Kraven
Kraven was awake and out of sight when the fire got cold and the phantoms came to play.
He scoured the area for the silent phantoms because they were far too mysterious.
The last time they crossed the Abyss, the phantoms were present but too scared to come close. He had an inkling feeling that something disturbed them or enticed their attention enough to play dead.
Unable to find anything out of place he began to return; however, the thick sudden fog made it impossible to go further. Whispers in Faetong erupted yet Kraven wasn't spooked by them but more entertained.
"Have you come out to play?" he spoke to nothing in particular but certain they heard him.
"Kraven"
Phantoms appeared and shrouded Kraven, with no face or form, just an eerily glow dancing along with the mist.
"I know what you are"
The phantoms waved by an invisible wind before merging.
"I know who you are"
The phantoms shrink until they form a shape. The wind got denser and blew the rest of the fog away.
"The Reaper, or do you prefer Kraven Val Thrond?" a boy stood before Kraven, with dark hair and blue eyes.
It was like staring at a mirror, at least a younger version of him, one he had forgotten, it was no less a stranger before him.
"You cannot forget the past," the boy said.
With a deep amused laugh and running a hand through his hair, Kraven said. "What made you think I've forgotten?"
"Mad like his father. Betrayed by his people. Forgotten and damned by the gods,"
"Is that all?" Kraven remained unfazed, biding his time to finally get rid of the phantoms and be done with it, they were becoming a nuisance.
The boy evaporated and the phantoms came forth again but this time more chaotic and dwelling.
"And now the gods have damned you again. There is no end to such cruelty"
A mass of dead bodies flooded the entire area, a wide range of them. Kraven could barely recognize a handful of them.
His humor dissipated. "Enough games, I'm getting bored"
"I can free you"
"Free me?" he questioned.
"And end it, starting with her"
"Her?" he grabbed the phantom and it shrieked under his touch, howling in an agonizing scream. "Is that why you were able to slip out of my forts? Of course, I should've known"
The phantom screeched, brazenly moving but unable to free itself from Kraven's hold.
"So having a mannfae soul was so enticing, your fears were the last thing on your mind?"
A chaotic screech followed.
"Let me remind you... She's mine"
"Y-You want to end it don't you?"
"Quiet!" Kraven seethed. His head twitched as the whispers penetrated his skull, tapping into the darkness within the moment the opportunity arose.
"You can't hide it"
The phantom split apart and penetrated Kraven's head, feeding on his bloodlust.
"Even you can't resist!"
Kraven growled, holding the bark tightly for support, he could feel the shadows.
The sclera of his eyes turned pitch black, prompting an eerily glow to his silver eyes as his pupils dilated and black veins crept under his eyes. His semblance of control was buried and a figment was released.
"End it"
"Stop it!"
The sound of a twig caught his attention and he turned to Isadora behind.
Isadora was in shock, coming face to face with Kraven but at the same, it wasn't him, his eyes felt like she was staring at a different person and the weaving shadows spurting from his body were unexplainable.
Beware of the shadows
The warning came to her before she could even think of it.
At impulse she took a step back prompting a movement from Kraven, he was faster than the normal eye could see, and before she could inhale his hand wrapped around her throat, restricting her airflow and raising her off her feet.
Isadora struggled to break free, her lips apart and her body fought for movement, but his grip tightened.
Her face went red, tears swelling up her eyes, silently begging him to let go.
Kraven's head continued to fidget. Just a little tighter... a little tighter. The instinct drove him to no end.
Isadora choked, making it harder to breathe and stay conscious, her body giving out, in despair she grabbed his hand as tightly as she could but it was equivalent to holding a rock.
"Kraven!" Rav shouted and pointed his arrow. "Let her go!" he warned.
"I could end it"
Rav was perplexed but he said "Not at the cost of her life"
Kraven eyes met Rav's. "What do you know about cost?"
Rav's teeth clenched hard at his words.
"You have no idea" Kraven turned back to a struggling Isadora. "Why else would the goddess have given me her? If not for my downfall" he applied more pressure eager to end it. "They always want my downfall"
"Kraven!"
"Her death will be my reward"
"No!" Rav shot the arrow but the instant it got just millimeters from Kraven's head the weaving shadows blocked it.
Rav used that fleeting movement to throw himself at Kraven, slamming him to the ground.
Isadora fell to the ground, coughing, and wheezing, holding her throat like the grip remained there but it was just a phantom feeling.
Hearing Rav speaking in Faetong, she watched the display in horror, Kraven struggling and Rav holding him down with his arm to his throat. With a kick, Rav flew off and Kraven was on his knees.
Isadora rasped using her hands on the ground to push herself further away from him.
Kraven's derangement surfaced, he laughed maniacally, It was terrifying with the distorted shadows around him.
Isadora couldn't tell if it belonged to the phantoms that poisoned his mind or if this was truly what he was.
Rav attacked him once again and knocked him to the tree, his arm on his throat, speaking to him in Faetong that Isadora couldn't keep up with.
The rune in his arm burned but he was determined to stop this.
The sound of a raven came through, flying directly to Kraven.
Isadora watched mortified as the creature forced its way into Kraven's mouth, and swallowed along with the rest of the weaving shadows.
Unable to take anymore, she succumbed to unconsciousness.