Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 4: The Princess and the Key - Chapter 2

The young god stayed silent as the servant helped him back to his room. There was already a chair placed next to his bed and a medical kit sitting on the side table when they arrived. He let the servant lead him to the chair and sullenly watched him prepare the things that would be needed to clean up and patch up his wounds.

The young god held up a hand and avoided the servant when the latter moved to address his wounds. "Thanks, Vincent," he said, holding back a wince as the slight movement sent jolts of pain from his chest. "I'll take it from here. I just want to be alone for now."

The servant nodded. He put the dressing he was holding back to the kit, stepped away from the young god and bowed in a single motion. "Very well, sir. Please call me if you need something."

"I will," the young god said, picking up a towel. "Thank you, Vincent."

The servant made to leave but paused on the doorway and turned to the young god. "I'm very sorry about all this, sir."

"I know. It's not your fault," the young god answered without looking at the servant. The servant bowed again and finally left, closing the door silently behind him.

The young god worked on his nose first. He was having trouble breathing due to how broken it was. Placing the towel in his mouth to avoid biting his tongue, he took a mirror to see where and how his nose was broken and pulled his nose back into place with his hands and magic. He grunted from the pain as fresh blood trickled down from his nose once more. Tilting his head forward, he held another towel against his nose and waited for the bleeding to stop before moving again.

Next, he removed his shirt and examined his chest. All of his ribs were broken and some of them have punctured his organs or have stuck out of his chest. He used his magic on the bone fragments, pulling them out of his organs one by one or pushing them in one by one, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain the whole time. He then arranged the bones as best as he could so they would heal properly without accidentally puncturing any more of his organs.

Finally, he cleaned himself up, put some salve on all of his wounds and wrapped himself up with bandages. Hurt and exhausted, he moved to the bed and fell asleep immediately.

He sat on a throne with her by his side, holding each other's hand. They were being counselled by their advisors on the problems their kingdom faced. He let her take care of everything, mostly just nodding and agreeing with her, and only stepped in to give some hints or suggestions on the very rare occasion that she became stuck on something.

He smiled at her and kissed her hand when their counselors had finally gone. She smiled back and touched his face. Suddenly, she froze and stopped responding. He shook her to ask what's wrong but she crumbled and turned into crystals, many different crystals.

He held the crystals in his hand and felt them crying. They asked him why he had killed them. He tried to explain that he didn't know and didn't have control over himself but the crystals wouldn't listen and dug deeply into him.

He felt a surge of power flow within him as the crystals dug deeper and deeper into him. He felt them wrap around his soul, encasing it and trapping him. He knew they would never forgive him and would stay with him to torment him forever.

He saw one crystal left that didn't go in and knew it was her. He held her close and cried out to her but she didn't respond.

The Key emerged from an ancient abyss and embraced him, asking him to choose it over her. He loathed its old and withered touch but he could do nothing about it. It whispered seductively in his ears, promising him great things. He hated that his heart stirred in excitement at its decrepit voice. It wrapped its decaying form around him, flooding him with more power than he could imagine. He continued despising it even as his mind and body experienced bliss and craved for more. Finally, it plunged into his soul and he fell along with it while clutching her crystal.

He continued falling deeper and deeper, losing a bit of himself every few depths. He continued clutching her crystal though he was starting to forget why. He was almost gone when her crystal shone brightly in his hand. He heard her laugh and giggle, and he laughed along. He heard her cry in pain and anguish, and tears fell from his eyes. He heard her shout in anger and rage, and he felt his blood boil.

Suddenly, he heard her voice say, "You big idiot! Just how long are you going to stay like this? Do I have to keep saving you every time?" He automatically apologized even though he had no idea who she was or why he was doing so. He heard her ask, "Well, what are you going to do now?" He flushed with embarrassment and said that he didn't know. He heard her sigh, "For someone so smart and clever, you're so stupid sometimes. Here, take my hand." He looked around for her and asked where she was. He felt her kiss on his lips and heard her say, "Find me, my king." He couldn't sense her anymore afterwards.

He woke up crying, feeling a deep sense of loss within his soul like he had lost a separate yet integral part of himself. The Key rushed to fill it, reminding him of the overwhelming sense of relief whenever he held the dagger like he had regained a part of himself that was forcefully hidden from him, but he brushed it away in irritation. He looked for the bag of crystals and sought out hers. Somehow, he always knew which one was hers. The Key urged him again to add more beautiful, shiny crystals to the collection. He lost his temper at its deplorable insistence and roared. He trashed the room, breaking everything within, unmindful of his injuries. He only stopped when there was nothing more to break.