The Lord, had teleported himself and the man to the far east of the kingdom. There, they stood before a cave with a waterfall serving as its entrance. The king steadily helped Heracles sit on the ground limply, while he moved to the waterfall and allowed the cold water to pour into his palms. He gently neared the sick man and silently chanted something under his breath, then, the water began to take solid forms. Forming into many small iced pellets in his palms while he kneeled to the man's level and allowed the pellets to drop unto Heracles- instantly causing a wild steam to evaporate from his hot skin. He cried in agony from gritted teeth.
Steadily, Lord Asmodeus helped him stand and walked him slowly to the entrance of the cave, where the waterfall was graciously and noisily announcing its dominance over the place. Both men went through it and soon found themselves in a room. Heracles scanned the new environment that resembled a study room with a bed at the corner. His hazy eyes looked at the rows and columns of shelves with numerous books in them, even more adding to his dizziness. He shut his eyes and inhaled sharply, while the king walked him to the bed and gently helped him lie down.
Lord Asmodeus observed with a frown the pale complexion of Heracles and the traces of sweat over his forehead. He knew this situation really well. The aftermath of a Lyc-demon trying to defy the laws of the mating bond. He sighed.
"I did as you had assigned me to. The girl is nothing to be bothered about now." Heracles explained with his eyes closed and right arm resting lazily over his forehead.
"You did good. Take rest and heal." The king said, walking away to a chair positioned next to a study table and took his seat.
"I just hope, I hope it's not a mistake." His wide eyes stared oddly at Heracles whom has just whispered this. He frowned and sat on the chair with folded arms.
"It's not." He plainly stated with a monotone and turned his gaze from the man to the ceiling of the cave. "Rest Heracles. My son is my responsibility and no one else's." His blue eyes with gold in them burned bright with an emotion that was unlike the king. The only sound in the room now coming from the water that kept falling proudly. After a while, he turned to Heracles, whom had now allowed the darkness to sweep him away. It was evident that the longer he stayed away from his mate, the weaker he became. As his eyes lingered on the poor man, his heart wrenched at the recollection of an old memory. The first time he saw Heracles greatly weakened by the mating bond. It was a terrible sight. Now, thinking about it, he felt utterly at fault for his situation now. All he ever did was try to save his son, but it turns out whatever he did was just not enough. Someone would have to pay the price. Truth be told, the one thing he inwardly never admitted was that his son's fate was without a doubt sealed and he knew that very well.
As time elapsed, his eyes soon flattered sleepily and closed. There, he found himself in the dark. There was nothing around but darkness. He searched around anxiously in confusion of his current predicament. How did he end up here? He wondered and continued to move about, lost in the dark. For what felt like eternity, he finally saw a light off in the distance and run as fast as he could to it. There he saw a slightly younger version of himself walking in the palace hall. What is all this? He wondered in bewilderment as he continued to look at the scene unfolding before his eyes. He knew this scene all too well. It was just after his son had almost killed his beloved wife in the past. A scene where he was going to do the needful and put an end to everything once and for all. He watched his slightly younger self enter into his son's room with a very sullen look over his face.
"Son." He heard himself call. The boy only averted his gaze to the window, not sparing a glance at his father. "Son. I know how you feel right now and I can assure you that I clearly understand you. We all do." Lord Asmodeus explained, slowly inching towards the boy standing there by the window. It was daytime, the sun unusually dim than usual. His face winkled and suddenly aged at the thought of what he was about to do. Even the sky knew and frowned heavily at him. He never thought it was going to get to that point.
"Son. Please forgive me for attacking you today, but you know I had to do all that to save your mother." He continued. The boy slowly turned to the man, his eyes reddened from crying. He sniffed with his reddened nose flaring open and close.
"Father. I did not mean to do that. I swear that it was not my doing. There's this darkness inside me. I just can't control it." Eliot's reddened and pained eyes let tears roll down them. He seemed utterly deranged and helpless standing there by the window. The king pressed his palms into tight fist and shut his eyes at the sight of his misery stricken son. His resolve was wavering faster than he anticipated.
