Chapter 21: Just Run!
Bloodstained snow, a mansion aflame, its smoke rising high into the sky, destroying the beautiful image of the snowfall, foretelling a night of unspeakable horrors and unrelenting terror.
All it took was a mere night to take everything he loved and turn them into nothing but devastating memories, a testament to how fleeting everything in the world including human life was.
He was smiling ever so brightly just a couple of minutes ago, almost certain that this household would continue to make him smile.
He wanted to keep on smiling, the smile he had lost in his past life after his mother died, was he going to lose it again, or had he already lost it already.
Neo walked out from the burning house hoping that he would at least be able to make it out with one person, that was the only thing that gave him a little bit of will to move and now that that source of strength was gone, he had basically given up.
His limbs were devoid of any sort of strength to move as he sat there on the snow, his gaze on Nicole whose body no longer housed a living person, leaving behind a puddle of blood that stained the snow and soaked his clothes.
At this point, he was already tired of crying, leaving him only with lifeless eyes that stared blankly into the abyss, their spark extinguished by the endless torrent of despair and sorrow that had consumed his soul.
He wanted to be angry as well but that was quite pointless in his sense for one particular reason.
'What do I hope to do against someone who was able to do all of this?'
He could see the silhouette of a man hovering around him, the snowfall almost completely masking his figure but he didn't care.
As far as he was concerned, this was the end, there was nothing he could do about the situation so he was just going to accept things as they were.
Ready to have death descend on him, he turned to the bracelet on his wrist.
"This time, just let me stay dead, there's no reason to bring me back to have everything torn down like this. I guess the problem was never really scummy people, this is just what fate has for me."
"Has the fear finally run into your head?"
He didn't bother turning to the man because, to him, there was no point to that, he believed it would be easier for him to die without knowing who killed him and his loved ones.
With no response from him, the man slowly descended in front of him.
The clouds were partially blocking the moon at that moment but the little light that was being squeezed out was enough to illuminate the figure of a stunning man who stood about six foot four in height.
He had short dark hair and blue eyes that glowed in resonance to the cold night.
The aura emanating from his body was quite oppressive and intimidating, it was suffocating but Neo only wished that he would hurry and get it over with.
"I guess it's normal for you to look hopeless after everything you just witnessed." The man remarked, taking a step toward him, the end of his dark cloak brushing against the snow. "So, tell me, how does it feel?"
"How does what feel?" Neo responded, his voice almost like a whisper.
"You have to face me when I'm talking to you."
His voice sounded so calm yet there was this fierceness behind it, and a compelling force, forcing Neo to turn to him.
Despite that, the deadpan expression on his face didn't change, his resolve to accept things as they were unwavering.
"Now tell me, what does it feel like, true despair?" The man repeated.
"What does it matter to you?" Neo responded. "It's not like you would understand, this wouldn't be happening if that wasn't the case. Just hurry up and get it over with."
Hearing his response, a smile of amusement slowly found its way to his face as he stretched out his right hand.
"A sharp tongue, you really are his son."
A long red spear just like the ones that were being launched at him and his mother appeared in his hand at that moment.
"Have it your way, I'll be glad to put you out of your misery."
He pointed the spear at him just after saying that as he slowly brought down his gaze to stare at that snow-covered ground.
"You've already suffered enough, so I'll make this quick."
"Save your pity for someone else."
The man thrust his spear forward just after that, aiming for his throat but just before the spear could get to him, it was met with a clang as it was slammed down into the ground by another spear from above.
Neo caught a glimpse of the red spear as it slammed the one that was about to hit him down, and right at that moment, there was a subtle spark in his eyes.
"Mom." He gasped.
There was no mistake, Luna was the one standing there, her eyes glowing red, her hair tattered and drenched in blood and her fangs slightly protruding out of her mouth.
There was a trail of blood leading from the house to where she was standing now which made sense because she was covered in blood.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked with a tired but rage-filled voice.
"I should have known you were still alive."
He was quite surprised by how she suddenly showed up out of nowhere, but after a while, that expression disappeared.
"Just when are you going to understand that there's nothing you can do about this? They're all going to die, Lumeria, and again, there's nothing you can do about it. "
He knocked her spear up just after that, forcing her arms up in the process and for that split second her arms were up, he swung for Neo.
There was no way she was going to be able to react in time to save him, however, there was something she could use.
Just before the spear could hit Neo, a thin red rope wrapped around his body, pulling him back immediately as she jumped back alongside him before jumping toward the right, far away from him.
'Creating distance is probably not the smartest thing to do, we'll be in big trouble if he starts launching ranged attacks.' She said inwardly with her gaze on the man who had slowly turned to face them now.
Neo had already accepted his fate and he was serious about that just a minute ago but now he was just confused.
'How is she still alive after all that?' He pondered, his mind flashing back to the image of her with the spears stuck in her body.
That wasn't the only thing confusing him though, there was the fact that her eyes were crimson just like his now and she had fangs.
He was glad that she was still alive but he needed answers to his questions still.
"Mom." He called. "That is you, right?"
"Yes sweetie, it's me." She responded, quickly turning to him.
"What's going on, why do you look like that?" He asked.
That question was one that she didn't exactly know how to break down for him.
"Well… "
"To think that you would spend all these years playing house with a human just to have it crash down like this."
Both of them quickly turned their gaze to the man to see him slowly making his way to them.
"Listen Neo," Luna uttered, a great sense of urgency in her voice. "I wish I had time to explain things to you, but for now, you'll just have to run."
"Why are you always telling me to run without explaining anything to me?" Neo retorted.
"Neo."
"In your mind, you had a wonderful life, with a nice loving husband and a son, I bet you wanted life to continue moving smoothly for you." The man remarked, getting closer to them with each step. "Well, I'm here to remind you things aren't that easy, Lumeria, you can't just walk away and enjoy your life after all you've done."
"Who's Lumeria?"
"Stop asking questions and run, Neo!" Her voice quaked.
Right at that moment, he felt something dragging him down to the ground, and just milliseconds later, he was gone, dragged into the shadows.
The man suddenly stopped moving after seeing that as he had an intrigued look on his face.
"So, you decided to give him a headstart, you know he won't be able to get far, right?"
"I'll just have to hold you here till he gets far enough." She uttered before raising her spear to point it at him.
A smile appeared on his face at that moment as he shook his head.
"Oh, my dear Lumeria."
She wasn't even able to make a move before he was suddenly in front of her, his spear quickly piercing through his chest going in and out of her body.
Her expression was one of shock with her mouth wide open and blood beginning to spill out from them along with saliva.
"No." She groaned.
"That would have been possible in your prime." He remarked before pulling out the spear, allowing her to drop to the floor on her knees before crashing down face flat. "Now, you're not even worth my time."