He was sitting alone, on a stone that allowed him to overlook the city of Drakkthar. He thought of nothing, said nothing, reacted to none of his pain, and just waited, letting the clouds slowly drift through the sunlit sky. He hadn't had time to stop and not have anything to do, he was done with one of his works and he had a break before the next work. He heard someone walking towards him, "Vidian, I didn't think you would be here," It wasn't Kaylyi, but it was a female voice.
"I feel like you did think I would be here, Lady Sinestra."
"You caught me."
"You want to talk to me, I assume."
"Maybe I do," She was slightly taller than him, she wore a long dress, made of white silk with purple and gold designs. Her skin was pale and her hair was black and braided with golden rings holding that braid. She wore black gloves that covered her forearms. She carried a weapon as well, a pair of short blades with spiked guards on them with black jewels on the end of their hilts, they sat crossed behind her, "Why are you observing me?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"You can keep going if you want."
"You enjoy being watched and observed by mortals."
"I enjoy being that temptation."
"As I expected."
"Why are you here?"
"It is relaxing, to be here, I don't have anyone I have to watch, nothing I need to do, except to recover for tomorrow's work, so I have a lot of time."
"Ah, that is interesting," A stone rose and created a stone seat for her, "How did you enjoy your work today?"
"I guess I feel accomplished, I feel exhausted, but I feel proud to have matched up to a god."
"You did, he thinks you are very impressive, did he show red markings on his body?" She asked, seeming to know the answer already.
"He did, and I countered them with Lady Structania's Blessing."
"Ah, you beat him at his most powerful, impressive, really impressive."
"Why are you complimenting me?"
"I don't know, I just like complimenting people on exploits," He caught her blade in between his thumb and index, "Impressive, Vidian."
"It didn't break, why not?"
"They aren't regular weapons, they are soul blades, it would be like catching my hand, so your blessing won't make them crumble."
"Ah, okay then," He let go of the blade and she sheathed it again, "Well, I'll ignore the fact that you attacked me," He said, getting up, "Do people often fall for your temptations?"
"I know at least one."
"Well, humans are not known for their resistance to temptations, or to sins, nor are any beings."
"That is true, my Vidian," He said nothing and looked out towards the city, "Looking towards the Great Desert?"
"I assume I am, I wonder what the Death of the World is like."
"I do not know, the creature might have changed."
"Well, that is good enough for me, I'll be ready to fight anything," He said getting up, "I will go rest some more, I enjoyed talking to you, Lady Sinestra."
"I am not attractive to you, am I?"
"Did I say that?"
"But you prefer someone else than a goddess, am I correct?"
"I don't know, I think that I have loved a lot, enough for a few months, but, clearly you have other plans for me."
"Why do you think that?"
"I just do."
"You are an interesting being, no wonder Lord Inventaariy wanted to study you," He rolled his eyes and continued walking, "You will enjoy my work, and he won't, that I can be sure of," She seemed frustrated with his resistance to her advances and her attempts to make him listen to her without budging.
"Whatever you say, Lady Sinestra."
He walked into the room he shared with Kaylyi and found her working on the same book as the day before. He looked at her as he lay down, "Do men compliment you a lot?"
"Not in any meaningful way."
"I see, I had the weirdest conversation with Lady Sinestra."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but, why did you hide your demonic arm?"
"I find it revolting."
"I find that it fits you."
"How so?" She stopped and turned to look at him, "How does it fit me?"
"It is like a hidden jewel, hidden beauty, the pulsing patterns make you seem like a demi-god or some godly being."
"Really?" She removed her long sleeve and her glove, "You think that?"
"It is beautiful."
"No man would think that."
"Yet I think that, does that make me something other than a man?"
"Well, maybe you are an exception," Vidian began laughing, "What? Were you joking? Did you just try to get a reaction out of me?"
"No, but you hate that side of you, I have met only one person who disliked themselves like that, and that was a few years back."
"Who was that?"
"Old friend, died defending a girl he hadn't had the guts to ask to marry him."
"Oh, I see, he hated his lack of bravery?"
"Yep, that was exactly it, but I think that he was happy to do something for her like that, I met her a few months ago, hadn't seen her in a while, but she is working as a caretaker back in my old village."
"She sounds like a nice girl."
"She was, and I hope she still is."
"Why would she have changed?"
