The setting sun ignited the forest with bursts of orange and yellow rays, painting the sky with swirls of pink, orange purple and red like it was the artist, and the sky was its blank canvas, twilight at its finest. Hand in hand, Mevia and I weaved through the trees and foliage with new materials in tow after a successful mining expedition. Iron, gold and even some diamond gleamed in our inventories, along with some lapis lazuli for enchantments and redstone for traps and contraptions. We were going all out for this homicidal plot we were conducting, but despite not wanting to put this plan into motion, I was having the time of my life with Mevia. Last night was wonderful with her. I don't even know how it came to that, but I'm glad it did. I'll never forget it... And now, we were doing what we did when we were younger, mere teens; mining, pranking each other, wandering off to worry the other, telling jokes to each other, even some playful sword fighting (Though I usually lost). I'm wondering if last night is what put us in such a good mood and drew us closer to each other, but little did I know, the happiness and love would fade away and would be replaced with guilt and distraught as everything spiralled downhill...

As stars slowly started dotting the sky, Mevia and I had finally reached our shack. While a little shabby on the outside, it was toasty warm on the inside from our burning fire. While most would never leave a fire unattended (And really, you shouldn't), we had used stone to prevent the fire from spreading and was working well. As we stepped inside our shack, the warmth immediately blanketed us, making the cold we endured and brought along with us fade away in seconds. I sighed and plopped myself down by the fire, embracing it's warmth as Mevia set everything we had gathered down by our crafting table. She quickly sorted out all our minerals and grinned.

"Ha ha, yes!" She exclaimed as she held up a diamond. "Perfect! Once we get everything for the bookshelves and enchantment table, we'll have the perfect weapons! Well, as close as perfect as we can get without any materials from The Games..." She paused for a moment. "Whatever, these will do" She shoved all our minerals into a nearby chest, before she started to scavenge through another for food. "I'm all jittery!" She continued. "What about you Hadrian? You excited as I am? I mean, you have been quiet lately... Brainstorming, huh?" As soon as Mevia turned her attention to me, I fell silent. I still hadn't told her. I still hadn't told her I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to commit to it. I didn't want to commit murder, when I was the one who did the wrong thing. I... I never intended to do what I did back at The Games. After Cassie tampered with the commands and killed off several competitors, I... I guess it drove me insane... The thought of becoming a monster to those who looked up to you, the thought of harming others for pleasure, drove me mad and ultimately, I became that monster... But not just me; Mevia was also driven down the same path as I, but her intentions were unknown, at least to me. I doubt it was from guilt like myself as I ran the commands back at The Games while Mevia trained The Gladiators, and while some were scarred after Cassie's genocidal reign, I doubt they're what made Mevia follow the path into darkness... Now that I really thought about it, I honestly had no idea what drove Mevia to do what she did at The Games, at all! Everything that popped into my head I immediately dismissed because it made no sense whatsoever... But as soon as I thought back to the present, a scary conclusion came to mind;

...Did Mevia like killing people? Did she want what Cassie wanted, for Competitors to never re-spawn? Is that why she's so willing to commit murder?! I looked up at Mevia, only to see she was looking back at me with a concerned look

"Hey, you OK?" She asked me kindly. I bit my lip. I didn't know what to say or what to do. Do I ask her why she followed my footsteps back at The Games? Ask her why she wants to commit murder so badly? Tell her I don't want to do this homicidal task at all?! I gulped, holding all the words down. Mevia, now concerned, placed the items in her hands on the crafting table and walked over to me. She kneeled down and looked at me with a worried look.

"Are you OK?" She asked me. "Are you sick?" Mevia placed her palm on my forehead and then placed it on hers. "No, your temperature is normal..." She muttered. "Is something on your mind? Something about the plan?" I couldn't hold it in anymore. I had to tell her. I didn't want to do this!

"Mevia... I don't want to do this" I blurted out. Mevia leaned back a little and gave me a confused look.

"You... Don't?" She asked me. I nodded

"I don't want to kill her" I said. "I-I know, I'll admit it's a little temping, but it's wrong! You can do it if you so desire, I won't stop you, but I don't want to be a part of her murder" Mevia looked quite stunned

"I... I thought you..." I stopped her there

"What?" I interrupted her. "What did you think?" Mevia gulped, now slightly nervous.

