Beginning of his fall
Chapter 42
...
Cold.
Endless.
Silent.
Eidolon drifted through it-weightless, thoughtless.
Nothing existed.
Not pain.
Not rage.
Not even himself.
Then-
"WAKE UP!!"
The voice tore through the void.
"EH-!!"
Eidolon's body snapped back to life.
He lurched forward violently-
COUGH-!! COUGH-!!
Air slammed into his lungs as he choked, gasping like a man dragged out of deep water.
His chest heaved.
His throat burned.
"Hah... hah..."
A broken laugh slipped out.
Quiet at first.
Then louder.
"Heh... haha..."
His head tilted back.
Eyes half-lidded.
"One after another..."
His voice trembled-but not with fear.
With exhaustion.
"It just keeps getting worse..."
A pause.
Then-
A smile.
Wide.
Cracked.
Unstable.
"...I'm not even surprised anymore."
His eyes sharpened.
Cold.
Defiant.
"FUCK YOU, WORLD."
The words came out like a vow.
"I'll survive... no matter what."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Watching.
Then-
"What's so funny... Eidolon?"
The voice came from the corner.
Dark.
Still.
Waiting.
Eidolon's gaze snapped toward it instantly.
Every inch of his attention locked onto the shadows.
Something shifted within them.
A figure.
Standing.
Breathing.
"...haha..."
A low, rasping chuckle echoed.
The figure stepped slightly forward-but not enough.
Its face remained swallowed by darkness.
Only its body became visible.
From the neck...
Down.
"You still won't learn... will you?"
Eidolon's smile didn't fade.
If anything-
It deepened.
"Oh, I've learned..."
His voice dropped.
Dark.
Heavy.
"I've learned so fucking much."
A pause.
Then-
"Wanna hear something crazy, Eidolon?"
"...what?" he answered, slower this time.
The figure tilted its head.
"As a tree grows, it believes it understands the sky... the storms... the seasons..."
A step closer.
"But no matter how tall it becomes..."
Another step.
"...it will never understand the blade... until it feels it."
Silence.
Eidolon's throat tightened.
"...what do you mean... by that?"
For the first time-
There was hesitation in his voice.
A crack.
A flaw.
The figure laughed softly.
"You see, kid..."
It stepped out of the darkness.
"...I need something from you."
The dim light flickered-
Revealing it.
Eidolon's pupils shrank.
His breath caught.
The face...
That face-
It was wrong.
Twisted.
Torn apart and crudely held together, like something that had been destroyed... and forced back into shape.
Flesh warped.
Skin stretched unnaturally.
Eyes sunken-
Yet alive.
Watching him.
Smiling.
"But don't worry..."
The man's grin widened.
"It'll cost you something..."
A pause.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"...and cost me nothing."
Eidolon's body trembled.
"What...?"
The man stepped closer.
Too close.
Close enough for Eidolon to see every broken detail of what stood before him.
"You don't recognize your own work?"
A soft, cracked laugh escaped him.
"YOU CREATED ME."
His voice suddenly snapped-loud, unhinged.
"You made me like this!"
He burst into laughter.
Wild.
Unstable.
Joyful.
As if this moment-
This suffering-
Was beautiful to him.
Eidolon's heart pounded violently.
"...no..."
His mind raced.
I don't... remember... this...
The man leaned down.
Their faces inches apart.
"Sooo..."
His voice stretched.
Twisted.
"...about the thing that I need..."
His smile grew wider.
Too wide.
"I... NEED..."
His hand slowly rose.
Shaking.
Anticipating.
"...your eyes, Eidolon."
His fingers pointed directly at them.
And then-
They changed.
The man's eyes-
Glowed.
A deep, unnatural red.
...