The Sound of Breaking
Chapter 45
The louder Eidolon screamed-
The louder Vaelor laughed.
It wasn't human laughter.
It rose and twisted, jagged and uneven, cracking through the room like something alive, something feeding-
On him.
"HAHAHA-!"
SPARRRRK-!!
A violent jolt tore through Eidolon's body.
His back arched-
Air slammed back into his lungs-
And he gasped.
"-HHK!!"
Silence.
Cold.
Still.
"...Hey."
A voice.
Light.
Warm.
Wrong.
"...You up, sleepyhead?"
Eidolon's vision swam.
Blurred shapes.
Shadows bleeding into each other.
The world refused to settle.
"Wh... where...?"
His voice came out broken.
Dry.
"...where am I...?"
Blink.
Blink.
Blink-
Something was wrong.
Something was-
Missing.
Vaelor stood before him.
Smiling.
Bright.
Soft.
Like the morning sun.
Like nothing had happened.
Like the screams hadn't carved themselves into the walls.
"Good morning," Vaelor said gently, tilting his head. "You dozed off."
Eidolon's breath hitched.
Dozed...?
His mind tried to reach back-
But it slipped.
Every time.
Like grasping smoke.
Blink-
The room sharpened slightly.
The table.
The tools.
The stains.
And Vaelor-
Was closer.
Too close.
No-
Not close-
He hadn't moved.
One moment he was standing there-
The next-
He was right in front of him.
Like something skipped.
Like reality itself had glitched.
Eidolon flinched.
A weak, instinctive twitch.
Vaelor's smile didn't change.
But his eyes-
His eyes did.
They darkened.
Collapsed inward.
Something ugly surfaced beneath the surface.
"...Who," Vaelor whispered-
Low.
Flat.
"...gave you the right..."
His face twisted.
The warmth shattered.
Replaced by something raw.
Violent.
"...to fall asleep..."
His hand shot forward-
Gripping Eidolon's jaw-
Hard.
"...when we're both having fun?"
His fingers dug in.
"...you piece of crap."
Eidolon's breath stuttered.
His body trembled.
Uncontrollably.
His gaze-shaking-drifted.
Not by choice.
Never by choice.
To the side.
To the steel.
A polished surface.
Dull.
Stained.
But reflective enough-
To show him-
Himself.
At first-
It didn't register.
His mind refused it.
Rejected it.
Denied it.
Then-
It clicked.
A hollow space stared back at him.
Where there should have been an eye-
There was only ruin.
A dark, wet cavity-
Sunken-
Torn open like something had been dug out.
The surrounding flesh was swollen-
Bruised-
Streaked with drying blood that had crusted along his cheek and jaw.
Thin strands of something viscous still clung inside the hollow-
Stretching faintly when he moved-
Like the remnants of something that had once been alive.
The eyelid twitched-
But there was nothing beneath it to close over.
Nothing to protect.
Nothing left.
"...Haa-"
Eidolon's breath collapsed.
"...ah... ah-"
His chest tightened violently.
Air refused to stay inside him.
His heartbeat slammed against his ribs-
Too fast.
Too loud.
Too wrong.
"No... no..."
His voice came out as a whisper.
A broken sound.
"That's not-"
He blinked.
Again.
Again-
The reflection didn't change.
It didn't fix itself.
It stayed.
Real.
Permanent.
Gone.
His eye-
Gone.
A strangled sound tore out of him.
Not a scream.
Not yet.
Something smaller.
Something weaker.
Something shattered.
Vaelor leaned in slowly.
Watching.
Enjoying.
Every second.
"Ah..." he exhaled softly, almost pleased. "There it is."
His fingers tightened slightly against Eidolon's jaw.
"That moment..."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"...when it finally sinks in."
Eidolon's remaining eye trembled violently.
Fixated.
Unable to look away.
Trapped-
Watching himself-
Become something else.
Something less.
Something broken.
His lips parted.
But no words came.
Only air.
Only panic.
Only-
Nothing.
Vaelor's smile returned.
Slow.
Satisfied.
"Don't worry," he murmured.
"...we're not done yet."
Eidolon's breath stopped.
And somewhere deep inside him-
Far beneath the fear-
Far beneath the pain-
Something began-
To move.
End of Chapter
...