Breaking The Balance

Breaking The Balance - Deep Dark Secrets

Jordan's POV

I don't know how I got here. I don't know where I am.

Where did I come from? Who are these figures in my memories?

What have I done...?

"You claim to be so innocent. A figure in this realm that hunts for justice and balance instead of the usual bloodshed and violence we have grown accustomed to. Yet the blood that coats your hands, of all those you have betrayed and lost – marks you out as a murderer, a demon not some fallen angel. Your good intentions only brought pain to those around you and you will only ever make a real difference by bringing more pain. You thought your selfless sacrifice would save those you loved but all you've done is deprive them of the truth and the chance to choose their own paths."

I lay my fingers on her neck, searching for a pulse but finding none. I leant my ear against her chest, panic rising as I found no heartbeat. The rush of adrenaline and rage began to wear off, allowing me to feel the coldness of her skin and to see the solemn stares of my friends.

"I don't know why you continue to try Jordan. You carry so many secrets in that broken mind of yours; you could be so useful to me. Help me rewrite the course of history, overthrow Mianite's reign of terror and wage war against the gods who have done nothing to protect you. Then again, I'd only need you for so long before I'd have to dispose of you for your weakness and incompetence. Hero of Justice, more like a coward in the shadows."

Nyx crumpled to the floor, a shadow blade pierced deep into her chest - potentially piercing her lungs and filling them with blood. Lisette's blank face clears at the cry of pain from her friend, sprinting from Mianite's side with golden apples on hand in an attempt to heal her. Tom was thrown to the side, confusion and fear filling his expression as he watched Lisette work on Nyx, unable to do anything as his friend fought for her life.

Harsh breathing. The rasping of air racing in and out of my burning lungs as I searched for oxygen in a suffocating realm. My mind whirred and my eyes flitted around as things blurred briefly into focus – the familiar grey walls of my prison cell filling my vision and the hunched form of Andor in the corner causing my fists to clench from pure rage. The echoing of footsteps as Al encircled me, my tormentor delighting in surprising me with more of his wicked games each time I looked away. Andor's torment was physical, but took a mental toll as its significance echoed in his mind over the weeks we had been here.

My punishment was a trip through my own demons and a reminder of how low I had sunk. I didn't remember these people, these lives I had ruined or put in danger. Each one burned my heart like acid as if they meant the world to me - some burning more than others. Each death and injury were accompanied with a swift kick to the stomach, the mental and physical starvation of oxygen drawing me deeper into the darkness Al was creating. The voice that spoke to me didn't sound sane, mixtures of Al's cold fury and a hidden figure that haunted my mind as they tried to pry my unknown secrets from my shattering mind.

Mianite cursed under his breath before sweeping his hand to the side and watching with grim satisfaction as Caitlin's body was flown across the clearing into a pile of rocks with an alarming crack.

My mind travelled backwards in time, skipping from memory to memory of events that never happened and people who never existed. It was as if I was stuck in a nightmare that I had forgotten when I had awoken, that I had willed it to leave my mind and never return but Al had dragged it out of my subconscious just to torment me. His voice was full of cruelty and anger, a tone I had grown used to but the edge of coldness and sadistic pleasure at my pain caused shivers to run down my spine – just how far would this psychopath go to break me?