Armis's stammering voice rang out in disbelief, "A… Alan? Is that you?!" But instead of a verbal response, waves of raw, vile power and a deafening silence greeted his question. Alan straightened up, adjusting something on his finger before he turned to face Armis, confirming his worst fears.
His eyes, as dark as the night itself, held crimson pupils that pierced through the shadows cast over his face. Dark etchings spread across his body like a fur, leaving only patches of his pale skin exposed. Alan stood taller now, almost matching Armis in height. His slender, dark form revealed protruding muscles that belied the condition Armis had last seen him in.
As Alan slipped the shiny violet ring onto his finger, Armis's words of concern and apprehension began to spill out, "Alan... what happened to you, buddy? Are you okay? You look—"
His words choked in his throat as the ring glowed, veins of violet hue briefly pulsing across Alan's darkened body. Alan grimaced in pain and struggled against some unseen force, his groans echoing with an undercurrent of something malevolent intertwined with his own voice.
The horrifying spectacle passed, leaving Alan standing tall, his dark etchings appearing even more ominous. Armis felt a strange dread wash over him, but it was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching fear that gripped him when he tried to speak again, only for his voice to falter under Alan's piercing glare.
Alan growled as a beast, his squinted, sharp gaze and gritted teeth filling the chamber with an overwhelming aura of malice and strength. The intensity of his presence sent chills down Armis's spine, causing him to instinctively step back and adopt a defensive posture. It was as if one wrong move, one blink, could lead Armis to meet the same fate as the monstrous beast they had just fought.
"One….!" Alan finally spoke, his gritting teeth receding as he held his sword against Armis. His dark aura relentlessly filled the chamber, each breath for Armis feeling like a life-or-death struggle. Alan's voice rumbled with a demonic intensity as he demanded,
"I give you one chance. Tell me WHY?!!!!!!!"
His roar shook the very bricks and stones, waves of ominous strength pressing down on Armis, forcing him to hunch against the invisible dark pressure. Something was profoundly wrong; the calm and serene presence Armis had once sensed in Alan had been replaced by something sinister, an intent that reeked of murder. Armis took a slow, deep breath, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Alan as he replied,
"Alan, I don't know what has happened to you, and I certainly don't know what you're talking about. Please calm down and w——Swishhh!!!!!——"
His lips froze in stunned silence, his body reacting instinctively, guided by armor that sensed the sudden surge of murderous ferocity emanating from Alan's figure. In an instant, Alan closed the distance between them, swinging his crimson-blazing sword. Armis instinctively leaned back, narrowly avoiding the searing edge of Alan's blade.
With the haste as fast as his dread Armis barely recovered from the close call, leaning back up he attempted to speak, his voice tinged with disbelief and urgency,
"Alan!! What are you———-Thhwaappppppppp!!!!!!swishhh!!!——Dhhhaammmmm!!!!!!!"
But his words were abruptly cut off by a thunderous impact—a bone-crushing blow from Alan's gauntleted fist, encased in menacing yellow. The force behind the punch shattered the air itself, sending Armis hurtling through the chamber like a ragdoll. He crashed into the stone wall with devastating force, creating a deep crater upon impact. Dust and debris exploded outward, filling the air with a tumultuous cloud of destruction.
"WHY?!!!!!" Alan's voice thundered through the chamber, resonating with demonic intensity as Armis crashed into the wall.
"Why? WHAT?!!!!——Swishhh!!!!!—" Armis retorted, bounding out of the crater amidst a shower of debris. His armor showed little sign of damage, but frustration fueled his next move as he launched himself back at Alan, who met his charge with equal ferocity. The impending clash of their bodies reverberated through the air, their grunts filling the space between them as they collided.
In the heat of their battle, Armis moved in for a powerful punch, but Alan surprised him. With a swift spin, Alan transformed his sword into a golden whip and seized a nearby boulder.
With immense strength, Alan lashed out, the whip cracking through the air as it gripped a giant boulder. In one fluid motion, Alan swung the massive stone at Armis with devastating force, sending him hurtling across the chamber. The impact against the opposite wall was explosive, shaking the very foundation of the chamber and leaving another deep crater in its wake.
With a stream of blood trickling from his tattered lip, yet his armor unscathed, Armis surged out of the crater towards Alan once more, his frustration and confusion echoing in his bellow,
"I. HAVE. NO. IDEA. WHAT ARE YOU TALKI—-thwoupppppp!!!!!"
