/Hi everyone! So this is the final chapter of the first book (Make Me), BUT there will be an epilogue/trailer for the second book here (Make Us), so technically, the next one will be the very last chapter.
Love you all, and thanks for all your kind words /
The first thing that brought me back to consciousness, was the cold hard floor under me... It was a familiar feeling, laying there, with the cold against my face, and the numbness in my body that made it difficult to move.
I soon found out, why was it so familiar, as I opened my eyes: I've dreamed about this exact moment before. Or to put it better, I had a reoccurring nightmare about it.
I glanced around the huge, light marble hall, watching the insane amount of white-robed people, standing in a straight line at the two long sides of the room, leaving more than enough place to display Jude, chained to the wall across the room from me. Silver cuffs held his hands up, connecting to the white, plain walls.
He let his head hang, despite obviously being awake, which I could tell by the way he was breathing - I mean the rythm of his shoulders lifting and sinking. The sheet that they tied around his waist was barely holding up, revealing his toned, but quite damaged body... It was impossible to tell what exactly tore his skin like that, the wounds were too deep for it to be a whip, but then again, too wide and violent for a knife.
Judging from the already healed scars, these weren't the first hits he had to endure, yet he just sat there quiet and unmoving, while my blood boiled with anger at the mere thought that these saint-playing morons had hurt him, especially because I could do nothing about it even now.
Helpless panic rushed through every inch of my body, knowing what the outcome of this dream was each and every time, and even thinking about the possibility threatened to make my eyes tear up.
But this was real life... Now I could change the ending.
I can't let him die. I can't... I can't.
My mind raced with a million thoughts, disturbing me so much that it took me another minute to note, who else was in the room; Leon and Lucifer stood near Jude's tied up form, talking as if there was nothing intense going on... Or at least Lucifer was. He walked around the room, while not paying much attention to the angel, and he kept gently poking the white-robed soldiers and chuckling when they didn't move at all from the provocation.
Like a child, in a business-meeting; Totally inappropriate, and annoying.
Lucifer... Did Lucifer betray Jude? Why would he do that? That makes zero sense he... he gave up everything for him. I didn't know Luci whatsoever, but one thing I became sure about ever since our latest visit, that he is the last person that I have to worry about when it comes to Jude's safety.
So what is he doing here?
"Chaos is awake" someone spoke up, and both of the blonde men's gaze locked on me, breaking my train of thoughts.
"Guys, stop trying to make this "Chaos" thing happen. It's not gonna happen, it's not a name, you are embarrassing yourselves." Lucifer rolled his eyes as if he wasn't sending us to our deaths right this moment. I glared at him with hatred that words can't describe, yet it left him unfazed as always.
"Stop acting like a child, Lucifer... This has taken long enough just because you wanted to wait for Seth to wake up! Just kill him, and get this over with!" Leon growled, displeased but still too nonchalant for the given circumstances.
"As long as you need me for this, you have to endure that we do it my way, Leon" the other shot back "besides, you're the one wasting time on torturing him" he gestured towards Jude, who still didn't react to the mention of his name.
"I'm making sure he is weak enough for you to kill him, so stop acting like I'm enjoying this"
"I don't think anyone would dare to accuse you of enjoying anything, brother" Jude coughed up the words with a little bit of blood alongside them, and my heart picked up the pace at this signal that he, in fact, was alive... Well, barely, but still.
"I see you haven't lost your humour yet, Judas" Leon snapped back in an unfriendly manner, pulling a small knife from his side and he slowly walked up to me. I wanted to speak up, but before I could've done so, he grabbed my arm and forced me to stand up.
"Not so smart now, are you, brother?"he asked, while pressing the knife to my neck. Jude's eyes shot up to me, and his lips promptly closed, while the angel grinned in a superior way, making my stomach growl with digust.
"Fuck off" I hissed, and spat on his face much to his surprise and discomfort. Slolwy, he wiped down my saliva, frowning as he did so, and as his gaze found me again for the first time I could clearly see anger glimmering in his eyes, which pleased me to an extent I couldn't comprehend.
