" My blood is red and unafraid of living.. " ------- PRESENT DAY - A MONTH AFTER GIVING WILLIAM HIS SOUL. Vex pushed his final assignment for the day into the void, leaning over the edge to watch them fall. The eyes that hovered around him blinked out of existence, except for one. "That's all for today, my liege." he said, looking at it with a smile. The eye morphed into the form of William himself, with an amused expression on his face. "Is there something you need?" "I must say, you're getting much better at controlling that beast." the king mused. "Only because of your aid, of course." Vex replied, nodding. "Vex, I want you to follow me." William said finally, jumping into the void directly. Vex had no choice but to follow, the ruler's abrupt movement like a tug at his heart. As they fell, Vex watched layer upon layer of souls pressing against the invisible bars of their cells. All of which were here... because of him. Vex hadn't even realized it had been so long. "All of this is your own handiwork. Not even the best of my Guides have done this much for me." William mused, leaning on the boy. "...what are you getting at my liege?" he replied. Finally, they reached solid ground. And writhing before them was... a raging beast. Vex felt himself tense and he set his jaw. That was /his/ beast. The beast that was squirming in agony, screams echoing in the vast darkness. The worst part? The beast looked exactly like Vex. His horns were longer, shaper as well. His tail curled to a point and lashed. "W-where are we...?" he asked, turning to the royal, but William wasn't there. "You...you chained us here. You chained ME here!" hs beast spoke, startling Vex. "Wh...what do you mean? I only did what was best... so I wouldn't hurt anyone else." he said firmly. The beast chuckled, a breathy, crazed sound. "Look around! Up there are the cells of your victims, all the humans you've condemned to the worst parts of hell! You've hurt the many, more than you would have hurt had you not made that god-forsaken deal!" it hissed. Vex remained silent. "That's...I didn't mean to-..." "Set us free." Vex looked up, shocked. "...what?" "Set us free. Let us out. Break free of these chains." The beast, began to thrash yet again. "LET US OUT." "I can't- I can't.." "YOU CAN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LET US FREE." Vex looked down at his hands and back at the beast. He took a hesitant step forward. The another. And another. The air around the beast was thick and Vex felt as though he was suffocating. It was when he was about to break the chains when the ruler reappeared, out of breath. "VEX. DO NOT RELEASE THAT... THING." he yelled, breathless and enraged. "Your majesty-" "Do not touch those chains. You want to go back to mindlessly hurting those around you? Be my guest. But I will no longer consider you a part of my court." Vex froze. /If I break these chains, I'll certainly be disowned./ The beast cried out as the chains tightened. /But If I let it free.../ A chain cracked. The chains broke and reverted to their original form over and over again. Then Vex stared at the royal standing before him. And all the chains clattered to the ground, echoing in the vast expanse of space.
