Ciel's body felt like it had swallowed a full lake of boiling water, biting relentlessly at his insides with terrifying precision. Every muscle in his body tensed, yelling at him. To act. To get up. To attack. He gasped — again and again — but no air seemed to enter his lungs, stopped by an unknown force stuck at the end of his throat.
'Fuck! What is this?'
His arm cocked backward — fist clenched. Then he began crazily bashing it against the quartz floor, not slowing as blood streamed from the knuckles. He had to do something to make the agony stop. Anything. Hell, he couldn't care less about breaking a few bones.
Blood kept gushing from his knuckles, painting the black ground crimson. But no pain built in his fist. No. The real anguish came from his innards, showing no signs of stopping.
Suddenly, the wind brought a thunderous laugh towards Ciel's ears. He turned in its direction. The lich — now a trunk of bones — kept roaring loudly:
"I was right! I was right!"
Ciel's eyes flared as he forcefully gritted his teeth. Why was that bastard still alive? Why was he laughing? Ciel pushed himself off the ground, staggering back to his feet. One thought echoed in his mind:
'It has to die. I have to kill it.'
He strided towards the lich, his heavy steps resounding against the crystal floor. The monster looked to its side, awoken from the daze. Its torso began shuddering as its hollow eyesockets lit a ghastly blue. But nothing happened. Limbs didn't regenerate, icicles didn't materialize, body didn't teleport. It began desperately searching its surroundings for anything to help — but there was nothing.
"Halt if you wish to keep your life."
Ciel's steps didn't slow.
"I said halt. Do you truly desire to die?"
Truth is, Ciel couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear anything over the deafening noise mangling his ears. Even if he did, he couldn't stop. Not as the vicious fire burned his insides, urging him to kill.
The lich's pitch raised.
"Boy, I can grant you whatever you desire. Riches, wealth, women. Just be patient until I recover."
No response.
"Do you wish to anger me?!" The lich asked.
The fire burning Ciel's innards flared. His muscles swelled with strength. His bones enlarged. Most of all, his body exploded with red light, flames bursting out and completely enveloping him — resembling a raging phoenix.
Was the boy a Lightbearer? The lich began swaying its torso wildly, trying to get as far away from the madman as it could. It resembled a worm desperately crawling away from a bird.
Ciel got closer.
"Save me!"
Even closer.
"Lord Barien!"
The lich raised its gaze. Ciel now stood before him.
"Wait, listen to me. I am able to grant you anything you wish for. Don't you want me to bring your friend back to life? I can do that!"
Ciel's body blazed even brighter, crouching beside the monster. The pain was unbearable. Yet despite it, the ringing in his ears subdued slightly — just enough so he could hear what the lich said.
He spat through gritted teeth:
"Good for you. You're going to need that once you die."
"You… Do you believe you can just kill me and get away with it? My lord will find you and tear you limb from limb. Quickly, put an end to this farce and join us. You shall be treated well."
"I will."
The lich let out a sigh of relief, not swaying itself anymore. A cheerful laugh echoing through the air.
"Good, good. I knew you were a smart boy."
"I will put an end to this farce."
Ciel's hands gripped the monster's rib, the one above its core. Every fiber in his body tensed, getting ready to exert all the strength he could muster. A loud snap. His hands wrenched the rib apart — a hunter butchering his prey.
The monster started wobbling again, like a willow tree fighting against the wind.
"What are you doing? Stop!"
The rib slackly tossed to the ground — granting access to the lich's lucid blue core.
'This is what Klarissa was aiming for.'
Just as Ciel's hand moved to grab the core, the world suddenly rocked under his feet. His vision turned foggy, the fire burned hotter, the air grew denser. The hand grabbing the core shook.
'No…'
At the same time, the lich's core lit up. Frost slowly began taking form behind Ciel — a sharp translucent spike intent on killing.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance. Now di—"
Before the creature could finish, Ciel's fist tightened around the core — knuckles turning white as he coughed blood. The lich froze, mouth agape. Its sight landed near its chest area, realizing what had happened.
The core exploded. A loud blast echoing throughout the dimension as fragments of light scattered around — floating up like a silk cloth, carried away by the wind. The lich's bones began fracturing, dropping to the ground and melting into rootless ashes.
Its bony mouth quivered, the last effort of a dying monster to an epilogue.
"...Damn pest."
Those were its last words. The lich. The terrible creature that tricked, manipulated and killed countless in the name of power, met its end. And what a pitiful end it was. Killed in a nameless dimension at the hands of a weakling.
Ciel pushed himself up from the ground — body swaying. His consciousness was slipping away. The flames enveloping him dwindled.
Cracks started forming all around him. Some in the sky, others on the ground. He couldn't relax yet. If the dimension broke, he would probably return to The Tempest Depths — the cruel wind alongside the hateful Vesperts lying in wait.
'I have to… keep going.'
However — no matter how much he pushed himself — one couldn't win against natural limits. Ciel overstepped those limits ages ago, his body bound to shut down
'Damn it…'