Minutes passed. Maybe hours. Time moved strangely in the temple. The darkness above never changed, and the statues never moved… yet, for some reason, they felt more alive than the wrinkled corpses on the cold stone floor.
Eventually, Vesper's laughter stopped.
He raised his head. His eyes were still blood red… a Bloodvaine and Vampyre trait… but the glow had faded to something softer and humane.
"Luscaine."
Vesper whispered to the abyss.
Danisque turned.
The Monarch stood where he had been the whole time… like a statue… like all the other statues in the room, observing quietly.
Luscaine took a step forward toward the silver-haired boy.
"I told you," the Monarch's voice was soft, "you wouldn't be able to control yourself."
Vesper was calm. He gazed at Luscaine with near apathy as he stated, "You made me drink it."
"I made you choose," Luscaine whispered back.
"You commanded me," Vesper stated as a matter of fact.
"I commanded you to choose." Luscaine's voice was gentle. "The drop was already floating toward you, nephew. The hunger was already waking. I simply… removed your ability to pretend otherwise."
Vesper stared at him. For a moment, Danisque thought he might attack. Might throw himself at the Monarch with nothing but rage and grief and guilt.
He didn't.
Instead, Vesper closed his eyes again. When he opened them, the red had dimmed further.
"What happens now? Any more commands, your highness?"
Luscaine smiled. That same sad, hopeful, terrifying smile. He almost chuckled but held himself back for some reason.
"Now, nephew? You are a Prophet. All Vampyres respect you… even I. No more commands… nobody can command you… since you are the will of blood. Not Lysbelle, nor I… nor any Monarch. Only the Gods. Now you simply live with it. You live with the hunger, the guilt, the memory of what you did to feed it. Eventually, as a Prophet, you shall carry with you… The hunger of every Vampyre, every guilt… every memory… that… is the favor of the Weeping Mother. You shall weep too. You shall know grief. Weeks, months, years, centuries… and eventually eons, until you sleep… for all eternity."
Luscaine stepped forward. His footsteps made no sound, but the statues seemed to lean toward him as he passed.
Vesper stared at the Vampyre Monarch deadpan before chuckles escaped his lips deprecatingly.
"Oh my god."
Vesper's laughter filled the chamber. It echoed, and for a second it felt as if even the statues were smirking in mockery toward the young Vampyre.
"Gods. This is fucking incredible! Now I have to carry hunger not just of myself but for the entirety of the blood-sucking race? And you think this is a blessing? Wow, everything is gay. Thank you!"
Vesper bowed his head thrice, sarcastically.
"Thank you so much for this blessing, your esteemed highness."
He looked toward the darkness of the ceiling and bowed again.
"Thank you so much, oh great Weeping Mother!"
He looked at the statues and bowed again.
"Thank you so much, pieces of rock!"
Luscaine stopped before Vesper, ignoring his antics.
"She chose you, Vesper. Not because you are strong. Not because you are worthy. Because you are capable of carrying this weight. Because you can bear what others cannot."
Vesper stared directly into the enchantingly horrifying eyes of the Monarch and spoke with a gentle smile, his eyes turning crescent-shaped.
"Yeah, and I say fuck you to that."
Luscaine smiled, his lips curling.
"Heh. Vesper. I can see clearly why she chose you… And you will see in time too."
He paused for a moment, letting his words sink into the feeble brain of the rebellious Vampyre as the boy in question raised his middle finger.
Clearing his throat, the Monarch continued.
"The three you took today will not be the last. The hunger will return. It will always return. And each time, you will have to choose. Feed on strangers. Feed on enemies. Or feed on friends."
Vesper switched from his middle finger to his thumb.
"Cool. Alright."
Meanwhile, Luscaine reached out. He placed a hand on Vesper's head. The same gesture he had used before… gentle, almost fatherly, though to the former rockstar, the gesture felt anything but that.
He felt trapped.
Like a mouse.
A furious feeling bubbled deep within him… a feeling of anarchy rushed toward his brain, but the Monarch's next words calmed it down.
"But you will not feed on this one."
Vesper's eyes moved to where Luscaine had raised his bony finger.
Danisque's breath caught.
Luscaine's smile widened.
