He could smell the faint burning of the flesh, something he doubted that he would forget in years to come. Looking down on his blackened slightly smoking flesh, bringing it closer to his nose, Severus slowly inhaled, letting the euphoria swirl through his body. Tracing over the outline, feeling his bubbled flesh, scratching at the slight itch made Severus feel powerful, sensual, and on top of the world. Now, it was his time. Now it was his reign. He would show all those people who laughed at him, who ignored his potential. Now he would be on the winning side.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
How could he have been so utterly stupid? So careless, ridiculous, and self-deluded? Looking at the dark mark on his skin, he knew it was a mistake that he would eternally regret. He hated the way it felt to touch, slightly raised, forever moving under his skin -- visible or not. He brought the mark up to his nose and inhaled the bitter putrid stench from it, remembering all those souls he damned, all the lives he ruined...all for what? For petty vengeance? For the whim of a madman? He was and always would be forever damned. No doubt, he was still being laughed at, even from the grave.