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The pit is dark and damp from the earlier rain, though the blocks above the bottom stop the sunlight from peering into the crevice and drying the dew and mist. The only things that remain in that pit are the most, the dew, and the remaining stench of blood and iron as Avid lays there, stake through… the middle of his chest. The silence swallows all noise trying to pierce its way in and out.
Even the sound of Avid's fingers twitching ever so slightly.
His nails ever so slightly hit the stone below him, cause a small tap to echo around the sealed off crevice. Then silence takes over once more and stretches on for an antagonizingly long time, before a sudden, shocked gasp escapes Avid's cold, dead lips.
He coughs up blood, a bit of it running down his lip as he groans and sits up, not before wincing and glancing down. Oh. The stake is still inside him. That… should have killed him. He should be dead. Why isn't he dead yet?! Another sharp gasp escapes him as he reaches up and grasps the stake stuck inside him, contemplating what the hell just happened.
He was in the castle, yeah… Then Owen and Pyro showed up, and convinced him to follow them to the crypt… He should have realized it there, but he was so focused on doing something to help, that he didn't realize that he was helping them dig his own grave.
He sighs and looks up at the cobblestone that lay above him. Owen placed that, he vaguely remembers. Pyro was standing in the corner with a hand behind his back. The hand holding the stake that is now buried deep inside the middle of his chest. The stake is wide and buried inside his chest, and for the first time since he woke up from his supposed death he looks down.
What he sees is… what he expects, yet also not what he expects. He expects the floor to be covered in blood and grime. He expects the large claw marks embedded into his stomach from both Owen and Pyro. What he doesn't expect is the… black markings around the puncture area, and crawling up his right arm.
He reaches up with his left hand to touch the black markings, and it feels slightly rough.. Kinda like sandpaper and a cats tongue. Weird, yet not unpleasant. It's an interesting sensation, yet not one that Avid seems to mind all that much.
His eyes follow the markings up his arm, assuming the go up to his neck as well. Sighing softly, he slowly leans back against the stone wall of the pit, only to hear a slight tap when his head hits the wall. That… wasn't the sound his head usually made. So, he reaches up and feels around the top of his head, only for his hand to grasp onto something… Something that feels reminiscent of a horn protruding from his skull.
*Fuck.*
No no no no no!!! Oh shit… Was this the thing that scratched him all that time ago?! What's this the thing that got El before he came to Oakhurst?! Is he a demon now…? He can't be a demon, can he? Do demons actually exist? Apparently so… cause he is one now. If he's alive, maybe….
No, Avid, stop daydreaming and get a hold of yourself! He gives himself a firm slap before sighing and slowly standing up, finding that he's… slightly taller than before he "died". Huh, interesting. Maybe the demon thing made him taller. Anyways, he's got a figure a way out of here. So, he starts to hack at the stone walls with his new claws, finding that it actually works quite well.
Welp, time to get to digging.
*—Three hours later—*
Avid continues to claw at the stone walls encompassing him, his hands slightly bloody from the sharp rock chips that are flying from the stone. A few more digs later, and Avid can finally feel the dirt between his nails and see a slight sliver of sunlight peering through the ground. He gasps, and starts digging even faster, the dirt flying everywhere as he emerges from the ground in front of the crypt.
The first thing he realizes is how much he missed the outside air. The clear, crisp feeling of it entering his nostrils and flowing through his body fills him with a sense of relief. He's finally out of that damn pit.
He pulls himself out from the dirt and sits down, looking around to take in his surroundings. He has… no idea how long he's been down there. It could be hours, days, weeks, he doesn't know. He does know two things though. One, it was Owen and Pyro who decided to take him and kill him, and Two, he wanted revenge.
So, he looks around at the trees surrounding the crypt once more before standing up and dusting himself off. He can't turn into a bat or teleport anymore, so it's time to walk back to the castle and give them a taste of their own medicine.
———
It takes way to long to actually walk to the castle from the crypt, but he does it. And as he walks, he doesn't see anyone at all. Like, no one, which is honestly weird. There's always someone out an about, usually Pearl. Anyway, he continues to walk down the slightly charred dirt path towards the castle. Speaking of the castle…
It's absolutely huge from this angle, and imposing. With the main block being deepslate, it's super creepy and imposing to anyone who walks up to it.
Anyways, a small chill runs up his spine as he starts to cross the desolate bridge leading up to the castle. It never fails to instill a sense of fear into him, even when he was a vampire. At first, he doesn't see anyone around the castle, but as soon as he gets closer, he hears the sound of someone's voice.
"….I understand completely. Goodbye Owen!" He hears Pyro call out, his body tensing ever so slightly. Hearing Pyro's voice sends a wave of emotions through Avid's body, the most prominent one being anger. Pyro was the one who drove the stake through his chest, so this is perfect..
He stays in place, listening to Pryo walk around the castle for a moment before walking out the front door, making eye contact with Avid and freezing. "…. Avid? My, what are you doing here….? I thought you… died?"
