Clang!

The sound of fire hitting metal rang in Drake's ears along with a painful screech. He opens his eyes, woried to see what's in front of him.

Drake gasps in surprise.

In front of him, Grayson–bruised, bleeding, and tired–holds a sword high above their heads, breathing heavily. He deflected the shot.

He turns to look at Drake and nods his head in the direction of the Ghast Trap, wobbling a bit at the small movement.

"Go, now." He rasps, smiling weakly. "Find Armen."

In an instant Grayson crumples to the ground, using up the last of his strength to save his friend, before letting the acid take course through his body as his face paled and skin turned cold.
---------
In this moment, a sacrifice has been made.

Losing one life to regain another.

In this moment, Drake knew, Grayson died.
----------
Shaking the shock from his head, Drake knows what to do. There's no time to remorse, he can't let Grayson's death be in vain.

Wasting no time, Drake gets up and rushes to the Ghast Trap. He looks up to make sure the Ur-Ghast sees him. After the counter-attack, it seems angrier than ever, tentacles flailing everywhere. It flies to Drake, eyes seething red and mouth open wide to send more fireballs as the deadly acidic tears fall around and under it.

Once again it gets too close to the trap and Drake activates it, sealing the Ur-Ghast in its place. He picks up his Scepter of Life Draining, taking a quick glace at the corpse he once called 'friend'. "Grayson.."

Memories of everything he's done for Drake floods his mind; How Grayson took him and Armen in almost easily, comforted him when he lost his best friend, put his quest aside for him, assisted him in this suicide mission to save said best friend.

Without him and Mia, Drake wouldn't be where he is now. And because of this stupid Ghast, Grayson is dead.

Something wells up inside of Drake, something powerful and dangerous. His left eye twitches, blurring his vision slightly white as the grip on his scepter tightens. He feels his body tense up and shake, raising the scepter high up to the Ur-Ghast. His face feels hot and his breathing goes erratic as this feeling engulfs him so much he can't even think straight.

All that runs through his mind is pure, white-hot rage.

With an ear-piercing scream from both Drake and the Ur-Ghast, the Scepter of Life Draining shoots a blazing white beam, finally killing it.
The world goes white, all feelings are gone as the Ur-Ghast crumbles along with the tower.

Drake feels the floor eradicate from underneath him as his eyelids get heavy, tears falling one by one. Slowly losing consciousness, he sees a silhouette drop with him.

He feels a familiar connection with it.

"..Armen..."

With that, both fall from a blinding white light into a pitck-black abyss.
---------
He falls.

He continues to fall.

There's nothing to land on, no sign that the Dark Tower he once stood on even existed.

All there is, is darkness.

Drake opens his eyes and his surroundings stay the same. He tells himself he feels confused, but does he really feel that way?

What is there to be confused about, his situation is straightforward: He's stuck in an endless void with nothing to see and no one to talk to.

He's alone in a dark emptiness.

"Drake.." A voice calls out, distant and quiet, but noticable.

He opens his mouth to speak, to reply, but no sound comes out. Confused, he tries again. Nothing.

"...your fault." Another voice rings out from the abyss.

"You did this..." And another one hisses.

Suddenly, Drake doesn't feel alone in this void. He holds himself, looking around cautiously. If he was being honest with himself, he knew he was never truly alone at all.

No, he was just being watched.

All around him familar red eyes shone. They all stared at him, some curious and some enraged. Though they had no mouths Drake could hear their voices getting louder and louder, throwing more insults and accusations his way. It was almost unbearable.

He covered his ears, trying to block off the voices, but it's as if they were coming from in his own head.

"Grayson died.."

"Your fault..."

"You killed him...."

"Killed him."

"Killed him."

The voices repeated that phrase over and over again. Taunting Drake, mocking him.

"You did this."

"You killed Grayson."

Suddenly, his eyes shot open as words finally left his mouth–loud, clear, and angry.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

His white eye lit up and blurred his vision again as the shout rang through the void. Somehow, he's slowly sat down onto a surface he can't see, no longer floating as a figure stands in front of him, back turned. It raises one of its arms and swipes away at the darkness.
---------
The room changes into a calming white as the eyes disintergrate and disappear. Drake suddenly gasps, feeling proper air run through his lungs. It felt like he'd been holding his breath for a long time.

Once he's able to properly breath, Drake looks up to the figure. "Who..are you...?"

It smiles softly, turning to look at him fully. Other than the comforting smile, its eyes were shining a light blue tinted a pale white. They looked at him with a mischievious glint, hinted with a sort of sadness.

Who was this person?

"You'll know someday, Drake. In time, i'll be able to talk to you properly." A male voice, child-like but mature, spoke.

Everything about this person was comforting, and it baffles Drake how...nice it felt to be in the presence of the figure.

"Take care of Armen for me, Drake. I put my trust on you." The figure walks towards him and kneels to eye view.

He raises his hand and places it on Drake's eyes, mumbling softly.

Was that...a lullaby?

Suddenly, a feeling of tiredness overwhelms his sense, and Drake falls asleep to the calming voice and kind blue eyes...