《The Cold Between Stars》
I: Memento Mori
The Abyss (Sector 6: Limbo) 1:30 pm
That morning the cathedral was packed wall to wall with people. All of them had their own reasons for attending this particular ceremony. Some did so out of reverence, others out of curiosity. Something like this didn¡¯t happen often. After all, none of them could have possibly died, it wasn¡¯t their time yet.
¡°We are all gathered here today to mourn the loss of an old friend.¡± Luxcious began.
The crowd murmured and gazed up at the front of the cathedral. There was a casket in place of the altar, the body inside barely visible, even from the front row. From a glance, the corpse seemed to be in a relatively decayed state. The lower portion of the ribcage, alongside the bones of the right arm, were both exposed to the open air. Luxcious stepped down from the podium and walked over to the casket. He could see that the corpse¡¯s eyes were still open. He turned his gaze to the row on his left and gestured towards a woman in a tan fur coat. She looked up at him and made her way over to the casket, the eyes of the crowd following after her.
She walked up the steps, laid her left hand on the casket, and, overcome with grief, started to weep. After a couple minutes, she moved back to her seat and sat back down. Another person stood up, and walked over to the casket. One by one, each member of the congregation took turns to pay their respects. Luxcious gazed out at the crowd and looked back at the sheet of paper before him. The eulogy seemed to switch fonts rapidly, as if it was deciding its own contents. He fixed his gaze and waited for the crowd to settle before speaking again.
¡°Each and every one of us bears the Seed of Night.¡± he said.
¡°This man here, my dear friend, managed to accomplish something glorious, something that no man could ever hope to achieve. He held the Seed of Night within him ¡ª he was one of us, not by birthright but by his actions. My friend stared out in the dark, and he knew that it stared back at him. The dark gave him a challenge, and an offer that he couldn¡¯t refuse. The challenge was simple, stare into the consciousness of the Abyss, or die trying. This man who now lies before you survived his challenge. He claimed for himself the Seed of Night, something that those of us who were born to it take for granted. In essence, he had stolen the secret of immortality from us, and yet we allowed him to do so. For he conquered death herself, and as such we gave him our gift.¡±
¡°Did we not offer him a challenge? He survived, and reaped the rewards which we so willingly gave him. How does it come to pass that a man of such a hardened resolve as this lies dead before us today? The answer is simple, yet tragic. He chose to die on his own terms despite his newfound immortality. His life will be cherished by those who knew him. His death will be remembered, so as not to undermine all the sacrifices he had made for humanity. He was their Virgil, carving a path through the afterlife for them, so that they may find their way home. He was their light in the darkness, and now he shall serve as our guide as well. For even though we exist in death, we still require someone to guide us. Silas James Mori is that person, he is to be our Virgil, our guide to the world beyond our own. May he find eternal rest in paradise.¡± Luxcious smiled, stepping down from the podium.
The crowd turned around and filed out of the cathedral as rain began to fall outside. The stained glass ceiling of the building seemed to stretch out and up endlessly, almost as if it was trying to pierce the heavens themselves. Luxcious scanned the crowd, only recognizing a few people among the sea of umbrellas. The woman in the fur coat was still sitting in the aisle, staring up at the casket. Luxcious walked to her side, his auburn robes dragging along the emerald carpet. She did not notice his approach, appearing transfixed by the casket, particularly the corpse inside it. He glanced over at her and cleared his throat. She jumped a little and then turned to face him.
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¡°Hello, I didn¡¯t quite see you there.¡± the woman said, her voice cracking.
¡°Sorry to bother you madam,¡± Luxcious replied.
¡°You really shouldn¡¯t apologize,¡± she groaned. ¡°It just isn¡¯t necessary.¡±
He sighed and simply sat down at the end of the aisle next to the woman.
¡±Mind giving me your name, madam?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡°Why¡¯re you being so formal about it? This is a funeral after all, not a social gathering.¡± the woman responded.
¡°Better to mourn a loss together than to go through it alone.¡± Luxcious answered.
The woman nodded, sighed, and then turned to face him.
¡°Bethyinine, Mistress Bethyinine, though you could just call me Beth. Seeing as it¡¯ll be much easier for your tongue.¡± The woman smiled as she stretched out her hand for him to shake. It was clear her heart wasn''t in it, however.
¡°Luxcious, though considering we¡¯re going with shorter pronunciations, you could just call me Laurence.¡± Luxcious chuckled as he shook Beth¡¯s hand.
¡±Ok¡ Larry,¡± Beth smirked.
He groaned and then readjusted his robes, before turning his attention back to the corpse lying in the casket. Beth turned away at the same time Luxcious did, and they ended up sitting in silence for a few minutes.
¡°You knew him?¡± Luxcious asked, pointing at the corpse.
¡°Yes, he was my brother,¡± Beth replied.
¡°Last I, or anyone else, checked, your brother was still alive,¡± Luxcious responded.
¡°My biological brother you mean, yes? Ceres is still alive much to his dislike,¡± she said.
Luxcious regarded Beth with a faint curiosity. A small jade diadem adorned her forehead, engraved with a symbol resembling a tree branching out at the roots. It was a type of marking bestowed upon those who were born with the Seed of Night. Luxcious himself had not been born with the Seed, but had received it as a gift from his mentor following his graduation from university. This particular sigil however, identified her as the Apex. She was the firstborn daughter of the Lord and Lady of the Abyss.
She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. noticing that he was fixated on the diadem on her forehead.
¡°So, are you interested in this?¡± Beth asked, pointing to it.
¡°I¡¯m not interested in the diadem itself so much as I am interested in the sigil on it.¡± Luxcious answered.
¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a scholar. I haven¡¯t seen your kind in ages ¡ª my apologies sir if I¡¯ve been disrespectful,¡± Bethyinine responded.
¡°Sorry for derailing the conversation, but are there any other reasons for you being here?¡± Luxcious asked. ¡°I can''t imagine you would''ve stayed when everyone left, if there wasn''t some other reason for it.¡±
¡°I got bored. It¡¯s very disrespectful of me isn¡¯t it? Attending a funeral out of boredom, I mean. Yet that¡¯s just how I am, and even then I think I already gave you my real reason for coming here. Normally I¡¯d be hunting right now, but instead I¡¯m attending this. Better for me to be a little respectful of the dead compared to disrespecting the living.¡± Bethyinine smiled.
¡°Hunting? What exactly would you be hunting?¡± Luxcious inquired.
¡°People, they¡¯re just so¡ interesting, aren¡¯t they?¡± Bethyinine mused.
¡°I suppose they are,¡± Luxcious answered with a nervous chuckle.
Luxcious nodded, and after sheepishly bowing, rose from the aisle. He began to head towards the door. Bethyinine stayed there, returning her gaze to the casket, and began to hum an ancient lullaby.
Luxcious pulled his hood up as he walked outside and into the pouring rain. From within his left pocket he revealed a small mirror. He pulled it out, and drew a counterclockwise circle on the glass. A portal opened in front of him showing a third of his bedroom, which had been turned into an office. The edges of the portal seemed jagged, almost like broken glass. He smiled and stepped through the portal which closed behind him. The rain continued to fall down on the gravel path leading into town, and no traces were left of him. Almost as if he had never been there at all.
Back in the cathedral, Bethyinine sat down next to the casket bearing the corpse of her adopted brother. Tears flowed from her eyes as she laid her hands on his chest. She knew his reasons for passing on, she accepted his logic, and yet something within her denied his death. She looked up at the cathedral ceiling, noticing the rain falling onto the glass. Off in the distance the sound of thunder could just barely be heard. She smiled and began to sing her lullaby as the tears stopped flowing from her eyes.
II: Through Dreams Darkly
Bethyinine got up and walked over to the podium. The podium was empty, save for a piece of paper underneath the microphone. She glanced at the paper, watching as the words shifted rapidly, as if the paper itself was deciding its own contents. She picked up the paper and at once the words stopped shifting, the paper¡¯s contents were clear to her now. This was his eulogy, her brother¡¯s eulogy, only this one looked different from the one which Luxcious had read. The paragraphs were longer, the words were in white ink instead of black, and it was addressed as if it were a letter. She squinted so as to make out the words on the page with a bit more clarity.
To my dear sister
You may see my corpse before you and question my passing. Know that I am sleeping, I find peace in the stillness of death. Do not mourn my loss, do not cry over what has passed. I really don¡¯t want you to bring me back, it¡¯s much too nice here. And I swear to Nadahr, if you do bring me back, I will kill you. Only joking though, I¡¯d rather repeat this again before I ever harm you.
Sincerely, Silas James Mori
Bethyinine finished reading the eulogy and began to shed a few tears. She placed the paper back on the podium and walked outside into the pouring rain. Her eyes glanced towards the ivory spire off in the distance, perhaps the archive there would be of use to her? Bethyinine sprinted off towards the spire, leaving Silas¡¯s body alone in the cathedral.
On her way towards the spire, she passed through a small marketplace, the harsh scent of smoke filling her lungs. She turned her gaze to a nearby fire, with a single peasant in front of it. The fools prostrated in worship, and his eyes fixed on a white clay statue. Bethyinine squinted her eyes so as to get a better look at the statue. She took a few steps towards the peasant, whose head turned to her upon hearing her approach.
The peasant, a tall gruff man in his early thirties, rushed over to her. Immediately, he fell to his knees and prostrated himself in prayer to her.
¡±Mistress, I offer myself in sacrifice to you.¡± He said, his voice hoarse.
¡±Why are you throwing your life away? Shouldn¡¯t you be begging for money instead? What good will death do for you?¡± Bethyinine growled.
¡±My sacrifice will only serve to strengthen you, my Mistress. Why must you refuse my offer?¡± The peasant pleaded.
Bethyinine simply rolled her eyes and growled as the peasant grabbed her by the knees. Fear shot through her as the bastard gripped her scales. She writhed and struggled, trying to get herself free of his hold. Yet his grip was too strong, or she was too weak. Bethyinine yelped as the peasants grip tightened, her eyes darting around for someone to try and help her.
She could feel the peasant working his way up her body. She could also feel something else, something different, something strange. Magic, Bethyinine thought, he wanted to control her, to make her kill him. All because I told him not to throw his life away, she chuckled.
Bethyinine could feel her self-control beginning to slip as the bastard¡¯s magic took hold. She hissed and writhed, her her efforts were futile. Her mind went numb as the peasants control over her strengthened. If he extorted too much control over her, she¡¯d go unconscious. Bethyinine could hear the bells of the cathedral ring and closed her eyes, waiting for the peasant to work his magic.
Bethyinine could feel the last bit of self-control she had begin to slip. She was just barely holding on, only by a single claw. Yet just as she was about to fall off the metaphorical cliff, she felt the ground beneath her feet again. Bethyinine quickly opened her eyes again and found the peasant unconscious on the ground. Then she felt someone tap her on the shoulder and sprang up in a panic.
¡°Sorry I scared you, madam.¡± Her savior apologized.
Bethyinine nodded, glanced over at the person, and noticed that he had on a merchants attire. She then rummaged around in her bag, pulled out a pouch, and took five gold coins from it. She smiled and gave them to the merchant.
¡±No need to pay me.¡± The merchant said as he turned down her offer.
¡±You need the money, don¡¯t you?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±My business has been good to me lately.¡± The merchant answered.
Bethyinine sighed, nodded, and continued her trek towards the spire.
Finally, after having gotten past the horror of the market, Bethyinine gazed up at the spire. Noticing the seven black rings orbiting its peak. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Mere moments later the door was opened by a rather short old man carrying a cane made of elm wood.
¡±Ah, what business does an Umbr?k have regarding someone like me?¡± He asked.
¡±With all due respect Aliyas, I come here seeking knowledge.¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡±Knowledge on what?¡± Aliyas groaned.
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¡±How does one cheat death?¡± Bethyinine asked as a faint orange glow appeared in the depths of her eyes.
Aliyas rolled his eyes and allowed her entry into his humble abode. The two of them ascended the spiral glass steps towards the library together. Bethyinine had only visited the Warden once before in her entire life, when she had gone out hunting as a child. Back then Aliyas thought nothing if her, to him she was just another creature in the Abyss. Just another piece of the food chain, another grain of sand along life¡¯s endless beaches. Now the Warden of the Abyss saw her for what she was, an equal, someone who could control their population.
¡±How have your people been?¡± Aliyas asked as the two of them continued to climb.
¡±They¡¯ve been alright, some of them tried to establish a place of worship for me, I promptly shut them down.¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡±Why, why would you deny yourself the praise of your own people?¡± Aliyas said.
¡°Not praise, worship, I¡¯m not a god Allen.¡± Beth growled.
¡±Why do you have to be so informal with me? I¡¯m not another one of your playthings.¡± Aliyas groaned.
Aliyas nodded solemnly and ascended the final few steps leading into a hallway. Bethyinine followed after him as the two of them entered the library. The ceiling couldn¡¯t even be seen from where they were standing. Bethyinine¡¯s jaw dropped as she looked around at the millions of books covering the walls. Aliyas looked at her and nodded before turning to ascend further up the spire.
¡±Don¡¯t worry about cleaning up the shelves, the books will do that for you. Just take your time and find whatever you need to, best of luck! And just so you know, the books respond based on your current thoughts!¡± Aliyas said as he started up the stairs.
Bethyinine looked around at the ground floor and noticed a podium with a large leather book on it not too far from her. She went over and opened the book, it was filled with various pages concerning texts of varying topics. All of them related to various methods by which people could be killed. She growled and closed the book before walking over to another shelf. The library rumbled and the shelves shifted again, all the books having changed.
Bethyinine growled and took one of them from off the shelf. She skimmed through the book, noticing that it was a guide for grief counseling. She sighed, shed a tear, and sat down in a nearby chair. Her attention returning to what Aliyas had told her when she had entered the library. Better to try and focus her mind on how she could bring back James. Everything else would only serve as a distraction, and boy was her mind full of those.
As she collected her thoughts, Bethyinine could hear the shelves rapidly opening and closing. She sighed and turned her attention to her brother, her adopted brother. Bethyinine remembered the day she had first found James. He was dying, and she saved him, saved him from being forgotten. Yet just as she had saved him, James had saved her. Though where she had saved him from death, her brother had saved from from herself.
I was alone then, and he cared for me, Bethyinine remembered.
He saw me as human, he knew I wasn¡¯t just an animal, she continued.
The rest of them saw me as a monster, he saw something else, she smiled.
He saw that I could change, and now without him I feel lost, Bethyinine sobbed.
I don¡¯t care if he doesn¡¯t want to come back. I want him, I need him, I love him. Bethyinine finished as tears poured down her cheeks.
She waited for a moment before wiping the tears from her eyes. Bethyinine then got up and walked over to the nearest shelf. She quickly grabbed the closest book as a smile lit up on her face. At last she had found what she was looking for, a book that actually had what she neeeded. Bethyinine laughed and happily opened the book.
The section which she was looking for was nestled near the very end of the last chapter. Bethyinine hastily tore through the pages in mere seconds, damaging the book in the process. She winced as the sound of paper tearing echoed around her. The books on the walls shook for a moment before returning to their slots in the shelves. This library could feel pain, she thought. She looked back at the book which had managed to repair the damages that she had done to it. Bethyinine breathed a sigh of relief before gazing at the section which she had just reached. The section regarding the actual resurrection of a truly departed individual was rather sparse with specific details, instead it concerned itself with various hypothetical methods of resurrection. All of which were proven outdated at this point.
Otherwise there would be no reason for him to do such a thing in the first place. Just fragment your soul and hide the pieces somewhere where only you can find them. Yet James wasn¡¯t the type of person to do that, life was a game of chess to a man like him. Meaning, if he were to kick the bucket, there would need to be a way to bring him back again.
Bethyinine looked closer at the instructions, only to notice that there weren¡¯t any more. The only requirements were a simple ritual circle, no runes required, and the soul of the deceased. As for the ritual itself, it would require the full concentration of multiple people for a total period of five hours. Bethyinine read further down the page, noticing a half erased note at the bottom.
Possible ritual alternative: the mass sacrifice of souls could be used to power the ritual and resurrect the departed, at the cost of possibly thousands of lives.
Bethyinine smiled and closed the book before scanning the shelves around her for possibly more information. All of the books on this layer were simple history textbooks detailing the origins of the Abyss and those who called it home. She walked towards one of the books and opened it to a random page. All while the sense boredom began to rapidly creep up her body.
Bethyinine had only finished turning the first few pages before she rolled her eyes and closed the book out of sheer annoyance. She bolted across the hallway and sprinted down the stairs. She reached the bottom of the spire in mere minutes and quickly sprinted out the door. She smiled and made her way back to the cathedral.
The only thing on her mind right now was getting her brother back. However, there was one problem with that. She had no way of obtaining the entirety of James¡¯s soul. The only part that she could even acquire was from Luxcious. Bethyinine entered the cathedral and sat down in the aisle. The rain outside was still coming down in droves.
She smiled and listened to the sound of the rain hitting the cathedral roof. James¡¯s corpse lied at the front of the room in perfect stillness. She sat there for a little while before getting up and walking towards her brother¡¯s body. Bethyinine knelt down in front of the casket and examined James¡¯s corpse. There were no signs of any sort of a struggle. All because of the fact that he had probably strangled himself to death. Which meant he most likely took himself out just before he went to bed. Or at least that¡¯s what she told herself, because he could have shot himself for all she knew.
III: The Predator
Her brother¡¯s body lay before her, frozen in a state of eternal sleep. She never expected him to die, at least not like this. Death for him was always a temporary condition, a way to relieve any excess stress from the day. Even if he was going to die on his own terms, he would leave a contingency plan, a method by which he could be raised from the dead if need be. Now she was not so sure of her brother¡¯s cunning. Not even he would have been able to predict a death like this. To him there were two types of death; death of the body and death of the soul. One was temporary, the other permanent, both were avoidable. Yet this, this was different. Death here would not happen instantly. For someone to be wiped from existence, death would have to occur on all fronts simultaneously. The death of body, soul, and the death of the mind. Bethyinine looked out at all of the lights around her, all of the souls of those who had come before. She looked out towards the ivory tower in the distance and then at the eternal eclipse hanging in the sky.
¡°You¡¯ll be alone, and that terrifies me. I wanted you to stay with me. I do not want to be alone, I want to be with you, and now you¡¯re gone.¡± Bethyinine told herself, almost on the verge of tears.
Bethyinine looked down at her brother¡¯s corpse, and she began to cry, knowing that she could not save him. The very thought that James was so calculated as to kill off his own mind terrified her. The mind, to both herself and her family, was the only place safe from death. The mind, and the power of memory were the means by which one could come back from the dead, but only if enough people remembered you. She went out to touch him, one last time, to beg for him to come back to her. Yet deep down she knew that it was too late. His mind could not process the threat quickly enough, he was too slow. Death was just too fast, even for someone like him, a man who could plan for every possible attempt on his life.
Her claws brushed against his cheeks, which were now cold to the touch. She looked at him and his eyes were open, staring out into the endless abyss. Bethyinine summoned the small portion of her brothers soul and looked at it. It pulsed with a faint blue light once, twice, three times. James¡¯ soul was just barely holding on, but even then it too would die. She looked at her brothers soul and a voice inside of her responded. ¡°James?¡± It said, almost on the verge of tears. There was a certain stillness in a death such as this, a quiet that could not be replicated anywhere else. Perhaps it was the fact that all the life was sucked out of him, perhaps it was the position that he lay in, either way he looked rather peaceful. She smiled to herself and struggled to lift his corpse up into her arms.
