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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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 Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:10 pm
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:21 pm
Oh; the portal was meant for him. Josie sure felt stupid, but compared to her confusion and slowly dawning realization it was nothing. She watched mutely as he disappeared through the portal that did not close but became clear for her to see through, and though he would never hear her say it aloud she was thinking Why can't men just let someone help them once in a while? Why do they have to go on self-fulfilling quests all on their own? Women never had to. They were content enough being who they were (Josie being the exception who didn't realize that she was actually the self-loathing rule).
She stood at the portal but did not touch it, fearing that if she did she would not be able to pass through anyway. If he needed her Josie had her own way of getting around, one that he probably hadn't thought of. As it was she watched, mute, as Ertai traversed the wheat field he'd brought her to. How long ago had that been? A few days? Weeks? A lifetime? For the lifeo of her she couldn't recall.
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:25 pm
The wind cried the saddest song... The winds cried for him to return home... The voices of his ancestors lingered on, reverberating in his mind, through his flesh and soul... He stood alone in the tall confines of that golden beautiful grain. The wind bringing warmth to his soul once more, none of the curses or cold gusts would brush over his face... He was welcomed... Welcomed for what was in store for him... His pale blue eyes looked heaven side as the large tree that anchored his plane and kept it alive, exploded into billions of glowing orbs. The earth would shake, yet Ertai kept his steady resolve as he awaited what had been trapped inside of him for so long...
His knees would buckle as he fell forward, arching his back as he spread his arms. A bolt of lightning came crashing down into his chest as darkness was purged from his being... This dark cloud, this mass swept over the landscape, killing the golden grain and bringing the wind and voices to a stand still... The world, the plane itself was in awe of the massive flux of power that was released... As if a burden off his shoulders was lifted, he hunched forward, feeling most of what was left of his powers drain... Ertai had killed the grand creator of his race before and he would set upon it once again as he slowly rose to his feet...
His optics shifted as this colossal mass moved and roiled like a festering sess pool of roaches and snakes. Chittering and clicks echoed out as he looked forward. The darkness consuming the remnants of the tree itself, consuming Ertai's source of power, the souls that were captured like a net in the multi-verse.
"Ertai Vexic... Traitor to all life itself... How do you plea? Plea to the one who created you... The one who bestowed upon you the greatest of all gifts... How do you plea traitor to all you beseech."
The world erupted in this growl, lumbering diabolic voice... Thousands of red eyes opened up from the writhing mass. Yet Ertai dared not look upon it as he brought up his hands slowly, the power he still possessed was from the souls he had fought, some of the greatest fighters to ever pass through life itself resided inside of him... Yet they had their chance to be set free... Ertai wanted peace of mind, if that came by death, then so be it... He would die a thousand times a day just to keep Josie safe...
"I am guilty of all you speak, I... The tyrant of the multi-verse, the king of greed and glory, the great corrupter, the God of Gods, the eater of life and the breeder of death... I plead guilty..."
With that said the darkness lashed forward, sweeping the ground itself up in a roiling mass of blades and claws, ripping forward towards him.
Ertai would throw back his arms and begin to channel the energy he still had inside. The colors swirled around his strong grasp, white, blue, green, black, red, grey, orange... They all came flushing to his defense as he threw forward a prismatic line of energy... This wasn't enough to even phase the mass, and then it was corrupted and apart of the deity of old... His Vexa had been stripped from him, his native abilities rendered useless as he was impaled through the shoulders with large hooks and chains.
His scream was more of a whimper as he fell once more to his knees. His glossy eyes staring up at the mass of death above him.
"I am guilty..."
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:44 pm
She wasn't going to stand for this. Josie didn't quite understand what was going on; only that it was hurting Ertai, and for that it must die. With what magic she had (which was not insubstantial --no, not by any means-- but over which she did not have proper control) she could feel his own power draining as the vast black cloud overhead grew stronger. Her fingers absently toyed with the bracelet she wore and she eyed the destructive, red-eyed mass with a calculating glare.
She had to contain herself to keep from rolling her eyes at what he said next. Again, leave it to menfolk to exaggerate their crimes in their pride (even if Ertai was not exaggerating). And--
Josie choked back a startled gasp as the great thing attacked; surely he would be killed! Before she saw the result of the evil thing's strike Josie vanished with an explosion of displaced air that pulled the papers from his desk and sent them flying everywhere about the place she had been standing. Eight seconds, eight seconds was all it took for her to reappear on the other side of that portal. The grass flattened outward as the air in the space she filled rushed to make way for her. Not known for being at all intelligent when it came to fighting Josie sought to divert the writhing cloud's attention from Ertai.
