#chiminghealer

"V͢͠į̷̛̀͞v̵̕͠i҉"

The warped voice made him shiver, trying to shut his eyes while he desperately covered his mouth to shut up his near hyperventilating.

"C̵̨͡o̡̢̕͝m̵̸̢͠e̴͟ ̨͏o͏͢͠u̶͞͞t̴̨͜,̧̧͘͢͡ ͏̨̛̕c͟͟ó̡̧͜m̛̕͝e̡ ̢̧ó͘͡͡u̷҉̨t̛̛́͢͡,̢͜ ̴̛̀͘w͡͞͏h̨͢͞e̶̡͘ŗ͟͟͢͝e̵̸͘͞ ̵̡ę̕҉v̛́͘e͏̧́͡ŗ́͘͏̷ ̛͘y̢̧͞ó̶̢̧͜ù̵ ́҉̨ą̶̶́̕r̴͠ȩ̧̡.̀"

A chill raced down his spine, hearing floorboards to the unfamiliar house he was stuck in creak, a sign that the phantom was nearby. And as the sounds got louder, so did the tempo of his beating heart increase.

He wasn't sure what the shandoran wanted with him, he just knew that whatever it was, the intent was malicious. And he was scared. He'd cried for help, but to no avail. No one was here to save him from this monster, more frightening than any he'd ever encountered before.

"̷͏̛I̕͝'̶̧͟͞m͝҉̷ ̡͡t͡҉ì̷͜͢͜r͝͏̨é͏҉d̷̵ ̢̧͟͝o̷̸̢͞f͘͢ ̶̨́d̸͠ỳ͘ín͜͝͝g͏̛͟͠,̢̢ ̷̷̡I͏́͞T̢̛́̀'̨͜Ş̶̨̧͜ ͝҉͝͏̵Y̴̛͘͟͜O̵͘U̶̧͝R̶̸̨͠ ҉̶͘T̸̛͟͜͠Ù̧͜͟R̷̵͟͡Ǹ̷̡͜͝!̧͏"̕͏

Tears welled in the mage's eyes at the roar, the haunting scream echoing loudly along the walls.

And then...just like that....they were gone.

There was no ragged breathing from the phantom, no creaking floorboards, no snarls of hatred.

He slowly peeked around the corner-

Nothing! No sign of Dante's broken form shambling about the mansion. Vivi let out a tiny laugh of relief, the air around him feeling less dangerous. He turned back around.

He only met with blackened eyes for just a moment as a paw grabbed him by the neck, slamming him into the wall behind him and knocking the breath from his lungs.

"Hurk!"

Another paw joined the first, both gripping the mage's neck and squeezing. And Vivi struggled, clawed, having already lost the air and now being robbed of it as the phantom strangled him.

"Da-n....te..." The mage gasped, pleading as tears welled and streamed. From fear or lack of air, it wasn't clear.

His vision was quickly darkening, his choking more frantic, desperate. All he could hear was Dante's laughter, maniacal and invasive.

And laced just beneath it, he heard Zidane's voice.

"It's all your fault."

~~~~~

He woke up gasping for air, surrounded in darkness. Fearful, he lit the area in strong flames, expecting shadowed figures to watch him from the corners.

There were none.

Candles were lit, and still panicked, he huddled himself against the headboard.