¡°Damnit James, why did you have to make your bones out of metal?¡± She yelled, gasping for breath
Bethyinine quickly dropped her brother¡¯s corpse, and collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. She knew that lifting it was out of the question, but she couldn¡¯t just leave him there. The only reasonable answer would be to take him home with her. So she began to sing her old lullaby, Chopin¡¯s famous funeral march, only it was in reverse. She hated the very idea of death as a child, so her mother would often sing this particular version of the song backwards. Bethyinine remembered the words which her mother had said as she put her daughter to rest.
¡°Be still, my dear, tomorrow is a new dawn. We will march away from the grave together, you and I.¡± She would say
Water rose around them as the ocean air filled her lungs, then the water came crashing down on top of them. She had returned to the small island that she called home. Fish darted in between patches of coral as Bethyinine dragged her brother¡¯s corpse along the sea floor. Once the two of them had made it onto solid land, she let go of James¡¯ body. Bethyinine stared out into the sea, which expanded out in front of her, reaching far beyond even the setting sun on the horizon.
She looked at her brother¡¯s corpse, it was still in the same position as when he had passed on. Rigor mortis really was one hell of a drug. She smiled, sharpened her claws, and began to dig a hole so as to put him to rest. The digging took only a few minutes, the only thing left for her to do now was to mark the burial site. So she decided on the sword that James had given her as a wedding gift, and firmly planted the blade in the sand.
¡°What am I to do now that James is gone? Normally, I would go out hunting for the first half of the week, then I¡¯d spend the rest of my time with James, entertaining myself with him. If I remember correctly, he liked it when I killed him using a particular sequence, though I cannot recall which one it was.¡± Bethyinine muttered to herself.
She just wanted to sit there and mourn his death, and yet she knew that was not an option. She needed to hunt, she needed to keep herself occupied. Better to preoccupy her time than to sit there and do nothing. So Bethyinine sat down and began to sing, hoping that someone would be enthralled by her song. After all, she wanted someone to talk to, someone to help her ease the pain she felt. The last time she had done this was close to a century ago, so it would probably take a while for her to catch someone. Though knowing how sailors work, she wouldn¡¯t have to sing for long.
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¡°How exactly am I going to enjoy myself tonight? Should I leave this one alive for as long as possible? Persuade him to do the job himself? Or just end his life before he even sets foot on this island?¡± Bethyinine laughed, it had been a while since she had done something like that, and she was enjoying herself.
Bethyinine then stopped for a moment and fixed her gaze on the horizon. She crossed her legs and took a breath, trying to relax and refocus her thoughts.
¡±No, better to just talk to him, get to know my prey. Tell him about my worries, my fears, my life. I¡¯m not doing this for food, or pleasure, just to keep myself from being overwhelmed.¡± She reminded herself.
A few minutes passed by before she heard the sound of boots wading through the water. Bethyinine opened her eyes and looked at her prey, smiling. The man before her was a fisherman with short brown hair and a beard. His eyes seemed to shine like emeralds against the setting sun. The fisherman stared at her, and she could see the fear in his eyes.
¡°Siren! Witch! Leave me be, I beg of you!¡± He screamed.
¡±Hush now dear, and I would like it if you referred to me by what I am, an apex predator.¡± Bethyinine cooed as she sharpened her claws.
She smiled, took a breath, and brushed the sand from her scales.
¡°I do not want to harm you, I only want someone to talk to. I¡¯ve been lonely for quite some time now.¡± Bethyinine declared, hoping to keep her prey at ease.
The fisherman looked at the creature before him. Its shape was that of a dragon. Only this one appeared to be more human-like in terms of its posture. The creature¡¯s scales were mostly a deep blue, with the ones on its chest being a bright yellow in color. He sat down and watched as the predator mirrored his movements and sat down as well.
¡°I really wouldn¡¯t mind if this was the last thing that I saw, it¡¯s honestly kind of adorable¡± he thought to himself.
¡°Aww.. thank you for that darling.¡± Bethyinine responded.
The fisherman panicked and looked at the creature. He didn¡¯t need to open his mouth to speak. The creature just looked at him and nodded as if to answer the question that he was going to ask. What exactly would a creature such as this want with him other than food? He got up and attempted to leave, but the creature anticipated his actions and pounced on him.
¡°Sorry darling, but I can¡¯t let you leave, not just yet.¡± Bethyinine said, laughing.
¡±What are you going to do to me? Kill me and devour my corpse?¡± The fisherman asked.
¡°No, that would be¡ boring.¡± She responded.
¡±So, you¡¯re not even going to give me a proper burial either I take it?¡± Her prey inquired.
¡±No, I will, and I¡¯ll be paying for your funeral expenses as well.¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡±Your logic is inconsistent, you treat me like I¡¯m beneath you, and yet you have enough decency to give me a proper burial.¡± The fisherman stated.
¡±True, but either I kill you, or I lose control of myself and kill 50 more people.¡± Beth hissed.
¡°Still doesn¡¯t justify your actions.¡± The fisherman muttered as he looked down at the sand.
¡±I could say the same for your worship of me.¡± Beth growled.
¡±I beg your pardon?¡± The fisherman sputtered.
¡±Don¡¯t play dumb with me, darling. You worship me, send me fish as offerings, and yet I refuse them.¡± She declared.
¡±No, frankly I have too little time on my hands for such things. Honestly, that very much sounds like something the common folk would do.¡± The fisherman responded.
¡±Doesn¡¯t matter, you¡¯re all the same, throwing away precious resources that you need. All in ¡°service¡± of something that doesn¡¯t care. All I want is to have someone to talk to, someone that understands me! Not people throwing themselves on a pyre for me!¡± Beth sobbed.
¡°Then why kill me? Why bother with this? If all you want is someone to talk to, then why are you going to kill me?¡± Her prey asked.
Beth simply didn¡¯t answer and began to whistle. The fisherman waited for a moment before looking back up at the creature. Its form looked much more like that of an animal than it had before. He saw its long tail swaying back and forth. His eyes began to focus on it, and he slowly began to lose consciousness. Bethyinine looked down at her prey and smiled. The only thing for her to do now was to make sure that this man no longer had a pulse. While the fisherman could no longer think, see, or feel anything physical, he could still sense temperature.
The last thing he would sense before his life was taken from him would be warmth, followed by unending heat. Bethyinine smiled and lied down on the sand, letting it flow between her scales. She gazed out towards the horizon as the water turned to blood, the corpses of her previous prey drifted to the surface covering the ocean for miles, and once again she began to sing, the voices of the dead joined her.
¡°Beware, beware, the Daughter of the Sea..¡± Bethyinine sang as she drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow, she thought to herself, tomorrow I will go out hunting. And perhaps I will pay mankind a little visit as well. There are bound to be some that miss my presence.
IV: Siren鈥檚 Lament
Bethyinine woke that morning to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. She stretched and waded into the sea. The fish darted away as she approached. She looked down into the water and managed to snag a fish between her claws. It was a salmon, and a big one at that. It could probably cover a full hand and a little bit of the other. Bethyinine smiled and looked at the fish as it tried to wriggle itself free from her grasp. She laughed, opened her maw, and let go of the fish. She smiled, knowing that all she needed to do now was relax and let a combination of peristalsis and gravity do the work for her.
¡°I want to make sure that all of you know your place in this, understand?¡± She smiled, looking down at the rest of the fish.
¡±Normally I don¡¯t do anything like that. What exactly is going on with me?¡± Bethyinine asked herself.
She turned around and looked at the sword buried in the sand. ¡°No, I will not mourn the loss of my brother, I have more important matters to attend to.¡± She told herself. She felt a rage gnawing at her innards, begging to be released. Bethyinine looked out at the rising sun on the horizon, she smiled as a feral urge overtook her, she would hunt, and she would enjoy it. Bethyinine dove headfirst into the sea. She already knew where to go, a small village on an island around 50 miles from here. As she cut through the water, she began to sing again, the same lullaby that her mother had sung to her all those centuries ago. Only this time it wasn¡¯t a lullaby, but a warning. If you were to stand up to her then you would die trying.
7:25 am
Bethyinine had arrived at the village. She could have been there sooner, but she wanted to enjoy herself. She poked her head out of the water and saw the docks nearby. Fishermen were preparing for work, loading their nets onto their boats. Bethyinine smiled and debated as to whether she should shift her form or not.
¡°I don¡¯t remember what happened the last time I came here. I¡¯ll just stick to this form for now and see what happens.¡± She told herself.
Bethyinine swam around the docks and towards the beach. She poked her head out of the water to see if anyone was nearby, and surprisingly there were a few people on the beach at this hour. She rose out of the water, expecting some sort of reaction only for the people to not even notice her arrival. She smiled and began the short walk towards the village. The walk to the village was relatively uneventful for the most part. The only thing to keep her entertained was the occasional deer sprinting through the forest. She watched them as they ran and smiled, sensing the fear in their eyes. Bethyinine stopped at the entrance to the village, she smiled and entered, knowing what fate she had in store for these people.
Her first stop was the tavern. She needed to relax after such a long voyage. When Bethyinine entered the establishment it was empty, save for the barkeep who looked up from the mug he was polishing.
¡°I¡¯m sorry miss, but you¡¯re going to have to leave this establishment. We have rules here, and we would like for you to keep your dignity¡± He said.
Bethyinine looked at the barkeep, smiled, and walked forwards so as to make herself more visible. The barkeep just looked at her and shrugged.
¡°I¡¯ve seen your kind here before. Now, for the love of Horus, can you please leave my establishment!¡± The barkeep yelled.
Bethyinine did not answer and merely began tapping her claws on one of the tables. The barkeep sighed, knowing that his efforts to make her leave were in vain. Bethyinine smiled, pulled out a chair, and sat down. She looked at the barkeep for a moment and began to sing again. The barkeep watched her, he listened to her voice as she began to sing. When her words reached his ears, they sounded like waves along a beach. He knew the song that she was singing, he knew what it meant.
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¡°Beware, beware, the Daughter of the Sea..¡± Bethyinine started.
¡±I wouldn¡¯t sing that if I were you!¡± The barkeep screamed.
He looked at her figure for a moment. No, he would not let himself be enthralled by her. The barkeep went to the back of the tavern and rummaged through the shipments of ale. After a while of searching, he had found it, a small ledger. He scrolled through it, looking at the names and pictures of all the patrons who he served over the years. After a couple of seconds, he stopped on the eighth page and slid his finger down three or four names before finding the one he was looking for. Bethyinine, there was no photo of her, only a note next to her name. Mentioned once by Mr. Mori on the fifth of June last year. Now she was here, and Mr. Mori was nowhere to be found. The barkeep put the book back and went back to his place behind the bar.
¡±What do you know of a Mr. Silas James Mori?¡± He asked.
Bethyinine looked at him, the rage inside of her snapped and she lunged towards him. The barkeep screamed as Bethyinine landed on top of him, his vision went dark as his consciousness began to wither. First he sensed heat, then cold, then heat again. He tried to open his eyes but couldn¡¯t, and his mind began to panic. This creature wanted to mess with him, no, it wanted to toy with him. He thought of a reason as to why she had attacked him. Perhaps it was out of mourning for James. That would be a logical explanation. Though it wouldn¡¯t be out of mourning so much as it would be out of a helpless rage. He could have died while she was unable to protect him. That would explain her current situation. The barkeep finally returned to consciousness, though he could not make out where he was. The only logical explanation would be the afterlife, though the souls of the dead were nowhere to be seen.
Bethyinine stretched as she rose off the floor. She looked around for the barkeep, but he wasn¡¯t there. She shrugged and decided to leave the tavern. She walked outside towards the fountain in the village square. People glanced at her as she walked. Bethyinine looked at them, confused.
¡°Why are these people looking at me now? What have I done to deserve their attention?¡± She asked herself.
Bethyinine reached the fountain and sat at one of its corners. She smiled and watched as people walked past her, they glanced at her as they did. Bethyinine shrugged and dove back into the fountain, which was surprisingly deep for its small size. She swam into the depths of the fountain for a little while, only stopping to catch her breath. Bethyinine continued swimming for a little bit more before reaching the bottom of the fountain. She sat down on the marble floor and began to sing her lullaby, which pierced the water and echoed on the walls. Bethyinine closed her eyes for a moment and heard splashes coming from above her. She looked up only to see five villagers swimming towards her. She thought nothing of it and continued to sing. It took around half an hour for the villagers to reach her, and by that point she had grown tired from singing and had fallen asleep. She could feel the villagers swimming around her for a moment, and then she could no longer sense their presence.
Bethyinine woke in a panic and looked around her. The villagers were nowhere to be seen. She hastily swam back up to the surface and looked around. The space around the fountain was empty. Bethyinine exited the water and began to wander around the village, looking for any signs of life. Each house she looked at was empty, even though the candles were still lit. She went down to the docks to check if the fishermen had returned. When she arrived, the boats were still there, but the fishermen were nowhere to be seen. Bethyinine sat down on the sand and began to hyperventilate for a moment.
¡°What is going on? Are all of these people dead? Did I kill them?¡± She asked herself.
Bethyinine lay on the beach for an hour or two before she picked herself up and decided to head back home. She walked to the edge of the water and gazed at her reflection. Maybe it was just her mind, or the water distorting her appearance, but she seemed to be a bit more voluptuous compared to usual. Bethyinine smiled and dove into the sea as she began to swim back to her island.
Bethyinine arrived back home and smiled. She was alone there, save for the fish. She waded out of the water and onto dry land. The fish tried to follow her as she did so.
¡°Don¡¯t come near me, I don¡¯t want to hurt you!¡± She hissed.
The fish darted far into the edges of the reef that surrounded the island. Bethyinine sighed and lay down on the sand, letting it caress her scales. She wanted to sing herself to sleep, but after what had happened today, she feared that her singing would only bring ruin. Bethyinine looked at James¡¯s sword as she fell asleep, and began to cry.
V: Counsel and Keeper
6:30 am
Bethyinine woke up the next morning to the sound of thunder. She felt the rain pour down on her scales and smiled before looking at Jame¡¯s makeshift grave. The rain began to fall harder and harder as the ocean started to rise. Bethyinine walked over to the sea and drove down into the depths. She looked at the hundreds of fish swimming around her. There were hundreds, possibly even thousands of them, here.
¡°This isn¡¯t right, there¡¯s too many of you here. I take it that all of you know what must be done then?¡± Bethyinine said, staring at the over-abundance of fish around her.
Bethyinine thought of how she would go about managing the fish population. She eventually came up with an answer and began to sing. Immediately, the fish began to swarm her, Bethyinine smiled and continued to sing. She closed her eyes and stopped singing, the fish immediately ceased their movements. Bethyinine opened her eyes and looked at the three hundred or so fish that were now in front of her. She smiled and gestured for them to form a single file line behind her. She closed her eyes and began to sing again. The fish began to move again, only this time there was a pause between each movement. Bethyinine could feel the fish¡¯s movements, she could sense their numbers dwindling, it started slowly at first, but eventually it increased. Her tail started to sway a little bit as she began to fall asleep.
7:45 am
Bethyinine¡¯s unconscious body floated up to the ocean¡¯s surface. She opened her eyes a little bit and saw that the storm had stopped. Yet the rain continued to fall, despite this the water level refused to rise. She swam back to her island, sat on the shore and began to cry, letting her tears flow into the sea. The rain subsided as Bethyinine got up and walked over to her brother¡¯s grave. She looked down at the sword, examining the intricate carvings on the blade. Why did he give her a sword as a wedding gift? She was perfectly capable of defending herself. Bethyinine pondered the reason as to why she was given the blade, only for the answer to pierce her mind.
¡°You gave me this so that one day we may be together again. Reunited in death, you and I.¡± Bethyinine said
She wanted to grieve again, and yet that would be pointless. She wanted to see her brother again, so Bethyinine reached out to grab the sword. Yet when she grasped the blade, her hand began to burn. She hissed in pain and looked at the blade once again. It was made of Aunix, a substance formed from the coalescence of the departed. It was poison to her, one wound from a weapon like that and she would be gone. Her body will end up turning to ash as her soul would enter the weapon, strengthening it. She sighed and looked towards the south, off in the distance she could faintly make out the shape of a volcano. Krakatoa to be precise, and that thing hadn¡¯t erupted in 5 years. She stared at it for a moment, letting the rage inside her build to a boiling point. Then Bethyinine sat down, she had to resolve her situation somehow.
¡°Should I go see my sister? No, I don¡¯t want to risk hurting her, and besides she won¡¯t really help anyways. All Sierra will do is feed off of my negative emotions, leaving me to face my brothers loss alone.¡± Bethyinine told herself
¡±Well now what am I to do? How exactly am I going to deal with this mess now? Perhaps a little bit of catharsis would help with this. After all, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to do for the past two days now. But who exactly am I going to turn to for this endeavor?¡± Bethyinine asked herself
The answer to that question was simple, her niece Josephine, she could help with this. Catharsis was her particular coping mechanism after all. There was just one problem, she was all the way in a North American forest thousands of miles away. Bethyinine groaned, dove into the sea, and began the long journey to North America.
12:45 pm
Bethyinine swam to the surface of Lake Eerie and looked at her surroundings. There were trees as far as the eye could see. She exited the lake and began walking through the forest, a few deer sprinted away from her as she walked. She sprinted towards one of the deer, catching up to it in mere seconds. Bethyinine lunged towards the deer, pinning it to the floor. She smiled and began to rip the animal to shreds. Once that was done she continued walking north towards Josephine¡¯s cottage. Lucky for her, she was only a few minutes away from the cottage. The house was a small oak log cabin with a rocking chair on the porch. Bethyinine smiled as she walked up and knocked on the door.
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¡±Coming!¡± Josephine said
The door opened as Bethyinine stared down at Josephine. Her nieces silver scales reflected the light of the afternoon sun. Josephine smiled and beckoned her aunt inside. Bethyinine entered the cottage, glancing around at the furniture, a couch in particular caught her eye. It was four feet across, taking up a relatively small amount of space in the living room. A little farther into the house was the kitchen area, whose checkered floor somewhat clashed with the elm flooring that made up the rest of the house. Bethyinine looked at her niece and then at the kitchen again.
¡°So, why did you come all the way out here to see me?¡± Josephine asked
¡°Counseling.¡± Bethyinine muttered
¡°Counseling? Why do you need counseling, what happened?¡± Josephine inquired
¡°My brother is dead! James is dead! And I failed to protect him!¡± Bethyinine broke down into tears
Yes, she did fail to protect him, from himself. Jame had ripped out his own immortality, much to his sister¡¯s dismay. She could remember pleading him to reconsider, begging him to stop. James however didn¡¯t seem to hear her as his eyes went from emerald green to a pale white. She couldn¡¯t stop him from taking his own life, she couldn¡¯t stop him, no one could.
Josephine looked at her aunt in horror, she hadn¡¯t seen her like this before. Josephine went over to comfort her, yet Bethyinine hissed at her and pushed her away. Josephine got up and went into the kitchen to make a salad. After fifteen minutes Bethyinine stopped crying and went into the kitchen. She smiled upon seeing Josephine, who was happily putting various vegetables into a bowl. Josephine finished preparing lunch and turned around.
¡±So, are you feeling good enough to have lunch?¡± Josephine asked
Bethyinine nodded and smiled, after this she would ask Josephine for some help. The two of them sat down on the couch with Josephine taking up half of the entire thing by herself. Bethyinine looked at her niece and began to laugh, Josephine looked back at her, smiling.
