The fire inside burned brightly, but as all fires do, it began to smolder. The rising smoke of his anger rose to great heights, but it was nothing more than smoke. As Ephram stood tall in the graveyard, looking down upon his fallen enemies, he felt his rage subside. The violent dance of hatred he had carried out was most definitely the most atrocious thing he'd ever done. A small part of him felt remorse for the demons scattered across the graveyard, yet another part felt relief. Their limbs had been ripped from their torso, their heads had been unscrewed, and their bodies had been mangled beyond recognition. How he had managed to overcome the now silent army was beyond him, the mere thought of having the power capable of doing this was overwhelmingly terrifying.
The prospect of power had never crossed his mind until now, but it was now the only thing occupying his mind. If the world continued to beat him down until he was forced to take drastic measures, then perhaps it was better this way. Instead of traversing through time and carefully helping those he loved, he would force the world to obey him. All of Yggdrasil would have their hearts set on a brighter future, whether they liked it or not. Yet deep within his heart he knew that peace forced upon the masses was no peace at all.
Looking down at his red left arm, Ephram noticed its crimson hue begin to fade away. Like the cooling of red-hot steel, his pitch-black skin once again reappeared. The center of his torso had done the exact same, now replacing the red vines of rage with his original complexion. The only thing that hadn't changed, however, were his glowing red eyes. They had become much dimmer, but their crimson hue never faded from his face. Ephram felt like his eyes were finally open for the very first time, in both the literal and figurative sense. He could finally see the world for what it truly was, a never-ending battle for survival.
"I... did this?" He asked himself, slowly walking through the graveyard as he made his way to his unconscious wife and friend.
Stepping over the one-eyed demon's body, he grimaced at the plastered look of shock and pity upon its face. He truly had lost all sense of reason and had succumbed to his rage, and in doing so, had felt ashamed for it. It didn't matter to Ephram how necessary it was, the fact of his murderous rampage was still relevant. He had saved both Silvia and May, but had lost Silo in the process. He thought of their lives as more precious than his own, and cursed himself for being so careless with them. His thoughtless actions had led to the death of Silo, his first friend since coming to Hell. If only he had stayed inside the house and hid, perhaps the field mouse would still be alive.
"I'm so sorry..." He trailed off as he reached Silvia and May, unconscious underneath the pine tree.
Throwing Silvia over his shoulder and hoisting May into his arms, Ephram trudged through the mud and fog of the graveyard as he looked back one last time. He found it horribly cruel what the one-eyed demon had done, not leaving the body of Silo to even take back with him. The field mouse had been reduced to mush, a grotesque pile of dark flesh and bone. The only consolation Ephram could find within himself is that maybe Silo had moved on to the Abyss, and perhaps he could save his friend.
But that thought was quickly put out of his mind as he realized just what the Abyss truly was. The Abyss was no afterlife, but the absence of one. Death is death, and there was no getting around it. Silo was doomed to the true eternal nothingness of death, not the false mask the Abyss wore to consume the souls of the living. He could never be brought back, and neither could the demons Ephram had ripped through. They were gone forever along with the field mouse, never to appear again. The thought of an eternal slumber terrified Ephram to his core, and as he walked towards the house with his wife and friend, he began to feel something horribly human begin to happen.
As if his previous statement had been burnt to ash, the devil he proclaimed to be had died almost instantly. The human man Ephram once was had shone through the mask he portrayed to others in the form of tears. Now flowing softly from his red eyes were streams of salty tears, brought on by the pain of losing a friend and nearly losing the others. It had been quite some time since he had felt the rush of tears escape his eyes, and had never once even considered the fact he may cry again as a demon. He thought it was quite the ironic sight, a demon crying over a lost companion. The stories he'd heard as a human child about the creatures of Hell had done nothing but terrify him, but now that he had become one, he felt nothing but anguish.
