Zahn Und Klaue

Epilogue

Epilogue:

"If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers, also."

- Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

Five years had passed since that fateful day. With Jurgen gone, Konrad started to suffer severe bouts of depression and became increasingly withdrawn from everyone, Dieter especially, despite his best efforts to keep the Baron active and from sinking into a total blackhole. His mind seemed to be slipping away from him; there would be times where he would catch himself muttering something aloud without even realizing, sometimes forgetting certain details.

Even worse was the sheer, crushing sense of isolation.

He felt alone in a way he never thought possible.

Konrad tried reaching out to someone, anyone. Part of him wanted to call a hotline, but Konrad was too proud and reluctant to do so. Once, he had attempted calling Mila's house, not knowing why.

Perhaps to apologize? 

Perhaps because he just wanted to hear a voice and craved human contact? 

To explain himself? 

That he had been thinking of her? 

Boredom? 

The truth was that Konrad himself was uncertain as to the actual reason. Perhaps there was no reason behind it all whatsoever.

When someone finally answered, he found himself unsure what to say. Muttering that he called the wrong number, Konrad hung up and sat there in his bedroom, staring blankly at the wall. On most occasions, he remained in bed, only getting up when he either needed to go to the bathroom or wanted to get something to eat or drink, both of which brought little enthusiasm to the aristocrat. It was only through Dieter's constant pushing that he was able to get anything done. Reluctantly pushing himself out from his bed and settling into his wheelchair, he put on his apparel with indifference. Not even bothering to check himself, he rolled himself out from his room, deciding to pay a visit to his increasingly growing menagerie of horrors.

* * *

In the dungeon, Konrad saw RIPTOR feasting on the remains of some animal, he couldn't tell what. Tearing a large chunk of flesh from its prey's ribcage, the beast paid him no mind as it hungrily consumed its meal.

* * *

In the freezer, he saw Glacius give him curious looks, purring and whistling in its native tongue as he passed by.

* * *

Peering into the upgraded containment chamber, he saw Cinder doing pushups as he was being monitored by scientists, his head and face entirely concealed within a metallic featureless mask, while parts of his emaciated and fiery body were armored with wires protruding from the arms. On his back between the shoulder blades, held in place by four screws was a constantly running turbine that helped decrease his temperature and maintain pressure.

Glancing up to the Baron without even pausing, Cinder's fiery eyes narrowed disgustedly in his direction as he gave him the middle finger.

* * *

Drawing open the slots, Konrad peered into the tiny windows and saw his newest additions.

In one heavily reinforced cell was a massive figure, an eight-foot-tall, hunchbacked being with crudely designed and awkwardly proportioned arms, hand and feet. Made from bronze with parts missing, it was held together by various vines, plant life and rocks, its left arm a massive vine-wrapped, sharp-faced boulder. A mishmash of styles, notably Akkadian, Mycenaean, and Archaic, the metal green from age, its head was an Archaic-styled sculpture that had three distinct faces with geometrically-patterned, zig-zagging beards on its chins, two of which had archaic smiles. The third sculpted face in the middle, however, was drawn into an angry wrathful expression with an open mouth.