♛Shadows Lurk♛ Darkiplier x Reader

« ♡ » Chapter 18 - Anima Verto

Dark opened his eyes to see... What did he see? Blackness? Were his eyes even open? The last thing he remembered was Anti shouting and that... strange voice inside of his head.

Where was he now? He wasn't quite sure. There was some kind of solid ground beneath him, although Dark could not seem to see it.

How did he get here? Where was here?

Once again, although he tried, Dark could not recall much that had happened before he'd ended up in this strange place.

So it all comes down to this?

Asked the voice, although now it sounded to Dark as if it were all around him. Then, seemingly out of the blackness, stepped a figure.

"I imagined that this would go down differently," he said.

Dark finally realised what was going on. This was Anima Verto.

"How so, Mark?" Dark asked rather nonchalantly.

"I imagined that I'd never have to see you again." Mark responded wryly.

"So you've been the mysterious voice in my thoughts?"

"I guess you could say that," Mark looked around uneasily.

"What prompted this?" Dark asked, but Mark just looked at him blankly. "What prompted your 'break-out'? How long have you been sharing my body for?"

"Your body?" Mark scowled. "If I remember correctly it was mine before you stole it."

"Just answer the question." Dark rolled his eyes. Mark was always like this.

"Nothing 'prompted' my breakout. And I've been sitting idle for a while now before I realised I could communicate with you." Mark said. "But the first thing I remember being aware of was that garden with the roses."

Dark felt himself shiver involuntarily but ignored the thought that had sparked it. "You've been lurking, then? Why breakout now?" he asked.

"Because you're at your weakest," Mark said.

"How dare you incite such a thing," Dark growled.

"I think you seem to forget that I was living in your thoughts." Mark reminded him.

Dark absolutely despised whenever Mark acted as if he were superior to him. It made his blood boil to no end.

"Which gives you all the more reason to know that no such weakness exists," Dark snapped. "But all of that is beside the point; I'd like to know what you want so we can get this over and done with and I can go back to my life."

"I hate to say it, Dark, but you won't be the one leaving," Mark said.

"I beg your pardon?" Dark tilted his head slightly in what seemed to be offence.

"You heard me, Dark." Mark was standing his ground. "I'm not going back under. You are."

"That is utterly preposterous!" Dark seethed. "Everything was fine until you decided you wanted to come back! Do you really think anybody misses you? There's nobody up there who even knows who you are! It's been hundreds of years since I claimed this body as my own!" he was positively livid that Mark would even suggest such a thing.

"Does it look like I care?" Mark retorted. "I'd rather be a nobody up there than continue to let you rule as an arrogant king."

"Then I suppose you'll have to pry the crown from my cold dead hands." Dark glowered.

"I guess I will." Mark glared back.

"Do you even know how to get out of here?" Dark leered.

"No. Do you?" Mark noticed Dark seemed to get angrier. "But I have a funny feeling that it involves beating you."