¡±Of all my relatives, you are probably one of my favorites.¡± Bethyinine said
¡±Really? Why exactly is that?¡± Josephine asked
¡°How many other people do I know take up half of an entire couch by themselves?¡± Bethyinine replied
Josephine laughed and went back and into the kitchen for a little while.
1:30 pm
Bethyinine sat there on the couch waiting for Josephine to return. She started to whistle her lullaby as Josephine left the kitchen and sat back on the couch again.
¡±So, you came here for counseling?¡± Josephine asked
¡°Yes, now what exactly did you have in mind?¡± Bethyinine responded
¡±Well, I might have some ideas in mind.¡± Josephine answered
Bethyinine smiled, putting her head on the arm of the couch, and took up whatever space was left. She yawned and looked at Josephine who just smiled at her. Bethyinine decided to rest for a bit and closed her eyes as she began to fall into unconsciousness. After a few minutes of rest she felt her body shift and jolted awake, her vision was completely dark. She chuckled and felt her surroundings, they were oddly smooth to the touch. Bethyinine looked around, but her surroundings didn¡¯t change, everything was pitch black. She felt her surroundings again and smiled, not caring about what was possibly happening to her, for the most part.
¡°What exactly is going on here?¡± Bethyinine asked as her voice echoed all around her
¡°Catharsis, a taste of your own medicine if you will.¡± Josephine replied
¡°I know that much, but really what exactly is going on here?¡± Bethyinine asked again
¡°Well, I would like to ask you a question that I never asked you before.¡± Josephine answered
¡°And that is?¡± Bethyinine responded
¡°How would you like to become apart of something greater than yourself?¡± Josephine asked
Bethyinine smiled and nodded in response to her niece¡¯s request. Josephine chuckled, she could vaguely hear her aunt¡¯s voice answering her questions.
¡±This is honestly quite smooth!¡± Bethyinine said
Josephine smiled and blushed a little bit. She found this situation to be a tad bit amusing. Her aunt said nothing, she was presumably waiting for her to do something. Josephine looked out the window towards the forest and began to whistle. She noticed someone walking towards the house and quickly shut the blinds and locked the door. Bethyinine began to sing her lullaby as the heat and darkness overtook her. Josephine adjust her position on the couch, noticing that she now took up three fourths of the space on it. She could faintly hear her aunt singing, though it felt distant from her. She stretched, got up from the couch, and went to the bathroom to take a nice long bath.
VI: Will and Testament
Wisconsin, North America, July 26th 1888, 3:30 pm
Josephine sighed as she settled into the tub. She could feel the warmth of the water on her scales. She observed the bubbles around her as they slowly began to multiply. Some of them were submerged by her entrance and quickly reappeared on the surface once she had settled in the water. Josephine found it a little difficult to fit in the tub this time, she hadn¡¯t considered her aunt¡¯s visit nor her asking for counseling. The catharsis which her aunt asked for was the main problem. Because of it, Josephine had some difficulties regarding her comfort in the bathtub. She moved around a little bit so as to adjust herself then she shuddered a little bit. The catharsis had finally begun its work at last. She could no longer hear Bethyinine¡¯s voice singing to her, so Josephine began to sing to herself to compensate.
¡°So, are you enjoying yourself?¡± Josephine asked.
¡±It¡¯s been a while since I was on the receiving side of this. Now I remember why I missed this so much.¡± Bethyinine responded.
Her aunt¡¯s response only caused the tub to fill with even more bubbles. Josephine giggled and looked down at the water as a massive bubble rose from the surface, spraying water all over the place. Josephine smiled and slowly began to sink deeper into the water.
¡°I take it that your physical body is dead?¡± Josephine asked.
¡°Try to get out of the tub after this, I dare you.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
Josephine smirked; her aunt¡¯s response released even more bubbles compared to last time. She debated telling Bethyinine to quit talking lest the tub be covered in nothing but bubbles. Josephine shrugged and closed her eyes as the water covered her face. The last thing she heard before she began to take a short rest was the sound of yet more bubbles rising to the surface.
4:30 pm
Josephine woke up to a tub that was overflowing with bubbles. She smiled and tried to lift herself out of the tub, only to get stuck on the walls. She sighed and thought that maybe she should have waited to help her aunt with her problem. But it had been a while since they had seen each other, six months to be precise. Every time the two of them met they would practice catharsis on one another. Each visit they switched positions, just to make sure that the other one was kept in check. The last time they saw each other it was Bethyinine who practiced catharsis on Josephine. Now it was time for her niece to return the favor. Josephine struggled to lift herself out of the tub after taking a moment to concentrate. She smiled and dried off her scales before heading back into the living room. She sat down on the couch; the cushions sank deep into it as she pressed her weight down on them. Josephine chuckled and placed her head down on one of the arms of the couch before closing her eyes to rest.
¡°How long can I stay like this?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡°As long as you¡¯d like, though I might have to order a bigger couch because of you, and a larger tub as well.¡± Josephine groaned.
¡°What¡¯s the matter? You don¡¯t enjoy being like this?¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡°I do, at least it¡¯s not James, he was a nightmare to deal with.¡± Josephine answered.
¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Bethyinine asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
¡°Well let¡¯s just say that because of him I couldn¡¯t sleep at all. I explained to him how this works, but he didn¡¯t listen. He just kept pestering me over and over. Luckily for me, I could just end his ¡°catharsis¡± whenever I felt like it.¡± Josephine responded.
¡°Well that makes two of us who have experienced this, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Bethyinine said.
¡°Could be three if Luxcious wanted to do his research, but he doesn¡¯t feel comfortable around me, and understandably so.¡± Josephine replied.
6:30 pm
Josephine felt someone repeatedly tapping her on the head. She jolted awake only to see Bethyinine sitting on the couch next to her. Josephine sat upright and noticed that she now only took up half of the couch as opposed to three fourths of it like she had before. She looked at her aunt and frowned in disappointment.
¡±So, you didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer?¡± Josephine asked, looking down at herself.
¡°I did, but I wanted to go back home to rest, as nice as it would have been to sleep with you.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
Josephine blushed and turned around to face the window. Bethyinine observed her niece carefully, noticing that despite her tail was not swaying like her own, she was still transfixed by it. Bethyinine slowly approached Josephine, staring at her tail with a burning curiosity. Josephine quickly turned around and smiled at her aunt who blushed in response.
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¡±So, do you want to continue with this?¡± Josephine asked jokingly.
¡°No, it was just that I was..¡± Bethyinine stammered.
¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me, I already know. People are just enticed by my particular form of catharsis. Once they try it once they can¡¯t get enough and come back begging for more.¡± Josephine answered.
Bethyinine nodded and smiled before heading to leave. Before she went through the door, Bethyinine turned around so as to wave goodbye to her niece. Josephine waved goodbye to her before she went upstairs to go to sleep. Bethyinine smiled as she noticed her niece¡¯s tail began to sway as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. She walked out the door and started sprinting towards Lake Eerie so as to start the journey back home.
Wales, England, July 26th, 1888, 7:45 pm
Luxcious sat up in his bed staring at the glass ceiling above him. There were relatively few stars out tonight, save for Polaris and a handful that made up the Big Dipper. Normally he would be sitting at his desk browsing through his notes or busy writing new ones. Now, there were no notes for him to write, and nothing for him to look over. He thought about editing some of his notes on Josephine, but the thought terrified him.
¡±It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like her as a person, she¡¯s perfectly fine. I just don¡¯t like what she can do, her ¡°catharsis¡± disturbs me. It sickens me, the very act of killing another creature and adding their life to your own. Yes, her siblings are perfectly fine with her doing it to them, but that¡¯s because of what they are. They can afford for themselves the luxury of death, something that the rest of us aren¡¯t so lucky with. Their physical bodies can just be brought back after death, so long as the soul still remains that is. Josephine can kill the soul; she can take the souls of her ¡°patients¡± and suck them dry of their life force. Yes, Bethyinine can do the same, but she prefers to let her ¡°prey¡± roam free after she¡¯s done with them. That¡¯s what separates the aunt from her niece, the monster from the murderer if you will, one cares about the people whose lives they ruin, while the other does not and destroys as many lives as they please.¡± Luxcious told himself
¡±That actually reminds me of something James told me.¡± Luxcious muttered as he jolted out of bed.
He ran over to his desk and skimmed his finger along the pile of books in the back corner. ¡°Found it!¡± He said as his finger pressed against smooth dragon scales. Luxcious pulled out a massive book bound in silver dragon scales brimming with thousands of pages. He set the book on his desk; the scales glowed in the moonlight. There was no title, save for a name written in small cursive at the bottom of the cover. Silas Mori, Luxcious could barely make out the name of his deceased friend in the darkness. He lit the oil lamp and opened the book to the table of contents.
¡±Where are you?¡± Luxcious said, glancing at the chapters.
After a few pages, he found the chapter he was looking for. Protocols and Contingencies: Josephine was the chapter title, the page in question, five hundred and eighty-six. Luxcious skimmed through the book, reaching the chapter in mere seconds. He scanned through the chapter contents with reckless abandon, looking for a particular protocol. He finally found it at the very end of the chapter. Protocol ¦Âa-688 (designation: user postmortem) it read. Luxcious looked in horror at the words on the page. He knew what James was capable of, but this, this was too much. The protocol read as follows: Not if, but when, Josephine overindulges in her catharsis then there is a chance I might be dead. If I am dead and when she eventually does overindulge in her own catharsis she must be put down. I¡¯ve done countless equations to see if she can be contained somehow, all results came up as negative. The only way for any of us to stop her when this does happen is to eliminate her from the equation. You should know what to do to kill one of these things when the time does come. The most amount of help I can give you is just to wish you well and hope that this is done with as fast as possible.
¡±Oh dear, this honestly isn¡¯t good, not at all.¡± Luxcious said, closing the book.
He put the book back and climbed into bed, only he wasn¡¯t able to sleep that night, not at all. As the night dragged on, he heard strange noises echoing around him. Occasional strings of beeps followed by long pauses only to be finished by one last beep. Luxcious shot up out of bed one last time and looked at his nightstand. He recognized those sounds as pieces of Morse code. The radio on the nightstand flickered once, twice, then three times before repeating again. The code only seemed to grow in complexity the longer the night went on. Eventually the radio spit out a receipt with thousands of dots and dashes on it. Luxcious grabbed it and rushed back to his desk one last time, pulling out a small, dusty, leather-bound ledger. He yanked open the drawer, ripped out a sheet of paper, and snatched his quill from its resting place. Luxcious glanced at the receipt then at the ledger, and finally at the paper as countless thoughts entered his mind. Luxcious began to translate the code into English which would take a little while. The string of Morse in question was picked up by a modified radio. One that scanned the Abyss for the frequencies of the dead, their final messages to the living before death claimed them. James must have been the one to send this, but why a week later, why not immediately after his death?
Adjustment was the answer, he wanted to make sure that everyone had adjusted to his death before sending his final regards. Luxcious continued to translate the code, the answer was slowly appearing before him, bit by bit, piece by piece. It had been a while since he had translated Morse, especially a message from James. Well, he had never been sent a message from James, not one sent by Morse that was. Luxcious glanced at the receipt one last time before finishing the translation. He gasped in horror at the words that lay on the paper in front of him. He dropped the quill which fell to the floor with a faint crack. Luxcious glanced at the Morse and then at the paper one last time.
¡±Surely this is right? Oh, who am I kidding, this is James I¡¯m talking about, how can this not be right?¡± Luxcious told himself.
The translated Morse on the paper was a message that he did not want to hear. Not at all, not even in a billion years from now. Luxcious glanced down at the paper and read the translation aloud.
¡°They are coming. The conquerors are coming. The Bureau is coming.¡± He said.
He knew what it meant, all of it, but that didn¡¯t make it any less terrifying. Very few of his people knew of the Bureau, and none of the Children of the Abyss knew. Though there was the possibility that James told Bethyinine about them. Luxcious sat and thought about every possible scenario where they could survive, if they would survive that is. Now they were pressed between a rock and a hard place. There were only so many ways out of something like this.
VII: A Light to Guide Us
¡°How does one cheat death? Can death even be cheated to begin with? What does it mean for someone to escape death? There might as well be an infinite amount of answers for all of these questions. Death takes no prisoners; it plays by the rules and expects everyone else to do the same. Yet some of us just refuse to move on, refuse to accept the inevitability that is death. Hell, some of us bastards have contingencies for death. Now, how exactly are we going to escape this mess?¡± Silas told himself.
He looked at his surroundings, everything around him was glossy white. This wasn¡¯t the Abyss; this was something different entirely. James pulled a journal out of his pocket and began to skim through the pages. Nothing but contingency after contingency, and none of them were the one he wanted. James closed the journal and groaned before putting the book back in his pocket. This waiting room, this pseudo-purgatory as it were, was just another prison. Yet another way to keep the living safe from the dead, safe from him. But why, why would the living fear the dead, what threat was he to them? He was dead after all, and there was no chance of him ever returning to the land of the living.
That would be the case, unless his sister had decided to try and bring him back. Well, why wouldn¡¯t she want him back? He was the only person that could keep her in check. James didn¡¯t care what she did to him so long as she was happy with herself. The only thing for him to do now was to wait. Wait for his sister to bring him back from the dead. He knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to grasp his entire soul, no that would be impossible for someone like her. James closed his eyes and began to whistle his sister¡¯s lullaby. She would set him free, she would bring him back, no matter the cost. That was how she worked, it was who she was, someone who couldn¡¯t cope with death.
Back on the island Bethyinine stared at her brother¡¯s soul. It was still faintly pulsing with light, even though his body was long gone. How long would James¡¯s soul hold out for before it finally accepted death, an eternity, no it couldn¡¯t possibly last another day like this, could it? Bethyinine snapped her fingers and the soul faded back into the ether. If she wanted to bring him back, she would need to go and see Luxcious. The two of them had only just met a week ago, so her visit would be rather awkward.
Bethyinine sighed, rose to her feet, and sharpened her claws. She raised one of her claws and slashed at the ocean in front of her as if trying to cleave it in half. The very fabric of reality tore at the seams as a portal opened in front of her. She could make out a door and a sidewalk cluttered in dark orange leaves. She smiled and stepped through the portal, no longer feeling the sea breeze on her face. She gazed at her surroundings, just houses and trees as far as the eye could see. All of the trees were placed within the same distance of one another. The houses, despite their clashing visual differences, blended nicely beside each other. Bethyinine approached the door to the elm wood house in front of her and knocked.
A few moments later the door opened to reveal Luxcious standing on the other side of it. He bowed and gestured for her to step inside.
¡±So, what brings the Apex to the house of a Scholar?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡°You know full well why I am here, do you not, Scholar?¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡°You wish to discuss with me the nature of your kind?¡± Luxcious answered, there was a slight twinge of confusion in his voice
¡±No, I do not, last time I checked you already had answers to those questions. What I am here for is more important, more urgent.¡± Bethyinine responded, summoning James¡¯s soul into her hand
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Luxcious looked at her and then at James¡¯s soul, he could see a faint light flickering inside it. The sequence was all too familiar, it was yet another example of James deciding to use Morse code. He sighed and beckoned for Bethyinine to follow him upstairs to his office.
¡°Would you mind handing me your brother¡¯s soul for a moment?¡± Luxcious inquired as he sat down at his desk.
Bethyinine looked at all of the diagrams and notes plastered around the room. She nodded and absentmindedly handed over James¡¯s soul to Luxcious who began to furiously write down a series of notes on a piece of paper. By the time she had finished looking at the walls he had finished writing. Luxcious looked up at his guest and handed her the piece of paper. She took it and looked at it, her face went pale white as she read the words on it.
You saved me from death once before, you can do it again. So, we shall step beyond and into the infinite, ascending together, you and I
Bethyinine understood her brother¡¯s words, and she refused to accept his request. There were more ways than that to bring him back, she knew as much. James¡¯s response flew in the face of everything she knew about him. There was no way that she could possibly bring him back using that type of magic, no chance whatsoever. Ascension was only to be used to strengthen an already living being. There was no way in which it could bring back the dead, not at all. Ascension, however, did not require the full soul in order to work properly.
¡°You have the other half of his soul do you not?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡°Yes, just let me fetch it for you.¡± Luxcious answered.
He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out the other half of James¡¯s soul. There was no light left inside of it, the once pale blue color was now extinguished completely. Bethyinine grabbed it and placed it next to her own half. The two of them merged at once to form a complete circle to the naked eye. Yet on further inspection there was a small piece missing, small enough for it to not matter in the long run. Bethyinine smiled and gestured for Luxcious to leave the room. The Scholar nodded and shut the door behind him as Bethyinine knelt on the floor. Her brother¡¯s soul laid there in front of her, all she had to do now was fetch the body. So, she began to sing her lullaby again, this time doing so in the proper manner.
The makeshift grave back on her island began to shift as the corpse disappeared letting the sand sink down, burying the blade in the process. Bethyinine smiled and closed her eyes, letting her darkness take control. She would be unconscious during the Ascension process. Ascension was like surgery to her; she would be out for several days as the process went along. She breathed a sigh of relief as her mind began to darken and her consciousness started to dim.
Her brother¡¯s body and soul were gone now as the process of Ascension had begun. Luxcious sat in the foyer downstairs sipping a cup of tea. He knew what she was doing, frankly it had been a long time since she had even done Ascension. The last victim, as it were, was ironically James himself. Luxcious chuckled at the situation and sat there in the foyer for a few hours. Once the sun had gone down, he went back upstairs to head to bed. He could barely open the door as Bethyinine¡¯s body was blocking half of it. Luxcious struggled to lift her into his bed, he covered his guest with a blanket and the two of them went to sleep. Luxcious woke up the following morning only to find that his guest was still asleep. She would probably be like this for a either a few days or a couple of weeks.
Bethyinine couldn¡¯t see or hear anything around her. She was trapped in her own mind until the Ascension process was over. The only thing she could sense was James; she could sense his soul. Though she couldn¡¯t reach him, something prevented her from doing so. She smiled and let her darkness take control again, letting the song flood her mind. The last thing she sensed was James, she could sense him, his life returning to the world.
James saw the light around him die as the chair he sat in dissolved. The room itself began to fall apart as darkness slowly started to consume the room. His sister had done it, she had brought him back from death. Though it would take a while for him to even be in the land of the living. He screamed in pain, falling to the floor as the darkness began to drag him down into it. His consciousness slowly disappeared as he began to sink deeper and deeper into the darkness. James could just barely make out the orange light of an eternal eclipse on the horizon as the darkness claimed him.
VIII: Here We Stand
The Abyss,
There¡¯s no light here¡
Silas stood on the edge of the Abyss, teetering the border between life and death. He was alive alright, just not in the traditional sense. His body was dead, the only thing that was alive was his soul. The body in this case was a mere puppet for the soul to pilot. He gazed out towards the spire off in the distance and stepped back onto solid ground.
¡°The living often envy the dead, yet when have the dead ever envied the living?¡± He asked.
¡±Well, envy isn¡¯t really a good term for it. Seeing as my sister brought me back much too early. She just couldn¡¯t wait to raise my corpse, could she?¡± Silas groaned.
