Silas looked out at the distorted horizon and gazed beyond it. His vision shifted a little as time seemed to split for all but a moment. He blinked again and focused his mind on the reality which he once had inhabited.

”Cassius you bastard, I swear I you lay a hand on her I’ll rip you to shreds!” Silas hissed.

Silas could just barely make out his own footsteps beyond the horizon. He closed his eyes and let the vision take over. He could now hear his own footsteps as well, and yet he could not control his actions. Silas concentrated again and the vision slowly started to blend with reality. Everything became clearer as his concentration grew sharper. At a certain point, he could not differentiate the footsteps of Cassius from those of his own. That was when he had finally breached the limits of the horizon.

His thoughts were still his own, yet the body which he now inhabited was not. For Silas had merely forced his mind into Cassius’s consciousness. He could see what Cassius could, but he had no control over his actions. Silas cleared his throat and finally broke the silence of the mind.

”Did you miss me, you damn bastard?” He smirked.

Cassius looked around him and yet there was no one there. The voice echoed in his mind and yet there was no true source for it. Cassius groaned and simply continued to wade through the water towards the fog-ridden storm on the horizon. He just wanted to pay her a visit, nothing more. Yet the rest of him probably thought otherwise.

“Knowing Silas, he would want me dead right now.” Cassius muttered to himself.

“You’re damn right I would!” Silas declared.

”Who said that?” Cassius questioned.

”Ever checked inside your head lately?” Silas inquired.

”Just how in the name of Nadahr are you back!” Cassius shouted.

”I’m not here, or at least my body isn’t. Frankly I’m not sure where I am, I fell for a good while! Surprised I didn’t loop around a couple of times.” Silas joked.

”So, you’re trapped somewhere?” Cassius stated.

”Yep, and you’re out here doing… well I have no idea just what it is you are doing.” Silas added.

”Well, I will tell you this much, I’m not here to go and kill off your “sister” as you call her.” Cassius asserted

”Why? I thought you wanted revenge of some kind, all because she didn’t let you die, am I not right!” Silas exclaimed.

”I just want to talk to her, ask her why she let us live. I want answers, that’s all.” Cassius declared.

”But why? What made you change your mind!” Silas yelled

Cassius refused to answer and simply continued walking. He could hear Chopin’s Funeral March off in the distance, which meant he must be getting closer. Cassius smiled and continued walking for all but a moment as the fog rolled over him. He closed his eyes and took a few steps forward as the water beneath him changed to sand. Once Cassius opened his eyes, he found himself on dry land again.

”Oh, Silas, so nice of you to drop by!” Bethyinine exclaimed.

“I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. There’s no need to get so excited.” Cassius sighed as he walked over to hug her.

Bethyinine smiled and the pair sat down by the shore. Cassius watched the waves roll onto the beach, carrying sand away with it. He smiled and listened for a while as they crashed along the shore. Bethyinine looked at him and her blood went cold for all but a moment. She could see just his veins as there was no skin or bone on him.

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”Good grief, what happened to you!” She gasped.

”Honestly, I don’t have an answer.” Cassius groaned.

“Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?” Bethyinine asked.

”Do you… remember how you saved me from death all those centuries ago?” Cassius stuttered.

”Yes, I definitely remember that, oh how frail you were back then!” Bethyinine chuckled.

”Well..” Cassius paused.

”I want to ask you why you did that.” He finished.

”You want an answer? You want an answer as to why I saved you?” Bethyinine sneered.

”Yes Beth, I want an answer.” Cassius groaned.

”How odd that you would want an answer. I thought you knew me already to the point at which you never had to ask!” She joked.

“Fine, I’ll finally answer your question. I needed someone to occupy my time. I was lonely, I didn’t want to spend eternity all by myself.” Bethyinine lamented.

”So, you only saved me out of loneliness?” Cassius titled his head in response.

”Yep, that’s my reason, plain and simple.” She teased.

”Well, all these years I thought you did so out of pure selfishness. Now that you gave me an answer, I’m starting to think that you really can feel emotions after all. Even though you didn’t let me rest.” Cassius chuckled.

