Rainfall

"Finally, a nice bath", Nicolas sighed in relief after putting his back clothes on.

He wanted to change garments so he decided to head back to his place at the clock tower. The brick roads are desolate as almost everyone took refuge from the cold rain, especially on the underdeveloped muddy parts. The disappointed look on everyone's faces as they tried to carry on with their day is evident when the tower already made itself heard, sounding the bells marking 3:00 in the afternoon.

"It's already that late?", he wondered, looking up at the sky hoping to see a single ray of light but it does not seem to be on view due to the clouds. After a bit of a walk, he's finally back to the busy streets of Yggdryas.

"Help—", soft whispers tickled his ears. He scanned the surroundings looking for the owner of the voice but he found no one, at least no one who's close enough to whisper. The other pedestrians exchanged weird looks with him before the voice came again, "Please— help", this time with a scared and sorrowful tone.

Nicolas can't explain why but he felt as if a cold breeze just went pass him, he felt his heart suddenly rising as if it was in a rush; a feeling of danger filled his senses and at the same time worry kept him on guard about this something he does not know. His forehead was beading with sweat as he heard the whispers go louder and clearer until it is the only thing he could hear.

As the air of danger and urgency heightened, he involuntarily, not thinking a thing, rushed towards one of the alley ways at the back of the tower. Dropping the potatoes that the old lady had given him. He is certain that the whispers are coming from the part of the town which the locals would call "remains", far from the busy streets and houses, more desolate than the place he had just visited.

As the feelings grew heavier, his sweat kept dripping, and his heartbeat grew faster than ever before. He already knows where it could be, "The same place where I and Alice hid"

When he's feeling worsened and his feet had done their job, he found himself standing at the front of one of the neglected houses. Its walls were already full of holes and cracks, the wooden parts are already eaten by termites. Long vines dangle from the roof with small yellow flowers blooming from them while moss can be seen from the old, cracked bricks.

The inside was not visible but an agonizing sound is audible, echoing from inside.

"No— Please— HELP". Nicolas heard not a whisper but dreadful screams of a woman begging for help.

Her voice echoed inside his head as if it was bouncing back and forth without any rest. He felt as if his heart would burst from terror as he searched for a way inside. The screams kept getting louder and louder and as he got closer until they started to become unbearable. At the same time, devious hysterical laughter filled the atmosphere.

He was hopeful, wishing to get there in time, but when Nicolas finally located the source, he knew he was too late. The woman was already bathing in her own blood as she lied down naked on the cold floor with nothing to cover her up, her clothes torn to bits and scattered around the room. A man was on top of her holding a knife, savoring his prey but her frail body could not do anything against the deranged man. She kept squabbling and shouting but it was no use. The man just kept stabbing her again and again despite her cries.

Nicolas found himself hiding behind a wall, he saw every unlawful act from a tiny crack. He knows that he should be helping but terror kept him pinned down to the floor. He could not make a sound, not even move a finger, the burden of it was crushing his soul, his chest tightens and he once again found it hard to breath. His eyes and ears were wide, clear, and aware from the violence in front of him.

"What are you doing, help her", a thought popped into his mind.

"I can't", he protested.

"Yes, you can", the voice in his head assured him.

It was a small conference inside his brain as he debated what to do, "No, I can't"

"Would you really want to see someone die in front of you?", the voice in his head uprooted one of his biggest regrets. "Do you really want to see someone die again without you being able to do anything? When will you learn Nicolas"

It's suggestion filled his head, ringing like a broken siren as he came into a realization, "No, not again". His feet was still shaking, breathing heavily as he peeked at the wall. The same time when all the cries had finally stopped.

Horror filled his veins as the woman's legs and arms fell lifeless to the ground, her eyes were staring at him, cold and lifeless. The blood kept flowing down the fresh cut on her neck and opened chest cavity until it made another pool of blood around her. She was out and limp, but the man still did not seem to feel contented. He still kept stabbing her inanimate body again and again as if it was a doll and he's here to play.

