Marcus's POV
All I could think was, what have I done?
As I stood deep in the heart of the forest, the fading light casting long shadows across the moss-covered ground, my heart pounded with worry and fear. Beside me, Judith, my wife, clutched my arm tightly, her eyes filled with tears. And there, curled up amidst the roots of an ancient tree, was my son - Lucifer. My heart ached at the sight, his usually vibrant golden eyes now closed, his small form shivering against the chill of the evening.
I remembered how Leo and Canary came running, with tearful eyes, their cries of anguish piercing my heart. "He just ran into the forest, and we couldn't stop him," Leo explained, his voice trembling with fear. "We don't know where he went." Canary nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "The boys bullied him for being different,...they said can he even do magic?"
The words echoed in my mind like a relentless refrain, each syllable carrying the weight of a thousand regrets. I had always believed, I was doing what was best for Lucifer, and our family. But now, as I stood in the fading light of dusk, surrounded by the trees of the forest, I couldn't help but question every decision I had ever made.
"Lucifer..." I whispered, my voice barely audible above the gentle rustle of leaves. I knelt beside him, reaching out with a trembling hand to brush the hair away from his forehead. His skin was cool to the touch, and a deep sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach.
"He won't wake up," Judith's voice broke through the silence, her eyes filled with tears.
I couldn't bear to look at her, the guilt and pain swirling in my chest like a storm. I had pushed Lucifer too hard, too fast, driven by my own ambitions and dreams of a better future. And now, he lay before me, fragile and vulnerable, paying the price for my mistakes.
"We treated him like he was invincible like he could handle anything. But he's just a kid, Marcus. How could we be so blind?"
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, a painful reminder of my failures as a father. I had been so consumed by my obsession with Lucifer being the hero, the saviour, that I had overlooked the signs of his struggles. The moments when his eyes would cloud with doubt, when he would falter in his steps, when he would withdraw into himself, seeking solace in the quiet corners of our home. And then there was the truth about his inability to see mana, a fact I had known but chose to ignore. I had convinced myself that it was just a matter of time, that he would unlock his potential when the time was right. But deep down, I knew the truth - that I was clinging to a false hope, a desperate belief that if I pushed him hard enough, he would somehow become what everyone expected him to be.
I carefully lifted Lucifer's limp form and started walking. But I couldn't shake the feeling of utter helplessness as we made our way back to our home. The veins in my hand throbbed with an almost unbearable intensity, the black tendrils spreading like a sinister web beneath my skin. I clenched my jaw, willing the pain away, but it persisted, a constant reminder of the darkness that threatened to consume us all.
When we finally reached our home, I laid Lucifer down on his bed, the sheets damp with sweat from his fevered state. Judith hovered over him, her hands trembling as she brushed the hair away from his forehead.
"He's burning up," she whispered, her voice choked with tears.
I nodded, my throat constricted with emotion. "I'll get a damp cloth," I managed to say before turning away, my hand trembling as I reached for the basin of water. But as I turned away to fetch a damp cloth, I felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over me. The pain in my hand intensified, shooting up my arm like a bolt of lightning. I stumbled, catching myself against the wall as the room spun around me.
"Marcus!" Judith's voice snapped me out of my reverie, her eyes wide with concern as she rushed to my side.
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"It's nothing," I forced a smile, the effort causing beads of sweat to form on my brow. "Just a moment of weakness."
But it wasn't just a weakness. It was a darkness that threatened to consume me whole, a darkness that I had kept hidden for far too long. The black veins on my hand pulsed ominously, a stark contrast to the pallor of my skin. I had ignored the pain, the darkness festering within me, but now it demanded to be acknowledged.
Suddenly, Lucifer stirred, his brow furrowing in distress. Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, his body tensing as if caught in the throes of a nightmare. His body convulsed, his hands clawing at the sheets as if trying to escape an invisible foe. Sweat poured down his face, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"Lucifer!" Judith's voice rang out in panic, her hands reaching out to soothe him. I rushed to his side, my heart pounding with fear.
But it was as if Lucifer was fighting a battle within himself, a battle that none of us could see or understand. His struggles intensified, his cries of pain filling the room with a haunting melody. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Lucifer's body went limp, and with a gasp, he burst open his eyes, the golden orbs wide with fear and confusion.
But I saw. For just a fleeting second...but I saw.
I saw something that sent a shiver down my spine. The golden hue that usually danced in his gaze had been replaced by an abyssal darkness, a void that seemed to swallow the light around it. It was as if the shadows had tainted his very soul. But as quickly as the darkness had appeared, it vanished, replaced once more by the familiar golden glow that I had come to associate with my son. He blinked, his eyes clearing the eerie darkness, but the image lingered in my mind.
"Are you alright?" I asked, my voice filled with concern and a hint of fear.
Lucifer nodded weakly, his breath still laboured from the ordeal. His gaze darted around the room as if trying to make sense of his surroundings. I could see the confusion and fear in his eyes, a stark reminder of how fragile our grasp on reality truly was.
"It was just a dream," he muttered, his voice barely audible.
But I knew it was more than that. There was something dark and unsettling lurking in the depths of his subconscious, something that even he couldn't fully comprehend. I knew then that we were facing something far beyond our understanding, something that threatened to consume us all. The darkness within Lucifer was real, and it was a darkness that I feared we may never escape.
Suddenly, Lucifer's gaze shifted, his eyes locking onto a point in the room with such intensity that it sent a chill down my spine. His expression turned from confusion to stunned disbelief, his lips parting as if to speak but no words escaping.
I followed his line of sight, expecting to see something—an apparition, a spectre, or a hidden message. But there was nothing there, just an empty space filled with the whispers of the night.
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Lucifer's POV
The world seemed to blur around me, my senses dulled by exhaustion and confusion. Every breath felt like a struggle as if I were drowning in a sea of uncertainty. The events of the night had left me shaken to the core, my mind reeling with fragmented memories of nightmares and shadows.
As I lay on the familiar comfort of my bed, the sheets cool against my fevered skin, I closed my eyes and tried to make sense of it all. But the images flashed before me, relentless and haunting. The darkness that had crept into my dreams, the feeling of suffocation as if something unseen was closing in on me—it was all too real, too vivid.
"Lucifer," my mother's voice broke through the haze, her hand gentle on my forehead.
"Are you alright?" asked Father, his voice trembling.
As I nodded weakly in response to my parents' concerned questions, assuring them that it was just a dream, I knew better than anyone that it wasn't just any ordinary dream. The images, the sensations, everything felt too vivid, too real to simply dismiss as a figment of my imagination. It was as if I had stepped into another realm, a realm where nightmares took on a life of their own.
Closing my eyes briefly, I tried to calm the racing thoughts in my mind. But when I opened them again, I saw something that made my blood run cold. Before me, in the dimly lit room, a black blob materialized out of thin air. It oozed like slime, its surface shimmering in an otherworldly manner. But what caught my attention were its features—a nose, a mouth, and eyes, all forming on the strange entity as if it were alive.
I couldn't move or even blink as I watched the creature take shape before my eyes. Its gaze locked onto mine, it whispered "Master!" And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the black blob vanished, leaving me in shock and confusion.
Was it real, or was it just a trick of my mind?