Epiphany: Reminiscence

XXII. Beloved witch of darkness

It happened so fast... Nobody but her expected something like this to happen.

In just a few seconds after they've sensed her—her intoxicating energy—they turned into simple statues, frozen in time at the whims of the witch from the past.

Only Ethan was favoured by the endless god of time...

However, he would have given anything to not be there in that moment, to not assist at her resurrection. He knew that presence. He recognised that eerie laugh that filled the room, echoing in his ears like the sounds of a piano played by a ghost in the middle of the night. And while the lights faded away during her manifestation, these whispers filled the air. Even Ethan felt a chill travel his spine when the darkness slowly embraced him from behind, because he knew that woman was the darkness itself and in that darkness... The secrets of the past known only by them were lurking...

And yet, when the candles suddenly lit, all he could see was Lucia, seated right in front of him, smiling towards him.

But he knew better than that. The one whose multiple shadows danced in the moonlight was Lucia, yet the shadows belonged to another.

"Seraphine..." Ethan murmured, biting his lip, his hands trembling slightly.

In just a few seconds, the modest smile of the girl was exchanged for a grin alike a cat's and innocent blue gave way to deep hatred, yet of the same colour.

"Indeed, darling! The one and the only!" She laughed, jumping on her feet, parading in the dark blue dress of Lucia. "Had you missed me, my love? It's been so lonely without you... Oh, foolish me! It must have been lonely for you as well. Tell me, how many nightmares had you had after all of that?" She asked with a bright smile, leaning over the table to meet his eyes.

She searched for an reaction. She knew that meeting him would mean opening the gift of despair, bringing forth torment over his being, even if that meant betraying her own heart in order to do so. She could even open Pandora's Box now, without any care in the world, if she would only know the pain that she would inflict on him.

"So it was true..."

Ethan's breath was heavy. This revelation made him frown as he tried to hide from her sight. Oh, just how much would he have loved to be wrong now, allowing even his pride to shatter.

"True? What is? Oh! I know what you mean..." Seraphine smiled, approving his thoughts. "Yes, sweetheart. I am back in this world, alive once more. However, I cannot thank you for that." In her voice, malice was deeply hidden, but her fingers still reached out to touch Ethan's lips, a part within herself desiring them.

He, however, backed away, frightened by her touch, which belonged to Death.

"You're so cold, Eythan..." She whispered with a weak smile, a bit more innocently. She turned around, seating herself on the table and watching the night sky through the windows.

"I've never met these two dolls of yours, had I?" She asked, seeing the twins at the window sill, frozen in time after a futile attempt to keep the witch's power from exiting the room. "You've kept away such cute little things. I honestly don't know how they can follow you so blindly."

"We trust each other," Ethan slowly replied, admiring her form in the light of the moon. Even if she kept throwing knives towards his heart, he still let himself be fooled by her manifestation. But he knew... He knew that she hadn't returned. And he also knew that while she was here, Lucia was in some dark place deep inside her conscious, Seraphine eating away her being so she could stay here.

"How nice... To be trusted so much by another..."

"Why are you here, Seraphine? Where is Lucia?" Ethan finally stood up, unable to stand by her plays anymore. She turned her gaze towards him, but that eerie expression from before was now replaced by an emotionless face, wearing signs of being tired.