The beginning is with a mark

Ch.26: Daniel.

Arthur, Noah and Alice were cornered. No magic worked against the Deck, it's screeches were deafening and every-time it screamed....it seemed to take their life power.
"Lord Arthur. I will handle him and you can take Alice with you, please" Noah said with a saddened look but also mixed with determination and sacrifice.
"Noah? No! You can't! Every time he screams it's like he's taking our strength! Dont you dare-" Arthur began saying but noah handed Alice to him. She was unconscious...
Noah grabbed his sword and began trying to hurt the decks monsterous form, but the deck in one move threw him against the ground. The Deck grabbed Noah by his neck and plunged his hand into Noah's chest,taking out a semi-beating heart.
"NOAH!" Arthur yelled in fear as he bolted to the door, with Alice in his hands. The deck began chuckling, but Arthur began to leave the forbidden castle. He didn't see what was the true end of Noah.
Alice slowly began waking up,
"Arthur?? W-where's Noah?" She asked as she looked around her
Arthur looked away from her, "he-he's...."
"What happened to him!!" She yelled at Arthur
"He's...I-tried....I really did...but then-"
"What happened! He can't be dead! You promised us a better life! Are you as useless as your title??!!!" She yelled at him. When in the forest came a rustling in the woods darkness.
"Shit..." Arthur mumbled
Alice took out her own small knife and held it infront of her, "come out! You killed him didn't you! Bastard come and face me!" She yelled into the darkness. Alice was careless, she didn't care about anything, she had just lost one of her only friends. The deck came out a long cape, and no heart in his hands.
"What did you do to his heart!" Arthur yelled out in question.
"Just had...dinner" the deck said with a laugh. It seemed almost like his human form had nothing to do with this beast. It was meaner, evil, dark and worst of all....loved the taste human hearts.
"What do you mean his heart!?! GIVE IT BACK!" Alice yelled as she plunged forward, a small blade in her hand. She stood no chance either. The decks hand trespassed her frail body in mere seconds. Pulling out a beating heart. Arthurs eyes widened in fear. A small ball of light began coming out of her chest and the beast grabbed it immediately. Beginning to swallow it whole.
"H-how.." Arthur began saying as he began walking back. Finally falling into the path. The British Queen did not even look back when he heard a small sound of munching. As Arthur fell to the path, the moons light fell on it. Revealing Alfred and the rest on horses,
"Alfred! Alfred! Run-" before Arthur could say anything he felt his body pierced by the hand of his enemy. The beast chuckled behind..
"AARRRTHUURR!!!" Alfred screamed in fear and wanting but it was too late.
"Oh..Arthur...you're so...unfortunate" the deck said with a smile as he took out Arthurs beating heart. Arthur fell to the ground, on his knees. His hand extended towards Alfred, when Alfred screamed his name. The Brits body collapsed to the ground, beginning to bleed out. He was dead, no one could fix that..

Alfred saw his beloveds heart torn out of him. (Literally). He screamed in fear and warning. Calling for Arthur. When he saw Arthurs eyes fill with tears, before he fell down. Collapsing, bleeding and dead.
"Arthur! Arthur! Stand up!" Alfred yelled out as he ran towards his queen. When a shield arose before him, cutting him off from Arthur. He was steps away from almost touching Arthur.
"Get away Alfred! The monster!" Lily yelled out as she was the one who had put the shield up.
"SHUT UP! I NEED TO GET TO-"
"SHUT UP ALFRED, ARTHURS DEAD! LETS GO! BEFORE YOURE KILLED" Ludwig yelled out as he pulled on Alfred. Tackling him to come back to the safe side.
"No! LET GO!" Alfred squirmed and began throwing punches when Ludwig punched him straight in the face, Alfred was crying, sobbing for Arthur. Ludwig grabbed Alfred tighter, beginning to pull him to safety away from the monster.
"STOP! Arthur wouldn't want you to have died! Shut up! We are hurt too y'know! We loved Arthur too!" Ludwig yelled as he dragged the American to safety. The deck smiled, as he began turning into a human. Still holding Arthurs heart, he gulped it down in one piece. The deck licked his fingers and lips, loving the flavor.
"That was...satisfying!" He said politely as he looked at Alfred. Cocking his head at Alfred almost as if trying to figure out why Alfred looked so broken, "Alfred?" He asked. The deck looked down at Arthurs body and gasped, "oh my - I...killed my favorite one...fuck!! Daniel you could've left him alone!!" the deck yelled in agony as he kneeled down to Arthur.
