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The empty sound of crunching leaves resonated in the darkest section of the unsettling, seemingly empty forest as a looming figure traveled mindlessly between the endless trees, the forest ceiling hidden in the dense fog that hung above the dying ground, foreboding and cold. The mysterious figure bore an unnerving white mask upon its face, dirtied and bloodied after countless hours of what it preferred to call “work”, its overalls splattered with a horrific amount of gore, dirtying it to its very core. Purity was out of the question for the beast of a man who strode forward at an inhuman speed, jaw set and shoulders squared even in a calmer setting compared to the adrenaline filled trials he participated in.
Obscured by the terrifying mask resting upon his face, most would not have guessed that the monstrous being was currently engaged in heavy contemplation, mind conflicted and tired as it strove to comprehend his very recent failure. For the first time in ages, he had let every single bratty survivor slip through his bloodied fingers, their scrawny arms consistently pulling apart the bear traps he held so much pride in and scampering off and away from him far before he had the chance to give chase.
Letting out another growl, the beast dragged a dirty hand across his face for the umpteenth time, dejectedly staring at the multicolored ground beneath him. Perhaps it had been his troubling thoughts that had almost completely distracted him from the distant sound of crumpling leaves, though the rhythm was pathetically uneven and was accompanied with what he could only assume to be… sobbing.
Hidden eyebrows rising in curiosity, the man froze in place; his muscles tensed as a smaller figure barely came into focus amongst the trees. Currently only a white blur, he trailed it with his eyes as it came to a slow stop about a dozen meters ahead of him, slumping down in what he assumed to be exhaustion. But what caught his eye was not the figure that had nearly collapsed in front of him, but the body that he had suddenly noticed it was carrying. The generous amount of dark red coloring both the white figure and the thing in its arms only peaked his interests more, prompting him to tilt his head to the side in an attempt to get a better glance at what he presumed to be the body in the white figure’s arms. The sobbing he had barely caught earlier was clearly audible now, echoing through the otherwise empty, haunted forest around them. A tide of half concocted emotions swirled inside of the man, issuing a frown from him. The sorry sight before him hadn’t instilled a predatory reaction from him at all, but instead brought up only… pity. Pity, what a word. One he hadn’t used in a lifetime, much less felt it.
A mysterious force suddenly prompted him to approach the shivering white figure, and without a second thought, he allowed himself to stride forwards. Heavy footsteps alarmed the white figure that jumped at the sound of them, wide and puffy eyes scanning the tree line for any threat and landing upon the white mask that peaked between the trees. The frightened eyes traveled to the chunks of metal protruding from the monster’s shoulders and to the bloodied hands and clothes that were no longer hidden in the darkness.
The man eyed the figure up and down, attempting to subdue the rising sympathy that grew within him, almost overwhelming him. He didn’t feel bad, not for himself and not for anyone, so this new emotion slightly frustrated him. Nevertheless, he was suddenly aware that he had unconsciously leaned down as to lessen his size and calm the shuddering figure beneath him.
The dirtied, unbalanced glasses were the first thing he noticed on the girl’s face, next taking note of the darker hair and black eyes now fixed on his own. The eyes held fear, but bubbling determination and raw desperation radiated from the gaze upon him as well. Grunting, he allowed himself to fall to his knees, all the while questioning himself and his strange, unprecedented… well, restraint. A strange lack of bloodlust and desire to hurt only further amplified his uncertainty, and for now he decided to hold back. He didn’t want to hurt the figure beneath him, and instead felt the urge to help. Perhaps it was the Master prompting him, it must have been. These urges and emotions were not his, though he had to admit that they were not unwelcome. Loneliness was a powerful enemy, and it had plagued him for an eternity, from the moment he had entered the territory of the Nightmare. A chance to interact with anyone at all was a welcome one, and he decided that digging deeper couldn’t hurt.
He allowed his gaze to travel to the unconscious, limp boy firmly grasped in the girl’s arms, protectively being held against her chest. A dangerous amount of blood coated his abdomen, and a thin trail of blood that trickled from his mouth only confirmed the boy’s urgent need of medical attention.
“P-Please,” a weak voice spoke.
The sound surprised him, tearing his eyes from the boy to look back to its owner.
“H-he needs help, p-please…” the strangely grounded voice of the girl filled the silent forest around them once more, “h-he’s going to b-bleed out… a-and I can’t…”
The voice broke at the last word, and another sob forced its way out of her mouth as she held the boy closer, gently holding his head.