"Yeah… I thought so too, when you staked me.. But here I am." Avid chuckles, a slightly unnerving smile forming on his lips as he stares at Pyro. "I'm back, and I'm feeling a bit… angry…" He growls, his voice sounding distorted and not like his own, which scares him slightly, but he doesn't let it show.
Pyro flinches back at the growling sound of Avid's voice, bearing his fangs slightly. "That was Owen's idea, not mine! But, lets be honest Avid, you were a liability. You were dragging the coven down with your reckless acts, you couldn't be trusted. And I doubt you can be trusted now, with the… horns protruding from your head and the black markings on your skin." He crosses his arms and narrows his eyes, clearly confident in his words.
This snaps something inside of Avid's mind, and his eyes narrow in response. But before he can do anything, his mind goes blank. "Wha…" He mutters, but his lips don't let the words pass, like he's… not in control of his body anymore. He can still see what's happening, can still see Pyro standing in front of him, judging him, but he can't do anything about it! He can't move his hand, his head, nothing…
Dispute this, his body does start to move, and to say what Avid is freaking out would be an understatement. What Avid Disney realize in his little freakout, is that it's the demon inside him that has taken control of his body, and neither does Pyro.
So when Pyro sees "Avid" getting closer and closer to him, he doesn't think he's in trouble. "Oh Avid, do you really think you can take me on? I killed you a few days ago! I don't know how you're back, but I will-" He doesn't get to finish that sentence, cause "Avid" grabs his throat in a crushing grip, his voice a low, distorted mess as he speaks. "Shut up, you insolent swine. You have tortured this vessel that I inhabit for long enough, and you will be punished for it…"
Before Pyro can even think about making any sort of noise, "Avid" starts walking, dragging the squirming, terrified vampire behind him. They make their way through the trees behind the castle for a few moments before coming to the edge of the cliff overlooking the river. "Avid" looks down at Pyro's fearful face for a few fleeting seconds before kneeling and pinning the vampire scholar to the damp ground.
Pyro grunts as his body is pressed against the damp grass, struggling to get away from "Avid" or… whatever the hell is controlling his body. "Avid, let me go! Goldsmith will hear about this! As well as Owen!" His voice is breathy and shaking as he speaks, the hand around his throat constricting ever so slightly, cutting off his breathing even more.
Avid, still stuck inside what he thinks is his brain, lets out a soft gasp as he watches this go down. This… isn't how he wanted to get revenge. He just wanted to mess with Owen and Pyro a little bit, not…. whatever the hell this is! It's not like he can do anything about it now though.. He can only watch, and hope the demon doesn't do anything to drastic.
*[That's called foreshadowing.]*
The demon growls lowly as he pins Pyro down on the damp ground, running a claw down his chest and cutting open his shirt. "You've make my vessel suffer for far too long. Now, you shall suffer." In addition to his gravely voice, he grabs Pyro's face with his free hand, squeezing his cheeks as he runs a claw down Pyro's chest once more, slowly cutting into him, blood starting to slowly seep out of the growing gash.
Pyro can't help but scream in pain, though it's muffled by the hand pressing against his mouth. His breathing is loud and labored as he is forced to watch this demon cut open his own stomach, his hands moving to try and hold the skin together, yet just getting coated with his own sticky red blood, he scent of iron filling his nose as he breaths in.
Pyro's skin and body is getting covered in his own blood as the Demon finishes cutting open his stomach, only to plunge its blood covered hand into the open wound and pulling out a large section of his intestines. A wild grin forms on its face as it takes a bite, the sound of squelching blood and chewing fills the air as it swallows a bit of the intestines, licking it's lips before diving back into the wound, it's sharp teeth tearing at Pyro's skin, ripping him open even more and exposing his insides to the elements.
Pyro gasps, his hands fumbling and going limp at his sides. His face is red and flushed, with a hint of green as he watches his own insides being eaten and torn from him. He can't think straight, the blood loss affecting him heavily and causing a thick fog to envelop his mind, clouding his thoughts enough to make the rest of his body go limp as well.
The Demon's face is covered in blood as it pulls away from the gaping cavity that is now Pyro's stomach, one of his lungs trapped in between it's teeth as it chews, relishing in the fact that Pyro has to watch it eat his insides. It languidly licks the blood from its lips, a wicked smile on its face. "You are lucky that I have decided to not eat your body in it's entirety, vampire."
It leans back from Pyro's body with a chuckle, standing up and grabbing him by the hair. It drags him closer to the edge, blood smearing on the ground behind the two of them. It glances down at Pyro for a split second, before deciding to toss his body over the cliff without a second thought. Pyro tries his best to scream as he's launched off the edge of the cliff, though it isn't as loud as he would have hoped for.
The Demon smirks as Pyro lands in the water, the force of the impact making a large splashing sound as his body is submerged in water, sinking to the bottom of the river. Then, as if a switch is flipped, Avid gasps as he's returned control of his body. His eyes are wide as he looks down at his hands, covered in Pyro's blood.
"Oh God, what have I done…"