"You stole our blood, our souls... and for what? So that we didn’t end up as the sacrifice to the devils?"
"We were your family, and you slaughtered us! How does victory taste?"
"No power can wash the stain of betrayal from your hands!"
"Brother... why? Why did you do it?"
"We scream in your heart every ti you draw breath. We will be a constant reminder, Uncle."
"Our strength is yours, but so is our curse!"
"Our lives were the price for your freedom. Was it worth it?"
"Even in death, we cannot escape you! We hate you, Marden, we hate you!"
"Murderer! Betrayer! Our blood stains every spell you cast!"
"You wear our souls like chains, Marden. Did you think we would ever set you free?"
"We will scream in silence, forever trapped inside your head."
"You butchered us for freedom, but in doing so, you shackled yourself to eternal guilt."
"Look at us, Marden. We are the faces behind your strength... behind your freedom!"
Inside one of the lavish guest chambers within the Imperial Citadel, Marden sat hunched in a corner, clutching his head, sweat dripping down his face.
It had been eight months since the Battle of Ravenfell... eight months since the voices of his butchered kin began their relentless assault on his mind.
The constant whispers and ravings of the familiar voices drove him to the edge of insanity, and then... shoved him past the brink, splintering his mind into fractured personalities.
The man the world saw was nothing more than a facade. In truth, Marden had already fallen into madness. That was the price of freedom... the loss of his sense of self, the death of his own identity.
Marden was... no longer Marden.
He gasped for air as he slowly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot as he turned towards the window. The clouds in the blue sky drifted freely.
"Freedom," he murmured.
Marden’s face twisted into a dark scowl as he added, "At the cost of madness."
He grabbed the jug of wine beside him and greedily devoured the liquor. In but a few monts, he had already emptied the jug. Wiping his mouth with his sleeves, he let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Perfect," he muttered with a faint smile.
He rose to his feet and walked to the other end of the chamber, where a full-body mirror leaned against the wall. Staring into it, he could barely recognize the reflection that stared back.
Marden’s hair was an unkempt ss, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was drenched in sweat. There were dark bags under his eyes... eyes that burned with madness.
He could see the silhouettes of the butchered Benton Family mbers behind him, tightly holding onto his body. For a brief mont, his brown eyes flashed with sorrow and regret, but the next mont they turned cold and indifferent.
Suddenly...
The reflection in the mirror shifted. The reflection’s lips curled into a crooked smile as he said:
"This is the freedom you yearned for? You destroyed the chains binding you, but so what? Look behind you... the chains still cling to you. They won’t let you go!"
Marden’s expression darkened as he glanced at his reflection. "Shut up," he spat venomously.
"Ah, the truth hurts, doesn’t it?" The reflection sneered. "You freed yourself from the Lord’s grasp, but in doing so, you bound yourself forever to eternal damnation. Tell ... was it worth it?"
"I said shut up!" Marden roared.
"I didn’t have a choice! It had to be done! This was the only way! They were going to be sacrificed to the devils eventually! I granted them rcy! I sacrificed them so I wouldn’t be sacrificed as a pawn later!
"That man... that demon is going to sacrifice this whole world! What happens if he decides to sacrifice as well?! Do you think I’d just sit back and watch! After all that I’ve been through? After all that I’ve accomplished? I refuse!"
"Oh, poor Marden," said the reflection, his lips curling into a smirk. "You wanted to save yourself, and so you butchered your own family. But tell ... was that truly the only way? What if the Lord never intended to sacrifice you? What then? Would your kin have died for nothing?"
Marden’s body shuddered as doubt crept in. His face twisted into sothing macabre and ominous. He muttered under his breath, "You don’t know him. He is too powerful, too devious. He’ll sacrifice everyone, even his own people! I know it! He’s... he’s gone mad! Madder than ! I... just know it."
"You paranoid little fool," the reflection scoffed.
"Your inability to trust anyone drove you to slaughter your own family mbers. And for what? Just so you could play your little gas against the Lord right under his nose? Just so you could guarantee your own safety? What a pathetic excuse!
"Only if you had it in you to place your faith in others, you wouldn’t have to commit such heinous acts! Why don’t you admit it... admit it that you were wrong! Admit it that you butchered your family simply because you wanted to!"
"I said shut up!" Marden roared, slamming his fist into the mirror and shattering it into countless shards.
The world around Marden fractured like the surface of the mirror, and in the next instant, he was back in the corner of the room, his eyes wide in shock and fear. He gasped for breath, looking around frantically.
His eyes finally settled on the full-body mirror, only to find it... untouched and whole.
His pupils constricted as he realized what had just happened. He heaved a heavy sigh as he reached out for the jug of wine beside him.
"...I’ve truly fallen into madness," he murmured.
Suddenly, he froze. He turned to look at the jug of wine and found it empty. He looked at the empty jug for a long ti, trying to comprehend what was true and what wasn’t.
In the end, he shook his head as he rose to his feet. He walked to the window and gazed at the beautiful scenery outside. Aranal was bustling with chatter and movent. The sun was gradually dipping below the horizon, and the lights on the streets and in the households were slowly coming to life.
He remained standing there for a long ti, lost in thought. He ignored the silhouettes of his butchered kin standing behind him. Suddenly, he frowned.
"...What was I thinking?" He murmured.
For a while now, ever since that fateful day in Ravenfell, not only had he been hearing the constant ravings of his family mbers, but he had also been having lapses in his mory.
He knew this wasn’t the work of the Forgotten Rune because he, as the wielder of that artifact, was immune to its effects. Thus, he could only attribute his mory problems to him absorbing the souls of his kin and turning mad in the process.
At long last, he heaved a long, helpless sigh.
"Such is the price of freedom. When the great war cos and the world is sacrificed... I will survive. I will leave this planet behind and venture into the Greater Universe alone. And then... then it will all have been worth it."
He turned and headed to the bathroom to wash up and change into a fresh set of clothes.
It was ti to et the Cult Leader...
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