Athran's loud laughter echoed through the corridor. "I am... Victorious..." he cried, and turned to Anoriel. She stared at him in fear, and pressing her back to the wall, ran out, crying in horror. He has gone completely mad.
He followed her. The remaining toxins have gotten into his brain, twisting his perception of reality, and he saw her as a running prey, hungry for more battle and death. He chased her. He was no longer thinking about his actions, only did what his instincts told him to...
Anoriel ran out to the darkness of the night, and stopped just before she would fall off a cliff, towering above a river, roaring in the darkness of a valley below. Her brother has caught up with her, and grabbed her by the neck from behind.
When she turned to him, she saw utter madness in his eyes. There was void... She grabbed his hands and tried to pull them away, her eyes mirroring terror. "Athran... Stop... I'm your sister, I'm not your enemy! Please... Let me go! Athran, please..." she cried, shaking in his hands.
Suddenly, something in that glance broke. He no longer appeared crazy... His hands softly slipped from her, and grabbed the Black Sword. His mind was clear... He knew what to do. This was the only way.
"I'm sorry, Anoriel... I'm sorry I failed you..." he whispered. The long blade was pointed at his chest, and he dropped to his knees. Anoriel reached out after him, not entirely understanding what is happening, and watched the blade of the Black Sword touch his chest with its sharp tip.
It didn't stop there. Tears welled out of her eyes when she saw what was this going to end as, but she couldn't stop it. It was inevitable... He made a mistake, one that couldn't be corrected. This was salvation, this was freedom. Definitive freedom. This was the light he searched for.
His crimson blood flowed out of the deep wound, and the sword was still sinking in at a speed that grew with every moment. It was driven to his chest so deep that the sharp metal completely pierced his lung and heart, but his face was calm. He fell back onto the ground, staring at the stars with his bright eyes that reflected every one of them like a perfect mirror.
They slowly closed, and there was fire no more.
Anoriel looked down at him, tears falling out of her eyes. He appeared like she remembered him in her youth - beautiful, almost angelic, innocent and fair, blessed with grace and eternal youth. All rage, hate, pain and sorrow was gone. He appeared only deeply sleeping...
He felt cold. A veil of darkness covered his vision. There indeed was light at the end of the tunnel... Bright... There was salvation for the lost.
He felt as light as the light itself, slowly rising from the earth. There was no body anymore, there was nothing, and the pain was only a short moment before every earthly emotion was gone.
Death.
Death was salvation.
Death was freedom.
And light overtook the darkness.
Anoriel herself fell to her knees, choking on her own tears. "Athran! Athran... Athran, no, don't... You can't... Athran!" she cried, shaking her head wildly, but she knew that this was the truth.
The Black Sword was gone.
His eyes were closed, there were no more stars. Only darkness. Only void.
