In his dreams, he could see a beast of black and gold. She was a fox monster with rows of razor-sharp teeth and her figure seemed like something that would make an ordinary mortal feel uneasy. A beast like her would easily be able to give nightmares to common men. And yet, he adored her, and had adored for so many years, because even monsters are capable of love. Her fur, black like void and the royal golden pieces sticking out of her body, made her oh so beautiful in his eyes. And even though he had loved this beast more than anything else, seeing her figure now appearing in his dreams just made him feel like something was gnawing at his heart.
Sin Vulpes had become accustomed to his new life in Olden Shadow Town. Chandler the demon had taken him in when he had been most vulnerable, being so lost, confused and heartbroken, and she had helped him to get back on his feet. He had found a purpose for his life thanks to Chandler and they had become business partners. He would do many kinds of shady deeds, mostly consisting of killing people that someone didn't want to see living anymore. And Sin Vulpes had soon learned that he was excellent at this job and bit by bit he had grown more ruthless and heartless as he carried out his missions.
He had been so content with the new direction his life had taken, but when he started to see dreams about the beast of black and gold, it started to take a toll on his mind. He had tried so hard to leave behind his past life, as if it never even happened, but then she had come to haunt him. She was dancing in his dreams, beautiful as always, and her figure was playing with the many shades of purple and black that were blazing like a wildfire. She was appearing to him like the greatest temptation that could possibly be, but Sin Vulpes just couldn't feel anything else but resentment towards this fox.
At least that's what he was telling to himself.
She was calling his name, she wanted him to join the dance. But he just couldn't do it. She had hurt him too deeply, he could never forgive her. It had ultimately led him to depart from their world and seek a future – or demise – from the place their kin called the World of Calamity. And he had been lucky to find a new start for himself. He had never looked back and thought that finally he was free from the torment he had experienced in his home world. But now, she was back in his mind and even though he tried to shake off the visions he would see in his sleep, she would come and dance in the dream until the moment when he would wake up. And he would wonder, why would he see these kinds of dreams over and over again? Why now?
But they were greatly effective in darkening his mood. He had become so broody because of them that Chandler had noticed it as well.
“What is troubling your mind?” she had asked him.
“Nothing”, he had simply replied.
They both knew it was a lie. Chandler could tell it by reading the man's soul. But Sin Vulpes just didn't want to talk about this matter with her – nor with anyone. He just wanted these visions to end, if only he could banish them to the farthest and darkest corner of his mind, so far that he wouldn't even remember them existing. But it was impossible to do because they were repeating in his head night by night.
And then the situation got worse.
One day Sin Vulpes had been walking in the streets of Olden Shadow Town when he saw something very unexpected. His walk had immediately halted and an unpleasant feeling was churning in his stomach. He had swiftly disappeared to a narrow and dark alley, just to hide from the thing he had seen. It had been a ghostly apparition, in the form of a flying fox head. It had a tormented expression on its face and it was desperately looking for something – Sin Vulpes knew it was searching for him. He also knew that it was sent by her, the floating head was carrying her desperation to find him. But what he didn't understand was why she would do this. She got her royal suitor, what need there was for him anymore? It was making his heart ache, even though he didn't want that. Sin Vulpes had stayed in the small alley for a good while, clutching his shirt from the chest, as if trying to crush his own heart. Eventually he had walked out of the alley and continued his walk, but now with a significantly darker mood.
It turned out to be that she hadn't sent just one apparition. In the following days, Sin Vulpes had seen them frequently flying around the town, looking for him. Apparently she was powerful enough to send them to another world to do her bidding, but just like the rest of their kin, she wouldn't dare to enter this world by herself, so that's why she was relying on her apparitions. After a few days Sin Vulpes had learned from Chandler that thanks to the protective runes in his gun that concealed his presence, these fox heads wouldn't be able to identify him since they couldn't sense him. In other words, he didn't have to hide from them, they would just pass him by, not being able to tell it was him. But still, seeing them floating in the streets made him feel uneasy and bitter. He would glance at them while walking outside and he could practically smell her scent from them as they floated past him.
It wasn't just him who could see the apparitions. Most common people were unable to perceive them, but Sin Vulpes had noticed that there were some who could actually see them. The looks of horror on the faces of these few selected individuals were a little amusing to him, but because he didn't like the apparitions floating around, he couldn't really enjoy the terror of these people. Fear was something he personally didn't really experience, the fox heads just surfaced emotions he had buried deep within his heart. Together with the dreams where she was dancing, she was reminding him of her existence whether he was awake or asleep. It was poisoning his mind and heart and he just hoped that the dreams and apparitions would just disappear and leave him alone.
These visions were opening up the old wounds in his soul. The heartbreak he had experienced many years ago suddenly felt like it had happened just yesterday. Sin Vulpes became restless, he had tried to stay indoors, away from the fox heads, but he just couldn't stay put for long. He had smoked cigarettes more than ever before and he had attempted to drown his feelings with alcohol, but it didn't really help much. After these futile efforts he was back wandering in the streets again, although he would have to face the apparitions again. But it was better than to stay inside, dwelling in his dark mind.
All of this was driving him insane. Something in his brain just broke and he started to spend more time in the bars, more than usual. No place was too crowded, filthy, remote or filled with the most disgusting people there was. Drinking did calm his nerves a little bit, but mostly he would hang around bars in order to find female company. He just had this urge to sleep with women, maybe it was his last resort in attempting to ignore the visions and apparitions. He didn't have to be alone for a little while whenever he did this and it gave him a short moment of bliss.
But this satisfaction was short-lived. Eventually sleeping with women started to feel meaningless and no matter how much Sin Vulpes hoped that being with them would push back the memory of her to the deepest and darkest part of his mind, it just didn't happen. He was back in the streets again, and a new kind of anger went ablaze in his soul. He cursed every fox head he saw; he began to shoot them with his gun, but in the end, they still remained, looking for him with their blind eyes.
Few more days passed with no changes. Sin Vulpes was out again, walking in the streets during night time. Out of frustration, he kept shooting the apparitions every time he saw one, but his magical bullets didn't affect them much. They would turn into swirls, but would regain their forms soon and keep floating around. It did give him a little bit of satisfaction, however. And that day, it also gave him an idea for a solution. He was looking at his precious gun, its metal gleaming in the light of a pale street light. And then it occurred to him: she had to die. Of course, it was so simple, why hadn't it crossed his mind before? He had to kill her and then she would stay in the past and never pester him again with her existence.
Sin Vulpes let his gaze wander to the dark sky. For the first time in ages, he was smiling, smiling like a madman. And the full moon in the sky was smiling back at him. It would illuminate his path of vengeance with its silvery and mystical light. He knew now what he had to do. He turned around and began to walk with a quick pace, going to the same direction where he had originally come from to this town.
He had to return to his home world one more time. He had wanted to leave her behind but for a reason he didn't understand, she wasn't doing the same. So he had to forcefully get rid of her. And at the beginning of his journey to kill, he felt eager to spill her blood. But what he didn't know, yet, was that murdering the one you loved – and whom you still harbored feelings for – wasn't as easy as simply pulling the trigger of your gun.