He occasionally stops so he can laugh and lick the blood from his knife, when he feels like it, he even licks it directly from the body like it was a fresh savory steak. Jungling her insides as if it's a toy and he's a child who can't help but be amazed to his creation.

Nicolas's stomach wanted to turn, but as the man continued his frenzy, he can't help but produce a smirk. A smirk so wide that it immediately transformed into a grin, a grin so devious as his vision was filled by his very own memory of gore, swimming in the blood of his enemies. His trembling gradually grew calmer, the horror he felt dissipated as anger and thrill dominated his mind.

"What do you want to do", the voice asked him again and that's when he realized something.

"Care if I join the fun?"', he sarcastically asked as he revealed himself. His eyes were filled with the bitter reflection of regret, while his heart and mind were burning with rage. He was furious with the man but he's angrier towards himself for not being a coward, for failing to have the resolved and watching another soul die in front of him.

"Hmmm?", the man groaned, tilting his head while smudging the blood from the side of his mouth, "And who could you be, kid?"

"Let's just say I'm your end"

The man faced him and laughed all the way to the ground, lying down with his hands on his stomach, "Good one kid. What are you going to do? punch me? how scary", he held his shoulders and pretended to tremble.

"Trust me, you'll be more than trembling when we start to dance", Nicolas replied as he too started laughing.

"I see, you're like me, a reject of the word. A twisted little boy donning a cape of blood. This is nice, I have always wanted to meet someone like me", the man pointed his knife, "Let me taste your blood, pretty boy", he roared, charging towards Nicolas who was still enjoying a laugh.

There was a brief silence as both of them anticipated the knife. The man once again burst out in laughter as he assumed victory as their eyes locked. Mouth half open, Nicolas was filled with shock, his eyes shaking in fear. Their truce was short lived as the sound of falling metal finally sounded the empty broken house.

"You know, I hate the way you laugh", Nicolas's face and expression turned serious. His eyes flaming with blue. The same color as the sword he now held.

"What the— AHHH"

The man bellowed in panic as he tumbled backwards. The sight of his right hand lying on the ground made him tremble but it was noncomparable to the pressure that crushes his body and soul. Nicolas waved a one-handed sword, materialized out of thin air as light like dust with the same color swarmed around him.

"What have you done, M— Monster!", he tried to crawl away while trying to hold his amputated hand.

"A monster?", Nicolas grinned, "Do you hear what you're saying? You consider me a monster? then what about you, A SAINT?", he again laughed.

The man just stared at him terror. He does not understand what is happening and he's not even sure if he would want to know. "What? Why are you looking at me like that. Are those real shivers or your still acting. I thought you wanted to drink my blood?", he leaned in closer, eye to eye with their faces just inches from each other.

"GET AWAY FROM ME", he tried to kick Nicolas away in desperation which kept the broken prince amused.

"Now now, no need to be troubled", Nicolas smiled. "Don't worry, I won't kill you just yet", he assured the man patting him on his head. He again raised his sword and with a blink of an eye he brought it down again.

"AHHH", this time he lost one of his legs.

"Well, this is getting boring, don't you agree?", Nicolas scratched his head like a kid before kicking away the man's left leg.

"JUST KILL ME ALREADY"

"Why? Where's the fun if the prey dies early"

"I'm begging you, please, just kill me. With that sword it should be easy", the man pleaded like a beetle squabbling with its torn limbs, his eyes wavering as he anxiously met him in the eyes.

"I'M THE ONE WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE", the sword in his hand slowly glowed before joining the light dust around and dissipating. "This sword of mine would be too good for a pig like you. Besides, it would be unpleasant to touch your filthy soul", he grinned and scanned the whole room, "Now, where did your hand dropped earlier?"

Falling close to the woman's body was the man's hand. It was still holding the knife as he picked it up and dusted it as a joke. Walking back with an even wider grin, he caught the man by his hair.

He tried to resist but he's now too weak to do so, "What are you doing, NO, GET OFF ME", he complained while shoving away one of Nicolas's hands.