It's the small victories.
"I would behave, In your position"
"Or what? You can't kill me, angel-boy, and Lucifer will stab me no matter what I do, because he is a piece of shit friend" I pulled a tight smile, offering a short glance to the aforementioned, but to my astonishment, Leon smiled back... for some reason, that should've alerted some red flag's in me, but didn't. Before I could've reacted I saw the knife flash in front of my left eye, forcing a yell out of me, and soon enough that side of my face was burning with pain I couldn't describe with mere words.
I fell to my knees, pressing my palm to the deep wound he caused on the left side of my face, but I didn't dare to open my eye, feeling how much blood ran down my skin at this very moment, so I was forced to glare with only my undamaged side.
"I can't kill you... Yeah. But there are many things to do before you die, if you wish to be a brave boy... I'm sure Jude would be delighted to watch, knowing his sick nature" he grimaced once again, while walking away from me and wiping the small knife clean.
"Hey, hey, hey no kinkshaming, okay?" Lucifer cut in, still having the time of his life, but I could barely register their conversation for a good minute, hunched on the ground in agony. If not for the fact, that the end of this very dream flashed before my eyes, maybe I would've stayed on the floor forever, but knowing what I knew, I had to get up. I had to save Jude...
Whilst still trying to stop the immense amount of blood, which poured out from my wound, I heard Jude grunt in a surprisingly tone-death manner. As if he was too tired to yell, or even suffer at this point.
My desperation only grew with each minute that passed, each drop of blood that left my system and rolled down my cheek, but for once, I wasn't scared for my life, despite my situation.
I needed to save him. I knew, I couldn't bare to lose him. Not him.
I tried to push myself up from the ground, but as soon as I was on my feet, two white-robed men grabbed my arms from both sides and held me in place tightly. Still with only one eye open, I focused my attention on Leon first, glaring, like a drunk guy who doesn't know when to give up a lost fight.
That's all I ever was, isn't it? A fool, who doesn't know when to stop...
"At some point, you'll have to understand, or better, see, that everyone else, and you, cannot coexist, Seth. Both you and Judas are mistakes that are ought to be earesed for things to go on as they should." Leon spoke up again, not even offering me a glance with his speech, while he landed another hit onto Jude's chest, with some sort of metal whip that was already drenched in blood from the pervious movements.
"If the world has such a hard time functioning with us, the world has to change" I pointed out, my voice raspy and weak, not really focusing my gaze on the angel, as one of my eyes were covered in blood while the other filled with tears, making it hard to look anywhere for long.
"The world will change. But without you two" he shrugged, his head and gaze turning towards a small box for a mere second, before returning to his torturous activity.
"Please stop" I breathed out, eyes locked on Jude, but my request fell on deaf ears.
"What's in the box?" I continued, now more hysterical then before, yet trying to contain my desperate fear, and anger, which seemed to fill all my thoughts.
"The knife of the blessed. It's the weapon angels use to create the blessed, or in other words, the half-mortals. In Jude's case, it's going to take his immortality away, thus killing him" Lucifer explained, surprisingly thoroughly, while he looked at me in an odd manner. It was strange like he wanted to force me to remember what he just said, but after he ended his little speech, his expression returned to his cocky playfulness.
The fallen slowly walked over to a tiny table and opened two flat boxes, that laid upon it.
"A simple, human knife, to end your simple, human life, my dearest Seth" Lucifer narrated, as he picked up a knife, turning to me almost immediately "and of course, The knife of the blessed, for Jude" he took the other one, and began making his way to me.
"Lucifer..." I heard a low, husky voice from behind them, but Jude's warning didn't stop the devil from walking towards me.
"Leon said we have to make sure, you're both dead, so you don't end up avenging each other. I think this is the less cruel way, don't you think, Jude?" he continued, with a small smirk, glancing at the aforementioned above his shoulders.
