There was no reply from the darkness of the forest. Any fatigue that Dante was feeling was quickly eradicated by the adrenalin pumping into his blood. Now that he was more alert, he realized that somehow Kaith had been taken and replaced with nothing but an image of her.
"Very perceptive" she laughed, not appearing. Dante could not even spot her using the accendo; this woman must be a powerful light adept. "Perhaps you should have taken her up on that offer to stay close to her. Oh how she screamed for you!"
"She actually thought you'd save her" she scoffed. Something rather heavy hit Dante in the back, making him whirl around to see what it was. On the ground was the gem that he had lit for her; smeared with blood and slightly cracked.
"No, but you met someone I loved" she stated, her voice for the first time losing its confidence. A blurry image appeared before him. As it became clearer, Dante could see who it was: the middle aged man whom he had killed in rage. At times the image of his face haunted him but to see it right now added to what already seemed like a nightmare.
Dante sunk to his knees. "You...you loved him." His head fell slack. "I...I...." He tried forming the words, but nothing more would come out. Standing back up, he stretched out his arms and intoned morosely. "Do it. Take your justice. It...it's just as well I don't see you...I don't deserve to."
It was then that she stepped through the image of the man. Her slender face was reddened with her eyes red and puffy. She was trying hard to remain firm but he could tell that she was heartbroken, "I will not kill you... that would accomplish nothing. I do not want to take your life... I want you to know how it feels to be without the person that you love." She sniffed and looked at him sternly, "you have to confront death alone now."
Rage boiled up once more. "DO IT! Kill me! Snuff out my light!" Tears streamed down his face. "Or do I have to remind you that I killed him with my bare hands for some offhand comment? The feeling of snapping his neck...do it! DO IT!! KILL ME!" He sunk to his knees again. "I don't deserve to live..."
For a fleeting moment, rage flooded the woman's face. She took a step toward Dante before stopping abruptly. Her emotions went cold and the accendo around her was eerily without emotion. She spoke in a condemnatory tone, her voice not faltering for a moment "you will atone." As quickly as she had come, the girl vanished leaving Dante alone and crestfallen in the serene silence of the dark forest.
Atone...atone...I will...I will atone... The words echoed in Dante's mind, to the point of obsession. He rummaged in his pack for a length of rope. I will atone...I'll make it right...atone... Climbing up the tree, he tied the rope around a sturdy branch. She died...she died because of YOU! You did this to her. you failed her. You must atone. Satisfied with the knot in the rope on the branch, he worked on a noose. They died because of you...you killed them. You must make it right. Stacking up the supplies they had brought, Dante climbed up on top, and slid the rope around his neck. Do it. Make it right. The world needs justice. Atone. Atone for your sins. With that, Dante prepared to collapse the pile, leaving him to the other world.
The pile shifted beneath his feet before toppling over, forcing his weight down. The rope tightened against his neck, pressing hard against his throat and clogging his ability to breath. His hand instinctively went to save himself as his body's instincts fought against his mind's commands. Slowly, Dante could feel the oxygen diminishing within him as his vision blurred and he lost the sensations in his extremities. All of the regret and sorrow he had been feeling fused with the physical agony of death's encroachment in the final moments of his life.
Like the forest, death was completely black, only this time there was no accendo to cast a pale purple light; only the endless sea of darkness like being suspended in between life and the afterlife.
For a few tense moments, no reply came. The only sound was the echoing of his own voice in the apparent emptiness. Without warning, Dante felt a light caress on his cheek as he heard the sweet voice of Kaith, "Dante..."
"Shh..." she consoled him as he felt her lips touch his. She kissed him lovingly, assuaging some of his pain before speaking softly, "don't be sorry, Dante. I'm glad I came with you... I'm glad I knew what love truly was before I died. I'm glad I found love in those few short days rather than spending years alone. Don't dwell on what happened for my sake... you have to come to peace with yourself."
She chuckled, "I don't have all the answers, lover." Dante felt her warmth against him, her head resting gently on his chest, "only you can figure that out." He heard her giggle and felt her lips press against his once more, "it's a shame that you passed on my offer, though. I would have liked to spend one more night with you."
Tears streamed down Dante's face, as he sobbed loudly. "I failed you. I was keeping you safe, and I failed you. I didn't even hear you call out to me..."
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
OOC: Like I don't know.
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
OOC:
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
Like the forest, death was completely black, only this time there was no accendo to cast a pale purple light; only the endless sea of darkness like being suspended in between life and the afterlife.
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!