Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20170521035143/@comment-25389303-20170612220439

Diaboli slowed his pace as Zanipher hurried to catch up, until they were walking side by side again.

"You can take the mask off now, you know," he told her, gazing off into the woodland around them. "There's nobody around."

He went silent for a little while, lost in contemplation as he sifted through the many thoughts and concerns that plagued his mind. He had hoped that coming here would be a way of refreshing himself - a way of bringing back the old, ruthless Diaboli that was perfectly confident in everything and anything he did. Instead, he now only felt more twisted up than before. Eventually he broke the silence.

"You know..." Diaboli began uncertainly, struggling to formulate the words in his head. "...I think a part of me died when I killed Smiler..."

The words he said weren't the words he meant to say, but they came out regardless. He wasn't even sure why he said them. But when he did, he realised that they were the truth. He'd been naive when he thought he could just cut out such a defining part of his life and live on as if nothing had ever happened. Veneni Sitis was dead, and the burning source of hatred and negativity in Diaboli's life had died with him. Now there was just a vacuum, waiting to be filled by something new.

"The deaths of people close to you have a much deeper impact than you first realise, I suppose," he continued, more thinking aloud at this point. "I think it was Gren that made me realise that. It must have taken a lot to turn him from his original path in life. Some people are just destined to walk alone, and find their own way."

Normally he would have broken the depressing tone with something lighthearted - like a well-timed joke or provocative jab - but not this time. He instead walked on quietly, trying his best to come to terms with this unexpected revelation.