Evil

"He's so close... why not kill him? You know you want to~"

The voice slithered into Eloisa's mind, a venomous whisper that made her grip falter. For a moment, she felt herself succumbing to that dark urge, her control slipping like sand through her fingers. But then, she clawed her way back, breathing hard as the world blurred around her.

"Hah… Ha… Hah…" she panted, her trembling body barely able to stand.

It was inexplicable.

An indescribable hunger clawed at her—a pull she couldn't resist, like a drug addict desperate for a fix after too long. She craved it.

No, she needed it.

The screams. The cries. The pleas.

She wanted to see him squirm, to watch him bleed and writhe, utterly helpless beneath her. She wanted to break him, to crush every single bone in his body. Pain. She longed to inflict the kind of unimaginable agony that would make him lose his mind, only to regain it, over and over again, until his very existence shattered.

Her hands trembled, her body quaking under the weight of her unspoken desires.

He was so close.

Too close.

—Tap.

She took a step forward. The distance between them began to shrink.

"Yes~ It's time to satisfy those desires~" the voice purred again, and her knees buckled under the sheer force of the craving.

Just a little more.

Just a few more steps, and she would have him.

Her indifferent mask cracked, barely concealing the maniacal grin threatening to break free.

"Isa!"

A sharp voice broke through the haze, shattering the chains binding her mind. The world snapped back into focus. Eloisa turned, her eyes landing on Ariana, who was waving from the front row with a concerned expression.

"Sigh…" Eloisa exhaled deeply, forcing her trembling hands to steady. She walked toward Ariana, her mask firmly in place, betraying nothing of the storm raging within.

'He's really here,' she thought, her fists clenching at her sides. Her thoughts churned, chaotic and unrelenting. Why now? Why did he come back?

"You missed such a great chance to end him," the voice hissed, venom lacing every word.

'You're making these urges harder to control,' she shot back internally.

"Kill him, and end it all."

'.... It won't be long before he's dead,' she promised herself, forcing a small, composed smile as she approached Ariana.

...

...

Meanwhile, Lorelle stirred. Or rather, he pretended to. His eyes remained closed, his breathing even, but he was far from asleep.

He had felt it. That raw, unrestrained bloodlust.

It was wise, he decided, not to even look toward the direction it came from.

[That level of hate...] the voice in his mind murmured, [It surpasses anything I've felt before. Perhaps it's even on par with your... obsession.]

Lorelle snorted softly. "Don't compare the two. I know I might be a little obsessed—fine, a lot obsessed—but it's nothing like her desire to see me dead."

[What exactly did you do to her?]

His brow furrowed, genuinely surprised. "You don't know?"

[I've told you before, I don't remember much of your childhood. You weren't of interest to me back then. Not until I realized you might actually make it this far.]

"This far?"

The voice hesitated. [Most with my blessing… lose themselves. They eventually become cannon fodder.]

Lorelle sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Let's just say I broke her."

[How?]

He shook his head, unwilling to dwell on it. "I thought she was someone else... someone I was searching for."

The voice shifted topics. [That girl with Ariana. You know her too, don't you?]

"Why wouldn't I?" He scoffed, memories surfacing like shadows.

[Is she good or bad?]

Lorelle's smile was cold. "Worse. Beyond that, even. She's a villainess—a title she more than deserves."