There are many things that he's afraid of. Nelrue Aysanier, once known as the dreaded Wicked Cernalis who became the Prophet's Sword, was fearful of many things. Nelrue was afraid of himself—for his failure to stop the Prophet in his fall.

Standing before the Deprive whom he met two thousand years ago, he once again felt those fears and regrets. But this time it wasn't just the two emotions he was feeling, Nelrue's heart was shrouded in darkness.

Denedril grinned at him, the same smile that he had flashed at him together with his retinue when they had arrived at the Holy Citadel to swear their allegiance to the Prophet.

"Nelrue," Denedril laughingly said

As he heard his name, his two thousand year old rage flooded back to his mind. Nelrue seeks the comfort of the blinding Creation. He Merged deeper and deeper until all color around him had turned to nothing but white and on it the black shadow of the Deprive, standing tall like an Anomaly in the Flow.

"You think I would forget," the Deprive hissed. "How you're trying to destroy the Rotseekers through the years with your futile attempt."

Nelrue crossed his arms on his chest and tilted his head to the direction of the Deprive, "futile?" He said smiling. "As far as I remember, I success at killing, Dayara, you-"

"Shut up!" He screamed and threw a fireball at him. Nelrue with the speed enhanced by the Creation dodged the incoming fireball. He pulled the sword in his sword belt and loosen the gravity in his feet. Nelrue slide in the uneven ground, sword in hand.

He pulled the sword backwards and raised it as he struck the Deprive.

But the man predicted what he would do, the Deprive jumped backwards throwing rocks and balls of fire.

In a minute the forest where they're fighting was filled with dancing flames.

Nelrue raised his hand, Pulling a water that drizzled the fire around him. As the fire was put out, smoke appeared around them. Both him and the man were on each other's blindspot.

Nelrue laughed, "Dayara, the most good of all Deprive. And it was the truth. But there are just things that I have to do. Things that could help cool my head."

"It wasn't planned to be honest," he said, but Nelrue remained smiling as his mind flitted back at the memory. At the screams that echoed from Dayara and how he slowly killed her in pain.

"It just happen, I saw her and killed her," Nelrue smiled and chuckled in a glottal tone. His voice small and almost piercing. "Then I caught her… what was the name of her child? I forgot but she kept begging me to spare it. That abomination that she could have her only son!"

Nelrue's eyes flickered backwards at the shadow. He shouted and threw rocks in its direction.

"Do you think, that I, Nelrue would believe that likes of you could love someone? I, who knows you very well?"

"Wrong damn it! To whom she was begging? She dared to beg Cernalis, a Wicked who's name rang in history as the most cruel among the twelve," he shook her head and put his other hand on his heart as if he too was hurt. But Nelrue wasn't, he was beyond happy that he felt his heart beating fastly. He pulled he wanted to skip and jump on the happiness that he felt and reminding himself of this memory. "So what I did was kill her child before her eyes. I let Dayara, your loving wife, the most good among all Deprives, watched as I let her child run. I told him we're playing and all we have to do is run before I catch him."

"But I catch her!" Nelrue said. "I catch her and break her leg. Not that she would need it because I'm about to kill the two of them anyway."

"But your wife, Denedril, screamed her lungs away that I was tempted to insert my hand and pulled her lungs out!" He said. "I want to pull it and see for myself why it was so noisy! Damn it!"

Nelrue hummed to himself, smiling wickedly, "but now looking into it, I really lusted to hear that screaming voice once again."

From the smoke, Nelrue saw someone speeding in his direction. He raised his sword and parried the sword of the man. He let the man close to him before he Pulled the ground to punch him in the gut.

The Deprive screamed and Merge deeper in the Creation. With Deprives it was hard to identify, as they're no pieces that surround them. Only the glistening black eyes would give him the idea how deep the man was in Merging.

The man sped at him forward, more faster than he had seen him. Before Nelrue could dodge, a punch connected on his stomach. Nelrue lost his breath as he flew straight to the ground.

Dust flew, and he felt the pain in his back despite being able to solidify it before he hit the ground.

Once again the man was hiding among the fumes of smoke that surrounded him.

Nelrue spat and rubbed his face. "Where was I again?"

He said despite knowing where he really was in his story.

"Oh, how I broke your child's leg. I don't really know if she screamed but I know she had cried and that's when all things took a different part," he said. "Dayara, oh the most good of all, it is you Dayara. But he started cursing at me, all curses you could imagine to show how much hatred he has for me."

Belrue nodded to himself, "I know, I know. I wouldn't believe it either if I didn't see it. After all, it was the same lips that he used to kiss you. I wouldn't say I was shocked because all the people I put to torture do it to me. At first they begged for forgiveness but during the process they cursed me like I was so evil?" He touched his chest and shook his head.