"It's okay son. You don't have to fight it alone. I'm here with you. Your mother is." He mastered courage and continued to pushed further, stretching out his arms to the poor boy. "Walk into my embrace son." He pleaded.
Eliot stared in agony at the man whom he called father and felt that pressing urge to walk into his embrace, but the darkness within only kept him still. 'You will go nowhere. Can't you see he's only trying to make you lose your way? You were destined for greatness. We are.' The darkness within fueled his weak mind. He shook his head at the thought and turned away from the man to the window. "Go away." He groaned at his father.
"No son, I won't back away from you now. Let me help you." Lord Asmodeus cried still stretching out his arms to the poor boy.
'Don't listen to that old man. He's only trying to keep us away from our goal.' The inner darkness shouted. Eliot covered his ears at the taunting voice in his head.
"No go away. Go away." He repeatedly said, now banging his head to the wall. "Go away. Go away."
Lord Asmodeus stared in pain at the boy, resembling the likes of an insane person now. It was safe to say the boy was hitting his limit. "Son don't give in to it. Listen to me. Follow my voice son." He continues to urge slowly walking to the boy.
"Go away. Go away. Go away." Eliot cried, now slamming himself onto the floor and hitting his head against the tiled surface. The voice in his head was growing louder, only adding to his misery and confusion. As it seemed, He could not make out what was real from what was not. There was this comfort in his father's voice that he desperately needed, but the inner darkness was dominantly trying to make him see beyond that comfort. His resolve was crushing. Before the man had walked in, he had built a mental wall, but now it began to crack with every inch he tried to reach reality. "Go away, go away." He chanted, trembling and trembling without stop, covering his ears from both voices. That of his father's and the darkness.
"Son. Son please fight." The king cried, as a tear run down his left eye. "Son." He slumped on the floor as well beside the boy and on impulse embraced him. The boy was still trembling struggling to keep hitting his head against the floor. "Eliot."
There was nothing but the sound of groaning from Eliot and the king's cries in the room. "I should have killed you the moment she prophesized against your life, the whole world thought same, but how could I? You were the best thing that ever happened to me. My own flesh and blood. I just could not watch you subjected to the wretchedness of my blade. I couldn't." Lord Asmodeus explained, still caressing the trembling boy's back tenderly. "I cannot help but feel at fault for the life you are living now. I hope you can forgive me son. All I have ever done is nothing but save you from the cruelties of this world. I wish there was another way. I just hope you can forgive me." The poor father spoke and let his hand caressing the boy's back fall. Chanting words under his breath, cold wind began to swirl around his hand and took a solid form of a sharp pointy blade. His pained eyes lifted up to the sky and allowed sad tears to roll down as his trembling hand held unto the blade. "I'm sorry son. I'm sorry." He continued whispering to the trembling boy and courageously lifted his hand high, pointing the blade to the boy. "I'm sorry he said for the last time and without warning, deeply stabbed the blade into the boy's back.
A sudden wave of agony struck Lord Asmodeus in his chest so hard that he wailed aloud as the boy grunted from pain and trembled harder in his hands. Lord Asmodeus, feeling nothing but despise for himself now, felt a heavy burden over his shoulders as the boy cursed in pain, "Why father? Why?" His voice was hoarse and filled with intense denial and anguish for the man he called father. There in his eyes was nothing but a look of betrayal flashing brightly.
Suddenly, darkness started to seep off the boy's wound with the blade still impaled in him, causing the lord to instinctively let go of the boy and crawl further away from him. More darkness seeped from the wound, swirled wildly around the boy, all the while, as he groaned louder and louder, and continued to tremble intensely. The king helplessly looked around the room that was rumbling now. The curtains dancing mildly to the strong wind blowing in the room. The dim sky from earlier dimming lower. There was nothing much in the room, and the walls began to crack.
"Why?" Eliot's hoarse and multiple voice sounded in rage. "You betrayed me." He cried and suddenly rose mightily to his feet. The king crawled further away from the boy; his eyes that held so much love in them now displayed fear. This, the boy saw too well, only aggravating him more. His own father stared at him now as though he were a monster and it hurt him deeply. If this is how it was going to be then he might as well do something to fall befitting of the title 'Monster.'