"Lucifer, if you want your wings, get this over with" the angel cut in again, but Lucifer promptly ignored him.
So this is what he gets out of this? He gets his wings back? Really? To rejoin the people that had zero problem kicking him off a fucking cliff before?
Sounds like a good deal, yeah.
The silver chains' clinking noise filled the entire hall as Jude fought to be freed, but my eyes were fixated on Lucifer, who was stalking towards me with the knives. I tried to back away, but I was tightly held in place by the white-robed ones at my side.
"Pretty blade, isn't it Seth? If a mortal is stabbed with it, they recieive some power from the person that damaged them... Depending on the seriousness of the wound, they can obtain abilities, humans could only dream of" Lucifer continued, while he glanced at the yet clean knife, but there was something weird about this narration he gave me, and the looks that he addressed his words with.
My heart was beating out of my chest, by the time he got to me, but I glared at Lucifer defiantly, as he stopped half a feet from me. For a long minute, he was silent and gloomy, unlike his usual playful, and careless self, and if not for my already serious wound, I would've probably picked up on that sign.
"Sometimes, we have to do things we'll regret" his words sincere, but not guilty... it had a strange sense of suggestiveness around them, as if they didn't mean what everyone else thought they did. As if, he only wanted me to know, what he was meaning to say.
"Lucifer! Stop playing around!" Leon demanded again, only to be ignored once more.
"The knife stabs your very soul, wounding it for eternity. It changes people..."
"So that's how Veronica became such a hanous bitch?" I managed to speak up, a crooked, unfriendly smile on my lips, which Lucifer mirrored.
"Power is the key element to create a monster, Seth." He mused quietly, still keeping his cunning gaze on mine, and at this point, I didn't plan to let my focus trail away either.
"Of course, in Jude's case that won't be a problem, since he'll die... But anyway-"
"LUCIFER. KILL HIM ALREADY!" the older angel roared, but Lucifer didn't even flinch, just nodded as a mean to oblige with the demand. He grabbed a good chunk of my hair, and lifted me from my knees, hugging me to his body as he led the blade into my chest, making me cough out in pain, but he held me so I wouldn't fall on the ground for a few more seconds. The Hall began shaking under and around us, and if not for the fact that I was too busy dying, I could've easily noticed as the white-robed idiots began getting worried that Jude's power will destroy the building completely. I heard him yell something... I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was Jude's voice... I wonder if this is the last time I'll hear it.
"Use my gift well, Seth" Lucifer whispered in my ears, almost unhearably, before letting go of my body, and turning away from my collapsed form, whilst throwing the used knife down next to me, having no use for it anymore, I presumed.
I couldn't move anymore, so I just hit the ground without any form of defiance, and laid there, observing as blood poured out of my wounds, and my mouth, occasionally making me cough it up violently. As my whole body was trembling from pain, something... something was still odd enough for me to notice it:
While there was little to no part of my being that was not in immense agony, or was undamaged, I began feeling a different type of burning. A strong, vibrating warmth, that both hurt and empowered me, igniting each and every nerve in me... Ironically enough, I never felt so alive in my life, yet in so much pain. My muscles burned as if they were on fire, and they twitched and flinched without my permission, which to an outsider, could have much looked like my last attempt at surviving while choking on my own blood.
As I was laying there, bathing in my own blood, deep inside of me something clicked, and whatever it was, it sent a powerful, hot rush through my veins, almost knocking me out of consciousness.
I was probably too dizzy and injured to actually think things through, so it took me almost half a minute, to note what Lucifer had said to me when he pushed the knife into my chest...
And then suddenly... It all made sense.
Just like that, I came back to life, euphoria and adrelanie mixing in the remaining amount of blood that I had.
Opening my right eye I glanced to my side, where I assumed the thrown away knife was.
I couldn't help but grin faintly when I read the fancy, beautiful golden details on the bloody blade's hilt: Knife of the Blessed.
As life returned to my body, stronger than ever before, I looked up to see what was happening around me.
