The knight groaned as he found himself lying face down. He groggily grabbed his sword and used that as the support to get up on his knee. He couldn't see anything around him, only darkness.
The last moment he remembered was that he gave his slave knight friend his soul and died. It should have been the end of him, but why…
Why did it not end? His suffering life still went on and even dying did not grant him freedom.
He tried everything he could, did everything he could think of, gave his all for the cause, all for the hope of getting out of this cycle of Light and Dark, of God and Men.
Even after letting the flame die out, he still could not escape this vicious cycle.
He was still here, lingering in his stagnant life like the First Flame. It made him mad.
He still got called by the Bell of Awakening to uphold his duty once again. When all Gods and Lords had fallen, he remained.
But what can a failure like him do anymore?
For what worth of a knight if he did not follow his oath?
He let the flame extinguished.
He failed…
He kneeled on the ground and let the darkness consumed him, hoping that if he went hollow, he wouldn't need to think anymore. He was exhausted by this god forsaken ordeal.
But even that did not happen.
Even for an unknown amount of time, he did not go hollow. He was devastated, disappointed beyond belief.
He wanted to howl, shout at his grim life. But he knew that didn't change anything.
The knight kneeled on the ground with his head touching the ground. Slowly, he clasped his hand and hung it over his head, seemingly praying to whatever God was out there to listen and grant him his freedom.
But…
Once again, no one answered him… no matter what he did. He was forgotten, like many others.
Despair.
It consumed him.
And…
From the disparity came the flame, the second flame, The Flame born from a sinner. The Flame of Madness and Atonement.
A flicker of flame lit in front of him and he lifted his head up, seeing the dazzling flame flicker feebly yet growing more and more as the time went by.
He couldn't take his eyes off the flame that he knew was born from his disparity.
How ironic.
A person who let the world fall into the Age of Darkness was the same person who created the second flame.
He sat up and stared at the Flame of Madness and Atonement.
A hope ignited in him but he dared not to raise his newfound expectation for fear that it would ruin him.
For how many more times does he have to offer himself to link the fire to achieve his atonement? He did not know.
But for now, at least he had something to strive for, and that was enough.
He waited in the darkness that was lit up by the fire before him, fixing his gaze at the feeble flame that had just born, drifting into his own thoughts.
—
After a certain amount of time waiting at the bonfire, he could feel his mind being chipped away slowly but surely, like that of a beast that gnawed at his soul. His once shattered mind could sense the madness boiling inside him. Perhaps this was the product of being alone in an abysmal place like this with nothing to do, nothing to see.
He thought that at this rate, he would become insane before he could atone his sin.
The more he lamented and despaired, the more the flame grew. At the moment, it had grown to the size of the bonfire from a tiny dot of light.
Suddenly, he heard an echo of footsteps that approached him from afar. He cocked his head in annoyance, thinking it was a monster from the Abyss.
He had concluded that he was probably in the Abyss judging how dark this place is and staying in here made him slowly lose his insanity.
Does it have to be like this? Can he have some peace in this shit hole?
He grabbed the sword that was plunged into the ground next to him and got up.
But as the unknown entity got closer, he found that it was a rather young lady in her twenties with an average build and light red hair that she kept in a loose braid. She had an unusual outfit compared to the one in his place.
The only thing that made her feel different from her was her eyes. Her eyes were glowing yellow with several red rings. It made him feel some kind of hypnosis affect the more he looked at it.
But seeing that she was likely defenseless, he dropped his guard down and mumbled in confusion. He decided it was not worth it to think about it anymore and sat back to where he was a moment ago. She was probably an unlucky soul to end up here like him.
But did it matter? Absolutely not.
At least, he could enjoy some company with her and keep his sanity in check in the meantime.
He asked her a bit about the cycle that he and his kind stuck in but was soon dumbfounded that the young woman clearly didn't know anything about it. He wondered if humanity rose from the dark and buried every record about the Age of Fire though. That was something worth keeping in mind.
So he started chatting with her for some more time and she even gave him an odd name, Veilhem. He was baffled about the name she came up with but paid no mind to it because it was likely that no one around to hear the name.
"The name's Veilhem, Knight of Damnation." He introduced himself, thinking that the title suited him quite well for a knight that had abandoned his duty. He reached out his hand, offered a handshake.
She took it politely and said with a slight smile on her face. "I'm Makima, the Control Devil."
He raised his eyes in surprise but soon recovered because he didn't see or hear anything about the Devil. There was a species called Demon and they looked more of a beast than human.
Out of curiosity, he asked Makima. "Do every Devil look like you? Or do they like demons that I know? Mindless beast that seeks destruction and corruption?"
She was currently sitting on a block of stone and pondering my question a bit. Makima sat cross legged and folded her arms under her chest. She rubbed her chin and tilted her head cutely while thinking.
It made him chuckle a bit seeing her action as who would have thought that a Devil would be like this? If every Devil looked gorgeous like her then he would like to meet some of them too.
At a time like this, it made him remember the Fire Keeper. He wondered if that girl was still alive or not. She tended to the fire, even offering her soul to be a part of it. As the flame died, so would she.
But there was still a chance that his theory was false. The chance is slim but it wouldn't hurt to be hoping for the best to happen to the girl.
"Not particularly, we have our own agenda but most of them would like to see the world burn. Many of us contract with the human world. We usually grant them our portion of power for an exchange of price and how they use it is a different matter." She explained, earning a surprised look from him, noting to himself that Devil was just as bad as Demon. But because his face was covered behind the helmet, she wouldn't notice it though.
"Oh, that's rather… interesting. Hmm, you said that you are a Control Devil so your power must be something related to control then. How does it work?"
"Usually, I wouldn't talk about it because my contract with the previous one requires me to keep it a secret but I think this time is an exception."
She proudly placed her hand on her chest as she continued.
"I embody the fear of being controlled. This means that my concept is about controlling any beings I make contact with at the subconscious level, that includes small animals and of course, humans."
"Even now, I can even try to control you to make you do what I want." A sly smile formed on her lips when she said this. She came closer and poked his arm in a relaxed and playful manner.
"Haha, does it include mind reading? If that is the case then I recommend you shouldn't try it. It could make you go mad if you aren't careful." Veilhem answered with ease, not minding if his secret was exposed.
"Even if it's a Devil like me?" Makima tilted her head in question, thinking that the knight was bluffing.
"Yep Ma'am, even the Devil." He replied.
Makima was dissatisfied with the answer but she didn't show it on the outside. She still kept her usual smile and said.
"Then do you want to be my dog?"
"That's… kinda weird to be asked like that don't you know? I know that everyone has a fetish and all but didn't think you are such a… kinky one." He covered his mouth in a flabbergasted way, turning his head to her much to her annoyance. Obviously, he couldn't see it because she remained her stoic and calm face when facing him.
Suddenly she pointed at his head and a chain formed from thin air, connecting to his chest. But he didn't feel any damage so he let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey hey, that was rude." He exclaimed, waving his arm but it just phased through the chain.
"Obey and become my dog, Veilhem. That's an order." Makima said calmly, her face remained impassive as ever, and a superior aura formed around her. She pulled the chain till the face of the two was only one palm away.
However, much to her surprise, he was still normal, not being under her control. This phenomenon hadn't appeared before and was new to her. She was a Control Devil at that!
Makima began to doubt if her ability waned after being eaten by Denji.
"Yes, Miss Makima. What do you want me to do?" He spoke up.
Skeptical about his action but she paid no more mind. Probably it was just her overthinking, she began to read his memory.