Noctem

" My parents?.. surely you jest."

Nox replied in an even manner, his voice betraying no emotion as he spoke.

Although he seemed calm , his mind was anything but.

The mist wraith who was resting lazily on the tree, seemingly nonchalant about Nox who was before him was emanating a deadly energy that felt entirely different from mana.

Besides, its aura was nothing to scoff at, Nox felt an immense pressure crushing down on his soul and he did everything in his power to avoid the eyes of the wraith.

He felt some kind of pattern in the movement of the mist entity, something he observed the first time he encountered it in the cursed forest and then came to a conclusion.

The first time he met the mist wraith, he had made eye contact with it, although the feeling he got while staring into its eyes was sickening he didn't feel like he was going to perish. At least not until the mist wraith itself tried to get him to look into its eyes.

At that moment he could vaguely remember what he felt. Fear, regret and the desire for revenge.

' my emotions and my mind was a mess back then, those negative feelings could have been what gave the mist wraith the authority to try to claim my soul... Wait, if that's the case then...'

Nox suddenly paled, his body trembled slightly and he quickly shut his eyes.

' This bastard... He was trying to get me to lower my guard since I appeared in the white room.'

" Oh, you noticed!" The mist wraith mockingly remarked. " You're pretty smart for an abomination."

Nox remained tight-lipped, his fear was betrayed only by the slight clenching of his jaw.

He suddenly went frigid, a cold sweat formed on his brows as he felt the presence of the mist wraith drawing closer to him.

There were no footsteps, no alarming sound to notify him of the wraith's approach, It was only when a pair of cold hands clasped his cheeks that he knew how close the wraith had gotten to him.

A slight tremble ran through Nox's body as the wraith whispered into his ears.

" But that smartness can only take you so far, you see.. if I wanted to, I could have claimed your soul already but it's not quite done yet, I still need to cook it a bit more.. I need to taste your pain, your despair, your agony and sorrow, I want to savor every single moment of it."

It chuckled.

" So you don't have to worry about that, your body is dying anyway, whichever way it is, I'm already in possession of your soul, since you died in my territory."

Its whisper deepened as he leaned a bit closer to Nox, close enough that some strands of its hair were touching the side of Nox's face.

" Now... Open your eyes, I still have a lot of things to show you."

As if he was compelled to, Nox's eyes slowly shot open, and his gaze was met directly with a mischievous and deranged smile from the wraith.

While that may have been a bit terrifying for Nox, what made him shudder more was the eyes of the wraith.

Within that boundless abyss which was usually pitch black, Nox could see numerous humans, and even beasts trapped within them, all spiraling in deeper into the endless abyss.

As Nox gazed into those pitch black eyes of the wraith, a weird sensation occurred and it felt as though his soul had been separated from his body.

' Wha.. '

He suddenly found himself in a familiar village close to the cursed forest, it wasn't that large of a place, but the houses built there seemed quite modern according to the standards of the mystic realm.

The place was bustling with life yet at the same time its atmosphere was serene, as if the very scene in front of him was some kind of concept, an illusion of sorts created by the vile entity that was standing beside him.

Nox narrowed his eyes, he glanced at the mist wraith who had an unsettling smile on his face.

After a while of tense silence the wraith spoke up.

" It's peaceful isn't it."

It slowly turned its neck towards Nox and gave him an eerie grin with its teeth exposed.

" But your existence destroyed them all, this peaceful life of the pack members was doomed, just because you were born. Parents lost their children, children lost their parents, lovers lost their partners all because of one person. Well to be honest I enjoyed the show quite a lot."

Nox glared at the mist wraith, his voice was laced with icy rage as he asked.

" Your point exactly?."

The wraith smiled.

" Nox you're a killer, and a cursed one at that, wherever you go a trail of blood follows. Don't go around playing vigilante and seeking revenge for the death of your parents, when you caused it."

A subtle frown was visible on Nox's face and the wraith sighed.

" It seems I've said some unnecessary things, nevermind me, now let's go see your parents."