"you bastard!!!don't joke around with this!" Alfred yelled as he pulled out his thick sword ready to kill the deck, but Ivan and Ludwig pulled him back.
"Alfred! Don't wish for death!" They yelled in unison both pulling the American back forcefully.
The American shrugged and fell to his knees, still being held. "I...just wanted to live happily with him....whether rich or poor...happy or mad...I just wanted him...and you took him from me. What is my life without Him?!! Go ahead, kill me, break me, keep trying. I'm already dead inside..you couldn't possibly understand-" Alfred began saying when a woman with white hair began walking before Alfred. She kneeled infront of him and smiled kindly. Holding her hand to his cheek, caressing him lightly. almost as if she were his child.
"Arthur isn't dead" she said calmly. Causing Alfred to begin to cry, tears flowing down his eyes more than they had. "I know it hurts, dear" she quietly said with saddened eyes.
"Who are you mademoiselle?" Francis asked confused but still composed.
"The clock" she said as she stood up and began walking towards the deck. She walked up to him and smiled. "Duke."'
"Clara." He managed to say as his eye looked at her, the other eye was covered by his hair.his eyes seemed hurt, yet they wanted to cherish her and love her once again. She smiled before she pulled her hand back and slapped him square in the face.
"How could you!" She yelled at him before slapping him twice more with both her hands.
The deck fixed his face, and held his face.
"what was that for?" He asked
"For everything! From killing my precious favorite one! To hurting the rest! To polluting my life source, the time. And for taking on this burden!" she said as she pointed to his covered eye.
"Oh...this?...it was nothing...." He said as she slapped him once more,
"You bastard! 1. You killed Arthur. 2. Your thirst for the human heart! That is not you! That was that stupid burden you took over, you took over the fucking darkness in Daniel just for the rest to be safe! You left me alone for centuries! Leaving curses and shit for me to clean up! You and I were suppose to be...together....until the end. But-" she began saying as her eyes welled up with tears. She wiped her tears away and hit him once more on the chest this time. "Your so unfair Duke" she mumbled.
"I wanted to keep you safe" he managed to say through his red cheek that had been slapped multiple times. He placed his hands around her, embracing her. "I missed you like you had no idea...but Daniel...and I-"
"Then spit their hearts out! Give it back! Now! If you love me so much, spit it out!" She demanded from him. He sighed, and looked around his eyes fearful
"I can't...vomiting what I just ate isn't easy without me changing into-" he said but the clock wouldn't have it. She punched him straight in the stomach. Chanting a spell in another language, the language being written out in a spell. The deck vomited out the hearts and souls...still mixed with blood. The clock took the hearts in her hand, not caring about getting her hands dirty or the blood on her beautiful dress. She placed the rightful heart into Arthur, and began chanting a spell to heal as the Deck began turning into the Monstrous figure. The royals almost began walking into the zone where the deck and the clock were in.
"Boundary!" She ordered as a boundary was out between them, she had clearly put a boundary between her and the royals. Another shield holding them from Arthur. The deck began to attack the clock, so when she snapped her fingers. Which created a boundary between her and the deck,
"Hello Daniel." She said as she didn't pay attention to the monstrous figure behind her,
The beast screeched at her, she turned toward the beast and slapped it straight in the face,
"Daniel Novak! Keep your fucking mouth shut! I have been utterly tired of your bullshit since the beginning of time!" She yelled at it in equal amount of frustration and anger and worse , higher volume. Arthur began healing slowly, his blood that had been gushed into the ground began returning to him....but he didn't wake up. Alfred began to panic.
"What's wrong with him?!! Tell me!!" Alfred yelled out in worry and frustration
"Can't you see I'm in the middle of a spell!" Clock yelled at the American. Alfred shutted up and watched. As she went into the woods, retrieving two more bodies. She lifted them up with an air spell and laid them calmly on the ground. Placing hearts into them after inspecting them. She began chanting the spell all together.
"sana curare tres reliqui tres revertantur i sustentationem habent animarum. accipe eisque" she said in Latin (meaning: heal heal for three have left and three shall come back, i own their souls and provide support. take from me to give to them)
A powerful magic was placed through the three who had been killed. After the spell was secure, arthur still hadn't woken up. And he still wasn't in reach for Alfred.
The clock looked at the beast she called 'daniel'
It screeched at her once more and she didn't hesitate to look at it. "Daniel. Stop screaming at me and talk! That's why you have a blood fucking mouth. If you can't fucking talk then what would be the point of using MY husband body!" She yelled at it. When the monsterous beast turned back to human form. Darkness still surrounding it. The decks body looked the same, his eye did too but the difference was his covered eyes was showing. A black eyes with red pupil in the eye. It laughed maniacally.