"Hey!"
Though she was too late for its initial strike she cast a cocoon around Ertai, a faintly shimmering shield that clung to his skin to send blows glancing to one side or the other (instead of using sheer blocking strength to ward attacks). Maintaining the shield was not a feat of strength so much as sheer concentration, for one misplaced thought and it would fail and leave him vulnerable again. What energy she did use on it she felt leave her with frightening speed: she'd not practiced combative magic in as long as she could remember. In fact, Josie was a little proud of herself for remembering that spell at all. She stood tall --quite the feat for a person as short as herself-- and lifted her chin, her eyes flickering with a defiant light, "He doesn't need you anymore. Get the ******** out."
The shield could be overwhelmed by sheer brute force, but she had an ace up (or more specifically, on) her sleeve. The stone on her wrist shone clearly so long as she kept her hand over it.
She was finally using Ertai's gift to her.
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:57 pm
The writhing mass recoiled as she spoke, moving in and out of itself, dragging Ertai slightly through the soil before he gripped the chains tight, halting in it's tracks. The mass spoke sharply and bitterly towards Josie, firing out more chains into Ertai's flesh, pulling him down once again in a shrill of pain that echoed from his lips.
"Feeble child of Gaia, speaking out of fear more than knowledge. The words you weave through the air fall on deaf ears. I should thank you for doing this for me, I really should. For if it wasn't for you this would never of happened and I would still be trapped inside. You opened his heart which let me seep in, then when you broke it, I had my chance."
Ertai would grunt as he rose to his feet once more, wrapping his arm around one of the six chains that tore through his flesh, gripping more than just that, he would yank once more and pull the mass towards him; trying to escape.
"Feeble Ertai, a self-proclaimed God who is nothing more than what I made him to be."
The mass would shrink inside and take the figure of a humanoid. Standing a towering fifteen feet tall, made of nothing but darkness, possessing one large red eye that moved around in a circular motion. It pulled taught on the chains Ertai tried to pull away.
Ertai inhaled deeply and looked towards Josie, his free hand stretched out towards her. Agony ran through his body as he bled more and more... His body in a constant battle, healing itself and fighting the chains that burned into his flesh.
"No!"
He spat out as he yanked as hard as he could, pulling the being close enough to almost be face to face with one another. Ertai started to break the chains one by one, yet more just came lashing into his body as he tried to stop it.
Ertai fell forward limp to his knees and all the chains recoiled back into the dark figure. He was on his death kneel. A slow blink...
...and here it would begin...
A soft female voice would linger through the mind, soothing and innocent words would pour from her lips with a whimper... Her love was given to him... Given from the first breath he had taken...
"He... He is beautiful... His name will be... Ertai..."
"My son..."
The stern voice would answer to her soft tone... The eyes of the man just stared down at the new born child, his new born son... They held no emotion... They were just captivated by the beauty of his son, those eyes as cold as ice viewing the light for the first time... No noise would come from the child as it just stared back...
"My son... Ertai..."
Silence would fill the room, washing out in light as all was gone...
"Mother wait for me!
A young voice would echo out... His hair golden like the grains that washed across the rolling hills where he played. Running quickly through the fields and meadows was a woman wearing white was always a step ahead of his reaching hand. His eyes would dance in the clouds above as he watched the golden sun of their land bring such warmth to life. His boyish smile and unruly hair gave him a sense of innocence as he pleaded for his mother to stop and wait for him. Her movements would quicken as he reached out to her, her face buried down in her hands as she dropped to her knees in front of a large tree... This tree spoke to the soul, a wise and ominous voice that couldn't be played out to the ears... One would feel it...
He would stop a little behind her, tilting his curious head to the side wondering why his mother had fallen so suddenly, even more so wondering why he could hear her cries, her cries of despair and loneliness... His hand would reach forward as he crept up behind her, dropping to his knees as well he would wrap his arm around her shoulder and nudge her slightly...
"Mother... Are you alright? Should I call for father?"
He would move in front of her and hug tightly onto her, this would trigger he body to jolt forward and wrap her arms around him, burring her face into his shoulder, her sobbing words came crumbling out from her quivering lips, such grief and sorrow.
"I am so sorry... I am so sorry..."
His eyes would widen as he was suddenly jerked back into the air by his shirt. He would wriggle and squirm around as he slipped from his clothing bind and roll forward, staggering through the grain trying to keep balance as he turned to catch a glimpse of the thing that had attempted to capture him... His pale eyes died at that moment as he made contact with the same gaze... His father stood there, his head cast to the side in shame as the clouds rolled overhead, darkness came to be... Cold winds would wash over his skin as he crawled back when his father came towards him... He would put his hand up to deflect his fathers, but it was no use...
