The Life of the Dark

Revealed, Yet Hidden

Z's stomach churned and ached. It felt like a massive claw had it in its crushing grip, squeezing until it was all they could feel. They took another bite from the bread and the feeling lessened. The bread was dry and stuck to the walls of their mouth and in dire need of some butter. They tried to wash it down with some water, which tasted odd, but that just turned the remainders of the bread into a wet cement. Still, it was better than nothing.

Despite having calmed down with Morrison, they had broken down in a fit of confused tears before the rat could start talking. Morrison had blamed it on the lack of sleep, food, and the events of the past day or so, and that a little bit to eat would settle things down for now. He watched the creature eat it silently, occasionally giving little nods and smiles of encouragement.

Once Z had eaten most of the slice, he began to speak, calmly and slowly.

"Your people, the Kronosians, were a powerful race of beings. They were powerful and could live for centuries without ageing. The king, your father, X, attained a mighty empire that spans over the majority of the known universe. However. they were also a cruel ruler. They hurt many people, and we believe they also hurt you. Kronosians... You're known for being violent. To fight is part of your nature, but I don't hold that against you personally, Z," Morrison added. "Your race is known for hurting, killing and eating their enemies. You were particularly troublesome. I won't go into the details now, but you'll find out when you're more stable. We also want you to try and remember yourself."

"You talk about us in the past tense," Z said. "Why?" Their voice was small and on the verge of breaking.

Morrison's smile faltered.

"You have an uncle. Aaron Teuflisch. One of the most powerful and dangerous beings to ever exist, if not the most. He is ruthless and merciless, yet he is not Kronosian. He is only related to your father in that they came into being at the same time in the relatively same place with the same power. He wanted to prove himself the most powerful out of his siblings, the Titans, X and your aunt Alexis. The three had been fighting for millennia. First, he killed Alexis in battle. When her people, the animalistics, were left without a leader, X enslaved them under their empire. Teuflisch chose your people as his next target and struck the empire at its core: your home, Kronosia."

Something began to ache in the depths of Z's head and they hissed. Morrison frowned and stopped telling the tale. Instead, he asked something that Z couldn't hear; their head was steadily filling with a painful buzz, shutting everything but pain out.

A flood of haze washed over their brain. When it receded, a memory emerged, scrabbling out of the depths of the dungeons closed off of to Z's consciousness.

- - -

Servants clad in black robes and leather collars rushed down the corridors, hastily conferring with one another fearfully. The ground trembled and shivered beneath their running feet in a cold sweat as the planet did its best to fight off the plague slowly beginning to infect it. Z watched on nervously.

Their wrists were bound in chains, and had been for some time - they were red and raw beneath the tight metal. The Prince's personal servant, Latis, led them away from the bustling corridors and down a winding staircase into the palace's belly. He was an animalistic, but what type was complicated, as although he had wolf ears and a tail, a pair of feathered wings curled out behind him. He had replaced his brother's role in looking after Z and although he was softer and more beautiful rather than handsome, he still held enough of a resemblance to his brother that it made Z's heart sting, but it was his duty to protect Z, and to protect the people.

A Kronosian guard clad in armour rushed past. "Get their Highness into the cell as soon as possible; Teufels have been seen on the horizon and they're coming quickly. It looks as though Vladimir is leading them," the guard turned to say, before continuing up the stairs. Latis nodded and continued to guide Z down, hand firmly clasped on their arm.

"I don't see why I'm being kept down here. I'm strong; I can fight those buggers off!" Z growled.

"I know, my lord, but it would be irresponsible to put you at risk," Latis responded. "We're just following their majesty's orders." Not to mention, if Z was allowed to fight, he dreaded how much blood would be spilled.

"They're treating me like a child. They just want to keep the Gift safe," Z snarled. Their sharp teeth grazed their lip. "I bet you I can use it to beat Teuflisch's sorry hide."

"Of course, my lord," Latis said dutifully.

Then the screams reached Z's ears, followed by a roar that shook the sky. It was a cry that came from the nightmares of the bravest of warriors, perhaps even the nightmares' fears.

Latis forced Z on quicker.

- - -

"Are you alright?" Morrison asked, putting a hand on Z's arm.

The prince shook him off and batted a hand at him, the chains on their wrists tinkling. "I'm fine! My head just hurts a bit," they lied. "This Teuflisch... He killed them all, didn't he?"

"We... We believe so," Morrison confirmed, sitting back down.

"Why don't you sit on a chair? Wouldn't it be more comfortable?" Z asked.

"Just another thing that could be used as a weapon. And I rather like it on the floor. The padding makes it comfy," Morrison assured.

Z raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it any further.

"To continue answering your previous question, you are in chains because you have hurt many people in the three centuries you've been alive. We would like to try and prevent any further casualties from occurring. Though, once we feel that we can trust you, you'll be given more freedom," Morrison continued. "For now, we're going to focus on letting you rest an assessing your condition, as well as hopefully rekindling your memory."

The rat stood up with a kind smile. "I'm going to leave you for a little while, give you some time to yourself. I won't be gone long, but if you need anything, just give a shout and I'll be notified."

Confused, Z began to ask, "But there's no door-"

Before they could finish, Morrison disappeared, as though he hadn't been there at all.