Within the house, a clacking and clattering was going on in the distance, just as they were about to close the windows, they stopped dead in their tracks at the strange sound.

"Did you guys hear that?" A boy in a group of three asked.

One girl shrugged. "What, you've already gone insane?"

"We haven't even seen the real terror yet." Another responded.

The sound seemed like a massive snake hissing and screeching, the sound echoed and the group of three kids quickly huddled up, shivering in their own sweat.

"Yeah I don't know about this place."

"Me neither, you really shouldn't be here with a dead person!"

"Why... did we come here again...? Whose idea was this?" One asked, her teeth shivering, and her skin covered in goosebumps.

"Do we run...?" The same guy replied, as a sly grin formed on his face. "Or maybe he does live in this creepy old pyramid..."

Even with so much energy in his body, the trembling simply wouldn't stop.

'Haaaaaah...' Phantos breathed a heavy sigh. Just thinking of the hell it has put itself through makes it seem so worth it. And yet... the results? What more? To be known as a persons book, for a man whose bones have been broken countless times and beaten into mush a thousand times.

Even under the freezing, chilly air, he remained naked, his whole body pale, with hints of yellow and green all around. His bare figure decaying into skin and bones. Though it wasn't his fault. After years of doing so, his clothes became stinky, and he started smelling worse than what would have been considered 'healthy'. As well, there was no one in sight, not a soul in town to even give him a simple pair of clothing.

He took his first step forward, the cold breeze bringing a welcoming sensation, to feel alive. And soon, he could make his way back home and become a ruler! It made him feel rather stupid, looking back.

"AAAAAAAHHH!!!" All that ensued next, was the sudden realization that the building they were in was truly as the townsfolk claimed to be true, that it was actually a mansion belonging to a dead man. All three turned and sprinted out in full force, not daring to turn their heads for even a second.

But how does Phantos know all of this? It had put the illusion up itself. Athazagoraphobia, the fear of being forgotten. Perhaps not in a literal sense, but more in the form of how much or how little the public remember him for. Not only did he create such an image of himself, he also faked the appearance and attitude of his 'old self', as he had once referred it to himself.

This own place, revolving around the tomb where he had been once buried alive, now a myth which became a reality to be feared amongst the people who thought him as a mere legend or folklore. His return had been broadcasted across the entirety of the small village. Unbeknownst to him, it seems that his book had also recorded every single word, action and emotion felt through the eyes and ears of every self of his who had spoken the name 'Phantos' that day.

After creating a path out of dirt and a thin layer of rocks, a single door was there. Then, the stone tiles were split apart, and the path cleared out, with only his little room revealed, that too, was connected to the entrance through a few other tiles.

He hungered, but he knew he could not eat. He wanted, yet he couldn't obtain. Though he desired, it would forever remain so.

To pass time, he read books. There were many people who had been inside his building, some to pay a visit, while the others were those who were supposed to keep an eye on his body which had never been found.

'These townsfolk aren't so smart, now, are they?' He thought. Why wouldn't they simply search around, rather than search the inside of his stomach and lower organs for his remains. His skeletal remains would have still remained the same way as if he were still alive. If one were to touch the body, one would clearly have felt his temperature, but one might not feel him breathing, for all his creation was him. He felt the pain of every step on it, the smell of every dirty act, the wind of every cold breeze, everything he heard, everything. And now he can see, with all his eyes, the beings, who were neither Angels nor Demons, who had stepped on the bones, and the way they handled it.

Yet, they continued to play the part of Demon. And it was at that point, Phantos had an epiphany of a great gift, something it has had yet to gain: Knowledge. All its imagination was limited to the manchild's story, and his child whom bore 10,000 eyes, 7,000 teeth and 4,000 tongues. But it gained more, his ideals and beliefs; to which he sought as the perfect being, the most divine entity of his creation, and most of all, his child's creator and god of its existence.

His father, once had come to mansion. He spoke words that none other have said, as if speaking to the man himself.

