"Heal him.
This foolish child is beyond insolent — causing disturbances at every sacrifice. What a fool."
The priest's voice was cold, deliberate.
"I don't want even a fragment of himself left. He will be the perfect slave — an example for the rest."
A dark grin spread across his face.
"Gareth," he said, "this time… carve upon his skull — and pour this into it."
The vial he held shimmered faintly — a liquid dark purple, shifting as though alive, whispering softly.
Gareth hesitated, staring into it. Even he felt something ancient writhing within that color.
Still, he obeyed.
Azareal thrashed violently. "Please—no! Please, I'll do anything! I won't disobey again! Please!"
His voice was raw, broken.
The priest laughed — a sound without warmth.
"Your fate was sealed the moment you chose to save the first sacrifice, child. Now comes the harvest."
"Priest Elias! I beg you! I'll be your slave, anything—just don't—"
Elias turned away. "Proceed."
Gareth sighed, forcing Azareal's head still.
"Stop thrashing," he muttered. "It's just a little scary…"
Then he smiled darkly — and tipped the vial.
The liquid poured into the carved wound, seeping into the raw flesh, hissing like venom meeting fire.
Thump.
Thump.
Then… silence.
"Ah," Elias said with mild disappointment. "It seems he's dead. Oh well."
He turned to leave —
And then the air froze.
An eerie pressure blanketed the dungeon — heavy, suffocating, ancient.
Wet sounds filled the silence as eyes burst open across Azareal's body, each one unfocused and bleeding.
Slowly, impossibly, his body rose.
When he spoke, his voice was no longer his own — a twisted harmony of agony and mockery.
"Where are you going… oh righteous one?"
The healer gasped. Her face turned pale — then red — then black.
Blood poured from her eyes, her nose, her mouth. Her head snapped back with a sickening crack.
Silence again.
Priest Elias stood frozen, his eyes reflecting something that should not exist.
And Azareal — no, the thing that was Azareal — turned its head, eyes swimming like pools of night.
A faint smile curved his bloodied lips.
"What seest thou?"