"I... I thought you wanted to kill her!" She exclaimed. "I mean, I always thought you wanted to reign with an iron fist, and that's why you took over The Games..." A flurry of anger suddenly swelled inside of me. I don't know why, it just did

"What? No!" I shouted. "I never wanted that!" Mevia looked taken aback from my anger, however she narrowed her eyes, now slightly anger herself.

"What?!" She shouted. "Then why the hell did you take control of The Games?!"

"I was scared-"

"Oh sure you were Hadrian! 'Fear controls us', bullsh**t!"

"Then why the hell did you do it?!"

"Because you were doing it!"

"Mevia, you're not a flipping sheep! Instead of following me, why didn't you help me?!"

"I was helping you! I thought you wanted to control The Games!"

"Why did you think that?! Why would you ever follow me down such a crude and dark path?!"

"Because I love you, that's why!" I paused for a moment, startled by what Mevia had just said.

"... What?" Mevia sighed.

"Hadrian, remember our wedding vowels?" She asked me. I looked down at my wedding ring, then at her own placed on her left hand. "'I will stay loyal and loving to you, no matter the path you take and no matter if darkness shrouds it all or if heavens light guides your way'" Mevia said to me, the exact line she had said to me on our wedding day. It all made sense now. She followed me because she loved me, because she promised no matter the path I took, she would always be close behind, always be the one person who stays loyal to me no matter what, whether I die as a hero or live long enough to become the villain as I surely did... As much as I wanted to share a sweet and loving moment with Mevia however, the pain welling up inside of me, mirroring what I felt before I was driven mad, had other plans

"Mevia... Don't you know what I was going through?" I started, my voice slightly raised. "After Cassie rigged my commands, I felt like I had murdered those poor competitors, that it was my fault they had lost their lives for good in a place where death is never permanent. I would have vivid nightmares, haunting me every night, taunting me on what I had done! I hallucinated during the day, so much so that I would think it was all real and even attack anything that would get in my way, hurting anyone around me in reality. I was internally suffering, going through a mental breakdown, before I drove myself insane... And you didn't notice it at all?! You truly thought I wanted to kill those competitors after that day? After seeing it happen right in front of me? You really think I wanted to become a genocidal maniac?! Did you ever think that through? Did it ever occur to you that maybe something was wrong? But NO. You took the easy route and merely followed me to our own doom, one we can never escape ever again...! Did you even care about me...?!" I paused and panted a bit, tired from letting it all out. I looked at Mevia, who had an angry yet distraught look on her face. She narrowed her eyes, though I couldn't help but notice she was tearing up slightly.

"I did care about you..." She sneered. "But it's obvious you never cared about me! Do you really think I wasn't affected by that? Do you really think it was just you, you self-centred bastard?! No! It wasn't! I had the same problem-"

"Then why didn't you help me?!"

"Why didn't you help ME?! It's not all about you Hadrian! I was only doing what I thought was right, what I thought WOULD help us both, but of course, I only HURT you more, like I always do, huh?!"

"Because you never think before you speak or do anything! You're always so reckless and never consider others!"

"Neither do you! When was the last time you did that?!"

"Last night!"

"You did not!" Mevia and I continued our squabbled for a little longer, but out of nowhere... I snapped.

"Mevia, I'm sick of this! I'm sick of you! How the hell did I even fall for someone like you in the first place, yet alone was enticed enough to want to marry you?! You're sick!" Mevia gasped loudly, obviously hurt by that comment. I immediately noticed my mistake and covered my mouth with both my hands, horrified with what I had said. Tears welled up in Mevia's eyes as she looked at me. She narrowed them slightly

"I ask that same question about you, everyday..." She said to me in a bitter tone. I bit my lip.

"Mevia, I-" Mevia cut me off by slapping me hard, before she walked to the other side of the room. She plopped herself down on the ground and curled up into a little ball, before she started to cry. Her soft sobbing drifted from her side to mine, making tears rush to my eyes. I sighed sadly as I sat down once more, burying my head into my hands

What have I done...?