"Where are they?!" Shi Kow Wan screamed on top of his lungs as he only found Alexander. His gut feeling instinctively sensed that the others were no longer within range.
"I won't tell you." Alexander replied as he laughed crazily. Loud punches and kicks came from the other side of the wall. Alexander groaned as each suffering blow attacked him without restraint. Under his current condition, he could only block some attacks using dodging and retreating skills.
"Tell me! Or I'll kill you." Shi Kow Wan gripped his collar, lifting his body up from the floor. As if Alexander was his punching bag, he was ready to toss him against the hard, rocky surfaces in their surrounding.
"We'll see about that!" While Shi Kow Wan exerted his energy on attacking him, Alexander found an opening to inject the venom through Shi Kow Wan's neck artery! Acting quick and efficient, the venom entered his body within seconds. The end of the needle then sliced Shi Kow Wan's throat before it was dropped to the floor; making a plastic noise that sounded everyone's ears.
His movement was so fast that the boney man couldn't react to the scene in front of him. When he did, he knocked Alexander away from Shi Kow Wan. Hugging Shi Kow Wan in his arms, the boney man's eyes swelled as he cried silently. He watched the wound on his neck dye red everywhere with clotted blood forming into chunks.
"How dare you?!!!" The boney man narrowed his eyes sharply at Alexander. With a murderous grin on his face, Alexander answered with mockery. "What don't I dare to do? Why don't you challenge me to it? If you guys dared to kill my family and harm my girl, why wouldn't I dare eliminate you guys before I die?"
Widening his eyes as he said these words, Alexander raised his brows towards the homosexual couple in front of him. They held each other tightly and stared affectionately into the other's eyes. Alexander started laughing as he coughed up more blood, tinting a certain edge of the wall red.
Recalling the words from Shi Kow Wan's confession from earlier, Alexander licked the corners of his lips. From the sides of his belt, he slipped out a knife and felt the sharpness of it as his fingers moved along the edges.
Slicing his own palm, he let his blood stain the pointy weapon. Spreading down from the tip of the knife, Alexander's blood traced to the black jewel on the handle. The moment his blood touched the jewel, it glowed bright red.
"When I was young, you guys took away my life. Today, I'm retrieving what you guys owe me. This is your end!" Suddenly, he charged forward and aimed the first stab through the boney man's heart from behind. Since he was distracted by Shi Kow Wan's injury, he didn't dodge from the attack.
Alexander watched the boney man's flesh burn in flaming orange, yellow and red. He wailed loudly and got a hold of Alexander's chest where his fingernails dug into his flesh. Although Alexander's expression was one filled with pain, he didn't pull out the weapon in his hand. Instead, his other palm pushed and applied more pressure on the knife handle; pushing it deeper.
As he watched the boney man's wound spreading, he said, "I knew the timing of my birth matched the devil's hours. That's why my blood can reverse this spell. I won't let you get away this time. I'll send you to the depths of hell!"
The wound on the boney man's body revealed dark lively veins, sucking his flesh inwards slowly as it burned to ash. Like a lit-up cigarette, the ashes burned away; bringing along petrified cries that screeched into thin air. The sound of innocent victims was released from his body, calling out for their freedom.
The boney man continued holding Shi Kow Wan as he grinned sorrowfully. Continuing the eye contact, he noticed Shi Kow Wan's eyes slowly becoming lifeless. A drip of his tear landed on the dying man's face and soon, his breathing stopped.
"You know that won't kill me, so let me help you. This is how you do it." Turning his head like a broken mechanical toy, one could almost hear the boney man's neck crack at every angle. When his eyes fixated on Alexander, his lips curved a sinister smile. Wiggling his fingernails out of Alexander's chest, five small holes could be seen with blood gushing out. His cold, blood fingers then reached for the knife's handle.
As if Alexander had been hypnotized, he remain unmoved under the boney man's touch. When he realized it, his hand had started losing control. The boney man extended his arm, snatched the knife and reversed the attack. Like playing darts, the knife stabbed into Alexander's liver. The strike was a fatal blow as the force used to injure him sent him flying backwards until his back met the stone wall.