But Alan's ferocity remained undeterred by Armis's words. Swift as a serpent, Alan closed the distance between them, his speed outmatching Armis's charge. In a blur of motion, he darted beneath Armis, catching him off guard with a crushing knee to the jaw that stunned Armis mid-air. From Alan's hand materialized a giant war hammer of a pale pink hue, and in an eerie moment, a grumbling sound escaped Alan's sealed lips,
"HAMMER!!! OF LETHARGY!!!!!"
Before Armis could react, the hammer came crashing down on his chest, enveloping his body in a dreadful shock of familiar sluggishness. The impact resounded with a sharp, deafening metal clang, followed by another thunderous clash as Armis was hurled forcefully into the ground, a whirlwind of debris and dust exploding around him.
After a moment of sharp, stabbing pain, Armis's eyes opened, his vision bloody and hazy, ears ringing with numbness. Suddenly, Alan's roaring voice pierced through, accompanied by his dark foot hovering over Armis's stunned face. Then, it came down with crushing force.
"Why?!!! Why?!! Why did you do it?!!! You were my friend!!!! My first friend!!!! My best friend!!!!!" Alan's fury was relentless, each line of his pain and agony punctuated by another stomp that drove Armis's face into the ground with mounting force.
"You were a brother to me!!! TO HER!!!!"
——-Stomp!!!!!!——-
"I TRUSTED HER TO YOU!!!!!!"
———-STOMP!!!!!———
"I THOUGHT YOU HAD CHANGED!!!!!"
——-Stomp!!!!!———
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER!!!!!"
————STOMP!!!!!!——-
"SHE THOUGHT OF YOU AS A BIG BROTHER!!!!!!"
—————STOMP!!!!!——-STOMP!!!!!——-
"YOU BROKE MY TRUST!!!! YOU BROKE HER FAITH!!!!!!!!"
————-STOMP!!!!!!!———-STOMP!!!!———
"YOU VIOLATED HER!!!!!!!! YOU BROKE HER!!!!"
————-STOMP!!!!—-STOMP!!!——STOMP!!!—
Alan's wrath, his pain, and the despair of betrayal turned the chamber floor into a giant crater. In the middle of it, Alan stood, breathing heavily, his dark visage contorted with pain.
Beneath his foot, under the rubble of destruction, lay Armis. But no matter how many times he struck or stomped, the raging fire in Alan's heart only blazed hotter. Looking down, Alan's eyes imagined Armis's smug, sinister visage and the soulless eyes of his wife. Enraged once more, he raised his foot for another stomp.
Just as he brought it down with crushing force, Armis's hands tore through the rubble, catching and stopping Alan's stomp inches above his battered face. Groaning with the struggle, Armis resisted with all his might, his voice straining against Alan's pain,
"Al…Alan…you d…don't understand!!! It was…it was all the effects of this PLACE!!!!!!" Overpowering Alan's stomp, he pushed him away, quickly gathering himself to his feet, his voice pleading, "You know what I am talking about!! You must have felt them yourself, Alan!!! Relecta!!! Where is she, just ask her!!!"
But Armis's words of defense only fueled Alan's rage further. Hearing her name from Armis's lips, Alan's agony erupted. He lunged at the startled Armis, who hastily moved into a defensive position, raising his wrists before his face. Suddenly, Alan vanished, and before Armis could react, he reappeared below, sweeping Armis off his feet with a low kick. Gripping Armis's leg with an iron hold, Alan spun him through the air, bellowing in fury,
"DON'T!!! SAY HER NAME!!! FROM YOUR MOUTH, YOU ANIMAL!!!!"
Alan's wrath sent Armis crashing against the debris and walls with destructive force before hurling him out of the chamber with a wind-breaking throw.
Armis flew through the air, slamming through debris and remnants of the massacre he had left behind. His golden armor, now stained with dirt and blood—not his own but from his earlier slaughter—bore the marks of the constant beating. Finally, Armis crashed through chambers and wooden gates, ultimately and ironically slamming into the ruined temple of Minerva. He collided with a wall that once held an altar, adding more debris to the already destroyed chamber.
As the echoes of destruction faded, Armis's loud, wheezing breaths filled the air. His heaving gasps and mounting anger were palpable as he tore out of the debris, his bloodied visage fixed ahead. He saw Alan charging toward him. Desperate to hold off his friend's rage with defense and words, Armis stood straight, bracing for impact, and yelled out,
"Why don't you understand?! I TRIED!!! I TRIED MY HA—"
Alan's thundering charge suddenly slowed in the final moment. Armis's eyes widened in surprise as Alan gently touched him, his calm voice echoing out,
"Touch of Empusia."