He stepped into a dimly lit room, his next work was going to start. The door was closed on its own, there was nothing in the room but 4 pillars, "Walk to the middle of the room, my son," He could not see or tell where the voice came from, but he followed it blindly. He stood in the middle of the room and looked around, nothing was happening. The click of something against a stone sounded behind him, he spun around yet saw nothing, he could now only hear is breathing and his heartbeat, nothing else. He hadn't seen anything when entering but something clearly was happening, "You are worthless," A different voice spoke, "You can only fail," Then nothing, this was the work of insanity, he could give up at any point, and the voices clearly seemed to announce the road ahead of him. He stood still trying to remind himself that it was just a work, "Syl never loved you," He turned towards the origin of the sound, "She only toyed with you to please herself," He grit his teeth, trying to hold back his answer, "You were nothing to here, nothing!" The end of the sentence echoed through his mind. He felt his anger build within him, the first voice spoke again, "You are nothing," He took the time to calm himself, "The beast will be free and you will fail to fight it and doom this world," He rolled his eyes and smiled, "You are worthless," He waited for a new voice to speak again but the only sound was a feint whispering, and then footsteps, making him wonder who was there, but the footsteps drew further and further, further than the room could possibly be, "You never loved Tea," He looked around once more, "You know that, you only used her, to take revenge on Syl for using you."
"No, you are wrong! I loved her, like I loved Syl, and how she loved me! I am not a monster!" He shouted at no one, "You can't make me think that I am wrong."
"You used her, for your own gain, and then left her, waiting for you, yet you know you will not return, how could you lie to her."
"I didn't lie to her, you can't say that."
"You are a cowardly, no-good monster, using women and then leaving them," Another stone clicked behind one of the pillars, then a drop of water, that echoed throughout the room, then a scream, that was right behind him. He turned and saw the doll that he had throw a blade at. He stepped back and it disappeared, leaving with a echoing, broken girl's laugh, "Why are you scared of her? She could be like your daughter," He froze, "You forgot."
"I did not forget about Katie and our child, I would never!"
"Yet you still think that you can love someone else? You are despicable," A new voice came up, "Your child will never see her father, she will only grow with her mother's memory, you can't think that you will actually return to see her," The voice faded away with a terrifying laugh.
"How do you know all of this?"
"I know everything, Vidian," The voice from the beginning came back before fading quickly, with footsteps returning to the room, walking around the room with childish laughter, and then Katie's voice, before the girl asked what her father was like and Katie beginning to talk about him. A tear ran down his cheek.
"I will return, my child will know her father, she will know me."
"You are worthless, you are a monster, and women you fell in love with, are just tools for you, you were never completely in love with them."
"I was! I was! I still am..."
"How can you convince yourself that those lies are the truth, how?" He fell to his knees, "You are nothing but a monster, you are worthless," Vidian clutched his head, as more noises sounded around the room, "You will not make it, you are too weak to make it, you don't have a reason to make it, you don't have an actual love, you never loved any of those girls, you aren't strong enough to protect them, nor are you strong enough to stand up and bear this for them," The voices became louder and louder, causing a ringing in his head, "Imagine how ashamed Justia must be for falling in love and giving herself to a man like you," Vidian let go of his head and stood, enraged by the words the voice was saying, the taunting gave him a second wind, he stood and let the sounds of crying, footsteps and movement around the room ring true, he had blocked out nearly all of it, boosted by the voice's taunting, it seemed that nothing could stop him now.
"You can't make me break, I won't break, not now, not tomorrow, not in a hundred years."
"I know you believe that, but everything has a breaking point, but today, I didn't find yours," The voices and the noises stopped, with only one voice speaking. The braziers in the room seemed to grow their flames as a figure appeared in front of Vidian, "You have passed my work."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because you clearly have a soft spot there, and it seemed to work for a couple minutes, until I spoke of all of them."
"You are a monster, not me."
"I am a god, and you are a human, we are not monsters, my son."
"Do you think that?"
"I don't," He laughed, "I am only the god of insanity, I don't count on judging lives, I would have too much to judge."
"I guess you are correct, thank you," Vidian bowed his head and then turned to leave the room, "That was horrible."
"It is supposed to be horrible, that is what insanity is."
"A different kind of suffering, not physical."
"But mental, I shall tell Lord Boros that you have passed," He said as the door opened once more, "Ask Kaylyi for your recovery, no amount of physical pain can match mental pain."
"I'd disagree with you, my lord, but I will agree with you today."
"Of course you will," He smiled before fading into the shadow's of the room.