"A...dagger?"
Miller was lost for words after they headed straight down to the secret lair of this building, where the two landed themselves in a seemingly private basement comprised of many unusual artifacts and weird trinkets such as ceremonial robes and clothing, but it also had magical tomes and a lot of other strange and unique things that looked to be occult-like or mystical, but for him.
The walls and surfaces were decorated with intricate symbols, markings, and arcane patterns that he had no familiarity with; even the floor of the entire basement itself looked to be engraved with mysterious shapes, circles, and unknown runes that seemed to radiate an ominous aura of pure energy.
But this isn't what he is concerned about, standing in front of them is eerily dagger safely placed behind some kind of transparent glass container and illuminated by bright lights, sharp weapon that seems to be imbued with powerful dark magic but also made with some quality material that can likely cut through bones and flesh.
However, something about it screams of malice and depravity; it gave him chills down his spine, almost causing him to walk away from it, but Taylor's appearance had stopped him from doing so as he eyed her direction. The woman in question stood before it with him, keeping her composure cool and collected.
"Devolution," she says with a pause, "is the name given by the wielder after successfully making a deal with Lilith; succubus represents the depravity of man in exchange for searching any person they have a connection with." Her voice was low and hushed; it sent a shiver down the spines.
He listens closely upon Taylor speaking her thoughts; the mention of deal gives him a bad feeling about this as she continues onward with her speech: "By stabbing yourself on your heart with this dagger, the cursed artifact grants the ability to find where their loved ones are, but at a cost." The young woman pauses momentarily, glancing towards him before resuming with a sigh as she looks back at the weapon.
"Their mind would slowly rot into insanity, devolving their sanity and humanity altogether." Her monotonous tone, serious and stern in the delivery of her statement, made him feel on edge. "This would continue until the person eventually succumbed to their darkest desires or went on a rampage, destroying everything and everyone in sight." She turned around to face the man, eyeing him with disappointment and pity.
Miller was stunned and speechless upon hearing this dreaded thing: "Is there anything else that doesn't involve losing their humanity?" He asked in haste while gritting his teeth in frustration and concern, shaking his head. He tried not to think of this as an option since he knew that his friend would surely object, or would he?
She sighed again in defeat as a slight frown appeared on her face. "Not that I know of, sorry..." She apologizes with sincerity: "But this is the only artifact I know of that would help you find whoever you are searching for." Her reply only adds to his worries and anxiety as well as the time wasted already by having to come here.
But seeing there was no choice in that matter, he nodded in agreement. "Okay, I'll take it," he said decisively without hesitation, but he noticed Taylor didn't seem happy about it as she closed her eyes while holding herself. A deep breath escapes from her lips.
"You must have strong will to resist the temptations of your deepest and darkest desires; otherwise, you too will suffer fate worse than death, becoming something that even I cannot describe." Her solemn remark lingers in the air, causing him to try and shake himself from it, giving her a confident smile in response.
"I know somebody that handle something like this," his gaze shifted elsewhere for a second before returning to the person standing at his side, "trust me on this one, Adam is a flawed person, but I know he still has a good heart and high amounts of humanity left inside." He tries to convince her and himself, realizing that this is the right path he should choose after considering every other possibility available at present that might benefit him the most for his situation.
Taylor nodded with a smile as she approached the cursed dagger before lifting it up to open its case, taking it with both hands. Afterward, she walked over to the table nearby and carefully laid down the item on its wooden surface, turning back in his direction.
"Go get it", she requested, requesting he get hold of the cursed weapon, making Miller hesitate at first, but eventually he obeyed without thinking twice after knowing this was the only way to fix their mess, nodding in confirmation while moving closer to retrieve her offering with careful steps.
Staring directly down at it, he could feel the corruption emitting out of this artifact, its power beckoning him to use and manipulate it for his own desires, whispering malicious lies to entrap his soul. But instead, he resisted, despite wanting to indulge himself in those wicked whispers, reminding himself of why he was here in the first place.
Grabbing it with one go, he sighed from almost allowing this vile thing to control him. "Thanks, Taylor," he turned to her with a smile of his own. "I owe you one," he added on afterwards, earning another nod from her. She smiled briefly and said, "No problem, just make sure to know what you are doing with it."
With a final goodbye from him, he moved to a door where the exit sign is located, opening it to reveal the outside world, where the crowded night of busy city streets came into view, filled with people passing by. For a moment, though, it reminded Miller of a different scene entirely, something more surreal than reality itself.
Shaking his thoughts off, he went around the library in hopes of finding his parked vehicle, walking past numerous rows before finally reaching the front of this building, where his car was safely still intact on the sidewalk.
Sighing with relief, he wasted no time in entering the vehicle and placing this weapon at the seat next to him, starting up his engine once settled after putting his seat belt on as it roared into life, ready for action. Moving away from his parking spot quickly yet carefully, he drove off with tires squealing loudly onto the pavement.
Just like before, he quickly maneuvered through the traffic, earning a couple of angry drivers' horns due to his reckless driving, but luckily for them, they were nowhere close enough for a collision to happen, even though he had been careful in his pursuit. He kept calm throughout this stressful drive while thinking of his friend, who desperately needs help, and hoping he wasn't too late.
