No POV:
The infirmary was quiet except for the low hum of generators and the distant periodic beep of the life support machine. Emergency lights washed the room in pale blue. Drex sat upright on a reinforced bed, bandaged from his chest to his stomach, his breathing steady but shallow.
He was back at the academy...
"This is like a save point for me at this point" He muttered as he realized that every battle he's fought till now had always brought him back here...
Battle...
Speaking of, his mind wondered to the battle he fought.
Every battle that ended the way it did left Drex unable to fully recollect what happened.
But this time, for some reason, he could remember...
All of it.
The memory clung to him with cruel precision. The searing pain, the cold realization as something inside him shifted… welcoming the dark. A presence that didn't rush. But raged. The pain of the wounds he received. The looks on the faces of his comrades. The way the darkness gradually ate him up... Even the whole in his stomach...
But the darkness....
It scared him.
It was horrifying...
His breath was shaking.... The fear palpable on his face.
Noticing a different presence in the room, he looked up....
Hayley stood near the doorway at first, arms crossed so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
"So," she said at last, breaking the silence. "You going to explain what that was?"
Drex didn't look at her. "I..." He tried to answer but was cut off.
"That's not an answer." She stepped closer. "You didn't fight Yuri. You handed yourself over."
"I stopped him," Drex replied flatly. "That was the objective. Right?"
"You let the scar Devil take the wheel," Hayley shot back.
"Do you have any idea what it looked like from the outside?"
He turned his head slightly. Then shrugged. "Effective."
Her laugh was short and bitter. "Effective? You almost died. Again. And next time, it won't stop when it's done playing."
Drex sighed tiredly. "Well... What do you want from me...?"
"I want you in control," she snapped. "Not bleeding out while something else wears your body like armor."
Silence stretched. The lights flickered.
"You heard Nightmare. They'll be back" Drex said quietly. "It doesn't look like they'll be backing off."
"And neither is that thing inside you," Hayley replied. "Every time you use it, you lose more of yourself. You scared the team, Drex. You scared me."
He finally looked at her. Then gritted his teeth—the fear slowly settling in his heart. "I'm still here."
"For now," she said. "But one day it won't give your body back. And when that happens, what are we supposed to do? Kill you?"
Drex didn't answer.
Hayley's voice hardened. "We're not weapons. We're supposed to protect people. That child out there—do you think she'll be safer if you lose yourself again?"
She took a step back, shaking her head. "You don't get it. When this ends, when it all goes wrong, you'll be alone with that Devil. And the rest of us will be left cleaning up what's left."
Drex swung his legs over the edge of the cot, ignoring the sharp pull of stitches. "I handled it. Yuri's gone, isn't he? Mission's not a total loss. The kid's alive. That's what matters."
"Handled it?" Hayley's voice rose, echoing slightly in the room. "You call that handling it? You laid waste to a sacred temple, almost tore Yuri in half and attacked one of your own. That wasn't you fighting, Drex. That was something else wearing you.
Drex stood up unsteadily, towering over her despite the pain. His voice dropped, edged with frustration. "I'm not some kind of mindless monster. I felt it, okay? The darkness. Like I was being eaten alive from the inside. Terrifying doesn't even cover it. But I came back. I always come back. You think I wanted that thing using me like a puppet? I fought it too, you know, on the inside."
Hayley scoffed. "You only came back become Jax was there. If he wasn't, if he didn't think fast enough, who knows what would have happened..."
She stepped closer and hissed. "I just want you in control, Drex . Not putting the team at risk each time you transform. Is that too much to ask?!"
Heh... She thinks it's easy...
"Have your gut ever been blown open?!" His voice echoed across the room.
"You think I wanted this? You think I wanted any of this??! I wasn't contracted, my body was stolen, damn it!"
His voice was loud. Then he shuddered..." Every step I take... Every move I make... It was all done because I was allowed to!!"
Then he looked at her. She could see the sorrow in his eyes.
"You think I'm fighting because I have something to loose if I didn't? Fuck it I already lost everything. Twice!"
"I'm fighting because I don't want anyone to go through the same hell I did!!"
Those words hung in heavily in the air. He himself knew that wasn't entirely true... "But even then... I didn't want this. I just didn't have a choice..."
His face softened as he looked at her. "I wanted a normal life Hayley. A peaceful one. One with friends. One with people I care about... But I loose it all before I even have the chance to get it."
"You should know that once a person is contracted, he should abandon any and every 'wish' he has. In your case, you were chosen so you have no excuse. Abandon those desires." Hayley spoke. Her voice cold and merciless...
"I see... You wouldn't understand..." He slowly got up and walked towards the door. "No one ever did..."
Soon he left. Leaving Hayley alone in the infirmary.
Then, she muttered... " You're not the only one with hopes and dreams...Why do you have to make this hard for me..?"
~~~~
Drex staggered through the corridor. He was trying to make it to his room.
His being was still. No words. No thoughts.... Nothing.
He just wanted to sleep.
But suddenly his vision was going dark. Then, that familiar voice rang in his ear.
"Exquisite. Your despair has flavor"
Drex gritted his teeth. Nyroth's presence bled into the corner of his eyes but it was something that could be felt rather than seen...
"I wanted more... I wanted to feast... I wanted to kill"
He cackled...
"Kill..."
"Kill."
"Ahh..."
"Kill!"
"Ahhh..."
"KILL!!"
"AHHHHH!!!"
**CHOMP**
"MMMMMMPHHHHMMMMM!!!!!"
His teeth sank into his tongue, biting it off.
The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he choked on his muffled screams—tears forming at the corner of his eyes as he was overwhelmed by pain.
Slowly, Nyroth's voice began to fade. Leaving a faint trace of laughter before finally dying down...
~~~~~
Drex made it to the restroom. His half bitten tongue floating in the toilet. Moving in rythm with the bloodied toilet water.
Flushing, he went over to the sink and washed his hand. His blood painting the ceramic sink a crimson red.
Staring at his reflection, his tongue had already healed. But his reflection... It wasn't the same.
His eyes were now dark and he could see a dark shadow flowing from his body.
[What was that about...?]
Turning his head slightly, he replied. "Where were you?"
There was silence for a moment, the she spoke again.
[Well for some reason, whenever Nyroth has his way, all connections I have with you are severed. Don't know why though...]
"Ohh". It finally dawned on him that he really was alone in this. "I see..."
Walking out, Hades was already manifested and sitting on his bed. Then, she patted on the space next to her.
Sighing, Drex went over and sat down... But what she did next, shocked him.
She gently pulled his head and brought him unto her lap.
"Uh—"
"It's okay... You've had a long day. Take a rest..."
Drex slowly relaxed. Allowing the warmness of her thighs spread over his face.
Then, Hades spoke again. "Sorry I wasn't there for you... It's been rough huh..."
Drex pressed his lips together. Then manged to voice: "it's fine... It's... It's..."
By this time, his emotions were going off. He was slowly choking on his tears as he manged to say through a sob... "It's... fine..."
"Shhhh it's alright..."Hades gently stroked his hair. Her hand caressing his cheek occasionally. She slowly wiped his tears with her fingers...
"I'm here..."