"Now for the Imp." John's voice was tight and strained as he stepped out of the cell, leaving the unsettling silence of its recent occupant behind. Saya followed closely behind him now, a silent shadow well Alice and Ash trailed a few paces back. The air still humming with the electric tension of John's uncharacteristic outburst and brutal display earlier.
Alice, her brow furrowed with concern, couldn't hold back as she caught up to him, lightly taking hold of his hand. "John? Are you alright? That… that wasn't like you at all, lashing out like that isn't something I expected of you." They continued deeper into the underground, a small root along the wall directing them where to go as the muted clang of their footsteps echoed loudly around them.
"Yeah I'm..." He began, his voice a low growl, before his fist slammed against the cold, unyielding wall with a sharp thud that reverberating through the passage. "Actually, no, I'm not okay. That person's actions… they triggered me. The things he did, the way he seemed so utterly proud of it… honestly, I don't even know the complete reason why it hit me so hard but it caused something to snap, it brought forward something I've tried really really hard to keep down for years, letting a whisp break free and ugh." He finished letting out an angry noise of frustration as they approached a far heavier root and vine door. "The brighter the light the darker its shadow, I always try to be optimistic and be a good guy but in the same vain it means my own darkness and depravity would match it, yes I know that doesn't make sense but since I was a teen I went with a principle of balance which, unfortunately meant I subconsciously formed and created a darkness within to match my own light that I always show, for years I've managed to keep it locked but that absolute fuckwad caused it to stir and I let a small part free, that darkness scares me okay?!"
He slid down the wall, his back pressing against the cool concrete, his knees drawn up. His gaze was distant, fixed on some unseen point in the past. "Maybe it's just my moral compass or something deeper but I intensely dislike rape and similar atrocities, of course to be honest any normal person would feel that way but it feels like a matchstick's flame of anger compared to the inferno of rage that… well, that certain specific depravities cause me to feel like snapping. The idea of a mind break inflicting such trauma on someone close to a man, someone he cares for? It sparks a physical reaction from me, feeding my darkness and this time hearing him gloat? How he behaved and his reactions to everything? It allowed an opening for my darkness to slip through…" His voice wavered, a raw tremor betraying the depth of his distress. "Now, I know some people are 'into that' in fiction and I truly don't judge personal preferences in media, but for me, it just… it fundamentally breaks something inside me, regardless of the form of media it's in and I drop whatever its part of as soon as I discover it regardless of how good it was to that point or how much I may have enjoyed the story before that solid point. To see it manifested and confirmed to be something that not only can happen but did happen right in front of me? I just snapped and let a fraction of it loose, I guess and honestly that scares me… Not just the fact that it's given an opening for that darkness to use after all these years of keeping it contained and locked up but it's also a realization of fear I have… I'm fucken scared of getting close to someone and having that happen to them, of being unable to protect them from such a complete violation of body and spirit that they end up lost to me forever..."
Alice didn't need words after hearing all that, an understanding seemed to flicker in her eyes, a deep empathy that bypassed explanations as she simply sat beside him, pulling him into a gentle, comforting hug as she hoped to use her presence a silent anchor. Saya, meanwhile, stood stiffly, her gaze darting anywhere but at them, her expression unreadable, a mix of awkwardness and a hidden struggle to process the unfolding emotions and how he seemed to both be an opposite of her who embraced her darkness and left it in control. Ash however wore a heavy frown, her assessment cold and direct. "So, you're a really big softy? Stuff like that is meant to help progress a plot and give it a new path to take with a clear and often targeted purpose. In the end, the MC gets the girl back though so clearly, you're blowing things out of proportion and over exaggerating the severity of it."
Alice instantly stiffened at that, an angry glare flashing at Ash before John let out a cold, seemingly self-deprecating laugh. "Maybe so. I mean, there was a single novel I could ever bring myself to read that featured it, well, somewhat. The protagonist was convinced he was cursed when it came to lovers, since tragedy struck each time, be it being taken and broken, possessed by a demon, another being controlled by a parasite, a third becoming an enemy due to god's know what since I never got to read further. But you know what? That's part of the issue you don't seem to realize. That was fiction and this is real life! That monster? He did those things to real people! Innocent people!" John's words coming out as a growl that startled Alice with its ferocity, but Ash merely tilted her head, seemingly unimpressed.
