Separated by only the ceiling, Heath's eyes seemed to pierce the barrier between the two,
staring directly at Zayne.
The moment their eyes met, the hairs on Zayne's neck stood on end.
He felt a chill run through his entire body, a feeling unlike any other.
His instincts screamed at him, telling him to flee.
But Zayne couldn't.
He stayed where he was, staring back at the red eyes that seemed to have captured his soul.
This moment lasted for only a second before Heath looked away and resumed his manic laughter.
He placed his hands on his dead daughter's cheek.
"We will be with him soon my dear, soon... just as you always wished"
The words fell like poison, causing the guards to shudder.
But Zayne did not hear any of it.
All he could hear was the beating of his heart, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, and the voice in his head.
His mission, the target.
Zayne gripped his gun.
His eyes cold.
How was he going to do it?
Heath was still sitting on the bed, facing the window, his back turned to Zayne.
But he was surrounded by the guards.
Zayne knew they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him if they saw him.
But if he didn't act fast, his chance would be gone.
He had to make a decision.
"All of you, outside, now"
Just as zayne was racking his brains on how to infiltrate the scene, Heath suddenly ordered.
"Huh?" One of the guards instinctively turned back to look to Heath, but when his eyes landed on him, he felt a chill down his spine.
"Do not make me repeat myself" Heath spoke, his voice low and threatening.
"Y-yes sir" The guard hurriedly said and quickly left the room.
The others followed behind, leaving Heath and a very confused but curious Zayne.
He had no idea why Heath would suddenly send his guards away.
Was it to do something sick with the body of his daughter?
It seemed overboard but Zayne was beginning to consider any sort of possibility at this point.
After the men left, the room became deathly silent.
Zayne could feel his heart pounding.
The tension was unbearable.
Then, finally, Heath moved.
He got off the bed and slowly walked towards the window, his hands behind his back.
He stopped in front of the window and stood there, his back turned to Zayne.
He didn't move.
Not an inch.
The silence was deafening.
The tension was palpable.
It was a surreal moment.
And it was only broken when Heath's lips moved.
"Whoever you are, come out"
His voice was cold, emotionless.
A tone one would use to address a stranger.
But somehow, Zayne sensed an undertone of anger, an undertone of hatred.
The tone sent a chill down his spine.
But he steeled himself and remained where he was.
"By his grace you have taken my daughter, and I am helpless" as Heath said that he turned around and raised both his arms
"I am as defenseless as a newborn babe and I will not stop you from taking my life"
"Just give me the honor of seeing my killer"
The words rang through the room, echoing off the walls, their meaning clear and resolute.
The tone was no longer angry, but rather calm, resigned, yet tinged with a hint of sadness.
Zayne could not fathom what he was hearing.
What was this man saying?
That he would let him kill him without a fight?
And the way he had spoken, the tone of his voice, it was like a dying man, asking his executioner for a favor.
This was not something Zayne had expected.
But despite that, Zayne did not hesitate.
He quickly jumped out of the vent, his gun drawn and pointed at Heath's head.
"Don't move"
Heath did not turn around, instead, he continued staring at Zayne, his eyes unblinking, his expression calm.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I am your judgement"
Zayne replied, his finger hovering over the trigger.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, his hand began to tremble.
Something was wrong.
The feeling was indescribable.
A sense of dread.
A feeling of uneasiness.
Something was wrong.
Heath smiled.
"I have been tried on the scales of my Lord and found wanting
"My wife is dead because of my sin
And now, the last one is dead"
"My soul is damned, and i can only hope to repent"
The words came out in a flood.
As if they had been bottled up inside him for a long time, and now they had burst forth, unstoppable.
"My sins have caught up to me, and i cannot escape the judgement that awaits"
"But, before you take me too, let me show you my gratitude, the only thing I have" Heath said as he began undressing.
Zayne was stunned by his actions, but his instincts warned him to get out of there as soon as possible.
"I have committed countless sins and atoned for them by sacrificing my own flesh"
"And now, it is time to pay the final price"
Zayne wanted to pull the trigger but no matter how he tried, he couldn't.
A strange feeling held him in place, a feeling of fear.
And yet, Heath was unafraid.
"Thank you for bringing this to an end"
"I can finally die in peace"
"W-what is this..." Zayne struggled to pull the trigger as he spoke.
But his voice was soon drowned out by a sudden roar.
The sound of a thousand voices screaming, crying, wailing.
And it came from Heath.
Zayne watched, horrified, as the man's skin began to peel off.
His flesh melted away, revealing a mass of tentacles and eyes beneath.
The monster screamed in agony, its tentacles flailing wildly.
Then, the screams ceased, and the monster spoke, its voice deep and booming.
"I see, so this is the form of the Lord, how beautiful"
"Forgive me, Lord, i failed to comprehend your true glory all this while"
Zayne stood frozen, his mind unable to process what was happening.
The creature before him was a mass of flesh, tentacles, and eyes.
But, somehow, it was Heath Gerald.
He could see the same face that had greeted him when he entered the room.
And yet, the creature was not the same.
It was a twisted, corrupted version of the man.
It was an abomination.
A perversion of nature.
A thousand voices wailed in Zayne's head.
The sound of babies crying, people shouting, animals screeching.
All combined into a cacophony of noise.
And the creature, the abomination, stood there, smiling.
The tentacles waved and the eyes blinked.
The creature was alive, and it was filled with a strange energy.
An energy that made Zayne's hair stand on end.
"Come....come! He who my Lord has sent! Come and take my life" The creature spoke, its voice booming.
"I beg of thee, take my life, and free me from this accursed existence"
"Do it, do it, do it!"
The creature wailed, its tentacles flailing.
And Zayne, he couldn't move.
His body was paralyzed.
"DO IT!"
The creature screamed.
And then, the world went dark.
The lights went out, and Zayne was plunged into darkness.
The two seemed to be isolated from the outside world
And in that moment, the creature, the abomination, was all that existed.
Its presence was palpable, its aura overwhelming.
"DO IT"
It screamed, its tentacles thrashing.
The words became a command.
A command Zayne couldn't refuse.
Struggling against the stinging pain in his head, he slowly raised his hand and aimed his gun.
The veins on his body bulged and seemed to transform into worms, writhing about.
Zayne was losing control.
He could feel the power within him building up, ready to explode.
He gritted his teeth and forced his arm to move.
"Yes, yes, yes, this is it, this is the judgement!"
The creature roared.
"Take me!"
And Zayne pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
One after the other, the bullets hit their mark.
But the creature, it was not done.
Even as the bullets tore through its flesh, it screamed, its tentacles lashing out.
And then, the room exploded.
Zayne's body was blasted backwards, and he slammed into the wall, the force knocking him unconscious instantly.