Forty-Eight

                                    

                                          
With shaky steps, you bursted out the door and through the long corridors of the academy.
Your breath was short and heated.
Beads of sweat covered your forehead while the feeling of drying blood stuck to your fingers.
Gasping, you rushed past the banners and decorations that were supposed to accompany this fine day of prestige and new beginnings.
This was supposed to be the most important day of Viktor's life.
Had you bombed it with the poor judgment of yours?
Had this one little decision thrown everything into flames so that it would burn to the ground without any chance of a second try?
The beating of your heart pressed against the bones of your rib cage as you managed to make it back into the entrance hall.
One step and your legs gave in.
With a grunt, you fell to the ground, knees and hands hit the icy cold marble and a sharp pain chased through all your joints.
Purple light seeped through the cracks that started to widen on your skin.
You wanted to get up but your feet refused to obey.
Your body started to rage against your own control.
Terrified, you managed to raise your hands to your eyes.
Every single finger of yours was shaking, either with pain or with the lack of control.
The tips were as purple as the liquid itself.
But what truly made your brain scream in agony was this black skin that started to devour your natural (S/C) tone. It was like ashes and dusty dirt that slowly pressed through the layers of healthy skin.
It didn't just look dried out but as you dared to gently touch the spots, small pieces crumbled to the ground and fell apart.
It was as if you slowly turned to ashes.
Ashes and violet were about to consume the last bit of your existence that kept you from becoming one with the place of your birth.
"No.", your voice trembled as you tried so helplessly to get off the ground. "No... I- I don't... I can't... Get up... Get up. Get up!"
But no matter how much the tears burned inside your eyes, no matter how much you begged, the ownership over yourself didn't return.
Your limbs remained stiff and your brain kept raging against the human that tried to fight back the monster that wanted to crawl out of your guts.
Pearls of slaty water dripped from your violet eyes as you let your head fall down in defeat.
You could hear the wind chasing through these halls of knowledge.
You could feel the icy cold on every inch of your body.
But you couldn't do anything.
All there was left was to let yourself fall to the marble floor where black ashes mixed with old blood, tears and purple that crawled out of the cracks as if it were the essence of your life.
A shaky breath escaped your dried out lips as you curled together to shield yourself from the misery that was about to consume you whole.
"Viktor...", you whispered and had to smile all of a sudden. "Forgive me, my Viktor. Forgive me that I couldn't be better. I wanted to be everything for you. Forgive me."
Shadows lingered in the edges of the hall.
Slowly, they started to crawl across the floor, closer to you, closer to the corners of your eyes.
They nestled in the back of your brain, stretched out their blurry claws and dug into your mind to tear everything apart.
Dull sounds still managed to reach your ears, but you were unable to react.
Exhaustion chained you to the ground.
It felt like you were just someone trapped in a shell, stored away to be forgotten and erased for good.
With halfway lowered eyelids, you managed to turn your head and look to the side.
Strands of (H/C) hair stuck to your forehead, drenched in sweat and blood.
More shadows approached.
Darkness had almost swallowed everything.
But there was something else as well.
A voice called out.
You didn't hear what they said.
You didn't even recognise the face as one of the silhouettes dropped something and kneeled down right in front of you.
Scrawny hands touched your face.
"My love!", Viktor gasped as his eyes rushed over your face, so sickly and damaged like he had never seen it before. "(Y/N)! Can you hear me? Answer me, my love!"
But your eyes were as motionless as glass under the surface of water.
As he tilted his head to catch a better glimpse, a shiver crawled down his spine.
Those were not the eyes of the (Y/G) that he fell in love with. Those were orbs of purple, poisoned and unnatural.
The sight struck him so hard by surprise that he almost shied away and dropped your head.
Next to him, the poro appeared.
And not a moment later the small steps of its master sounded.
"Hm..?", with his forehead in deep winkles, Heimerdinger stroked the fur on his chin. "How strange... I can feel the power of the Arcane. But there is also something else. It's evil."
Viktor pulled a face and clenched his teeth.
"I'm so sorry...", he had to keep himself from shaking. "I know that this is not my place to ask but-!"
With a raised hand and a shake of his head, Heimerdinger silenced him.
"Not here, not now, young one.", he urged and called two enforcers to his side. "We will discuss this in private."
Without asking questions, nor batting an eye, the two men in uniform picked up your motionless body and but it on a gurney.
Fear lit up inside Viktor's eyes.
"What are you doing?!", he asked and wanted to jump up to hold onto your tensionless hand. "You can't just leave!"
But the Yordle whispered something towards the enforcers and not a moment later they were gone with you.
Breathing heavily, Viktor stumbled after them, hands reached out for you.
But the damage in his leg only allowed him to take barley two steps.
With a gasp, he fell to the ground.
"(Y/N)!", he screamed, so loud that the banners of the hall trembled.
With a grim gaze, Heimerdinger placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We need to talk.", he repeated. "In private."