'I. Am. Dolly. B Dolffie… I murdered my own father just to steal his power. Killed my own mother to silence her forever. I Am Dolly B. Dolffie, and I ended the life of my dearest and most beloved, only to lose his blessed treasure. I fear no one, for I have nothing left to fear. You cannot kill me, for I do not live… but merely exist. I am Sin. I am devoured by sin. And I devour sin. I fear nothing, for I feel only one thing. Not love. Or desire. But hunger. Agonising, crippling and unsatiable hunger...'
"And I will not be slain… by a piece of paper." Dolffie spat as the Persona him held in the air by the throat.
It drew its wrapped face near, leaving only a few inches between them as it seemed to hiss at him. A raspy noise escaped its throat as a tiny puff of cold air seeped through the bandages and hit Dolffie's face.
The young man's eyes partially widened before his face contorted as a sadistic grin curled his lips and revealed eerie black-blood stained teeth.
"You breathe. You live. You die."
Dolffie smiled and spat in the creature's face as it dropped him and staggered back. Embedded deep in its chest, between the chains and through the enchanted paper, was Dolffie's dagger.
"And to think Snow almost made me reconsider keeping it." He laughed as he got to his feet, his long braid swaying behind him.
He tilted his head and began gently caressing his hair as his gaze remained glued to the Persona. It was dying, so miserably was it quickly fading out of existence as fine, jet-black ashes leaked from its chest in place of blood.
With all the strength the desperate thing had left, it flimsily charged at him. Dolffie didn't move aside, instead he merely scoff and flipped his hair back as the creature fast approached before... it just froze and crumbled, disintegrated into nothing more than a pile of ashes.
The chains surrounding and slithering across the domain creaked and twisted as Dolffie slowly approached the ash-pile and looked down at it with disdain.
"I was wrong. We're nothing alike... because I will never have such a miserable end. I will never end."
He clenched his fist as the realm of chains crumbled to reveal a surface of stone and steel.
***
At last, he has arrived.
***
Degrading, how very demeaning this Heaven was.
Dolly B. Dolffie scrunched his face in contempt as he witnessed Atom T. Bellium's confinement. Unlike the hallways, which had had layouts similar to those above ground- clean and futuristic, compared to them, Bellium's cell was a massive step back in time.
With everything except the triple-lock iron door he had easily rusted into nothing, reeking of holy magic. It appeared the cell was constructed out of special stone that had no doubt made contact with a Merit user- stone that burned and seared at the slightest contact, he tested. In such a dim and unkept place, a fool would easily fall for the trap and burn to death in an instant.
"Don't make that face. You weren't actually expecting them to treat me like a princess now, were you?" Bellium's deep voice boomed in the silence.
"No, but I for sure wasn't expecting them to hang you up like a pig over fire either," Dolffie remarked as he scanned the place. Unsurprisingly, there were no visible cameras.
Bellium tsked before he countered, " Yet I still somehow look and feel better than you."
Dolffie laughed before he truly beheld the man.
Bellium had somehow managed to retain his handsomeness even in a dump like this. With beautiful and deep ebony skin that appeared smooth and soft, like polished onyx, paired with enchanting blue eyes that shone like gaping glaciers that, even in the dimness of the cell, Dolffie couldn't help but notice. Though the man's lips were chapped and dry, they remained rosy and plump.
Dolffie cringed and shivered when he finally noticed the state of Bellium's hair, which was comprised of tightly coiled shoulder-length curls that had no doubt once been clean and well taken care of, but were now matted and tangled.
He was also impressed by how, even after being held and treated in such an undignified and humiliating manner, the Warrior of Nothing and Hero of No one was not broken or abashed, and faced him with nothing but judgement, pride and clarity.
Not a flicker of doubt anywhere in those deep oceans for eyes.
Flow. Flow. Drip. Drip.
"I don't like being stared at." Bellium remarked as he twisted his body, which was also surprisingly well-toned, as if trying to hide.
