His step echoed in the hallway, his stride confident beyond reason. Reality trembled at the coming of The One. Following his awakening, every being shuddered instinctively, as if the Ruler had returned to his throne.
The space within the very hallway of the hotel shrank itself, to not let The One take any unnecessary steps, as one was enough. He inspected the room where Ciel would be, and he saw her sorry figure beaten into the ground by the inflated abomination. Every drop of her blood healed and strengthened her enemy while she was becoming weaker and weaker.
Something snapped within The One, his already flayed sense of self, burned even greater than the very flames of oblivion. Even if 'he' was to scatter into dust, he vowed to bring annihilation to the being in front of Him.
The laws of reality rearranged themselves, bringing the abomination into another space, another plane.
It bore the full brunt of His presence, its legs creaked, almost bent. Still, it looked up towards The One, with both hatred and confusion in its mind.
"To see me, hear me, and feel me with your very being, yet still not kneeling. You're something else," The One said.
He added, "How far have you fallen, Dracul? The once proud Ruler of Vampires, now a lamprey preying on mortals, leaping from body to body."
An aged voice, coming from within the abomination's chest, answered Him with rage and hatred, "Laincelot! I heard you died with your wife in the plains of white! Why are you still here, interfering with my business in this small land!"
The voice noticed something, it chuckled, taunting The One, "Oho, looks like you're not truly unscathed. Seems like that battle took its toll on you, the one closest to becoming The One. That's why you're hiding here, stalling your eventual end."
The One simply replied, "It's enough to end you, once and for all."
It laughed maniacally, "You won't, you can't! Even if I die, I'll be reborn. I am the immortal Dracul, and the best you can do is to seal me here with you!"
"Who decided your immortality? Who decided you would be reborn? Who decided the only thing I can do is to seal you? The one to decide your fate, is Me."
A flash of doubt and fear appeared on the abomination's face, it frantically said, "You're bluffing with me! You're fucking bluffing with me, Laincelot! No one can reach that place! No one!"
"Begone," a single word from The One, and the abomination started dissipating. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
The voice panicked, begging, grovelling, and pleading, "My Lord, spare me! Oh, the merciful one, have mercy on me! Laincelot, remember the times we've met, please let this one go!"
Seeing The One unmoved, the voice finally resorted to taunting, ridiculing, and bad-mouthing. Still, The One stays unmoved, till nothing remained.
On that very day, Dracul, the ancestor of the vampires, vanished without a trace. He hath returned to nothingness, and the void accepted him.
=======
"Hey, slow down. Don't shake them up too much." a voice could be heard amidst the darkness.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't need to tell me, brother."
"The two of you! Stop talking and bring them to the ringmaster."
The voices disappeared, leaving behind the cold void.
"How is it?" one of them asked.
"Ciel's fine, she's only knocked unconscious, but the other one is in a tight spot."
Hearing my name got mentioned, I roused myself from the deep depths of the abyss.
"Urk," a small groan escaped from my lips, as I tried to lift myself from the mattress.
"All of you, please give me some time with the both of them," the old ringmaster asked.
The circus members acquiesced and left the room, one by one.
"Grandpa, what happened?" I asked, flushing the dizziness out of my system.
The old ringmaster replied, "Look at him yourself."
Looking around the room, I could see a bed beside me. There lay a man in peace, his head so proud, his face so fair, and his limbs they've lain neatly. Blemish and wounds never reached him, yet still, a mantle of silence bathe him so.
An instinctual response came over me. I tried to move toward him, even when my limbs failed to listen. A flood of grief came rushing in, as if something that held it in place, cracked apart.
My tears drizzled along the sound of spring rain and thunder that bloomed heavily in the skies. The sorrow hurts, it hurts so much.
Sighing deeply, the old ringmaster lamented, "The both of you went through a lot already. You've fought bravely and defended the ones you held dear. Since it already came to this, maybe it's time for me as an elder to step forward."
Steeling himself, the old ringmaster finally said, "Ciel! He is not dead, at least not yet. Right now, he is dreaming, and if you want him to come back as himself, you have to pull him away from that dream."
"But, I have to ask you this. Are you ready to face pain? Pain so harsh that even grown men would shy away from it?" he added.
"I'm ready," a resolute answer came out of my mouth.
Already expecting such an answer, he instructed her, "Alright, go lie back down on your bed. I put the two of you next to each other because I could see such an answer coming out of your mouth."
"Grandpa?" I called out in a little voice.
Grandfather grunted, answering me.
"Thank you."
He laughed out loud, saying, "If that's what my cute granddaughter wanted, I would certainly help her regain her happiness. Now sleep, child, and dream."
I closed my eyes, and the last thing I heard was grandpa who prayed for my good luck, on the other side.
=======
Looking at his sleeping granddaughter, the old ringmaster felt a little melancholic.
"My dearest granddaughter, both you and Laincelot were never wrong. The fault lies with us, the ones who only watched in fear when the both of you needed us the most."
Time slowed, and silence fell. A dragon roared mightily, outside of time, its sound inaudible to all. Loyd and Ciel, Laincelot and Catariel, two souls meet on the rivers of time. Cleansing resentment and cutting destiny.
"My name is Ashurbanipal, the Great Dragon of Time! Watch my work ye mighty, and despair!"
