Regrets of Evil

Chapter 9
Darkness and Shadow

It's so cold… Why am I so cold…? Oh, that's right…I died. Oh, it's so cold…

Len's eyes slowly opened, his whole body drenched in a clammy cold fog. His limbs felt heavy, like lead and he barely had the strength to sit up. He heard a jangle of metal and saw what made his limbs weighty; tied to his wrists and ankles with no keyhole were thick chains that had no end.

Len looked at his hands. They were pale and almost transparent, like a ghost's. His eyes drifted upward, but he could see nothing. Everything was black, a deep void where nothing would ever reach. There wasn't the sound of Len's breathing, only the cold harsh jingle of chains.

Rin…did she escape in time? Or is she…

Len had no voice in this cold and desolate place. No matter how much he wanted to speak, he could make no sound. The chains chafed on his skin, leaving large red welts. His skin seemed to be getting more transparent.

Where is this?

Len tried to stand, but the weight of the chains prevented him from even shifting. He looked back up to the ceiling and noticed something he hadn't before. Way, way at the top of the ceiling was a tiny hole. It shimmered like glass and sent a spot of light down into Len's prison. He started reaching for the light when he heard another sound. His head whipped around. Someone was standing just outside the beam of light.

"Why, Len?" said the figure in an eerie haunting voice. Len's eyes grew wider at the sound of her voice. It was one he recognized.

"Why did you kill me if you loved me?" continued the voice. Miku stepped into the light, her green dress stained with blood and a sword sticking out of her middle. Her face was splattered with blood as well and ran through her long green hair.

I didn't want to…but I had to…

Miku's apparition vanished as quickly as it had come. Len was left back to his solitude and silence. How much time passed since he had died? Two days? Three months? Or maybe a year? He knew he was dead, for why would he be so cold and pale? He put his forehead on his knees, the burden of his sister's sin leaning on his shoulders. He had taken her place to save her; he had given her a second chance. But what had it cost him? His life for one.

There was another noise similar to when Miku appeared. Len looked up and saw the prince of the blue country, Kaito. His eyes still had fierce hatred in them.

"Despicable man! To kill an innocent all on the whim of a selfish brat…you're no better than your sister!"

Len averted his eyes from the ghost. I know I am no better…that's why I did it. Because I'm selfish too. And so were you.

Kaito's image faded from the light. Len held his hand back up to the light. It was almost completely see through now. He would fade into the darkness soon, the punishment for all the sins of his sister and himself. As he brought his hand back down, a new apparition had appeared. This one was of the red lady who had accused him of murdering her family. Her face was just as hate filled as Kaito's.

"A fate you rightly deserve, though it should have been for your sister. I knew you weren't her, but I kept it quiet. And now you'll never see her again."

Meiko smiled, but Len merely looked on with blank eyes. Yes, I do deserve this…a righteous punishment…

"NO! You don't deserve this! Because you were kind, you became my evil…an evil I failed to curb in time…"

Len's head tuned and looked all around the room. Where had that voice come from? It seemed so familiar to him, yet he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. He looked back up to the light. The silence had returned and Meiko's image gone, but now something else seemed to be mixing with the quiet. What was it…a…song…?

Rin had been singing for many weeks now. Though so much time had passed, she felt no hunger nor tiredness. She stood at the edge of the glass pool, the melody she sang creating music to go with the lyrics. Her hands where outstretched over the water, her eyes closed.

She wanted to stop, but if she did, she'd have to start all over again. The mysterious man had taught her only one verse of the song, so Rin had come up with more to go with the lullaby.

"You carried away my wish and my heart. I am lonely without you. You were the only one who knew me best, and now I see how I doomed us both. But now it's too late and my tears are useless.

"Where are you? I cannot reach you anymore. Please come back to me. Lazuli, lazuli, the blue purity in the earth and skies. Lazuli, lazuli, I sing to correct our lies."

Rin felt a sudden weakness in her legs and her voice faltered. The pond stopped vibrating and fell still. Rin had stopped singing. Her arms fell back to her sides, tears coming back.

"Len…" she said hoarsely. "I won't give up! I'll sing until the sun turns black if it means you'll come back!"

Forcing back the tears, she started to sing once more.