"Oh, I have no doubt that this is real. I experienced being at that bastards' hands after all but what's getting under your skin is probably still happening over and over, all over the place out there even now as we speak. So, if all of this is so bad for you and gets under your skin then why doesn't that bug you like this guy did?" she pressed, her voice unwavering as she pinned him with her gaze. Alice quickly got to her feet, her fists clenching seemingly ready to lash out.
He just got up and placed a calming hand on Alice's shoulder, a silent plea for restraint. "Don't, regardless of the outcome this will just end up in a fight and I'm not in the mood for it right now. I frankly don't want to deal with internal fights right now when I'm finally back. He told her before leveling a glare at Ash. "And for the record, I know shit like that's going on out there and no doubt far worse shit along with it. But as selfish this sounds it's not happening here and it's not right in front of me or in my face. That bastard was and that's the difference." His grip on Alice's shoulder tightened slightly, a silent reassurance that he didn't need her to fight his battles for her to understand his feeling.
Ash scoffed, crossing her arms. "Don't get so testy about something this small. Honestly, if you're going to lead everyone here, you're going to need to be far stronger, harder and colder. You can't keep being soft like this and having something stupid like that get to you. I mean, what, is that all just a trigger for your inner darkness like Ichigo's inner hollow was for him early on? Or like Guts after losing Casca and all the shit he had to go through?" Her questions sounded genuinely serious, a detached analysis of his emotional state that only made Alice even more upset well Saya shifted uncomfortably to the side, unsure if she should step in or say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent, her gaze still averted. The tension in the air was palpable from his raw vulnerability and Ash's unyielding pragmatism.
A cold, hard glint seemed to enter John's eyes as he met Ash's unwavering stare for the first time since this conversation began. "Funny thing that, you aren't even the first person to tell me that. But frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. If I lead then I will do it my way. If I have to take action I will. But I will do things my way. And unlike you and many others out there, I haven't lost my consciousness or my morality just yet. I still understand and feel that life has a larger cost than anyone else seems to realize, a value that shouldn't be sacrificed on the altar of cold utility or detached efficiency or even to just make things easier. I realize after meeting that scum though that I will need to rely on my darkness eventually, but till I have no other option I will keep going forward as I have till this point. Keeping true to myself regardless of how you or anyone else feels on this matter." He told her with a tone much sharper than before yet now entirely controlled as he kept his gaze locked with hers. Ash offered a slow, predatory grin in return, a flicker of something akin to admiration in her eyes, though she would never admit it.
Just as the silence threatened to stretch into another confrontation, a slow, deep voice, broken and raspy like nails dragging across a chalkboard emanated from within the cell in front of them. "If you're going to keep having a pissing contest and needling one another as a means to of foreplay before commencing your mating ritual then kindly do it somewhere else. I'd much rather prefer to die of be fed on in peace without hearing all the bitching and eventual moaning when you begin to fuck like those fuzzy creatures you used to have called rabbits." The words where uttered in such a detached and bothered way that it somehow managed to send a chill down their spines, drawing their attention fully to the source. Breaking his gaze from Ash he pushing open the door and entered a space that reeked of decay.
Before them, affixed to the far wall was the imps mangled body, red skin withered and cracked like a dried tree, bits of skin flaking and peeling well its arms and legs were nothing but small, mangled and mutilated stumps. A long, crooked nose dominated its almost square face but he could see it had been broken multiple times were framed by reptilian eyes and pointed ears. A rough buzz cut of thin, coarse hair clung to its scalp clearly having been forcefully and unevenly cut. Its teeth where all broken and jagged like shards of knives set in snarl. A thin, almost translucent layer of fur covered its entire grotesque form that he was half convinced might have been moss. Holding it captive and pinned to the wall was a series of thick, gnarled roots. These fibrous tendrils were had seemingly dug into its flesh through its stumps and judging by the creature's restricted movements, even smaller roots were undoubtedly sunken deep into its back, anchoring it mercilessly to the wall with a pair hanging on either side of his head.
Despite its horrific state, a malevolent cackle bubbled up from its chest, ending in a violent coughing fit that wracked its already frail body as he Saw John. "Oh? Come to finally visit me again, have you? No, you seem different than last time, tsk, how I wish I could give you another thrashing, hopefully slaughtering you this time quickly rather than playing with you like I had." The creature's beady eyes fixed on him, a flicker of insane defiance in their depths.