#sanderside

The sides had found themselves in the unlikeliest and most unfortunate situations. Caught in the crossfire of the mindscape that had begun to collapse in on itself.  Only two of the sides maintained the knowledge and reasoning behind the cause and effects.

The ground shook while the walls crumbled from jagged and inconsistent quaking. Every minute wasted was another minute closer to the mindscape being no more, reduced to a pile of dust. 

Somewhere beneath the sub-levels of the mindscape stood Virgil and Deceit, face to face, within a ritualistic circle for the ceremony of restoration. 

Over time, Virgil had changed, evolved, grew out of his old home. Although some would have said it was for the better, there was a downside, and prices to pay.

Within the mindscape, there maintained order and balance.

The cause? Virgil

Virgil was the tether between balance and imbalance. He was the constant that united the fabrics. Like everything else in life, people changed. Virgil was no exception. The tether between the two states had become weak, throwing the mindscape into chaos and dismay. 

When balance is lost, it must be restored. Both Deceit and Virgil knew that sooner or later the broken tether would have caused a cataclysmic disruption, and it seemed like it finally had. 

For a side to have been restored, there was a ritual to be held. Both stood in the ritualistic Virgil, illuminated by soft Azul flames which bound them. There was only one catch to a side having been restored. The ritual acted as a reboot, with the side having been altered. Being left nothing in return. All past memories erased.

A clean slate. 

The anxious male understood what he was giving up and sacrificing. What he was going to lose. Family. Friends. Deep within, he knew his loss would be mourned, but for him, there was no choice between the two to have been made, between selfishness and selflessness. He would gladly give himself up if that meant a concrete future for those he cared for. 

The distance had been closed between where the two were rooted, only mere inches apart. “You're doing the right thing.” A voice so warm and accepting, filled with admiration brought peace among him, having known the spoken words to be true. “Take care of them?” The question was met with eyes of golden brown, in honour of his last wishes, privileged. 

The boy inhaled the scent of jasmine before a pointed object was unsheathed from it’s case and had found its way to rest against his sternum. Legs trembled as he found the fear of having stood on death's doorstep overwhelming, the inability of staying strong which had long faded. A comforting hand had been placed upon the shoulder of the trembling boy in reassurance as their eyes met. 

With a squeeze of his hand that laid upon the boy’s shoulder, Deceit forcefully thrust the knife into Virgil’s sternum with momentum. The impact having caused the younger to fall forwards into the snake. His legs gave way as the air he needed to breath escaped from his grasp. 

For a man so adept at killing, his eyes remained remarkably soft, while he stood strong holding the smaller of the two upright. The weight in his arms grew heavy, and before long Virgil's form fell limp and motionless. His body was set upon the floor, the centre of the circle made of flames, with care as if he were to break. 

The knife which had begun to emit a low golden glow remained wedged in the other’s chest, with Deceit knelt alongside the empty casing of a body, stroking a single strand of hair out the youngster’s face. 

“Maybe when the time is right you will find me again.”

The encased inferno renewed as it rose in height and ferocity, only to disappear leaving a circle of ash behind in its wake. The room steady, with the unpredictable trembles a distant memory, now gone, replaced by the settling silence.