[quote=@thewizardguy]
"Really? You'd throw away the lives of innocents to kill little old me?" Time seemed to slow down, as the road stretched. It wasn't real, mithais knew that. He could feel the immense pressure on his mind, Gabriel's power knocking on the doors of his brain. He could feel his own shield holding off the fingers that would have plucked apart his sanity, and ripped his memories to shreds. And yet, even so, it seemed as if every step he took only moved Gabriel further away, and only made the thick syrupy air he was struggling through all the harder, all the more solid.

A gloved hand slowly extended to his side, the gentle fingers caressing the sides of a small girl's face. Gabriel smiles at Mithias, his eyes blazing red, as long nails burst open the tips of white fabric. The girl simply grins, clutching a teddy bear. And yet, in the soft grip Gabriel held the girl in, strength far above human was clearly apparent. "I could shatter her skull, weak as I am. Would you really sacrifice her life? Would you kill her, boy?" It was as if a guilotine were strapped to the girl's neck, and with undeniable certainty, Mithais knew that if he took another step, the girl would die instantly.

Her life was in his hands.
[/quote]

As the gummy, thick air slowed his pace like a fevered dream, Mithias' legs eventually stopped moving, fixing in place despite his mental efforts to force them forward. Time and space were distorted, lengthening the distance between himself and his adversary in spite of his wishes. Long black tendrils of hair swung forward over his shoulders, as if swept by an unseen current that had been dragged behind him. He locked eyes on the little girl. Humans around him merely floated away as he stood on the brink of decision. Mithias looked at his adversary, his demigod of a father, one he both loved and hated at the same time. "You've already killed that child. You killed her a thousand times. You killed her long ago, and you'll kill her again. You always kill her. Your insatiable desire for atrocity and pain is a result of your insanity. You've lived too long and have become numb to it all. You are dead inside, father. I will open you up and see that no heart beats within you, and learn the truth, that I've been alone all along. So kill her. Give me a reason. Remove all my doubt, no! Remove all my hope in you, for that is all that stays my blades right now. Kill her and let me see it. Fuel the fire just this little more, and I will slay my own heart to put you down. Go ahead. Give me all I need and all of us will die. Kill her. I dare you." Eyes like a madman, Mithias took one step forward and waited on his dare.