What Will You Choose?

WARNING! Scenes of violence present.

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David opened his eyes and looked around, the space seemed dark and uniform, like in a thick fog. The last thing he remembered was a step towards Elena, and after that, he felt as if something had hit him in the head.

"Crazy bastard," the man cursed and rose to his feet. He did not feel anything unusual in his body, and only the surrounding reality made him nervous with its uncertainty.

"Calling for me?" sounded the voice of Marcus, David turned around and saw the pleased face of the man, adorned with a triumphant grin. He was sitting in the air like on an invisible chair, his pose was relaxed and laid-back.

"What's happening? Where is everyone?"

"Hmm, now it's wiser to ask a question, 'where are you?' Everyone remained where they were while I decided to play with you," Marcus jumped down so he was on the same level with David and looked around, "How do you like my illusion? Only recently I have discovered this interesting ability in my list of, khem, skills. I thought, why not test it on you? After all, you are one of those who make innovative decisions."

"I'm not interested in your games. Stop it now! Or do you lack the courage to fight openly, with equal conditions? Who would have thought that such an omnipotent Marcus Taubert would be such a coward?! Do you like to manipulate and attack from behind, like a snake? Ha, you even managed to drag a five-year-old child into this!" David's tone was sarcastic and harsh; he had long given up an attempt to abide by manners with this creature. In his eyes, to name Marcus as a man was equal to how to offend the human race.

But David's comments did not trigger the expected reaction from Marcus. The man still looked cheerful and did not hide his pleasure from being in the current situation, "You can say anything, Anderson. If I were interested in the opinions of other people, do you think I would be where I am now? Why should I play openly, when I can separate you and solve my affairs with each separately? What is the use of fair play if I have to spend more time and effort on it, and the result will be the same?"

Marcus raised his hand, and Elena came out of the air, standing silently next to the man, "Look, David, how easy she ended up being in my hands," he stood behind the woman, his palm slipped on her cheek and fell on her shoulder, "Isn't she beautiful? Isn't it your strongest fear to lose her?"

David's palms clenched into fists, fingers whitened with tension. Marcus bluntly said that it was all an illusion, but even to watch that man so openly touch his wife was like a torture for David. "What do you want?"

"Hmm, what do I want?" Taubert touched the woman's palm and a long, sharp sword materialized in her hands, its blade reflected Elena's face like a mirror, a thin hilt lay in her hand as if it had been created specifically for her. She waved her weapon, the blade whistled through the air, Elena took a step forward and drew her sword at David. Marcus stepped aside and said, "I want to see what you choose."

David had never seen Elena move at that speed, her movements were smooth and fast, like a skilled warrior, seasoned in many battles. The man bounced to the side and tried to teleport behind her to hold her, but Elena's reaction was faster than his own.

David tried to concentrate on the fact that this Elena was not real, he entered into a duel with his wife many times and knew all her movements, strengths and weaknesses well. This illusion of Elena was only an improved copy of his wife, a product of his own consciousness since Marcus hardly knew such subtleties.

But even if it was just an illusion, David could not force himself to engage in a serious battle with her. And was there any sense in this fight? If Marcus wanted to get rid of him, he would have easily done it a long time ago. So, hypothetically, this whole game was conceived by Taubert for a different purpose.

David stopped and turned to face Elena, the blade of a sword pierced the man's abdomen, he staggered and fell to his knees.

"Ugh!" a grimace full of pain reflected on his face. David did not expect the sensations to be so... realistic. He fell to the ground, his shirt became saturated and turned scarlet red, Elena's illusion was looking at his bloody body with indifference as if he were a complete nothing, a worthless insect that did not deserve even her sympathy.

David heard loud sounds of applause above his head, Marcus was nodding to his applause, as the audience was pleased with the show they just saw, "Bravo, just bravo! What a noble decision - to sacrifice your life for your beloved woman! To say that I'm impressed is like to say nothing," the man wiped fictional tears from his eyes, "You are like a faithful knight, ready to give his life for the sake of his queen, aren't you?"

Marcus squatted down next to David, the latter's breath became uneven from his body pains, "Just, isn't the solution too convenient for you?"

The emotions on Marcus's face did not express malice or anger, they were more like disappointment and disgust, "What a wonderful choice, David. It's beautiful to leave the stage, leaving behind a broken-hearted woman. That's just, my boy, you did not take into account one fact," Marcus leaned towards David and whispered to the man in his ear, "Your Elena is not an ordinary person."

David looked at Marcus at a loss, not understanding what this crazy man needed at all, until the next moment he heard a sharp cry that made everything inside David freeze in horror.

Elena fell to the ground with loud screams, as if she had been pierced by sharp pain, she screamed so loudly that David's blood went cold in his veins, "Wh-what is happening?" he was looking in horror at the picture before his eyes, completely forgetting about his own pain. Even if this Elena was just an illusion, the subconscious of the man perceived her as real.

Marcus, like a real demon, whispered to David in his ear, "Do you know what the blessing and curse of Teser's partners is? Every time she touches you, you understand what it means to feel life. And your connection becomes stronger every year, and becomes inextricable after the birth of the child. Do you know what that means?

When one of the partners dies, the second one experiences such hellish pains that even the most terrible tortures on earth seem like a blessing. You feel how every cell of your body burns with fire as if something was tearing you apart, piece by piece. Depending on the strength of the bond, this agony can last several seconds, minutes, hours, and even days. As a result, the second person leaves this world after his partner, because the body does not withstand such pressure."

Marcus got up and went to Elena, he gently pulled the sword from her palm and put it next to her. The hair on her forehead became wet with a cold sweat, her lips turned blue, she closed her eyes, and only painful moans from her chest showed what devilish pain she was going through. The man removed the hair from her face and looked sadly at Elena, "So, are you still pleased with your choice, David Anderson?"

"Do not touch her!" overcoming the pain, David crawled to Elena and pushed Marcus aside. He lifted the woman and pressed her to his bloody chest, "I hate you." Even if it was all an illusion, and there was no point in fighting Marcus, David's feelings were so real that he was ready to die here and now.

"You can hate me as much as you like, it doesn't bother me," Marcus straightened up and looked down at the man, "But just while you are here, I'll deal with everything else without unnecessary interference," he put his hands in his pockets and went to the side.

"If you so want to protect your Elena, be kind, don't kick the bucket ahead of time. It will be sad to see how she will then suffer. Believe me, these are not the most pleasant sensations," Marcus waved his hand, "I think you already know what to do to get out of here. Chao," the man added and vanished into thin air.

David was surrounded by a silent emptiness, Elena's moaning was the only thing he heard at that moment. Never, even in the worst nightmare, could he imagine that he would have to do this.

The man carefully put the woman down on the ground and took the sword with trembling hands. Drops of red blood were flowing over a sharp metal blade. David brought a weapon over Elena's body and closed his eyes, "I'm so sorry," he whispered and plunged his sword into the woman.