Alice of Nightmaren Sacrifice - The Second Alice (Story)

## Alice of Nightmaren Sacrifice - The second Alice

I'm grateful for the dissociative state that looking at my old art puts me in because there's no way I'd be capable of looking at this otherwise lol

## Features

### Characters

* Scath
* Shadow
* Ramel *(Mentioned)*
* Remilia - Mirror!Ramel
* Zela - Mirror!Zelly
* Alez - Mirror!Azel
* Alex - Mirror!Axel

### Locations

* The "Forest"
* Mirror World

## Tags

### Tags

Overall bloody and gory imagery, I was a really edgy kid when I wrote this stuff so I'm sorry about that

The second part of **Alice of Nightmaren Sacrifice**, featuring Scath.

## **Summary**

After the events of the First Alice Ramel going missing, Scath has grown increasingly distressed by not knowing of her whereabouts.

Shadow, who he shares a body with, seems to have an idea, and despite not trusting him, Scath realizes he has no other alternative, and if he wants to see Ramel again, he'll have to follow Shadow's guidance.

## **Alice of Nightmaren Sacrifice - The Second Alice**

### **Chapter V - Disappearance of a beloved one**

Few knew that the timeline in the Mirror World wasn't always synchronized with the one in the Dream Dimension.

Ramel, the first Alice, had remained missing ever since she had gone to the twisted wonderland. Some in that world thought that she had been lost for good, perhaps she had found her way into another different village, or maybe she just grew tired and fell into a long slumber.

Yet the mummy girl remained stuck in the poisonous vines of a large plant, slowly being possessed by the rage that consumed her mind, feeding the damned plant that held her, head upside down, with her sandy hair falling to the ground.

Her almost lifeless trembling hand reached to grab the sword still stuck on the trunk, holding tightly onto it and remained motionless. Maybe it wasn't over for her just yet...

A few hours had gone by ever since Ramel had ventured into the cursed land, yet, she did not know, that back in her own world, the hours she took were in fact, days. 5 long days, especially for Scath, a Shadow Drimare around the same age of her, with dark cobalt blue skin, two tall horns covered with a hat of an even darker shade of blue, wearing long cyan coloured gloves and boots. In contrast with all of these dark colours, his eyes with in a bright yellow colour.

However, few did know that these weren't his real eyes. Being a lower class Shadow Drimare, Scath shared his body with Shadow, a Spirit Shadow Drimare, of a higher class. For survival, the Spirit Shadows, also known as higher class Shadow Drimare, had to find a Lower Shadow, so they could unite and live as one. The host took care of the body while the little Parasite gave them the shadow abilities, such as bending shapes, merging with walls and controlling others' shadows. It was a really old ritual of their kind.

Shadow would only make himself visible when his and Scath's powers were functioning, having the appearance of a melting dark blue spirit with two horns similar to Scath's and bright gold coloured eyes.

It was unknown the fact for why was Scath living with Ramel, or why she let him in at all. Since almost everyone knew of his undying crush for her, thanks to embarrassing attitudes that Shadow made him have. Being genderless, he knew that him and Ramel could never be, but he couldn't help loving her. Her sudden disappearance made him distressed, even worse when Shadow mentally mocked his crush and despair.

Scath knew Ramel wouldn't ever be late from her walks in the forest. She was too strict with her time and organization. Every once in a while he'd go out to ask others if they'd seen her, but never came the day when he got a positive answer from them.

She just HAD to be somewhere! She wouldn't want to run away from home without a good reason, now would she? Maybe she would have left a letter or anything of the sort, but her room showed no signs of it, no matter how much he searched around her things. She knew how much she hated him doing that, but this was a special case, he was worried after all!

More long days passed by, or were they weeks? There was no hope that she would be back now, but maybe... Just maybe... If he went to ask others again...! Maybe this time they would have seen her...? He stepped out of the house, walking for a bit, failing to feel his heavy body collapsing on the ground, everything turning dark for a while. *"You're exhausting yourself again..."* said a mumbling voice on his mind, chuckling mockingly. Scath groaned in response, and tried to get up.