James walked towards the spire, one of the rings orbiting it flew off towards him. He smiled and watched as it approached him at blinding speed. The ring hovered over him and slowly began to charge the energy required to open a portal. James waited for until the ring had finished charging before he quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a massive chain knife which had just exited the portal. The chain quickly retreated back through the portal leaving a crater in its wake. The ring proceeded to fly back towards the spire as Jame¡¯s followed after it.
He considered this attempt on his life to be a major failure. Did these people not know what he was capable of? Of course, they knew what he was capable of, yet they still attempted to kill him anyway. James chuckled at the thought of death as he entered the spire and began climbing up the stairs. Well it was lass of a climb and more of a sprint as he reached the entrance to the foyer in mere seconds. James stopped to catch his breath before entering the room which was full of hundreds of mismatched chairs and tables. The fireplace in the western corner of the room was empty. He entered the foyer and cleared his throat so as to dispel the silence which hung over the room like fog.
The moment James had cleared his throat and old man poked his head up from one of the tables. He got up and walked towards James, his silver beard dragging along the floor behind him.
¡±What kind of practical joke is this, we all thought you were dead!¡± Aliyas yelled.
¡±Dead? You thought I was dead, as in permanently dead? Well of course you did, you senile bastard.¡± James remarked.
¡±Well last time I checked, removing one¡¯s own immortality does that to you. So how then are you standing here before me?¡± Aliyas retorted.
¡±Desperation, did my sister not go to you for answers, or have you been sitting here doing nothing?¡± James inquired.
Aliyas nodded and walked back towards one of the tables and sat down, James followed after him and did likewise. Silas put his left hand on the table and began absentmindedly tapping his fingers.
¡±I would have told Ceres about this but knowing him I¡¯d only get empty promises. He still hasn¡¯t broken his oath, he still won¡¯t intervene, even if his own people are at risk.¡± James declared.
¡±At risk of what exactly?¡± Aliyas asked.
¡±Extinction, there are threats building at our borders, I take it that you are aware of this?¡± James stated.
¡°Yes, but what threats are you referring to exactly?¡± Aliyas inquired.
¡±Man, my former colleagues to be precise.¡± James answered.
¡°Well then, given the circumstances, it¡¯s not our battle to fight.¡± Aliyas declared.
¡±Not your fight? Not your fight? Since when was this not your fight! We must stand together if we are to survive!¡± James yelled.
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¡±My boy, I¡¯m afraid you just don¡¯t get it. For if these men are invading because of you, then it falls to you to deal with them. They were your colleagues, were they not? As such, they pose no risk to the rest of us.¡± Aliyas answered.
Aliyas groaned, walked out of the room, and ascended further up the spire. James sprinted down the stairs and went outside. That was one thing cleared from his list, now all he had to do was warn his sister. The rest of them could easily fend for themselves, especially Josephine. James smiled and made a counterclockwise motion with his left hand which opened a portal in front of him. He could clearly see the sidewalk in front of Luxcious¡¯s house in front of him. James stepped through the portal and onto the streets of Wales which were bathed in the orange light of the setting sun.
He walked towards the door and rhythmically knocked on it. Within seconds Luxcious opened the door and silently let James inside. Luxcious walked into the library as James sat down in the living room, right next to the emerald, green fireplace. After a few minutes Luxcious returned from the library and sat down next to James.
¡±I didn¡¯t expect to see you so soon.¡± Luxcious gasped.
¡±Well you know how my sister is, she didn¡¯t want to be alone for too long now did she?¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±That is true, though both of us know why you came back.¡± Luxcious replied.
¡±I know, I can hardly believe it either. Not even in a million years would I have expected an invasion from someone like them, not at all. They¡¯ll tear themselves to shreds in no time if we get lucky enough.¡± James stated.
Luxcious nodded as James got up and walked upstairs. He quietly turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Once it there was enough space between the door and the wall, James slid through and into Luxcious¡¯s office. The moment Silas entered he was pinned to the floor by his sister who was eagerly waiting for him.
¡±Hello again Beth, how have you been?¡± Silas mused.
Bethyinine did not answer and just stared at her brother. James could see her tail swaying rapidly above him. For as dangerous as Bethyinine was, she could be rather wholesome when she wasn¡¯t out hunting down pieces of humanity. James smiled as his gaze focused on his sister¡¯s tail swaying above him. He could see her beginning to smile and his vision went dark for a moment.
¡±What exactly shall I do with you today?¡± Bethyinine asked herself.
She looked at her brother and thought about how long he would be unconscious for. The answer to that question was simple, as long as she wanted him to be. Bethyinine smiled and pressed the end of her tail to James¡¯s face, covering his mouth and nose. She hadn¡¯t done something like this in a while, not since James was last alive. It took her a little while before she finally understood what to do. The last time she had ever used anesthetics on someone was when Josephine used to visit her. Now she would be using it on James, making sure that he could never wake up for a good seven or eight hours.
The last thing James could have sensed before falling prey to his sister¡¯s anesthesia was heat, heat and darkness. He smiled and let it claim him as his mind began to fall further and further down into itself. It had been a while since she had killed him, now she would enjoy herself for a little while. If James wanted to open his eyes, he couldn¡¯t, and even if he could then he would find out that there was nothing wrong with his surroundings.
For him to be murdered by his sister was a relief. She would always bring him back once she was satisfied. Hours later James regained consciousness and awoke on his sister¡¯s island. She had shifted her form to that of a kitsune so as to stave off the cold which the night brought. He smiled and laid his head on her chest before going to sleep. In the morning he would tell her what he was planning. Once dawn came, Bethyinine woke up and dove into the sea, James waited for her to return.
¡±They¡¯re coming.¡± James whispered as his sister rose from the sea.
¡±Who? Who is coming?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±The Bureau, they¡¯re coming! There¡¯s a crack in our wall, they¡¯re coming!¡± James blurted.
Bethyinine looked at her brother and pounced on top him, intent on calming him down. She tried to press the end of her tail against his face, but James swatted it away. He looked at her, rage building in his eyes, and thrusted her off of him with his right hand. Bethyinine tumbled along the sand and fell into the ocean. By the time she had gotten back onto land, James was gone. Her brother had left to go and face down something that he couldn¡¯t possibly kill by himself. She looked at the hole in the middle of her island, at least he had taken the sword with him.
James stood on the edge of the Abyss yet again, gazing out towards the infinite horizon which lay before him. He saw something out there, a light in the darkness, it stared at him. James stared back as the light slowly grew brighter and brighter. He drew his sword in anticipation for what was to come. Across the endless chasm a man in a pristine lab coat stared through the glass of a cruiser. He could just barely make out a single man against the endless darkness.
¡±Gentlemen¡± The director bellowed.
¡±It seems Virgil has given himself over to the enemy. Let him be an example for all those who stand against mankind.¡± He continued.
The director gazed out into the horizon towards the eclipse.
¡±There¡¯s no light here¡¡± he muttered to himself as the cruiser slowly approached the Abyss.
IX: Of Light and Dark
James watched as the cruiser slowly got closer and closer. Eventually it would have to land, but what if it never got the chance to do so? James smiled as the entire cruiser came into view covering the entire sky in the process. He looked at the cruiser for a moment. The ship lacked any form of offensive weaponry, despite the fact that it was designed for the purpose of attacking enemy installations. He looked at the sword, smiled, and started to spin it in a counterclockwise motion. The blade changed from that of a traditional sword to that of one bound to the hilt via a chain. James continued to spin the sword for a little while until the cruiser had moved forward just a little bit more. Once the cruiser was close enough, James threw the blade towards the glass window in front of the bridge.
The blade slid down the top of the glass and eventually buried itself halfway down the window. James smiled and dove off the ledge and into the endless darkness. He stopped after a couple of seconds and looked up at the chain dangling above him. The only thing preventing him from falling forever was the blade¡¯s hilt which was thankfully still attached to the blade itself. James yanked on the hilt once as the blade began to retract the chain, pulling James up in the process.
The men inside of the cruiser were scrambling to try and remove the blade which had just implanted itself in the window. The director watched as the cruiser stopped moving, all so his men could remove a single pest from their windshield. He rolled his eyes and yelled at them to return to their stations.
¡±Gentlemen, do not worry about this one insufferable pest. Let Virgil come to us, so that we may remove the heretic ourselves.¡± The director ordered.
By the time he finished speaking, James had already reached the window. He removed the blade from its position and smashed through the window. He then looked around at the bridge of the cruiser and chuckled. All the men rose from their seats and pointed their rifles at him.
¡±Of all the interior designs you could have used, you chose an Imperial Star Destroyer!¡± James said.
¡±Well, it wasn¡¯t my idea, frankly I¡¯m not sure who decided on that.¡± The director responded.
¡±Uh Benny, I¡¯m pretty sure you decided that.¡± James replied.
He then looked around at all the guns which were pointed at him and uttered a nervous chuckle.
¡±One wrong move and I will have my men open fire on you, capisce?¡± Benedict said.
James nodded and Benedict rolled his eyes as he stared at the man before him. Virgil was completely consumed by the darkness; he had given himself over to them. His left arm was nothing but charred bones which were loosely held together by strands of various tendons and muscles. His lower ribcage was completely exposed as well. Benedict sighed and approached his former comrade. James looked up at Benny whose head barely touched the ceiling. He had a relatively small ginger mustache along with some semblance of a beard on his face. That and the lab coat he wore made Benedict seem far more sophisticated than James could ever be.
¡±Oh Virgil, what have they done to you?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±Nothing, I¡¯ve done this to myself, all for the greater good.¡± Silas responded.
¡°Lies! They did this to you; I have seen it firsthand. They tear apart my men and send their desecrated corpses back to me. What greater good is that, tell me Virgil, what kind of greater good is that exactly!?¡± Benedict yelled.
¡±Oh, so you¡¯ve met my sister? How was she? Or did she just toy with you like she does with all her prey? Of course, she toyed with you, you¡¯re nothing to her. You send your scouts to ¡°research¡± her, but I know better Benny, I know better. You sir are a heretic, you have taken my actions for heresy and yet you do not look at your own. You invade foreign land without good reason and threaten the locals. You¡¯re no better than the Spaniards or the Romans for Pete¡¯s sake!¡± Silas answered.
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¡°And? You let her do this, you let your ¡°sister¡± kill all those people. Should I not hold you to those same exact standards? After all, you left us for dead, did you not? You sir cannot tell me how much of a monster I am without acknowledging your own actions.¡± Benedict responded.
James looked at him and dropped his sword. Benedict walked up to his old comrade and patted him on the back. He then took James by the hand and walked him over to the window at the front of the ship.
¡±Look at it this way, I want you to be better. I want to have an enemy which I can call my equal. So, I will be generous, not for their sake, but for yours. Go, prepare your armies, and come back to me once you are ready.¡± Benedict said.
¡±You sound just like my sister Benny. Did she teach you that?¡± James chuckled.
¡°Is that so? As for whether I learned it from her, it¡¯s called being a fair opponent Virgil.¡± Benedict smiled.
¡°Yes, I guess you are being fair, as is my sister. Yet there¡¯s one small problem with your request. They won¡¯t help me, I tried asking them, and they told me that it was my problem to deal with.¡± Silas groaned.
¡±Well then, we¡¯ll just skip the whole army preparation thing. Just come back here once you¡¯re ready. I want to see my colleague again, don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Benedict answered.
¡°I won¡¯t.¡± James muttered.
James did not look at Benedict and merely stared out towards the spire off in the distance. The cruiser began to lower itself and eventually touched down on the surface of the Abyss. James walked back and picked up his sword before leaving the cruiser. Benedict waved at his former comrade as he left, perhaps he had made the right decision, perhaps not.
James turned around and began walking back towards the spire. He had no idea what to do now, he had merely argued the same point which he had made all those years ago. Now he had failed to eliminate the enemy, or at the very least try and delay the conflict. Now he had to bring to his companions the news of war, he had to try and rally some support here and now or else they would all fall.
¡±You know what, I want to see what Ceres thinks about this.¡± James told himself as he began to open a portal.
The portal in front of him led to a rather ornate throne room of steel and stone. James sighed and slowly walked through the portal. He stood before a massive throne carved of jade and embroidered with silver. Atop the throne sat a man in armor forged from the scales of dragons. He looked down at his visitor and frowned upon seeing that it was James who had come to see him.
¡±Silas! Why exactly do you come to the domain of a man who has declared himself a pacifist?¡± Ceres asked.
¡±Since when was the Aspect of War a pacifist? Oh wait, you decided to be a pacifist after obeying your own oath. You swore not to intervene in the conflicts of man and yet when mankind had brought ruin upon themselves you took the blame upon yourself. You who, need I remind you, took a self-proclaimed oath to never intervene in the conflicts of man! You did not cause their suffering, so why should you blame yourself for what they have done? Some Aspect of War you are, sitting there on your throne like you¡¯re some kind of Kratos!¡± Jame answered.
¡±That doesn¡¯t answer my question now does it?¡± Ceres replied.
¡±No because you sit here and choose to ignore the atrocities around you, even when your own people are at risk.¡± James responded, lowering his voice.
¡±At risk of what exactly?¡± Ceres inquired.
¡±Wow, just wow, the Aspect of War does not know that his people are at war with man! In all seriousness, how could any of us, other than me of course, have known about this?¡± James answered.
¡°So, you took dealt with them as you usually would?¡± Ceres asked.
¡°No sir, I for one ended up losing my temper to some degree. They simply overwhelmed me both in numbers and in armaments, as such I could not possibly win against them. ¡± James responded.
Ceres nodded as James dropped his head and exited through the portal.
¡°How exactly am I going to explain this to Beth?¡± James asked himself.
His feet touched the warm sands of his sister¡¯s island. James sighed and laid down underneath one of the palm trees, watching the sun disappear beneath the horizon. He heard the leaves above him shake a little but did not lift his head to investigate.
¡±I know you¡¯re up there; you don¡¯t need to hide yourself.¡± James said.
He heard his sister grumble as she jumped down from the tree and landed in front of him. James looked up at his sister, there was a mixture of anger and playfulness in her eyes.
¡±What were you thinking, going out to face them all by yourself!¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡±I lost¡± James replied.
¡°Wait a minute, did you just say that you lost? You, Silas James Mori, lost? How could you possibly lose against the Bureau? You who planned for every possible scenario could not have won this one, why is that?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡°I wanted to protect you, they were going to kill you. Now we¡¯re at war because of what I¡¯ve done. I could have killed them then and there, but I stood my ground for you.¡± James responded.
Bethyinine blushed and chucked a little bit. She looked at her brother and hugged him as the two of them watched the sunset together. Fear gripped James¡¯s mind as he tried to prepare for what was inevitably going to occur.
X: An Unprepared Escalation
James left the island at five o¡¯clock the next morning. Bethyinine didn¡¯t really mind as she was going to pay Josephine another visit. In the Abyss, Benedict and his men were setting up fortifications around their landing site. James watched them from atop the Spire. Why hadn¡¯t they made any advances yet, it had been several hours since they had arrived. James ran down the stairs, exited the Spire, and made his way towards the carrier. Some of the men noticed him heading towards the carrier and pointed their weapons at him. Benedict looked at them and lifted his finger. At once the men lowered their weapons as James approached Benedict.
Before Benedict could even draw his weapon, James threw the sword directly at his throat. He walked over and grabbed Benedict¡¯s body, smiling as he did so.
¡±I wanted to warn you¡ something¡¯s coming, but you never listened. You were always too arrogant, too full of yourself to bother with understanding what I wanted to tell you.¡± Benedict groaned as blood spilled out his mouth.
¡±Drown.¡± James whispered.
He immediately pulled the sword out of Benedict¡¯s neck and watched as his body teetered back and forth. James glanced at the soldiers who looked on in shock at their director¡¯s lifeless body. After a few more seconds, Benedict¡¯s body fell backwards and pierced the thin veil of water which covered the ground. James watched as his body fell farther and farther down, he could see the small amount of light in his eyes start to fade. James smiled as the three men beside him tried to raise their rifles as their hands shook. He laughed at them and walked over to the one on his left and took the rifle from his hands.
He pointed the gun to the back of the man¡¯s head and pulled the trigger. He aimed the rifle at the other two and simply tapped the trigger twice. James walked over to the cruiser, there were only three men outside of it, save for Benedict. James smiled and began to whistle his sister¡¯s lullaby as he entered the cruiser. His whistling caught the attention of two men who immediately drew their pistols on him. James chuckled and simply threw the rifle at one of them. The other soldier fired two bullets in James¡¯s direction. One of them missed while the other one hit him on his left wrist. James growled as a small part of his wrist shattered, he immediately turned to his attacker and threw the sword at him.
The blade hit him in the right shoulder causing him to drop the pistol. James walked over to the soldier, picked up the pistol, and pulled the trigger once. After that, James picked up his sword and continued to walk through the cruiser. Yesterday when the Bureau first arrived, James saw a total of thirty-seven men on board the cruiser. So far, he had killed only six of them. Perhaps he would let some of them live, though part of him had other plans. Three more soldiers walked down a hallway on his left. James quickly opened fire on them, yet he missed all six of his shots. Two of the three soldiers opened fire on him. The bullets hit him square in the chest, James yelled in pain and returned fire. Two of the soldiers dropped to the floor as the third shot back at him. James ducked behind the railing and fired one last shot back at his assailant. He looked up to see all three of the soldiers dead on the ground.
James took another step forward as he felt the cruiser shake a little. Perhaps those cowards have decided to run, took them long enough to realize that they couldn¡¯t possibly win. James retraced his steps back towards the ramp which led back to solid ground. Now he was fifty feet above the ground, there was no possible way for him to get down safely now.
¡±Well, guess I have no choice other than to end all of these accursed bastards.¡± James told himself.
He ran back inside and made his way towards the bridge, taking down five men along the way. Once he reached the bridge there were only sixteen men there. Twelve of them turned to face him, their guns pointed directly at him. James chuckled and gunned down five of them as the rest opened fire on him. James ran behind a few of the nearby desks as the men ran out of bullets and were forced to reload. James poked his head up and downed two of them as the remaining men opened fire on him again. James whistled for a few seconds as the sound of bullets stopped. He got up and walked over to them, the men just stood there in panic as their eyes followed him.
James pulled the trigger five times and turned to the last four men in the the room. They didn¡¯t look at him and rapidly started to push buttons and fiddle with levers. James threw his sword at one of them and pulled the trigger on the remaining three. He walked up to the control panel and pulled one of the levers back towards him. The cruiser slowly moved downwards as the Spire exited his view. The cruiser eventually reached the ground as James jumped out of the still broken window. There were only six men left, James would let his sister take care of them. He had already done most of the work, she could handle the stragglers by herself.
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¡±Wait, it¡¯s eleven in the morning, she¡¯s probably sleeping by now. Oh, this isn¡¯t good, not at all.¡± James said.
He quickly opened a portal and stepped through only to be knocked to the floor. James looked up and saw one of Benedict¡¯s men clothed in a mock hazmat suit. He then looked around and saw that Bethyinine was being held at gunpoint. His face turned pale and his pulse quickened as fear tore apart his mind. He tried to scream but his throat wouldn¡¯t let him. The man in front of him had already put handcuffs on James who was too busy staring at his sister who was currently being held at gunpoint.
¡°How are we going to get out of this mess now?¡± James asked himself.
His sister started to hum her lullaby but was quickly silenced by the soldier in front of her. James thought for a little while as to how he was to escape his binds. When he tried to remove his right arm, the man in front of him simply took the blade away from him.
¡°You¡¯re better than that, right?¡± He asked James.
