Silence fell after the headless corpse of the corrupted devil hit the ground. Its blood seeped into the cracked stones, forming sluggish rivulets that shimmered beneath the dying torchlight. The only sound now was the ubtle chirps of insects if they existed here anyways and the shallow, pained groans of the wounded nearby.
Then a trembling voice cut through the stillness, brittle and unsure.
"Thank you, sir…"
Hope turned his head.
It came from the young male not older than twenty who was crouched over a trio of wounded figures, trying to stanch the blood flowing from deep gashes. His hands were slick with crimson, his eyes darting between his fallen comrades and the imposing figure of Hope. His breath came in short, uneven gasps, half from exhaustion, half from awe.
Hope didn't respond.
He merely sighed and reached for his face. The dark ceramic of the Sanity Mask faded as he dismissed it. His bare eyes blinked into the open, the glow of his soul dim and unstable. For a moment, the edges of reality seemed to shift around him like ripples on a glass surface.
Then.....
A voice clawed into his mind.
"Weakling."
"You should have let that thing devour them."
"What are you even doing here? Pretending to be strong? Pretending to be something you're not?"
"You're still that boy hiding in the ruins, hoping someone else takes the hit for him."
Hope staggered slightly, eyes narrowing. His hands twitched.
The Flaw had spoken again.
The corrupted piece of his soul....
"You think killing one corrupted devil makes you someone? You're nothing. You've always been nothing."
"Even now, you're trying to play the hero. Who are you fooling, Hopeless?"
Hope clenched his jaw, shaking his head violently.
"Shut up…" he whispered to no one.
The voice faded for a heartbeatbut only a heartbeat.
The boy tending to the injured had taken notice, unaware of the storm boiling in Hope's skull. He stepped closer, his eyes wide with something between admiration and recognition.
"It's you…" he said.
Hope blinked.
The boy gave a nervous laugh.
"The mad Awakened who chose to live outside the Citadel.
A twitch pulsed under Hope's left eye. I literally just saved you and you came up with this? Hope thought as he sighed
Something fluttered down.
Parrot landed on he's shoulder it's eyes darting Left and right
Hope exhaled, forcing stillness into his voice.
"Treat the wounded," he said.
But the boy hesitated. His expression twisted, a war between fear and desperation.
"No please! I can't do it alone! I I can't be the only one left here! Help me!"
The injured moaned weakly behind him, their blood soaking into the dirt, pooling like petals of crimson around them. It was a pitiful sight one that should've stirred empathy.
But the voice inside Hope had grown louder.
"Kill them."
"They're a burden."
"They've mocked you behind your back. Don't you remember?"
> "They'd let you die if the roles were reversed."
Hope shook his head again.
"No…"
But the Flaw didn't relent.
>"You're better than them, Hopeless. You've always been better. Show them why they feared you."
"Finish what the devil started. Spill their blood. Cleanse the filth."
Hope's grip on his mind slipped.
His hand moved not by will, but by compulsion.
The Odachi appeared in his palm, summoned by a broken thought, its curved blade humming with suppressed hunger.
His body began to move forward.
Like a puppet with severed strings being guided by invisible hands.
The boy seeing Hope approach smiled faintly.
"Thank you for helpi—"
SLASH.
The Odachi cut through the first wounded man in a single stroke. His head fell with a dull thud, eyes wide open, lips still parting to groan.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
The boy gasped, stumbling back.
Hope stepped to the second man.
His eyes were hollow now, void of thought, his expression slack, he's gaze empty. The Flaw had taken over completely. He raised the blade—
SLASH.
Another headless corpse joined the earth.
The boy screamed, scrambling back on his knees, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What are you doing?!"
Hope didn't answer. He walked to the third wounded man, who was barely conscious. The awakened eyes fluttered open just as the sword fell.
SLASH.
A gurgle. Then silence.
Blood painted the floor in streams and puddles. It soaked into Hope's boots, stained his hands, and left streaks on the mask now returned to his face.
Then he turned toward the boy.
His hands trembled.
Not with hesitation but with instability.
He raised the blade again. The boy was crying now, holding up his blood-stained palms in futile defense.
"Please… please don't—"
Then.....
"Hopeless."
A faint voice.
Hope didn't move.
"Hopelessh! What are you doing?"
It was Parrot. Its voice wasn't commanding. It wasn't angry. It was soft, almost mournful.
"hopelessh."
Hope paused.
In his mind, the darkness churing
A rope. Suspended in the void. Faint. Fragile. But real.
Without hesitation, Hope reached for it. Climbed. One hand after the other. Away from the abyss. Away from the screaming voice of his Flaw.
Back to himself.
His eyes shot open.
He gasped.
He was still mid-swing the Odachi arched high, ready to cleave the boy in half.
But he stopped it.
His body jerked violently as he regained control, the blade humming with restrained violence.
He looked down.
The young man lay on the ground, pale as snow, frozen in terror, eyes wide and brimming with tears.
Hope stared at him for a long second.
Then....
"Damnation."
The curse fell from his lips like ash.
He forced the Odachi to vanish, its bloodstained edge melting into shadow.
And then, with trembling hands, Hope summoned the Sanity Mask, slamming it onto his face as the voice in his head screamed, howled, and slowly, finally…
Faded.