The moment he saw that lone silver figure, the remnants of his heart stopped. Dazzling amidst the ruin and ash of battle, shimmering, awash under the streams of light cascading from heavens above – even the clouds favoured his beauty, that otherworldly disposition shining akin to a beacon atop a hill of corpses, glory on his lips and a sword raised to the sky. A hawk, soaring above, seated on his throne, wisps of white tresses fluttering from the confines of his helmet, draping down his back, soft curls that waved to the breeze carrying the ends of his cape.
His hair had grown, but those eyes, blue as a midsummer’s lake, gentle waves sparkling under the sun – they were the same, still that whisper of gentility hidden behind a steely gaze, one which met him, grasped the tattered shards of his heart and tore from him a roar that shook the earth.
Blood wept like tears from the chasm within him, that emptiness which consumed him, ripping from him an endless wrath. The Beast, with its needling voice, sank its claws as the wound spread.
He has betrayed you, it jeered. He left you to rot in your pain, but to him, you are replaceable. You have always been replaceable.
“…N̵͖̽o̷̻͗…” He growled, the word little more than a spitting hiss of air through clenched teeth. His hands, clawed from the armor of black, gripped tighter around the broken neck of a youth bearing the sigil of the Band of the Hawk.
You know I speak the truth. The Beast cackled, a sound that echoed within his skull. You were but one stone to build his path to his dream, that dream, which has outshone you. He has moved on, deemed you worthless.
“Ǐ̶̳'̷̛͜m̵̮̆ ̵̺̂ń̵͔ỏ̸̺t̸͖͝ ̷͎͂w̸̮͆õ̷͙r̴̥̈́t̵̞̄h̷͔̍l̴̺̈ë̵̥s̷̺̆ŝ̸̨…!” He shook his head, spittle of blood splattering to the rubble adorned with bits of innards.
Disposable…inconsequential…you mean nothing to him, and now…The Beast purred:
A howl split through the cacophony of cries and cannon fire. A maw of jagged, metal teeth clamped on the carcass within his grip, sundering flesh and bone, a burst of crimson flowing down his chin. The stench of iron filled his lungs. His hands trembled, knuckles white within the cocoon of armor. Heat coiled within him, the desire to rend anguish from that perfect face filling his heart with glee and his groin with pleasure.