Desolation [manxman] DRAFT

Chapter 1

I added a reference picture of Alex Storm in case you guys need some help / inspiration envisioning Thanatos.

Chapter 1

I materialized in a familiar room. It was the same bathroom I had been called to a countless times the past months by a skinny, pale dragon. The same dragon who was now kneeling on the floor with his scaled tail curled around him tightly and desperately scrubbing away at his own skin to get the blood off. Probably his own. I scrunched up my nose at the smell.

"I'm assuming you have called me yet again on accident and my presence isn't needed here, am I mistaken?"

He flinched as I opened my mouth but relaxed as soon as he realized it was just me and continued working away at his skin. It's original state was probably a beautiful kind of creamy white but currently it was covered in bruises ranging from fresh being blackish bluish to several days old and being an ugly shade of yellow. It got worse every time I came to visit him.

"I don't need your assistance." He spoke quietly. "You can leave again."

Excuse me, lying son of a serpent. He knew full well I couldn't just leave. We had been going over this every time but he still decided to pretend he didn't knew why I was constantly showing up. It's not like he was my friend and I enjoyed seeing him. As a matter of fact I didn't have friends. The mere concept sickened me.

I scoffed after a few minutes interrupting him scrapping the skin off his legs and making him look up with his sunken in eyes. "I kind of have things to do so I would really appreciate it if you either died or decided on not wanting to die. Would make it really easy for me, you know. I'm tired of this repeating again and again."

Apparently that upset him since he jumped to his feet and clenching his fists. His ebony wings seemed to develop a life of their own and spread apart, taking up an almost impressive amount of space considering how small he was. I couldn't help but notice that one was trembling and compared to its counterpart seemed to be sagging a little. This was new.

"I'm so sorry to bother you and take up your precious time." He snarled. "I am glad to inform you that I don't want to die and you can piss off now."

I tried teleporting away but I was still stuck. So much for not wanting to die. Granted his life sucked. Understatement of the millennium. Being enslaved to a god and being genetically engineered to love him even though he constantly beats the crap out of you and then uses your body to fulfill his needs by far succeeded that. But he could still make up his mind and end this right here and now. Except he always decided not to and crawled back to him only to end up in the bathroom contemplating death again.

"I'd love to piss off, you little shit. Do you think I like it here? It smells like misery, blood and body fluids I don't want to think about. I can taste it in my mouth. Disgusting. But I can't. Thanks to you. Even though you deny it part of you wants to die. And being god of death I have the honor to guide you through the process. So you need to make up your mind."

He looked down at his feet and for a moment I thought he was going to cry but he didn't. Not anymore that is.

The first time I came to escort him he was a sobbing mess on the floor but he didn't want to come with me because he was convinced his master just needed time to change and after that he would love him just as much. Turns out he didn't change which even he couldn't deny after the incident repeated itself a few times and it only got worse over time. He put up a fight and got almost beaten to death and he still refused to die according to my sister Ker who tried to reap him. Now he just endured it and unconsciously kept summoning me. Which was really annoying.

"I can't help it." His voice cracked. "I know what he is going to do to me and I want to go back to him anyway. I feel empty being away from him and I'm happy with him. No matter what he does. What's wrong with me?"