The wraith walked forward, navigating the village flawlessly like he's lived there his whole life. He passed through a few houses and Nox followed closely behind, of course Nox didn't really need to trail behind the wraith, granted he's lived in the village his whole life.

Even though the village he was seeing now was merely an illusion created by the mist wraith, it had done a fine job recreating the village, everything was perfectly detailed, from the houses to the river fall even down to the tiniest details, everything was replicated.

They came to a stop in one of the houses. Just like the rest of the houses in the village, it was made of a rich, weathered timber which blended seamlessly with its surroundings. The wood varied in tones, from a deep chestnut color to lighter honey hues.

The roof was steeply pitched with aged soft grey wooden shingles. It had small windows with wooden shutters and the front door was solid and heavy, crafted from the same timber as the cottage. It possessed a few wrought iron hitches and a simple hand made latch. A stoney chimney rose from the side of the cottage and a nice porch was out in front of the house.

Staring at the house, Nox couldn't help but feel nostalgic. This was the house he and his parents lived in.

After staring for a little while, the wraith looked like it was about to say something but eventually it didn't utter a single word, instead they went around the house to the back, where there was a beautiful expanse of green grasses, short and quite soft. There were a few trees around it, and some beautiful flowers in it as well.

And in the midst of the mesmerizing greenland stood two people, one had silky black hair cascading down all the way to her waist, her skin was pale and her eyes were crimson, she had a small lip, a curvy figure and an ample bosom, a small birthmark visible just beneath the left side of her lips, she was truly a beauty most men would have killed for.

Besides her stood a man with an unruly silver hair, his bright green eyes glowed with a fierce intensity, he had a well structured body to go along with his extremely stunning looks, a large tattoo of a crescent moon with a wolf curled within it was all but visible on his right hand.

Nox knew that they were nothing more than an illusion, but still he couldn't help but feel a little happy and sad at the same time.

He was happy that he got to see their faces again but he was sad because he knew he would never feel the warm embrace of his parents again, just the thought of it brought a terribly agony to his heart, still a faint and subtle smile appeared on his lips.

He was about to take a step when they both called out to him.

" Nox!" They said simultaneously and Nox froze in his tracks.

' wha.. what is happening, I didn't hear wrong did I? Mom never calls me Nox, the same with dad."

He was still a bit confused but he quickly reminded himself that every single thing he was currently seeing was nothing more than a fake copy of what they once were.

" If you were going to show me this then you should have been more proficient in your creation."

The mist wraith seemed a bit stunned by it but quickly followed it up with a smile.

" Ah.. well there's a limit to what I can do, it's not as though I'm lacking in any way, I'm just working with the memories of the residents of this village which I had eaten."

A weird silence filled the atmosphere, both Nox and the mist wraith stood still, perfectly unmoving, none of them made a single sound.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Nox decided to ask.

" If everyone was replicated in your illusion, then why wasn't I included at all."

The mist wraith chuckled, then he began laughing, like he had been expecting that question for a while he quickly answered.

" Well what do you think.. in this version of your world, you were not included because in this copy.."

He lingered for a moment then continued.

" .. in this copy, your parents sold you off to your pursuers just so they could live."

The wraith's eerie laugh echoed throughout the grassland creating a cacophony that was simply unpleasant to the ears of any mundane human who heard it.

An immense suffocating pressure befell the surrounding atmosphere, forcing the mist wraith to abruptly stop its crazed laughter.

It gazed at Nox whose head hung low and face was covered in deep shadows.

Nox clenched his fists tightly, he slowly turned towards the wraith, and in a muffled voice laced with rage he questioned.

" Damned wraith,... You dare mock my parents?." 

As soon as he asked that question, a crack appeared in the imaginary world the wraith had created. A stunned look was visible on the face of the mist wraith as it watched its creation being torn apart by the sheer pressure and murderous intent Nox was currently emanating.

One by one more cracks appeared in the space of the illusion, until the imaginary world which the wraith had created closely resembled an old mirror that was littered with cracks.

 The wraith had a deep scowl on its face as Nox began approaching it.

As Nox took a step forward, the imaginary world which was littered with cracks shattered and the two of them were tossed back into the white room.