"A, Andrea?!" Kael could not understand what was happening anymore. "No, NO! I am sorry! I am so, SO SORRY! If only I could trade places with you!" Andrea's voice, once filled with life and laughter, reached his ears again, only now it sounded flat, cold, and unfeeling. "Your apology, regardless of how heartfelt it might be, is useless to me now. You failed. Those you call friends die slow, painful deaths while you still live, eager to fail again and doom more innocents in the process." - "No, please, Andrea. I did not mean to. What, what do I do?! I want to, to make this right. Please, it hurts so much." His voice got quieter as he spoke, his last sentence nothing more than a bare whisper. Andrea heard it nonetheless. "YOU are in pain?! Do not joke with me, Kael! Look, THIS is pain! THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!!!" Kael looked.

At some point during their conversation, the environment around them had changed, but Kael did not notice, could not notice the difference. The rhythmic thumping that had been a constant companion had followed him in the form of an electric buzzing. His eyes focused on the image that was burning itself into his brain. He knelt in one of the countless back-alleys that poisoned the vibrant atmosphere of the capital. It was night, and rain was still falling. Despite the horrendous conditions, Kael could see every minute detail of the scene before him. Two large, industrial dumpsters, illuminated by a buzzing and flickering lamp, were lined up, side by side, in the middle of the alley, blocking it completely. In between those two containers, hung up by wires reaching down from the heavens, hung Martin. His clothes were ragged and littered with cuts. So was his body. Blood seeped out of uncountable wounds sprinkled all over his entire body, soaking his clothes and gathering in a pool below. Most of the blood, however, came from the fist-sized hole in Martin's chest. As if the image was not horrifying enough already, Martin's pale, bloody face suddenly lifted. Kael's eyes met Martin's for a bare second before Kael had to look away. Those were not the eyes of his friend. Pale, dull, lifeless, eyes devoid of any emotion. He had seen eyes like those on the streets before. They were the eyes of the utterly broken. They were the eyes of humanoid shells, incapable of rational thought and independent action, even those needed to sustain them, on their own. "Why do you look away? Isn't this what you had in mind Kael?"

Martin's words pierced his soul like a blade, cutting even deeper wounds into his bleeding heart. Still, he could not lift his head again, could not look into those eyes again. "Now you won't even look at me? Well, what else can one expect of a soul held together by fear, angst, and the pity of others. Now, enough melodrama for today. Quit your malingering and look at what you have done." Kael couldn't. Why couldn't Martin be angry, screaming, and raging against him and the world? Anything would have been better than this flat voice lacking all emotion. "Useless." A single word. Just that one single word almost broke Kael's mind. There was no room for thought, much less talk, as the pain wrecked his mind and body. Still, something was, almost forcibly, keeping him awake and aware. Otherwise, there was no way that he would have been able to notice that his surroundings had changed once again. Gone was the alley and Martin with it.

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Instead, he found himself inside of a colossal three-nave cathedral. The dready atmosphere present in both of the previous locations was gone. Bright, colorful light flooded the halls through the enormous, intricately crafted stain-glass windows, shimmering like multifaceted jewels high above the ground. White marble columns, decorated with lifelike statues of saints, supported the five-meter high, cross-ribbed vault. The rhythmic sound, that had been his only persistent companion, now reverberated throughout the building in the form of an organ. All around him, between the pews and surrounding the high altar, bouquets of flowers heralded a happy event. Still crying and in pain, Kael had a hard time taking in the sudden change. Suddenly the organ picked up speed and volume, and only a bare moment later, even more light spilled into the church from behind him. Turning around, Kael saw an open massive wooden double door, letting in streams of people dressed in festive clothing. Either blocked by veils or coincidence, Kael never saw a single face as he observed the masses take their seats on the pews. Soon he was surrounded on all sides by streams of people, completely ignoring his presence while moving. When the entire central nave was packed full, the organ picked up its pace once again, and from the entrance, Kael could see a pair of figures enter the church. His stomach turned and twisted with every step the pair took. Once they were close enough for him to make out their faces, he knew why.

Clad in a white, single-breasted suit was Jason, an evil smirk on his lips. Unlike the others before, Jason seemed aware of Kael, and his eyes spoke of the pleasure he was feeling at seeing Kael suffer. Anger, and rage, oh so much rage, was bubbling up in his heart. That made Jason even happier, it seemed, as his smirk grew into a full grin. He seemed to be basking in Kael's emotions. Suddenly Jason pointed to his right, towards the figure walking beside him, his eyes glistening in anticipation and glee. Kael's eyes left his enemy. "No." A mere whisper escaped him when he saw who was walking beside Jason. "No, please. Anything but this." Pleading in his eyes, Kael turned back, only to see the devil himself in the caricature of a smile on Jason's face. Something broke in him at that moment.

Grief, sadness, and pain were all Kael could feel as he turned back to look at Lucy, slowly walking down the aisle towards the altar.