Holding the knife as his wound bled, Alexander watched the boney man give his farewell to his lover. "You're an idiot, kiddo. You knew you can't kill me unless you die. You're willing to die with me. What an honor." The boney man covered Shi Kow Wan's eyes and helped close them.
"Since I am going to be dead soon, the matter of hours or minutes left don't matter to me. My entire life had been a mess because of the two of you. So, wherever it started will be wherever it ends. Shi Kow Wan destroyed my original liver to replace it with yours in my body. Now, I'm returning it to you. I've avenged my family. I've avenged for myself. I also avenged for Ariana and her family. I can leave in peace."
The boney man laid on his side as he patted Shi Kow Wan's chest. "Is it really worth it? Aren't you just as stupid for saving someone who won't return your feelings? You've sacrificed yourself and will get nothing in return. Are you really willing to do all this? Stop talking big words."
Leaning his weakening body against the wall, Alexander smiled. "To me, she is worth more than what this universe could hold. Even if I have to choose again, I would still walk the same path because I love her. No matter if it's my sacrifices for her was out of love or guilt, she will always be the light in my world. You guys were the ones who crushed my chance to love her the right way. Because of my cluelessness, I brought her childhood happiness to hell."
"You guys might think you have the biggest heart for each other. You might think sacrificing means murdering and slaughtering innocent lives, but you're wrong. You're all doing this selfishly. If I knew that getting close to her and meeting her would lead to her family's death...I wouldn't have chosen to get close to her at that time. I would rather not know her, so that I wouldn't be the cause of her pain."
"My whole life had been full of nightmares. She was the only one who treated me genuinely. She was the one who taught me to believe in friendship and happiness. But this love pains me as much as the guilt drowns my heart. I remind myself of what I did to her and her family. If I get a second chance to reset this life, I will rather die from getting beaten or starvation than to cause her harm."
"Her smile is what I want to and will protect until the very end. My everything was given by her. I'm hers no matter if she wants me or not. Dying is not what I'm afraid of. Seeing her cry and losing her smile is what I'm scared of the most. But I owe her my life. I've done what I needed to do, so I have no more regrets."
Taking the fur ball from his pocket, Alexander tilted his head for his sight to focus on the soft fur. In the middle of his speech, the boney man had already disappeared to dust particles. A pile of ashes was left beside Shi Kow Wan's corpse. Knowing that Ariana will be safe from troubles, he could finally relax.
Smiling, his eyes slowly closed. He knew Qian Ling was on the other side, listening to him. So, he continued speaking his story with his last breaths. "I know you've been listening. So, I'll tell you a short story before I take a long nap..."
"Once upon a time, a young boy had no friends. He had a poker face and was sent on a mission to get close to a very cheerful girl in a bunny outfit. With lit up lanterns at a festival, he watched the girl with envy. At first, he thought she was purely stupid for smiling over holding her parents hands. Later, he changed his mind."
"The girl found him in the crowd, thinking he was lost. The boy never smiled once and she tried many ways to make him talk. Although they were around the same age, she was the total opposite of him. She bravely took the boy's hand and kept encouraging him to not lose hope. The boy only nodded as a response."
"Just like that, her hands held his as she searched for his nonexistent parents. As they passed by a rather short tree, the girl decided to climb up to find his parents. On her way up, her bunny tail got caught by some branches and fell out. The boy didn't tell her and subconsciously hid the fur ball that rolled to his foot."
"She had tears in her eyes as her body trembled from the height. Still, she never gave up and even smiled at him. He didn't know when, but he thought she looked adorable. His heart felt warm for the first time. He remembered the warmth of her hands and eventually smiled. Although she failed to find his parents at the end, she smiled when he smiled. She said, 'if you can't find your family, I will become your family.' And just like that, the little boy's first dream was created."
"At that moment, the little boy said to himself, 'One day, I will make it come true'...But now, the little boy grew up. All he wants now is for the girl to continue smiling. Continue being happy...Just...Happy..." Images of Ariana's smile and laugh filled his mind as his breathing quickened.
'Perhaps, this is my happy ending.' He thought as he heard the little girl's words again.
Several seconds later, Alexander's fingers loosened its grip around the fur ball and let it roll away. His eyes were shut tight. His expression looked peaceful as a smile was left on his face.