James didn¡¯t respond and merely frowned at his captor. Sadly, that was the only idea that he had on hand, which meant that he had to go back to the drawing board. James simply stared at his captor who merely looked at him and smiled.
¡°This is for your own good James.¡± He said.
Silas titled his head, not a single member of the Bureau had ever referred to him by any of his actual names. A glimmer of hope began to form in his mind. It lasted for all but a moment as it was soon swallowed up by an overwhelming sense of dread.
¡±Oy, you bastard, How, much has this situation escalated?¡± James asked.
¡±The name¡¯s Maurice, as for this particular conflict, I¡¯ll only give you one word: sundown.¡± his captor who was named Maurice answered.
¡°Well then, if that¡¯s the case then why bother with us? You more than likely have bigger fish to fry if that old protocol is in play.¡± James replied.
¡°What makes you so sure of that Silas?¡± Maurice asked.
¡±Just ask Benny, or rather, go and ask his corpse why don¡¯t ya!¡± James answered.
Maurice just looked at him and then at his comrade who was holding Bethyinine at gunpoint. The two of them looked at Bethyinine and then at James as they exited through the portal which James had made, leaving James¡¯s sword on the island. Bethyinine immediately rushed to her feet and freed her brother as tears formed in her eyes. James looked at his sister and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.
¡±What did you just do?¡± She asked.
¡±Honestly I really don¡¯t know, though I do know one thing.¡± James replied.
¡±And that is?¡± Bethyinine inquired.
¡°We need to see Luxcious, right now.¡± James said.
He quickly opened another portal and the two of them stepped through. This time they were in Luxcious¡¯s office instead of the street outside. Luxcious looked up from his desk at the pair and hastily put away his quill.
¡±Is something wrong?¡± He asked.
¡±Mind pulling out my ledger good sir?¡± James replied.
Luxcious nodded and immediately handed James a book bound in silver dragon scales. Silas opened it and skimmed through hundreds and hundreds of pages. His blazed past thousands upon thousands of protocols and contingency plans. Finally, he found the one that he needed: Contingency Sundown. It had been a while since he had even heard of this particular contingency, let alone see it with his own eyes.
¡°Contingency¡± Sundown
Congratulations, if you¡¯re reading this then you¡¯ve failed. Your sister brought you back much earlier than expected. And you probably had to kill your coworkers too. Now the only thing left for you to do is wait till the end comes. Hope you have enough money to see hundreds of thousands of operas, fool!
James immediately closed the book and handed it back to Luxcious. He then sat down on the bed and began to weep for he knew what he had just done.
¡±I have truly doomed us all¡¡± He whispered.
Benedict could barely see as the darkness continually threatened to consume him. He begged for it to spare him, as it slowly began to take over.
¡±Perhaps there¡¯s some mercy in these creatures after all.¡± He told himself.
His body continued to fall downward until a bright light filled his eyes as solid ground graced his feet. Yes he was dead, but only in body, for nothing had claimed his soul, not yet at least. Benedict looked around him, the world was a barren white void. A true limbo if such a thing were to ever exist at all outside of the human mind. His eyes faced forwards only for a speck of black to quickly appear and disappear out of the corner of his eye. He looked in the direction where the anomaly had appeared only to be met with a creature of surprisingly human proportions. On closer inspection however, it seemed to be an exact copy of him, wounds and all. This doppelg?nger just stared at him, its cold white eyes pierced through him completely.
¡±What the hell are you!?¡± Benedict yelled.
The doppelg?nger simply looked at him and let out a cackle which echoed throughout the world around them.
XI: Unbalanced Scales
Bethyinine sat down next to her brother and laid her hand on his shoulder. James looked at her as tears began to form in his eyes.
¡±What have you done?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±I have doomed us all.¡± James whimpered.
¡±How? How could you have all people have doomed us all?¡± Bethyinine said.
James simply looked at Bethyinine and did not bother responding. After a minute he got up and refused to grab his ledger from the desk. Luxcious simply looked at James as he left the room.
¡±Where are you going!¡± Bethyinine yelled.
¡±Home.¡± James responded.
¡±Why, are they after you still? What could possibly be a threat now?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±No, or at least not that I¡¯m aware of. Frankly I don¡¯t even know why this ¡°conflict¡± is already over to begin with. Well, the only threat left is me. Or at least that¡¯s what the contingency said, originally anyways.¡± James replied.
¡±What contingency? How many plans do you have exactly?¡± Bethyinine said.
¡±Sundown, I let something out, I freed a creature that I locked away. The number of contingencies which I have are not important at the moment.¡± James answered.
¡±What could you possibly have let out? And how exactly is that a contingency?¡± Bethyinine inquired.
¡±Some thing that I thought I had killed long ago. As for my reasons why, I don¡¯t want either of you to know.¡± James replied as he walked towards the door.
Bethyinine glanced at Luxcious as the door to the room closed behind James. Luxcious simply looked at her before sitting down at the desk and pulling out a piece of paper and a quill. Bethyinine groaned, laid down on the bed, and stared out the window. Luxcious glanced back at her as he began to write down a series of personal notes.
¡±What exactly are you writing down?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±Research¡± Luxcious responded.
¡±On what exactly?¡± Bethyinine said.
¡±Why do you need to know?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡±I¡¯m bored, what kind of answer do you want from me?¡± Bethyinine responded.
Luxcious nodded as Bethyinine got up off the bed and walked over to the desk. She looked down at the paper and immediately recognized the words in front of her. This bastard was cataloging notes on her, and probably without her consent.
¡±How exactly did you get all of these notes?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±James gave them to me.¡± Luxcious answered.
¡±And he didn¡¯t think to let me know about it!¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡±I suppose so, and now that I think about it, he really should have asked first.¡± Luxcious said.
¡°Yes, yes he should have.¡± Bethyinine replied and sat back down on the bed.
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Luxcious finished writing down his notes and joined her. Bethyinine smiled and playfully pounced onto Luxcious, pinning him to the bed. He looked up at her as fear began to fill his eyes.
¡±What exactly are you going to do to me?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡±My dear Scholar, you of all people should know what I can do.¡± Bethyinine responded.
¡±Sorry to divert the conversation, but should we not be concerned with whatever secrets James has!¡± Luxcious yelled.
Bethyinine smirked and simply ignored his cries. She was right though; he did know what she was capable of. That single fact alone terrified him to death for he could not anticipate just what exactly she would do to him. Bethyinine chuckled and stroked his chin with one of her claws as her tail swayed overhead. She would enjoy every precious moment of their time, so long as Luxcious was comfortable with it. Luxcious closed his eyes as his senses slowly went dark, the only thing he could feel now was heat. Bethyinine smiled, laid down on the bed, and drifted off to sleep. She satisfied with herself for the time being.
A few hours passed by before Bethyinine woke up. Now she was wearing Luxcious¡¯s robes, which were stained a deep scarlet. She hopped off the bed and walked over to Luxcious¡¯s desk, spilling a handful of entrails to the floor as she did. Frankly, Beth wouldn¡¯t bring him back for a few more hours, not until she had finished her research. Quickly she opened up James¡¯s ledger that he had left in his panic.
The thing was quite small, only having around 50 pages at best. Yet despite that, Beth still yearned to read its pages. So she stared at the first few, noticing that nothing there caught her interest. The pages flew by at a relatively brisk pace. Eventually Beth stopped at around page forty or so, finally finding something of interest to her.
Regarding Bethyinine
-
She¡¯s a fickle thing, that beast, I¡¯ll give her that much. Loves to tear me apart over and over again. Surprised she hasn¡¯t gotten bored of killing me yet. Seeing as she does it every single day, and more than once too. Eventually I¡¯ll rip her to pieces, just like the rest of her kin.
Only problem is, some part of me actually likes her. Even though that part of me probably knows that she¡¯s still a just animal. So, the problem there is the fact that I still like her. Meaning I can¡¯t pull the trigger on her when the time inevitably comes for me to do so. Here¡¯s the solution: I rip out that part of me and kill it off. Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s my humanity or what, if it¡¯s impeding my progress then it must go.
-
Bethyinine closed the ledger before grabbing a nearby candle. She took both of them outside with her and promptly burnt them. Then she hastily returned to Luxcious¡¯s office, out of fear that someone might report her for murder, given her bloody attire. She sat down on the bed again and took off Luxcious¡¯s robes.
¡±Best to not bring him back, best to let the Scholar find out on his own. Given just how curious he is, it probably won¡¯t take long,¡± She chuckled.
The Abyss
Benedict stared down at the creature in front of him. He could not completely comprehend just what it was that he was looking at. Yet the creature seemed to understand him completely. It conjured two chairs and a table before sitting down. Benedict begrudgingly sat down, only doing so half out of curtesy and half out of fear. The creature shifted its mist-like form to something more human looking in appearance. It snapped its fingers and a checkerboard appeared on the table.
¡±I never thought in all my years that I would have any company down here.¡± It said.
¡±If I may ask, when was the last time you had company?¡± Benedict replied.
¡±A couple hundred years ago, a man who went by the name of Silas Mori if I recall.¡± The creature answered.
¡±So, you¡¯ve met the man which they call Virgil then.¡± Benedict responded.
¡±Indeed I have, albeit for a brief moment.¡± The creature smiled.
¡±Well, what exactly are you, and how long have you been down here?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±Oh, me? Some call me Finality, others the End, but you can call me whatever you want. As for how long I¡¯ve been down here, I have no idea.¡± The creature chuckled.
¡±So, you¡¯re the physical embodiment of calamity then? If that¡¯s the case, then no wonder you¡¯re locked up here.¡± Benedict responded.
The creature simply nodded and moved a white piece forward. Benedict simply moved one of his pieces forward to counter. Checkers, and not chess, how odd this was. Normally if you wanted to discuss something complicated, you would be playing a game of chess. Yet this thing decided to play a game of checkers instead. Benedict chuckled and simply looked at the creature which looked back and smiled. He looked down at the board and noticed that his opponent had moved yet another piece. Benedict chuckled and moved yet another piece forward. Now the game had begun in earnest at last. It had only taken a couple centuries to do so.
XII: The Betrayer
Luxcious looked out at the eclipse in front of him. He was back home, but for how long would he stay here exactly? That didn¡¯t matter now as he had more important matters to attend to. He turned his attention to the spire off in the distance and looked at one of the balconies with a spyglass. Luxcious could just barely make out a doorway behind the balcony. He put down the spyglass and motioned a counterclockwise circle with his hands. Slowly a sigil formed in front of him. After completing the motion, Luxcious clapped his hands and was immediately whisked forward onto the balcony which he was staring at mere moments ago.
He strode through the doorway and down the glass corridor towards the foyer. Once he reached the spiral staircase at the center of the tower he began to descend towards his destination. As Luxcious made his way down, he bumped into Aliyas.
¡±Luxcious dear friend, what brings you to my humble abode?¡± Aliyas asked.
¡±We need to talk, you and I.¡± Luxcious answered.
¡°About what, exactly?¡± Aliyas inquired.
¡±James.¡± Luxcious replied.
Aliyas nodded and made his way back to the foyer. The two of them sat down next to the fireplace and began their discussion.
¡°I think he¡¯s hiding something from us, all of us.¡± Luxcious started.
¡°What exactly do you think he¡¯s hiding?¡± Aliyas replied.
¡±I don¡¯t know, I thought you would.¡± Luxcious responded.
¡±Well, I might know something. The bastard had a final contingency plan in the works a while back. Just let me get his ledger first.¡± Aliyas said, pulling out a silver book from a nearby shelf
¡±You have a copy of it?¡± Luxcious said.
Aliyas nodded and opened the book to the last few pages. The plan laid in front of him in all of its horrific complexity. It was the same as what James had in his own version, only with a lot more details.
Contingency: Sundown
Status: Active
Goal: Reset everything by any means necessary, no survivors
For the greater good
Anomalies left: 26
Anomalies dead: 1
Pieces on the board: 5
2 bishops, 1 knight, 1 king, 1 pawn
¡°So, he wants to kill us all? And how long exactly have you known about this!?¡± Luxcious yelled.
¡°Me? I truly could care less, it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had a reset. Besides, you can stop him, right?¡± Aliyas asked.
¡±No, we can¡¯t, he¡¯ll kill us all. He¡¯s already killed one of us, what¡¯s stopping him from killing the rest of us?¡± Luxcious replied.
¡±Well, that I do not know, perhaps he has a contingency for that as well?¡± Aliyas chuckled.
Luxcious got up out of his seat and walked over to the balcony. He stared out at the gaping hole left in the wake of the Bureau¡¯s attempted advances.
¡±Where exactly are you going?¡± Aliyas asked.
¡±Stopping mass genocide, that¡¯s where I¡¯m going.¡± Luxcious answered and dove off the balcony.
He quickly reached terminal velocity and raised his head towards the tear off in the distance. After making yet another counterclockwise motion with his hands, Luxcious slingshotted himself through the tear at breakneck speed. He closed his eyes once he made contact. For a few moments, there was nothing but darkness, only for his vision to be filled with light. Luxcious felt his feet touch solid ground and opened his eyes again. He was inside of a pristine marble hallway with various potted plants on his left and right.
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He walked down the corridor as scientists and security guards passed by. Most of them paid him no attention, though a few did stop to look up at the visitor. After a few minutes, a scientist in a navy blue lab coat approached him.
¡±What brings you to our headquarters?¡± They asked.
¡±What do you know about a certain Silas James Mori?¡± Luxcious asked.
The scientist looked down at their tablet and touched a few buttons. Moments later two security guards appeared beside them.
¡±Would you kindly escort this gentleman to the director¡¯s office?¡± They said.
The guards simply nodded and walked down the hall a little before making a left turn. Luxcious followed after them, noticing the appearance of a serpentine pattern on the floor. The trio stepped into an elevator comprised partly of glass. One of the guards pressed a button which caused the elevator doors to closed. Slowly the elevator began its ascent upward from floor two hundred all the way to the three hundredth floor. Luxcious tapped his foot as Rick Astley¡¯s Never Gonna Give You Up started to play. Of course James would do something like this, just out of spite to his ex-coworkers.
Finally the elevator had reached its destination, not before the song had looped about seventeen times. Luxcious stepped out of the elevator as the two guards remained behind. He shrugged and made his way over to the desk in front of him. He caught a glimpse of the world outside from the massive window at the back of the room. Nothing but rivers of lava and decrepit obsidian towers as far as the eye could see. Smoke filled the sky making the actual details of the ground impossible to discern.
Luxcious sat down in the chair and looked at the desk. He turned the plaque at the front to face him and the name ¡°Benedict O¡¯Connor¡± on it. He accidentally hit a button while doing so, causing a hologram of O¡¯Connor to materialize at the front of the room.
¡±Hello there.¡± Benedict¡¯s hologram started.
¡±If you are hearing this, then I am somehow dead. As for why that button played this as opposed to the usual greeting, well I¡¯ll get to that right now. It¡¯s hooked up to the database that monitors the current condition of every single one member of our staff here, including myself, hence the reason for this recording to be played. Anyways, you¡¯re probably wondering how I died, right?¡± The hologram continued.
Luxcious simply nodded and watched as the phantom moved across the room.
¡±Well, either I died of natural causes, or someone killed me. Now I highly doubt that any of the creatures in the Abyss would, or could, harm me. So that just leaves us a few obvious suspects, Virgil aka James, and his supposed sister. Frankly I don¡¯t think James would be so willing to murder me on the spot. He¡¯s not that merciless, the most he did was maroon his men, that¡¯s all.¡± The phantom paused to take a breath.
Luxcious chuckled, though this was one-hundred percent prerecorded, why else would there be such actions?
¡°Anyways, to the new director who is probably listening to this, you might have a few questions. Such as what do now that I¡¯m dead. Well first of all, do not go and conquer the Abyss. I wasn¡¯t even trying to, yet James¡¯s sister probably thought I was. I was only there on a diplomatic mission, we just needed more supply routes, that was all. Which, if we are to take that into consideration, a peace agreement would be required. And if we are to then take that into account, James¡¯s sister would be violating both inter-dimensional laws and the customs of her own people! I presume that you¡¯ve already read up on the history of our neighbors to the East?¡± The phantom continued.
Luxcious opened up the nearest book and began to skim through the pages. It was a rather shorthand account of the history and customs of the Weavers as a people. Though it was surprisingly detailed for its short length. Luxcious looked up at the phantom which hand now put its right hand on the desk. He stared at it, yet the phantom did not stare back, instead it just drew another breath and continued to speak.
¡±Good, then you would know that this creature has just declared war against the very people which worship it. Now how exactly did it do that? The answer is rather simple, murdering a diplomat or anyone who intends on brokering peace between their own nation and the Abyss is seen as extremely dishonorable. Most cases end with the death of the person who committed the murder. Now why exactly is a war going to be started over this? Well, according to my research, this creature feeds off of death. Let it slaughter without any consequences and nothing will be able to stop it. So, the very people which worship this thing are now stuck between a rock and a hard place, forced to either kill the creature that has protected them, or let it kill them!¡± The phantom grinned and slammed its fist on the desk.
Luxcious got up and pressed the elevator button before he began to pace around the room.
¡±Well, things just went from bad to worse. James, what have you done to yourself?¡± He asked himself.
Of course there was no real answer to a question like that. James was an enigma after all, no one truly knew what he was doing. Now that bastard had started a war, just great, another thing that they had to worry about. Luxcious thought for a bit and contemplated whether James had planned all of this out or if it was just mere coincidence. He shook his head as the elevator dinged and the doors swiftly opened. Luxcious entered and pressed the button to descend down to the two-hundredth floor. A hand bar shot out of the ceiling which the scientist in the elevator immediately grabbed onto.
Luxcious followed suit as the elevator plummeted down at a brisk fifty miles per hour. Just as swiftly as the elevator had reached its destination, the doors opened again. Luxcious walked back down the hallway towards where he had originally arrived. Once he reached the exact location, he motioned his hands again, this time to summon a portal to take him back home. The portal quickly materialized in front of him and Luxcious stepped through. Once on the other side, he found himself in another unfamiliar location. A completely white world, save for two men sitting in chairs next to a table.
He squinted his eyes as one of the two men got up and began walking towards him. Luxcious tried to open the portal again, but something was preventing him from doing so. The man stared to get closer and as he did Luxcious could make out a gestalt shape, constantly shifting from one thing to another. His eyes widened as the man extended his hand for Luxcious to shake. But Luxcious just stood there for a little while before falling to his knees and letting out a guttural scream.
Yet death never came¡
XIII: The Mind of Man
¡°Get away from me! Back away you foul demon!¡± Luxcious screamed.
¡°Easy scholar, take it easy. Rise and turn back, for it is not your time, not yet.¡± The creature said.
¡±How!? I am stranded here, how am I supposed to get back!¡± Luxcious yelled.
¡±You did come here of your own accord Scholar, did you not?¡± The creature asked.
¡±No, I remember opening a portal back to the Abyss. But when I stepped through, I ended up here, wherever here is. Now if I tried to make another portal, I just can¡¯t, something¡¯s stopping me.¡± Luxcious answered.
¡±That would be my keeper, Death, or Xyun as she prefers to be called. Though just because she denies you egress, doesn¡¯t mean that you can¡¯t still be freed.¡± The creature chuckled and formed a scythe in its right hand.
¡±So, this is another afterlife then? Or is this just a prison for you? And how exactly do you plan on freeing me?¡± Luxcious inquired.
