Stumbling, mad in the dark, he pressed on, stealing glances back and forth between the map and the dark woods before him. Eli was right. All around him, he could hear screams, almost non-stop. And every time a cry of pain was sent spiraling into the night air, Mystica would pause, look up from his map into the darkness -- an effort in vain, and sniff the air like a dog, as if trying to pinpoint the very epicenter of the horrors waiting in the black evening. But when he paused, it seemed that the screaming would stop with the rise of his head from the map, and wait. When he would look back down and start walking again, the screams would resume with him. With every step, a new shrill scream. He began to wonder whether he was imagining it all.

He'd heard a few times before that fox yelps sounded a lot like a human woman screaming. But these screams were much different from a fox's cry. They had anguish illustrated in their decibels -- the tone offput from wildlife. This was the human endeavour to try to rationalize pain in the face of madness. Mystica himself felt as though he were stumbling into the great dark mouth of an old god, to be rendered vegetative by the sights he might uncover. It had been two hours now since Eli had sent him out into the woods. The map was all for show. To Mystica, it was indecipherable -- written in some ancient codex he was unfamiliar with. It could have been simple French for all he knew. And he did know. He knew he needed help. With one hand clutching the map and the other grasping an oil lantern, Mystica dropped to one knee.

"Come on out, then, David..." he whispered to himself, pausing to listen to the scream that followed his nearly silent beckoning. "Come out an' play, little boy..."

He closed his eyes expectantly. After a full minute of absolutely nothing occuring outside of the chorus of pained yelps around him, Mystica opened his eyes once more, now irritated.

"What? Afraid?" Mystica asked into the aether, holding out his arms. "The Village too scary for you? What? What is it that's scared you off? The screams? I hear 'em, too! They're everywhere! And so am I! They're all screaming because they know what I do in the dark, David! They know you've run away with your tail between your legs. You found your little whore and ran away. Got a letter out, and you're satisfied? Please. You child!"

He closes his eyes once more, hoping his taunts will bring out David's persona. But it is to no avail. He opens his eyes, now utterly enraged. He looks to the sky with his hands outstretched.

"Come on, you worm! You're a coward! Fleeing from war! Well, you can't run from the inevitable! It's ingrained in our blood. It's drawn in the sand. Our lines cross and cut. We are the blade in the dark. As Eli said, I must become the Prophet of Plagues. We will rain down the blood of the coming end! This is the new age, David! You can't protect your interests forever! That woman Callaway...consider her gone. Your friendship won't last beyond the bounds of my inclusion! I am no longer silent! You are the weakness...I am the end to your heartache! I bring forth with me the coming of your end. And where are you? Gone. Silent, like you made me. You stitched my mouth closed and buried yourself in my skin! Took our body. Snatcher. Changeling. Stole the eggs from the nest and inserted your own. My mind is not your plaything! Enough of your interests. We go over the hill. We drown in the war, and we do not come up for breath. That was you then...and now this is me!"

He closes his eyes, quite pleased with himself. For a moment, there is a mark of hesitation, before a voice rings out in his head.

"...are you quite done now? Open your eyes."

Following the suggestion, Mystica opens his eyes to discover he has moved from the path in the woods. He now stands before what can only be described as the skeleton of what once was a house. It now sits on rickety cross-beams, held up by a combination of sturdy central pillars and dead hope. From the rafters flies a colony of bats, taking flight into the night. Mystica smirks, thumbing the side of his nose.

"That's a new trick. Welcome home..."

He steps forward toward the open hole in the wall of the dilapidated house, taking in the sights. From the corners of his eyes, he can see shadows shifting on the walls. It's all an illusion to his eyes. The darkness is no longer cold and unwelcoming. It is a comfort, wrapping him up in some night mother's freezing embrace. There is no warmth in this home's heart, but it is now a domicile. Holding up the lantern, Mystica chases away the shades in his head. Flashing it across a wall, he notices a huge patch of dried blood, hardened to a brown scab, like a wound on the building itself. He smiles to himself.

"And just like that...we're reborn in blood and fear."

He couldn't admit. He never admitted. He had genuinely needed David's help.

Achievements

• 1x Tag Team Champion
  
• August 2013 Superstar of the Month (Thank you all so much!)
  
• 1x US Champion
  
• 1x X-treme Champion