"I kinda was waiting for ya, Y'know. I mean you knew! That the joker was my doing, as well as the reincarnation, Oohh! And Oliver!! Then Oliver created more replicas! Fabulous boy isn't he? Well was...since y'know he's in hell right now" Daniel said through dukes mouth.
"I would kill you right now!" Clara the clock said with anger written on her face.
"But you can't! Because I'm half of Duke, he's me, and I'm him! It's fascinating! I didn't think he would actually bond his life source with mines just to protect yours and those...." He said as he looked at the royals "things. By the way! Their hearts are delish! Can I have-"
"No." The clock said as she had a sword in her hand, holding it at his stomach.
"Fine fine! I won't eat them, although....you placing me to sleep means Duke has to sleep wouldn't do any good either. Because I would still wake up " he said with a cocky voice.
"I could kill you,"
"But you won't because then the world would be unbalanced without him. And me....well I came from Hell and youuu knoow iiitt!" Daniel sang the last words.
"I could unbound you from Duke"'
"But you can't! Not without killing him, since our souls are one" Daniel informed with a wide grin. She hesitated before putting her sword down. "Exactly! That's why i need the key! Arthur has the key, and although I ate his heart...his soul wouldn't come out like the rest! What did you do to his soul!" Daniel demanded. The clock smiled, and laughed. "What. Did. You. Do!!" He yelled
"His soul isn't mines, I'm thankful to Alfred for that, so the key to this world isn't exactly mines mines anymore....sorry love! Oh-wait I'm not sorry" she said with a laugh. Deep inside she knew she was lying, because Arthurs soul was indeed with her at that moment.
Daniel was about to strike her when the clock pierced the blade into his stomach.
"And now..I end you. Just you. You foul being" she informed with a smile. Daniel fell back, bleeding.
"Duke will die too!"
"Not really, I went to hell itself just to find the special spell to make a demon die" she said with a smile
"Y-you didn't! You wouldn't!" He hissed back
"Oh trust me I did" she said with a smile. She looked up, only to see the Joker. He was calmly floating in the air
"Oh that's my cue! Aye! Here you go!" The joker said as he passed a potion to her, and began enclosing the demon in a barrier. The joker would be the one doing the honor of placing the spell, but the clock would seal the spell.
"Eliminate those who do not obey and protect. By the power invested in me, the clock. Defile the evil and become the power and strength that thy needs, and send him to hell. " she recited form Arthurs spell during the colorless kings war. She added a couple lines but she smiled as she opened a portal to hell. Daniel held on to the ground of the cardverse world. his own horrendous form being sucked out of Duke. It was almost like seeing two different people in one body being distributed to different places. Everyone heard one last loud piercing scream, before Daniel was gone for good....
Duke was left, unconscious and lying in the ground. The magic around the royals began
To diminish as The Clock began to relax.

Alfred ran to Arthur, picking him up. His wounds were still there, his heart was beating calmly. His breathing was shallow as the same for Noah and Alice. The clock, sipped the potion, and kissed Duke in the lips. Giving him the potion through her own mouth.
"He won't wake up for a couple days, as will they...and the worst part is that it may take just a little longer. Since I need to place their souls back inside and heal them. As well as some other things" she informed as Gilbert walked to her side.
"I took some of the potion too...y'know to break the curse.." He mumbled quietly. The clock smiled and ruffled the Prussians hair.
"You will soon be free, my dear friend" she said with a smile. "Now...Alfred don't freak out when I say this but I won't be able to give you Arthur back just yet. I have to take him with me...so just wait please" she said her eyes mixed with emotions that Alfred couldn't read.
"How long will that be?" He asked
"With Noah and Alice, it will take a good 3 weeks to a month but Arthur is a whole other story. May take me a month or more....maybe 6? Humans are hard to fix, and create. I know this. And besides....I need you all here, because the kingdom may be slightly imbalanced without magic of mines" she said worriedly.
"6months?" Alfred asked, clearly ignoring the rest. He looked at Arthur and nodded, "just save him, I need him...." Alfred mumbled as he kissed Arthur on the forehead.
Gilbert patted the American on the back.
"Dontcha worry! I'll come and visit you, giving ya updates in that guy. Besides! 6months pass by really fast" Gilbert said with a supportive smile. Alfred nodded, and smiled, although he didn't want Arthur to leave...him.
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