3 Thousand Years Good Night

chapter 75: Hubris

Life is a story; may it be tragic or joyous, long or short. It is an inevitable concept, a repeated cycle of indulgences and torments. Woe is the man who could not live his story to the fullest.

For over thirty centuries, i was built to endure life, robbed of the chance to live it.

Once again, that chance is taken away from me as my life must be jeopardized once more. Must my story be incessantly in the way for the prevalence of the greater good?

Evidently, my role in my story, in my life, has been stripped away from me. Death now seems to be the protagonist of my tale. Agony, one of death's many servants, aims to lead me to her master's path, and obediently, i bend to their will. Only one hindrance remain, the antagonist of the tale; my wretched immortality. But, death is adamant, death is obstinate, death is patient, death will prevail, death towers above all, and we all must succumb to nature's graceful assassin.

Death has waited for me for roughly three thousand years. The time has come for my story to end, to make other stories come into fruition.

My father always said "Something's must end so that others can begin." Such a cruel fate it is to only grasp his wise words at the most unfavorable fragments of my life. Woe is me.
-------------------------------

2 days later..

Theon's tedious sapphire blue eyes stared silently at the ancient medallion before him.
With his enhanced sense of sound, he could hear Adrian's barks of orders. With his distant mind, he could ignore all of these noise to focus on the one thing that truly mattered; his death.

Arlene's valiant, powerful screams could also be heard as she launched her first destructive spell successfully at a dummy, much to Mel's satisfaction. If Theon's sorrow could be ignored in at least a moment, he could have noticed that the dummy was split in two due to his friend's power.

All he could think of was to see Angeal again or his mother or any one of his family.

Indeed, he would have realized that he had a petite little spy watching him from the shadows if his mind was clear. Miku remained hidden above the dome as she floats silently across Theon's figure. She wanted to approach him: tell him everything would be all right, but, it would have been a lie.

Elsewhere, Adrian flicks his wand at another dummy, shattering it into pieces. His bravado was evident in his face as he smiles his cocky grin.

He had received news that his father figure- Angeal, could be revived. He was the only one in the entire coven to jump with joy, even with his mask of superiority, he could not conceal the smile he had when he heard it from the immortal prince, who seemingly confided with him due to their shared bond with Angeal, not because they're comrades now.

Everyone in the vicinity was preoccupied with their own magic, preparing for the fight of their lives. If it could be help, they prefer to avoid unnecessary casualties; including Theon. Marcus' risky strategy, if gone wrong, would grant Vienna unsailable supernatural powers which they want to avoid at all cost. Therefore, keeping the immortal prince away from her clutches would be top priority and the the risky strategy that Marcus offered would simply be a second option, if all else fails.

"Well, well.." said a cocky voice over Theon's shoulder.

Theon's eyes remained on the medallion, his aura was that of an unwavering desire to end everything. "Marcus, why are you here?"

"If i recall, Adrian offered this place to be my sanctuary as a reward for divulging Vienna's secrets." Marcus sat next to Theon.

Normally, there were no chairs in the dome save for the lone throne meant for the supreme witch. But, due to several circumstances, a place of rest is needed. The dome is no longer a meeting place for witches, it is now a sanctuary and a battle ground.

"What my sentence wished to convey is the fact that i do not desire your presence in close proximity to mine." Said Theon, clenching his jaw. "Please leave."

"Wow, you are worse than a broken record, on and on about his personal dilemma. Please stop acting like an asshole? Will yah?" Marcus' tone shifted from playful to "rocky". He gave another half grin at the prince as he winked charmingly.

"Excuse me?" Said the prince, fury was growing inside him. "Broken.. record... you called me. If you continue to speak, you will be the one that will be broken."

Marcus laughed his heart out much to Theon's annoyance. The prince finally faced the vampire, staring at his hubris mouth. "You don't know what's a record do you?"

"I do not."

"i knew it." Marcus shook his head playfully.

"Perhaps, you were one of the most influential person in the country, but, you have to face it, that was like a billion years ago. Your royalty was revoked many years before you have awakened from your suspended animation, your majesty."

Theon could do nothing but glare into the vampire's eyes. Everything he said rings the truth, every word pierces his immortal heart.

"Do i sense anger?" Marcus smiled cockily as he noticed the immortal's hard countenance. "Perhaps the cause of your ire stems from the fact that your existence was tainted with death from the beginning as poor Elizabeth succumbs to her curse which was cute little you- her baby."

For a while, Theon's anger towards Vienna was replaced with his great annoyance towards Marcus. What was he doing?

"Awww, did i hit a soft spot?" Marcus smiles as he patted Theon's shoulder.

With a quick motion, faster than what a human eye could follow. Theon grabbed the vampire's hand and twisted it in a profound angle. Vampiric bones were heard as they cracked under the pressure.

Marcus' lips parted ways as the pain surged through his brain but, eventually, as if he mastered the art of endurance, he gave a wider smug at his captor.

"Predictable response."

With another quick blur, Marcus freed himself from Theon's mighty grip.

The vampire rearranged his bone structure manually, causing more bone cracks. Afterwards, he looked at Theon again, bravado radiating from the vampire's eyes. Theon's expression was very very very scary. But it did not falter Marcus' hubris.

"That's more like it. Hold on to that fury, Adrian wants us to spar." Marcus raised his brows excitedly. "Thank god, i would be facing an immortal full of wrath instead of a being full of self loathing. Well, well, it wouldn't be fun without a little spice, eh?"