dona eis requiem.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.

No angels came to silence the screams omnipresent in these halls; this was no place for light.

The shadows in the ruined grandeur of the castle were not as portentous as they were mournful. The misbegotten servants were anxious in crossing the corridors of this lonely place, for the echoing noises of their footsteps seemed to beckon:

"Go! Go, leave this godforsaken place now! Flee! Flee, and never look back!

Go!

GO!"

Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

And oh, how the castle staff wanted to! They craved escape from exile-but the master of this castle would have none of it. From every turret to every enraged gargoyle glowering out of the shadows, from every spoon to every frightened ghoul-

Every single thing belonged to the master of the castle. Just as all belonged to him outside it.

There was no sanctuary HE did not own-no recluse from his power, nor his petrifying grasp. And he had decided long ago that all was his first. From your firstborn child to your life.

Everything and everyone, including the unfortunate soul still trapped in the Master's 'tower of special purpose,' belonged to the King. His temper was legendary; ghosts and humans alike were sick with dread when they were called to his presence. A serving maid who'd accidentally spilled water on the trail of his robe had been torn into pieces; and a specter who attempted to flee Pariah's Service had been burnt into cinders.

Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

Day of wrath, day of anger
will dissolve the world in ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Great trembling there will be
when the Judge descends from heaven
to examine all things closely.

But to many, that was preferable to what Pariah's 'special prisoner' received. Everyone kept their heads down when they passed the enormous tower where the Dark Monarch's famous prisoner-Danny Phantom-was being held. Some fearfully whispered that Pariah's rage over the ghost boy had been so great, death had been all too merciful.

What Pariah did when he visited that lonely little turret room, no one was quite certain. Food was always left at the door, so it was obvious that the king was careful not to kill him, but…

Why keep Phantom alive?

Danny Phantom had resealed the usurper inside of his tomb just two years ago-certainly the Master's bloodlust could know no limits. He'd finished off Plasmius just moments after he'd burned his chains into oblivion-

And the Ghost Boy's home was left in ruins.

He'd taken the Ghost Boy's broken body from the bloody, ashen remains of the Lab basement, and brought the Savior of the Ghost Zone back to his domain.

His servants waited for Phantom to be hurled into the dungeons; for Pariah to call for his most loyal and eager servants to begin the bloodletting.

But a serving boy had watched, wide-eyed from the gloom, as Dark cradled the boy close, a twisted smile looming over a pale face.

He'd ordered new clothes be tailored, a place of 'special purpose' be made for an 'honored guest,' and that none disturb him that evening.

No one had dared to disobey, even when the screams had started echoing out from the Tower.

The screams had turned to cries, turned to moans, both often conjoined.

But the laughing never stopped.

It was always ringing in his ears; it heightened with every new cry the caged creature exhumed when its master had come to torment him; it was present in the few, fitful hours of slumber that he managed to get in the (days? nights?) that slowly dragged on and on.

After Pariah was finished with his carnal act, the King would pull the trembling body close, and simply hum while Danny's life flashed before his eyes, and he wished, over and over again, for a rescue that never came.

He trembled.

He trembled, and he burned, and his screams had given way to brokenhearted moans in the darkest outskirts of the Ghost Zone, where no friendly specter gave ear to any torment but their own.

But worse then the pain was the humiliation that came alongside the pleasure. It sickened Danny, and frightened him, but the King seemed to take no better pleasure then hearing Danny groan for him.
The pain that had made Danny's mind go blank and made him see stars was almost preferable to having Pariah masterfully stroke and kiss him, being powerless under the despicable ghost's clutch.

He cried for his friends and family. He'd even cried for Vlad.

But no one came.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet, apparebit,
nil inultum remanebit.

When the judge takes his place,
what is hidden will be revealed,
nothing will remain unavenged.

This is what he told himself in the quiet hours he spent in a lonely vigil, but only his own voice ever answered him.

Pariah's initial intentions to cause the boy as much anguish as possible before a slow demise seemed to had changed. Pariah made many visits to Danny, but certainly didn't intend to starve him. When the King was in his more generous fits, servants would hurry and leave small, priceless treasures and ornate pieces of clothing in his beautiful prison.

It was enough to sway anyone but Danny.

When Dark thought he was bored, he'd even sent a sad, magnificent ghost bird in an enormous gold cage as a gift.

Either Dark was a greater sicko then Danny had realized, or simply enjoyed mocking him. Regardless, he'd still opened the cage to the sad creature, and watched it as it soared outside the window, twittering to itself.

