Dante's first instinct was to remain frozen in fear. As he saw the priest charging toward him, he imagined it was similar to what hunters felt when a wild animal turned on them.
He was only able to snap from his daze when he remembered that Valorth was upstairs waiting for him. Waiting for him to complete his task. Being the smaller and faster of the two, he dove to the side just in time for the priestâs claws to miss him. They struck with a force he believed strong enough to tear through him like a sword.
As the priest cleaved through empty air, he wasted no time pivoting his body and charging again. Dante scrambled to his feet and tried to move away, just barely dodging the strike again. The claws caught his clothing, tearing his brown suit jacket from his body.
"Want to keep playing cat and mouse?" the priest growled like a demon. "Don't you know that the cat always wins?"
Suddenly, a sound came from the priestâs throat as his cheeks budlged grotesquely, filling up with some sort of liquid. Then, the acidic substance erupted from his mouth like snake venom. A green liquid splashed through the air, covering an area too wide for Dante to dodge. All he could do was cover his eyes in hopes of defending them.
The sound of sizzling came as the attack burned through his clothes, and a few drops landed on his skin, forcing his tongue to scream. He removed his hands from his eyes only for a second, to get a look at what was happening amidst the chaos.
That was when he found that the priest had already closed the distance, slashing his claws towards him. The clawâs arc seemed to last forever like a glowing crescent arc hovering before him. Then fire lanced across his face. For a heartbeat, the world stopped moving.
Moment later, there was darkness where his left eye had been. There was no need for him to look into a mirror to realize what had happened. His eye had been taken claimed.
Suddenly, he felt a tight grip take hold around his neck, lifting him from his feet and slamming him down into the stone without letting go. The air was knocked from his body, and when mixed with the sensation of being strangled and blinded in one eye, Dante felt certain that he was going to die.
"You're with him, aren't you? The boy that took my second life!" the priest snarled. Dante struggled to process the words, as his mind was too focused on the pain.
His body physically refused to struggle. After all, the man was at least double his weight.
For a moment, Dante considered giving up.
I've already lived longer than I should have.
If my mother had reported my corruption to any man other than Valorth, then I'm sure I'd be dead.
This is the way things were supposed to be.
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This is my punishment for being born.
The light faded from his eye. The priest growled again, tightening his grip around the young boyâs neck.
"No one can stop this, don't you understand? This is by his will!"
The priest used his other hand to increase the pressure even further.
"Your friend... the woman next door..." He placed his hand on Dante's chest and felt his corrupted heartbeat. "Even you. You're all a part of this!"
The last sentence was what drew Dante from death. It didn't sound right, no matter what state he was in. It hinted that there was something more going on than what met the surface. And if that was the case, then it wasn't only him that would be endangered, but also his new friends, and perhaps many more.
It was this revelation that granted Dante the power to continue fighting. It granted him the power call upon the strength of his heart; the power of the Dreamer.
He closed his singular good eye against the pain and entered what seemed to be a temporary state of sleep. All thoughts faded from his mind, and in that moment, the visions of his latest dream flashed through the darkness.
The scene of his mother and father beating him in the corner of their room after finding out that he had become corrupted. A scene that was as true as he remembered it.
What followed next was not reality. When the strange creature had come from the void and devoured his father whole. Dante recalled the way he smiled when the creature stood up for him and wished that maybe, such an event could have taken place in the real world.
The beast reminded him of Valorth. An unexpected saviour.
He reached for that moment; for the dark, snarling presence that had brought him comfort through violence. It was like drawing water from one bucket and pouring it into another. When he opened his eyes again, the room was much darker than before. Not only that, but a chill seemed to blow in from the halls, carrying with it the sense of danger.
The priest must have noticed it too, as he swiftly let go of Dante's neck and leapt to his feet, turning toward the door. Dante was too winded to rise and fight, but he had just enough energy to lift his head and watch the scene play out before him.
Like a ghost, a figure came gliding around the door and into the room with speed. Just like in the dream, its body was cylindrical, made from some sort of shadowy essence. Its tubular arms were stretched out in front of it, and its chalky dotted eyes and circular mouth were wide as it honed in on its prey.
The priest almost struggled to move. The figure before him was towering, and unlike any demonic spirit he had come into contact with so far. Dante heard his jaw chatter and watched his legs wobble. He knew that the priestâs instincts were telling him to flee, but there was no path of escape. Not in front of the predator.
The Dream Beast arrived at its target. Its arms wrapped around the priest, dragging him toward a gaping mouth that yawned wider and wider, until the priestâs panicked scream was cut short. With a convulsive tremble, the beast swallowed him down whole, the wet sound of consumption echoing in the stone chamber.
The shadowy beast hovered there in the darkness, its eyes scanning around the room as though looking for more food. Noticing the demon heart at the center of the room, it wasted no time devouring that too. Perhaps it saw the heart as some sort of threat.
Then, it looked over at Dante, taking in the boyâs bloody state. There was malice in the beastâs eyes, not directed toward him, but rather toward those who would oppose him. Dante looked up at the beast that cast a shadow across the room. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words were only a croak. "What are you?" he managed.
But he received no answer from the beast. Its body dissipated, swiftly merging with the darkness around him. Left in the silence, Dante closed his eye again, which sent pain soaring through his body. But at that moment, he didn't care.
A smile spread across his face, and he whispered through cracked lips:
"I did it, Valorth... I killed the priest again."