Chapter Text
The majority of Edwin´s existence had been hell, quite literally. His life on earth wasn´t particularly pleasant either, as showcased by the way it came to an end. But it was nothing compared to the torment that he endured in the following 70 years.
And now he was back.
The grotesque doll spider had dragged him back, right where he “belongs”,
according to the Afterlife atleast.
One might think that it would get easier, that eventually you would grow
accustomed to the pain and the horrors that hell offered.
Well, now that he was back Edwin could attest to the fact, that it was, unfortunately, still just as horrible as he remembered.
Atleast he knew that escape was possible, since he had done it before he could do it again. He had to. Charles, and by now probably Crystal and Niko too, must be desperately trying to figure something out.
But this was hell, not exactly a place someone could easily enter willingly, not that anyone with even an ounce of common sense would try to come here anyway.
So he couldn´t rely on them for his escape. Hopefully atleast Crystal would be smart enough about this to see that too, and prevent Charles from doing anything reckless.
Edwin was currently sitting in the corner of a room, observing the doll spider as it tore apart his body, or his former body.
Whenever he tried to leave his place in the corner the spider immediately grabbed him and began to tore him apart. However, it seemed like the creature was occupied for a few seconds by the task of devouring his former body whenever Edwin dared to move.
For a moment he was curious what exactly the doll spider even was, was it alive? Did it just behave based on whatever it´s creator designed it to do? Did it perhaps take pleasure from the pain it inflicted and that´s why it got so careless and took it´s time to thoroughly destroy his remains? In any other circumstance Edwin would have loved to satisfy his curiousity, but right now escape was a far more pressing concern than to understand how hell and it´s creature´s function.
Edwin took a deep breathe and ran for the door, before his hand even reached the doorknob one of the spider legs pierced through his stomach and in an instant all he could do was scream.
When he felt himself reappear in the corner he didn´t waste any time. As the spider toyed with his corpse he ran as fast as he could out into the hallway.
It took only a few seconds for the distorted children noises originating from the doll spider to begin echoing throughout the building, indicating that the spider began it´s pursue.
One of the “perks” of hell, if you wanted to call them that, is that despite still only being a soul, something about this plane of existence made him feel almost alive again. It was a weirdly nostalgic sensation, albeit obviously to his detriment, since besides feeling the cold ground on his feet, he also felt his lungs burning for air as he ran as fast as he could through the hallways.
As he heard the children´s laughs getting louder Edwin opened the next best door he could find. He wasn´t sure if the spider would follow him into rooms, but this was his best chance at trying to shake off the spider, atleast for the time being.
Edwin closed the door and tried to catch his breath as a sound emanated from a corner of the room. A quiet meow followed by hissing.
‘Oh no…’ Edwin thought and considered returning to the spider in the hallway instead. Of course, of all possible things he would run into cats, those furry nuisances were bad enough on earth, he had no desire to find out what some kind of demonic variant might be capable of.
He quickly looked around the room to ascertain how bad his situation was. Surprisingly, the room seemed to be almost empty, there wasn´t any furniture, the only thing of note was a lit fireplace implemented in one of the walls. The fire was also the only source of light in the room besides the door, and just outside of the light´s reach Edwin could vaguely make out a figure crouching in the corner.
However, they looked distinctly human and too big to be a cat.
Edwin could probably leave it alone and be on his way again as soon as the spider left the immediate area. But something about that didn´t feel right to him, so, against his better judgment he moved away from the door and began approaching the corner with the person.
When he got closer to the fireplace the horrid smell of burnt flesh and hair filled his nostrils. Edwin looked closer into the flames and saw batches of white fur scattered around the fire. He decided to leave that matter aside for now and moved closer to the corner.
Another hiss let him know that the other person didn´t welcome his company.
Edwin slowed his approach and held his hands up to indicate he meant no harm.
“I´m not going to hurt you, ok?”
He took another step forward and instead of hissing it began to whimper.
“It´s alright, I´d just like to talk” he said softly. Slowly the figure came into view
and Edwin froze.
This was impossible. The man before him wore a from blood and mud dirtied brownish suit, which Edwin presumed must have been white at some point. His hair was unkempt and strands of it were hanging in his face, almost covering the glowing golden eyes, which lacked their usual life and looked dull. This was, without a doubt, the Cat King.
But how was he in hell? It wasn´t surprising that someone like the Cat King would end up in hell, but Edwin had seen him mere hours ago in the forest. And he was certainly as irritating and alive back then as ever. He couldn´t rule out that he somehow managed to get himself killed since then, but it was highly unlikely. The state he was in right now would also suggest that he has been here for a long time.
Edwin crouched down next to the Cat King and shook his shoulders.
“Cat King? How are you here?” The Cat King didn´t react and kept staring
blankly at the ground.
Edwin sighed and grabbed the Cat King´s face, forcing him to look up.
“Look at me. Do you recognize me?”
Finally some life seemed to return to him
and his eyes cleared up and became more focused.
“You… are so oddly handsome.” He said, putting his hands on Edwin´s face in
return, cupping his cheeks.
Edwin could feel his face heat up, and his heart pounding in his chest. Having a semi-physical body again really only had downsides. This felt a lot more tangible than their first encounter in the warehouse. And it made him uncomfortable.
“Uh… at least you seem to be well enough for your usual antics.” Edwin said and tried to avert his eyes. Unfortunately, the Cat King still held his head firmly in place. He took the Cat King´s hands, which, he noticed, had some blisters, and gently removed the hands from his face and stood up.
He had to think. Regardless how the Cat King ended up here, he couldn´t just leave him here. Edwin might not have the highest opinion of the man, but even so, he didn´t want him to be tortured. Escaping with someone else might prove more difficult, but then again, he got used to having someone at his side in the 30 years with Charles and having someone to cover his back could be beneficial overall.
The Cat King still looked in awe at the place Edwin´s face used to be, causing Edwin to clear his throat and extend his hand.
“We should be going.”