Oh, he'd paid for that that night, but it brought the first sense of satisfaction the boy had felt in a long, long time. Somewhere, the bird was exalting its freedom and sense of purpose.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

What shall a wretch like me say?
Who shall intercede for me,
when the just ones need mercy?

His hours alone at the window, when he'd at last run out of tears, Danny had to admit that Dark was brilliant in his ghastliness.

Death was so mundane; and so welcome at this point, he was tempted to simply stop eating again. But Dark simply shoveled food into Danny's gasping mouth whenever the boy started to get too thin, and whipped him bloody for his impertinence.

Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos savas gratis,
salve me, fons pietatis.

King of tremendous majesty,
who freely saves those worthy ones,
save me, source of mercy.

Some visits Pariah would do nothing but hold him. And Danny would do nothing but stare listlessly into space, with no choice but to allow it.

He can't help but notice, however,

Humiliating though it is,

Pariah is

Very warm.

Dark left for a few days on a trip to the countryside.

And Danny was left alone.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.
My prayers are unworthy,
but, good Lord, have mercy,
and rescue me from eternal fire.
Dark believed that Danny would not dare to disobey him by this point.

But Danny simply tipped his food and beverage out the glowing emerald bars, and continued to stare out into the darkness.
Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.
He grew ill.
Righteous judge of vengeance,
grant me the gift of absolution
before the day of retribution.
When Dark came again to Danny, the boy was almost dead. In his rage, Dark slew dozens of his servants-

But Danny was hurriedly carried out of the glacial tomb.

In Pariah's own chambers, Danny lay in dark dreams

Every

Breath

Pained

And

Unceasing

Though Pariah's hands

Held him like
A small bird.

Danny no longer recognizes himself as the Ghost Boy.

Or a hero.

He is just…him, these days.

When his fever broke, a great deal of sanity broke alongside.

And these days, is lead in and out of gardens by Pariah's strong hands, smiling slightly.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis,
voca me cum benedictus.

When the accused are confounded,
and doomed to flames of woe,
call me among the blessed.

He doesn't speak.

His demeanor is

Innocent

Almost childlike in a sense,

And his eyes are

Blank and serene.

Pariah occasionally takes him as far as the human world, where small things-

Like finding a butterfly on a flower,

Or seeing the sky serene and blue,

Or noticing Dark's solemn and often uninterested presence-

Brings him great satisfaction.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis,
gere curam mei finis.
I kneel with a submissive heart,
my contrition is like ashes,
help me in my final condition.
Pariah holds Danny's warm body, uncertain as to what satisfaction the boy drinks in from leaving the castle. There he has jewels lying in vaults, untold luxuries, and plenty of rooms for the boy to amuse himself in. It certainly doesn't take much for Danny to be entertained these days-he's not picky about food, and a small thing like a prism sending small rainbows scattering across the floor leave him enthralled for hours. Nonetheless, Dark's mercy or cruelty has reached its peak, and so, he keeps entertaining his ward, though Danny never asks a thing from Pariah, even in bed. Pariah can't tell if Danny remembers what intimate acts are exactly, but the boy doesn't seem to mind if Pariah gets perhaps a bit too carried away, or if there are violet bruises scattered on his body.

It makes Dark feel…strange, looking at them. It's a sort of strange that he can't really understand. After all: He is king. There is nothing he is untitled to do, and Danny is his.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.

Sometimes, however, he'll restrain with touching what's his for the evening, and simply watch the boy drift into gentle, senseless dreams. The strange feeling arrives again, but it's now reimbursed with something awful.

Something shuddering.

Pariah can't and will not die. He is now forced to bend to a higher power that vexes him continuously, and has bent even him.

He loathes it, fears it, but the guilt will not leave him. It infuriates him as nothing else has done, and threatens to destroy him when he's watching Danny slowly traipse along a meadow, mumbling inanely to himself. It baffles him-frightens him-but despite imagining wringing the boy's neck to silence this curse, he can never entertain hurting the teen again.

He's pathetic.

But it's when Danny turns and gives Dark a gentle smile that Pariah's other master-a much crueler and significantly more powerful one then the first-rears its beautiful, hideous head.

Lacrimosa dies illa…..

It's then that the king bows his head, and stomps over to Danny to see what new discovery the boy is so delighted about.

After all, when you're serving a hopeless love, what can you do?

Huic ergo parce, Deus,
pie Jesu Domine,

Amen.