It was an unfair existence to be thrown into the world expected to drive fear and evil into the hearts of many. The demons he had crossed paths with so far were all the embodiment of that notion to some extent, with only his few friends being the exception. Why reality had damned the demon race to harbor the evil of Yggdrasil was beyond him, but he didn't need to fully understand it to know it was wrong. Every living creature whether demon, angel, or human deserved to lead a life of peace and tranquility. A world of worry was no world at all, simply an anxious existence waiting to end.
As he found his way back inside the home, he looked longingly at the broken blue porch swing. It creaked back and forth in the chilling night breeze as if it were mocking him, laughing at him as it watched him in the graveyard. The rusted metal chains holding it up from the ceiling of the porch swayed like the pendulum of a clock, ticking eerily by with every passing second.
Entering the living room of the home after kicking the door open, he immediately noticed the slumped over body of Restavel lying upon one side of the couch. He was uncertain as to why she had passed out in the first place but noticed how disturbingly quiet it had become because of it. He was the only one left now, everyone else had been gravely injured. It was a lonesome feeling, knowing he alone was strong enough to fight back against the scheming of the world. It was his greatest wish to bring his companions along with him, striding towards a better future for everyone. That wish, however, he knew was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Placing May down upon the other side of the couch and Silvia in the center, Ephram leaned against the wall of his once home. He couldn't bring himself to look at either his wife nor May, as their clothes had been soaked in both the blood of the attacking demons and their own. The white gown Silvia wore now resembled a rusted red tunic, and May's light button-up shirt was nearly the same. Her hat had seemingly disappeared during the fight as well, forever blowing away with the breeze as it was carried far away.
His wife's long silver hair had become matted with red and upon seeing it Ephram felt a horrifying sense of deja vu. The moment he had seen his wife's body in the hospital after the crash had been implanted in his mind forever. Seeing his wife in a similar state once more nearly pushed him off the edge of insanity. Even May's golden locks of hair were just as caked with red, twisting each strand into a red vine of demonic blood. The people he cared most for had once again been let down by him, and he cursed himself for allowing them to get hurt.
There was a familiar scent drifting through the air, the scent of a vanilla and pecan candle. As he shut his eyes and slowly dropped to the floor against the wall, he took in the surrounding aroma. Part of him knew that the scent wasn't real, but another part simply did not care. It reminded him of his days with his wife, alone together until the end. The person he cared most for had been ripped from his arms and cast into the Abyss, but he had managed to get her back. As Ephram thought of this fact, he began to question whether or not all of this was truly worth it. He had regained his memories, he had saved his wife, and had made friends along the way. Those friends, however, had seen nothing but torment since meeting him. Perhaps they'd be better off if he were to just leave, sparing them from the destruction he left in his wake.
"I'm sorry... Silo... and all of you. I never wanted this to happen, I just... wanted to be happy." He said aloud, opening his red eyes once more as he looked towards the couch.
Ephram felt his mind begin to spin circles around him, as if his inner thoughts had ganged up on him. All he wanted out of life was to be at peace with those he cared for, but apparently that was too much to ask. The world had other plans for him, and no matter how hard he fought them, those plans would be seen through to the end.
As the feelings of guilt consumed his soul, he began thinking to himself that perhaps the Abyss didn't seem like too bad of an option. It felt as if he were still inside of the expanding darkness as it swallowed him whole, but his surroundings told him differently. The pure apathy the world held for its inhabitants lit a fire under him, but the calmness of the Abyss seemed to snuff out those flames. The peaceful nothingness of the darkness had taken hold of his soul, twisting it in whichever direction it deemed best. Ephram knew in his heart that he would never succumb to the darkness as long as Silvia and the others were alive, but losing Silo was nearly too much to bear.
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*cough*
Ephram was startled at the sudden noise emanating from the couch, and perked his head up to see who had begun to wake. As he watched the body of Restavel the maid begin to shudder as she coughed, he sprung to his feet to help her.
