Slumber

Nemesis slowly closed the newly created Ignititium door whilst sighing. Closing his eyes he shook his head. He was tired, not physically but mentally. The strain his mind had been through on just the first day was extreme. His ears had yet to fully adjust to the lack of ghastly souls cursing, condemning, pleading and screaming at him. The artificial white noise which he had created to block out those sounds now just annoyingly buzzed in his ears, a habit formed over the entirety of his previous life would be impossible to halt in just the first day.

Covering his ears with his palms he groaned his annoyance.

"What's the matter Nemesis?" Hunger asked concerned, which he should be for many things had changed about Nemesis and the strange behaviour he showed was concerning.

"I'm just... well, uh... how do I put it." Nemesis then halted as he pondered on to how he would say it before deciding on how to admit it, "well Hunger. I'm not used to the lack of screams of the damned, and to deal with them previously I created a habit to have an artificial white noise block out the screams, which it helped do but not entirely made it so I heard nothing... so, right now I keep on hearing a buzz which is annoying."

"Anyway, ignoring that fact, you wished to know why I am so... er. Well," Nemesis paused for a bit leaving an awkward silence to embrace the small corridor which led to the lobby, "you wished to know why I'm not like how I used to be. That's the best way to put it."

"So, to explain this will take a while so I hope you're ready." Nemesis inquired to which Hunger replied with a simple, "Yes," clearly intrigued as to why Nemesis would hide the sudden change in attitude and personality.

"So, after I killed myself in the Aether and was sent to resurrect from my wounds in [Void Stasis], I... I found out something strange about myself." Nemesis halted his explanation to only let out an exhausted sigh as his eyes grew blurry.

Hunger saw tears begin to swell in Nemesis' eyes as his voice then turned hoarse as he continued speaking with arms and hands shaking rapidly as if remembering a terrifying experience.

"I witnessed the end... the end of all times. A horrifying discovery and experience which I took apart of led me to understand what I truly am!" Nemesis' voice though hoarse and shaky, emphasised the last "I". "I am a freak... an amalgamation of horror, terror, a monstrosity which shouldn't exist! Hunger don't you get it!"

Nemesis shouted loudly at the empty corridor, blue tears infected with the [Void] fell from his eyes as they fell and landed on the concrete ground, dissolving into it.

"I am nothing but a parasite! The Nemesis you know is not me! I am not me! I didn't wish to say this but, Hunger, you've been following a liar. A. Fraud. A. Mistake!" Nemesis continued, taking heavy breaths in between each sentence.

Hunger baffled, began to materialise from Nemesis' shadow, engulfing the room in total darkness as his single crimson red pentagon-shaped eyes stationed itself directly in front of Nemesis' face.

-----

Hunger was by all meaning of the word baffled! He could see and sense how genuine Nemesis' expression and tears were, a far cry different from the false tears he shed once he first awoke again and all his previous tears he had cried in his previous attempt at life. Even when Deale was slaughtered, his tears held no proper emotion, as he knew that Nemesis lacked the ability to show emotions and thus hid behind a facade and used false ones to try to create a persona to allow Deale to be comfortable.

The pain he could feel from Nemesis was unbearable, he had viewed Nemesis when they first met as nothing but a pawn until learning of his name and origins, to which he changed his view of him due to complex reasons. Now, however, he didn't just view Nemesis as a pawn, friend or companion, instead he viewed him as a child; more specifically his child, he has watched Nemesis grow up since a child and while his actions, behaviour and intellect never fit the term 'child' one thing did, how he was always curious and wished to learn more.

He reminisced on times when there was no slaughter, no bloodshed, it was just the two of them alone and he would read Nemesis tales of his origin. Of 'THEIR' origin.

So it hurt him badly to see his child act so out of character but he was always sporadic, now was different as he was actually able to convey emotions!

His two massive spectral claws which slashed apart the corridor's walls as they moved in towards behind Nemesis. Soon his giant clawed arms hugged Nemesis. He could feel Nemesis' body tense up as he stood frozen until he wrapped his arms around his skinny torso which was thinner than the average male torso.

"So~sorry..." Nemesis apologised as the tears continued pouring onto Hunger's torso which did nothing to him.

"Its alright Nemesis. You must be going through a lot, you can tell me tomorrow morning once you wake up. Sleep would do you good." Hunger spoke angelically; soft and kind, sympathy evident and love within his words clear to hear.

Nemesis simply nodded like how a young child would when told to go to bed.

Hunger couldn't help but silently laugh to himself as Nemesis finally acted his current age for once. It did sadden him, however, as he was the one who caused Nemesis to embark on his journey due to his interference that day...

Hunger contemplating his actions that day slowly returned his body back into Nemesis' fading shadow.

-----

Nemesis shut the door to the lobby behind him as he walked as if in a trance to the bedroom where he placed Shane to sleep. Opening the door he stared at the bed to see Shane sleeping silently, peaceful, blissfully unaware to what he was experiencing. He wanted to keep it that way, for he didn't wish for Shane to know the truth.

Walking up to the bed and standing over him, his hand caressed Shane's sleeping face. Nemesis wiped his eyes with his other hand before whispering quietly to himself, "Goodnight Shane, sleep well."

With that, he turned around and left the room in haste. Entering the bedroom beside Shane's, he walked over to the bed and placed his hand on it.

The bed turned purplish-black which signified the [Void] as Nemesis changed the bed's mattress, blanket and pillow. He didn't wish to sleep in the excreted bodily fluids. He had already done the same with Shane's bed but not his own as he had not wanted to sleep before, though now his mood was foul and painful. He wished to escape into his own realm to be alone for a bit, where he would be able to scream and shout at himself for his flaws and about the truth which he only barely got to tell Hunger before he choked up and began crying.

Lying down on the bed, he shut his weary eyes and the promise of sleep was before him. As he lost consciousness to his slumber, he heard a faint feminine voice call for him.

{Day 1 completed, analysis occurring of prior events. Scanning. Scanning. Analysis complete, shutting down all cognitive functions. Body shut down imminent. Body shut down complete. Powering down...}

{Day 1 achieved. Former Day 1 stored away as a backup. Day 2 initiat-}

"Don't lose yourself to it... You are-" A feminine voice spoke before being harshly interrupted by another faint feminine voice.

{Initialisation cancelled, dream sequence be-... Dream sequence cancelled. Outside interference confirmed. Rebooting.}

"Never forget my..." The second soft female voice spoke but before she could finish, Nemesis fell into a deep slumber.