Unveiling the Darkness
"Vern! What are you doing!?" shouted one of the protesters.
Not far ahead of them, several protesters were now lying lifeless, with the middle-aged man standing right in their midst. Every vein in his body turned a dark purple. And as his eyes opened, they were startled by a pair of black eyes.
Those glowing purple retinas seemed to stare directly into their souls.
"What am I doing? I'm just doing what's best for Clockheart," he replied, grinning widely, revealing two sharp fangs.
"Y-you monster!"
He turned away from the protesters, walking towards the queen's throne, where a dark purple aura could be seen seeping out from underneath. "You don't know what the Queen has already done," he said.
The protesters raised their guns, aiming at the middle-aged man. "What you did was no different!"
"Not wrong, but not entirely right either. Because those I just killed were the ones intending to betray you," he answered, touching the throne and then walking around the golden chair before finally sitting down.
He pointed at the protesters in front, revealing a purple aura emanating from the lifeless bodies and drawing it into his hands as an additional power.
The protesters fell silent, not knowing what to say, witnessing the people who had fought alongside them intending to stab them in the back. They looked at each other, worried that there might still be traitors among them, and they aimed their guns at each other, no longer caring about the grinning middle-aged man.
"How weak the human heart is, so easily controlled using a fraction of fear, that they can't see the clear truth right in front of their eyes," he said, tapping his foot. "How do you feel? Pain? Suffering? Like being stabbed by a dagger?"
His laughter filled the room, echoing, sending shivers down everyone's spine.
"Unbeknownst to you all, for the past three months, the Queen has been collaborating with them, with the group that wants to destroy the world just to see her child again, to fill the gaping hole in her heart. She's willing to sacrifice the entire kingdom, just to hear his laughter and see his smile again, disregarding all of your fates."
"The Queen wants to sacrifice us?" asked one protester, unable to believe they had entrusted their life to her.
"Who else has the authority to grant permission for that group to enter here and do as they please? The corpses in front of you are the proof. Even I, who have been by the Queen's side, was unintentionally affected," he said.
"Y-you.. You're The Counselor!"
The man nodded. "Yes, I am the one who has been advising and counseling the Queen. I am also the one who suggested her to attack other kingdoms, to turn your lives into a lie, and to accept the World Devourer's invitation."
Quickly, the protesters aimed their weapons at him again. "Then why do you act as if all of this is the Queen's fault!?"
"Of course, it is her fault. I merely provided advice; it was the Queen herself who acted upon it. She could have rejected me, but why did she choose to accept it? I am nothing but a Counselor. My words mean nothing without her approval. So, is it my fault?"
"IT'S BECAUSE THE QUEEN TRUSTED YOU!"
The Counselor reached into his pocket, wear it on his face, and grinned widely. "Still, it wasn't me who made the decisions, right? I also eliminated your traitors. Shouldn't I be receiving gratitude instead?"
Shots are fired.
The bullets flew toward him but suddenly stopped one meter in front, floating in the air before eventually dropping to the ground, clattering and rolling away.
The protesters fell silent, unsure whether to pull the trigger or flee from the scene.
Both choices carried high consequences.
"Do you feel it? The sensation of having to choose between two options to save your life, yet knowing that death awaits at the end of both choices," he stood up, walking down the stairs with his chin held high. His eyes glowing under the half-face mask, "That's what I feel."
The protesters began to step back, fear evident on each of their faces. Sweat ran down, soaking their clothes. Their hearts pounded so fiercely, realizing that the moment of reckoning was near.
"The Queen placed me in the same dilemma, to either assist her or kill my family. Of course, like all of you, I chose the former. Who would have thought that the Queen would fall into darkness to the point of threatening her own mentor, someone who had supported her, taught her, and raised her up."
"The best thing I've done, leading us to this situation, was aimed at eliminating the Queen from the face of the world."
Tears flowed down, glowing in a bright purple hue, dropping to the floor, making the protesters even more uneasy.
"Turns out, I've been in her grip from the beginning as well. We used each other, intending to kill one another, and this is what happened," his hand stretched out, showing his form slowly losing its humanity. "The Queen has bound me, a warning to those of you who intend to betray her."
Suddenly, the bodies of each protester also transformed like The Counselor. Every vein in their bodies turned into dark purple, and their eyes became the same as his.
They panicked, screamed, and were afraid of themselves. Especially when they saw their own hands changing to a grayish color with sharp, bright purple claws.
"We were all in her grip from the beginning. None of us can escape from her, just like I once taught Wendryssa, 'Never give your enemies a chance.'"
He sighed weakly.
"It seems I taught her too well."
The Counselor stepped out of the palace, leaving the protesters who had now completely transformed into different creatures. Their appearance still resembled humans, but their souls...
Their souls had been consumed by darkness.
From there, he could observe the entire city slowly starting to change.
On this bright morning, when they should have been able to smile and enjoy the new day, the entire city was instead screaming in agony. It was a sacrifice to resurrect a soul that had been lost for a long time.
"I hope what you did to us is worth your request, Wendryssa," he said.
The Counselor pulled out a small brownish bag, feeling rough to the touch, and poured its contents onto his left palm. He observed the white powder turning purple and then being carried away by the wind.
Looking at it, he was reminded of the foreign youth he had asked to dispose of this powder two months earlier.
Where was he now? Had he also transformed like them?
"What will happen to us now? Is this the end for Clockheart?"
The Counselor fell to his knees, bowing his head, disappointed in himself.
"Forgive me, everyone, I have failed."
At that very moment, each protester inside the palace ran out like wild beasts, searching for unlucky prey ready to be torn apart.
Not even ten seconds later, the palace lay in ruins, revealing a massive Mech that The Counselor could feel had the soul of Cleo, the Queen's child.
The soul cried out, raging, yearning to be set free, causing The Counselor to clutch his chest, unable to contain the pain in his heart, which felt so intense and tormenting.
"Oh Wendryssa, you have made a grave mistake."
.
.
"Zent, did you hear that?"
We turned around, seeing so many monsters with gray bodies and bright purple colors...
"They... they are the residents of Clockheart," I said weakly.
"What? How could they have turned into that?" Celine asked.
Oh no...
Please don't say...
"I... I'm the cause of it."
Far from there, in another world, Ezreal could feel his power spreading. His grin widened, knowing his plan had succeeded once again. "Now, what will you do, Zent? How will you face this?
Or will you fall apart?"
He laughed, so loudly, so satisfied.
Happily imagining Zent suffering half to death, wanting to rip his own chest open just to rid himself of the pain that would continue to haunt him without ever being healed.
"You brought this upon yourself, Zent. You're the cause, you're the source. I'm just the medium. Isn't that what you always say, Zent?"
He stood up, stretched his arms, and then let out a sigh.
"Even now, I have another purpose. While you, you remain just the same as before. Someone without a purpose in life."