- Shadow, now is NOT the time! - Scath said angrily, ignoring the fact that in someone else's point of view, it would appear that he was talking to himself.

*"Oh, but it's always time for something!"* the voice said happily. Oh, how much he loved to mess with his body's mind! His stress was just too amusing to ignore like that!

- I don't have time for your stupid mind games now! I ha-

*"Don't you EVER get tired of asking the same things over and over again to the same people every single day?"* Shadow grumbled, interrupting him *"They're probably tired by now! You're going nowhere like this!"*

- You don't know! Just leave me alone!

*"Pfft. You're no fun. And the fact that the answer had always been in front of you, is what entertains me the most! You truly are so pathetic."*

Scath sighed as his mind spoke - If you've nothing good or useful to say, then its better if you don't say anything at all!

*"Oh! But I do know something that may be useful to you!"*

Scath did a furious groan as he spoke - IT'S BEEN WEEKS AND SUDDENLY YOU KNOW SOMETHING?!

*"Hum? No, I've always known where your precious Ramie was!"*

Scath stared in a random point in awe - What?! Why didn't you ever tell me?!

The spirit just shrugged mockingly while laughing *"You never even bothered to ask me, so why would I have to tell you anything, hum? You would ignore me anyway. I know I'm not nice."*

With a deep sigh, Scath got up from the ground, walking as if dragging his heavy body

- Shadow... I hate you... I despise you.... I LOATHE you with all my heart and soul! - He shouted, as the last words echoed through the forest alone.

*"And I love you too, my dearest, most beloved body, Scath!"*

This made the tall Drimare groan in anger, his blue cheeks steaming purple with rage. Why did he even have to be together with such a loathsome creature like Shadow?! He absolutely hated his own species and would give anything to be something else. It wasn't like he couldn't do it, since Shadow Nightmaren were shapeshifters after all, but it wasn't quite the kind of changing that he sought for.

*"So! You want to know where precious Rams is?"*

- This better not be one of your abhorrent plans... Tell me where she is then!  - He heard childish giggles in his mind as the shadow felt to be dancing cheerfully, then with a dark mumble he just whispered *"You forgot to say please..."*

Shadow sacrificed part of his life force for Scath, both trading bodies and hours later they ended up somewhere in the middle of nowhere, making the blue Drimare begin to lose, not only his hope, but his patience.

Shadow guided him to some abandoned ruins, however the thick fog made it almost impossible to see anything ahead of your own feet *"Strange... And why would Rams go somewhere like this?"* Shadow asked mockingly.

- Do you even KNOW where we are?! Or did you just fly randomly until you got here?! It's impossible to see anything in here! It's too bright! - Scath complained in Shadow's mind.

Shadow Drimare were meant to be "shadows" after all, and most of them were nocturne, so the bright lights and nowhere to hide felt nothing but unpleasant to their frail eyes.

*"My senses are telling me that she's here, so stop complaining."* the shadow said, looking around, hovering as he flew around, suddenly facing what seemed to be a large door, just standing there.

It appeared to be old as if it hadn't been opened for hundreds of years, gathering dust with some dry ivy stalks around it. Shadow didn't say anything, just grinning widely *"Oh... Well, this explains a lot..."* he said with a hushed tone, which scared Scath.

He knew that every time Shadow's voice would get that low and hoarse, there was something that he was hiding and would not tell.

- What's wrong...? - Scath said with a pause - What's with the door...? - He knew Shadow could feel his fear but he couldn't help getting a bad vibe coming from that mysterious door.

The Shadow Drimare just laughed loudly *"IT'S A DOOR!  YES THIS IS PERFECT! SO VERY PERFECT! OH DEAREST RAMEL WHAT HAVE YOU GOTTEN INTO?!"* his voice had a hint of insanity, giving Scath the shivers.