"Restavel, what happened? Are you alright?" He asked quickly, placing his hand upon her shoulder as he knelt down next to her.
The maid nodded her head slowly, trying to fight back her coughing fit as she laid her head back down upon the arm of the couch, looking over to Ephram.
"I was... attacked..." She spluttered, finally ceasing her coughing as she cleared her throat, "I tried to hold them off, but there were so many. My main body was dumped somewhere in the slums of Ygdransi, but... I don't know why. Surely they were going to kill me, I don't understand why they just ditched my body. I tried to tell Silo as we stood outside, did he make it to you in time?" She asked, but as she began to look round the room she noticed the unconscious bodies of both Silvia and May near her on the couch.
"No, what happened here? And... Ephram... your eyes!" She asked, sitting up slowly to inspect the wounds inflicted on the two of them.
As Restavel gently ran her fingers across Silvia's shoulder, she shook her head in disbelief. Blaming herself for being so careless as to let this happen, she looked towards Ephram for any hint of an explanation. Neither her nor him had much of a clue as to what was going on, but with their combined knowledge, perhaps they could get a leg up on whatever Aberlain was planning to do from here.
"Restavel, I'm sorry... Silo, he..." Ephram began, but looked down at the floor instead of finishing his sentence. It was much too painful for him to say it aloud just yet, but as Restavel watched him hang his head, she understood.
"No, that can't be true... how?" She asked, but Ephram only shook his head in response.
Slowly pointing towards the direction of the graveyard, he made his way towards the window to look out of it. The mist hadn't yet cleared out, but the strewn about corpses of the demons he had killed stuck out like a sore thumb. The blood covered gravestones reflected the pale moonlight as he scanned the surroundings of the home, making sure no more monsters dared approach. Restavel groggily limped towards the window as well, peering through it silently as she surveyed the horrors before her.
"What... could have done this? Was this you?" She asked, looking slowly over to Ephram as she met with his newly red eyes.
She had never seen such a crimson color piercing through the eyes of any such demon before, yet again Ephram had proven himself to be unique. The coloring of a demon's eyes had little to do with their status in Hell, but the fact still remained that even a Rootlord possessed no such coloring. The golden eyes of Aberlain shone as brilliantly as the sun, as the orange eyes of his peers shone like a warm fire on a cold night. Red eyes, however, were simply unheard of in the hierarchy of Hell, it was a never-before-seen phenomena. What this could mean for Ephram, however, Restavel had no clue.
"Yes... Restavel, what's happening to me?" He said meekly, his red eyes begging her for any explanation. The overwhelming fear he felt towards himself was enough to smother any anger he once held.
"I don't know... I'm sorry." She responded, shaking her head in dismay. She wished she could help him on his unknown path towards the future, but the path before him was one only he could see. She had seen quite a few battlefields in her time but the graveyard was something more than that. It was a bloodbath.
As the short maid limped back towards the couch and placed her hands upon the back, she looked down at Silvia and May as they laid still. They were both still breathing, but it was only a matter of time until things got worse. As Restavel thought of what to do, she watched Ephram make his way over to the couch as well.
"I feel as if my mind is... leaving me. I know I'm not human anymore, but I still feel so much more than I know I should. It's as if my humanity is fighting back against my now demonic nature and... I don't know what to do." He said, looking down at his wife upon the couch as her chest slowly rose and fell with every struggle for breath.
Restavel hung her head sadly at his words, her straight long bangs covering her face completely as she looked downwards. She knew how lost he must feel right now, she had gone through something similar before. Her countless days lost within the Abyss felt like nothing more than a constant struggle for sanity, only to be thrust back into the world as if nothing had changed. She knew how hard it was to find the light within yourself once again, and knew that if it weren't for him she would still be under the control of Aberlain.
