The Corrupted Syndicate

This time, the rabbit was vigilant, unwilling to repeat his earlier mistake. His ears twitched, every muscle poised for danger. He was right to be wary. From the cracks in the stone walls and floor, black wisps of darkness began to seep, coiling and curling like smoke.

The shadows gathered, thickening and taking form until they solidified into floating orbs—glowing faintly, menacingly—scattered across the room like sentinels of the earlier enemy.

"Tch... This is getting annoying. What a monsoon of a gobshite this night has become," growled Matt as he scanned his surroundings.

Mattheos then lifted up his blade and clenched his fists as the orbs morphed into ghostly figures of grey and black, armed with skeletal claws that were ready to attack the standing bunny.

"Fifth Sin: Nightmare Lava, Leviathan's Oblation!" yelled Mattheos as he crouched down.

Without hesitation, he charged at the first apparition, his body a blur of motion as he zig-zagged across the room with blistering speed. His blade flashed, delivering a relentless barrage of slashes, cutting through the ghostly figure.

Twisting, turning, and leaping, he darted to the next, slicing through one after another, his movements fluid and relentless, the room a whirlwind of black and orange.

After that dazzling display, Mattheos felt a surge of satisfaction as he landed on the far side of the room. He drew a deep breath, preparing to disperse his Alter form before the Mad King could seize another opportunity to invade his mind.

But he froze, his heart pounding, when he noticed a single orb—untouched and eerily still—floating in the center of the room, pulsating with malevolent energy.

"How am I supposed to kill something that is already dead?!" cried out the frustrated rabbit as he shook his head in despair.

The orb began to tremble, gradually reshaping into a smaller version of the woman he had encountered earlier, now kneeling on the floor, her head bowed in defeat. Mattheos stepped forward, raising his blade, ready to strike.

But as she lifted her head, his blood ran cold. Her disheveled raven hair fell away, revealing a face he hadn't seen in years—a visage that haunted his nightmares far more than the Mad King's memories ever could.

It was her. The woman whose laughter once filled his days, now a ghost from a time he thought he had buried deep. The familiar contours of her face twisted in sorrow, her eyes—once bright and full of life—now dull and filled with despair.

Every painful memory rushed back: their shared moments, the warmth of her embrace, the day she turned against him. When he walked in on her having relations with another male... On their bed, no less.

The air thickened with tension as the woman before him met his gaze, her voice barely a whisper, choked with grief.

"Matt? Is that... You?" 

The rabbit's head throbbed with a whirlwind of anger and loathing as he gripped the handle of his blade, his knuckles white with the effort, nearly summoning enough strength to shatter it under the Mad King's influence.

His emerald eyes burned with a potent mix of animosity and fury as he locked his gaze on his opponent, unwavering and fierce.

"You do not have the right to utter my name, you whore of Babylon," said Mattheos, his voice dripping with unbridled malice.

His extended arm that held his blade trembled as he felt tears prickling in the corner of his eyes before stepping forward to end the being before him in a single slash.

"My love?" 

The once vacant eye sockets now glimmered with golden orbs, pulling at Mattheos's heartstrings as they locked onto his gaze. The sound of that pet name echoed in his mind, a haunting reminder of their past.

He felt an irresistible urge to halt his blade, pausing just inches from her now rosy neck, torn between duty and the overwhelming tide of memories that threatened to drown him.

'What the hell are you waiting for, boy?! Do you want to go home to your family or go home to your ancestors?!' yelled the Mad King within the rabbit's convoluted mind.

'Shut up! Stop yelling at me when you've no clue what I-'

'What you've been through? Please, don't make me laugh. You know nothing about pain, don't begin to compare your small misfortunes to my losses. Do not presume to know what I've lived through.'

'Tch... Your sanity is the only one that you've lost. And that was no one but your fault. You chose to take the risk and you failed. You have no one to blame but yourself!'

'And you think you're better than me? Were you not the fool that trusted that woman's tongue? Did you, not allow her words and body to sway you into falling head over heels to her?'