- I don't get it! What did she get into this tim-! - He was suddenly interrupted by Shadow who just whispered *"We'll be free...!"* He started flying close to the door, but as his hand reached for the door knob, Scath took control of the arm alone, pulling it away.

- Idiot! You don't know what's in there! Do you want to get us both killed?! - Scath shouted in his mind, making Shadow smirk in amusement.

*"Scathie... It's time! And you know I can NEVER die, so we'll be fine!"*

Scath remained hesitant, he would never trust Shadow much, but he trusted his instincts, and if he said that Ramel was nearby, maybe for once he was being honest.

*"Let’s just hope this doesn't hurt much!"* He said with a mocking tone, suddenly getting back the control from the right arm and quickly opening the door and getting inside, giving Scath no time to think.

### **Chapter VI - Alone**

It all happened so quickly, and as if he had millions of needles stabbing his head, Scath felt himself faint, and after what seemed to be like an eternity, he woke up from his trance, looking around weakly. He was in the middle of a field, with tall grass and light breeze passing by. He sighed, rubbing his head. It was almost like he had some sort of a headache mixed with emptiness, even after getting up.

- Shadow, do you mind explain what just happened and where are we now?! I told you this wasn't a good idea!

...Nothing. The other Drimare's voice could not be heard, was he still fainted? Could he even faint? Various questions rushed through his head, yet the feeling of emptiness remained... Wait. Emptiness...? Could it mean....?

He started having flashbacks of what Shadow had said before they got in....

*"We'll be free"*

*"It's time!"*

And...

*"I hope this doesn't hurt"*

He knew what he was doing... Could it be... That the door had some sort of magic properties that could break the Shadow Drimare's bond?

That door... He looked back in search of the door that had brought them both into that field, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Great... Just great! Lost and alone seemed to be the most convenient combination at the moment. Scath searched with his gaze for anything away from the normal and noticed a small forest nearby, quickly rushing to it. The tall grass just felt so uncomfortable, itching all over his body, and Scath wasn't in the mood to take any more of it. He suddenly stopped as soon as he noticed something dark on the ground a few meters in front of him.

In the distance it was similar to a strange blue stain that was spreading on the ground, but as he got closer he noticed they were in fact... Roses...! Dark blue roses. He had never seen any in that shade, but things in his life could not get any weird so he hardly got surprised.

He picked one up but it started to melt in his hand, scaring him and making him quickly throw it at the ground where it kept melting until it became a bright dark blue liquid, disappearing as it entered the ground. He stared silent at it, shaking his head, imagining Shadow's reaction which would probably be loud cackling. Maybe things could still get weird... He remained distant from the roses, gazing hesitant at the forest, wondering about what surprises awaited him inside.

If Shadow was with him, he'd say something sarcastic like *"Go on, it looks FINE!"* when it wasn't fine at all! But where else could he go? What other choices did he have? He noticed a path going deep into the forest. That just had to lead somewhere, right?

He stepped in. Aware of all the possible troubles he was subjecting himself to. But to find Ramel and Shadow, he couldn't just stand there mourning for his loss, he just had to take action. Surprisingly, the forest appeared to be rather calm despise its dark and eerie feel on it. Although he was alone, Scath had the feeling of being watched, but he simply shrugged it off. Shadow used to watch his every step all the time, so it wasn't anything that he wasn't used to.

He walked for what seemed to be like forever, yet the forest remained the same. Was he even getting anywhere in that place?! He stopped to rest for a while and sighed. There was no hope of him finding Ramel or Shadow in that place.

He just felt so lost in that nowhere, staring down at the dull grass in front of him. It had such a peculiar colour, and it looked so dry to him, no wonder! The dirt was all grainy mixed with what seemed to be... sand...? Bright golden sand... the very same sand that would fall from Ramel's hair wherever she went...!

