Blackheart

Heart of Darkness

Alexander shook his head, voice quivering. "No...no, not you..."

The dragon's twisted grin only widened. "Do you feel fear? Regret? Sorrow? Do not dwell on it. What you have experienced pales in comparison to what you will be feeling shortly."

"Tourthun...Tourthun, it's us. We can purify you, we can bring things back to the way they were. You just have to fight it, you only-"

The knight's words were silenced by Tourthun reaching forward and slamming his claws down into him. Screams rang out from the others, but...

Alexander could hear the screams?

He had been crushed by a dragon. He should have died instantly.

Only...he didn't.

"Words will not sway me. 'Tourthun' is dead. In his place, is your new God."

He lifted his claws from the ground...and found Alexander, who should currently be a pile of mush, climbing back to his feet.

"What?!" Everyone, even Tourthun, cried it at the staggering knight.

Alexander wasn't unharmed. It had hurt, and he felt like a horse had just kicked him in the chest...but he was alive. As he wondered why, it came to him.

The stone.

The "special ward" that woman mentioned. It had protected him.

"It's gonna take more than that," Alexander spoke calmly, sword raised. The dragon quickly recovered, breaking into a grin once more.

"Whatever you did to survive that was a mistake...you will wish you had died soon enough."

"We're shattering the anchor. Tourthun, get a hold of yourself!"

"A hold? A HOLD?!" the dragon broke into laughter. "Ho, you simple-minded fools...you know not the forces you meddle with. You see, I was too resilient to break through the normal process. That dullard who promised to return failed. My 'love' was too strong for him to warp, apparently."

The dragon looked gleeful as he recounted what the group had missed after fleeing the cave. "They needed me broken, and they needed it quickly. Thus, they did something even they feared...they unsealed the heart of a long dead god, and forced it into me. They thought the dead god would possess my body...what fools! Now, I have infinite power, and the understanding of the darkness! I am God, now!"

"Tourthun-"

"SILENCE, WORM! You continue to exist because I wish it so. Not for any love...but because I wish to see you suffer. I wish to see you ALL suffer!"

"T-Tourthun?" Senci asked, quivering, "I don't want to hurt you...please stop...we can help you..."

The dragon stepped forward, still grinning. His head craned down as he loomed over them, his visage striking fear into their hearts.

"I do not want your help. I want your misery. And what better way to gain it, than to show you just how hopeless you truly are?"

Leaning back, the demon-dragon's forelegs rose as a dark force filled the room. What felt like...suction was filling the air, the group quickly covering their faces as wind began to whip violently around them.

It felt like Tourthun was sucking in the very air they were breathing...but after a few moments, it became clear that was a far cry from what was truly happening.

Alexander watched in amazement as several chunks of the room appeared to...tear away. They weren't being torn up and sucked in by Tourthun, they simply...ceased to be, a black nothingness left behind by them.