Carden stood alone, a length of rope extending from his hands. He stood beside a small tree tucked into a small alley at the edge of the town. His gloved hands fumbled with the rough rope, unable to get the knot correct. [i]Come on, you know this[/i]! As he looked down at the rope in his hands, he began to shake violently, realizing something. He was about to die. Tears ran down his face and his resolve began to disintegrate. No, he couldn't lose his courage now! As he finished the hangman's noose, he began to think back on all that he'd gone through. It wasn't until now that the horror of it all seemed to hit him, he'd endured countless instances of torture, starvation, and unthinkable terrors, and now he was about to [i]die[/i]?

The thought hit him like a boulder, and he lost his breath, falling to his knees. No, how dare he try to give up now? Every second that he wasted meant another person's life in danger! He was a freak, a monster, and he needed to [i]die[/i]! It was selfish even to think otherwise! He began to sob now, his clothing getting soaked through by his own tears and he fought to keep in the oncoming darkness. He couldn't lose control now! As he stood up and began to climb the tree to fasten on the rope, he stopped. He had heard something. Not just the rustle of a wild animal, he had heard a [i]voice[/i]. His blood ran cold. Could it be them? Could the cultists be back to haul him back into his life of endless terror? He was free now, would that end so swiftly? 

That's when he realized something. He couldn't die now, he couldn't force himself to do that! Freedom was just in his grasp, there was no way he could give that up. He fell to his knees, weakened by the thought. If the cultists were here, that could only mean one thing. They knew where he was. A soft moan of terror escaped his lips and he covered his mouth. Anyone out there would of heard that for sure. What was he supposed to do? They could be on him any second, he had to act fast. He thought back to how he had escaped the cultists in the first place. The darkness. Would he have to embrace the darkness to use his powers and escape this mess? He sure couldn't fix anything by cowering here and whining, that's for sure.