A glimpse of hope appeared on his eyes as he saw this. She just had to be nearby! He followed the sand with his eyes until he noticed a hidden trail that went deeper into the forest. Could it be that they were heading the same way? He started to walk through where the sand went, noticing the trees starting to open up to welcome most of the weak sunlight.

The paths formed with the sand started to become thicker. Did Ramel really lose that much hair? She could summon sand so maybe that could be a reason, but it did not explain why. He soon arrived to what seemed to be a small white tent surrounded by sand in the middle of the forest, although he felt a bad vibe coming from it, he couldn't help but to be curious about it.

It did seem like something that Ramel would do, but the whole setting just looked a bit odd. Urgh, where was Shadow when he actually needed him?!

He sighed and quietly looked around, then silently walked towards the tent, feeling threatened as the contrast from his cobalt blue skin in the bright sand quickly spoiled his position. After gathering some courage and preparing to flee at the most threatening sound, he just peeked inside, unsure of what to expect, but for his surprise, the tent was empty, having nothing but personal objects that weren't the slightest relevant to him. He supposed they were objects that Ramel would have.

- Are you looking for something? - Scath gasped as he heard a familiar voice from behind him, Ramel's voice! It had to be! He quickly gazed at the source of the voice but quickly frowned with what he saw. It wasn't Ramel, but from the looks of it, it could only be her twin of some sort.

A tall girl gazed at him, the same glaring gaze that Ramel had, sand blonde and dark tan skin with two fiery orange eyes, but instead of the brown hat, she had her long hair flowing free while wearing a white and golden Egyptian styled dress. But what disturbed him the most was the lack of bandages on her arms and legs, being literally bone and dry rotten meat. He didn't wonder how her bony legs and feet were able to carry her heavy body, but now he knew why Ramel would always refuse to remove her bandages whenever she wasn't alone. Although the resemblance between the two was extremely uncanny, one last detail caught the Shadow Drimare's attention... This girl had horns.

Two tall large horns grew on top of her head in a light brownish colour. Ramel's lack of horns had always been a sore subject, despite being a common Drimare trait, she was always secretive about it, but suddenly everything made sense to him. The girl coughed a bit and spoke with a more firm tone - Can you please answer my question?

Scath kept staring at her until he spoke - ...You're not Ramel, are you?

The girl stared confused in reply - Rah... Mel? I'm afraid not... Who is this "Ramel" that you speak of?

She didn't know...? They had to be related in any way, didn't they? He gave her a suspicious look as he just muttered under his breath - Who are you...?

The girl raised an eyebrow, confused by this question - It should be me asking that question. - She sounded exactly like her.

He sighed and nodded - I seem to have lost two friends of mine somewhere around this place. My shadow counterpart and a girl whose name is Ramel. - He said as he glared at her while she appeared to have no reaction to it

- Shadow... counterpart? How so? And I do not know anyone by the name of Ramel. Therefor I am afraid that I cannot be of any help.

He sighed – Great… Him and I got separated and I cannot find him anywhere in this place.

- Is that so? - Her voice was softer but still didn't trust him - How did you get separated?

- I woke up here and he wasn't in my mind when I spoke to him.

She remained with a neutral expression with her eyes just widening a bit - Oh... Your mind. I see. – She mumbled in a rather sarcastic tone - Well there are no such things as Shadow Drimare in the Mirror World... I see you as an impostor.

A look of surprise filled the blue Drimare's features as he raised his hands defensively - Hold on there! I'm no impostor. Also... Mirror World? I've heard him once rambling about something to do with a land of Mirrors... Is this it? He forced my body to spawn here so I have no idea of where I am.

The girl glared at him, a glare so similar to Ramel's that it was almost uncanny, while speaking rather firmly - There are no such things as Shadow Drimare in this world! Who are you?! - She asked as Scath noticed sand twirling around her bony feet as she got angrier.

- Scath… I’m Scath. I'm a Shadow Drimare whether you want to believe it or not. Why aren't we allowed in this world?

