As I looked across the tunnel, I was filled with confusion. The sight in front of me was just too hard to comprehend. I wanted it to make sense. I wanted it to be an illusion or something, but my senses told me that dream wasn’t going to be coming true. Everything I saw in front of me was unfortunately completely real. I sank to my knees as I gazed in to Maxim’s eyes.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Avien? Are you surprised?” He smirked.

I tried my best to say anything, but I couldn’t. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I couldn’t think of what to say. What could I say?

“That’s certainly to be expected. After all, we certainly made it seem like some random person had kidnapped your friends and honestly, this reaction is worth it. You look so confused. I can only imagine the confusion running through your mind right now.”

He was right. He couldn’t imagine it because even I couldn’t imagine it. How was I supposed to react to this? Standing in front of me were two groups, the members of my group, Julian, Viktor, and Lilith, and behind them was the group from Camp II. Each of them had a seal on their palm that was holding one of my friends inside of a strange looking sphere of water. The sphere around them seemed to be not only a lot lighter in color, but also thinner in the way the light refracted around it. Their eyes were all closed, so I could only assume they were unconscious.

However, even knowing that much didn’t help me to feel any better. All this time, I had been thinking that the six of them were all captured together. Never once had it crossed my mind that the group from Camp II had been the ones to capture them. Why would it? They had all been so nice to us and helped us deal with the reaper and everything. Why had they suddenly decided to turn on us? I wanted to ask them, but I couldn’t make the words come out.

Maxim smirked, apparently my message conveyed exactly what I was thinking because he answered my question. “I can only assume you’re wondering why we would do this. After all, we’re all such great friends. We fought a current reaper together. We’re so close, right? No! How idiotic are you people to honestly think that we’d all just forget what you are?!” He pointed his finger accusatively at me as he said that.

Finally able to collect myself enough to speak, I asked, “What do you mean? I’m just-”

“That’s just it! You don’t even seem to understand just how dangerous you are to this world!”

He was wrong about that. I knew exactly how dangerous I was to this world. My very existence constantly put this entire world at threat and despite how much I had tried not to think about it as much and believe that what I was doing would make up for all the trouble I might cause, that feeling continued to persist. I was the forbidden child and nothing would ever be able to change that. The most I could do was try and solve enough people’s problems that they all forgot just how much destruction and unrest I could potentially cause.

“Oh? Maybe you do realize just how dangerous you are, but that certainly does beg a very important question.”

I gave him an inquisitive look, “And what’s that...?”

“Why are you still alive?! If you truly understand just how dangerous you are to this world and all the issues you can cause if you continue to live, why are you still alive! Why haven’t you just killed yourself already?! Rid the world of your filth and all the pain you’ll bring!”

“Because I have friends that care about me...” I murmured.

“Oh really? Do you honestly think any of these idiots actually care about a piece of garbage like you? You seriously think that if they were given a chance to drop your sorry ass off and get paid some serious coin by one of the death trinity they wouldn’t? Sengario almighty, kid, you’re not just an idiot, you’re damn delusional!”

I collapsed to the ground, head slamming in to the tunnel floor. I began to cry as a bit of blood trickled in front of my eyes. He was right. Everything he said was right. I was a danger to everyone and he knew it just as much as I did. Even if I didn’t want to accept it, I knew it was true and I needed to stop living in a fantasy. It would be better for everyone if I just killed myself. My mission was done all just so that I could make everyone like me. How pathetic was that?

“Good. Now bury your head in the sand and just die. We’ll all be better off if you do.”

The tears continued to stream down my face in small bubbles of air. They collected beneath me in a small puddle reminding me just how alone I was right now. The only thing he hadn’t said about me was the undeniable fact that I was weak. I hadn’t been able to resist the magic of these apprentices and now my friends were in danger. I couldn’t blame anything other than my weakness right now. I was pathetic.

“Well, you’re definitely pathetic if you let these assholes push you around like this,” came a voice from inside my head.

“You aren’t really helping much either,” I retorted, but even that was pathetic. I was hollow right now and I couldn’t think of anything that would fix that.

“Well yeah. Why would I help you? I don’t care about your stupid friends.”

I sighed. He was right. He had no obligation to help me right now. Not that he ever did or would help even if he did. I was going to have to get out of this situation on my own. But should I? Why shouldn’t I just die? What reason did I have to stay alive?

“You... matter...” I heard a muffled voice say.

I shot up, scanning the room before my eyes rested on Viktor. He was smiling. It looked painful and he was clearly straining to do even that much. The other three all looked at each other and then at Viktor.

