12. Barythaya
BARYTHAYA
T he weight of the darkness pressed down on me, dragging me deeper into the suffocating void. It was as if the world had been swallowed whole by the shadows, leaving me to drown in this black sea. My throat was raw from screaming, from crying out for the one name that kept me tethered to whatever hope was left.
"Virgil! Virgil!"
But my voice was swallowed by the nothingness around me. There was no echo, no sign that anyone heard me. My body felt immobilized, yet the pain was searing, alive, cutting through my flesh like the sharpest of blades. It wasn't just physical agony. No, the true torment came from within—there was something inside me, a presence, gnawing at the edges of my sanity.
I could feel the monster clawing at my mind. No, not a monster, a demon. And it was the one who had been whispering twisted things in my ear, taunting me with images of blood, of suffering, of pleasure that came from the pain.
I wanted to fight it, to push it away, but I was losing, drowning under its cruel influence. My chest tightened, the air growing heavier as despair settled in like a cold storm. But worst of all was the gnawing emptiness that surrounded me and the realization that I couldn't find Virgil. No matter how hard I called for him, no matter how much I reached out through the void, he wasn't there.
"Virgil..." my voice came out as a broken whisper, barely audible. I felt like I was slipping away. I was losing this battle, sinking deeper into the abyss, and I wasn't sure I could climb out.
I screamed, clawing at nothing in my desperation and then just as suddenly, everything changed.
Something colder than the black void itself washed over me, freezing the demon's twisted voice in its tracks. The sensation was like a blade slicing through the suffocating darkness. It was calm yet terrifying—a presence unlike any I'd felt before. My heart faltered, the demon's claws retreating for just a moment, like even it recognized the power approaching.
"Barythaya..." A voice, soft but sharp, cut through the silence. It was gentle, yet it held a finality that sent chills down my spine.
My eyes fluttered open, and through the swirling abyss, I saw it. A figure cloaked in deep shadows, its robes flowing as if they were part of the night itself. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, but there was no mistaking the power radiating from it.
"Who—who are you?" I croaked, my throat burning, my voice barely a whisper.
It stepped closer, the weight of its presence filling the space between us, and with a pale, delicate hand, it reached out to me but stopped just above my face. Cold emanated from it, an unnatural chill that I welcomed because it made the demon retreat even further.
"I am what humans fear most," it said softly, its voice like ice in my veins. "I am the end. The final breath. The one who waits at the threshold when all else fades."
Death.
My heart stuttered, a cold dread sinking into my bones. The demon's grip loosened as if even it was afraid of what stood before me.
"Is that what this is? Am I dead?" I asked it.
"Not yet," it responded. "Its not your time yet..." I could feel it as it looked me over, trying to read me.
"I hear you screaming for him," Death murmured, almost sympathetically. "Screaming for Virgil. But he cannot save you, not as you are."
My breath hitched. "What do you mean?"
Death's gaze seemed to pierce through me. "Virgil is strong, but he is bound by human limitations. He cannot enter this place, this darkness where the demon feeds on you. I've seen him try. He's stubborn, unwilling to let go, clinging to hope. But you are slipping out of his grasp, Barythaya."
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. "I don't want to die. I don't want to leave him."
The figure circled me, her voice like a low hum. "Virgil loves you, but love is not enough to pull you from this place. I have spoken to him. He refuses to give me your soul, defying the natural order. But if you stay here, lost in this demon's grasp, he will lose you anyway."
My chest tightened painfully. Every word she spoke felt like the truth, sinking into me with the weight of inevitability. I was losing this fight.
"Then help me!" I cried, desperation clawing at my throat. "If he can't, then help me!"
A small, eerie smile played on Death's lips. "I can help you. I can offer you life, free you from the demon's hold... but there is a price."
The air shifted, her words settling over me like a veil of ice. "What price?" I asked, though deep down, I already feared the answer.
"You," she whispered, her voice silken, wrapping around me like a vice. "Your body. Your soul will remain intact, protected, but I will take over. You will become the vessel. The demon will have no hold on you, but you... will no longer have control."
Possession. She wanted to possess me.
My pulse raced, fear climbing up my spine. "You want to use me?"
Death stopped in front of me, her shadow consuming everything around her. "Think of it as a trade. A deal, if you will. I take what I need to survive in your world, and in return, you live. You will be with Virgil, feel him, touch him... but I will be the one in control. He will never know, unless you choose to tell him."
A shiver of revulsion ran through me. "And if I refuse?"
Her gaze darkened, and the air grew colder. "Then the demon wins. It will hollow you out, leaving nothing for Virgil to love. You will be lost to him forever."
My entire body trembled, the gravity of her words crashing down on me. I could feel the demon stirring again, its claws scraping at the edges of my mind, ready to drag me back into the pit. The pain it caused was deep and I screamed once again.
"You have little time. You must give me permission."
I looked at it, at Death, and I grabbed onto its cloth, writhing in the pain the demon was causing. "If I do this, then you have to promise to protect him."
"What?" Death just stared at me, perplexed that a human would actually request something from it.
"Promise me, you won't hurt him or allow anything to hurt him."
"I promise," it hissed.
"I... I'll do it," I whispered, the weight of the decision choking me. "I'll take the deal."
Death smiled—a smile that sent a fresh wave of dread through me—and as she reached out to place her hand on my chest, her cold touch sent a rush of icy energy flooding through me. It was like being submerged in freezing water, my body going numb as her essence spread through my veins. I could feel her pushing out the demon, forcing it back into the recesses of my mind. But with each second, I felt myself fading, slipping away.
Virgil's voice echoed in the distance, faint but filled with desperation.
"Virgil!" I screamed, my voice lost in the void. "I'm here! Don't listen to it! She's not me!"
But he couldn't hear me. I was trapped, locked inside my own body as Death took control. Its presence was overwhelming, dark and powerful, yet chillingly seductive. It craved something—something twisted.
The demon purred through my lips, a voice that wasn't mine. "Virgil…"
I screamed, helpless as the demon moved my body, trailed my hand over Virgil’s chest, licked his lips. I could feel him, but he could not sense me. Desperation settled in my core, and I screamed again as suddenly the Death reappeared.
The demon was fighting it, clawing at my soul as it was being dragged out. I huddled in a corner as Death and the demon battled it out. There was no hope, I'd lost that at some point and I questioned my weakness.
What the hell did I just agree to?
What kind of a bargain did I just make with death for my soul?
I wept, my heart breaking as I watched the scene unfold, powerless to stop it. I had allowed Death to take control, and there was no telling what it would do next.