- You must have misinterpreted me.  It's not a matter of being allowed. Shadows of any kind just cannot exist in this world, they never could and their existence only exists within ancient books! And you... You expect me to believe that you are some newcomer who happens to be one? - The girl said after coughing a bit sickly - You're just a liar... - She muttered under her breath as another coughing fit came to her as she lowered her head while he perfectly straight bangs covered her face.

Scath couldn't help but to feel confused by all of this. Although the girl's intense coughing fit worried him, the lack of explanations for why his kind could not exist in that mysterious land left him in a state of utter curiosity. He remained motionless as he looked at the girl whose glaring gaze was still on him - What are you looking at?!

Yet, even so he asked with a neutral expression - May I know why can we not exist within this world?

The girl just glared at him as she tried to clear her throat and regain her breath and as she prepared to speak, a shocked look came to her and she suddenly ran inside her tent closing it while leaving Scath outside.

- Another time! You must leave! Quickly! - She shouted from the inside. Scath felt confused by this but his doubts were soon cleared as he seemed to hear the sound of singing in the background, it sounded like a female voice, a bit squeaky, singing in a rather childish manner. He fled near some trees, hiding behind one of them as he kept his gaze on the tent and whoever was coming to visit the girl who was so similar to his dearest Ramel. He soon realized that he never got to ask this girl's name, but it wasn't too relevant now, was it?

The singing got louder until he noticed a blonde girl in a colourful patchy outfit, coming from the bushes with a wide grin

- *REMILIAAAAAA~!!!* – She called as if singing, getting no reply from inside the tent – GUESS WHO CAME TO VISIT ME~!?!

- S-Stay away, Zela! – The adult said from inside the tent and peeked out to glare at her. The girl just chuckled darkly and smirked.

- I believe you might be interested in what I have to tell you~!

- What would that be?!

- AN ALTERNATE VISITED ME TODAY! YOU KNOW WHOSE ALTERNATE SHE WAS?!

- Why should I care?!

- IT WAS YOURS, SILLY~! YOU HAD THE SAME GRUMPY FUGLY FACE AHHH IT WAS SO FUNNY~! HAHA She already left though…

The girl in the tent gasped frightened when she heard this – W-What?! No! You’re joking, right?!

- IT’S SO EXCITING ISN’T IT?! – She squealed.

- NO! I DON’T WANT TO DISAPPEAR! – She said, coughing harder.

- Ooh… Hehe… Don’t worry… You won’t feel a thing…!

- Why do you say that?

- OOH~! I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHO WILL BE NEXT! I HOPE I AM ONE OF THEM! I’D LOVE TO FINALLY DISAPPEAR FROM THIS PATHETIC EXISTENCE!

- ZELA, JUST GET OUT! IS SHE STILL ALIVE?!

The girl just giggled - Maybe~ Are YOU still alive?

- I... I am... Of course I am!

- WELL ENJOY AS YOU CAN~! She was in town but I haven’t seen her ever since~ I SO WANTED TO SKIN HER ALIVE BUT THEN I WOULD BE HURTING MY DEAREST BESTEST FRIEND REMILIA~!

- We are not friends! D-Did you hurt her?! W-What was her name?!

- BLAH, I DUNNO! SOMETHING LIKE REMAL OR WHATEVER! She’s an Alice though~!

The girl remained shocked as the name was just so similar to the one that the blue Nightmaren tried to tell and shouted- SHE IS NOT AN ALICE! W-WHY WOULD IT BE HER?! ZELA GO AWAY NOW, YOU’RE JUST COMING UP WITH NONSENSE!

Zela just giggled loudly – Aw, my big sis Remilia wants to die all by her lonesome~! WELL THEN, IT WAS FUN KNOWING YA~! BYEEE~! – She said, walking away in a frolicking manner, still humming some song she probably came up with herself.

Remilia just stood frozen in place and as soon as she felt it was safe, she looked around searching for the mysterious blue skinned Drimare, who had vanished somewhere.

