❁l ꙰. VERITY ❁l ꙰

The footsteps of my boots pounded against the village ground, my leather backpack bumping against me. I had left Verity alone in the wooden house I had built. His blue eyes remained fixed on me, intense and silent. I said nothing to him; I needed space, the love he offered was too overwhelming, his way of loving me was becoming a prison. The door closed with a soft click behind me. I turned and started walking through the village, passing the cave where we always crafted together. I also passed the village square where he had given me emeralds. I had only gone four blocks. At first, I thought the noise I heard was just the wind rustling the leaves, but then it grew louder—a crackling of branches coming from the village woods, as if something large were approaching. I spun quickly toward the sound. Out in the clearing was a monster nearly three meters tall, with black eyes and claws as long as swords. I immediately recognized it as Verity's monster, that dark manifestation of... The one mentioned in his moments of greatest anguish, although I had never believed it could. I didn't think twice, I dropped the backpack to the ground with a thud and started running towards our house, my legs trembling so much that I almost fell. I finally reached the wooden door and pushed it with all my strength, entering the house in terror and closing it with a brusque movement. Immediately after, the monster began to strike against the surface with its claws, leaving deep marks that spread across the wood like black spider patterns. "VERITY!" I gasped. "PLEASE HELP! I CAME BACK FOR YOU!" Right in the center, he asked, "You came back for ME? "I glanced back briefly and saw the monster's dark shadow vanish, like smoke. Love wanted to possess me in a way that no one else could ever touch me, that nothing could ever separate us.