Nelrue stopped as he saw the glint of the moon above. All memories came rushing at him and once again Nelrue was afraid. This is why Nelrue hated himself. For he was someone who cannot forgive, for he was someone who took his grudge as a fuel for him to move forward.

He wanted to stop. He was in a dilemma to stop or to continue. But Nelrue was a grudging person. He wanted to let this man feel all his hatred. Even though he wasn't one that caused the Prophet to fall from his track. He did it because he was part of people who stole the Prophet from him, the only person who treated him with importance.

Nelrue wanted more, he wanted to let all those who took part in the fall of the Prophet to suffer.

Nelrue continued talking about the devilry that he had done to his family.

"I dragged her screaming child from his broken leg and threw him at the foot of her screaming mother," he said. "Then I started cooking as they watched me. You know what, your daughter has the making of you. Your eyes is the same."

Nelrue scratched his head hard, almost ripping his hair. "And it annoys me more, I debated on scooping his eyes and feeding it to your wife since the bunch of you eat flesh. So what is the difference if you eat your childrens? After all flesh is flesh."

Nelrue sighed, "but I decided that it was boring and it would spoil the fun I was having. So I just broke her other leg. Dayara shook in madness at what I did. Crying and screaming and cursing. She wasn't as beautiful as she was. She also started screaming your name, but you didn't come! I bet she was more angry than you, than what I do."

The Deprive came speeding at him, Nelrue pretended he didn't see him as he made the force in his fist so strong. As the man closed at him with a sword, Nelrue raised his fist slamming it against the tip of the sword. The blade broke and his fist came straight at the Deprives face.

The Deprive fell on the ground loudly, he heard his bones breaking.

The man was about to run but Nelrue immediately held him on the ground, he pulled his two arms away and stepped on him.

"This was also what I did to your daughter," he said. "Sadly she died immediately after the first one. You couldn't imagine how Dayara cried her eyes out on the scene. It's boring from there to be honest, so I just decided to cut her head."

Nelrue smiled, "did you find it."

He heard a whimper from the man. The Deprive shook his head, "please stop. I don't want to hear it"

For a minute, Nelrue was overwhelmed with emotion as he saw the man crying. But the memory of the Prophet keeps coming back at him.

"No, you have to hear this... I lay her head on Yanal Mondurya. I sacrificed her to the Prophet," he said. "You know that when he was still alive how much he like the heads of his enemy that I give him"

Nelrue turned forward abruptly as he heard a scratching coming from the thick bushes.

"Who's there?" He said.

Slowly behind, a boy came out. Ettran standing uncomfortably with the dagger still in his hand. There was blood there. To whom the boy used it for, he didn't know.

"And that's how Dayara end," Nelrue said. "How should all Deprive who brought the Prophet to ruin deserve to receive."

Nelrue smiled as he remembered something, "one more thing, the body of the child you find there, wasn't from your daughter."

On hearing this, the man started screaming, and tried to push his way out of Nelrue's firm grasp.

"I fed her," he said. "To your comrades."

He pushed his hand to his back, and pulled the Deprive's heart and spinal cord. The man stopped from wagging his legs and fell silently as blood poured out of his mouth.

He looked down and felt the anger slowly ebbing. At last, he thought.

He raised and swatted the blood on the hem of his elaborate doublet. The child looked at him and stepped backwards. But he didn't give him much attention. He has to find the girl and the boy.

Ettran looked up at him and said, "was it true?"

Nelrue stopped and glanced at him, all emotions that he had earlier had vanished. There was nothing left but the emptiness.

"It is," he said. He waited for him to say anything but the boy just nodded. And then he added, "but about her daughter being eaten by the Deprives. It wasn't, at least half of it."

Because I eat them.

The boy looked at him, unsure how to react to what he said. Ettran stared and stared at him, his small fingers wrapped on the dagger that he gave.

Nelrue open his mouth, showing his small set of teeth as he smiled. He saw the frail legs of the child trembled on the sight

"Nefaaya and the others are waiting," he said to him and started walking.

It had taken some time before he heard the boy walking to follow him.

Nelrue crouched and waited for the boy to climb on his back. He glanced at him, and saw the fear in his eyes as he stared at him.

"Come on," he said.

Slowly Ettran walked but wrapped his hand lightly around him as they started jumping.

The cold wind whipped on their faces, and the leaves grazed on their skin. Above, the moons watched them, like a glaring eye. Beside him, Nelrue felt the trembling hands of Ettran; it was as if the kid was experiencing hypothermia. But he doubts that it was caused by the cold wind of the night.