WORLD OF EYES

chapter 8

.Sal avoided her gaze, his eyes lingering on the shattered glass and stone at his feet. The guilt was written all over him, a stark contrast to the smugness he had worn when they first encountered him. Aurelia stepped forward, her hand on Lilith's shoulder, a silent declaration that she would not let anyone harm her. The love in her eyes was fierce, a shield against the shadows that surrounded them.

"You don't have to do this," Lilith said, her voice gentle but firm. "We can still be a family, even if it's not the one we were born into."

"What bullshit are you spitting out? Family? after all i did?"

Lilith's words hung in the air like a challenge, a lifeline thrown into the abyss of his guilt. But Sal couldn't bear to look at her, not when the evidence of his betrayal was nestled in the palm of his hand. He turned away, the vial of Lilith's eye feeling hot against his bone. The distant fireworks seemed to mock him, their fleeting beauty a cruel reminder of the ugliness he had embraced

The silence stretched out, taut as a bowstring, until Aurelia stepped forward. "Sal," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Look at us. We're not your enemies."

"Yeah, but you're mine and that won't change!"

"Sal," she said, her voice firm but filled with compassion. "You don't have to do this. Whatever you think you're fighting for, it's not worth losing yourself over."

"Oh, and who are you too know what I've been through, sounds like to me, you just want to get your ass beat~"

The words stung, but Lilith knew that anger was a mask for his fear and regret. She took another step forward, her emerald eye never leaving his own. "We've all lost something, Sal," she said. "But that doesn't mean we have to lose ourselves in the process." Sal's eye-sockets searched hers, the fireworks' last sparks reflected in his own. For a moment, she saw a flicker of doubt, a glimpse of a good person. But then he turned, the shadows swallowing him as he disappeared into the wreckage of the Hallo estate. The vial in his hand glinted in the moonlight, a grim reminder of the power he now wielded.

"Sal, wait!" Lilith called, her voice a desperate whisper. But he was gone, lost in the labyrinth of broken stones and twisted metal. She and Aurelia exchanged a look, the weight of his rejection heavy on their hearts.

Sal stumbled through the ruins, the vial of Lilith's eye seemingly burning in his pocket. The path grew darker as he approached his old room, the door hanging off its hinges. He pushed it open, the dust of forgotten memories swirling in the moonlit room. The walls were lined with charred photographs, the flames having ravaged everything but the bones of his past. His mother's smile, His father's twisted way of parenting- Isaac, all stared back at him, accusatory and sad.

He stepped inside, the floorboards creaking beneath his feet like the protest of the long-dead. The lab that had once been his father's sanctuary was now a graveyard of shattered glass and burnt wood. The acrid smell of decay and ash filled his nostrils, a stark contrast to the sterile, metallic scent that had once defined the room. The memories of his childhood played out in his mind like a tragic play, each scene more painful than the last.

On the far wall, the charred remnants of a bookshelf held what remained of his family's history. The spines of books that had once held the secrets of dark magic now curled and blackened, their pages as empty as the sockets of his skull. But amidst the destruction, one frame remained untouched by the fire, a single photograph of him and Lilith, their mother's love captured in their smiles.

The sight of it sent a shiver down his spine. He had forgotten what it felt like to be loved, to be part of something real. The burnt offerings of his father's madness had consumed everything else, leaving only ash and regret. He reached out, his bony hand brushing against the glass, and felt the warmth of the tears that fell from his eye sockets, a strange sensation in his skeletal form. He picked up the frame, the glass shattering at his touch. The picture of his mother and him remained intact, her smile frozen in time, forever untouched by the flames that had ravaged their lives. Sal clutched the photograph to his chest, the brittle edges digging into his ribs. It was all he had left, a reminder of a life that had been stolen from him.