The Price of Eternity (Part 3).

The young man opened the door of the room and went inside. His thirst became less, the emotions inside became calmer, his mind became clearer, and the awareness of what was happening almost completely turned into a full-fledged picture.

He walked forward and stopped at the table. A girl who looked like a fragile angel lay in front of him, unaware of her fate.

The beating of her heart was barely perceptible, and only a small twinkle of vital energy in the center of her chest indicated that she was alive.

Marcus raised his hand and touched her chest with his palm, golden waves of energy began to flow from his hand to the girl's body, kindling her inner fire more and more. Her heartbeat was becoming more distinct and stable with each second, the girl breathed air and opened her eyes.

"Good morning, my little butterfly," the young man whispered and smiled.

Polina turned her head, and a chill ran down her back from the sight of Marcus, even though his lips were smiling, there was ice in his eyes. They were cold and empty, so that even her reflection was lost in them.

"M-Marcus? I-"

"Are you satisfied now?" The young man interrupted her, his voice was steady and calm, but inspired unconscious fear.

"I... I don't understand what you are talking about...," Polina whispered, looked away and fell silent.

"Hmmm ... Why are you silent now? Wasn't that what you wanted? Why don't you look happy then?" Marcus took the girl by the chin and turned her head back to his side, under his heavy gaze, tears appeared in the girl's eyes.

"I didn't do it on purpose, really," Polina's lips trembled, she looked at the young man with eyes full of pain and regret.

"Not on purpose? Haa, she says, not on purpose," Marcus shook his head as if talking to himself.

The pupils of his eyes turned black, and the next second he grabbed the girl off the table and hit her against the wall with force.

The room began floating in front of Polina's eyes for a moment, the pain in the back of her head spreading all over her head after a strong clash with the wall.

"NOT ON PURPOSE?! All these years, I considered you a friend! The only person who was sincere among all this hopeless lies and cruelty! And it turns out, all this happened to us because of you!" Marcus was torn by anger, wrath, resentment and disappointment.

From the moment he woke up, all those incomprehensible pictures in his head lined up in a logical row, he clearly saw the past and even the future, although the latter was still a little vague. But even what he saw was enough for him to realize that he was no longer what he was before.

"I did not know! Master Teser hypnotized me! Madame would never allow this! Madame Clara was a good person!" Polina shouted in her defense when Marcus's hand gripped her throat with force. She began to choke and grabbed his hand with her own hands, but could not move the young man off her even an inch, his strength was unimaginable.

Along with consciousness, all the memories returned to Polina, including early childhood ones, which Mark Teser erased and replaced with convenient ones. Only now she realized that all her life she was a pawn in the hands of that treacherous person and that her decision radically affected the lives of her only friends.

If it weren't for her, if she hadn't existed, then all this could never have happened.

"I don't give a dime if you knew or not! This is all your damn family! It was because of you that he killed mom and did it to us!" Marcus squeezed his hand more tightly, and Polina felt that she was short of air.

She reached forward and touched Marcus's cheek, "I'm sorry...," the girl whispered, dropped her hands and closed her eyes. She completely surrendered herself to his power, no matter what he intended to do with her. If her death at least somehow relieved his pain, she was ready to make such a sacrifice.

"Why me? Why exactly should I be a monster? I didn't ask for such a future, I don't want such a life, this is so unfair...," Marcus released the girl's throat and lowered his head, his shoulders trembled, and Polina heard choked sobs.

"Forgive me, forgive me, please," was all she could whisper in response.

The girl hugged the young man and pressed him against her chest, he laid his head on her shoulder, and Polina felt that her neck was wet from his tears. She closed her eyes, and the same silent tears flowed down her cheeks. She really wanted to share his pain, but among the three of them, he was the only one who could bear such a heavy load.

Despite how much she loved Armand now, she knew that he would not have been able to follow the path that Marcus had to go through.

The young man straightened up and wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, after which he brushed away the tears from the girl's eyes.

"You have to go now," he scanned the space around with his eyes and smiled, finding a familiar silhouette, "Armand will be here soon so-," Marcus did not have time to finish the sentence when Polina pushed him aside.

BANG!

The girl grabbed her stomach and swayed, it all happened so quickly that Marcus barely managed to grab her. The young man turned around and saw one of the soldiers with a gun in his hand pointing in their direction.

He himself did not understand what he had done, fury seized his mind, and the next second the soldier who shot at Polina was already lying dead on the floor, blood oozing from his eyes and mouth.

Marcus took the girl in his arms and laid her back on the table, her white shirt turned red with blood, he saw how life energy began to slowly leave her body.

"No, you cannot die, not after what happened! Think of Armand!" Marcus tried to restore her strength, but everything was in vain. Energy refused to enter her body.

"No, everything is as it should be. It was my fate even at birth," Polina whispered and laid a hand on Marcus's hand, "Please don't tell Armand about it. I don't want him to hate me," the girl sobbed, her voice was barely perceptible.

"Well, you yourself will tell him about it," the young man answered with a smile.

"Deep down, I believed that you are still a good person. I am glad that I was not mistaken," Polina closed her eyes, and the small yellow light in her chest finally disappeared.

Marcus stood for a few seconds, not moving, as if trying to come to terms with what had gone irrevocably before his eyes. With peripheral vision, he noticed the approaching silhouette of his brother.

The young man straightened the girl's hair and dress, she looked like a sleeping angel, even the warmth still came from her body. "Good dreams," he whispered, kissed her forehead and turned away.

On the floor, he found a gun from which a shot was fired. Marcus opened the carabiner and checked the number of rounds. There were only two left, but that was enough for him.

"Sorry, but you are a little late, my dear little brother," Marcus left the room in the corridor, where Armand was already standing by then. From his appearance, he realized that his condition was even worse than that of Marcus himself.

'Well, maybe this is for the best,' the young man thought to himself, brought the gun to his face and snapped the shutter. He was sure that Armand would notice this unambiguous gesture and draw the necessary conclusions. If Armand hates him all his life, this will be enough to follow the path destined by fate.

"I would like to congratulate you on your return, but I will not," Marcus said and went away. He knew that as soon as Armand enters that room, their connection will be lost forever.