I reeled back. Nothing had surprised me quite this much in a while. Wasn’t this Lucrys’ mind? Why the hell would Aurona be here? How the fuck could Lucrys know about my little girl? I walked toward her lightly. “It’s alright.” I smiled. “I’m back, Aurona.” I gripped my lance tighter; the ice I’d imbued upon it with Latrus crept up my forearm. As I retracted my hand slowly and took a step away, I heard a snapping sound. Her head spun backward, twisting to a gruesome angle. It wasn’t the face of my daughter. The Aurona before me was my childhood friend. The first girl I’d ever loved. My heart stung. The eyes of the beast convulsed awkwardly. It stood and tried to breathe. “Dad,” it said. The twisted fuck was trying to call me its maker! As it stumbled toward me I heard its form shatter. Limbs twisted as the thing broke apart. It wouldn’t make it far. I was safe enough across the small expanse of the room. And that’s when I noticed the slaught throne it had been resting on. Behind the disgusting creation, on her knees with her head slumped back to the sky, was my darling wife. I gripped my lance and sent it plunging through the malformation on the floor. The ice ate away at it, freezing its body. I crushed the wretch with my boot and walked to my love. “What the fuck is this place?” I asked. Her head moved slowly as she looked toward me. Red tears descended from her cheeks. “It’s the blood you use to dye your hair, isn’t it?” she asked. The voice that came was unsettling. It wasn’t her voice at all. “Selvora, you look different. Like you’ve stolen from a thief.” Her voice was Lucrys’. I grimaced and clenched my hand. “Yes, Vrah,” I replied, matching her use of Rednasmil. “I’ve stolen from a murderer.” I caressed her cheek, touching her skin once more. I dropped my weapon and pressed into her, holding her close. She crumbled away between my arms. Dark grey ashes seeping like time beneath my embrace. Flesh to dust. The figure behind me stood as the ice melted away, steam flooding throughout the room. When the haze cleared I could see my former lover standing beside my daughter. “I don’t like it, dad. It’s so warm here.” I remembered my daughter’s death. When Alucin ate half of her burning body. “Skaarin,” the other Aurona said. “Why the hell did you ever heal my eyes? Were you just always planning on stealing them from me?” I stepped toward them. The building set alight. Flames spread quickly. Red and grey licked the surroundings. Aurona smiled. “I loved being with you, Skaarin. Even when I was blind.” She dropped to the floor in front of me as my daughter set aflame. “Not again.” I wanted to scream. I could see Alucin take over my imagination. “Not for a third time!” She crumbled away before me, her form floating away and dispersing, as if she was mocking me. I dropped to my knees. This place was a hellhole. As I shook from my stupor and trudged out of the building with my lance dragging behind me, I could see a figure in the distance. I was facing away from the hill, yet here he was, walking toward me like some old traveler. Lucrys’ body still had the crystalline magnius bursting from it. It was growing now, glowing like some kdulinj. As he got closer, his right arm began to set ablaze. “It’ll keep burning like this forever,” he said as he reached me. He lightly gripped my shoulder with the burning hand. His body broke away, turning into the form of Latrus. “Forever and ever,” he said, his voice began mimicking my own. “So long as you love me, it’ll keep burning. Don’t ever think that fucker cursed me, okay? It’s more like a manifestation of my feelings for you, Aurona.”

                                                                 ◊ ◊ ◊

     Skaarin retracted, gasping for air. His eyes stung and dripped.

     He stared at Lucrys’ frame. “Alright, Lucrys, you beat me. Your head’s damn fucked. So damn slaught you can fuck with my head while fucking with yourself.” He sighed. “Now it’s my turn again.” Skaarin grabbed a small vial from the table. “Bet you didn’t know your regeneration won’t work on frozen body parts,” he said. “But don’t worry. It’ll all heal after you’ve thawed out. Or after I’ve gotten rid of what’s frozen. It may sound dangerous, but I can tell you you’ll survive. I did,” he laughed. “Maybe you can help me complete a chemical that makes one immune to temperature changes. Well, let’s get started, you poor slaught bastard.”