could only imagine what the people below would’ve thought if they looked up.

I would’ve gone all the way to The Tower, but something stopped me. A huge throng of people were outside the front, which is where I had been planning on landing. They appeared to be shouting at someone who was standing at the doors.

It may have been a mistake to descend on a huge pegasus, though, as that attracted a lot of attention.

A huge number of people ran forward towards me as I landed. I took no notice of them, however, as I saw my friends appear with Charlotte a few feet away from me on the other side of the road.

Midnight galloped toward them, and they all smiled sadly as I approached.

‘Doesn’t look like these lot are too happy,’ I murmured. ‘I should be able to get through. Follow my lead.’

Midnight slowly began to walk through the crowd of people, heading for The Tower.

I don’t like this, sir.

‘You’re doing great, man, don’t worry. They won’t hurt you. They’ll have me to answer to if they do.’

We did a great job at ignoring the crowd until a certain woman’s voice reached my ears. I was nearly fourteen, and it was hard to think of a time when a single voice had sent my mood crashing so heavily.

‘Prime Minister Albert!’ came the shrill voice, ringing high above the others. ‘Where’s my daughter?’

The woman pushed her way to the front of the crowd, getting very close to Midnight, which he did not appreciate. One look at her and I knew who she was.

She had greying blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Her face shape was familiar, too, and it was with a sinking heart that I realised who she was.

‘Sir! Where is my daughter? Please!’

I stared straight ahead. Out of the bottom corner of my eye, I could see her pleading face staring up at me. Tears were starting to fall down her cheeks and I gritted my teeth so that they did not fall down mine.

‘She said she was going up there to help you! Her name is Emma Hyde!’

As difficult as it was, I stared straight ahead, willing myself not to cry.

‘She’s always been a big fan of yours! She always spoke about you! Please, sir, where is my daughter?’

We finally got to The Tower’s entrance. Angela stood out front, shouting at the crowd to little success. She appeared to be locked in a fierce argument with the small segment of the crowd that was not focused on me.

‘Inside,’ I said quietly to my friends. ‘Quick.’

They did not need to be told twice.

Emma’s mother still pressed closer and closer to Midnight and he was getting more and more agitated.

‘Stay calm, stay calm,’ I whispered, rubbing his neck. ‘Open your wings in three…two…one…’

His wings snapped outward and he reared up on his hind legs.

‘Your questions will be answered in due time!’ I yelled. ‘Now, I implore you, head away from The Tower and resume your day-to-day lives!’

‘Sir! Please!’ Emma’s mom screamed, tears falling down her face heavily now. ‘Tell me what happened to my daughter!’

I couldn’t. I simply could not say the words.

I could, however, faintly make out Joseph rushing towards me through the crowd, fanning people away.

‘Trust him. He’s Joseph. He’ll take you to safety,’ I said quickly to Midnight as Joseph reached us. ‘Joseph, take Midnight to safety if you wouldn’t mind. And take off his saddle. I have to go inside.’

He nodded tightly.

Bye, sir?

‘Goodbye, for now, Midnight.’

I ran inside, my stomach flipping.

My friends were all sitting around the lobby, anxiously waiting for me.

‘Albert!’ Natasha exclaimed as I came in. ‘Are you- Albert?’

I ran straight past them and used Godspeed to blitz up the stairs to my room. Once there, I hastily unlocked the door and rushed to the bathroom.

There, I let it all out. I had been holding it in for so long. Tears fell down my face like never before, and the anguish was so unbearable that it forced me to my knees.

I wailed and wailed to seemingly no end, my mind overcome by the strangest mixture of heartbreak and rage. I didn’t want to anymore. If this was how hard it was gonna be from now on, I’d rather be dead.

I only moved from my position so that I could vomit into the toilet. Both my mind and body had had enough. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was breaking.

After trying so hard to keep it all bottled up, all I could do was watch as it all came crashing out. I could not do it anymore. There was no chance I could keep going like this.

The emotional pain was causing physical pain, too, which made things worse. My chest and arms ached as though I were being stabbed. I trembled horrifically with the force of the tears, escalating this pain. It was all far too much to take.

My nails frantically scraped the sides of the toilet bowl as I regurgitated food I didn’t even know I’d eaten. I didn’t want to do it anymore. Everything hurt far too much.