With his body in danger; allowing his more primal instincts to take over, his consciousness was trapped within his mind; chained before the very person he was fighting.
"What... do you want from me?"
Kneeling before the woman, Michael was bound to the ground. His right eye was completely black in color, it was a byproduct of the control she had over him.
"I have control over your body and your mind, what more could I want."
She kneeled down, looking face to face as she spoke. But he seemed unbothered by the gesture, instead he smirked at her.
"You're a bad liar. From what I can see you don't have control. Otherwise we wouldn't be fighting right now. So I'll ask again. What do you want?"
Behind her was a projection of the outside world, as if looking through his eyes. Infront of them the fight was taking place, he was on the losing side but soon the tides would slowly begin to shift.
She sighed as she stood, she started pacing; placing her finger to her chin.
"It's like I said. I've already got what I came for. You. You're right I don't have control over your body, but that's exactly how I want it."
He raised an eyebrow as he listened.
"I need you to go rampant, destroy everything you see. I need the power that's hidden within you to grow and manifest into something you could only dream of. I need you to evolve and get stronger. That way when the time comes, you can kill any and everything that crosses my path."
"Why me. You seem to have all the power you need on your own. Why chose someone who doesn't even have anything to give."
She leaned over, grabbing his hair and making him look up at her.
"It's much simpler to harness and build from the ground up. Besides, I can already taste the potential you hide, Frost."
He gritted his teeth bearing through the pain.
"Hate to break it to you, but you've got the wrong person. That's not my name."
She smiled as she let him go.
"Not yet."
She looked out watching the fight.
"You don't even know who you are. You thirst for knowledge, the history of the world around you. Yet you barely even know the soul that inhabits your own body."
A bit of surprise covered his face, along with a spark of interest.
"You poor thing, ran away from home to chase a dream you had no idea was real."
His eyes widened as she spoke.
"Went off to college, hand picked by your professor; finally coming one step closer. Making friends, building bonds. Working on the first artifacts leading to it. All just to be left to die alone in a cave."
"How do you-"
She turned slightly to look at him.
"Could it be some unseen god rewarding you for your efforts. Or maybe fate has her cold boney fingers wrapped around your fragile soul, stringing you along like some puppet to play with."
"How... do you know all of this?"
"Control."
She walked towards him and crounched to his level. He froze as she moved closer. Placing her lips beside his ear she whispered to him:
"You know this is all your fault, right?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but all he could manage was a single breath.
"The bloodshed the murder. The demon hunters killing your friend, the many people that died during the expedition. All the people that will die from the monsters you unleashed from that book. Your little friend, Sammy, or maybe your mentor Maria. What fate awaits them? Death at the hands of an awakened, or maybe a beast."
She moved back, and looked him in the eyes. A devilish smirk appeared on her face as she spoke.
"Or maybe I'll have You kill them."
She slowly backed away, leaving the thought of such a thing encompassing his mind. She slowly stood, and took a step back. She slowly lifted her hand, as she did small particles of light began to form within it. They slowly began to take shape, merging into one another in the shape of a small sword.
She raised the sword, placing it under his chin; forcing him to look up at her. As their eyes met, she placed the sword to his cheek. She slowly caressed it, smiling as the blood began to drip from the cut.
As he looked up at her a single word rang out in his ears:
"Shatter."
With one swift motion she cut the chains binding him. She watched as his other eye was consumed by the darkness.
The darkness around them slowly began to consume him, slowly pulling him into it's embrace. It turned into quicksand as it began to pull him under until the only thing left was his head. Before he was taken away, the last thing she saw was his lightless eyes.
He sunk deeper and deeper into the darkness. His lungs felt as if they were filled with water, as he struggled to breathe. There was nothing but the all encompassing darkness around him.
It didn't take long for his senses to betray him. He couldn't tell up from down, whether he was sitting or standing. He couldn't even tell whether his eyes were opened or closed. The only thing he could feel now was the sadness and anger that faught to fill his heart.
'So this is how I die, drowning in my own mind. I've died so much, I can't tell what's real anymore. Is this really all that's left for me.'
The images of his family appeared in his head, the time he spent with Sam. The days he worked under Maria, even the day he met Sofia.
'The moment I touched the book, I felt so much joy. I felt like my life finally found true meaning, like I could start over, make a new beginning.
'My story hasn't even started and I'm already lost.'
Dark images appeared in his head. Ones depicting the death of everyone he knew and loved. He watched from a distance as his mother cried at his funeral, only to be killed by some thug a few days later.
The area around him changed, he stood there watching his mother's final breaths as she held onto life. He ran as hard as he could to get to her. He knelt down by her side, holding her head, trying to keep the blood from filling her lungs. But it was already too late.
A tear rolled down his cheek as he held her, falling onto her own. She looked up at him, with empty eyes. A warm smile appeared on her face as she looked into his own. Slowly she lifted her bloodied hand, caressing his cheek lightly; wiping away his tears. Then, nothing. Her hand went limp, falling to her side. He could do nothing but watch as she finally faded away.
He held his eyes tightly shut, as he held her in his arms. Everything around fading back into darkness, leaving only him and what was left of her. He continued to hold her tightly fearing what would happen if he let go.
After a few excruciating minutes, he felt a presence appear before him, then another. They stood there looking down at him, watching as his aching heart longed for silence.
After a few moments he finally opened his eyes. Infront of him stood the woman watching with cold eyes, and beside her stood the very future she set before him. Looking down at him, was his own reflection. His eyes completely black, his smile wicked and vile. His hands stained with his own mother's blood.
It only took a single blink and he was gone. Yet the presence felt like it was all around him.
"You're pathetic."
His own voice said in his ear.
"Look at what you've done."
Looking down at himself, he was sitting in a puddle of blood. He lifted his stained hands, trying to wipe it all away. Then he noticed a mirror before him, his own reflection smiling back at him with the same malice.
"Some "god" you are."
"I'm.... not... a god."
The man appeared infront of him, he knelt down and looked him in the eyes.
"Clearly."
Michael looked down at himself, staring at his bloodied hands. Then he looked back into his own eyes. There was a coldness to them. It wasn't from the loss of hope, or the deep wounds of grief. Instead it was murderous and indifferent.
"And neither are you."
He grabbed onto the neck of the man. He stood with him in his grasp, holding him up. The reflection grabbed onto his wrist, struggling to speak.
"Finally snapped, have you. Good, prove you're the murderer she wants of you."
He expected a reaction from him, for him to realize that he was falling into her hands. For him to release him and fall into a deep depression. Instead he only tilted his head as he looked at him.
"You're not real, neither are the things you showed."
"Not yet. It's your future. You belong to her, "puppet"."
His grip tightened.
"I'm no one's puppet. This is my mind, my body.... My world. I'll be damned if I let some outsider take it from me."
The man smiled at him, the darkness in his eyes deepened, threatening to consume him.
"You're too weak."
"No. You were."
Without a second thought he snapped the reflections neck and tossed him aside. It began to dissipate into smoke as it landed.
He began walking towards the woman. She stood there unmoving as he approached, then when he was close enough sparks ignited in her hand, materializing her sword.
She swung down aiming for his neck. He grabbed the blade before it reached. His hand swiftly grasped her throat. He looked into her eyes, unflinching. They sparked into white flames, burning away the darkness around them.
"Get out of my head."