Drew this back in December but didnt get motivation to finish it till right now 😅. Didnt want it to rot in my sketch book forever so im finally posting it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
── .✦ Prompt› you go to a cursed black lake after reaching your breaking point, only to encounter Mephiles lurking beneath the water. The story leans really heavy into dark romance, despair, and the strange comfort of the void.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
𝒜𝒩➤ This is a piece I wrote during one of my depressive episodes. i poured a lot of heavy emotions into this story, so it’s definitely darker and more personal than my usual work. And ofc I had to put a little bit of romance in it.🤭 Amyway...enjoy.
꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦
The forest was silent.
Not peaceful silent.
Dead silent.
The kind that swallowed every crunch of your footsteps whole. The kind that made the hairs on your arms rise as the trees twisted overhead like skeletal fingers trying to cage the sky itself.
You ran anyway.
Branches scraped your skin. Your lungs burned. Tears blurred your vision until the world became nothing but shadows and moonlight smeared across black bark.
But none of it mattered.
Nothing mattered anymore.
Not the aching emptiness in your chest. Not the sleepless nights. Not the way every morning felt heavier than the last. You were tired.
So tired.
The black lake finally came into view through the trees.
Still.
Endless.
Its water looked wrong somehow. Too dark. Too thick. Like liquid ink instead of water. Moonlight did not reflect off its surface. It disappeared into it.
People whispered about this place.
Said those who wanted to die came here.
And the lake accepted them.
You stumbled toward the shore, breathing hard. Your shoes sank slightly into the wet earth as cold wind curled around your body like unseen hands welcoming you home.
Your eyes burned.
“This is it…” your voice cracked softly.
No one would miss you long enough.
No one would understand anyway.
You stepped closer to the edge.
Then the lake moved.
You froze.
At first, it was only ripples. Slow circles spreading across the surface. Then something beneath the water shifted.
Large.
Ancient.
The darkness itself began to rise.
Your breath caught in your throat as a figure emerged from the black lake.
Tall.
Looming.
Liquid darkness poured from his body in heavy streams, dripping back into the water beneath him. His form looked almost unfinished, shadows constantly shifting across crystal-like skin. Lime green eyes glowed violently against reddish-pink sclera, piercing through the night with an unnatural brilliance.
Mephiles.
The Dark.
The deity hidden beneath the lake.
Every story was true.
Fear crawled up your spine instantly, icy and sharp.
But beneath that fear…
Was fascination.
You couldn’t look away.
He stared at you with eerie stillness. Like a predator studying something wounded.
Or curious.
The air itself felt heavier around him. Suffocating. The shadows near your feet stretched toward him as though desperate to return to their master.
Drip.
Drip.
Black liquid slid from his claws.
Then he spoke.
His voice was smooth and hollow all at once. Like echoes whispering inside a cave.
“Do you wish to become one with the dark, mortal?”
The question settled deep inside your chest.
Not cruel.
Not mocking.
Simply asked.
Your lips parted but no sound came out.
Mephiles tilted his head slightly.
“You came here seeking death,” he continued quietly. “I can feel it dripping from your soul.”
Heat flooded your eyes again.
You looked away from him, fists trembling at your sides.
“I just…” your voice broke. “I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
Silence.
The lake shifted softly behind him.
Then suddenly he was closer.
You hadn’t even seen him move.
A startled breath escaped you as towering darkness stood directly in front of you now. Cold radiated from him like winter itself. His clawed hand lifted slowly toward your face.
You should’ve run.
You should’ve been terrified.
But instead…
You stayed still.
His claw brushed beneath your chin carefully. Strangely carefully.
“You creatures are fragile things,” he murmured.
His glowing eyes searched yours.
“And yet… you continue to crawl forward despite your suffering.”
Something about the way he said it made your chest ache harder.
Not pity.
Understanding.
Real understanding.
The shadows around your feet curled tighter.
“You stand at the edge of oblivion,” Mephiles whispered. “And still your heart hesitates.”
Because it did.
You hated that it did.
Even after everything.
Even after all the pain.
A small part of you still feared disappearing.
Mephiles noticed.
Of course he noticed.