He recalled.

"Vetro, O, sinner of mine. This was no more than the sins you had caused, it was fate. Now, no more shall it bring you any pain. From this, I ask you, to carry the pain within. Let not these people who have abandoned you live without their rightful consequences. If I, as your father have not been there, have not shown you the way. Then this, my son, is the life you deserve." He placed the plate down on the coffin. It was food and a drink, it's fragrance had spread throughout the entirety of the dark hallway. He felt it throughout the entirety of the mansion. "I offer you respite, for I ask for a measly sacrifice. A child, a child who is a Demon in its own eyes. I believe that is enough, no? You shall be safe. Your days will pass, and as will those of the cursed. You shall bring revenge to their houses, their kin. And upon their dying moments, they will have known who it was that ended their lineage." He kneeled down beside him, though he did not see nor sense his presence. "Though it pains me to see my child like this. I cannot allow myself to mourn in sorrow. For I shall one day meet death in its own. For the sins of this life shall follow. I do not ask for forgiveness, but simply understanding." Vetro would not have ever imagined a time when his own father would come, nor would he have ever seen it coming. His soul, has no longer moved within his bones.

'Interesting... it was this day, wasn't it? A year ago. I was alive. Yet, here we are.'

How will he break it out? How will he break it all out. It seemed far fetched. Yet, deep within his soul. A burning fire burned brightly. He knew at times he would falter, but he'd pick himself back up. It was time for him to abandon this palace, to see beyond the realm he had set himself to believe, and all the possibilities ahead.

Though his entire being was taken away in an instance. It felt like the air in his lungs would burn if not released, he felt like a hungry wild animal, though it wasn't that much of a problem anymore, as the empty pit he held within his stomach, seemed to have ceased being there.

'Now, you have recalled. I command that you awaken.' Phantos, the feminine voice said.

It stirred the will within his heart, bringing with it the feelings he had bottled up all these years, as if his entire soul was finally freed. 'Who... are you?'

It responded, as if it had seen something quite incredible, 'I see. You have achieved the goal, though you do not wish to kill.' The voice stopped for a second, its next words meant nothing more than simply reminding the now decrepit Vetro of what he was told, 'You, foolish immortal, wish not to live, but wish instead to die. It has been a while since someone has met such an end, having accomplished their goals, I wonder. Perhaps now, after such time you've waited, have you ever imagined this could come to pass?'

'I do not know...' But he knew. The time had already passed. The months he has waited, a year already, and here he was. He had waited his wait, and even after realizing it had all been pointless, his purpose in his existence would forever remain a question unanswered. 'It has been... such a long time since a voice such as yours has spoken within my mind.'

The voice appeared to laugh lightly. 'I missed the way you talk to yourself. And the things you have to say, I never seem to tire. You, my Lord, understand much and know little. Only those such as you, in the simplest of words, have what you see as great.' They both laughed together in the glassy water as he would not drown. His child was in his arms, still alive.

'I see, so I had... that...'

'Indeed you have, my Lord.'

It felt different from when it talked the first time. The voice sounded younger and more... refined. In its tone. The femininity was almost noticeable. Their relationship now seemed much closer. They understood one another, like two good friends.

'Now, time to get up, don't you think?' Phantos switched to a more colorful tone, to make its response more emotional than usual. 'I am very sorry, I'd love to stay, but, no. No. We just cannot have that happening today, of all days.'

And Vetro opened his eyes, staring directly at a gigantic gaping hole in the sky above, swimming as he and his child began to fade back to reality. No longer stuck in his mind, his memory. The poison which had once killed him, had died out. With not a single drop of his life blood to be seen.

.....

'Ah yes, I'm back. This feels odd...'

Reality. A wooden cottage, a cozy fireplace, and a comfortable bed. One where you can see and feel every inch of it, and its insides. Its springs, its fillings, the texture, everything, down to the fibers that weave it together to hold everything in.