Meanwhile, Scath peeked out from the tree he choose to hide and gazed back at the girl who just looked absolutely terrified, looking like she was trying to call him with her gaze. Scath quickly walked to her as the girl was unable to go back to her serious attitude from before.

- That girl was so familiar… Why was she screaming so much?!

- I-It doesn’t matter! You heard everything, right?! What do you know about her?! ANSWER ME! Do you think I looked like your friend?! A-Are we talking about the same person here?!

Scath gazed quiet, her voice just sounded exactly like Ramel’s, yet he had never heard her sounding so concerned like that, but nodded nonetheless – I-I think we are… Yes…

She just looked sadly at him – So, I guess I’ll be gone for good…

- W-What do you mean?

- I-If she dies, I’ll be dead too in no time…!

- Do you mean that… Wait, if you are here… Then she’s alive now…? She's *here?!*

She looked thoughtful at him – If I am here… then I believe so…?

- She’s alive then! The girl said she was in the town right?! I’ll go find her a-and we’ll be leaving this place as soon as possible! You’ll be just fine!

She swallowed in dry – P-Please go find her then… Oh, I don’t want to think what they will be trying to do to her.

He nodded in reply and started to walk away as the girl rushed back to her tent.

### **Chapter VII - Intruder**

Scath kept walking through paths made on the ground. Certainly they would lead to somewhere. The girl did mention a town and it didn’t sound too far away either… Maybe Shadow would be around as well…

The forest soon started to open up, revealing a small village not far from where he was. He rushed to it as fast as he could, perhaps she was still around? If Shadow was around as well, then even better! That guy had a lot explaining to do!

He soon arrived to the village, walking quietly as many curious eyes followed where he went. He avoided as much eye contact as he could but everyone’s stare was so persistent, and they mumbled, questioning about who this dark blue coloured Nightmaren could be.

- Pardon sir, may we take a moment of your time? – Two voices called in unison, making him gasp surprised and staring at the side to find two twin boys with white skin and medium short silver hair with masquerade masks and dressed in similar black and white circus jester outfits, one of them tidy and clean while the other had a rather messy look. Scath raised an eyebrow, not trusting the two the slightest and sighed - What is it?

- What is that you seek in our town? – One asked – Are you here to *kill* someone…? - The other muttered bitterly.

Scath felt slightly freaked out, but kept a serious look on his face – No...? I am busy at the moment.

- Suspicious… - The quiet one kept mumbling and the other just stared slightly annoyed and sighed, looking back at Scath – Please forgive my brother, my name is Alez and my brother would be Alex. Please sir, if you would simply answer our question, we will leave you alone. Ever since you came here, everyone has been commenting, but they are simply too scared to ask!

- Excuse me? I just arrived. I'm not here to kill anyone

Both twins stared at each other confused – Lies… It’s all lies… - Alex mumbled, getting shushed by his brother as they kept whispering to each other in a language unknown to him. Scath kept an even more confused look, but the thought of the two boys came to him. Twins... What if they had mistaken Shadow for him.? He could barely count the amount of times others had called them twins, so it could only be!

- Do not lie. You have been around here for quite a while... - The clean one said, this time in a less polite manner as the quiet one glared at Scath, agreeing with his brother.

- That was not me. It was my… *twin,* of sorts...

The boys stared at him coldly as if they felt like they were being made fun of by this stranger – What are the odds of that being the case? – They said in unison as Scath lifted an eyebrow.

- Fine, he’s not exactly my twin, I’m a Shadow Drimare, which CAN exist here and he’s my counterpart! We are separated and I do happen to be looking for him. Assuming we are talking about the same Drimare, where did you last see him?

A surprised look filled Alez’s expression as Alex gave him an *“I told you so”* look. They muttered to each other under their breaths while Scath stared impatiently.

- If what you say is true, then you should not exist. You will die here.

The conversation was interrupted by someone else screaming - IT’S HIM! DON’T LET HIM GET ON HIS SHADOW FORM!

