"Lara sang for me...once. She would come down that road and open my door, every day and just-" ancient stone slid against ancient stone as it lowered its time-worn, angelic face in a deep remembrance "sing." In the hours that had passed, my heart had slowed to a normal pace, but even so, the mangled corpse of the child in the corner, still caused a horrid stirring of fear and anguish, deep within my soul. I took a deep breath of the stale miasma that passed for air here, before daring to ask the question my soul yet pondered. "What changed? Why kill her?" It looked at its stone hands in anguish as it spoke in its cracked, rasping voice "Even the innocent must die, if they serve not the One on High. So sayeth the lord." "Did she know?" "No." It took what I can only describe as a deep breath, if thats even possible. "The Black Lord demanded her death, 'for the sacrilege', he said. Once she woke me... Unwitting, or no, it was my duty." "Why did the Black Lord want he-""I DON'T KNOW!" It screeched, lunging toward me, plunging its stone fists, deep into the bedrock of the cave behind me. It looked as if it was about to speak, before cocking its head, as if to listen to a distant sound. "He speaks to me." Its eyes closed and for a moment it became so still, that in that instant, I almost believed it was nothing more than a statue the whole time. Its eyes remained closed as it spoke. "Why did you come, human?" I glanced once more at the chi-...at Lara. The memory flooded back into the recesses of my mind, as my life began to flash before my tear-ridden eyes. "She was my little sister. Every day, she told me about the angel of the cave, deep in the woods. Every day, she told me how beautiful you were, how kind. Every day, until the last day. She left with my bible that time, saying she was going to teach you how to read. Then I never saw her again. I had to know." There was pity in its dead, stone eyes as it spoke "You loved her. As did I. But I was built for a purpose. I am truly sorry."
Snap