Prologue
ㅡA weight is planted into the ground, the howling wind swirls around his head as it whips around his hair in several directions. He sweats, he can tell from the droplets that pass his temples and continues down over his jaws. The pain from the chains that bind his hands together behind his back feels cold and sweaty - but feels far from the pain that pulls at his heart. They're not touching him, Yeosang knows they fear him. They believe he's cursed; they believe he has intercourses with the devil. That he is a monster from hell.
The boy doesn't breathe the air anymore. He can't think rationally right now, as he smells the smoke from the bonfire he knows is waiting for him on the other side of the hill. Yeosang can feel the tears start to form in his eyes for every next step he takes. His clothes are dirty, worn out, and smells of a musty cellar. The sky is dark, telling a story of sorrow and low spirits. He feels lonely.
Then a hand thrusts violently a piece of garlic into his mouth and the tears fall as the pain breaks out into his whole body. First, it hits his mouth, making him hiss out as his dangerous teeth burst out. Yeosang's knees fail and he hits the high grass while attempting to spit out the filthy piece in his mouth. But he can't - a cloth is already forced into his mouth and bound around his head too tight. The boy stares up into the eyes of the knight who sniggers down at his pitiful state. The garlic burns the insides of his mouth, spreading like a wildfire on the insides of the rest of his body. He cries out in a new wave of pain when a cross is pulled into his head, burning a red mark on his forehead. Yeosang murmurs incoherent words into the fabric that is slowly splitting his mouth in two, pleading for them to stop those tortures. The knight only laughs at him, pulls his head high with the end of his sword, and peers into a set of screaming orbs.
"They really thought you were doing very well, huh Yeosangie. But guess what? Even the best ones can fail, my dear," the knight caresses his hair with a dagger he holds in his other hand, "You just chose the wrong path, hmm... "
The knight's eyes glint just as hazardous as his weapons and Yeosang tries not to swallow the mix of garlic and spit that fills his mouth when the man leans in closer and whispers in his uncovered ear.
"Memento mori..remember we all must die... It's your time to end your journey here. The pact you have with Satan is not something he wants to see among his chosen ones. I know you understand, this is how we punish traitors in the rightful way," the knight's low chuckles send chills down the boy's spine, causing a shudder to run through his body.
A part of Yeosang's chivalry fades away for every word the knight tells him. He had trusted this man, he thought they were at least more than acquaintances after all the hours they had spent together before the accident. He had admired this knight and wondered if he would ever skill the sword in the same way he did. He had sworn his life on this vassal more than twice.
"Park Seonghwa! Enough!"
The man lets go of Yeosang again as he grinds his teeth together out of pure annoyance. When he moves the weapons away, he draws blood across his ashy skin, but Yeosang fairly even feels the pull of fresh wounds when he shifts his attention from the black-haired knight to the Templar's Lord. This event is exciting for many.
Something sharp pushes him in his back, and Yeosang is tumbled to stand on his feet again. He doesn't dare to look up at the highest commanding man, standing rich and tall in front of him. He knows the vassal is still glaring at him.
"We are not brutish people, Park. Fear the realm of evil and suffering and lead the betrayer to the venue without saying another word. This is an order!" The man shouts at the knight and lets his eyes linger a last time at the boy who trembles in pain from the poisonous piece in his mouth he desperately gags at. He trails his dark eyes from the bloodied cloth in Yeosang's mouth, further along, the black veins that run raisable beneath his skin to his wrists he tries to pull from the chain that only digs deeper for every move he makes. A grin rises from his chapped lips when he catches sight of Yeosang's scared orbs.
Yeosang closes his eyes and wishes for every bare star in the sky, to spare him mercy. Even at this moment, he still can feel those strong arms slide around his slender figure under the clothes, keeping him warm and secure and heavenly like he's one of those ancient Greek gods no one around him ever will believe in. Yeosang is different from the people here and has to be treated differently. His father is wrong, the knight that tells him he's one of Satan's apprentices is wrong. The boy lets out a gurgling sound when he throws up and feels the sticky touch of blood seeping through the cloth and dripping down his shape. He misses Wooyoung! Everything was better with Wooyoung when times were looking different than what it is now. He hadn't needed to master those stupid weapons to live an honorable life - he could have had everything he wishes for if his father hadn't forced him to those blessed lands, also known as Lectushire Fortress. Now he doesn't even know where Wooyoung is in this world, and he's so scared. If just he had told him a better goodbye.
Blood spills from his nose and his sharp teeth finally sink into the cloth and rip holes in it. A moment after, a dagger is tainting blood everywhere, following his spine down in his back, and Yeosang cannot scream for how cruel it feels. A handful of Templar's knights come closer but the boy can't seem to notice any appearances, as he is hurting so much. He probably knows them.
The knight he has kissed is there too, and Yeosang does not know how to deal with the knowledge of his own name being called. It is like a faraway echo. He wants to reach out, but the burning bonfire is the one separating them. He smells blood everywhere and the burning sensation of his eyes turning red is not a thing to forget very easily. The boy wants his needed kisses from that precise knight. He is starved and the last part of his chivalry wants a bloodbath to happen.
Just then, the Templar's knights pierce him with his own Crusader sword directly through his already dying heart. All signs of life flee the boy's eyes while his legs buckle and let him feel the last breath of wind wrench at his soul like a falling warrior. The battle is over, he has lost to everyone's beliefs. He is a monster falling into his death, slowly, like they still want him to suffer even when leaving their own cursed world. And the vampire is pushed into the fire from the platform.
Yeosang's face is wet from trickling tears when the last thing he sees is how the knights he had trusted let Jongho kill himself before pushing him into the fire as well, and he is drowned in heat and screaming sorrows as the flames lick around his burning body.
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