Chapter 64: What You Wish For
Danny froze, even breathing stopped.
Dust in air stopped moving, hanging still, unnatural, like time paused, like breath held by mountain.
Something was behind him, he knew without seeing, same feeling as in cave when back felt like it was listening, but stronger, hundred times.
He slowly turned head, neck hurt doing it, muscles torn. Expected to see another rock about to fall, or Mirebeast’s body twitching, parasites crawling.
Shadow stood in darkness, behind rubble, where cave used to be. It had no shape at first, just darker than dark, then it had shape like man, but taller, too tall, thin, wrong proportions. It was not blocking light, it was made of absence of it, like hole cut in world.
Danny’s breath caught in throat, couldn’t make out its face, no face, yet overwhelming sense of dread washed over him, not like fear of wolves or Mirebeast, not loud fear, quieter and deeper, fear that lives in gut, not heart.
"W-what... what are you?" he muttered, voice would not go loud, whisper only.
Shadow remained silent for moment, not moving, but Danny felt like it was looking at sword, at dead Mirebeast, at his bleeding side, at his chest where heart beat too loud, drum again.
Then familiar voice answered, voice he had heard in fever, long time ago, in village before lot, before cart, before Ravenfall. Or in dream between falling and hitting ground, between rock hitting head and black.
"Me? I am the Demon of Death."
Danny’s eyes widened, despite pain, despite dust.
That voice. Calm. Slight amusement underneath, like adult talking to child who thinks he knows game.
He remembered it. In village, before lot, when monks said Death, when he thought it was own thought saying take it, accept it.
It was same voice he had heard before, same cold that was not cold.
Shadow began to move, circling him slowly, no sound on rocks, dust did not swirl around feet, like it walked on different floor than his, like world had two layers and it walked on lower.
"So, child, you’ve finally made it here." Shadow sounded almost pleased, almost proud, like teacher seeing student arrive late but arrive.
Danny frowned, hand went to chest without thinking, where heart beat, where blood was.
"What do you mean by that? Here where? This place? I fell here. I didn’t come here. I was pushed, sort of."
Shadow continued circling him as though examining him, as though looking at thing it had left somewhere and now found again, lost dog.
"I told you that I would grant you what you desire. But tell me, child..." It stopped in front of him, Danny had to look up to where its face should be, neck hurting, but could not see face, only darker dark.
"Do you have the courage to accept it?"
Danny stared at shadow, not understanding, not understanding at all, why here, why now, why me.
He didn’t understand what it meant, didn’t know why so-called Demon of Death had appeared before him or what it truly wanted, spoke in riddles, old voice, old like mountain, older.
But he didn’t care. Not really. Not anymore. Tiredness made not caring easy.
Body broken. Echo useless. Trapped in world where survival never guaranteed, where men ate each other in different ways, with lots, with teeth, with spells, with offerings.
And there was one thing he wanted more than anything else, kept him awake in cave when sleep would not come, kept him moving up mountain when legs wanted to stop.
Revenge. Not for prisoner, not for Mirebeast. For before. For being sold, for lot, for Ravenfall, for being called cursed, Danny, whatever, for being trade.
If this being could give him power to achieve it, why should he refuse? What else did he have to trade? Already traded blood, traded sleep, traded old man.
Danny slowly raised trembling hand and pressed it against chest, blood from palm smeared over shirt, over heart, over numb Echo.
Eyes hardened, dread still there, but underneath something hot woke up, hotter than Mirebeast’s chest, hotter than fire in cave.
"Give me the power!"
Voice echoed through ruins, surprising him, how loud it was, how it made dust move again, how it broke silence that shadow had made.
"Give me the power to take the revenge I want! Whatever it costs!"
For moment, shadow said nothing, stood perfectly still, tall, darker than night behind it. Then Danny felt it smile, even without mouth, felt amusement, felt hunger.
Then it spoke, calm, like deal had already been written and it was just reading last line, last signature.
"Very well, child."
Voice carried unsettling calmness, final.
"I shall grant your wish."
Before Danny could respond, before he could ask cost, shadow suddenly dispersed, did not fade, broke apart into smoke and threads, like parasites that had been under old man’s skin but bigger, blacker.
Darkness surged toward him, rushing into body before he could escape, into mouth, nose, wounds, side, shoulder, chest, cold fire, like falling again but inward.
"W-Wait—!"
Entire body convulsed, arched off rocks, hands clawed at stone, back bending wrong.
Danny’s eyes widened as unbearable sensation tore through him, muscles twisted, limbs jerked violently, body slammed against ground, every vein filled with ice water and ink, black filling where blood was.
He tried to scream, but voice caught in throat, no sound came out, dust going in mouth, darkness going in mouth.
Then his heart stopped.
Danny lay motionless among rubble, hand still on chest, eyes open to dust, to leaning cliff, to dead Mirebeast with sword in it.
Boy who had desperately wished for power to exact his revenge was dead. No breath, no drum, heart silent finally.
Silence returned to ruins, deeper than before, dust settling again, covering everything, covering blood, covering boy.
Then, without warning, message appeared before his lifeless body, pale runic letters, hanging in air where shadow had been, where Demon stood, voice message, not human.
[BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU WISH FOR ]
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED AN ECHO.]
[YOU HAVE DIED]
End of Volume 1: Born of Ruin.