{Corvo POV}
Finally… I've made it.
Whether or not this is going to cause me more pain or not doesn't matter anymore, what really matters is the fact all this shit will be over.
I don't know if this is going to be some simulation matrix scenario that I will wake up from when I 'complete the story', or if it's some isekai adventure. What I do, in fact, know is that when I save Emily I'm getting the hell out of this rotten city and settling down somewhere with Callista.
No more empire.
No more power-hungry dogs.
No more assassination.
Just peace, quiet, and calm where I can live out the rest of my life chilling and recovering from this horrid journey I found myself in. Somewhere I can mourn the person I once was and the people I have lost, hopefully while creating pleasant memories to counteract the negative bunch.
Reaching out, I turn the door handles and open the door that leads to the shortcut to the street where the pub stands.
Click
Creeeaaakkk
The door creaks loudly as I push the door open, frightening the beautiful redhead trying to pry the shutter doors open with a crowbar.
She gets up with a start, folding her arms while attempting to make herself small and unassuming, hiding her face all the while.
FEAR
NERVOUSNESS
CLARITY
ANGER
"Please… No!"
She tucks in further as if expecting to be attacked by any shadow.
And as she holds that position for a few seconds, a visible frown of confusion appears from what's visible on her hidden face.
CONFUSION
RELIEF
Hmm? What is this?
"Oh, thank goodness! It's you, Corvo."
She exhales a sigh of relief at the sight of me, but I can see, and somehow feel, a hint of unease on the corner of her mind.
"Cecelia."
I nod at her gently, attempting to ease that fear of me that she showed no sign of before.
Is she perhaps involved in that whole betrayal scheme? No, I doubt it, but there is always a possibility…. Let's hear her out first and foremost.
"What are you doing here, Cecelia? And why are you so afraid?"
She freezes up at my question but doesn't hesitate to tell me her circumstances.
"It's terrible, Corvo, terrible I tell you. The admiral and the rest of his group called all of the workers into the yard, even those who are barely here with differing duties. I wasn't feeling very well, so I just stayed in my room, fearing I caught the plague. So I just watched from the attic as the loyalists lined everyone up, a squad of guards keeping them there at gunpoint!"
A tear silently slides down her face as a torrent of emotion spikes up in her mind, something that nearly allows my own corrupted emotion and voices to rile up.
She shakes, arms wrapped around her body as if freezing cold, as Cecelia remembers what happened to the people she called friends, committed by the people who brought hope that all this madness will cease.
"Everyone was outraged! Rightfully so, of course. But Wallace, he was completely disgusted at them, even more rageful than the rest. So he attacked the loyalists, going for the admiral first. But Wallace… he's a simple man, fairly honest even. But I know the only fights he's been in are as a kid. So the admiral— that bastard Havelock— he pulled out his cutlass and struck Wallace where he stood, disgracing his corpse as he fell."
At this point she starts full-on sobbing as her emotions overwhelm her, the shivering of her shoulders turning to full-blown shaking as she turns as white as a ghost.
Her knees give out and she falls—or would have if not for me catching her and bringing her back to her feet.
"Enough, Cecelia. You don't have to tell me more, I'll find out soon on my own anyway."
I rub her back soothingly as she continues sobbing.
It's only after five minutes that she manages to regain her calm, the sobbing turning into hiccups and snivelling as she looks up at me, the raging emotions of her mind turning tranquil and calmer.
"Corvo, if you're looking for a way to get to the loyalists, I'd imagine that Pierro and Sokolov know what's happening. The last I saw of them when I snuck around for answers was them caging themselves in the workshop."
She releases the death grip she has on my torn clothing and stands on her own as resolve and a distant rage begin to sprout inside her mind.
"Thank you, Cecelia, really. You better get out of here anyhow, this area will be safe when I'm finished, but for how long… I'm uncertain. Do you have anywhere to go for safety?"
"Haha, is there anywhere safe in this rotten world! No, I do not, but I will manage. I always do after all."
Cecelia's shoulders slump in dejection as she chuckles mockingly at herself, at the world itself. But she still smirks as she looks at me, attempting to bring forth something positive in our last meeting.
"I guess this is goodbye then… right, Corvo?"
"That it is."
I nod in affirmation at her question, feeling dejection and a hint of sadness appear in the back of both of our minds.
"Then, for our last meeting together, please take your mask off. Who I want to see is Lord Corvo Attano, a man I respect and like. Not this assassin, the boogeyman of Dunwall that strikes fear in children and adults alike. Besides, I'd like to see a bit of eye candy on my way out, not this ugly mug attached to you."
Her grin widens, almost laughing as she watches me freeze up like a statue.
"Pfftt…."
An unintentional noise leaves my lips as my lungs start spasming in something I recognise to be genuine laughter.
The void in my gut that houses all the physical feeling of my negative emotions lightens, transforming into butterflies as I look at the cheeky smile of the copper-haired girl opposite me.
Hmmm… should I take her with me as well?
Nah… what am I, a harem protagonist?
"…haha, sure. I'm feeling pretty generous."
I reach up slowly, drawing it out theatrically, pulling it off with the same enthusiasm.
"Wow! There's the pretty face I've missed seeing."
"Heh."
A deafening silence settles between us as we look at each other, face to face, knowing this is a forever goodbye.
Sighh
I let out a deep breath to release the tension before deciding it's time.
"Goodbye, Cecelia. Though we didn't spend as much time together as I wish we could have, you were a good friend, I'm going to miss you."
A sad smile appears on her face, an expression I'm sure has appeared on my usually blank face.