”Why would I let you die! You were just too precious for that!” Bethyinine insisted.

”Thanks then, for letting me live. I’ll be seeing you around then I guess.” Cassius joked as he started to walk away.

”Same to you then.” Bethyinine replied.

Bethyinine dove into the sea as Cassius opened a portal back to the Abyss. The portal materialized in front of him, and he was swiftly dragged through it. Cassius couldn’t react to what was happening to him. He blinked as he exited the portal and was met with Luxcious staring back at him. Well, he wasn’t staring at him so much as he was holding a knife to his throat. Cassius looked down at his colleague and chuckled nervously. Luxcious didn’t respond and just stared at him.

”What do you want with me!” Cassius hissed.

”Don’t pull this with me! You know perfectly well what I want with you!” Luxcious yelled.

”As a matter of fact, I have no idea what you want with me.” Cassius insisted.

”Well, that doesn’t seem to be right. According to my research you planned to kill not just your own sister but her entire family as well!” Luxcious sneered.

”You what!” Cassius asked Silas.

“It was a mistake, ok! Besides, I’m pretty sure you wrote it because it’s not in my handwriting!” Silas insinuated.

”Well I changed my perspective since then!” Cassius remarked.

”Well you changed it rather quickly if I do say so myself.” Silas sneered.

”I wanted answers, is that not a valid reason!” Cassius yelled.

”It would only be valid if you were alive for a lot longer!” Silas roared.

Cassius fixed his gaze back on Luxcious. The Scholar stared at him, now with a rather perplexed look on his face. Cassius smiled and backed up a little bit. Luxcious just stood there in silence as if waiting for Cassius to say something. Finally, after taking a moment to think, Luxcious found something to say.

”Just what are you exactly? You wear the face of Silas, and you have his voice, yet you are not him. So what then are you?” He inquired.

”Took you long enough to figure it out. Frankly I’m surprised a fool such as yourself was able to figure it out so quickly. Though I have to ask, what gave it away?” Cassius teased.

”Your accent, or rather your lack thereof, was what gave you away. James normally has a mix between a Scottish and an Irish accent. You my friend lack any accent whatsoever, which is honestly disappointing.” Luxcious chided.

”Well what then am I? If you’re so smart, then tell me just what I am!” Cassius sneered.

”If I am to take a guess, I would assume that you are his shadow. Or as someone like Freud would call it, his inner demon.” Luxcious retorted.

”Honestly that’s a pretty good answer, bravo!” Cassius applauded.

“Thank you, my dear sir, though I have one final question.” Luxcious added.

”And that is?” Cassius asked.

”If you’re here, then where exactly is Silas?” Luxcious inquired.

”That is a very good question.” Cassius agreed.

Luxcious shook his head and walked away towards the spire. Cassius watched as the scholar’s pace increased from that of a brisk jog to a full-on sprint. He couldn’t help but laugh as an eighty-year-old man broke out into a full sprint in front of his own eyes. Cassius finished laughing and caught his breath. He looked up at the eclipse above him and then at the ocean below. He squinted his eyes and bent over so as to see his own reflection below him.

The closer he got, the clearer his reflection became. Only it wasn’t his reflection staring back at him, frankly it wasn’t him at all! Cassius was looking at a decrepit corpse of a man staring back at him. The skeleton of a serpent coiled around his neck and down his chest. Cassius watched as the serpent uncoiled itself from around the corpse. He saw as it slithered upwards through the darkness towards him. The water rippled as it passed through to the other side. Cassius tilted his head as the serpent locked eyes with him. He could see its white, wispy eyes, burrowing into his soul.

The skeletal serpent seemed to smile as it slithered towards him. The creature coiled itself around him, its head was now at level with his. Cassius felt it slowly began to pierce through him all the way to his soul. He wanted to scream, yet the creature’s eyes told him to remain calm. Cassius just smiled and finally locked eyes with it.

He was at peace, here and now…