"Ephram, listen to me. If it weren't for you saving me, we would be enemies. Aberlain had nearly full control over me until you took my main body's sight away. If you hadn't done what you needed to, I'd probably have put a sword through your throat long ago. What I'm trying to say is... you can't do this alone, nor should you try to." Restavel said, her voice growing louder and louder as she spoke and looked back up at him.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, perking his head up slightly to look at her as she spoke.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. No matter how alone you may feel at times, we're still here with you. It doesn't matter where we are in the world, we are all with you. Even Silo, even now. His memory, and our memories. We'll always be together until we have all died. You must know that you have never been alone, never. You must do what your heart tells you to and listen to it fully. Stop trying to control everything outside of your control, just focus on what you can change now and hope for the best... that's all any of us can do." She said, her voice full of conviction and pride.
Ephram stared at her in shock, not expecting to hear such kind words from Restavel all of a sudden. What she said was not lost to him and had begun to reignite the flame within his soul. He had been so thoughtless before, just trying to reach a temporary happiness for them all to enjoy until the inevitable came crashing down upon them, and it had. The plans Aberlain held for the world would one day come to fruition if someone didn't act, and Ephram had finally begun to realize that no one was capable of acting. If nobody else could defeat him, then it would have to be him. It was his responsibility along with the support of his friends, the burden of carrying a brighter future was not on his back alone but on all of them. Silvia, May, Restavel, and Silo all had come to him for a reason. Ephram knew that without them, he would never have made it this far. To protect his friends and the future he held so dear, he would stride through reality itself to reach it.
"You're right... I'm sorry, I had lost sight of myself... but that doesn't matter. I know the kind of future in store if Aberlain gets his way. I won't let that happen. The future of the world is not something to rule over with an iron fist. It has to be me... I have to stop him."
Restavel nodded her head slowly as she understood what he was saying.
"Okay. As long as the bodies in the graveyard are there, I don't think any other demons will dare approach us. I'll watch over Silvia and May and when they wake, I'll explain everything that's happened. I'm familiar with dressing deep wounds as well, I myself was once quite a powerful knight and have seen one too many fatal wounds. These, however, will not be fatal with the proper treatment."
"Thank you, Restavel... and, did you say you were a knight?"
She chuckled under her breath at his question, grateful she could open up about her past with him. It had been far too long since she'd seen battle, but deep down she was still the same hivemind warrior she knew herself to be.
"Yes, but that's a story for another time."
As Ephram nodded in agreement, he walked calmly over to the window once more as he peered through it. He hadn't realized it before and was quite ashamed to admit it, but nevertheless, he knew he was no longer alone. He had always viewed himself as striding through life completely alone, only feeling recognized by his wife. This was no longer the case, however, as he remembered the shared laughter and pain of his newfound friends.
After peering through the window for quite some time, he returned to the couch where two of the people he cared most for lay unconscious. Looking down at Silvia with hope for her recovery, he gently unwrapped the white scarf she had given him from around his neck. There were a few blood splatters here and there upon the scarf, but it still shone just as bright as the future he knew he could give to her. Placing the scarf atop the beating heart within her chest, he took a step back to admire her. She was stronger than ever before, both her and May had done all they could against the demons in the graveyard. Ephram felt nothing but pride in the people he surrounded himself with, and that pride was enough to carry him through to each and every day.
He knew that as long as they were held deep within his heart, he was never to be alone again. They were the most precious part of his brighter future, and without them, the future held nothing but contempt. Ephram thought to himself how important they all were to him as he looked towards Restavel one last time, his eyes smiling for him as he felt a sense of peace wash over him.
"I'm going to defeat Aberlain, and I'll secure a better future for us all. I promise you, Restavel. I won't lose anyone else." He said, dropping to one knee suddenly.
As he looked up to Restavel once more, he saw her nodding with happiness as he watched the world around him begin to melt like hot candle wax. The colors of the world had smudged together, becoming the dark void he commanded. He had activated his demonic magic once more, and as he spotted the white light quickly approaching from the horizon, he shut his red eyes tightly as it engulfed his very soul.