"Make sure to stab his heart precisely" I heard Leon talk once more.
No one paid attention to my dying form anymore, assuming I was just coughing my lungs up at this point, so I had an easier time observing the situation; Leon sternly stood with his towering height, on Jude's right side, watching, what he thought to be, his brothers execution, but I knew better now.
"Wait, he has a heart? Why are you only telling me now?" Lucifer fake-gasped, and I couldn't help but smile, not because he was so damn funny, but because now I knew he was only doing this to win time for me. A small bit of respect awoke in me again, registering that he couldn't bring himself to kill his friend... Even at the cost of saving me.
Using the fact that no one really cared what I did, I pushed myself closer to the blade on the ground, pretending to just have my last death-struggle. I knew the knife that Lucifer now held in hand was an ordinary one, that wouldn't really hurt Jude, but Leon will obviously also realize that, once he observes the handle, or just sees that Jude is unaffected by the heart-stab. I had to hurry.
Use my gift well, Chaos
Oh, I will Lucifer... I will. My story will have an ending, even fairy tails would envy... Everyone will get, exactly what they deserve.
If I have to choose between the world, and Jude, I'm afraid my choice will be always the same.
Jude once told me, the blessed, (so Veronica, and probably all these lunatic white-knights) were like pet's to angels, doing their bidding on earth... And that they would be immortal, as long as their master was alive.
I wonder what happens when their master dies...
My fingers tightly grasped the handle of the magical blade, and I began pushing myself on the floor in their direction, making sure to hide the written details of the knife, so Leon wouldn't know what I actually held in hand.
I was more than able to stand up at this point, every nerve in my body was energetic, and fueling with such power I had never felt before, but of course, I wasn't about to give that away. I panted, and grunted, as if I was still in terrible pain, while I slowly crawled in Jude's, and ultimately, Leon's direction.
"Oh, Seth... I admire your courage, but I'm afraid, I have to disappoint your heroic plans. That mortal weapon will not be more than a pinch to me." Leon stated, not moving his head, just casually glancing at me with pity and pride in his expression.
I didn't reply, just kept crawling towards him, unfazed. There was no desperation, or hesitation left in me. I knew what I was going to do.
I'll make sure they never cross me ever again. I'll make sure even God thinks twice before sending his winged snakes down here.
"Don't let him bother you, Lucifer. Just stab Judas, before this place falls on our heads" the angel continued, unbothered by movements. Lucifer, on the other hand, found me with his gaze, as if to make sure I was ready.
He knew.
"Say goodbye to Jude" He announced dryly to Leon, raising the knife, and with that call, I've got to my feet, and marched at the angel, aiming the blade at his heart.
The satisfying noise of his flesh tearing under the pressure of the magical weapon brought victorious yet horrified goosebumps all over my body, as I was pressed against the least holy saint, I have ever met, listening to the last breaths he took with great extasy.
"Quite a strong pinch, isn't it?" I whispered with cruel indifference, and all I got in return was a shaking, sharp inhale.
It was over... He was over.
I wanted to take one last look at Leon before he collapses and dies, but as I leaned away to size him up, there was nothing between my fingers anymore, other than his robe. I felt a powerful presence cease to exist in the room, and with it, at least a hundred other ones. My body shook with a powerful shiver, that was sent down my spine by the sensation, and suddenly I felt unsure, if I wanted to look behind me, or not.
Hesitantly, I turned around, and I was met with the sight that I doubt I'll ever forget:
What seemed like a thousand white robes and dead bodies laid on the perfectly clean marble hall's floor, silently, without a grunt or a moan, that would signal their life was over... They just... fell like puppets, who's master stopped pulling their strings. The smell of blood, death, and stone mixed in the air, while the only noise in the background was Jude's cuffs being undone, and my disturbingly slow, and steady heartbeat.
My hands and face drenched from blood, my body fueling with unimaginable power, and The Knife of the Blessed withing my grasp, at last, I was staring in equal horror and admiration at what was, undoubtedly...
...My second massacre.