¡°Well, my dear, it is a prison, albeit one where the role of prisoner and warden are one and the same. Now for there to be two afterlives stacked on top of one another would be preposterous, frankly absurd. Now as to how I shall free you, well just because I¡¯m trapped here doesn¡¯t mean you have to be here as well.¡± The reaper smiled and sliced open a portal using the blade of its scythe.
Luxcious looked back at the creature before him. It stared back at him and gestured towards the portal in front of him. Luxcious looked towards it, gazing out towards the spire off in the distance. The creature walked towards the portal and stuck its hand through, only for its entire body to be flung back onto the floor.
¡±That, my boy, is why I cannot leave here. Any portals that are made here cannot be passed through by me. For I am to remain here until I am summoned to judge those above for a brief while. Such is the task of Ayir Halak, Finality¡¯s Reaper.¡± The creature groaned.
Luxcious bowed his head and stepped through the portal and back into the land of the living. He had to stop James, before he committed any more murders.
James looked back towards the spire which pierced the heavens behind him. He then gazed at the overgrown and war-torn citadel ahead of him. James looked up at the aunyx spire at its center as fear began to overwhelm him. He fell to the floor unconscious as his eyes slowly rolled back into his skull. The last thing his mind could feel was insanity slowly beginning to latch onto him. James woke up again only to be face to face with himself, albeit with no missing skin. He stared at this double for a moment before drawing his sword. The double did the same, only taking longer to do so as it was right-handed. James chuckled and put the sword away before circling his double.
¡±So, this is my humanity? This is what still remains of who I once was?¡± James smiled.
¡±Fiend! You let yourself be brought back! Could you not beg them to let you embrace the relief of death!¡± The double hissed.
¡±Great, you¡¯re still hung up on not getting your beloved ¡°closure¡± as it were.¡± James groaned.
¡±I was supposed to die! We were supposed to die! This place is not for people like us! Yet they brought us back, they want us to suffer! They can¡¯t let us be!¡± The double responded.
¡±She, need I remind you! And besides, Beth wanted me, well that¡¯s not entirely true. She just wanted someone whom she could refer to as company, and she just happened to choose me. She brought me back because she cared about me, albeit for her own benefit, but she still cared about me! And now here you are messing things up, trying to upend everything!¡± James hissed.
¡±So, you are aware of the fact that she wanted to use you to keep herself in check! Good, so why then won¡¯t you kill her!¡± James¡¯s humanity asked.
¡±You already know the first reason; I don¡¯t need to restate anything. As for the second, I love her, or rather I respect her, and she respects me. So, why then, should I kill her? What reason could you give me to do that?¡± James replied.
¡°Well, I take it then that you have put into consideration her effects on the world around her? How long till she kills off humanity? Tell me, how much time do they have left?¡± his humanity inquired.
¡±Mankind will live for as long as she wills it, which is to say eternity. Yet again this is an example of mutual respect. She respects mankind and their willingness to continually defy her. Mankind presumably respects her as well to some degree if she¡¯s still keeping them here.¡± James answered.
Silas looked at his humanity and noticed the darkness creeping up behind him. He chuckled as his vision faded and he collapsed to the floor once again. James opened his eyes again only to be met with a black cat staring back at him. Only the cat had one singular glowing orange eye on its forehead and its tail split in two at the base. The ¡°cat¡± tilted its head and rubbed its face against his legs. James smiled and patted the cat on the head. He listened as it purred before making direct eye contact with it.
¡°Well, it¡¯s been while since I¡¯ve seen you, hasn¡¯t it Lythros?¡± James asked.
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The cat finally looked up at him and smiled. James felt himself getting colder as it stared into his eyes. He winced in pain as something began to burrow into his mind. James turned his thoughts inward and entered his mind once again. Only this time, darkness began to crawl out from the depths, covering everything that it touched. He looked at his humanity and smiled as the darkness took hold of it. He walked towards it and the darkness grew tendrils so as to restrain his humanity. It tried to speak, but the words could not exit its mouth. James chuckled and watched as his humanity was dragged down into the depths. The darkness moved forward so as to grab James and drag him downward, but he drew his pistol and fired a warning shot. At once the darkness crept back a little, so James fired another shot, and the darkness retreated from his mind.
He opened his eyes again to find that Lythros was still staring at him. James got up, put Lythros on his shoulder, and walked towards the citadel. The massive gateway, which was once the entrance, was now nothing but rubble. Time had not been kind to this place. The once beautiful ramparts were overgrown with countless flowers and vines. James walked through the ruined gateway and finally set foot inside the walls of the now derelict citadel. He looked around to see that the buildings too now lie in ruins. Then he stared up at the massive aunyx spire at the center of this place. The spiral staircase was for the most part still functional, despite a few gaps between most of the stairs.
James began to climb up the spire, but the stairs only got him so far. The way inside was blocked off by rubble, so James decided to climb the rest of the way up. He pulled out his sword and dug into the wall above him. The blade stuck and James used it as a bar so as to swing to a nearby ledge. Despite the velocity and angle of the swing, James did not reach the ledge. His fingers were just barely out of reach and as such he began to fall 500 feet downward. James quickly recalled the sword and threw the blade up towards the ledge. He was approaching the ground and fast, it would only take a few more seconds before he hit the ground.
Luckily, the blade latched onto the ledge a second before he hit the ground. James could just barely touch the floor from this height. He sighed and looked at Lythros whose fur was arched back. James chuckled and retracted the hilt of the sword. Once he reached the ledge, James used that the grab onto the rim around the spire¡¯s roof. Once he had reached the roof, he dangled his feet over the edge and looked down at the world below.
¡±When¡¯s the last time I came here?¡± James asked.
¡±Pretty sure it was when you murdered a politician by pushing him off of this exact spot.¡± Lythros answered.
¡±Did I.. did I really do that?¡± James replied.
¡±Last time I checked, you did. Sheesh, how come you can remember all of your stupid contingencies but not the people that you¡¯ve killed?¡± Lythros responded.
¡±Honestly, I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just how my mind works. I do have one other question for you though.¡± James said.
¡°And that is?¡± Lythros asked.
¡±Why did you, presumably, kill off my humanity? What good did that do you?¡± James asked.
¡°Well, I have something to ask you, what good did it do you? Because I¡¯m pretty sure it wanted all of us dead.¡± Lythros replied.
¡±True.. wait a minute! I don¡¯t recall asking Beth to bring me back with my entire soul intact!¡± James said.
¡±Well then, who did? Because if I take a peek inside your mind, the handwriting of all those messages you sent her were yours.¡± Lythros responded.
¡°No, they can¡¯t possibly be in my handwriting. Or at least, they¡¯re not in my handwriting. That bastard probably told her to do it! And neither she nor Luxcious could have possibly distinguished the difference between the two. My instructions, which I left in my eulogy explicitly said to only bring me back with 0.01% of my soul, not the entire thing! I know this is all so confusing, just give me a moment.¡± James replied.
Lythros nodded and looked up at the eclipse, she could sense something staring back at her, something familiar. James tapped her on the head and showed her his revolver.
¡±This, I made this in case of an emergency. That bastard, my so-called ¡°humanity¡±, does not know about this. Now there should not be a difference between him and I, yet despite that fact there is a difference. The reason, his part of my soul was before I had died, before the darkness had taken over. The 0.01% that I referred to in my instructions is my half, my true soul. That¡¯s why there¡¯s a difference, one of us is a man ¡°uncorrupted¡± by darkness, while the other is corrupted. That¡¯s the answer!¡± James yelled.
¡±Uh huh, and for just how long have you known about this?¡± Lythros asked.
¡±Years, decades, possibly even centuries! I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve had that theory in my head for! Yet now it all makes sense, that¡¯s why there¡¯s two of me in my head. There is no one on my shoulder to guide my actions, for I am my own guide! As for that bastard, what happened to him?¡± James replied.
¡±He¡¯s not dead, but he¡¯s dying, or at the very least he¡¯s getting corrupted by my chaos magic. If he survives then I¡¯ll have you finish the job. He¡¯s too dangerous to be left alive.¡± Lythros answered.
¡±As am I, and yet you guys keep me around for no reason.You see me as this unstoppable force, but you refuse to see me for what I am. A man who is simply trying to survive, for everything that I do, I do out of desperation. All the protocols which I made were made with extrapolated data. Yet that was all my own doing, I lacked my humanity back then, and I lack it still here and now. Thanks for that.¡± James said.
¡±No problem¡¡± a voice said from behind the two.
James looked around only to be met with his own humanity staring him down. He was covered head to toe in dark twisted, blood-soaked vines. His veins were exposed to the open air, and he lacked any form of both a muscular and skeletal system. James drew his pistol, but his humanity had already beaten him to the punch. James stared down the barrel of a gun similar to his own. He laughed for a moment before his vision went white as the bullet exited the chamber. It pierced through his skull and his body fell off the edge and plummeted to the ground below. Lythros looked over and almost jumped off the ledge as well. But James¡¯s humanity had grabbed her before she could do so. It held her by the neck and locked eyes with her. Lythros tried to pierce into its mind, but she was unable to, despite the fact that the creature lacked any form of mental defense.
¡±Oh no¡¡± She whispered.
¡°Poor poor Lythros, you doomed yourself. Could you not have foreseen something like this? Or did you want this to happen? Did you want your chaos to spread to another living thing? Did. You. Want. This?¡± James¡¯s humanity hissed.
Lythros shook her head and watched in horror as James¡¯s humanity smiled at her. Its mouth stretched across the middle of its entire face. Then James¡¯s humanity rolled its eyes and let go of Lythros, sending her falling towards the ground. It turned to face the eclipse on the horizon and smiled one last time before changing its shape to match that of James.
XIV: Ouroboros Revenant
James could feel himself falling, falling farther and farther downward. Far beyond the cage which held captive Finality¡¯s Reaper. Eventually he hit terminal velocity yet still he continued to fall ever downward. The world went from black to white to red as his frame crashed through pane upon pane of glass. How dead was he exactly, or was he even dead to begin with?
¡±How exactly am I going to come back from this?¡± He asked himself.
The answer was simple, he wasn¡¯t, he couldn¡¯t. He already had his chance, and he blew it. This was just the end credits for him, nothing more than an afterthought. Still, he continued to fall, past towering skyscrapers and endless trees. Just what was going on here?
James looked around him and saw nothing but a shifting blur around him. Changing from deep reds to pastel blues and lightly colored greens. Was this to be his fate, to fall forever, left only to think about what could have been? James shrugged and blinked again. Nothing changed, the world around him only got worse as the colors smeared over one another.
This time he could make out a single unblinking eye somewhere out there. The mess of his surroundings veiled the true shape of the eye from him. Yet he could see clearly that something was staring back at him. He stared back at the eye, and it fixed itself on him. James¡¯s pupils widened as adrenaline shot through him. He reached for his sword but found nothing expect¡ solid ground?
How exactly could he have touched solid ground already? James looked down at the floor which he found himself on. An endless ocean of, judging by the burgundy color it had, what could possibly be blood. James looked up at the eye which stared down at him. It almost seemed to smile back at him, or at least it looked like it was. James awkwardly smiled and waved back at it.
He looked up at the sky and saw yet another eye staring down at him. James then looked ahead of him only to be met with a wall of eyes in front of him. He blinked yet the eyes did not go away, they just stayed there and stared at him. James sighed and went to lie down on the ground for a moment, yet something stopped him from doing so. He shrugged and thought nothing of it.
He took a few steps forward and the world warped around him. The eyes changed to trees as the sky opened up above him. The ground below him slowly turned to dirt as he walked. James looked around himself and noticed the changes in his environment. Maybe he was dreaming, but if he was, then why did it all seem so real?
James reached into his pocket and pulled out his pistol. He pressed it to his forehead only for it to completely phase through him. No, that couldn¡¯t possibly be right, could it? James touched his forehead with his right hand only to be met with a gaping hole at its center. He moved his hand around and felt the back, the hole went all the way through his skull.
How then was he still breathing? If a hole had been torn through his skull then surely, he should be dead by now. Yet here he stood in this ¡°hellscape¡± if he could even call it that. Alive and well by all accounts, that¡¯s what he was in this moment. James looked up at the sky and noticed the moon above him. The longer he stared at it, the less it looked like a moon. Frankly it seemed to be some sort of hole leading back upwards. James blinked and the hole vanished. He blinked again and the world returned to its original state.
Still, he was somehow alive in this moment. Whatever Cassius, as James had called his humanity, had done didn¡¯t kill him. James went to sit down again, and this time nothing stopped him. He gazed into the eye above him and felt something, something that wanted to speak with him. James simply smiled and waited for whatever was behind the eye to speak to him. After hours of waiting, he finally heard a voice call out to him.
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¡±How does a man such as you still walk amongst the living?¡± It asked.
¡±How thin is the line?¡± James responded.
¡±Thin, but not thin enough for a man to walk on. So how then do you still count yourself among the living?¡± It repeated.
¡±Cut a man open and you¡¯ll see what makes him tick. Kill a man and you¡¯ll see just how desperate he truly is. See how closely he clings to life. How desperately he begs you for mercy. Do not relent, take his life, see what his soul does. Only then will you know just what he is truly worth.¡± James answered.
¡±Mehdiyr, what kind of an answer is that! I would expect a creature like yourself to be wholly capable of a true answer. So, please, tell me then how you ended up here? Here where men fear to tread. Here where no one remembers who you are.¡± It replied.
¡±Well, would you believe what I¡¯m about to tell you? I was slain by my own humanity! That bastard which wears my skin and uses my name! My own humanity has betrayed me! To it, my very existence is a threat to all it holds dear. Yet if that bastard which I call my humanity has truly killed me, how then am I still alive?¡± James responded.
¡±So, you are both the betrayer and the betrayed? How interesting it is to see the chase turned inside out like this! However, that still doesn¡¯t explain how you are still alive. Though your form denotes that of a litch, one who refuses to truly die. Where then have you sealed away your soul, O visitor mine?¡± It asked.
¡±You¡¯re asking if I even have a phylactery then? Well, the answer to that question is a rather odd one. I am my own phylactery, yes that doesn¡¯t make any sense now does it? A better answer, and frankly the right one, would be that I don¡¯t have one at all. How then does my immortal body come back from death? Memory, as long as I am remembered, I shall still be alive in this world.¡± James answered.
¡±You still do not answer my question, yet perhaps there is no answer for you to give? You really are a confused little speck if I do say so myself. You are a flawed infinity, someone who can return from death without consequence or meaning. Yet here you are conversing with some thing that cannot die to begin with.¡± The creature chuckled.
¡±What exactly are you?¡± James asked.
¡±An ouroboros, that which devours itself for all time. I cannot die for I have no end. I cannot live for I have no beginning. So, what then am I, you may ask? Perfect infinity, that is the simplest definition of me. You who sit before me, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into. So, turn back now while you still have time.¡± The ouroboros answered.
James scowled and wanted to tell it that he had already passed the point of no return. Yet he was unable to as water seemed to fill his lungs. He could feel himself floating towards the surface. But how, there was no real surface, there was no up or down here. Nothing truly mattered when it came down to it. For he sat here at the end of time, did he not? So how then could anything possibly make sense?
Well it couldn¡¯t, as there was no sense to be made to begin with. There was just nonsense, which still made sense. If that made sense, then everything else made sense. There was still order even in all of this formlessness, all of this nothing, constants still existed. He laughed at the pure insanity of the situation which he was in. The world around him ceased to exist as nothing but darkness surrounded him. All was darkness, all was nothing, all was empty, all was.
James¡¯s head had breached the surface of the water. He could see the sun setting on the horizon. He looked around him and saw the spire to his right. Then James looked to his left and saw the water falling downwards into the endless void. James looked behind him and saw his sister¡¯s island, only she wasn¡¯t there. Franky he was all alone in this place, here at what was possibly the end. James smiled and thought to himself, just what was truly going on. He swam towards the island, yet it seemed to be getting farther away from him. James continued to swim for a little while before his arms grew tired. He fell under the waves and his feet found purchase on the underside of the water.
¡°Up is down and down is up.¡± James thought to himself.
So, he walked along the ocean towards the island. The moon rose in the sky below him as the sun set in the one above. Once James reached the island he swam down so as to put his head above the water. He was on the island now, overlooking the endless void below him. He looked out at the mismatched chaos of the world in front of him.
For all was nothing, and nothing was all¡
XV: A Return to Your Roots
Silas looked out at the distorted horizon and gazed beyond it. His vision shifted a little as time seemed to split for all but a moment. He blinked again and focused his mind on the reality which he once had inhabited.
¡±Cassius you bastard, I swear I you lay a hand on her I¡¯ll rip you to shreds!¡± Silas hissed.
Silas could just barely make out his own footsteps beyond the horizon. He closed his eyes and let the vision take over. He could now hear his own footsteps as well, and yet he could not control his actions. Silas concentrated again and the vision slowly started to blend with reality. Everything became clearer as his concentration grew sharper. At a certain point, he could not differentiate the footsteps of Cassius from those of his own. That was when he had finally breached the limits of the horizon.
His thoughts were still his own, yet the body which he now inhabited was not. For Silas had merely forced his mind into Cassius¡¯s consciousness. He could see what Cassius could, but he had no control over his actions. Silas cleared his throat and finally broke the silence of the mind.
¡±Did you miss me, you damn bastard?¡± He smirked.
Cassius looked around him and yet there was no one there. The voice echoed in his mind and yet there was no true source for it. Cassius groaned and simply continued to wade through the water towards the fog-ridden storm on the horizon. He just wanted to pay her a visit, nothing more. Yet the rest of him probably thought otherwise.
¡°Knowing Silas, he would want me dead right now.¡± Cassius muttered to himself.
¡°You¡¯re damn right I would!¡± Silas declared.
¡±Who said that?¡± Cassius questioned.
¡±Ever checked inside your head lately?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±Just how in the name of Nadahr are you back!¡± Cassius shouted.
¡±I¡¯m not here, or at least my body isn¡¯t. Frankly I¡¯m not sure where I am, I fell for a good while! Surprised I didn¡¯t loop around a couple of times.¡± Silas joked.
¡±So, you¡¯re trapped somewhere?¡± Cassius stated.
¡±Yep, and you¡¯re out here doing¡ well I have no idea just what it is you are doing.¡± Silas added.
¡±Well, I will tell you this much, I¡¯m not here to go and kill off your ¡°sister¡± as you call her.¡± Cassius asserted
¡±Why? I thought you wanted revenge of some kind, all because she didn¡¯t let you die, am I not right!¡± Silas exclaimed.
¡±I just want to talk to her, ask her why she let us live. I want answers, that¡¯s all.¡± Cassius declared.
¡±But why? What made you change your mind!¡± Silas yelled
Cassius refused to answer and simply continued walking. He could hear Chopin¡¯s Funeral March off in the distance, which meant he must be getting closer. Cassius smiled and continued walking for all but a moment as the fog rolled over him. He closed his eyes and took a few steps forward as the water beneath him changed to sand. Once Cassius opened his eyes, he found himself on dry land again.
¡±Oh, Silas, so nice of you to drop by!¡± Bethyinine exclaimed.
¡°I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. There¡¯s no need to get so excited.¡± Cassius sighed as he walked over to hug her.
Bethyinine smiled and the pair sat down by the shore. Cassius watched the waves roll onto the beach, carrying sand away with it. He smiled and listened for a while as they crashed along the shore. Bethyinine looked at him and her blood went cold for all but a moment. She could see just his veins as there was no skin or bone on him.