I open my arms in invitation, one she promptly accepts, and we share a hug.
A shallow hug that draws the line of friendship, but deep and filled with enough emotion that shares a thousand words in one action.
"I'll miss you too, Corvo. Goodbye."
We release our hold on each other reluctantly.
…and we part ways, never to see one another ever again.
….
…
..
.
I tuck my blade under my arm, its sharp edge gliding out from the still-warm body of a corpse. I don't even pay attention to my actions, my body running almost entirely on autopilot at this point as I look over the whole of the Hound Pits Pub.
With the enhanced visual capabilities of void vision, I can see the carnage that I left in my wake.
The familiar weight that came with every life I added to my body count was now dimmer, not weighing as heavy.
Perhaps I was getting colder, less human. Or maybe I was just getting used to the weight of it all; humans were nothing if adaptable.
I walk over the scrap metal that lay everywhere as if a dozen bombs went off. Alongside it lay the remains of both the guardsmen as well as… everyone who has been working here in my time at the pub.
I quickly spot who I'm looking for, despite wishing so desperately not to find it.
My head spins as I slowly walk over, the feeling of bile rising to the back of my throat increasing with my nervousness.
Oh god, how I wish I died back in that prison.
No matter how much I drag out my walk, the sight in front of me doesn't change. She doesn't stir from the eternal slumber, the consuming ever-present embrace of the void's grasp doesn't let her go, so she rests there silently….. like the corpse she has become.
CAW
CAW
CAW
A swarm of crows dive down from above, circling both me and the dead body of me and my lover, if you could even call us that.
One by one, the crows fly into the completely empty sleeve of my right arm, turning into shadows and reforming into the familiar dominant limb.
Along with the reformation of the limb, the last dregs of my mind too return to me, bringing the entirety of my focus into a place I would rather not have in my attention.
My knees start shaking violently, growing weaker with each passing moment.
Until they finally give out, collapsing my body next to the corpse of Callista.
"You stupid, stupid, STUPID WOMAN!!"
A pathetic scream tears itself free from my throat as I feel my eyes moisten, almost to the point of tears.
The woman, someone who I invested my emotions into despite knowing of this possibility, knowing I could be broken down another time, yet still put my trust into to survive with me, lies dead and unmoving.
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO RUN?! TO LEAVE AS SOON AS YOU STARTED SEEING SIGNS, TO USE THIS ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!!"
I continue screaming, pulling at this once vibrant necklace that glowed with a high concentration of mana. Now it rests upon her chest dull and lifeless, in a state similar to her body.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
My fist hits the ground under me multiple times as I throw about a childish tantrum, splitting the skin of my knuckles and cracking bone and the hard ground all the same.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO ME?! WHY HAVE YOU LEFT EVEN AFTER I TRUSTED YOU! WHY—."
My voice abruptly cuts off as I manage to rein myself in and cut off the void's unwilling interference.
Sighhhh
"…I'm sorry, Callista. Thank you for protecting my daughter. I'm sorry I couldn't share my feelings properly with you due to my weakness. Goodbye, I will treasure our time together… rest well."
I lean down slowly and gently press a kiss against her forehead, instinctively scared to damage her from the volatile state of myself.
Perhaps we will meet again someday. I was transported into a place that to me was a game, so you can't say anything is truly impossible.
It's while consoling myself with comforting words that I pick up the blade I dropped. I walk over to a nicer place in the courtyard where the ground is softer and lift the sword above my head, an almost invisible swirling force condensed around its edge.
And with an almost casual swing, a large explosion sounds around the yard as a large gash forms in the ground.
…A hole big enough for one person.
…
..
.
On a wall in my room is a new portrait, one drawn in an almost childlike style that truly brings about the horror of it all.
A giant crow with feathers as black as night, its body covered almost entirely in gruesome scars, bleeding constantly. Its face differs from a normal crow, no beak or beady eyes, but a human skull-like face, one mixed with all sorts of mechanical functions. The crow's form remains static, in an eternal journey over a large sea of blood, bodies vaguely visible in the 'waters'.
Other notable characteristics though are what the horror-fuelled crow holds in its talons.
In one? Two bloody women with broken limbs and lifeless eyes, their blood streaming down and adding to the ever-growing sea of red.
In the other lies one small girl dressed in a pure white dress. Unlike the two women though, her eyes remain clear, watching as everything takes place indifferently. Though she too adds to the sea of blood, the talon that holds her in its grip grasps tight enough to puncture flesh.
My hands travel up, almost unconsciously, and touch all the conjoined pages that make up the image.
"So that's how you see me, do you, Emily?"
My disbelieving voice echoes across the now empty room.
In it now is only the depressing furniture of a run-down bed and a wood-chipped desk. All of the collected weapons, outfits… trophies, just gone.
But that isn't what I'm focusing on.
On the desk is a note, one written in familiar fancy handwriting.
[ Corvo,
Remember before when I mentioned a special drawing I was working on for you? This is it. I don't know where you went, but I hope when you get back you see this and like it. I'd like to take it to Dunwall Tower with us.
Everyone's acting strange tonight, Corvo. Samuel was whispering to Callista about a flare launcher that she was supposed to use to call him. He told her to lock the door to my old tower.
I heard the Admiral tell the others we are leaving tonight for a place called the Lighthouse on Kingsparrow Island. I hope you get back before then.
-Emily ]
CRACK
CRACK
POP
The distant sound of a flare reaching the sky and exploding reaches my ears, sending both me and Samuel a signal of the time to come.
"I'll be there soon, Emily."
It's time for this all to end.
—-
Word count: 2,329