He realized that it was best to respond in some way, but the sheer thought of speaking was almost unreal, his voice having no purpose in the Entity’s realm and therefore remaining unused for the eternity that he had been here. Regardless, he forced his mouth open, working his unused vocal chords as the first words he had spoken in a century left him.
“There is no help here,” he rumbled, a heavy sigh escaping him. The sound of his own voice both surprised and unsettled him, and the unprecedented nature of the situation continued to tighten the unease in his chest. He watched a fresh round of tears coat the girl’s cheeks as she stared pleadingly up at him, begging tacitly for a different answer.
Gently shaking his head, the beast lowered his head further. “I’m sorry, little one,” he added somberly.
A sudden and unnatural gust of wind instantly caught his attention as his head flew to the side, eyes widening in both fear and anticipation as the familiar sound of crackling filled the empty air around them. Knowing far too well what the crackling implied, the killer quickly stood, straightening his back and giving his full attention to the anomalous being that slowly manifested a miniscule portion of itself into a dark claw laced in orange streaks, poking expectantly out of the ground that had turned char black around it.
A raspy whisper emanated from it, filling the minds of its two implied targets, bludgeoning both with the unnatural sense of a voice inside of their own head.
“Help can be given,” the first words reverberated, ominous and cold. The man noticed that the girl had whirled around to intensely observe the claw that had appeared from the ground. He internally praised her for standing her ground against the copious amounts of danger and fear that radiated from the physical manifestation of the Entity.
“If one is to assume the correct responsibilities… an agreement can always be reached.”
With that simple sentence, the killer’s blood ran cold. The implications of it were instantly understood by the large man, but unfortunately flew right over the young girl’s head.
“Agreement?” she questioned timidly, still in awe at the magical nature of the claw in front of her and the unreal way the voice seemed to so completely fill her mind.
“Would you give anything to save him? Anything at all?” the Entity questioned the girl who instead turned to look at the boy in her arms, examining his face. He watched, entranced and simultaneously horrified as the girl looked back up with furrowed eyebrows and clarity in her eyes.
“Anything,” she boldly confirmed, staring down the claw that had questioned her loyalty.
It appeared that day was one for many long unused thoughts and feelings, and once again for the first time in ages, the man felt genuine dread trickle into his chest.
“Even being apart from him?” the claw urged. He tensed further as the second question hung menacingly in the air, waiting to be answered. The silence was interrupted far too soon by the young voice, a confirmation not understood even in the slightest by the girl who was completely unaware of the fate she was sealing for herself.
“E-even being apart, a-as long as h-he’s safe,” she confirmed.
Honest to God, the man wanted to stop her, to warn her of the torment she was so willingly signing up for. But his voice refused to comply, no matter how hard he urged it to work. His arms only hung heavily in his lap as he helplessly watched the scene unfold before him.
“Would you kill for him?”
The man’s eyes widened further.
No…
“If I had to,” the girl confirmed once again.
The man was left almost in shock as the words washed over him. He had assumed, wrongly, that the small shivering girl in front of him was incapable of harm, and would instead join the survivors hidden in the depths of the forest. But with the help of the Entity, anyone could become a monster. The dread in his chest had spread ten-fold, encasing him entirely as he stood witness to the creation of yet another murderous, ruthless slave that worked endlessly in and for the Nightmare.
It was the most valuable thing the Entity could find, a being willing to do its dirty work. No matter how disillusioned or initially incapable, the fresh will to do its bidding was invaluable.
Pick the boy up, a rough voice ordered within his mind making him unwillingly flinch. Wizened up from a previous encounter that had left his shoulder coated in metal hooks and his flesh torn open all across his arms, the man followed obediently, moving to lift the body on the ground.
The girl initially resisted, moving to hold the boy closer to her chest before suddenly loosening her hold, instead staring through tear riddled eyes at his face as the larger man carefully lifted him into his arms and away from her.
Take him away, the voice ordered once more, and the man’s cold and unperturbed heart suddenly ached. He held the boy as gently as he could, making sure not to prod the injuries hidden beneath his ruined clothes.
The sobbing returned anew behind him, and he couldn’t help but turn to take one last look at the fading white figure. The fog rolled in as it always did, slowly obscuring his view of the girl but he made sure to remember it.
He promised himself to remember the black eyes and the dark hair, the tilted glasses and the entirely human expressions upon her face because he knew the next he saw of her…
The fog completely obscured the beast’s vision as he treaded, and he turned with a sigh, wandering blindly through the dark, empty forest with the limp body in his arms.
I’m sorry, little one…