His voice would screech out as he struggled to break free.
"Father whats going on... Mother help... Mother help... Father no..."
He would black out...
His eyes would flutter open slowly, his face couldn't move and his body wouldn't move either. He could see nothing but a bright light in front of him... The putrid smell of oil and burning hair it would seem... His face contorted with the scents and scenes before him as he kept trying to move... His voice calling out for help...
"Mother!"
He would be silence sharply as a hand slid over his mouth, his eyes scanned and searched for a face to match with the hand, and then he seen his father... His eyes would widen as he felt the slicing of his flesh from his body, cries muffled out by the smothering leather bound glove that masked his mouth and noise, his body convulsing as air was being blocked off. His eyes swelling and tearing out as his complexion started to become pale and blue... His body jerking as he felt the blade slide through his flesh and into his chest, the lack of air, his eyes would roll back, the beautiful blue would die away...
There he stood...
His eyes sudden and dark, his gaze empty and lethargic as he seemed to be watching this large machine rip his young naked body to pieces. Saws and drills deprave him of normalcy, he would watch with sorrow... A burden weighing down on him, he would look to his side and his father would be standing next to him, fading in and out of image like he was... Hearing only a few cold and empty words..
"Sorrow and grief plague me my son... It was given down as a decree from our grand creator that you would be the next being to bear his gift... I am so sorry... When I die... I know it to be soon... Please, remember my name... Let it be known that I love you... My beautiful son... I..."
He would hold his hand up to the shuttering wraith of his father, he knew he was beyond that of life and in between death... His being was washed in the quintessential energies in all life... His body was not that of the same young boy... His hair was now black, his skin pale... Striding forward he would place a hand on his own cheek, trying to wake himself up as if this was a dream... Tears would roll down from both of their eyes as the body would awaken... Same pale blue eyes fluttered and soon a agonizing scream would erupt... He felt pain once more...
His body was still strapped down... In shock from the pain he felt different, he felt cold... He felt as if he could understand what had happened to him... His eyes would shift down to the braces, straps and wires that held his small frame to the platform... He would struggle and break through them with ease, the wires would grow darker and retreat back into his body...
"The pain..."
He would whisper out as he looked at his blood and oil covered body... He touched his face and felt his skin, it felt the same... He would take a step down from the table and be instantly crushed with pain as he felt a voice inside of his head... This voice was absolute, he would comply with out second thought...
Ertai's mind was drifting away slowly, he looked over once more at Josie and blinked slowly, her mind would instantly be filled with his visions, his reflection...
"Josie... I... I love you..."
He would reach out towards her, falling forward into the dirt.
"I will make you suffer for all eternity..."
The dark being spoke as it moved closer towards Josie and Ertai.
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:16 pm
What was it doing to him? She watched anxiously as the seconds ticked into minutes and neither he nor the enormous creature standing over him moved. Josie's initial conviction that she could fight this thing had failed her; it seemed she could only watch. And when Ertai finally did move he turned his head to look at her. Visions plagued her and she cried out, thinking the memory-flood had started again. But these were not hers, and it dawned on her that the boy she watched was Ertai. Her eyes widened blindly with horror for what was done to him, and though it did not justify his darkness to her it did explain it.
At his words she shook herself free of the visions, stepping forward to meet him as he fell. But the other presence remained, and it advanced on them as she reached Ertai. Surprisingly, she who was terrified of death was now grinning at the prospect of an eternity of torment. Either Josie had gone nuts, she didn't really think it would happen or she had finally found some cajones. Her voice rose to meet this menace, clear and ********, do your worst."
Don't let it hurt anymore than it has to, please, please let it be quick...
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:35 pm
Ertai grabbed Josie's hand and squeezed tight. He pushed himself up as the dark figure fired out more of those sinister chains towards Josie. Ertai blocked them with his back. He spoke nor did he cry out, only a look of shame came across his face as his pale optics moved from her face to the dirt below. Ertai stood up sharply and swung his arms once again, breaking the chains and falling back to his knees.
"Josie... I can never be saved, the love you feel for him is stronger then I can give you..."
Ertai's eyes flashed as he tried to stand once more, sending the ground up in a spiraling mass of blades towards the dark figure, his desolation energy was no match for the one who gave it to him. The dark figure stood in silence and watched the dying God and the Gaian beauty.
Josie... Run."
