Chapter 19: Breaking Point
*A/N*
~ this symbol is representative of a bolded statement since web novel cant make my life easy. Enjoy as always, Hugz <3
***
"What the hell was that?" I mumbled to myself as I clutched my head.
Walking down the polished white school hallway, the sounds of busy students echoing in my ears. I recalled what just happened.
***
Sorry, Luke.
May you one day forgive me.
For once I didn't stop the voices in my head.
The voices I had lived with since that day.
In every waking hour.
In every sleeping moment.
They existed.
They never shut up.
However, eventually, I learned to live with it.
So as they called for me to stop, I kept pushing.
Despite knowing the ramifications of what I was about to do, I ignored them and got up.
My self-preservation was screaming at me to sit down.
All of the noise in the cafeteria ceased to exist.
The chattering.
The clattering of silverware.
Everything.
I stopped perceiving anything except luke.
Even the voices shut up.
-Thump!
-Thump!
-Thump!
The sound of my heart beating abnormally pulsed through my body.
BAM-!
BAM-!
BAM-!
The sound of our feet pounding across the cafeteria floor echoed in my ears.
I raised my head and stared at Luke.
We were almost shoulder and shoulder.
His eyes slightly flicked to mine, lighting up in recognition.
That's when it happened.
A flash of black, a dark silhouette.
I saw her.
Sitting at the table next to me, was a pale girl.
Her flowing wavy dark black hair, cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
Her pearly pale white skin was a stark contrast to the silky night curling around her shoulders.
Her moist red lips were drawn back in a smile.
She wore the uniform of a second year, the maroon matching well with the one thing that caught my attention most.
Her eyes.
Those golden eyes.
They were focused on me, watching me like a predator eyeing its prey.
A small smirk played on her lips as she watched me.
Her eyes held ill intent.
Yet a hint of playfulness.
All of this seemed to happen in the span of minutes, and yet it had only been seconds.
Then there was a flash of black, a dark silhouette brushed past me.
I was sure no one else could see it, yet I could do nothing as it gently sent me tumbling toward the floor.
THUD-!
The sound of my face hitting the ground echoed through my ears.
My tightly shut eyes quickly opened up as time seemed to resume.
The loud noises of chattering kids and clattering silverware rushed through me.
A wave of relief washed over me.
Scrambling to stand up, I looked around.
Yet the girl I had seen before was nowhere to be found.
I scanned the cafeteria and couldn't see anyone that resembled her.
Where had she gone?
"Are you okay?" came a voice next to me.
Regaining my composure, I tilted my head.
What met my face were the eyes of a confused Luke.
His mesmerizing spectrum green eyes stared at me, causing me to gulp.
Those innocent eyes looked at me as if they were accusing me of what I was going to do.
How could he know?
I didn't even manage to do what I had planned.
Instead, someone had caused me to fail.
Which meant they knew what I was going to do.
That girl.
How could she have known what was going to happen?
How could she have pushed me like that without anyone seeing anything?
Who the hell was she?
As a million questions flicked through my head, I briefly dusted off my clothes.
As I looked up at Luke's accusatory gaze, I nodded wordlessly.
I must be seeing things.
It's not possible that he knows.
It's also not possible that the girl I saw existed.
It was all a figment of my imagination.
I simply tripped.
I made a mistake.
It happens.
Convincing myself that I was simply hallucinating, I prepared to leave.
Suddenly Luke's voice called out to me.
"You're bleeding," he said, his accusatory eyes staring at me.
No!
Not accusatory.
"I'm fine," I answered curtly.
I couldn't get his eyes out of my head.
It was like a symbol of my failure.
"Are you sure? You don't look okay," he said again.
Seriously, how many times do I have to say I'm fine?
I was seriously starting to get annoyed.
"Mind your own business, I said I'm fine," I answered, shifting my gaze to once again sweep the cafeteria.
"Okay." Luke huffed at me, clearly annoyed.
I couldn't be bothered to care whether he was annoyed or not.
After all, something outside of my expectations had interfered.
That means the plot had changed.
And every change no matter how minuscule could potentially have untold ramifications.
It was quite simply the butterfly effect.
And as I didn't know what would change, I would essentially be going in blind.
Of course, perhaps it wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it out to be.
However, I wouldn't know until the change revealed itself.
As I trudged down the empty corridor, the voices in my head played over and over.
~You're an idiot, you know that?~
~Tripping? Seriously?~
~Look at him, he's trying to make sense of it.~
'Shut up.'
~What cant handle us?~
~It's your fault anyway.~
~Did we trip? I thought we saw something.~
'Shut up!'
~We don't want to.~
~We're having fun, aren't we?~
~He doesn't look well, perhaps we should go to a doctor.~
~We are him, you moron, get your head straight!~
~We don't have a head!~
~We are the head!~
~I'm sure he'll be fine… he's dealt with us before.~
'Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!'
I clutched my head in agony as the voices I kept at bay relentlessly battered my skull.
My head was pounding, I barely noticed that I had walked into an empty hall devoid of students.
My fingers began scraping at my scalp as I desperately wrestled for control.
As I was walking I bumped into one of the white walls.
Pausing in my steps, I leaned against the wall as I caught my breath.
