Elliot’s POV
“Kill them all, even if you can’t rember it anymore.”
—Elliot Starfall
Golden Reaper. In this life, you die for the greater good, not for selfish vengeance. I was in hell, and I died only to see the truth.
Thoughts slip like water, the inner voice not mine, but that crooked one; and as I run through the red mist, the crimson moon drowning everything in its blood, the voice continues to rise from deep within.
He has long been dead. As am I. Your vengeance has driven you mad. It has carried you so far from morality that you are no different from the Hemorions—the “other blood” you claim to despise. Golden Reaper—Elliot—Farewell.
My pacing slows; blood splashes beneath my feet, birthed by this night where the changing moons bleed into the world. And in the end, the world itself slips from my grasp, spinning like a carousel, until I collide with the thick, warm ground.
I gasp for air, my eyes snapping open against the duvet in which I lie; my whole body is drenched in sweat that I mistake for blood. Again. One of those dreams—visions. But sothing feels off, wrong. They have been different ever since I left my ho. Again, so vivid, distant, yet so near.
I reach for a bottle of water by my side. Cham and Gene, as well as Paul, are asleep in other rooms of this house.
Breaking into hos and living inside them—it’s easy. Stay for a day or two, then move on. Their infrastructure feels ordinary and civilized, yet it disgusts ; newspapers are folded neatly into mailboxes, and police officers patrol the streets; carriages serve as taxis, and inside their houses, interiors like anyone else’s—furniture, shelves, rooms—old-fashioned, yes, but civilized. Too civilized. Every single house feels the sa, and it makes sick.
Rising, I curse under my breath; my hand grips the window ledge as I stare at the golden moon, unfazed, and endless in its reign over this lesser place. The horizon breaks against pointed rooftops, a raven perched and watching .
Below, passersby shuffle—rchants, beggars, vagabonds. I stand only a single story above them, but from this height, I feel superior for a mont. Then I cough blood, and reality drags back.
My body slumps against the window ledge, my left hand gripping the surface until my knuckles whiten. My teeth clench.
I force myself to move, stumbling into the corridor; my legs tremble, and my throat swallows and swallows again—once a second, ten tis in all—before I vomit, blood bitter-sweet on my tongue.
And then—sothing worse. A thick maggot, as long and thick as my thumb, crawls up through my throat. I choke, and it writhes free, tumbling onto the carpet in the hallway. This house, this corridor, this family’s bodies rotting in the attic above, slain by us, as always.
Gasping, I stagger into the bathroom; another rush surges through my abdon. I vomit again, more crawling things forcing their way out—so I press through my body’s other end, the pain sharp enough to make scream. But I don’t. I bite it back. I devour the scream like I devour every shred of my frustration.
When it’s over, I wash my left hand and face. My eyes lift to the mirror, and I see myself, but not alive. My reflection is hollow; my skin shifts, twitching, my eyes flickering between red and blue. Finally, my head jerks to the side without cause.
I am weak.
Spitting a mix of blood and water into the sink, I massage my temples. My joints ache, as if sothing inside resists, blocking from moving freely. My gaze locks with my reflection again, and my lips part.
“Kill them all.”
The words leave like a curse.
Turning from the mirror, I dress myself in a dark beige coat, looted from the wardrobe of the family we slaughtered: a man, a woman, and two children.
When I finally step outside, the cold golden mist greets , its chill seeps into my bones. I move through the streets, the first colors of the world drifting past . I don’t hide. No makeup disguises ; not tonight.
Because tonight, I will not slip into the shadows.
Tonight, I go on a rampage.
Tonight, I kill as many as I can.
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