Sniff... Sniff... Sniff
A woman with long blonde hair was illuminated by the few orange flames of the nearby campfire. Right at the entrance of a skull-shaped cave, her figure cast a huge shadow.
The sobbing now echoed loudly above Talon's head. His mind was doing everything to avoid looking at her, but from the side of his vision, he could see the tips of her drenched white dress.
"I-I... I was... missing you, my beloved husband. How I miss your voice, ah... your commanding voice," the woman's voice was heart-wrenching... Imaginary lips and an angelic face appeared in Talon's mind.
"You-," his lips began to move without his control. Reflexively, he raised one hand to his mouth and used all his willpower to keep quiet.
Sniff... Sniff... Sniff
"We were engaged, why did you abandon me! Why leave me on this island in the middle of nowhere??" The sweet voice gradually turned serious, but soon fell into even louder crying that affected Talon's heart even more.
Cold sweat ran down his forehead; he didn't know how or why, but his lips wanted to answer her. His arms wanted to console her, she must be cold, right?
Her face must be so beautiful...
A little peek wouldn't hurt, right?
A helpless and angelic girl couldn't be left ignored... That would be a crime!
Talon's hands slowly fell from his lips, his green eyes illuminated by the campfire's flames were empty. His head slowly began to rise against his will.
The long white dress was soaked, and the ends were covered in mud, but as his gaze rose, a red hue stained the slightly transparent fabric.
Finally, he saw the tips of her long blonde hair, stained a vibrant crimson.
Beep!
[9:59:59]
The bracelet screamed in his mind and life returned to his vibrant green eyes.
He quickly pulled his head down and stared at the tips of his feet in pure shock; his hands trembled, his body trembled, and his soul trembled.
"I understand... I understand that you couldn't handle what you found out. But I forgive you, my beloved husband. I forgive you for abandoning me in this lake, I just need you to give me a hug. Your arms were so warm... It's so cold here without you..." The voice continued, tears streaming down.
But now a tone of anxiety echoed from her... Or was it just in Talon's head?
He was her husband. A cruel and stern man, but still honorable.
He had made a grave mistake, a terrible mistake, and had to fix it. His beloved bride was losing a bit of warmth on a cold night.
He should hug her, he should hold the woman he loved!
"NO!" Talon shouted in his mind.
With what little strength remained, he grabbed the bone dagger and plunged it deep into his thigh.
He clenched his teeth fiercely to hold back groans of pain and soon felt the warm liquid slipping through his fingers.
But it worked.
The wave of pain brought his senses back, and his mind cleared enough to reason what was happening to him.
Talon had always been a man of the sea. He had never fallen deeply in love, no more than a few nights, and early the next morning, he would leave the port prostitutes behind.
He didn't even know if in some of those adventures, something lasting hadn't been left behind... And he didn't want to know!
But engaged? Married? No!
He remembered the name of the island... Whispers or was it Murmurs? If interpreted the right way, a whispering person could whisper laments... pains.
If it weren't for the cold and fear invading Talon's mind, he would realize how poetic it was that on the island where that soul whispered its pains, he needed to inflict pain on himself to survive.
Minutes turned into hours and hours into an eternity. Talon's brown skin was already turning gray, drenched in sweat running down his face, and his body trembled uncontrollably, but the dagger never left his thigh.
A small pool of blood gathered around his leg, and the crying didn't seem to stop. Until...
Beep!
[4:59:59]
Out of nowhere, the woman appeared, and out of nowhere, she disappeared. Talon was still too reluctant to raise his head, but he forced himself and when he looked toward the cave entrance,
Only the nearly extinguished embers struggled to light the place.
"I... I almost really died." Talon started moving, limping toward the vines where he had hung the meat to dry.
He tore off a piece of the already quite dry leather and pulled the dagger from his flesh. The pain was infernal, but just imagining his body moving on its own without him even realizing it was being controlled...
All the pain would be worth it.
The woman's words echoed in Talon's mind... Her husband seemed unable to deal with something she had done.
Could she have been abandoned like he was by his captain?
But she had blood on the upper part of her dress, near the belly area...
Talon's thoughts began to wander. His mind refused to sleep, not even for a few hours. He quickly grabbed some more branches and rekindled the fire.
Leaning against the rock and staring at the flames, his doubts grew.
"This wasn't supposed to be just a sick game? No... Those tentacles weren't the kind of scary creature that just wanted a game. There's something more... I just can't see it yet." Talon's mind slowly weakened, and exhaustion took over his body.
He couldn't remember the last time he had any rest. Being woken up at dawn by his captain's bitch. Being thrown to the sharks. Signing a pact with some tentacle creature and now this whole game on the island... Talon was beyond exhausted.
"Could Arkhand'Zul be involved in this? He was clear in the message not to answer her, because I'm not her husband... Who is her husband?" Talon's thoughts weakened little by little until his fear lost to exhaustion.