If he had a mouth, you knew he'd be smiling. In a soft, strange way.
“You do not truly wish for death,” he said.
Your eyes stung.
“Then what do I want…?”
For the first time, Mephiles looked almost mobian.
Not because his appearance changed.
But because something ancient and lonely flickered behind those glowing eyes.
“To be released,” he answered quietly.
The wind howled across the lake.
Your breathing shook.
And standing before the embodiment of darkness itself…
You had never felt so seen.
His words lingered in the cold air between you.
'To be released.'
Something inside you shattered quietly at that.
Not violently.
Not all at once.
Just a slow unraveling.
Like silk slipping from trembling fingers.
Your knees nearly gave out beneath you, but Mephiles caught you before you could fall. Shadows curled around your waist instantly, holding you upright with unnatural gentleness.
His touch was freezing.
Yet somehow it soothed the fire in your chest.
You looked up at him through wet lashes. “Will it hurt…?”
The deity stared down at you silently for a moment. Black liquid dripped steadily from the ends of his claws onto the shoreline beneath him.
Then he leaned closer.
“No,” he whispered.
The word brushed against your skin like midnight wind.
Your breath trembled.
Mephiles lifted one hand toward your face again, claws ghosting across your cheek with impossible care. Darkness spilled from his fingertips where they touched you, spreading slowly beneath your skin like ink through water.
Cold.
So cold.
But the ache inside you began fading with it.
Your grief.
Your exhaustion.
The unbearable heaviness you had carried for so long.
It melted away piece by piece into him.
A shaky breath escaped your lips.
Mephiles watched your expression carefully, almost mesmerized by it.
“You suffer beautifully,” he murmured.
The statement should have disturbed you.
Instead, it made tears spill down your cheeks.
Because no one had ever looked at your pain before.
Not truly.
But he did.
The shadows around your body thickened, climbing slowly higher. They coiled around your wrists, your legs, your throat, not restraining you but embracing you. Pulling you toward him.
Toward the dark.
Mephiles lowered his head slightly until his forehead rested against yours.
His glowing eyes dimmed faintly.
“You may let go now.”
Your body trembled hard at those words.
As though some exhausted part of your soul had been waiting centuries to hear them.
You closed your eyes.
And surrendered.
Instantly, darkness poured into you.
Not sharp.
Not violent.
It flowed through your body like black water, seeping into every crack inside your heart. Your gasp caught as shadows slipped between your ribs, curling around your lungs, your spine, your pulse.
Consuming.
Devouring.
Loving.
Your heartbeat slowed.
The world around you faded into nothing but cold and him.
Mephiles held you closer as your body weakened against his chest. His claws spread carefully across your back while darkness spilled endlessly from beneath his skin, swallowing yours whole.
The sensation was terrifying.
Beautiful.
Intimate.
Like being kissed by oblivion itself.
A soft sound escaped you as your memories began peeling away one by one into the void.
Painful memories.
Lonely nights.
Every cruel word.
Every disappointment.
He took them first.
Almost tenderly.
As though he knew exactly which pieces hurt the most.
Your tears finally stopped.
Mephiles’ eyes widened slightly at the sight of your expression softening in his arms.
Peace.
At last.
“You are quiet now,” he whispered.
His voice sounded almost reverent.
The shadows climbed higher across your skin until you could barely feel your own body anymore. You were dissolving into him slowly, your form breaking apart into drifting black fragments that disappeared against his chest.
And somehow…
You weren’t afraid.
You tilted your head weakly, looking up at him one final time.
“Will I disappear…?”
For the first time since emerging from the lake, Mephiles hesitated.
Something flickered across his face.
Something ancient.
Lonely.
Then his hand cradled the side of your face with startling softness.
“No,” he said quietly. “You will become mine.”
Your breath hitched softly.
The last of your heartbeat fluttered weakly beneath your ribs.
Then stopped.
The shadows swallowed you completely.
Your body dissolved into darkness against his own, melting into the void like rain disappearing into the sea.
And Mephiles stood alone at the shore once more.
Black water lapping gently at his feet.
Silent forest surrounding him.
But now…
There was another heartbeat echoing inside the dark with him.