Arriving early, he parked on the sidewalk before grabbing the cursed item. Bringing it near his face to expect this disgusting thing, "Devolution," scowling at the evil presence and its alluring nature to use the power against others, he grabbed the handle of the cursed artifact by instinct before he could finally give into it.
Stepping out and slamming shut the door, the starry night sky became cloudy; thunderous storms cackled across the atmosphere while heavy rain poured down upon this vast metropolis. The loud patters and booms echoed within his ears, washing away some traces of dirt that clung to his uniform and face. He ignored the weather conditions, seeing this as nothing more than a distraction and a coincidence.
Entering the broken and ruined hospital, he passed through the fresh corpses still lying down, running through every hallway until eventually he came across Adam in the room, sitting in the middle of the floor with his back rested on the bed, depressed and lifeless from all the losses he experienced lately.
His hair was messy and ragged, his clothes disheveled, but his eyes were hollow as if staring into the emptiness of darkness forever. Yellow stain was visible on his crotch, and cold hands trembled uncontrollably against the concrete ground beneath him.
Adam is in a mess, almost as if his soul was sucked out of him and his mind erased; he is just a shell of his former self. He has neither seen nor felt warmth for three years now; ever since his wife died, the former friends he made are gone, and Lilim has been kidnapped. Now, he felt there wasn't any point in doing anything worthwhile in his pathetic life.
However, that changed when Miller spoke: "I know a way to find your daughter." Just as he said those words, Adam's eyes ignited briefly with hope as he stood up in haste without further delay, grabbing on the bed for support. "What do you mean?" He asked while keeping eye contact with him.
"This thing can help you find those who you have a connection with," extending the weapon towards him, "all you have to do is stab yourself in the heart," the boss man finished in his brief explanation, causing him to widen his exhausted eyes from this.
Grabbing the weapon cautiously, Adam inspects it carefully, looking at it with wonder and curiosity as silence lingers in the room for a couple of seconds. "This is..." lost for words what he had to do, he continued his sentence later afterward, "It won't kill me, right?"
Shaking his head, the chief enforcer answered calmly, "No, but I need to warn you about—" Before he could answer, his friend immediately stabbed the knife into his own heart, causing a wail of pure agony and pain from his mouth, causing the boss to scream out his name in panic.
"Adam!?"
Red strings slithered around the young man's skin, moving upward until reaching underneath his eyes and trailing toward the top. Something else happened: dark particles from the cursed weapon infested his body, corrupting his brain function and mutilating it. But it didn't matter anymore; he needed to save his daughter, or the world itself would pay the price for it.
With bloodshot eyes, veins, and crimson-red string patterns surrounded Adam's dark iris, his sense of morality began to change drastically; the desire to cause mayhem and chaos out of to satisfy his deepest desires, but he steeled himself.
Grinding his teeth, he found out where his daughter was being held. "I found her," he said without much thought of controlling the volume of his voice. "Follow me," Adam ordered sharply with a stern voice, already moving toward the direction his target resides, unaware that holding his humanity would strengthen the corruption in his heart and soul.
Miller followed behind, worry and dread appearing on his face. "Adam, wait, he said, asking his friend to stop for a moment, but the young man ignored his call, too focused on finding his beloved daughter to worry about his safety or that of others.
Once they got outside the hospital, it was pouring with rain non-stop; lightning bolts flashed across the stormy sky, and so far, the atmosphere became one with upcoming doom and despair. Miller wanted answers to check if he was alright.
"Where the fuuuck?" Then, out of nowhere, he began chuckling maddeningly, startling his boss slightly before stopping abruptly when he halted in place. "Sorry about that," he said, speaking with a more serious tone, "now where is your vehicle?"
"Adam," Walker's son approached him, causing the young man to turn around, saying, "I think you need to take that off," referring to the blade stuck in his chest, "I don't like where this is going, man, expressing concern for his colleague's becoming something horrid.
Ignoring his concerns, Adam replied confidently and dismissively, "That won't be necessary; I can manage whatever effects that are going to happen to me," narrowing his eyes at the chief's son, "besides, time is running out, Miller, and I can't waste anymore time talking with the likes of you."
"Goddammit!" Shouted the boss, feeling more frustrated than before as he quickly placed his hand over the dagger, "Get this thing off already!" He said he was ready to pull it out forcefully; however, before he did anything, his partner and friend swung his fist at the side of his face, knocking him off the ground.
"No, it's mine!" He screamed loudly with a grin while standing firmly in place without breaking a sweat from doing so, only to snap out as he looked at his side, seeing him slowly stand up, "I didn't mean to..." Adam couldn't believe what he had just done, as if he were possessed by an entity.
The pain from his chest grew worse, making his expression shift from remorse to bloodlust; he growled at his boss, who glared daggers at the chief enforcer, "Stay out of my way!" Snapping at him before turning around towards their car while his friend continued to shout his name.
"Adam, don't do this!"
It was all futile; he quickly went inside and started driving, leaving Miller in a puddle of water as the heavy rain showered over his figure, soaking him completely before getting onto his feet and wiping away most of the dripping fluids over his eyes. He stood alone, still determined to get his friend back.
