Death's Feather

Chapter 3: All Is Forgiven

For some reason, his legs wouldn't move.
He stared at the stone floor when hundreds of tiny cracks erupted like an earthquake.
Gravel flew up and a cloud of dust blinded him. He tried to move, to run, but everything was in chaos and the floor felt like a death trap.
Suddenly, a burnt, oily smell invaded it all. The screeching noises were so loud Ignacio covered his ears with his hands. And then, silence.
He let his hands fall slowly and the dust cloud faded. It was then when a thin, greasy claw grabbed him strongly.
He couldn't help it; a high pitch scream came out of his mouth.

The claw held tighter to his arm even though Ignacio tried to yank it away many times. Then another claw grabbed his leg, and then a tiny body clawed it's way up to his head.
They were pulling him down; hundreds of claws and teeth were biting his limbs and scratching his face. And then, he saw them.
With giant ears like bats and tiny bodies like babies, the creatures smiled ferociously at him and threw him down to the floor.
Their milky white eyes shined like marbles while their teeth-similar to needles-were up and down coming closer and closer to his face.

"¿¡WHAT THE HELL!?"

The little devils laughed and started to climb through his legs and chest. They were the color of a swamp and their snub nose, that was sniffing him around, made a sound like a vacuum.

"¿Don't you recognize us?" One of them hissed with a nasal voice. It sounded like his mouth was full of gravel, chewing it. "You made us."

"¿What?" He was still trying to get them off of him but as soon as he sent one flying up the maze, another one took its place.

"You made us." They growled again. "¿Remember?" And then the closest creature, (the one that was on top of Ignacio's chest) let out a piece of dialogue in a familiar voice Ignacio would never forget:

"¡You abandoned her! ¡You left us when we needed you the most! ¿How is that being a good son?"

The white mist on the little devil's face faded into human eyes; into his sister's eyes. Suddenly, it was that familiar look staring back at him. And it was her voice, coming out of the little devil.
Ignacio's eyes were so big he could see the whole picture. More devils were crawling up the cracks on the floor and onto his legs. He felt sick, about to throw up his breakfast and so, so hot; the wild fire was reaching him again.
As soon as the small creature said that, its face changed back to how it was and his voice came again as a growl. But then another creature talked, and this time it was his father speaking, and his black disappointed eyes staring at him:

"I thought we were past this hijo. You told me I could trust you, but you let me down again."

The pain from a devil's claw ripping his shoulder was nothing compared to hearing those words again. Their voices. It was making a hole through his heart and soul.

"We were born from the moment you first caused pain to others. From every sin, we existed. And now we're here to drown you back on the sorrow you created."

Ignacio let out a faint cry when more voices-all from his past and all words from the people he cared about-blurted out and flooded his mind.
He stopped fighting and the little devils finally covered him up, holding him down to the stone floor.
He deserved it. He deserved to be crushed by the weight of all the sorrow and pain he'd caused. He deserved to die right there and loose that tournament. But most of all, he deserved to never see his loved ones again; to never get a second chance.
The wild fire was already there, and Ignacio closed his eyes. The warmth was getting more and more painful and he heard a screaming from the creatures. They were probably burning up just to hold him down.
But then...