August was puzzled by her words. He had heard of the name somewhere but no one in his life goes by the name Meredith.
"No," August replied honestly. He had no reason to hide anything.
Azrael was still a bit sceptical of his words, after all, a name said while dreaming is one of a closed one. She squinted her eyes at him to check any hint of lying. As expected he showed no sign of lying. Giving up, "Ok." She let out a sigh in defeat.
Even if she said ok. An unsettling feeling remained to linger in her heart. But she had no proof to make him accept the fact. The only thing she could do right now believed his words.
"Well…Since we are married…" She spoke out, hesitating between her words. "And it's not like I have any option." She mumbled under her breath in frustration before continuing.
"...How about us…Uhm…" Azrael clicked her tongue trying to find a way to announce what she was planning to say.
Meanwhile, August was confused by this side of her. She was not a woman who held back from speaking her mind, that much he was clear and a sadist too. And seeing her hesitation the only thing he could think of was…
"I am not going to sleep with a psychopath!" He declared with utter determination. Azrael was astounded by his words, she couldn't help but flinch at them.
"W-what?" She stumbled in her words, with widened eyes and a state of sheer disbelief.
"What the f**k! No!" It didn't take long for her astonishment to turn to disgust. Her face twitched in fury and dismay.
August was instantly silent upon seeing her reaction, he zipped his mouth tight realising he spoke the wrong thing at the wrong time.
"Oh. I thought you…" August swallowed hard, ready to be devoured alive by her.
"No! I was saying that we should help each other out! Not f**king!" Azrael exclaimed glaring at him, about to rip apart his brain and check what goes in that mind of his.
"Oh…S-sorry… I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit." August claimed, fearing for his life. She was angry and it was clear on her face.
"lighten the mood? Then I must tell you that it was not Funny!" Azrael yelled. Her fingers itching to strangle him to death. Holding back the urge to kill him then and there; she stormed out of the room without any further explanation.
"..." August was left perplexed by her sudden way of acting. He had no intention to offend her in any way possible but seeing the awkwardness between them those were first to come to his mind and he blurted it out.
Thinking about it now, he regretted joking about that. Maybe he went overboard and backfired.
***
A room was covered by darkness and a rusty scent trapped in the air. The sound of water dripping was exceptionally loud.
"So he is still alive?" A sharp voice disturbed the serene atmosphere.
"I…a-m not sure…" Her shuttering voice was cut off with a loud thud from the wooden crane at the person's hand.
Ailyn swallowed hard knowing immediately he was not happy with the result. And when he is unhappy, it is never good for people like her.
"Speak clearly! You are not a shuttering fool, are you?" The man yelled, finally turning his face around to look at her.
Ailyn's eyes were brimming with tears by now, her whole body turning cold just by looking at the man standing before her. His face was covered by the cast of darkness.
The man walks slowly closer to her, his wooden crane making a noise disrupting the methodical noise of the water dripping in the background.
Ailyn took a step back instinctively in fear, her breathing stopped by the immense suspense. Every time he takes a step closer to her, she goes closer to death.
"Looks like you don't care about your brother's life anymore." The man calmly spoke. His words didn't shake even a bit but those words instantly brought her to her knees. Her face turned ghostly pale as life was sucked out of her.
"No. Please No!" Ailyn pleaded with tears rolling down her cheeks. Her hands put together, as her begging continued, "Give me one more chance. I will kill him for sure. Please don't do anything to my brother."
The man coldly looked at her begging, he stood in front of her. His grey eyes were cold like a stone; his fingers loitering around her neck and within a snap, those fingers were strangling her to death.
"Do you know what's the most dangerous torture in Netherworld?" He asked as her body was suspended in the mid-air while she struggled to free herself.
"It's happiness. It is the worst punishment for the victims. They let them relive their best moments and let them control but when the happiest moment has to arrive, they are taken away in a snap of a finger and those fools waste their whole eternity running to get them like the end of a rainbow." As soon as he finished he let go of her neck, resulting in her plopping on the ground and coughing out vigorously.
For the second time that day she got strangled, Ailynn wanted to laugh at her own misery but this was not the right place.
"So don't make me do the same for you. If you can't kill him, I can definitely kill your brother and you." The man warned and walked past her, without sparing another glance at her.
Ailyn continuously nodded to his words even though he was long gone from there. She rubbed away her tears. She can't let herself cry, not now. With a few gasps of breath, she got up and walked out acting as if nothing happened.
***
The man walked out of the place and as soon as the light reached him, he transformed into a young woman, with a mask covering her face as she went back to the world she came from. A world of mystery and unknownness.