Out of nowhere, a group of Drimare appeared and grabbed Scath by his hands and feet. Something was not right! What did they want from him? What did he do? Was that the way they welcomed others into their town? All those questions spun around Scath’s mind, he tried to ask what was wrong.

-YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID! YOU CAN’T LIE TO US!

Scath looked even more confused and nervous - M-ME?! L-LYING?! NO! THIS ISN’T RIGHT! THIS ISN-

Suddenly he stopped, and everything in his mind, became clear… Shadow… It could only be his fault! He was the one causing trouble, the one who was hurting innocent Drimare and the one who made these villagers go against him! Now the current question was… where was he? And… where were these Drimare taking him?

Once again Scath tried to explain that it wasn’t him causing all the trouble, but before he could speak, they took him to a stage with a cage on it, throwing him inside. Now that was just ridiculous! He didn’t do anything! He just got to the village, and they put him in a cage?! Seriously, what are they going to do?!

He noticed some young child placing wood around his cage, were they going to burn him?! Now that’s just sick! Shadow was going to get it if Scath came out alive from this. After the wood was placed, a group of Fire Drimare came close to him. They didn’t move, and an elder maren started talking about what Scath had done, about the Alices, about a child that had apparently been killed by someone Scath assumed would be Shadow but he was the one to get blamed for it, as well as other things.

Scath just stood there. He wanted to get away, he wanted to scream and tell everyone that this was a HUGE misunderstanding and that some sort of evil spirit Drimare that was hanging around their town. He tried to speak, but the others' screaming made him sound mute.

He looked around for help, and he suddenly stopped. A familiar voice called him. It was Shadow. All of the Drimare looked back at him then at Scath.

*- HI SCATHIE! I TOLD YOU I WOULD GO GET SOME TROUBLE~ BUT NOW YOU'RE GETTING IN TROUBLE FOR ME! HAHA~ HOW KIND OF YOU.*

Scath groaned. Shadow getting him into trouble was part of his daily routine. Shadow made him do all the awful things, and Scath would always be the one responsible for this time!

But this time, they were separated, there was no way the other Drimare would mistake them! Or so he thought…

- DON’T LET THEM FOOL YOU! THEY’RE THE SAME! THEY’RE JUST TRYING TO TRICK YOUR MINDS! – A random voice in the crown yelled.

Scath’s eyes widened as he heard those words. No! They’ve got it all wrong! Shadow would obviously find a way to fly away and disappear, but Scath didn’t have a way to leave, he was powerless he sat down feeling restless.

He wasn’t the kind of Drimare to give up this easily, but he quickly saw that this problem wasn’t showing any solution, then again, what could he do? He was useless without any powers, he couldn’t do anything to escape and he knew Shadow wasn't about to sacrifice his newly found freedom to help him.

But suddenly, all the Drimare stared at him expectantly, like they were waiting for him to something. He gave them a confused look and another Drimare yelled in the crowd.

- COME ON! WE DON’T HAVE ALL DAY!

Scath looked at them helplessly, without knowing what to do. He looked at the elder then at Shadow with a desperate *“Help me”* face. The Shadow Drimare smirked mocking and flew away and Scath wondered why the others didn’t say anything to Shadow’s escape. Had he fooled them? Could he do that? The elder Drimare, the one who made the long speech, looked at Scath and gave him the same expression that the others in the crowd gave him

- What are you waiting for?! *SING!*

Wait what? They wanted him to sing?! That day couldn’t get any stranger! What was he going to sing? What did they want him to sing? Why did they want him to sing?! Scath looked at him silent, his eyes looked exasperated. But the hearts of these Drimare were as hard as rocks.

- I… I don’t know how to… - He said in a heart breaking voice – I can’t...! I don’t know what to sing! What do you want from me?!