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¡±Good grief, what happened to you!¡± She gasped.
¡±Honestly, I don¡¯t have an answer.¡± Cassius groaned.
¡°Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±Do you¡ remember how you saved me from death all those centuries ago?¡± Cassius stuttered.
¡±Yes, I definitely remember that, oh how frail you were back then!¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±Well..¡± Cassius paused.
¡±I want to ask you why you did that.¡± He finished.
¡±You want an answer? You want an answer as to why I saved you?¡± Bethyinine sneered.
¡±Yes Beth, I want an answer.¡± Cassius groaned.
¡±How odd that you would want an answer. I thought you knew me already to the point at which you never had to ask!¡± She joked.
¡°Fine, I¡¯ll finally answer your question. I needed someone to occupy my time. I was lonely, I didn¡¯t want to spend eternity all by myself.¡± Bethyinine lamented.
¡±So, you only saved me out of loneliness?¡± Cassius titled his head in response.
¡±Yep, that¡¯s my reason, plain and simple.¡± She teased.
¡±Well, all these years I thought you did so out of pure selfishness. Now that you gave me an answer, I¡¯m starting to think that you really can feel emotions after all. Even though you didn¡¯t let me rest.¡± Cassius chuckled.
¡±Why would I let you die! You were just too precious for that!¡± Bethyinine insisted.
¡±Thanks then, for letting me live. I¡¯ll be seeing you around then I guess.¡± Cassius joked as he started to walk away.
¡±Same to you then.¡± Bethyinine replied.
Bethyinine dove into the sea as Cassius opened a portal back to the Abyss. The portal materialized in front of him, and he was swiftly dragged through it. Cassius couldn¡¯t react to what was happening to him. He blinked as he exited the portal and was met with Luxcious staring back at him. Well, he wasn¡¯t staring at him so much as he was holding a knife to his throat. Cassius looked down at his colleague and chuckled nervously. Luxcious didn¡¯t respond and just stared at him.
¡±What do you want with me!¡± Cassius hissed.
¡±Don¡¯t pull this with me! You know perfectly well what I want with you!¡± Luxcious yelled.
¡±As a matter of fact, I have no idea what you want with me.¡± Cassius insisted.
¡±Well, that doesn¡¯t seem to be right. According to my research you planned to kill not just your own sister but her entire family as well!¡± Luxcious sneered.
¡±You what!¡± Cassius asked Silas.
¡°It was a mistake, ok! Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure you wrote it because it¡¯s not in my handwriting!¡± Silas insinuated.
¡±Well I changed my perspective since then!¡± Cassius remarked.
¡±Well you changed it rather quickly if I do say so myself.¡± Silas sneered.
¡±I wanted answers, is that not a valid reason!¡± Cassius yelled.
¡±It would only be valid if you were alive for a lot longer!¡± Silas roared.
Cassius fixed his gaze back on Luxcious. The Scholar stared at him, now with a rather perplexed look on his face. Cassius smiled and backed up a little bit. Luxcious just stood there in silence as if waiting for Cassius to say something. Finally, after taking a moment to think, Luxcious found something to say.
¡±Just what are you exactly? You wear the face of Silas, and you have his voice, yet you are not him. So what then are you?¡± He inquired.
¡±Took you long enough to figure it out. Frankly I¡¯m surprised a fool such as yourself was able to figure it out so quickly. Though I have to ask, what gave it away?¡± Cassius teased.
¡±Your accent, or rather your lack thereof, was what gave you away. James normally has a mix between a Scottish and an Irish accent. You my friend lack any accent whatsoever, which is honestly disappointing.¡± Luxcious chided.
¡±Well what then am I? If you¡¯re so smart, then tell me just what I am!¡± Cassius sneered.
¡±If I am to take a guess, I would assume that you are his shadow. Or as someone like Freud would call it, his inner demon.¡± Luxcious retorted.
¡±Honestly that¡¯s a pretty good answer, bravo!¡± Cassius applauded.
¡°Thank you, my dear sir, though I have one final question.¡± Luxcious added.
¡±And that is?¡± Cassius asked.
¡±If you¡¯re here, then where exactly is Silas?¡± Luxcious inquired.
¡±That is a very good question.¡± Cassius agreed.
Luxcious shook his head and walked away towards the spire. Cassius watched as the scholar¡¯s pace increased from that of a brisk jog to a full-on sprint. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh as an eighty-year-old man broke out into a full sprint in front of his own eyes. Cassius finished laughing and caught his breath. He looked up at the eclipse above him and then at the ocean below. He squinted his eyes and bent over so as to see his own reflection below him.
The closer he got, the clearer his reflection became. Only it wasn¡¯t his reflection staring back at him, frankly it wasn¡¯t him at all! Cassius was looking at a decrepit corpse of a man staring back at him. The skeleton of a serpent coiled around his neck and down his chest. Cassius watched as the serpent uncoiled itself from around the corpse. He saw as it slithered upwards through the darkness towards him. The water rippled as it passed through to the other side. Cassius tilted his head as the serpent locked eyes with him. He could see its white, wispy eyes, burrowing into his soul.
The skeletal serpent seemed to smile as it slithered towards him. The creature coiled itself around him, its head was now at level with his. Cassius felt it slowly began to pierce through him all the way to his soul. He wanted to scream, yet the creature¡¯s eyes told him to remain calm. Cassius just smiled and finally locked eyes with it.
He was at peace, here and now¡
XVI: As the Light Starts to Dim
Cassius felt his gaze start to drift off as the world around him faded to white. The serpent held its gaze and simply nudged him on the cheek. Cassius felt its cold skeletal frame press against him and immediately regained consciousness. He stared at the creature and then at the ground beneath him. He could see someone, or something, trapped beneath the surface staring back at him. The thing held its hands up the to ceiling almost as if it was trapped in some sort of box.
The serpent twisted its head to look down at the creature and hissed at it. Cassius chuckled a little and calmly attempted to remove it from his body. The moment he put his hands on its frame, the serpent uncoiled itself from him. Cassius sighed and simply patted the snake on the head. He then turned his attention to the eclipse which lingered far above them. Cassius squinted and fixed his gaze on the outermost ring of the eclipse. He could just barely make out several runes just beyond the circle which encapsulated the entire eclipse.
Then he turned his attention farther inward, and more runes followed. Well, this time he could actually recognize them. They weren¡¯t runes at all, no, they were sigils!
¡±This doesn¡¯t make any sense at all!¡± He told himself.
¡±What doesn¡¯t make sense?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±The eclipse! It has symbols on it! It¡¯s just a celestial body! It shouldn¡¯t have symbols on it!¡± Cassius screeched.
¡±Well look who finally managed to wake up!¡± Silas jeered.
¡°Would the two of you please stop arguing?¡± A voice echoed from nearby.
¡±Oh, hello again Xyun, so lovely to see you.¡± Silas groaned.
¡±Wait a minute? You know this thing?¡± Cassius asked.
¡±Yes sir, I¡¯ve known her ever since I first kicked the bucket.¡± Silas answered.
¡°Well then, does she know anything about all of this?¡± Cassius inquired.
¡±I¡¯m going to leave that answer to her if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Silas insisted.
¡°Sadly, I don¡¯t know anything about what you are referring to. Frankly I haven¡¯t been out here in a while.¡± Xyun declared.
Cassius nodded and sighed before observing that the creature from earlier was following them. He looked down at it and drew his revolver. The creature smiled and readied its scythe in response. Cassius rolled his eyes and holstered his revolver before heading towards the spire. While he was nearing the outer edges of the tower, Cassius spotted a man with burgundy robes off in the distance. It was Luxcious, surprisingly he was still here wandering the Abyss. Cassius quickly strode towards him and tapped him on the shoulder. Luxcious recoiled a little before turning around to face him.
¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you again so soon.¡± Cassius chuckled.
¡±Neither did I, what exactly do you want to discuss?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡±What do you know about the eclipse?¡± Cassius responded.
¡±Not much, all the information I have on it is back home. Would you mind joining me there for a little while?¡± Luxcious inquired.
¡±Sure, I wouldn¡¯t mind, and I guess Xyun wouldn¡¯t either, right?¡± Cassius smiled and looked down at his companion.
Xyun nodded in response and looked up at Luxcious. The scholar smiled and opened a portal before stepping through. Cassius lifted Xyun onto his shoulder and followed the scholar through the portal. The trio arrived back in Luxcious¡¯s office which was cluttered with countless books. A large corkboard covered most of the wall closest to the door. Luxcious walked over to it and traced his finger from photo to photo. He then went to his desk and grabbed a small notebook from it.
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¡±Most of what I¡¯m going to say will honestly sound like nonsense to you.¡± Luxcious sighed.
¡±You do realize that you¡¯re talking to the physical embodiment of someone¡¯s humanity, right?¡± Cassius laughed.
¡±My apologies then, all of this is going to sound completely normal if that¡¯s the case. Though I do suppose that there are going to be some things that probably don¡¯t make much sense though.¡± Luxcious chuckled.
Cassius nodded as the scholar opened the notebook and skimmed through a few pages. After a brief moment, he gestured over to Cassius who walked over to him. Cassius gazed down at the notebook which contained countless symbols etched into the paper. Some of them were familiar to him, but most of them were completely indecipherable. The tree sigil was probably the most common out of all of them. It stood for balance and was used as a protective barrier for most rituals. Then there was the eye which let the user see into other dimensions. Cassius gazed up at the corkboard and noticed that the eye sigil was crossed out.
Frankly the only sigils that were on the board were the tree and four others which he did not recognize. Those four being the Talon, the Bone, the Crown, and the Mind. Cassius gazed back at the notebook and panned through the pages in search of the remaining sigils. After twelve pages of searching, he found the first two, the Talon and the Bone.
The Talon: that which rips the soul to shreds, none shall pass through any gateway on either side while it is marked with this sigil
The Bone: the sigil which binds one to the world, when combined with the Talon one could lock someone way from the outside world
Cassius smirked and turned several more pages in search of the final two sigils. To his dismay the remaining sixty-two pages were completely blank. Cassius put the notebook down on the desk and rummaged through the desk in search of something. Luxcious walked over to him and placed a small aunyx lens on the desk. Cassius picked it up and held it to his left eye as he stared back at the empty pages. Only now the pages were no longer empty for they were now drowning in words. Cassius looked down at the page and saw the last two sigils staring back at him.
The Crown: only those who are a blood relative to the branded may commune with them
The Mind: once marked with this sigil any psychokinetic abilities, such as telepathy, are nullified
Cassius looked up from the notebook and turned his attention towards the corkboard. He could see that images of all four of the sigils were pinned to the board. They were all connected to one another by a series of red strings. These strings were all leading to the center of the board which held a small picture of the eclipse. Cassius titled his head in confusion before turning around and facing Luxcious.
¡±So, what do you think is going on?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡±It¡¯s a prison.¡± Cassius answered.
¡±A prison? How exactly did you come to that conclusion?¡± Luxcious inquired.
¡±What I want to know is how you didn¡¯t!¡± Cassius snapped.
¡±I¡¯ve been busy studying these creatures.¡± Luxcious exclaimed as he gestured over to Xyun.
¡±That is a valid argument, but you could have at least taken some time to research this!¡± Cassius yelled.
¡±I guess I could have, my apologies sir.¡± Luxcious muttered.
Cassius rolled his eyes and opened a portal back to the Abyss. He beckoned for Xyun to follow him but she just sat there with Luxcious. Cassius shrugged and entered the portal, leaving the two of them alone together. Now that Cassius had some form of information on him he could finally start to piece together what was going on. He gazed down at the floor one last time and noticed that the creature from earlier was using its scythe to try and cut a hole through to the outside world. Cassius frowned and pulled out his revolver, but the creature did not notice him. He stood there and watched as it continued to try and chip its way out of its prison.
Cassius debated pulling the trigger but stopped himself short. If he were to do that then he would just make a hole for the creature to escape from. So, he shrugged and started to move on but as he did, he noticed that the creature had stopped chipping away at the wall. Someone was dragging it away from the wall, using the creature¡¯s own scythe as a shepherd¡¯s crook. Cassius smiled and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the creature wouldn¡¯t be getting out any time soon. Finally, he turned his attention to the eclipse and began to decipher the sigils along its outer edges.
The circle, when read clockwise, started with the Talon sigil which was then followed by the Bone sigil. This pattern repeated itself for the outermost ring. The next ring only used the Crown and Mind sigils in its pattern. The third ring combined both the Mind and Talon sigils. The fourth ring did likewise, only this time the Crown and Bone sigils were used. The fifth and final ring utilized a combination of all four sigils, starting with Talon and ending with Mind.
¡±The base component of this ¡°spell¡± is to trap whatever¡¯s beyond that thing, that much is clear. After that, the remaining sigils are just used as extra defensive measures. Whatever¡¯s beyond that obviously shouldn¡¯t be let out, but why?¡± Cassius thought to himself.
Cassius¡¯s vision remained fixed on the eclipse for a while. He could vaguely sense that someone or something was watching him. He blinked and quickly came to his senses and realized that he was completely alone. After a little while of staring at the eclipse, he heard a faint voice whisper to him.
¡±Release me¡¡± it said.
XVII: Forever Falling into Tomorrow
Cassius gazed up at the eclipse and panicked for the Mind sigil had vanished.
¡±And so it begins¡¡± Silas muttered.
¡±And so what begins!?¡± Cassius snapped.
¡±Finality.¡± Silas whispered.
Cassius felt his blood run cold as his eyes stayed fixed on the eclipse which dangled above him.
Silas gazed out at the eclipse which had just begun to set beyond the horizon. Before him lay an endless abyss, of which he had no hope of crossing.
¡±If this is some kind of loop, then just what kind of loop is this?¡± Silas asked himself.
He smiled and gazed into the chasm before throwing himself down into its depths. Silas could only feel the air rush past him for but a moment as he returned to solid ground.
¡±So, this is a causal loop. Well then, perhaps I can escape this place after all.¡± Silas chuckled.
Silas drew his sword and used it to create two portals. One of them was in front of him and the other behind him. The one in front of him would send him backwards 2 hours. While the one behind him would send him forward 3 hours. Entering the first portal would exit him at the second, advancing time by 1 hour. Once he had stepped through both portals, the distance between the two would start to decrease at an exponential rate. Using this method he could escape his prison, or at least that was what he hoped for.
James smiled and walked through the first portal and the eclipse dipped further below the horizon. Yet again he stepped through the portal as the eclipse vanished beneath the horizon. Silas stepped through the portal a third time as the stars began to appear in the sky. He stepped through the portal a fourth, and final time, and found himself staring back at the eclipse once more.
Silas fell to his knees as tears poured down his cheeks, he had won. Slowly he rose to his feet and walked towards the chasm again. Only this time his feet found purchase on the thin air which hung over the abyss. He smiled and strode towards the horizon. The closer he was to the horizon, the less it seemed like the horizon. For the eclipse which hung in front of him almost seemed to wave in the wind. Silas shrugged and put his left hand against it and when he did, he felt warm cloth. So, he smiled and happily tore away the curtain in front of him. Upon tearing away the veil he was met with a pale white void.
So Silas stepped through and into the void. Ayir Halak could just barely be seen from his current position, so James calmly strode towards him. James drew his pistol as he approached Finality¡¯s Reaper who was being held at the end of his own scythe. Silas chuckled and slowly walked over to face Halak whose pupils dilated upon noticing the revenant.
¡±Are you not still living? If so, then why do wander the prison of the damned?¡± Halak inquired.
¡°I fell, though unlike you, I managed to break free!¡± Silas hissed.
¡±And yet you ended up here did you not?¡± Ayir Halak chided.
¡°And yet you are still trapped here, are you not?¡± Silas mocked.
Ayir Halak nodded, and James glanced over to the scythe¡¯s current wielder. He smiled upon noticing that Benedict was the one holding Finality¡¯s Reaper hostage. Silas whistled, followed by a bow. before pressing his pistol against Halak¡¯s forehead. Above them, Cassius continued to gaze at the eclipse whose sigils were starting to fade. He fell from his trance once he heard Silas whistling.
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Cassius quickly looked around him yet saw no one, then he focused his attention downward. He cracked a halfhearted smile upon noticing James who stared back up at him. Cassius¡¯s eyes darted from Silas to the creature in front of him to the man holding the creature by the blade of the scythe. He stopped for a moment to ponder just what he was to do in this scenario. After a moment he hastily drew his revolver and aimed it at the creature.
Ayir Halak smiled and muttered something under his breath. His form turned to mist as he darted upwards towards Cassius who opened fire on him. The bullet zipped out of the chamber and shattered the floor beneath him. Cassius scrambled to solid ground as Ayir Halak exited through the opening. Silas caught the bullet and removed his own from the chamber before drawing his sword.
¡°Stay here, ok?¡± Silas asked, looking at Benedict.
¡±He¡¯ll tear you both to pieces! You need me!¡± Benedict pleaded.
Yet James did not look at him and opened a portal back to the Abyss before stepping through to the other side. Once he was back on true ground again, Silas tossed Cassius¡¯s bullet back to him. His humanity caught the round and loaded it into the chamber. The two of them proceeded to simultaneously aim their revolvers towards Ayir Halak. Halak, who was staring up at the eclipse, payed no attention to the pair.
Silas gazed up at the eclipse and saw that the last sigil had just finished from its face. He smiled, looked at Cassius, and nodded before readying his revolver. Halak finally lowered his head and stared down at the duo, cackling as he did. Cassius and James both groaned in unison before opening fire on Finality¡¯s Reaper.
Halak failed to react to the bullets which were speeding straight towards him. Once they pierced his flesh no pain signal was transmitted to his brain. Halak could barely comprehend what had happened in that moment. When the bullets returned to their chambers the duo holstered their revolvers. Cassius stared at Halak¡¯s corpse which had just begun to sprout roots out of it. Silas whistled once more and called a ring to his location. He motioned for it to pierce through the roots of Ayir Halak¡¯s corpse and to bury him in his prison below.
Silas looked down at Benedict who stared back at him and solemnly nodded his head. The ring then proceeded to coil its chain around Halak¡¯s corpse and flip him over. The knife on the end of the chain then pierced through the roots of the tree which Halak¡¯s corpse had just started to become. Silas guided the ring down the hole into the prison which was sealed up behind it. Benedict watched as the ring proceeded to embed itself in the ceiling. Thus, giving the illusion that a tree was growing from the ceiling of this realm.
Silas smiled and opened a portal to Bethyinine¡¯s domain. Cassius hastily ran over to him and grabbed him by the shoulder.
¡±What¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± Silas growled.
¡±I was going to say the same about you.¡± Cassius answered.
¡±What, you want me to stay here with you and fend off whatever emerges from there!?¡± Silas hissed before pointing at the eclipse.
¡±Well that was what I thought you were going to do. But no, you¡¯re just going to run off like the coward you are!¡± Cassius chided.
¡°I¡¯d prefer to be alive for the time being, thank you very much!¡± Silas insisted.
Cassius sighed and watched as James walked through the portal leaving him all alone. Alone to face down whatever could possibly emerge from beyond the eclipse above him. Franky, he shuddered just thinking about what could be locked up beyond that celestial body. He stared at it one last time and noticed that it was perfectly intact. Cassius breathed a sigh of relief before sitting down on the ground. He smiled and started to whistle Chopin¡¯s Funeral March. After a while Cassius changed the tune and began to whistle a loose version of Lacrimosa. He sat there and pondered what would happen once this was all over. Perhaps James would let him be his own person, perhaps not.
