Echoes That Don't Fade
Chapter 46
Eidolon screamed.
Not once.
Not twice.
But endlessly-
Like the pain never stopped.
Like it was still happening.
Like something was still inside him.
"IT HURTS-! IT HURTS-HAAA-!!"
His body thrashed violently against the restraints, chains rattling, metal biting into his wrists as he tried-again and again-to reach his face.
To claw at it.
To stop it.
But-
He couldn't move.
He was still strapped down.
Still trapped.
Still-
Helpless.
"MAKE IT STOP-!!"
His voice cracked into something broken, something raw beyond recognition.
Vaelor watched.
Silent.
Head tilted slightly.
Confusion flickered across his ruined face-
Or at least...
That's what it looked like.
Then-
"Oh."
A slow smile spread.
"...that."
A soft chuckle escaped him.
"I almost forgot."
He stepped closer, crouching just enough to meet Eidolon's shaking gaze.
"That pain you're feeling..." he said lightly, tapping the side of his own head,
"...it's not real anymore."
A pause.
Then his smile widened.
"But your brain doesn't know that."
Eidolon's screams didn't stop.
If anything-
They got worse.
"It still thinks your eye is there," Vaelor continued, almost conversationally. "So it keeps sending the pain... over and over... like it's trying to fix something that's already gone."
A quiet breath.
"Meaning..."
His voice dropped.
"You'll keep feeling it."
A beat.
"Forever."
Silence-
For half a second.
Then-
Vaelor burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA-!!"
Loud.
Uncontrolled.
Echoing off the walls like something unhinged.
And beneath it-
Eidolon's screams continued.
Desperate.
Animalistic.
Breaking.
Until-
Something changed.
A shift.
Subtle-
But real.
"I'LL KILL YOU-!!"
The words tore out of him, soaked in rage, in pain, in something burning hot and violent.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU-!!"
Vaelor didn't stop laughing.
Didn't even look surprised.
"I swear-!" Eidolon choked, breath shaking, voice cracking, "Just like I killed the rest-!"
His head snapped forward slightly against the restraints.
"I'll make sure-"
A sharp inhale.
"I'll make sure I absolutely kill you in the worst way possible-"
His voice dropped-
Low.
Vicious.
"VAELOR!!"
...
Silence.
It came suddenly.
Violently.
Like the world itself had been cut.
Two seconds.
That was all.
Two seconds-
Of nothing.
Then-
A single tear rolled down Vaelor's cheek.
Slow.
Unnatural.
Out of place.
Eidolon froze.
Still breathing hard.
Still shaking.
Still-
Burning.
His threats echoed faintly in the air-
But something had changed.
Something shifted.
Vaelor stood up.
Slowly.
The laughter was gone.
Completely.
He turned-
And looked at Eidolon.
No smile.
No rage.
No amusement.
Nothing.
Just-
Empty.
For a moment-
Eidolon forgot the pain.
Forgot the screaming.
Forgot everything-
As he stared into that expressionless face.
Something about it-
Felt wrong.
Deeply wrong.
Like standing at the edge of something endless-
And realizing too late-
You've already fallen.
Vaelor stepped closer.
Stopping right in front of him.
Eidolon didn't speak.
Didn't move.
Didn't even breathe properly.
Because for some reason-
Some instinct buried deep inside him-
Was screaming-
This is it.
But he didn't understand why.
Not yet.
Vaelor's eyes locked onto his.
Unblinking.
Cold.
Final.
And for a brief-
Terrible-
Moment-
Eidolon didn't realize...
That was the last thing he would ever see with his own eyes.
...