Traitor?

In some place where opens to a dimly lit, eerie room. Shadows dance across the walls, revealing an unsettling atmosphere. Athan regains consciousness, his head throbbing with pain. He blinks groggily, trying to make sense of his surroundings. As his vision clears, he realizes his body is suspended from the wall by chains, his hands tightly bound.

(Athan's POV)

The room feels like a nightmare come to life. As my heart pound, I struggles against the restraints, but they hold firm. Panic sets in, and I took deep breaths to steady himself.

"What... what the hell is going on?"

My eyes slowly scan the room, searching for any clues about my whereabouts and how I ended up here. The memories leading to this moment are a blur, as I wondered how much time has passed since I lost my consciousness.

Next, my eyes caught fragments of strange symbols carved into the walls, and flickering candlelight casting eerie shadows. The room seems ancient, as if it has witnessed countless secrets buried within its walls.

I squinted my eyes, "I need to remember... Think, Athan, think."

I took a deep breath, trying to recall the last thing I could remembers. Flashes of a dark alley and a sudden blow to his head surface, but the details remain elusive.

Confusion swirl within my mind. I calmly examined my surroundings more closely, hoping to find a clue to my captor's identity.

"Urk-!" My head feels like it's splitting open.

As I strains to remember, my attention went to my own reflection in a cracked, dusty mirror nearby. I looks haggard, with face full of bruised and streaked with dirt, indicating some clues of what I've been through.

"What... Ah!"

The realization finally dawns me; the fight that happened slowly entered my mind. Time feels elusive in this dark, isolated space. As I shudders, feeling vulnerable and trapped.

How long have I been here...?

My mind races with questions, seeking answers that seem just out of reach. The silence of the room is deafening, and the unknown threat lurking in the shadows is keeping me on edge.

"Huh...?"

Suddenly, the creaking of a door echoes through the room. My eyes dart towards the entrance, as my heart skips a beat. A figure steps into the dim light, obscured by a cloak, their face hidden in darkness.

"You're awake, Athan. Did you have a nice nap?"

My breathing quickens as I recognizes the voice but can't place it. The voice sounded familiar, someone with a vendetta, but the memory remains shrouded.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves down, "Are you Leigh...?"

He chuckled upon my question, "Of course I am, my dear Athan. Are you perhaps wondering why we captured you here?"

I nodded weakly.

"Well, you are not suppose to be a target." He admitted. "However, you are a dangerous person. If we let you go, you might grow into something we can't contain."

"So... That's why you guys massacred the academy, killed Alicia, after that, attacked my home, killing my mother in the process just to capture me?" My voice turned cold as I said all of those. Slowly, anger stirred my heart.

"Indeed. However, you really did a number of trouble on us without actually doing anything..."

"....."

Should I take that as a compliment?

"Where's... my sister?"

"...hm?"

As I persisted in my attempts to break free, a curious and confused expression flickered across Leigh's face at my question. His face showed a genuine confusion, and he seemed momentarily taken aback by my mention of a sister.

"Sister? What are you talking about? We didn't capture your sister."

I paused, catching my breath, and furrowed my brows in confusion.

"You... you didn't?" My heart finally slowed down from the revelation.

Just when I was about to heave a sigh of relief, Leigh's sly smile returned, and he seemed to enjoy my misunderstanding.

"Oh, Athan, it seems like there's some misunderstanding. But let me show you something that might interest you."

He turned away from me and moved towards a dark corner of the room. As he approached, I strained to see what he was hiding. To my surprise and horror, Leigh revealed a disheveled haired blonde girl, lying motionless in the shadows.

"Persia..."

My heart sank, and a wave of grief washed over me. I felt as if the world had collapsed after seeing who this person was.

Before me, Persia's lifeless eyes stared into nothingness, her body showing signs of brutal mistreatment; with her arms bent from the opposite direction and her left eye were missing. She was wearing tattered clothes as I could see her guts showing with worms devouring her from the inside. Her below is much more worse than I could fathom.

"Oh, what's the matter, Athan? Not the outcome you were hoping for?"

My anger and pain mixed, forming an overwhelming storm inside me. Persia, someone William had long cared for, was gone, and I know that he couldn't bear the weight of that loss.

"Why...?"

Does this mean I can't change anything...?

Persia is bound to die after William. And just like in the story, Alicia was also meant to die after trying to save Arthur, however, it was suppose to happen in the far future.

It was Lumine who was supposed to die first from the massacre that happened in the academy.

At the same time, while William stood at the balcony in the grand palace, pondering the whereabouts of Persia, the ring in his hand suddenly glowed with an ethereal white light.

"Ah!" He staggered back a few steps, lifting his hands in front of him, bewildered by the unexpected radiance.

Without any time to react, the ring in his hand discharged a brilliant burst of light, a clear sign that his partner had met her untimely demise.