Suddenly, Armis's gaze and surroundings faded into darkness. His body relaxed, and he looked around in eerie puzzlement at the unsettling change. His armor withered away, leaving him bare, and he felt a familiar sensation followed by a shocking visage that sent shivers down his spine. His wife, Aurelia, appeared before him, her visage as fresh as he remembered but with a tinge of disappointment and sadness in her eyes. She softly touched his cheek and asked,
"Why did you do it…Armis?"
A whirl of emotions—happiness, sadness, nostalgia, and dread—filled Armis's heart. His face contorted as he struggled against the illusion, his hand reaching out to touch her face, his lips forming a defense for his actions,
"I swear, it was the effects, it was this place that made me do it, I swear my l—DDHHHAAHHHHH!!!!!—LIAR!!!!!!!"
Aurelia's eyes averted, her head and body twisting bizarrely, transforming into the dark form of Alan. Alan punched Armis's jaw with such force that it sent him out of the illusionary darkness and back into the temple.
But the temple was different now, devoid of destruction and emptiness, instead filled with an overwhelming dread and horror. Armis's eyes widened in terror as they met the teary, bloody eyes of Relecta, who lay in her final moments, groaning in pain as she slowly shoved a sword into her chest,
"You…you did…this…to..me…Armis….why…?"
Realizing the cause of Alan's pain and fury, Armis's face contorted with fear and rising grief. He staggered towards Relecta, trying to touch her, but Alan's dark form emerged from the shadows, bellowing,
"Don't TOUCH HER!!!"
Alan thrashed Armis's face with a crushing knee, hurling him backward. Armis collapsed into another iteration of the chamber, lying on his knees, supporting himself with his hands. He raised his bloodied face and saw the moment Alan read the letter, sharp grief and despair piercing his body.
Armis could hear Alan's wheezing sobs, feel his pain, and finally began to grasp Alan's suffering and the reason for his anger. Even after being beaten relentlessly, Armis tried to crawl towards his despaired friend. Though it was an illusion, he wanted to offer his support. But the very foundation of the illusion was Alan's hate and repulsion towards him.
When Armis tried to call out to the sobbing Alan, Alan stood up and turned towards him with disgust strewn across his face. He kicked hard at Armis's face, flipping his numb body back into darkness. Alan emerged from the darkness again, punching Armis's gut. Groaning in pain, Armis's horror and disbelief slipped from his lips,
"I…didn't…I didn't..!"
Armis repeated his denials, but Alan's enraged ears were deaf to them. He relentlessly kicked, punched, and smashed Armis's body, drawing more and more blood from his mouth. Then, with a powerful back kick to Armis's gut, Alan sent him crashing back into the wall of the chamber, expelling him from the illusion of darkness.
Despite the relentless thrashing, Armis's horror and shock seeped through his lips, further enraging Alan. He punched Armis deep into the wall, then yanked him out by his face, kneeing him in the gut with bone-breaking force. Alan slammed Armis down to the ground and bellowed,
"YOU KILLED HER!!!!!!"
Alan followed with a mighty stomp, driving Armis's face deep into the ground with flying debris. He grabbed Armis's jerking leg, yanked him out of the ground, and hurled him against the wall like a ragdoll, creating another crater with an explosion of debris and dust. Alan's screams of pain drowned out the clash.
"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM HER!!!!"
Alan quickly pulled Armis from the wall, slammed him down, then picked him up, leaving him on his knees. In a sudden movement, Alan spun and, with a bellow, thrashed his elbow into Armis's face.
"FROM!!! ME!!!!!"
The wind-breaking clash of the strike drowned out Alan's voice, contorting Armis's body bizarrely and leaving him on his folded knees, his body slumped on the ground.
"I…I…di…didn't…"
Even after enduring Alan's rage, Armis's broken words of defense still seeped through his lips, fanning the flames of revenge inside Alan. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Alan moved ahead, raising his fist and clasping his hands into a powerful hammer strike. He brought it down with the force that resonated in his voice,
"ENOUGH WITH THE INNOCENCE, YOU MONST—ttwhhoop—"
Suddenly, Alan's raging tone halted in apprehension and shock. In a bizarre manner, Armis's body contorted, the air filled with the clangs of his armor as he straightened back up in a fluid motion. He tightly held Alan's hand in mid-air, meeting Alan's confused eyes with a mocking glare and furrowed brows. Armis's tattered lips stretched into a sinister smirk on his bloody face. His tone now mocked Alan's grief and rage,
"I didn't, you did. You killed her…!"
"Huh? ——-thhhdddaakkkckk———-