"I'm marvelling." Dolffie absent-mindedly said as he surveyed Bellium's body. It was quite apparent he had lost a drastic amount of his body weight, but not enough to be considered harmful or life-threatening, in fact, he still surprisingly had plenty in terms of muscles. But, above all else, Dolffie couldn't help but study the man's unique tattoos.
Three red-eyed snakes engraved in ashy-white ink that contrasted sharply and beautifully with his dark skin were embossed on his forelimbs and abdomen. The initial patterns began on each palm and advanced by twisting and swirling, engulfing his arms until they finally halted at his shoulder blades where they ceased as open-mouthed, angry heads that looked as though they were ready to strike, sharp fangs on display.
The last serpent was perhaps the most eye-catching; its elements, such as scales and colouring, were slightly more detailed and intricate than the previous two and began on the centre of his abdomen where it proceeded to twist around until its massive head disappeared on his back.
The switch to semi- realism made Dolffie curious about the reasoning or was its symbolism-
"And I'm naked." Bellium flatly stated, snapping him from his thoughts.
Dolffie's cheeks flashed, "Sorry!! I meant... at your face! I'm- was marvelling at your face! I swear!!"
"I'm still naked," Bellium candidly responded, "And I still don't want you to stare at me."
"Sorry. Not much into people, are you?" Dolffie eased up.
"No, and it's not like you came here to simply 'marvel' at me. When will you finally speak your truth?"
Dolffie smiled, "You already know who I am and what I want. I only need to know if you'll accept me. Will you truly follow me?"
"I know only what your shadows screech into my ears. I comprehend only what your darkness reveals. And I understand only your nightmares. Not you, Dolly B. Dolffie. You, I do not know." Bellium said.
"But you do." The man narrowed his eyes when Dolffie stepped closer, "The nightmares I shared with you; they are my deepest truth. They are what I truly am beneath this flesh."
There was a brief moment of silence as Bellium seemed to contemplate before he finally spoke, "Plenty of men greater and more powerful than you have approached me with the same proposal, have asked me to join them, follow them. Many times, have I been promised and offered treasures beyond even your wildest imagination, power you can only dream of grasping. And yet I rejected them all. Why? Because in truth, they offered and promised me nothing. The treasures will eventually rust and crumble to dust, whilst the power will inevitably slip from my grasp. We come to this world with nothing, and leave with nothing, so their offers were useless to me. I want to know why you are different. What do you have to offer me that they did not?"
Dolffie's face shown with determination as he assuredly declared, "I offer you glory, Atom T. Bellium." He placed a hand to his chest and continued, "Even when you are gone, your name will live on. I offer you... revenge. You hate the Angels more than anything, and they detest you also. They hate how weak you make them appear; how defenceless you make them feel. And that is my offer to you; let me help you outshine them, humiliate them. From a fading shadow they once underestimated, to a Jewel that shines so bright they can't ignore it. Become my treasure. Become my power. And you will never have nothing... because you will be everything. Those men offered you their desires... I offer you yours."
"Why? Why do you wish to become the Crown so badly?"
"...Simple: Because I want to..." Dolffie's solemn gaze shifted to his crimson-stained arms and he went on, "I am Dolly B. Dolffie... and I hunger to no end. I am a Crown without a King- Kingless is my title, empty is my throne... and mighty is my strength. To me... the world shall belong. To me... and only me."
"... To you, I shall belong also." Bellium said.
"Really!!!" Dolffie's eyes twinkled and shone with excitement.
"Yes. I accept your offer, Dolly B. Dolffie. I will follow you in your quest as you have joined mine. I will help you establish a Court that will rattle even the stars themselves."
"Thank you, my Hand and the Kingless Monarch's commanding Knight, Grand Marshal, Atom Bellium."
***
[Kingless Monarch Court]
[Member: Dolly B. Dolffie]
[Rank: Majesty]
[Clan: Dolly]
[Virtue: Monarch-level Sovereign]
[Gift: Alabasta]
________________
[Kingless Monarch Court]
[Member: Atom T. Bellium]
[Rank: Grand Knight Marshal]
[Clan: Thrago]
[Virtue: Monarch-level Imperium]
[Gift: Soul Eater]