Beginning of His Fall
Chapter 43
...
Eidolon froze.
The words didn't just reach him-
They pierced him.
A slow, hollow laugh crawled out of his throat.
"Haha..."
Then it snapped-
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!"
His voice tore through the room, raw with fury.
The restraints bit into his arms as he thrashed violently, muscles straining, veins rising beneath his skin. Metal groaned-but did not break.
No matter how hard he fought...
No matter how loud he screamed...
Nothing.
The man didn't even flinch.
Didn't react.
Didn't care.
Calmly-almost lazily-he turned away.
His footsteps echoed softly as he approached a rusted table in the corner of the room.
Eidolon's breathing grew heavier.
Uneven.
Unstable.
The man's hand hovered over a tray.
And then-
He picked one.
Not a blade.
Not a knife.
Something worse.
A long, slender instrument made of blackened steel-its tip curved into a cruel hook, thin as a needle, designed not to cut...
...but to pull.
To dig into something soft-
...and tear it out.
Dried blood crusted along its length.
Layer upon layer.
Old.
Dark.
Thick.
Eidolon's anger... cracked.
His eyes shifted.
Slowly.
Behind the man-
More tools.
Hooks.
Spikes.
Clamps.
Delicate instruments twisted for one purpose alone-
To make pain last.
All of them stained.
All of them used.
A cold weight dropped into his chest.
"...wait..."
His voice came out smaller.
Unsteady.
"...wait... who are you...?"
The fight in him flickered.
"...at least... tell me who you are..."
For the first time-
Fear crept in.
Real fear.
The man stopped.
Then-
A long, drawn-out sigh escaped him.
"Haaaa..."
Almost... disappointed.
"I suppose..." he muttered, rolling his neck slowly, bones cracking under the motion,
"...it's only fair."
He turned.
Walked back.
Each step deliberate.
Measured.
Final.
Eidolon felt it-
That sinking feeling.
Like the ground beneath him had already given way.
The man stopped right in front of him.
Then-
Slowly-
He reached up...
...and pulled back the hood.
What was revealed-
Was no longer a face.
It was damage given form.
Skin melted and reformed in unnatural ridges, like wax that had been burned... then carelessly reshaped.
Patches of flesh were discolored-ashen, dark, raw.
Fragments of scar tissue overlapped each other, thick and uneven.
What little hair remained clung in thin, brittle strands across his scalp.
And his mouth-
Stretched too wide when he smiled.
As if it had forgotten what a normal expression was.
Eidolon's breath hitched.
"...my name..."
The man's voice softened.
Almost nostalgic.
"...is Vaelor Kain."
A pause.
Then his head tilted slightly.
"...but in the organization..."
His smile widened.
"They call me-"The Harvester.""
The title settled in the air like rot.
Eidolon's heart skipped.
No-
Not skipped-
It stumbled.
"And just so we're clear..." Vaelor continued, tapping the hooked instrument lightly against his palm,
"...I was there."
A step closer.
"When you ran."
Another.
"When you broke."
Closer.
"When you survived."
His voice dropped.
Low.
Sharp.
"I'm the one who brought you in that day."
Eidolon's eyes widened.
Memories-fragmented, broken-flickered in his mind.
Chains.
Blood.
Screams.
A hand grabbing him-
Dragging him back into hell.
Vaelor leaned down slightly.
Close enough for Eidolon to feel his breath.
"And your little friend..."
He paused.
As if thinking.
As if savoring it.
"...what was his name again..."
A quiet chuckle.
"Ah..."
His eyes lit with cruel amusement.
"Riven."
The name hit harder than any blade.
"He was the one who stayed behind in your cell... wasn't he?"
Vaelor's grin sharpened.
"The quiet one."
"The one who changed after the colosseum..."
A soft laugh escaped him.
"...I remember him."
A pause.
Then-
"He screamed the loudest."
Silence.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Eidolon stopped breathing.
For a moment-
The world itself seemed to stop.
Then-
Something inside him...
cracked.
Not fear.
Not rage.
Something deeper.
Something darker.
Vaelor raised the instrument slowly.
The hooked tip gleamed faintly in the dim light.
"And now..." he whispered,
"...we begin."
His glowing red eyes locked onto Eidolon's.
Unblinking.
Hungry.
"I'll take them gently..."
A twisted smile.
"...if you don't struggle."
...
[Author: if you want me to change anything please tell me in the comment section 🙏]