“No he doesn’t. He’s just a piece of trash that should die,” Maxim said, his face turning red.

“No... you’re... wrong... We... care...” Viktor managed to choke out. He staggered to give a shaky thumbs up before I saw Maxim raise his fist.

“Shut up!” Maxim smashed Viktor across the nose, sending blood flying in to the water around him.

“Viktor!” I screamed, tears welling up in my eyes once again.

What was he even saying? Why would they care about me? I was just some idiot who was probably going to end up getting them all killed somehow. I didn’t deserve their care!

“That’s not how friendships work, honey...” The words rang in my head like a bell. I remembered a day I came home from school once. I had pushed a boy who was picking on other kids and had gotten myself and my classmates in trouble.

“They didn’t do anything wrong, mommy. Why did they get in trouble too? They should just stop being my friends. I’m only gonna get them in trouble.”

“That’s not how friendships work, honey. The people that stay with you through the hard times are the ones that really care. They’re the people you should be friends with.”

How had I forgotten such a simple lesson? How had I forgotten everything we’d been through and everything they’d said to me. Everything I’d learned from Guilt. How had I forgotten that? Everything wasn’t my fault and I wasn’t a burden to my friends. They really did care about me. Viktor took that hit just so that I knew that.

“Viktor...”

“I’m sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you down there,” Maxim scoffed.

“How dare you lay a hand on my friend!” I shouted, glaring right at Maxim.

He seemed taken back by my sudden outburst. “He’s your friend, now is he? I thought you were going to make this easy and roll over and die, but it seems we’re going to have to do this the hard way. There’s certainly more than one way for me to break your spirit.”

He cracked his knuckles and leapt over the bubble prison he had been maintaining. My vision slowed for just a moment as he blitzed me. His fist connected with my chest and I was sent flying backwards in to the collapsed rock behind me. Blood splattered out of my mouth as he punched me again, throwing me to the left against the tunnel wall. He raised his foot and slammed it down on top of my head, sending me plummeting in to the sand below.

Everything hurt. I was bleeding from more places than I could count and the stitches wouldn’t work with all these blunt force attacks. I wanted to draw my sword and fight but no matter how much I didn’t want to die, if I fought against any of them here, I would certainly die.

“Do you understand now that your only option here is to die? The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be. So how about you just give up,” Maxim said, returning to his position behind the bubble prison.

“You said that you wouldn’t harm any of them if I cooperated...” I said, coughing up a bit of blood.

“Yes, I did, but you have been anything but cooperative. I am a man of my word and if you die, I will be happy to let your friends go. I don’t know how happy they’ll be after this, but we’ll be long gone by then so it doesn’t really matter.”

“But I don’t want to die or doom my friends to that fate...”

Maxim laughed. “Well, I’m sorry, but that’s not how this works. Either you die and rid this world of your filth or they die and you suffer just like this world will. It seems like a clear-cut choice to me, but I’m also not the one who has to make the decision.”

“I didn’t ask to be born. If you want to punish anyone, you should punish my father. I’d certainly help you with that one...”

“That’s not how this works. You honestly think we’re stupid enough to go after a master? Out of water, Strataros would kill us all without a second thought. But since he can’t pay for his crimes, you can.”

“So you’re just going to kill me for being born? I had no choice in that matter the same as you. None of us has a choice in whether we get born or not. What we do have a choice in is what we do after we are born. You’re doing a pretty dreadful job at that currently. You’re not even giving me a chance to try and outlive the awful life I’ve been born in to. You want to be judge, jury, and executioner of my life because you think you’re-” I was cut off by another fist colliding with my abdomen.

“How dare you try and lecture me about what’s right and wrong...” Maxim growled.

“You... didn’t let me finish...” I coughed.

“And I should have done that why?”

I smirked. “Because we were about to get to the part where I choose death.”

He turned back to me, eyes wide. “You think that’s funny?”

“I’m completely serious. If you promise not to harm my friends. I will give my life to you to do whatever you want with it.”

He chuckled. “You say that as if you don’t know that what I’m going to do with it is end it.”

I smiled. “Do we have a deal?”

“Under one more condition. Give me that sword of yours. I don’t want you trying anything funny.”

I undid the strap of the sheath and tossed him the sword. After all, it wasn’t like I was going to be needing that. That wasn’t the plan. He unsheathed the sword and, in one quick motion, snapped the blade, sending tiny shards of green crystal flying in every direction.

“Now then, Avien. It’s time to die.”

A blue seal erupted underneath me, presumably to create another water prison, but I couldn’t pay it any attention. I closed my eyes, gasping for air as my vision dissolving in to darkness.