"Per...sia...?"

"You can't be dead, right?"

He forced himself to deny what had just transpired.

"Persia... Persia..." He repeated her name with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Persia!"

It only took a moment for him to suffer a breakdown.

Meanwhile, in the midst of my own anguish, I disregarded the pain and misery that wracked my body.

Every pang.

Every sorrow.

Every regret.

"Persia..."

As the reality of the situation sunk in, my mind was clouded with sorrow and rage. Persia was gone, and I was trapped in a nightmarish scenario, with no way out. But amidst the despair, a flicker of determination ignited within me.

This strange emotions inside me stirred up.

I want to kill him.

All of them surged forth, one by one, overwhelming me.

"I'll kill you!"

With unbridled fury coursing through my veins, I cared not for the impending pain that awaited me. All that mattered was putting an end to this bitch, and I would gladly pay any price for that satisfaction!

With a surge of raw emotion, I tore my right arm free from the cruel clutches of the chains, crimson blood staining the air. My right arm finally broke free, albeit at the cost of rending it apart.

In that moment, an otherworldly force responded to my seething rage, and from the depths of darkness, a sinister black tentacles erupted through my tore right arm, directed aimed towards his chin.

The air crackled with an ominous energy as the twisted appendage closed in on its target. It was a macabre dance of vengeance, a symphony of pain and suffering orchestrated by my maddening resolve.

His eyes widened with terror as the nightmarish root coiled around his jaw, a gnarled vice-like grip ensnaring him. Crimson blood spewed forth as I ripped it apart, mingling with the malevolent essence of the root, painting a grotesque tableau of vengeance.

"!$_!!?" He could only let out muffled noises. The soldiers behind him hurriedly made their way towards me and stabbed the tentacles, with some had to use magic to hold me still.

Seeing this, a cruel smile played on my lips, for the pain I inflicted upon him was but a fraction of the torment he had wrought upon my soul. In that moment, the line between man and monster blurred, and I embraced the darkness that beckoned.

I want to kill him...

But...

I'm tired...

Since I didn't find my sister here, it meant that she must've somehow managed to escape.

How long has it been?

At that brief moment, I felt some unbearable pain washed all over my body. It felt as if I had been stung by a bullet ant.

A fiery heat enveloped my entire body.

No.

It was akin to being consumed by flames, my muscles tightening, as though my body was slowly turning to stone over an agonizing period.

"Uuur...!?" I wanted to scream, yet I found myself unable to do so. It felt as if something forcibly stifled my voice, preventing me from even opening my mouth. The pain was excruciating... Fuck, I see a light, even though my eyes remain shut... Am I hallucinating? What in the actual fuck!

As I no longer possessed the ability to wield magic, courtesy of my right arm being severed, despite still retaining my mana, I could only fortify my entire body to lessen the torment.

Returning to the matter at hand, the incessant light was dreadfully vexing!

Gritting my teeth, I managed to force my eyes open only halfway to determine the source of the damned radiance. Cannot they see that I am suffering here...? Regardless, I have lost both my childhood friend and my only mother. Furthermore, I am being subjected to torture in an unfamiliar place. Yet, why on earth am I cracking jokes at a time like this?

I know it is a terrible time for levity.

However.

I cannot halt the quips, for they are the only thing keeping me somewhat sane.

You may deem me mad, but I would rather be called insane!

At least my sister has managed to evade them... Had she not, I would have unleashed even greater destruction.

The turmoil in my heart and mind persisted, and I prepared myself for whatever trials lay ahead.

Damn it... I cursed at myself.

I did deserve this...

If only... If only...

If only I had been stronger, swifter, more vigilant... A tear fell from the side of my eyes as I thought of this.

No...

If only I had never existed from this world so that they'll be away from harm, stood resolute in the face of adversity, and prevented this heart-wrenching tragedy...

Regret gnawed at my soul like a relentless tempest, tearing apart the fabric of my being.

Oh, how I yearned for a chance to rewrite the pages of fate, to undo the mistakes that led to this despair.

If only I could turn back time, grasp that fleeting moment when everything began to unravel, and mend the fragile threads of destiny.

But alas, life grants no such mercy, and I find myself adrift in an ocean of remorse, surrounded by the wreckage of dreams I failed to protect.

The weight of my shortcomings bears down upon me, a burden too heavy for mortal shoulders to bear.

If only I could rewrite the script of this tragic tale, transform sorrow into joy, and bring back those who were lost...

However.

In this depths of darkness, a faint glimmer of anger flickers within my heart.

A resolve stirs within me, urging me to rise above my despair, to embrace the pain, and to forge a path towards redemption.

I forced my eyes open and widened my smile, showing a bloody grin as I stared down at Leigh and the others.

"I. ALWAYS. COME. BACK!"

[A/N : What the hell did I just ate last night to be able to create this...? I really need to eat that again.]