"He is yours. The witness. The one who chose to stay when every instinct told him to run. You will protect him, nephew. You will keep him close. Because he is the only one who will ever understand what you are… a beast. Like the rest of us."
He withdrew his hand. Stepped back.
"The ritual is complete. She accepts you. She weeps for you. And she will be watching."
The shadows behind him deepened. The darkness above seemed to press down on Vesper and Danisque… bringing the two down on their knees. The latter almost coughed up blood but didn't in fear of the two vampyres.
"When you are ready… when you have learned to carry what you have been given… return to this place. She will be waiting."
He smiled one last time.
"Alas, while I would love to chit-chat, I have a kingdom to rebuild. Take care of your mongrel, Prophet. We will meet again… and when we do… I look forward. You will be grateful."
Vesper struggled to raise his bowed head and stand upon his knees… to look at the Monarch bastard one last time and give him a final fuck you.
…but he was gone. Vanished.
Not a trace remained except for the weight of darkness on their shoulders that was beginning to ease away.
The chamber was empty except for the bodies, the statues, and the two boys who had somehow survived… and a wild unconscious Jimeneus.
Danisque let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"That was…"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have words for what that was.
Vesper didn't answer. He was staring at the spot where Luscaine had stood, his face unreadable.
Minutes passed.
Then Vesper stood.
His movements were slow. Careful. As if he were afraid his body might betray him again. He looked at the bodies. At Amanda's withered face. At Knoncan's wrinkled form. At Adam's empty eye sockets.
His hands trembled.
"We can't leave them here."
Vesper sighed.
Danisque nodded.
Together, in silence, they gathered the bodies.
They carried them through the temple. Past the statues. Past the T-junction. Past the gallery where the blank-faced figures watched with their empty eyes.
Vesper carried Knoncan. The big man was now light as a feather.
Danisque carried Adam. The navigator was being led to his grave now.
They left Amanda.
For the last.
The threshold loomed ahead. The gap between the black towers. The place where they had entered.
Outside, the storm had died. The fog had cleared. Pale light filtered down from somewhere… a star, a moon, something they couldn't name.
Vesper stopped at the edge. Looked out at the world he had left behind.
"Danisque."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
Danisque didn't answer.
Vesper said again. "For everything."
Danisque looked at his friend. There was dried blood all over his face, and even his silver hair was marred scarlet.
The bastard thought about running. Thought about leaving Vesper here, in this temple, with his guilt and his hunger… with the godforsaken gods and goddesses and the creepy statues.
Then the bastard thought about staying.
Vesper looked lonely.
Just as much as he was.
A sigh escaped his lips.
'I wish I had never met this bastard.'
"We'll figure it out."
Vesper's eyes widened as he stared at the bastard dumbfoundedly.
"Why?"
Danisque thought about it. Then he sighed again.
"Don't ask me stupid questions, melodramatic bastard."
He rolled his eyes.
'Because you're my bro.'
A sound escaped Vesper. Not quite a laugh. Not quite a sob. Something between. He took a few steps back, clutching his chest, feigning pain.
"Wow, I take offense to that. Not you of all people calling me a bastard, bastard."
Danisque smacked Vesper on his head.
"Yeah… maybe your mother fucked my dad, bitchass."
Vesper paused in his steps and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? What if you are my son? You fucking bastard."
The boy brandished his hands as the two got into a brawl. They only stopped when they ran out of insults… and by the end, neither side cared enough to continue.
"Come on. Let's get out of this hellhole. I need a drink. I hope you drink something other than blood."
Vesper looked at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Beers? My treat."
Danique raised his fist into the air and made a rock symbol.
"Fuck yeah. We gotta get stuck in temples again. Free beers wohooo~"
Together, they stepped through the threshold. The bodies had been burnt, Amanda's included, and Vesper princess-carried the cohort leader once again.
Behind them, the temple stood silent… slowly dissipating into the fog, forever as if it never stood there.
While… the statues watched… their heads turned… eagerly awaiting as darkness consumed them.
One day, the Prophet would return… but the temple would not be there.
Somewhere in the depths, a goddess wept.
And where once the entrance of the temple remained… frost melted, wings unfurled, and a face revealed itself.
~
End of Temple Arc. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed :)