The sound of dripping water echoed through the study, only it was crimson. Moonlight cast an eerie, ethereal glow on the boy's platinum blonde hair. Myles. His eyes held no emotion as he twisted the dagger deeper into the man's upper abdomen.
Ark.
His golden eyes remained fixed on Myles, wide yet frozen. He coughed, more blood spilling past his lips as his form flickered, glitching.
"I wanted to die by your hand," Myles murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "Only to have you die by mine. How pathetic is that?"
He yanked the dagger free. A sharp grunt escaped Ark's lips, and a fine spray of blood splattered onto Myles' cheek, warm and thick. The boy barely reacted. He glanced down at the bloodied blade before bringing it to his lips, running his tongue along the crimson edge.
Ark staggered back, clutching his wound. His laughter started low, broken, static-like, almost distorted. "Unbelievable," he rasped. "You really think you've won just because you picked up a new toy? How cute."
Myles' grip on the dagger tightened. His wine-red eyes flickered with unease. "That was a divine dagger..." he muttered, brows furrowing. "It should've killed you. It was meant to kill you."
Ark wiped the blood from his mouth, his golden eyes glinting with amusement. "Divine?" he shook his head. "You put too much faith in labels."
He stepped closer, unfazed by the wound still bleeding through his fingers. "Now, be a good boy and hand it over."
Myles looked at the dagger, then back at Ark. He hesitated just for a moment before letting the weapon slip from his grasp. The bloodied blade fell into Ark's outstretched hand.
The moment he touched it, the dagger flickered as it began glitching. A system window then appeared in front of Myles. Unlike usual system windows, this one was golden.
[System]
[Error: Item "Divine Dagger" was removed.]
Ark hummed in satisfaction. His eyes never left Myles as he reached out, ruffling the boy's hair in a mockingly affectionate gesture. Then, leaning in close, smirk wide as he murmured: "I have to admit, watching you lick my blood off that blade was… intriguing. Tell me, how did it taste?"
"Filthy."