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:56 pm
So that's what this was about? Josie backed away from Ertai, her eyes narrowed dangerously. She could not be particularly upset at him when he was trying to save her life by sending her away, but she was angry that he still didn't realized that what she felt for him was not cheapened by her equal love for Kenji. Her feelings for them were not halved by feelings for the other, but rather strengthened, because where one faltered the other bolstered her confidence and gave her greater love for them both. Neither of them were perfect, but in this Kenji was the better man, because he had always accepted what she offered as more than adequate.
Josie was done beating herself up over this. If Ertai meant to push her away again and again let him. She was done with tailoring herself to fit his expectations.
"If that's what you want, Ertai." She responded stiffly, turning from him to run. The portal was still open.
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 5:18 pm
Ertai would turn from her ashamed of what he had said, yet he knew it was for the best that he face his demons and take what was in store for him. His pale blue eyes looked up at the shadowy figure as it opened it's arms around Ertai. It looked like he had given up on everything, his grand legacy, his epic struggle to defeat what looms inside of him... His heart was torn from his chest as the shadowy figure slammed both hands into him. This wasn't a physical heart, but the device that kept Ertai going. A small fragment of a gem, the same as the one on her wrist...
He whimpered out softly as he fell backwards, his eyes moved slightly towards her walking away, his hand reaching for her as the color in his eyes faded out to gray, whispering out...
"I love you..."
The dark figure consumed the crystal and shook. The ground and the world around Josie was crumbling at a manic rate, the sky would crack as if it was made of glass. The earth lifted into the sky. In the distance she could see the palace shift and tumble downwards, the once beautiful and majestic towers were no more... Nothing but fire and darkness erupted from the palace grounds. The city in the distance started to crumble and fall in on itself slowly... Just as he said it would happen...
Yet as Josie walked away that flower he had given her would come fluttering through the wind out of the portal... It would sweep past her face, the sweet scent of mint and brandy wine, much as he had smelled... The flower would float and gently land in his open hand, the only thing pure at this moment in time...
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 5:36 pm
The portal had opened up on the palace, and when it crumbled in the distance Josie could only watch as through the portal the ceiling collapsed on Ertai's room. It effectively blocked her escape, though only temporarily; she could always teleport again. But it gave her a moment's pause, and in that moment she felt a surge of guilt that had to be tightly clamped down. Ertai was the one ordering her away. She had stayed for his sake, first to help save his world and then because she really did love him. But... well, no one needed that explained to them again.
Josie turned back, only vaguely moved by the sight of him being devoured by the creature that had given him his powers. She was good at that: distancing herself from things as if they didn't matter to her. The truth was different, but the truth was hidden behind her expressionless eyes.
"I know."
And at that, granted that her escape was not blocked by some monstrous force of will, she would vanish.
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 6:42 pm
The world would freeze for a moment as time itself seemed to have stopped except for Ertai and Josie. That exotic beautiful flower Ertai had picked for Johanna that day they had talked by the garden pond. Josie would recall this as well, Ertai had said to her this was the soul of his mother, the one person in his life to had loved him before he had been turned into what he was, even upon her death she loved him and with this would come to make a mothers sacrifice. A faded white light loomed around Josie and the bracelet around her wrist, the gem would shatter into a thousand and one shards, so small they could only be seen as reflecting beams of light. This light would rush into Josie's soul, a voice soft and gentle like that of the perfect sanctuary would come to be.
"Josie Chantal, child of Earth, daughter of Gaia. I see your soul pure and clear of evil. Your history is as bloody and murky as his, yet he dies where you live. He draws no breath and tastes not the wine, as you do, and enjoy it every time. He cannot cry, he cannot smile or laugh, you can and will. He sees the folly in his ways yet cannot save himself from it, you see not the folly of your ways, yet is always saved, not by your charm or grace, but by those who love that truly save. I will sacrifice myself to save you both this time."
The dark figure would step into the light and in a moment, a brilliant flash and at that moment darkness met light and embraced in the most divine of ways. A woman of light embraced this dark figure as black as night, and all was silent and the crumbling world returned to sight.
Ertai lay, his eyes closed, his hand reaching for Josie as he fell before. He breathed but failed to move or respond to what had happened.
"Remember my words... Live -your- life Josie Chantal... Live it happy and well..."
The small gem at her wrist changed in colors to like that of yin and yang... The black section broke off and turned into smoke, it moved through the darkness and back into Ertai and with it brought back his heart...
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 11:06 pm
There was that name again, "--Chantal... Live it happy and well..." As all this had been happening part of Josie's attention had remained on the gem she wore on its delicate silver chain. So she saw when the glowing white stone was split down its center with ebony darkness, just as she saw when the darkness broke off and turned to smoke. She remained silent as her gaze followed this wisp of smoke to Ertai only to see it disappear inside him. Oh? And what did this portend?