Pain. He could feel everything on it, his nerves were coming back to life. Every little crevice that comes with a body and being. And the pain, it was horrid. 'Oh gods! I had almost forgotten this part.' He hissed to the imaginary voices above and groaned a little. His face was back to normal, as if he was never kneed or hit in the first place.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"What the fuck are you?" Zabulus questioned as it let go of his foot with its heel and bent down a little, a puzzled look on its face.

"Yeah, the hell are you?" Vetro echoed, letting himself slump down, not giving any effort to fight the fatigue. "Like, seriously, how does the brain even function like this, my soul, no. Like. It feels so weird." He replied.

Zabulus' expression slowly shifted, he held his head. His face tightened, the eyes locked onto his. And a scowl was shown. A migraine of a caliber not worth mentioning came upon the nameless demon, as Vetro stood up slowly, grinning in pain as he felt every bone in his face restructure itself back in place. And with his fists ready, he held the old rusty lamp that had long lost it's color, and whammed it into Zabulus, hearing the crunch, its ribs caving in, his chest practically collapsing as it let out a sigh.

Zabulus let out a soft yelp before coughing out blood, looking down and feeling something go loose. And not a second later, the ground before him became tinted red, the smell of iron lingered within the air. "Now how's that for making me relive those... moments, huh? You fucking rat!"

Before long, his insides seemed to have bulged outwards in a conical shape. A piece of shrapnel tore apart the center of his spine, the nerves dismembered. his whole abdomen began to rot and the rot was spreading to the surrounding muscles and organs, decomposing everything it had touched, his 'eyes' starting to shrivel and his sinus and nasal cavities began to break open. The skin was already peeling off by this point.

The dangling mass of flesh was nothing more than the mutilated, pulpy mess, as if something had exploded inside him, the chunks of meat dripping with bodily fluid.

Alice let out a sound akin to vomit. And all her senses were heightened, she felt sick and disgusted. And it didn't help that Vetro had practically killed Zabulus. She was weak, she was useless. She was... a disgrace...

As he hacked his lifeblood into his hands, spitting it out, "No..." He saw his bones begin to rip open, with his heart not having any actual pulses, he felt it grow dimmer and dimmer. And finally, his heart had exploded, the blood it contained bursted, its pulpy remains lay scattered across his chest cavity, now gaping. The area on his pelvis seemed to have been dug into, the groin completely shredded open and decaying.

Phantos laughed at the sight of Zabulus, Vetro took a glance at Alice's direction, and an eerie silence fell over them.

'Lord, how are you feeling? Alright?' Phantos thought, as she mentally began walking towards him.

'Feeling at my best. Yep!' Vetro replied. 'Let's get ourselves cleaned up, we should have enough time to relax a little bit.'

'Alright.'

Now, as one would put it, going through a series of unfortunate events. Having a conversation with themselves, seemingly alone. Then their words starting to reflect in real time, such a person could not have gone to heaven.

Zabulus, gore still dripping out from the open gash on its body, continued on despite his mangled chest, neck and face.

Alice sat to the side, completely forgetting all that has transpired, as she watched a scene straight out of her worst nightmares.

She has done worse than this, she has seen far greater horrors, and she had done her fair share. In her many years, this was not an issue in her book. But the simple act of disfiguration and sheer brutality in which the perpetrator had performed, was too much to bear, even for a beast such as herself, knowing the victim was a man who she cared for. And Vetro, his words echoed in her mind.

"Bah. Demons don't cry, no no, dear Alice. Demons only cry when it's most convenient for them."

His words felt bitter, yet cold. And the warmth his words had conveyed the night prior, no, not even a trace. He was not human, not to anyone, but his words, they were to him more precious than his life. He could see the truth. The eyes, the fear that surges through the body. Not a demon.

'Mother was always the same. She was nothing more than a spiteful and selfish beast.' Zabulus' thoughts ran. 'Such a thing, I will do anything to rid her, from our family... but...' He raised his palm to the left side of his jaw, 'In due time, I will seek my revenge.' And his last breath was but a gasp, but, soon, he too, fell over. And the skin all throughout his body began to turn black, his flesh began to fester, then slowly, the body shriveled up until he was nothing but a little sack of bone dust and some blood.

