Roses and Skulls

[CAUTION (!!) SLIGHT BLOODY SCENES AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.]

"You are a monster! You deserve to die!"

"Hurry up! Kill that monster!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Execute that monster!"

"Finally! The monster is about to die!"

Eager yet angry noises of people were being yelled at in unison.

Killian looked at the huge crowd beneath him. His eyes were filled with lifelessness and dullness. He closed his eyes, waiting for one thing called death.

What good would it be for him if he kept on living in a world that's seeking to strangle his neck at every turn?

Was it worth it to keep struggling and keep feeling pain in order to fit in a place you don't belong to?

He only had one desire, a place to call home. And, clearly, this place was not his.

Two well-built men were hesitating to move forward, fear was evident in their eyes. They were supposed to put a sack in the young man's head but knowing how capable the latter was, they remained standing in their position.

"What are those two doing? So dang slow!" One person in the crowd complained.

"Hurry up!"

"Don't you know that monster might escape if you don't kill him now?!"

The people kept urging the two men.

Seeing that the people were becoming impatient, the two glanced at their superiors, and everyone else nodded. As they finished mustering up their courage, slowly, they approached him and said "We're just doing our job, if there's anyone you want to hold accountable, it's those people."

Seeing how the young man showed no signs of struggle as if accepting his end, the two breathed a sigh of relief. And quickly and swiftly, the other held the young man while the latter pierced his heart using a sharpened knife, the tip showing a red hint of lava.

However, this still did not work for Killian. Feeling the fiery sensation in his chest, he slowly opened his eyes to see the same scenery.

"He's still not dead, yet!" One of the executioners exclaimed.

"Impossible! Maybe those two didn't really stab him. " The audience murmured among themselves.

One of the supervisors stepped forward, frowning. He pulled out the knife from the boy's chest and stabbed the same place again and again, repeatedly.

Meanwhile, the crowd began to chant in unison.

"Die! Monster, die!"

However, to their surprise, the young man was still alive. As the supervisor was about to stab him again, Killian swiftly stole the knife in the supervisor's hand.

"You still did not realize it, yet? All of you here, cannot kill me. But I can kill everyone else here." He let out an evil grin.

Suddenly, a black mist in the shape of tentacles formed behind the young man's back.

"Everyone! Retreat!"

The crowd quickly began to disperse, seeing how abnormal the young man was starting to become.

However, Killian did not think of letting them go that easily. He stabbed the supervisor in the chest with the same knife that was used to stab him. And tried to pierce through people's chests with his "tentacles".

It didn't take long until the whole place was dyed with blood.

However, they were only two people left in this place, his two executioners.

Both of them were on the floor, trembling in fear.

Killian sighed, "Do you two want to know how to kill me?"

The two men didn't dare to respond and stood rooted at their place.

Killian tore open his chest with his bare hands and ripped out his beating heart. And with his palm, he squeezed his heart until it exploded with blood bursting out.

Lastly, he took his final breath.

From his birth until his death, he had nothing but solitude. He always wondered what it felt like to have someone who cares for you and loves you. He used to be jealous of the other children, jealous of other people living the life he always wanted, deep down. That was something he always wanted to find out, but to this day, that remained an unsolvable misery.

He tried to fit in, tried to please other people... Yet at the end of the day, he was different from the rest, he was a monster. It might be that he overdid it, resulting in him completely losing himself.

Nevertheless, who cares anymore? He was gone.

A dark and strong black mist surrounded him and slowly absorbed his body, not wanting to leave a trace of it in this cold and unfeeling world.

Suddenly, as if mourning for his death, the entire world was covered with darkness hiding the sun but showing the moon in its red state for decades.

"This is what the world would be to me, without you."

--

A resounding slap was heard across the entire room.

"Karina, dear. How many times have I told you?! You must not interact with those creatures. They're evil! Get rid of them, immediately." A woman with a black veil yelled.

"Mum, they all like me, and they had always taken care of me in your absence. So you don't have to be concerned about it." Karina replied calmly.

Ever since Karina was able to remember things, she had always been in this spacious yet abandoned castle, never once stepping foot outside. Many people might daydream about living in a castle, however, for her, it was nothing more than just a luxurious cage.

Though she had every materialistic thing she could possibly need, she longed for two things. Warmth and freedom.

Her 'mother' had always isolated her and rarely approached her, though they lived in the same place. And as a result, she tried to fill that void by befriending other kids who were similar to her. Trapped and tortured by her mother.

Over time, they all developed a sense of closeness, such as when they were all killed, they've become her protective guardian angels. However, her mother was not happy with this. Probably, because she felt threatened that all the hundreds of kids she killed and tortured with her hands would get revenge through her.

"Karina, do you think this was a suggestion?" Malicius took out a whip.

However, it was not an ordinary whip, it was something specially designed for injuring someone like Karina.

"Punishments are reserved for impudent children like you." Underneath her veil, Malicius let out a pleasant smile. Clearly, she took pleasure in pouring out violence unto defenseless kittens.

Before the whip managed to hit Karina, the hand that was holding the whip was held by an invisible force. Suddenly, countless hand marks appeared on Malicius body. One of the hands tried to strangle her.

"Cough! Karina, help-" Malicius reached out her hand towards Karina.

However, Karina, remained there motionless. Simply, staring at her.

"Rinrin, don't worry you're about to have your freedom... We're gonna help you." A coquettish young voice whispered into Karina's ear.

"Close your eyes, Rina. This is between us and mum." A mature voice gently tried to coax her.

Karina obediently closed her eyes.

"KARINA- oomph! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME THIS EASILY!?" Malicius let out a snort. "Your heart is binded with me! If I die, my daughter, you will also die!"

Hearing this, the hands that wanted to kill Malicius suddenly stopped and hesitated to continue.

"What's the matter? Kill me! Continue! But I'll be dragging her to hell with me!" The woman let out a proud look. She thought that the ghosts will not take action anymore, since they know what they'll be losing in return.

Malicius picked up her whip and tried to hit the young woman.

However, this time, Karina stopped the whip.

"Mother, I remember that you said to these dead ones once, ' Death will free you'. And all my life, I've wanted freedom. " She let out a sweet smile.

Malicius took some steps back, "No. Get away from me-" She let out a painful groan.

Separate forces tried to grab several of her body parts. Some tried to pull her legs, some her arms, some her neck...

" Karina, you bitc-AAAARGH!"

A warm scarlet liquid splashed unto Karina's face.

"Rinrin, are you... gonna be like us?" Someone softly asked.

Karina let out a smile and nodded, "Not only am I gonna be like you guys, but I'm also gonna play with you forever."

"Great!" Another exclaimed in an excited tone.

Meanwhile, Malicius was feeling an enormous agony and pain. Her eyes were plucked out, her face dripping with blood.

She wanted this torture to end. "Kill me alre-hmmph!" Another invisible force pulled out her tongue.

Gradually, the floor was tinted with blood.

"Was it fun when you tortured us to death like this? I can imagine how fun it is! Ahahaha!" Voices filled Malicius' thoughts and she attempted to cover her ears, however to no avail, her ears were grabbed and scratched and her arms were ripped from the constant pulling from multiple invisible hands.

Finally, after a moment of agony, Malicius breathed her last.

Meanwhile, Karina closed her eyes peacefully with her lips slightly risen. This was the moment she had been waiting for... freedom.

She was finally gonna escape this cage and be a freebird.

Several invisible forces carried Karina's body to the throne room and let her cold and unmoving body sit on the throne.

"We will always be your knights, forever guarding you. No matter what."