The elder Drimare looked at him, completely unmoved - Sing. Sing your heart out. ***SING LIKE YOU MEAN IT!***

Scath’s eyes widened as the Drimare spoke. Sing his heart out? Sing like he meant it?! They had to be crazy! Scath wasn’t going to sing in front of everyone! That would be ridiculous! He only sang when he was alone, but he didn’t have a good singing voice, and he was too anxious to do it with all the implied burning that was about to happen to happen around him.

He just stood there, silent in his small prison, with a shocked look on his face, which caused to other Drimare to become silent… No one knew what was happening in Scath’s mind, but the fact is that, he was trying to find a good song to sing, and like he was reading his thoughts, the elder maren screamed at him.

- *ANY SONG WORKS! ANY SONG! JUST SING!*

Scath glared at him once again and got up while the other Drimare silently watched him. He looked in the crowd like he was looking for someone. He closed his eyes and started to sing a somehow… melancholic song. Like it was mentioned before, he didn’t have a good singing voice, but it managed to fit the song quite perfectly.

He had his eyes closed, so could not see the effect that his song was doing to the Nightmaren in crowd. Their skin and muscles were disappearing from their bodies, like the song was slowly killing them, melting them away.

Only the elder maren continued intact while grinning evilly, he knew perfectly what he was doing…

But suddenly Scath stopped, like he ran out of air, he sat on his knees with his head down, breathing quite heavily. The elder Drimare looked at the inhabitants of the village then back at Scath furious.

- WHY DID YOU STOP!? SING! KEEP SINGING!!

Scath continued silent until he felt a hand touching his shoulder, he lifted his head and saw Shadow next to him. His expression was indecipherable.

- Shadow… You... You actually came back…

Scath wasn’t sure if he wanted to thank him for being there or if he wanted to blame him for everything that went wrong in his life. The Shadow Drimare smiled at him, an uncomfortable grin that left Scath with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He tried to get up, and like a ghost, Shadow phased through his body, grinning and laughing maniacly.

Scath felt a sharp pain in his chest, like he had swallowed a sharp knife that was slowly cutting him in the inside. He coughed some blood and looked back at Shadow.

- W-what d-did you d-do? – He coughed again.

*- Nothing special~ You know… In this world, only one of us can exist, my friend. And you can guess who~ Me! Of course!*

Once again, Scath looked shocked, he could not believe what his *“friend”* had just told him. Only one of them could exist? What did he meant with that? Lots of thoughts were flying in Scath's mind. He was tired, he just wanted to go home and escape from this ever growing nightmare.

The Drimare in the crowd looked like half-melted corpses, and the elder Drimare was raging at Scath for his sudden silence in the middle of the singing. Scath covered his head and closed his eyes, mumbling - I just want all of this to end…

Shadow got close to him, in a hug position *- THINK FAST!*

Scath didn’t have the time to think, the Shadowmaren pulled out a knife from his chest, which left a huge hole that was bleeding uncontrollably. Scath saw blood in the floor, HIS OWN BLOOD. And before he could think anything else, he fainted, he saw all of his life before his eyes before, and the last thing he heard was *“There goes another Alice…”*, then everything went black, his real soul had found a better place to stay.

Shadow looked at the dead Drimare in the cage and thought *“Pity…”* then he looked at the crowd.

- *Beautiful sight~ This is my new home~ And I am the new ruler!*

The elder maren looked at him furious

- YOU IDIOT! SEE WHAT YOU DID?! AND **I**! ONLY **I** AM THE RULER OF THIS VILLAGE!

Shadow glared at the Drimare, a nameless figure, meaningless to him. With his powers enhanced with Scath being gone at last, Shadow gave this *"ruler"* a sharp look with his bright yellow eyes, and tilting his head, he saw the nameless Drimare snapping his neck, killing him instantly.

- Like I was saying… I AM THE RULER NOW! YOU BUNCH OF ROTTEN WILL ALL OBEY ME!!

He laughed maniacally. His new life was going to start in this place, and no one was ever going stop him! Or so he thought…

The second Alice was gone, and no one could do anything about it!
**Previous • END**