"Can't you stay still for fuck's sake?", Nicolas sighed, annoyed before catching the man's other arm. With no hesitation, he broke his last arm breaking with a clean snap. He screeched in pain as he heard and felt his bones break while tearing up.

"Now, who's a good boy", Nicolas patted him again on the head. "For my next trick, dear audience, kindly open your mouth"

"NO"

Anger painted Nicolas's face again, "The thing I hate the most is when people don't follow my orders. OPEN YOUR STUPID MOUTH"

"Fuck your mo—", the man tried yelling but Nicolas finally got what he wanted. He caught the man's tongue.

"Did I already mention that I hate your laugh?", without further ado, he pulled it out. The man tried to fight him, bite him, but when he had enough, he used the knife.

Gargling sound filled the whole room as the man drank his own blood, the absence of a functioning tongue made it hard for him to spit that all he could do is lay on his side to avoid drowning.

"Ah, finally, some cooperation", Nicolas sighed in relief, feeling fulfilled, leaving the man to absorb all the pain as blood continuously poured out of his own mouth. "Now, YOU CAN GO DIE"

He yelled in rage as his eyes began to tremble in anger. He began stabbing the man all according to what it did earlier to his victim. The only difference is that instead of laughing, he is agonizing.

Instead of feeling the pleasure of killing the sinful man, he felt the pain of its countless victims. Every time the knife plunges into the man's body, Nicolas was filled by all the emotions he cannot express. He stabbed him again and again and again, if he could have a larger weapon, he would have surely diced him up into several pieces to quench his rage.

It was a one-sided victory for Nicolas, oblivious that Alice saw everything from afar, starting from when he decided to cut the man's tongue.

"What the hell is happening", she asked herself, "Am I wrong? Is everything he did earlier just for show in order to hide his true colors?", she felt the contradiction between her mind and what she feels. "I don't know what to think anymore", she wanted to yell but restrained herself as she ran away, hearing one final scream before everything went silent.

Nicolas wanted to stop but he feels that the man deserves more punishment for what he had done. He can still see the lifeless body of the woman on the other side of the room, still gazing at him with her cold dead eyes as if it was peeking directly at his soul. Regardless, he kept plunging the knife even after the man's passing. He did not care even if the man would curse him from the afterlife. He just kept going while his chest hurts as if he himself was the one who's stabbed.

Amidst his frenzy, the room slowly lit up. A welcoming feeling slowly calmed him down as he slowly turned his head towards its warmth. For a second he thought that it was the sun but it wasn't. A figure of a woman glowing like a star with dozens of others behind her slowly approached Nicolas and trapped him in their embrace.

"That's enough—", they spoke, giving him back both his sanity and humanity. "We're free now thanks to you, our savior. We can finally rest in peace."

His breathing started to return to normal and the ache in his chest started to dissipate as he finally realized what he had done. All he could do was scream, punch the ground until his knuckles bled. Slowly, as the clouds was blown away, giving way to the rays of the setting sun, the figures bid him farewell and disappeared, but Nicolas is stayed there, laughing as he examined his bloody hands.

When he finally calmed down, the sky was already clear. He still bears the guilt of not being able to save the victim. So, to lessen his guilt, he took his cloak and gently covered her with it like a blanket. No longer able to bear her gaze, he gently reached for her eyes, he could feel that she's already turning stiff and it added more to his agony. With another sigh, he finally closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, sorry for being such a coward. I could have saved you", he whispered to himself before looking back at the man sharply, "And as for you", he went up towards his corpse and returned the knife, stabbing in for the last time in his heart, "You'll burn in hell and you can wait for me there"

He sighed, "But I guess I can thank you. For reminding me the reason of being here at Yggsdryas in the first place"

Letting out one final laugh he uttered, "I guess I can't delay it much longer. I thought I could run from it but no", he shrugged his head, opening the journal he took from his father. "It's time to uncover what the tale of the blue moon was all about."