It's over. Vetro stepped over and kicked the corpse of Zabulus one last time before leaning towards Alice. "Get up, we're not done here."

'My lord... a moment, if you do not mind.'

"What?" Vetro muttered quietly, watching his hand pulse faintly against the book that spoke its mind, a chilly blue glow had embraced the room. He found himself standing a little farther away from the carnage, the flickering of the lights from above had then ceased its motion. Everything had seemed to slow.

'I... I believe that the girl... she should not be a burden.'

"Ah, this..." Vetro slowly walked and sat down near alice, patting the poor thing's back as it appeared to have gone to a daze of sorts. It's eyes wide open, its tears flowing, frozen in time.

He looked back over his shoulder, examining the space surrounding him. "She doesn't deserve all this. This world, this madness, none of this, it was only meant to bring joy and entertainment, and pleasure, this and that."

"Yet, the look on her face," He turned back and gently lifted up her head, wiping her tears away with his thumb, "She has no will to live."

'Indeed.'

"None whatsoever."

'Quite. Yes. My sentiments exactly. My lord, do forgive the intrusion.'

"Phantos, can you see me? When you have your eye on me?" Vetro wondered.

'Of course, I have eyes all over.'

"Even right now? Where are your eyes right now?" He let go of Alice.

'You cannot comprehend this knowledge, my lord. But I shall show you this one.'

A single pair of glowing purple eyes surrounded by a fleshy veil floated above Vetro.

'This one was my first.'

It disappeared within his sight.

'She speaks no words and has no will of her own. This was bound to happen the moment she was freed. There was no longer a need for the man's presence regardless, but I believe that she should continue living on.'

Vetro suddenly stopped and pondered about something, his expression softening before shifting to that of anger. "So, we have all these great powers."

'Indeed. Quite incredible as well, given that all it takes to harness is but the power of the will and the ability to understand the ways of the soul, not magic. Just knowledge, my lord. For in itself, the way it works and functions, all are connected by a common root.'

"Yeah yeah, that." Vetro replied, looking over the cold and solemn state of Alice's body, as her hair started to waver and the wind began to howl.

"How come there's no cliché hero-and-damsel shit?" He asked.

'We do not have any need for any cliché's to happen here, the entire scene was supposed to be a solemn moment between Zabulus and you. But I guess, I overstepped my boundaries and so. The battle ended before it started, leaving an ill taste in my mouth. An excuse if anything. I needed to send in a representative so I made do.'

"Hm. So, what now? I killed the destroyer of my creation, I gained another useless set of powers and knowledge." Vetro noted. "Are you sure the people won't kill me? Aren't they gonna try and kill me for breaking their image or whatever it is they have?"

'No... for he was an interloper. An intruder.'

"But aren't we-"

'For now, and it will be a long time before they truly come and realize. So please, act the part of Angel.'

"That's what I was thinking!"

'Anyhow, it matters not. To that, the man before you should have realized that a very long time has passed. Surely his mortal friends would have come to question his presence.'

The chit-chat between the two continued for some time.

Vetro tapped his chin, scratching his beard. "Right, right. And Alice here, why not I just... fix her... memories?"

'Whatever for? She did this out of her own free will. Should she so choose to forget the deeds and woes of the past, so be it, let it be.'

"Okay then," He smiled and raised his hand to wipe his eye, looking at it, there was no blood, but the scar, the mark he had left in his fathers memory. "She really did try hard. She was so set on leaving, and now she can't even."

'There are consequences to every action, Lord, there will always be.'

"Well I could just take her in, have her travel, see the world, make friends..."

'Why do you exactly intend to do all this? Lord, a good deed deserves another good deed. Not because of pity, never out of pity.'