Gradually the voices in my head began fading, my breathing began to slow down.
Once my erratic heartbeat returned to its usual calm state, I finally looked around.
The first word that came to mind to describe where I am, is empty.
Whitewashed walls greeted me everywhere I turned, making it hard to tell in which direction I had come from.
I carefully observed the dimly lit corridor for any signs of life yet I found none.
The scuffed and clean tile floor was evident that people had passed here, yet it was empty.
While keeping myself alert, I began walking down one side of the corridor.
Only the squeaky echoes of my leather shoes slowly walking along the hallway pervaded my ears.
The dimly lit corridor seemed to stretch forever, it felt like I was getting nowhere.
As I walked I felt like the shadows on the edges of my vision began to inch closer.
It was as if they were wriggling, like tentacles attempting to ensnare me.
However, every time I looked at them, it was as if what I had seen was simply my imagination.
Deciding to ignore all of the strange things that were happening, I continued walking.
-ZING!!
-BZZZ!!
The sound of the lights flickering reached my ears, they began flashing before ultimately bathing the hallway in darkness.
Suddenly the sound of rushing wind brushed by me, sending chills up my spine.
It felt like the temperature had decreased to below 0, causing me to wrap my arms around myself as I shivered.
Then, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, as I felt something brush across my back.
Swiveling around in a panic, I couldn't make out anything in the pitch-black darkness.
I attuned my ears to the hallway, as I attempted to discern anything that was moving.
However I found nothing, only silence greeted my ears.
-ZING!!
Suddenly a single light turned on, illuminating a small space in the darkness.
And there it was, there were no words that could describe how terrifying it was.
Carved into that hole of light, a ghastly figure stared at me.
In its hand, it was clutching a tall ebony scythe.
The scythe handle was made of gnarled blackened limbs which curled up and ended at its elongated blade.
A blade made out of pure darkness, yet it had a glistening shine that seemed to attest to how sharp it was.
The blade seemed to wriggle and writhe as if it was eyeing its next meal.
Hanging from the figure's other hand was an ancient-looking lantern.
It was made out of a black wood that seemed unable to contain the flames within yet they did not escape.
The mint green flames dimly illuminated the figure as they licked the sides of the lantern threatening to escape.
Inside the lantern, the green flames seemed to swirl around as if they were souls attempting to escape eternal torment.
However, all of that paled in comparison to the figure itself.
Dressed in a tattered black robe, it was impossible to discern most of its features.
However, the lantern and scythe were clutched by a pair of pale bony hands.
Long slender fingers that ended with frayed tips.
But no.
The scariest part was its face.
It was hard to discern through the darkness, however, I could tell that its face had no shape or form.
Under the tattered hood, it was like a mass of swirling darkness.
However, every time I looked at it, it resembled my worst fears.
The type of things you have nightmares about.
It seemed to change every time I looked, however, no matter what, I was terrified each time.
I was petrified.
None of the muscles in my body would move.
My head was screaming at me to run, the danger bells long ago having rung.
Even the voices in my head were silent.
However, I was frozen.
~Child…~
A low raspy voice seemed to echo through the corridor of darkness, not coming from anywhere in particular.
The voice was a mix of pained screams and suffering.
It threatened to swallow me up if I was not careful.
I could somehow picture the faces of the tormented souls as it began to speak.
~You have been ignoring me…~
???
What?
As if it was able to read my mind, the creature paused as it seemed to ponder for a moment.
~Have you forgotten your wish?~
My wish?
Wish?
Oh!
~Yes, child, for it was you who asked for salvation.~
I briefly recalled what had happened in the cave, when the voice had asked me what it was that I wished for.
I had answered salvation as it was what I had felt at the moment, however, I didn't think it would have such an effect on the plot.
~You have so far disappointed me, child.~
~I have been waiting and yet you have yet to take your first soul.~
~I will wait no longer.~
~If you have not taken a soul by the end of the week…~
-Whoosh!
Suddenly he was in front of me.
~I will take yours…~
His frigid bony hand caressed my cheek as if it was preparing to indulge in a meal
~Remember the fear you feel now, it will guide you through the dark path that lies ahead…~
WHOOSH-!
Suddenly I was back in the empty hall, the light shining down on me.
As my body unfroze, I collapsed to the ground drenched in sweat.
'What the hell was that?'
***
In the veil of darkness, a lonely figure hovered above the endless pit of night.
It was like the universe after all life had died.
Black hands reached out of the darkness as if to grasp the figure, yet none could catch him.
Suddenly the figure paused.
It pondered over the youth it had just met.
The only reason it had given the youth another chance was because of the spark it had sensed in it.
A spark someone had picked up on before him.
Slowly raising the gnarled lantern to his face, he peered inside.
The green flames swirled around endlessly, desperately attempting to escape.
Staring at one soul, in particular, the figure sighed.
To think that soul had dared to give that boy his legacy.
Perhaps he had seen the same thing in the boy.
~Isn't that right…~
~Azrael.~
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
HugzNeeded
HugzNeeded Well damn that was a longer one, fuck I really need to stop procrastinating and write more than 1 chappy a day but I just cant you know the words don't come and I end up playing games... anyways for the sake of my sanity plz send hugs, as always, Hugz <3
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