Art by James Fenner (@JMFenner91 on Twitter)

There was no other way, so I pulled the knife off me in one swift move.

Blood gushed and spilled out of my chest like an open fountain. I tossed the knife quickly aside and the boy was already running my way, ready to tackle me. Before he could get me, I rolled on the grass, towards the forest.

Towards the shadows. To Erebus. To the fate I had chosen.

I rolled one time, two times, and then I felt him catching me in his arms.

I glanced up at him, eyes filled with awe and blood pulsing out of my heart as he held me. He smiled softly at me and trailed an ink-dipped black talon along the side of my face, running it down the line of my jaw in a caressing manner. He continued trailing it down my neck, then to my collarbone until he reached the wound in my chest.

I tried to cry in pain, but no sound came out of my mouth, only blood sputtered out. Erebus paid no heed to my anguished gurgling sob, there was only a determined look on his face as he sunk his talons deep into my wound. A cold sensation sipped inside me, spreading into my chest and then, my whole body; turning searing pain into blissful numbness, and all the fear and pain I was feeling slowly ebbed away.

I let out a sigh of relief and only then I realized that I couldn't hear the boy's enraged screams or feel the howling wind anymore, there was only blissful silence wrapped around me now, peaceful and cozy like a warm, safe cocoon. The leaves and flowers had frozen in mid-air, as if time had been suspended for a moment, holding its breath, watching over us.

Erebus gazed down at me, lips inviting and soft looking. His beautiful ethereal face flickered in and out of sight. He vanished for a second and the butterfly-wing monster was back in his place, a dozen small attentive eyes staring down in unison at me.

'I am here.' he murmured inside my head, his voice gentle like the rustle of butterfly wings close to the ears and calming like a soothing balm washing over you. I reached out and cupped his chin with my trembling and blood-covered hand, smearing red all over his pale skin.

'This is me.' he told me as he leaned over and drew his winged face closer, moving ever so gently, like a flutter of butterflies would. I smiled at him, tracing my fingers lightly from his chin to his lips.

'Are you not afraid?' he asked without voicing the words, plump lips slightly open, inviting and offering, nearing closer to mine.

"I'm afraid of dying. Not of you." I told him in a frail murmur. "Never of you."

One by one, he closed all of his glinting eyes. The dark of his butterfly wings merged with the dark surrounding us, and he vanished from sight. All I could see was the gray of his lips getting closer and closer until they touched mine.

His kiss was as light as a fluttering, warm like summer, and sweet like the nectar of red drops in bloom. The scent of iron, blood, and death was swept away, overpowered by the sweet aroma of Redwood's reigning flowers.

I wondered if he could feel my heart beating at the tip of my tongue while he kissed me... I could hear it thumping in my ears, drumming loud in a maddening crescendo, but getting slower with each thump, fighting with all might for its last punch before it came to a final stop.

When his lips left mine, I never felt so alone.

And cold.

I felt so damn cold. The whole world felt cold as if all the warmth had ceased to exist and the Sun could never touch anything ever again. It was a fathomless type of dark cold void, the kind you cannot escape.

My vision blurred and swirled, threatening to give in, but I didn't want to close my eyes and fade away. I wanted to look at him, the real him, and bask in his wonder, for as long as I could. He smiled at me again, always ever so softly. I couldn't believe how incredibly beautiful and how stunningly monstrous he truly was. I wanted his stunning face to be the last thing I'd see before death finally took me away.

But my wondrous contemplation ended all too fast when a distorted scream pierced through the silence, making time suddenly return to its normal pace, along with the flowers and leaves swirling in the wind.

By the time it took for me to draw a surprised intake of air, the enraged boy had grabbed the knife I had left on the grass and was hurling in our direction, screaming like a madman, a feral grimace etched on his young face.

Erebus let go of me and raised his arms, spreading them wide open in a welcoming gesture and the boy tackled him head-on, throwing them both back with brutal force. Erebus's mantle wrapped around them as they were tossed back, enclosing the boy within. It made me think of a spider, weaving a dark web around its prey.

The shadows around us pulsed in sync with the boy's screams, swelling up and taking over the entire forest, as if it was feeding from all the violence and bloodshed laid down tonight on its grounds. Darkness reached in and grabbed Erebus' mantle, pulling him and the boy further and further back, deep into the forest and close to its dark beating heart.

The night sky gave one last rumble and lightning struck one last time, like the recoil of a whip made of light. The storm above dispersed as fast as it came to existence, the wind blowing all the clouds to other distant places.

I was left laying on the grass, chest heaving and mind racing, while the searing pain returned with a vengeance. I writhed in agony, clutching at my open wound, blood gushing out in a steady flow. The stars in the sky went out of focus and for a moment the world twirled in a dizzying blurring motion.

I blinked the dizziness away and turned with my head to the side. The forest's limit was so close, only an arm's reach. If I rolled on the grass, I could be quickly on the other side, on safe grounds, far from Erebus's grasp, but... this wouldn't save me.

I was still going to die. I was going to bleed out and then I was going to die. If I was out of his reach, I would be left there, an abandoned corpse decomposing without anyone to claim my body.

No. It was better if I stayed here... better to die this way, in the shadows, within Erebus's domain. He could eat me, or take me into the forest to never be seen again, I didn't care what he'd do to my body. It was better if I stayed put.

All the fear and pain I was feeling left me as soon as I made the choice. I was ready to die. Here and now. A peaceful warming wave washed over me, slowing my mind, and calming my heart. I stared at the night sky and smiled. I was ready.

I heard footsteps approaching, the crunch of dry leaves, and the flutter of butterfly wings...I turned my head to the side and saw Erebus returning.

His regal mantle was gracefully draped over his shoulders, so long it reached the ground, extending endlessly back into the forest. A mantle made of night sky, a crown of black thorns over his inky hair, and fathomless dark eyes staring down at me, ablaze with starlight. There was blood smeared over his marbled skin, the most enthralling pale canvas splattered with vivid red.

He looked so beautiful and so fucking terrifying.

Erebus kneeled next to me and reached out with one hand to stroke at my cheek. His touch burned at first, but then I realized it was cold, burning cold, spreading over my skin, taking inch by inch, unforgiving like frostbite.

'You stayed for me,' he said inside my head.

I smiled and sobbed, warm tears streaming down my cold face.

Of course I did. For you. Always.

He placed his other hand over my chest, bathing it with my blood, while butterfly wings hummed angrily, making the air around us vibrate and darken, distorting everything around us into another reality.

He sunk his fingers into my wound again, going deeper and deeper until he had plunged his whole hand into my chest. When he took his hand out, he was holding my still-beating heart.

'Now it's time for you and me to see.'

This last thought rang distantly in my mind, words disappearing into shadows as I lost the last remains of consciousness.

The dark was all that was left in its place.

And then the dark engulfed me whole.

...