Chapter 57 - Darkous
Darkous growled loudly as he flipped over the table, the chess pieces skittering across the wooden floor as the wood of the table splintered and cracked under his strength. Every muscle in his body was tight as he slumped back into his chair, gasping for air even as it evaded him.
It was becoming a regular occurrence, losing control of his anger. It began a week or so after the girl disappeared into thin air, the dark lord unable to find her, not matter how hard he tried.
He had his best trackers looking for her in every single realm, yet still, after several months, they have found nothing. No trace.
Whoever helped her had done a good job of keeping her hidden, but it was just a matter of time, he would locate her eventually.
He had to. She was the key to winning the war.
She was his only chance to get the revenge he craved in every cell of his body. His only reason for breathing was to bestow pain upon those who destroyed everything he had hoped to be.
Everything his mortal love had hoped for them crumping beneath the grasp of his father and Atlas.
They destroyed everything, and whilst his father has paid the ultimate price, Atlas still walks free, causing new people to suffer with each second that he is allowed to rule over his own realm.
But this will not always be the case, he WILL pay for his crimes, it’s just a matter of time. But first, he had to find the girl and make her his own.
She can only fight for so long before she realises that all hope is lost, and he can’t wait to see the light disappear from her eyes.
He can’t wait to make her break as they made him shatter.
“You could have just conceded.”Hades chuckled, staring at the broken pieces of table in amusement. “You didn’t need to destroy my table.”
He found it intriguing that Darkous lost control of his emotions so easily now, he used to have a better hold on himself. Nothing ever bothered him, not even a great loss. Except now, he loses him temper more often than he is calm.
Was it really all because of the girl? Had he placed all of his hope into using her as he wished?
Hades wasn’t sure, but if Darkous didn’t regain control of himself then he would be a danger not only to those around him, but to the entire realm.
Hades may find it funny, but the innocents of the realm will not.
“Sorry.” Snaps Darkous, his mechanical white eyes erratic. “I can’t seem to calm myself these days.”
“You better learn, dear brother. I can’t rule this realm with you unless I can trust you to make sane decisions without emotion, and right now you can’t even play a game of friendly chess.” Hades sighs, clenching his hands at his sides. “Maybe you should take a break.”
Darkous immediately tensed at his brothers words, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Go to the human realm, or whatever realm you choose, but make sure it is one where the war doesn’t reach.” Hades stands, brushing the shards of wood from his trousers. “You can’t continue like you are, and right now, I can’t trust you.”
Darkous stands, mirroring his brother's movements as he tries to stay calm, surely, he can’t mean what he is saying. The dark lord has work to do, there is always something that he must take care of, the paperwork, the punishments for deserters. He can’t just leave.
“I will do better.” Darkous says through a clenched jaw.
Why was it so hard to stay calm? Why couldn’t he control himself?
It was Elika’s fault, if she didn’t escape none of this would be happening, and when he got his hands on her, he was going to make her scream.
She would regret ever breathing without his permission.
“You better do more to control yourself than you are now, I won’t have you running things if you can’t even keep your cool during a game.” Hades shoves his hands into his pockets, leaning against the nearby wall. “You have never been someone to mess with Darkous, but if the people lose faith in you, then I will as well.”
Darkous clenches his fists, barely fighting the urge to punch his brother in the face, because as much as he hated to admit it, Hades was right.
He had always prided himself on having immense control 100% of the time, but now he couldn’t even mask his anger, it was bubbling out of him faster than he could handle, and he had no true idea why.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t used to losing control of anything, so even the slightest change was throwing him out of whack, and Elika turned his whole world upside down.
She was the missing piece to a puzzle he could never solve, she was the key to everything, and he HAD to get her back.
He couldn’t just allow her to vanish and fall into the hands of his enemies. If Atlas got her back, it was over. The dark lord would lose. All the years of fighting would be for nothing.
“I will go to the human realm for a break, as you suggest.” Darkous says after several moments of silence, finally regaining control of himself. “But once I return you will not stop me from doing everything necessary to get her back.”
Hades nods, turning towards the door. “Do what you have to, but don’t come back until you can control yourself.”
Hades leaves without another word, leaving the dark lord to seethe silently, he hated when Hades was right, because it meant he had noticed, and it takes a lot for his brother to notice when things were going wrong.
Darkous was a mess, he knows that, but he wasn’t sure how to make himself better, or where to start and learn control again.
Pressing his earpiece, he contacts his comrades, keeping his voice light. “Pack up boys, we are going to the human realm for some R&R.”
No response came before he hung up again, but he knows that they heard him, they always had their earpieces on hand. It was the one rule he made sure they always followed. Especially in case of emergency.
He would take this time to try and relax, but once he came back the war would either go one of two ways, he would either be closer to victory or defeat.
The battles wouldn’t stop just because he wasn’t there, they would continue to rage and until Darkous could control himself he was no good to his people.
He was a useless as his dead father.
But he won’t be for long.