Sleeping inside his bed, Godfrey had a dream. A dream that no man should ever experience — one that could leave him staying up for days at a time, without sleep.
He ran through an endless void of darkness. Everything was black and full of nothingness. He ran and ran until he tripped over some foreign object; falling flat on his face, he slowly turned around, breathing sporadically.
["What is this place? W-Whats happening?"] He tripped over a body. The body was no one other than Olivia Field, mutilated to such a horrible degree. The only color shown inside this darkness was the fresh warm blood that was constantly spreading out across the empty void from her dead body. ["Aah… Auaaa… Aaaahhhhhhh!!!"]
["AAAAAAAHHHH!"] I woke back up into the awakening world, departing from my nightmare. I looked around me, checking my surroundings for danger… but realized I was inside my home, safe and sound. ["What was that? That dream… it was horrible, why did I have something so terrifying like that?"] I risen his body out of the bed, placing my palm against my forehead, ["I haven't had nightmares since my previous life, so this is new. I'm more scared as a child than I would be as an adult."]
Looking at my bandaged arm, I realized something was off-
["The hell? What's with this black mist leaking through my bandages?"] I lifted my eyebrows, bewildered at the sight before me. At first, I tried reaching my hand out to take the bandages off, but the mist acted like a magnet, pulling towards my hand once it approached forward, ["This isn't normal, right? Hey, Erebus, what's going on? Please don't tell me you're still sleeping!"] I called for Erebus, but there was no response.
["Erebus, I know you hear me! Can you explain what's going on?"]
There was still no response.
["How long does it take for you to regain your energy or whatever? You're screwing with me aren't you?"] I sighed, looking down at the floor beneath me. To be honest with you, I felt lost and hopeless at the moment… until a voice finally responded-
["It is evil."]
["Oh, there you're- wait, what's evil?"] I looked at my arm, cluelessly blinking.
["The black mist that lingers around your arm, it is the very evil that spreads throughout this world."]
["What do you mean by that?"] I asked.
["I am the spirit that created evil, and I live inside your body, it is only natural that evil deeds are what refuel's me, and slowly regain's my existence until I am able to resurrect."]
This shocked me. Matter of fact, it shocked me enough to make me run into the kitchen, grabbing a knife from the cabinet!
["LIKE HELL! I'M NOT GONNA BE THE CENTER OF ALL EVIL!"]
["JUST A MOMENT, CHILD! I HAVE NOT EXPLAINED ALL OF IT!"]
Holding the knife in my hand, I halted my action.
["Why the hell should I wait? You expect someone good-hearted as I am gonna just absorb all the evil in this world?"]
Erebus scoffed.
["Of course not, but cutting off your arm won't solve anything, it'll just bring you pain… and possible death from a loss of blood."]
…She was right, but anyone who's mentally stable could agree that evil is one thing they don't want in their life. Especially being the very embodiment of such a ridiculous concept.
["…I don't like this… not one bit. If there's something I would rather have, it would be the spirit of light… not darkness."]
My words seemed to have made Erebus silent for a moment, but I didn't really care if it made her upset or not. She's evil, why would evil have feelings either way?
["The spirit of light, many worship her across the multiverse, but they do not know how she truly acts. She's a wicked spirit, she has no emotions and does whatever she believes is righteous, in her own eyes."]
Erebus' voice seemed to have gotten more serious-
It had a tone to it that I never heard from her, so I would shut up, and listen.
["She's the one that killed me, only because she knew that I was the creator of evil, and she believed it would be righteous to do so. I never bothered her a day in my life… yet she does something so foolish, and selfish."]
["She… killed you?"]
["Yes. Despite us being two balances of the world for good and evil, light and dark, she didn't care. She only cared for what was righteous to her eyes, so she killed me, and now… I am stuck like this, until the ends of time, until I could find the perfect vessel."]
["I am a bit confused on one part, Erebus."]
["What is it?"]
["You said that you're stuck like this until the ends of time, but you also said that evil refuels your existence until you can resurrect?"]
["Yes, evil does refuel my existence… however it would take so much evil to do that until I am fully manifested once more. Eons upon eons of evil must be done, and I'm afraid this world won't last that long between the hate of humans and demons. They'll possibly wipe themselves out of existence, alongside every other race here."]
["But why here? Shouldn't evil across the multiverse be refueling you, rather just this world?"]
["Good question, but that's simple to answer; once I was killed by the hands of the light spirit, I was nothing more than floating nothingness, so I traveled through dimensions until I could find a universe where the perfect vessel could exist… and that is when I found you. At the moment, you were just being born, but I could see the endless potential inside of you, thus I took your body. Once that happened, all of my existence was residing within you. I'm afraid that I don't have the capabilities of consuming evil from other universes, if all of my existence is inside the body of a young boy, in one specific world."]
I see, this is starting to make sense. It wasn't fate that made this happen but chance. Am I unlucky, or am I lucky? Having one of the creators of the multiverse living inside of me should be a good thing for more power… but there's one thing that stops me from liking it, and it's evil. They're the creator of evil, and I can't stand for it.
["I'm sorry that this happened to you, Erebus, and I'm sorry that you are hated upon by countless individuals throughout the multiverse, possibly, but I have morals. I hate evil, it disgusts me more than ever. The very thought of it existing would make anyone angry… so-"] I paused for a moment, closing my eyes in thought, ["I'll punish it."]
["You'll… what?"]
["I'll punish those who commit evil, and send their sins right back at them."] I smiled, knowing that was the best thing I could do. It was justice after all. ["If they kill someone, then I'll kill them, if they rob someone, then I'll rob them, if they hurt someone… then I'll hurt them. If I'm gonna be someone who absorbs all evil, I may as well punish it as well."]
Erebus went silent again… but longer this time.
She didn't say anything. It would leave anyone feeling awkward-
But…
["Buhahahahaha!"]
She was laughing at me!?
["Ahahaahaha… ahahahahaha! You'll be the one who punishes evil, despite being evil itself? You're spectacular! You're one of the most interesting mortals I have ever laid my eyes upon, Godfrey Ironheart! Very well, if that is your path, then I have no choice but to follow it."]
Not gonna lie, her laughing did piss me off until that last comment.
Who was she to say otherwise? After all, I had her at my disposal.
["I'll show the world that evil can even punish itself. That'll let everyone know that its very concept is hated upon, even by the one who embodies it."]
["If your plans do succeed, then what will happen to me?"] Asked Erebus.
["Oh that? I already have that situated. We are one now; both of us cannot live without each other, so you'll always be with me forever. Even if evil dies, it won't matter, because you'll still be me. You'll be part of Godfrey Ironheart."]
Erebus scoffed once more.
["You live in a world of fantasy… but that's expected from a child."]
["Trust me, Erebus… I won't let you die, no matter what. Even if you created something so cruel, you're still my friend."]
["I'm… your friend?"]
["Well, yeah? Who wouldn't wanna be friends with someone they'll be spending the rest of their lives with?"]
["Hmm. I have never had a friend — do tell me, what are friends for?"]
["What are friends for? Holy shit, there's gonna be so much to teach you!"]
Erebus laughed at me.
["Buhahahaha! Of course, you fool, what did you expect from someone who enjoys evil~?"]