"Just... just trying to do my own good to someone that needs help." He pouted, furrowing his brows a little and cocking his head away, he waited to see if his companion had more to add to his case, though she said nothing more, not a single reply, nor retort or otherwise.

"Ah..." A feeling overtook his soul. Not his body, not his physical state, it wasn't all too clear what it was. It felt good, yet... like he was being berated. His body however was quivering slightly. He stood up straight and spoke softly, "What... is this?" His vision, all colors, had begun to mix and blur. His 5 senses, all but his sight, were thrown into a spiral. A void like existence that surrounded him, encasing everything and all at once, taking on a similar nature to that of reality.

'My lord?! Are you still there?! Answer, Lord. Please!'

Vetro began to walk around, looking and checking. He felt so light, so happy, his body felt so alive, more than before. "Hehe... oh, Gods, Phantos. Oh God... no wonder this guy had my body mutilated like this. It's so much better...!"

'Lord! STOP. You will have to start from the beginning and undo the damages to your soul. I can see the contours of it... it...?' Confused, Phantos watched and slowly began to doubt her eyes. 'My Lord, what is the meaning of this? Explain yourself.'

"Relax," Vetro replied, laughing all the while. "Just let it sink in, just, let everything in! Isn't life... isn't this body, so great?"

'What?'

He sighed, smiling to himself.

And before the very next blink, Vetro was gone. Leaving a now empty void, a dark void, without light and hope. Rather; his existence was pushed back to the edge of his psyche. A being from this reality has no business controlling this realm. Or as one might say: the folly of a mortal soul. A blight upon his memories.

In that moment of insanity, a whisper crept from the dark. An entity older than any, with a smile as a familiar. He held out his hand. A shimmer darker than the dark, and deeper than any abyss. One born in a land where no mortal soul belongs.

And before the being could speak another word, he was in nowhere, with two other damned souls.

"I forgot just how great this felt! It had been... what, ten... two thousand years? Time doesn't flow here after all, so you'll know." 'Vetro' chuckled lightly.

'Don't mess with my lord. Don't use my books. You, nor me, have the knowledge required to interfere with my existence and to command its presence in a physical plane without a suitable vessel. Zabulus, you devil of a beast. What have you done?!' The voice snarled, coming from the left, a cold breeze embraced the surroundings.

'Thinly veiled. Begone you. Thou art, shall be no more.' The right hissed.

"Lookie here now, this book. How funny! What are you, a book of jokes? I am sure that this book is probably yours, am I not wrong?"

'Enough. Leave. NOW. Before you commit further atrocities and have thy sins added to your names, sinner, and filth.' As if Phantos was split in two, both the voices spoke.

It's more like the spirit of a book was split into two, their essences all having been thrown off kilter. One, stronger than the other. One, younger than the other, one... simply being taken advantage by its new master, Zabulus.

His hands seemed to tremble as he tried to maintain control, but didn't manage to retain his sanity. It was now starting to chip and crack, it was his time.

Zabulus had taken over the body of Vetro.

His body, now a walking corpse, in his palms lay an empty book. In his mind, a single thought. His heart, no longer beating, still warm with life, his words spoken not. And yet, his voice spoke of nothing. His soul, made of four separate souls, as twisted, each in its own way. Metamorphosing into what was once Zabulus' body, Vetro's cadaver took form. His new shell, a dark matter and void-like mass of blackened matter and bones.

He looked towards Alice, who watched in anagapesis as her friend; who she knew for so little, acted as a demon possessed, in such a terrible way. He placed his hand on her shoulder as he kneeled, but his touch was not gentle. Controlling and forceful, Alice felt a sharp pain. As the roots grew and took hold over her mind and body, she found herself at the mercy of an incomprehensible and deplorable being. She knew his true intentions, and yet she could not even budge.

Yet, a part of him felt as though this was wrong, and stopped. He stood up without a word and started walking away.

Now where Laz was, he commanded the husk of man to follow him, with no memory left to speak of, Laz, was now just another of the mindless shambling masses.