The light in the cove dimmed until all of it was gone. Andreas slowly became himself again, the raw pain of losing his brother once more starting to dim, replaced with more confusion that anything else. A blinding white light focused suddenly right in from of him and he had to shield his eyes to keep from going blind. The light burst out in all directions and Andreas opened his eyes again, slowly, hyperaware of his surroundings.

“Andreas,” a deep voice boomed over to him. Andreas’ body stiffened as his eyes fel on his next shadow. Great, they weren’t even giving him time to fully recover from seeing his brother before bombarding him with his next test. He was quick to shake off the sorrow and rebuild his walls, a talent that had taken him years to perfect.

“Dad,” Andreas answered, his voice steady as his eyes narrowed on the figure before him. He kept his memories carefully locked away, refusing to break down again. He survived Dylan’s visit; if he could accomplish that, anything was possible.

“You have been up to no good, I see.”

“I’ve always been up to no good, now just happens to be the first time you get to see it.”

“Andreas, son, what happened to you?” his father, Christopher Grigoli, said, his eyes pitying.

“How much time do you have, because that is quite a long list? Perhaps the better question would be what hadn’t happened to me,” Andreas answered, his eyes distant.

Christopher stepped closer and Andreas didn’t move. “You have been through a lot, more than most people your age and older, I understand that. But that is no excuse!” Christopher slipped back into his fatherly role as if no time had passed since the last time he spoke to his son.

“You’re right. It is no excuse. I’m just naturally evil. I have come to terms with that, but it seems no one else has. I’m not the one making excuses. I know what and who I am.”

“Always so damn stubborn.”

Andreas smirked. “You can preach me all you want, it’s not going to make a difference. I’m not going to change.”

“You already have! You didn’t used to be this bitter… you were a sweet kid, what happened to that Andreas?”

Andreas laughed, but it was a strangled, humorless sound. “Dylan was here, just before you showed up. And honestly, he has the most reason to be mad at me… to question me… but guess what? He was the only person who didn’t ask me what the hell is wrong with me or what happened to his brother. Because he accepted me like I am, his brother. You all could learn a lot from him. Stuck at five years old and he has more wisdom than all of us combined.” He surprised himself by being able to keep himself together as he recounted his brother’s visit.

“Dylan is too young to understand the magnitude of what you have done!”

“He’s always been a lot smarter than you gave him credit for!” Andreas’ voice rose as his father’s did.

“Is this about Dylan, or about you?”

Andreas narrowed his eyes. “If I wanted to talk about me, I would.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

Andreas threw up his hands in frustration. “You want me to say that I hated you growing up because nothing I did was ever good enough for you? That you made me question everything about myself while you were still alive? That you expected nothing of me? You told me I’d be a failure. Told me that I would never amount to anything. You gave me credit for nothing. As a child, how was that supposed to make me feel? Grateful? Let me guess, it was just your way of pushing me until I got better? I might be evil, but you cannot tell me that I’ve amounted to nothing. I’m the greatest sorcerer alive. One of the most powerful throughout history! People fear the mere mention of my name! And I accomplished that, not you. You always knew I could, but you didn’t want me too, did you? You envied the power I still had to unlock!” Andreas’ eyes had taken on a golden glow, not having change completely yet, as he regarded his father.

Christopher stepped away from his son, fear in his eyes that he tried so hard to hide. “I only wanted what was best for you and your brother.”

“Bullshit. You only tried to keep us both subdued.”

“Maybe I was afraid something like this would happen.” Christopher walked up to his son and reached out his hand.

Andreas swatted it away. “No, you would have showered me in kindness if you were afraid I’d turn dark. Instead you acted like I was nothing but a burden. Mother knew, but she defended you anyway. You never wanted children, because in your mind you were still a child yourself. You couldn’t feel happy for anything I accomplished because it was just a reminder that I could do things you only dreamed of. Instead of being proud, you were jealous. Jealous that your son could be better than you when logically it made sense.”

“You are so vain, Andreas. You believe yourself more powerful than me, but in reality it is far from the truth,” Christopher said, his eyes taking on a reddish glow.

Andreas started laughing, it twisted, almost demonic sound. “While I may be a vain bastard – no thanks to you – at least I am not delusional. Your whole life you tried to accomplish something out of your reach only to see your son reach the potential you never had. That’s why you tried to keep me down. That’s why you tried to suppress Dylan; you were afraid that he too would overpower you. But even though you never had a kind word to say to me or about me, I still loved you. A twisted part in me still longed for your acceptance even though it knew I would never get it. And I miss you, you and mother. It kills me every day to know I was the one to take you from this world. You may have been a terrible father, but I knew somewhere deep down you were still a good man. Mother must have seen something in you when she agreed to be your wife. And if she can love you, you can’t be all bad.”

It was Christopher’s turn to laugh, only enraging Andreas further. “Don’t try to play nice boy. You don’t regret killing me, or your mother. You don’t just live there, you are the darkness. Killing us gave you a sense of self-righteous power, like finally you were worth something. You don’t miss us. You don’t care. You are gone. And you are wrong. I was proud of you. I was proud of you before you turned into the monster that stands before me today. I no longer recognize my son. And I won’t apologize for being hard on you. My father was hard on me too and I turned out a great man.”

“If I am ever fortunate enough to be a father, I will make sure I never turn into you. You don’t know me, and you never have – never even made the effort to.”

Christopher looked like he was about to say something else when he was interrupted by the sudden reappearance of Emilia. “Christopher, stop it. Now.”

Both men’s gazes drifted at her as she approached. “Mother, what are you –?” Andreas started to ask, but she held up her hand to cut him off.

“I came to get your father. All your tests have been completed, but he has been keeping you here against the wishes of the cove. It appears I may have been wrong about his intentions or your father might have been lying to me. And I will deal with him accordingly. But now, you must go. A great danger is brewing outside this cove and you must play a part in stopping it.”

Andreas raised his eyebrows. “You expect me to be a hero?”

Her eyes softened. “Why else do you think the cove is letting you go? Surely you cannot believe it found you pure of heart?” Christopher scoffed next to her and she laid a deadly glare on him. He retreated, waving his hands defensively in front of him.

“The cove expects me to be a hero then? Then it must be delusional.”

“It has always been your destiny, Andreas. More will be revealed to you in time, but from now, you must go. Make me proud.”

“I think I’m beyond the point of doing so.”

Emilia shook her head. “No, my son. You are not.”

Just like that, both of his parents disappeared and all the light in the cove disappeared once more. In its place, a dim golden hue spread in a ribbon across the surface of the cove, highlighting a trail that Andreas suspected he needed to follow. The cove was highlighting his way out.

It was as if his feet had a mind of their own, leading him along the ribbon until he spotted a small circular shape in the distance that appeared darker than the rest of the cove. The texture seemed altered, and hope blossomed in his chest. After just over a week, Andreas would be free of the cave. He started jogging toward it, as fast as his feet could carry him. The scent of pine and wet grass drifted to his nostrils and he never thought he’d be so happy to smell nature.

He stared at the moon, reveling in the beauty of the crescent he thought he’d never seen again.

All of a sudden his rage that he had kept at bay flared up once more. He was free.

And he was going to kill the Argeno brothers.