Prologue
“Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Quite.” Liet smirked weakly as he lay in his bed, loosely wrapped in blankets. Colbrandt had taken the form of Skylen and was seated beside him, clutching his hand. “Could you please change into something else? A bowl of soup, perhaps.”
“I apologize, I meant only to comfort you,” Colbrandt murmured sheepishly as his skin began to bubble and melt until he had dissolved, leaving a bowl of steaming tomato soup on the chair. “Funny, this is how we met.”
“And this is how our relationship ends,” A tear dribbled down Liet’s wrinkled cheeks. “I can travel through time, bend it to my will, yet I can’t stop myself from aging. I, Liet Rochben, the Legendary Vampire Slayer, Master Chronomancer, am going to die from old age.”
“You’re a legend, your name will forever be remembered for ridding the world of demons,” the soup bubbled as Colbrandt spoke. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Liet replied as droplets of depression began to pour down his face. “I’m terrified.”
“Of dying?”
“I didn’t know how to kill demons. I stopped their hearts to keep them from resurrecting. I’ve been keeping them in stasis for centuries,” Liet turned his head to look away from Colbrandt. “Death is not what I’m afraid of. It’s the hell that will be unleashed following my death.”
The bowl of soup fell off the chair, spilling onto the ground. From the mess rose a skull-faced man with chipped horns that sprouted from his head just behind where his ears would be and wrapped around themselves until the tips almost dug into his shoulders. “I consider you a close friend, Liet, so I’m going to let you in on a secret. Do you know why I gave you some of my power all those years ago?”
“You wanted me to become a demon.”
“No,” Colbrandt snickered as Liet turned his head to face him. “I knew how much pain it would cause you. You had already been through so much, but I knew that you could take so much more. Outliving all of your newfound allies, killing your former companions, everything that you thought you were doing to save humanity… I didn’t assist you so that you could become a demon. I did it so you could become the strongest demon!”
“All of this pain will have been worthwhile if I bought enough time for someone to find a way to fight back,” it was becoming difficult for Liet to form his words.
“Because we go way back, my good friend, I’d like to make you an offer. When I bring you back to life, would you like to remember any of this?”
“No.”
“Alright,” Colbrandt spoke softly as Liet’s breathing began to slow. His heartbeat got slower and slower until it had stopped completely. “I’ll only keep the memories that will hurt you the most.”
Colbrandt stood up and stretched, then blew out the candles and stood in the darkness. It was absolutely silent. After a few seconds, a quiet drumming began to rise. Colbrandt began to laugh maniacally as the room filled with the sound of a dozen heartbeats.
