The being watched silently as I prepared to fulfill my bargain. The pearlescent sky darkened, the black sun growing larger as if leaning closer to witness my final act. This strange theater had only one audience member—the winged entity before me.
I closed my eyes, picturing my friends' faces—not broken and lifeless, but as they had been. Laughing. Dreaming. Alive. Their smiles haunted me, reminders of what I had lost and what I desperately wanted to regain.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, though I wasn't sure to whom. To my friends for failing to protect them? To myself for what I was about to do? Who knows.
With one last breath, I tightened my grip and prepared to plunge the blade into my abdomen. The knife's edge pressed against my shirt, cold metal separated from flesh by only a thin layer of fabric.
But as the knife touched my shirt, a cold feeling gripped my heart that stopped my actions in their tracks. The sensation spread through my chest like ice water in my veins, freezing me in place. Then, without warning, this ice-cold feeling began to turn hot—a smoldering ember igniting into flame.
I felt something happening... something deep inside me, previously locked away, beginning to surface.
It was unbridled rage.
Faster than I could comprehend, it consumed me. I don't know why or how, but soon enough my feelings of grief, of sorrow and fear, faded like morning mist under a harsh sun. All that remained was a fury from the depths of my soul, primal and pure. This anger wasn't normal—it was ancient, uncontrollable, a mixture of hatred and rage that seemed almost alive within me.
I could not quell this flame as it took me over completely, burning away my despair and leaving only ash and hatred in its wake. The knife in my hands no longer felt like an instrument of sacrifice but a weapon thirsting for blood.
I kept my tight grip on the blade that now touched my stomach, then glanced up at the monstrosity in front of me. My vision narrowed, focused entirely on the figure that had manipulated my grief. The thoughts came unbidden, but felt utterly right:
I want to kill it.
I want to hurt it.
I want to make it scream and cry.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.
With deliberate slowness, I turned the blade from my stomach and faced it away from me. My knees, which had been pressed against the obsidian surface of the black sea, straightened as I stood to my feet. The being did not move from in front of me; it just stood there watching, its wings slightly unfurled as if curious about my defiance.
After I rose to my full height, I gathered all my rage into a single point of focus. The knife handle grew hot in my palm, responsive to my fury. Without hesitation, I lunged forward and drove the blade deep into the entity's torso.
Everything seemed to stop. The black sea froze into perfect stillness. The pearlescent sky ceased its gentle undulation. Even the black sun appeared to halt its expansion, frozen in eternal twilight.
I stood there, arm extended, staring into the monster's face. Its features were obscured by the black goop of the sea, revealing nothing but my own reflection in its void-like countenance. The knife was plunged to its hilt in what should have been vital organs, had this thing been mortal.
The being slowly looked down at the knife embedded in its torso, then raised its featureless head to stare at me. For a moment, there was only silence.
Then the voice spoke again, but different now. Gone was the omnipresent, confident tone that had echoed from everywhere at once.
"W-what are you doing?" it asked, sounding almost baffled at my decision, the words trembling with what I recognized as surprise—perhaps even fear.
"I'm killing you," I replied without hesitation, my voice low and steady through gritted teeth. No trembling, no tears, no pleading. Just cold, hard intent.
"D-do you not fear me, boy?" it demanded, the voice growing louder and angrier. The calm, composed, angelic quality had vanished, replaced by something raw and desperate.
I pushed the knife deeper, feeling resistance like flesh but colder, denser. "I only feel one emotion towards you right now... hate."
The being's wings flared wide, casting shadows even in this lightless realm. "T-that's impossible," it stammered, genuine confusion evident in its voice. "You have to fear me. Everyone fears me."
A ripple passed through its form, distorting it like an image on disturbed water. The being's confidence seemed to crack, revealing something vulnerable underneath its terrifying appearance.
"FEAR ME!" it screamed, the voice rising to a pitch that hurt my ears. "FEAR ME! FEAR ME!"
With each repetition, the voice grew fainter, as if the being itself was fading away. The black sea began to tremble beneath my feet. Cracks appeared in the pearlescent sky. The black sun pulsed erratically, expanding and contracting like a dying heart.
The world around me—this impossible realm of darkness and light—began to unravel. The knife in my hand grew impossibly hot, but I refused to let go. The being's form started to dissolve around the blade, particles of shadow dispersing into the air.
With each fading cry, the realm lost more of its substance until I couldn't hear the voice anymore. The black sea, the winged entity, the pearlescent sky—all melted away like a nightmare at dawn.
Then, abruptly, I was met with utter darkness.
And soon after... light. The light of the moon.