Josie did not kneel at his side. She stood over Ertai and stared down at him dispassionately, her gray eyes blank. For whatever sacrifice the eons old spirit of his mother had made it would matter little if he had not seen what she could not make him see. Yes they had their lives, but she would just take hers and go if Ertai continued to think her love of him inadequate (such was her own misguided sense of self-importance that she thought all this had happened for her sake). It all banked on what he would say after regaining unconsciousness.
"Ertai?"
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:14 pm
Ertai's eyes would open, sullen and glazed over in a way that couldn't be explained. He had looked as if he had been to the edge and back, he slowly sat up... No expression on his face as he looked towards the crumbling world. The once beautiful field of grain was black, dead and the winds were now cold... A soft hymn could be heard, an ominous force indeed. Ertai rose to his feet, staggering a bit he placed a hand on Josie's should for balance, his beaming blue eyes stared down at his hand as if it was the first time he had seen it... Slowly he would breathe, a soft whisper as he looked towards his palace in the east...
"Josie, I finally see..."
He would move from her after regaining his balance, staggering for only a moment. The world around them was crumbling, the earth quaked lightly, the sky was consuming everything around them. He fell to his knees on the edge of his world, and he would simply hold up his right hand, the blue of his eyes sparked, flickering like a candle in the wind. A faint white glow would echo from his palm as he unleashed his power over his world once more.
The sky cracked and everything around Josie and Ertai changed in an instant, the golden fields returned, the giant tree as well. The palace looked normal as did the city... Everything was as if nothing had happened, his absolute dominion over everything they could see was back. His body was draped in black once again, his military over coat once again draped his body. He rose to his feet, turning back to look at Josie. With a triumphant smile, not a devious grin.
He would take a step forward towards her and extend to her his hand. His pale eyes staring into hers.
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:40 pm
"Oh yeah?" Josie continued to watch him with a blank stare, not daring to hope he really had. Standing there with her feet planted and her arms crossed she was the picture of stubbornness, as if the world couldn't end until she was ready for it to on her own time. Not a little of that defiance was directed at him, for Ertai had constantly reminded her of her own infidelity and really pissed her off a few times.
It was a good thing he could control everything within his realm, because all of this falling to his knees and staggering upright would have given him hellish grass stains on his knees on any other realm (and to her fashionable senses stains were the height of <********>). And you know, despite her conviction to give him a hard time trying to get back into her good graces her expression softened noticeably when the world returned to its former glory. Josie had to bite back a smile to see the wheat fields return and the enormous sky-girdling tree overhead in full foliage again; she really did find this place beautiful. She could have been happier lying out under that canopy than haunting the dimly-lit halls of his castle. Could be, if he continued to say the right thing.
When he offered her his hand Josie didn't take it. Her steady gaze met his, "We almost died because you couldn't accept what I had to offer," She did not speak accusingly, but calmly, "If that happens again make no mistake that I will leave you. As I've told you..." She stepped forward, pulling the arm he held extended around her slender waist. Josie held herself close enough for Ertai to feel the heat of her breath on his neck, "I know it is not ideal for your beloved to love anyone but you, but make no mistake that I have chosen to remain at your side. Don't punish me for having too large a heart."
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His Name - Ertai Vexic Captain
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:50 pm
Ertai looked down at her tight pressed to his body. He moved towards her neck as she spoke and kissed it gently before cutting her off all together and with a small flare of passion he kissed her deeply. He laughed softly as he thought about something that he almost wanted to do.
"Heh... I had one of those movie moments you talk about, I just wanted to sweep you off your feet just then."
He acted lax and content at the moment, but as far as she knew this wouldn't last knowing his odd flares of emotion. He placed his hands atop of hers and smiled.
"I cannot punish you for having a large heart, where as you cannot punish me because of the way I am. I love you Josie and I am willing to ignore this fact you still have love for Kenji, where as I find it hard to love anyone but the immediate."
Ertai let her go gently and looked skywards and took a deep breath, knowing he didn't need to breathe to live, it was more of a normality issue, a habit he never shook.
"Josie please drop the tough girl act with me, you have no need to get stubborn with me, I did die for a moment Josie, I truly did... When you turned from my hand at that last moment... I had never felt a fear as I did then, my life being twiddled away by the one who did it to me before, I had truly let go of everything but you, I realized the tragedy in my ways, I never wish to hurt you, or to make you feel sad. I want you by my side forever..."
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