BLEEDING HEART | ONC 2024

021 - HER

I wake up, dazed and dizzy. My head aches, my arms are numb.

Where am I? I remember sneaking about in some dark alleyway, then shoving my power at—

I jerk up, glaring across the way to see if he survived my blast of power.

Sure enough, Az sits up, too, looking as confused as I feel.

"What did you do?" I seethe as I hop to my feet, gulping down the nausea. Whatever he sent at me knocked me out real good; and what I shot at him surely didn't leave him unscathed.

He tries to get up as fast as me, but his huge body deceives him. He grunts, rubs his forehead, then manages to stand somewhat, though he appears unstable on his feet.

Perfect moment to finish him.

I pull out the dagger in my boots and point it at him. "Nice try, but I'm ending this, now."

As I storm up to him, unbothered by his size and how easily he could scoop me up and toss me against a wall, he doesn't budge.

Screams echo in the background, in the avenues surrounding us. The world is darker, drearier, grayer than before we knocked each other out.

I ignore it all. The only way to fix this is to kill him; then I'll focus on helping the goddesses restore the world.

I hurdle forward. Soon enough, the tip of my dagger presses into his chest, and still, he doesn't move. Doesn't manifest the urge to stop me.

I grimace up at him. "Why aren't you defending yourself?"

"Because I deserve this," he says, his voice low, gravelly. He still doesn't move.

"You do, but you're a demon. Demons don't die easily, from what I heard." I push the tip a tiny bit further; he winces, but doesn't try to push me away. "Didn't you just try to take me out? Why the change of heart?"

"I didn't try to take you out," he says, his expression shifting. He pulls away now, but instead of running off or dodging me, he crumbles to his knees before me. "All I did was block your attack, barely. Wasting time so I could talk to you before you slit my throat."

"I'd rather stab in the heart," I say, staying where I am. "You know, so you'll suffer the same pain you inflicted on me."

He puffs out a breath, dipping his chin. "I earned that." He's so large, even kneeling he's almost as tall as me. His bulky frame trembles as he peers up at me, his black eyes watering. "If you have to kill me to fully soothe your heart, to fulfill whatever your goals are, so be it. But I beg that you hear me out, first."

I scowl at him. "You want me to kill you?"

"I want you to do what's right, but not before I've said my piece." He shrugs a few stray hairs behind his ears, remaining on his knees. "I seek redemption. I must explain myself to you."

I motion at him with the knife. "Fine, then get on with it. I have things to do."

"I don't want this world to fade," he says, so fast he almost cuts me off. "I never wanted this."

"You're a demon," I say with a snarl, amused that he'd pretend to be so good on the inside.

I know what he is. I've known for a while. And like a fool I let him take advantage of me in exchange for one steamy night.

Very steamy. Probably the best of my life.

But that doesn't change anything.

"Yes, I'm a demon, but I also got a taste of this world in ways I don't think I was supposed to." He gulps, drops his chin. "I succumbed to this place's appeal, and I don't want to see it destroyed. To know that hearts all around me are suffering."