"Hah… help… please… someone."
Anyone.
He was willing to accept help from anyone.
'I don't understand.'
"Please. I need help!"
Amethiel screamed at the top of his lungs. The hallway ahead of him felt like it kept stretching farther and farther, no matter how fast he ran.
But that didn't matter.
He kept running, even as his breathing turned shallow.
He kept running.
Because that was after him.
'I thought I already made things right.'
He wasn't going to let that take him back.
'I need to get home. I have… to get home. I—'
"What is going on here, Your Grace?"
Amethiel's eyes widened.
A knight.
A random knight he didn't recognize, but the sight of him lit a desperate spark of hope in Amethiel's chest.
"H-Help me… please. He's… he's after me!" Amethiel stumbled forward and grabbed the knight's arm. His entire body was shaking.
The knight stiffened in surprise. "Your Grace? Who is after you? Is there a threat? Should I call—"
Something black flashed past them in an instant.
The knight barely had time to react before it struck.
And then—
Red.
"Ah… agh… ahh!!"
Amethiel's scream tore through the halls as thick, warm blood splattered across his face, his clothes, his hands.
The knight in front of him was hit by something black, something alive, something moving.
His body crumpled.
Crushed.
"No, no, no!"
"AMETHIEL!"
A dark voice thundered from behind him, reaching him before his mind could even process the horror sprawled in front of him.
"No, please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" Amethiel cried as he tried to move again, even though his entire body was trembling. "I'm—ah!"
He took one step.
Then his foot slipped.
Amethiel fell hard to the ground, straight into the pool of blood. It soaked into his clothes, smeared across his skin, warm and sticky, making his stomach churn.
He couldn't bring himself to stand.
'Why is this happening again?' Amethiel thought, staring blankly at the blood beneath him. 'I don't want to go through this again–'
Something wrapped around his leg.
Soft.
Squishy.
And pulsing.
A scream tore from his throat. "No, please. I just want to go home. Please." Amethiel clawed at the floor, trying to grab onto anything as he felt himself being dragged backward. "No! I want to see my family. Please. What did I do?! What did I–"
Amethiel was yanked backward.
Fast. So fast his head spun.
His body scraped against the stone as he instinctively dug his fingers into the floor. His nails bent, skin tearing as he tried to hold on.
Pain shot up his arms, but whatever was pulling him didn't slow.
It didn't work.
He was dragged across the blood-slick ground, his grip slipping again and again until his hands finally gave out. A broken sound tore from his throat as he was hauled farther down the hall.
Then it stopped.
So suddenly that his body lurched forward, his chest slamming into the floor. Amethiel lay there, gasping, his whole body shaking.
There was breathing behind him.
Heavy.
Slow.
Close. Too close.
Amethiel froze.
'It's him.'
A loud slam echoed through the hall as a hand struck the floor beside his head. The stone cracked under the force.
Amethiel trembled as his eyes drifted toward it.
The familiar clawed fingers.
Blackened, and stained with red.
His vision blurred. "Prince Vaelor," he whispered, his voice barely holding together. "Just tell me what I did. I thought… We were okay. I thought—"
A low growl brushed against his ear.
"I told you," the creature murmured, his voice thick and dangerous, "not to call me that."
The words sank into Amethiel's bones, sending a violent shiver through him.
Then the other clawed hand grabbed him, rough and unyielding, forcing his body to turn.
Amethiel squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look at his face.
"Look at me."
He shook his head, breath hitching. "P-Please. Just let me go."
"Master," the voice said again, quieter now, yet more commanding. "Look at me."
A soft whimper slipped from Amethiel as he slowly turned.
He didn't know why he was able to move now. Only that the tone used to call him was painfully familiar, the kind that sank deep into his chest and left him with no strength to resist.
As Amethiel faced it—
No.
As Amethiel faced him.
More tears spilled from his eyes.
There was an expression on his face, one Amethiel wasn't prepared for. It looked almost… hurt.
Was he in pain?
That monster?
"Why?" he asked, his voice warped and broken, the sound alone enough to confuse Amethiel.
"W-what?" Amethiel stammered.
"Why did you abandon me?"
"A-Abandon?" Amethiel whispered, his eyes widening. "I didn't abandon you. I… I helped you get back. I had a feeling you were—"
"TELL ME THE TRUTH!"
"Kree—"
"Unless you tell me everything, you're staying here," Kree whispered. His bright red eyes glowed as he straightened, closing the distance and grabbing Amethiel.
"W-What? But that is the truth—"
"You were never a good liar, Master," Kree said softly as his hand closed around Amethiel's head. "Now sleep."
"N-No, no. Please. You don't understand, I—"
Amethiel couldn't finish.
A heavy drowsiness washed over him. His limbs grew weak, his vision blurred until the only thing left in focus was a pair of glowing red eyes.
'I remember…'
Amethiel thought as his eyes finally closed.
'…his eyes were also the last thing I saw before dying.'