✔The Knight's Madness

PROLOGUS

One crow for malice
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral
Four for birth,
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a story
that should never be told,
Eight for heaven
Nine for a hell
Ten to the devil
wherever he may dwell.

---Pen Parker

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Knives are deadly, in more ways than one.

"Knock! Kno---!"

Hindi na naituloy ng bagong-dating ang kanyang sasabihin nang biglang bumulusok ang isang kutsilyo sa kanyang direksyon.

The sharp blade grazed his left cheek, leaving a shallow cut on his pale skin. Pero imbes na mabahala tulad ng gagawin ng isang normal na tao, isang malawak at nakakalokong ngiti lang ang sumilay sa kanyang mga labi. The black teardrop tattoo under his eye mocked the world with irony as he turned to face the bastard who did this.

"Aw. Didn't anyone tell you that little boys shouldn't play with sharp objects, Knight? Sa huli, baka ikaw lang din ang masaktan. HAHAHAHA!"

His brother just waved him off and started aiming his knives at the damaged dart board in front of him.

"Psh! Siraulo. We're over two thousand years old. Sa ganitong edad, ano pa ba ang hindi natin pwedeng gawin? Don't act like you haven't used a sharp object in your life... Ikaw nga itong may koleksyon ng mga pugot na ulo sa cabin mo," Everick Neverwood stated as a matter of fact and twirled a Swiss army knife between his fingers. Ilang sandali pa, mabilis itong lumipad sa ere at bumaon sa dart board. Sa bilis ng mga pangyayari, alam niyang hindi ito basta-bastang masusundan ng mga mata ng ordinaryong nilalang.

It hit the target precisely.

The shiny metal was buried on the forehead of a man in the polaroid photo pinned to it.

'Bull's eye.'

"Frabjous! HAHAHA! Whoever the man in that photo is, paniguradong naiihi na 'yan sa kaba. Poor mortal... Anyway, aren't you happy that I visited you? Ah, there's no need to thank me, brother! Naisipan kitang dalawin dahil alam kong miserable ka." Joker grinned and leaned on his staff. "It's my job to put a smile on everyone's face, anyway!"

'Literally. This lunatic even stitches them!'

Everick rolled his eyes, a mischievous smile played on his lips. Bumaling siya sa kalapit na salamin at pasimpleng inayos ang collar ng kanyang itim na coat.

"Just so you know, I bring women here on a nightly basis. Besides, bakit ako magiging miserable, kung ikaw naman ang broken hearted?"

Mula sa repleksyon sa salamin, napansin niyang panandaliang nagbago ang ekspresyon ng kanyang kapatid. Bahagyang nawala ang ngiti sa mga labi ni Evarius at tumalim ang tingin nito sa kanya.

"That's not funny, you asshole."

Inosenteng nagkibit ng balikat si Knight, "Hindi ko kasalanan kung nawawalan ka ng sense of humor, Joker."

"Kapag naging sawi ka rin sa pag-ibig, pagtatawanan rin kita. In fact, I'll even bring some popcorn!"

"Yeah. That won't happen," walang ganang sabi ni Everick bago kinuha ang patalim na nakabaon sa dart board. 'How interesting. It didn't even destroy the board as I expected it would.'

Pero sa kabila nito, hindi pa rin siya nakaramdam ng saya. As twisted as it sounds, Everick finds the sound of a knife against human flesh more satisfying. There's just something about the way the blood would ooze out of the damaged skin that seems quite hypnotizing. Hindi niya alam kung kalian pa nagsimula ang obsession niyang ito, o kung ano ang pinag-ugatan nito.

It's not like he can remember much from his early years, anyway.

Being an immortal makes you forget about a lot of things.

Para bang may kung anong telang nagkukubli sa mga alalang pilit niyang hinahalungkat sa pinakasulok ng kanyang isipan.

Knight wanted to call it a "misfortune", but throughout their years of living among humans who were slowly losing their humanity, alam niyang mas akmang tawagin itong isang "consequence" ng kanilang imortalidad.

'May kapalit ang lahat ng bagay dahil may kondisyon ang lahat ng tao. That's why humans are deadlier than any man-made knife in this world.'

Napabalik lang sa kasalukuyan si Everick nang mapansing nanakawin na sana ni Joker ang kanyang koleksyon ng mga kamay. Ngunit bago pa man nito mabuksan ang salaming nagsisilbing proteksyon ng mga ito, agad na kinuha ni Everick ang nakatagong patalim sa sleeve ng kanyang itim na jacket.

In one swift movement, the blade made contact with flesh and bone.

Napamura sa sakit si Joker nang literal na napako ang kanyang kamay sa pader. "What the duck?! Aray! HAHAHA!" Being the masochistic bastard that he is, Evarius just laughed at the pain.

Katulad ng inaasahan ni Knight, tinawanan lang ng kanyang "kuya" ang nakabaon na kutsilyo sa kanyang kamay. Ilang sandali pa, nagmantsa sa sahig ng kanyang treehouse ang dugo ng kapatid.

'Psh! Maglilinis pa tuloy ako mamaya,' napabuntong-hininga na lang ang playboy at sinimulan nang maghanda para sa kanyang pag-alis. Dumungaw siya sa labas ng bintana, kung saan papalubog na ang araw sa kalangitan.

Beyond the canopy of trees, Everick can see the outline of the city.

"Matagal-tagal na rin pala tayong nandito sa Eastwood. May balita na ba kay Evil kung anong sunod nating gagawin?"

Joker just snorted, "How should I know? Ni hindi nga kami halos nag-uusap ng isa pang baliw na 'yon. He's probably in hell having tea with the devil. Inunahan pa tayo. Hahaha!"

'Well, craziness and immortality runs in our blood, after all.'

Neverwoods never die.

"HOY, KNIGHT! S-Saan ka pupunta? Don't tell me you're just gonna leave me here, you sadistic bastard!" Agad na reklamo ng kanyang kapatid nang buksan na niya ang bintana. Isang nakakalokong ngiti ang sumilay sa mga labi ni Everick Neverwood, before giving the Joker a mocking salute.

"Chill ka lang muna diyan. Mamaya ko na lang gagamutin ang sugat mo. I don't wanna be late for my date, now, do I?"

Bago pa man makapagprotesta ang nakatatandang Neverwood, tuluyan nang nag-transform bilang isang uwak ang kanyang kapatid. In a blink of an eye, Everick's black coat morphed into black feathers.

Tuluyan na itong lumipad papalayo.

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