Chapter Text
Avid considered himself to be pretty smart, and observant, even if there are others out there who would argue otherwise — cough cough Owen and Legundo cough cough — But other than that he was also pretty cautious when it comes to things in his life, especially as a monster hunter and an amazing alchemist who worked beside the best hunter ever.
But he couldn't deny that he always had a soft spot for his friends or rather allies — whether they reciprocated it or not, he still tried to show he cared. And one day, in a twist of cruel irony, a simple acceptance of a request goes against what he thought of himself.
It left a bitter taste in his mouth. He would say that leaving the comfort of the castle and going outside was a decision that he would regret for the remainder of his life.
It was a surprise that Owen and Pyro had invited him to help in desecrating the crypt's beacon, but he had accepted with only some slight hesitation. He knew better than to fully trust them. But, they were his teammates and so, he let his guard down. It wasn't because they told him that he'd be more likely to die by himself, totally not. He's not afraid to die! Not at all!
It didn't take him long to understand that following along would end up scared and stuck in the darkness he once believed to be his only escape. You know, he'd expected more from the people that were meant to work with him, though, there's nothing he could do.
Stuck in the hole that's meant to block the entrance of the crypt, the same hole that took many innocent lives, the sole reason for its creation. And Avid couldn't help but grin as he remembered all the lives that were swallowed by this hole.
The hole is deep enough to kill any human on impact but would barely hurt a vampire even while stuck on a low level like how Avid is.
“Listen, I uh, I meant what I said,” Owen suddenly says, while swinging his pickaxe onto the stone, and Avid looks up at him, his eyebrow raising in interest.
“when I have a feeling that people can't escape from the person that they once were.” Owen says, at the same time he and Pyro finish blocking off the only way to exit this hole that they've dug, that he's dug.
“And uh, I think that applies to you too Avid,” Owen utters resolutely, avoiding eye contact as he continues to dig, and Avid couldn't help but feel like something was wrong but he paid it no mind. It's a similar sentiment to what they spoke about on the journey to the crypt, so Avid continues to mine, getting increasingly uneasy as the atmosphere gets darker.
“I think though you claim you want to be a vampire, deep down, I don't think you have what it takes.” Owen finishes with an air of finality. The final sounds of stone being mined, creating a smooth area around them. Claustrophobic but still with too much space.
It caused Avid to slow down, to finally think of the situation with more clarity. To think without the wish for there to be a friendship between them. Though, he already knew it was too late.
After keeping quiet for the majority of the conversation Pyro finally speaks, and those words were enough to make his very being run colder than he thought possible as a vampire.
“You tried to slay me.” Pyro said, his anger hidden behind what seemed like amusement. “You guys..” Avid couldn't help but stutter out, becoming increasingly anxious. “You tried to cut me up on that tree.” Pyro finishes, ignoring Avid's words, his anger flowing from his words no longer hidden.
And finally, everything clicks. They weren't here for the beacon. They were here for his death. As a final nail on the coffin, he sees Owen create another layer of stone above him. Sealing his fate to die at their hands, in the hole he's dug for himself. They've told him to dig his own grave.
“You… you wouldn't.” He asks desperately, knowing the answer already. Clinging onto the hope that this was all some sick joke as payback for what he's done and not as some sick way of killing him. Killing him while still weak by itself is already bad enough, but guiding him into digging his own grave was another thing entirely.
He didn't want to die here, in this dark depressing hole filled with dust. The darkness was a friend once, when he could see through it. But now? The limited source of light only seemed to create a haunting atmosphere. Both vampires looked at him ready to pounce.
And, they did. Pyro swiped first and all Avid could do was beg and cry for them to stop. There was no way out of this situation, but it still didn't stop Avid from hoping, to have a small sliver of hope that someone would hear and rush to help. But, as expected. No one did.
He could feel the stake drive deep into his chest. A vampire dies the second the stake is driven to their heart but he was never fully human was he? Not even a demonic entity could help him avoid death.
People say that your most precious memories play when you're close to death, and Avid had always ignored that statement, it was a weak way to comfort someone in the face of their death.
It didn't help him, especially because of the vampire infestation that was running rampant while he was still human. His paranoia grew the longer the night ran, as his warnings going unheard.
But as his body turned to ash everything became blurry and he found that in those moments, he was overflowed by memories, showing surprisingly three people in each one.
Drift, Shelby, and surprisingly Scott. He didn't think of it anymore than he already had and so, he enjoyed his final moments. Even if he's stuck in a hole without anyone to comfort him as he cries, sobbed until his final breath.
He was never meant to have an honorable death. He was scorned and hated by the majority of those around him, and he doesn't know what he expected. He expected — no, hoped that he would survive until the end, but he never got what he wanted.
‘I'm sorry Elle.’ He thought for the last time, finally closing his eyes, letting out his final breath through sobs. Tears stinging his eyes will be the last thing he'd feel. He didn't want to think about the piercing pain in his chest.
That was until he woke up.
Avid jolted awake, sobs flowing from his mouth. Everything is too blurry to make anything out properly and it only serves to make him panic more. He eventually forces himself to calm down, and what he sees first makes him stop.
He stared for longer than he needed to, and then he started looking around frantically, only to see a house he never thought he'd see again. Then a sound stopped him dead.
The sound of his best friend, Drift, from the first floor.
Everything snapped in place, the impossible just happened. He was back in the past. Everything he experienced didn't happen to him yet. But that's impossible, he's open to the supernatural but the thought of time travel? It should've been impossible.
But he's in his old room, inside his old house. He stops himself, looking at his old bed and then he sees something out of the corner of his eyes, he whips around to land on the dusty bedside table he never cared enough to clean being disturbed and dust settles in the air.
He tries to desperately ignore how similar it looks and feels to the claustrophobic hole, but he still flinches. He stares ahead, accidentally looking straight at the chest filled with stakes.
He remembers that a stake had killed him. And now, he was back to the days where he had an entire chest filled with them to protect himself.
He feels sick to his stomach. He couldn't bear to look at the chest but he didn't want to look away either. These things were why he's back at the start again, back to the days when he was mocked for believing in vampires only to be proven right.
He wanted to sob, to shove it away, or to burn it and go back to his home inside the castle, but the castle doesn't exist yet.