Either way Cassius would still be content so long as he was still alive. The longer he sat, the more the sense of lingering dread started to build up inside him. Cassius tried to keep it at bay for as long as he possibly could. Yet he was swiftly overwhelmed as the dread burrowed deep into him. It burrowed far down into both his mind and his very soul. Cassius in this moment was completely paralyzed with fear. His mind and soul had just been raptured before him. The only thing he had some control over was his body. Even then the amount of control which he had over it was very little.
Little by little the dread began to infect his body. First his legs succumbed to the overwhelming fear. Then his chest followed suit. Next were his arms which fell to the floor like limp noodles. Finally, the paranoia wrestled control of his mind from him. Fear quickly gripped his heart whose beating only increased as the fear spread through him. The last thought on his mind before the paranoia took over was, oddly enough, an overwhelming urge to scream. So, Cassius raised his head to the heavens and opened his mouth.
Yet no sound came from him, for the world was barren and void¡
XVIII: The Eyes of Man
August 8th 1888
Bethyinine woke up, stretched, and dusted the sand off her scales. She smiled and noticed that a storm was on the horizon, which meant that it would be raining soon. She chuckled before walking over to the water¡¯s edge and staring out at the eclipse on the horizon.
¡±Wait a minute¡ something isn¡¯t right, that shouldn¡¯t be here?¡± She told herself.
Bethyinine blinked a couple times, hoping that the eclipse would disappear. Yet when she opened her eyes, nothing changed for the orange ring of the eclipse was still visible on the horizon.
¡±James, I swear that I will personally tear you limb from limb.¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡±Really? Why exactly would you do that?¡± Silas answered.
Bethyinine turned around to see her brother materialize in front of her as a portal closed behind him. A wicked grin overtook her face as Bethyinine pounced on top of Silas.
¡±Would you mind looking at the horizon!?¡± She growled.
¡°I would, if you weren¡¯t pinned on top of me right now.¡± Silas chided.
¡±Oh, you can¡¯t see it from here now, can you? Well then, let me help you with that!¡± Bethyinine roared.
She then proceeded to coil her tail around Silas and lifted him up into the air. Silas smiled as the eclipse entered his field of view.
¡±Oh, now I know what you mean, and honestly that does look pretty bad.¡± Silas insisted.
¡±Good, now tell me just what you did for this to happen.¡± Bethyinine demanded.
¡±I killed a man, well he wasn¡¯t exactly a man, more of a reaper than anything else.¡± Silas recalled.
¡±Well, who exactly did you kill then?¡± Bethyinine giggled.
¡°Does the name Ayir Halak ring any bells to you?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±No, but should it?¡± Bethyinine mused.
¡°Knowing you, it more than likely shouldn¡¯t, given you have no real connection to Finality¡¯s Reaper.¡± Silas answered.
¡±Finality¡¯s Reaper, so that¡¯s who you killed, Death itself. Well, it¡¯s no wonder then as to why this is happening.¡± Bethyinine groaned.
¡±Well¡ Death¡¯s still alive, she¡¯s not dead, Xyun is still alive.¡± Silas stuttered.
¡±Ah, so my niece took up the position of Death, good for her!¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±Sorry to ruin the mood, but what exactly are we going to do about that?¡± Silas asked, pointing to the eclipse on the horizon.
¡±I thought you would have an answer for that, given all of the contingencies you¡¯ve made.¡± Bethyinine playfully scolded.
¡±Look, I just formulate the possible answers for all my contingencies. It¡¯s all hypothetical, I¡¯m basing all of it off of extrapolated data for Nadahr¡¯s sake!¡± Silas hissed.
Bethyinine sighed and sat down on the shore, watching the tide roll in. Silas walked over to her and focused his attention on the eclipse. There were no sigils on it, the seal had finally been broken. He squinted his eyes and noticed that a small iris had started to form in the center of the eclipse. He panicked and quickly tapped Bethyinine on the shoulder.
¡±It¡¯s growing!¡± Silas shouted.
¡±What do you mean, it¡¯s not alive for Pete¡¯s sake!¡± Bethyinine hissed in response.
¡±It¡¯s starting to grow an eye.¡± Silas whispered as a chill ran down his spine.
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Bethyinine gazed out at the eclipse and felt something staring back at her. She blinked and panicked as a massive eye was now staring back at her.
¡±Well then, this entire situation just got a whole lot worse.¡± Bethyinine declared.
¡±No kidding, I just wonder how mankind is going to react to this.¡± Silas chuckled.
Bethyinine screamed a little before diving headfirst into the ocean. Silas shrugged and opened up a portal, hoping to find the nearest patch of solid ground. He stepped through the portal and found himself at the center of a small village. Surprisingly there were no civilians running around screaming for their lives. He chuckled and walked from house to house noticing that the windows were shut, and all the lights were off.
Silas made his way to the beach just as Bethyinine exited the water. He looked at her and smiled as the two of them walked back into town together. Silas followed his sister to the town square before the pair split up to cover more ground. Bethyinine went left towards the market while James went to the right and walked right into the tavern. The place was mostly empty, save for the bartender sitting behind the counter. He smiled upon seeing Silas entering his establishment.
¡±Ah Mr Mori, you finally returned from your little ¡°vacation¡± I take it?¡± The bartender asked.
¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been back for a while now, thank you very much.¡± Silas chuckled.
Silas went and pulled up a seat in front of the counter before placing his revolver next to him.
¡±Would you like to know why you aren¡¯t getting any customers today?¡± Silas asked.
¡±Sure, go ahead and give me the bad news you pathetic bastard!¡± The bartender smiled.
¡±Let¡¯s just say that my kin have decided to pay you a visit, ok?¡± Silas whispered.
The bartender nodded and looked out the window, just barely noticing the eclipse on the horizon. Its eye swiveled around and stared directly at him. The bartender simply waved back at it and the eye seemed to ¡°smile¡± in reply.
¡±You¡¯re not fazed by it? Not one bit?¡± Silas spat.
¡±Nope, not at all, it¡¯s just an eye for Ra¡¯s sake. Why then should I be scared of it?¡± The bartender mused.
Silas nodded, picked up his revolver, and turned to leave. The moment he left the comfort of the tavern rain began to fall on him. He smiled and made his way towards the fountain of which his sister was currently sitting on. Silas chuckled and sat down next to her as the rain continued to fall.
¡±They¡¯re not answering I take it?¡± Silas asked.
¡±No, when I tried to speak to some of them, they didn¡¯t answer. All their doors are locked, they¡¯re afraid of us, afraid of me.¡± Bethyinine lamented.
¡°Take it easy, at least we know that they¡¯re safe.¡± Silas patted his sister on the head.
¡±Yet this isn¡¯t all of them, just the people that I keep watch over.¡± Bethyinine chided.
¡±True, but Josephine could keep watch over the rest of them, can¡¯t she?¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±I guess she can, but last time I checked she rarely ever leaves her house.¡± Bethyinine joked.
¡±Well then, guess I¡¯ll have to help you if that¡¯s the case.¡± Silas smiled.
Bethyinine looked at her brother and smiled. The two of them walked back into the sea together and journeyed back towards Bethyinine¡¯s domain. As they strode beneath the waves, the eye on the horizon stared at them in delight.
The Abyss, Sector 7
Cassius stared up at the eclipse and noticed as the eye began to form. It looked at him almost in disgust before turning its attention to the spire. The eye¡¯s pupil dilated as the remaining eight rings detached themselves from the spire. The rings shot towards the eye and opened fire on it, binding it in thousands of chains. Cassius smiled as the eye was now chained in place.
It let out an abhorrent growl and struggled against the chains. For every time it struggled against them, its prison only grew tighter and tighter. Cassius focused his attention on the chains which held the eye in stasis. They were latched onto almost invisible points in space. Franky for him to call them invisible would be for Cassius to lie to himself. For the points which the chains had attached themselves to were limbs. Countless hideous, insect-like, limbs all writhing in collective agony.
Cassius stared up at the eye once again only to be met with thousands upon thousands of eyes staring back at him. They all blinked in unison as the creature fixed its gaze towards him. Cassius felt something pierce his mind and he began to run towards the spire. The creature slowly began to break free from its chains and let out a grotesque roar. Cassius gazed back at the creature as the first chain broke.
¡°Why are you running?¡± The creature¡¯s voice echoed inside his head.
¡±I would like to ask you a better question. Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Cassius retorted.
The creature immediately fell silent and continued to free itself. By the time the second chain had been broken, Cassius had reached the spire. He stopped in the doorway to catch his breath before sitting down on a nearby bench. Finally, he was safe, well at least that was the case for the time being.
500 miles off the coast of Singapore
Silas stared down the eclipse as darkness slowly passed over the horizon. He could just barely hear a couple of faint whispers emanating from it. They were calling out to him, begging for him to join them. So, he shut his ears so as to deafen their cries. For the while the words of the living can be ignored, those of the dead are like the call of a siren. Once you hear the voices of the damned and restless, one cannot help but obey their orders.
The last thing Silas heard before the silence enveloped him was a sickening cacophony of voices.
¡±Join us¡¡± They hissed.
¡±So that we may all be united together in the bottomless Abyss.¡±
XIX: Walking Through Shadows
Scotland, August 9th, 1888
It was nine in the morning and the local tavern has just been open for an hour now. Despite that fact it was nearly full till bursting with eager patrons all waiting to get a drink. They crowded around the bar like moths to a flame, waiting for the bartender to return from behind the counter. Eventually all the men received their drinks and sat down at their respective tables. Though some preferred to sit in front of the bar and converse with the bartender during his shift. One of the men, who had just returned from his shift at the docks, sat down at the bar. He smiled as the bartender poured him a glass. His eyes were a stormy black and his gray hair was as loose and violent as the ocean waves.
¡°You take one look at whatever¡¯s lurking down there, and it just pulls you in. You feel drawn to it, called by it, as if by nothing but instinct. So, you dive down into the dark and you never stop to come up for air.¡± he said.
¡±I beg your pardon?¡± The bartender replied, utterly stupefied.
¡±Sorry, I haven¡¯t gotten much sleep at all as of late.¡± The mariner apologized.
¡±Mind if I ask you how your shift was?¡± The bartender asked.
¡°My shift? You want to ask about my shift, is that right?¡± The mariner stuttered.
¡±Yes, now if you would be so kind as to tell me how it went.¡± The bartender simply responded.
¡±Uh, sure, I¡¯ll tell you about my shift just give me a moment.¡± The mariner whispered, his voice shaking.
The bartender waited and as he waited, some of the men made their way to the bar. They sat down and waited in anticipation for the mariner to begin his tale.
¡±The shift started out normal, I left as the sun set over the horizon. Managed to catch a bunch of fish for the first few hours. Then the moon rose and took its place in the sky. I continued to fish for a few hours before taking a break. Once I sat down, that¡¯s when it all started. Fog slowly began to creep in all around me. Next thing I knew the net broke, and all the fish fell back into the sea. That wasn¡¯t even the worst part my friends, no it gets worse. For when I gazed down into the darkness of the sea, I saw something staring back at me. Out of sheer curiosity I reached out my hand as if to grab it, only to find myself pulled downward into the depths! The last thing I heard before being dragged under was this song. Well, it wasn¡¯t exactly a song, more like a lament or a lullaby than anything else. I remember nothing of what happened after I was dragged down beneath the waves. I only remember returning to dry land this morning, whatever happened between then and last night is a blur to me.¡± The mariner concluded.
¡±So, you¡¯re telling us that you found something out here in these very waters?¡± One of the men asked.
¡±Aye sir I did, thing is, I have no idea if it is friendly or not.¡± The mariner declared.
¡±It could possibly be a siren.¡± Another blurted.
¡±I thought those were only in Greek myths!¡± Someone yelled.
¡±Last night, I thought I heard someone say something about an eclipse appearing in Singapore. Perhaps that could have something to do with it.¡± a patron declared.
¡°How exactly would something halfway across the world be related to what happened here exactly?¡± The mariner hissed.
The small discussion which had started moments ago had now erupted into a full-blown argument. The bartender watched as his patrons readied themselves in anticipation to throw their glasses at one another. He slammed his fist on the table in anger as one by one the patrons turned to look at him.
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¡±Enough! I do not want to see my establishment turned into a war zone! Especially so when all of this started because I asked this gentleman a simple question!¡± The bartender screeched.
At once the patrons calmed down and each man returned to his own respective seat. The bartender smiled and walked over the mariner who was now sitting in a corner. He was conversing with some of his coworkers who hadn¡¯t yet heard the news. The bartender cleared his throat on arrival before sitting down next to the four of them.
¡°My uncle used to tell me stories about some of those creatures.¡± One of the mariner¡¯s coworkers said.
¡±Well.¡± The bartender started. ¡°Your uncle may have not been telling you stories.¡±
¡±What exactly do you mean?¡± The coworker asked, utterly confused.
¡±What I mean to say is that some of those myths aren¡¯t exactly myths.¡± The bartender insisted.
¡±So, you¡¯re saying that such creatures exist?¡± The mariner whispered.
¡±Well, if they didn¡¯t then this tavern wouldn¡¯t have the name that it does now, I¡¯ll tell you that much.¡± The bartender chuckled.
The mariner¡¯s coworkers turned to the bartender in utter disbelief. The mariner himself appeared to be in a state of shock.
¡±Why, friend, do you look so surprised? I thought you¡¯d expect this type of answer from me.¡± The bartender sighed.
The mariner did not answer and simply got up to leave. The bartender returned to his place behind the counter as his friend left the establishment. He gave a half smile before heading out the door himself.
¡±Gentlemen, please behave yourselves while I am gone.¡± The bartender stated.
The patrons looked at him and nodded in unison as he departed from their sight. The bartender jogged along the road and quickly managed to catch up to the mariner.
¡±Please, just leave me be!¡± The mariner shrieked.
¡±My friend, why should I? For you, obviously, appear to be in a state of distress. I only mean to try and comfort you.¡± The bartender placated.
¡±Comfort me how exactly? By telling me that I could have been killed by that thing!?¡± The mariner scolded.
¡±Now now, there¡¯s¡ oh dear there¡¯s no possible explanation for that. Sirens don¡¯t behave like that, they kill their prey. They don¡¯t toy with them, well they do, but not like that.¡± The bartender gasped.
¡±So, you¡¯re saying that I didn¡¯t encounter a siren out there?¡± The mariner questioned.
¡±I mean, the evidence just doesn¡¯t add up. Do you have a vague idea of what it looked like?¡± The bartender asked.
¡±Well, the most I can remember is a¡ tail? Yeah, it had a tail, but it also had¡ legs? Frankly it looked human, but I know that it wasn¡¯t, and I really can¡¯t logically explain why.¡± The mariner answered.
¡±So, we really are dealing with something foreign to both of us.¡± The bartender mused.
¡±Yes, but what exactly is it!¡± The mariner cried.
¡±I¡¯m honestly not too sure, we¡¯ll piece this together as a team you and I.¡± The bartender insisted.
¡±That sounds like a good idea, but where exactly are we going to begin?¡± The mariner inquired.
¡°Well, it would be in our best interests to check larger ports. So as to see if any of them have encountered our mysterious creature as well. As for our destination, how do you feel about paying a visit to Wales my friend?¡± The bartender smiled.
¡±That sounds like a great place to start in all honesty.¡± The mariner agreed.
¡±Its settled then, we¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow if you don¡¯t mind.¡± The bartender insisted.
The mariner smiled and began to walk home as the bartender returned to the tavern. Once he stepped through the doors of his tavern, he found it to be completely empty. Well, it was empty save for one man sitting in front of the counter. The bartender walked over to him, and as he did, the man raised his hat and turned to look at him. His left arm was nothing but bone and his right was all flesh. The man smiled as he saw the bartender walking towards him. The outer edges of his eyes were a dark orange while the inner portions were pitch black.
¡±What brings a ¡°person¡± such as you to my tavern?¡± The bartender asked.
¡°I have business to attend to and am only stopping for a drink.¡± The stranger answered.
¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question!¡± The bartender hissed.
¡±I gave you an answer, now would you kindly please serve me my drink?¡± The stranger asked.
The bartender sighed, walked behind the counter, and poured the stranger half a pint of liquor.
¡±Sorry, I¡¯m all out of beer.¡± The bartender apologized.
¡±No need, this¡¯ll do.¡± The stranger laughed.
¡°Say, has anything odd happened around here lately?¡± The stranger asked.
¡±No, what exactly prompted you ask that?¡± The bartender replied.
¡±Strange stuff has been happening lately, so I figured to ask.¡± The stranger answered.
The bartender nodded and began to wipe down the counter. The stranger smiled and finished his drink before heading to leave. Before he walked through the door, the stranger whistled a small lullaby. The bartender paused and looked up at the counter to see a small card in front of him. He shrugged, picked it up, and placed it in his pocket before closing up shop for the night. Tomorrow he would begin his investigation of the anomaly that had arrived on his shores this morning.
XX: The Lines Between
Scotland, 10th of August, 1888
From above the ridge Bethyinine stared down at the galleon. She smiled and watched in delight as the passengers boarded the vessel. Two of the passengers in particular caught her eye. One of them wore a set of slacks covers with netting. Bethyinine smiled, for she could smell the sea on his clothes. The other was adorned with an embroidered set of amber robes. She recoiled in disgust upon noticing the stench whisky that hung over him. Bethyinine smiled and shifted her form to that of a young woman before heading to join the pair.
On board the galleon, the bartender and mariner were adjusting to their cabins. While they were doing so, the mariner froze as a chill ran down his spine.
¡°My dear friend, what seems to be the matter?¡± The bartender asked, for the mariner had just fallen to the floor.
His friend was unable to speak as panic held him tight in its grasp. His deep blue eyes had now turned pale white in color. The bartender could just barely make out a single word upon his comrade¡¯s lips ¡°her¡±. The bartender¡¯s pupils shrank as he lifted his friend onto the nearby bed. Quickly he went to bar the door to their room shut with a desk. A bell rang out from the hall signaling that they had just left port. Hours passed by and the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. By the time the moon had taken its place in the sky, the mariner had regained consciousness.
¡±I can hear her. I can hear her singing.¡± He whispered.
¡±Hear who? And what do you mean by singing?¡± The bartender inquired.
¡±Listen.¡± The mariner whispered.
So, the bartender listened, listened to the waves crashing against the boat. After a while he began to doubt his friend¡¯s statement. Then he heard it, the twisted melody which drifted along the night¡¯s cold air. He was made insane by it, utterly perplexed by it, and yet he was enthralled by it all the same. The bartender gazed at his companion as a crooked grin formed on his face.
¡±So, she has taken hold of you after all.¡± The mariner sighed.
The bartender slowly began to approach his friend and cackled all the while. The mariner jerked and recoiled in haste, only managing to pin himself up against the wall in his despair. In his final moments, the mariner let out a blood-curdling scream as his companion slowly proceeded to rip him limb from limb. Next door Bethyinine chuckled as she heard the muffled screams of her prey through the wall. She pulled the covers over herself and quickly drifted off to sleep as the screams echoed in her head.
The Abyss
Cassius watched as the creature freed itself from the last of the chains. Ice filled his veins as it exited through the portal that was once the eclipse. It stared at him with a burning curiosity in each of its thousands of eyes. The creature¡¯s form was a hideous, Frankenstein-like combination, of a serpent and a centipede. He watched as its spindle-like legs made contact with the floor below. Despite that it still slithered along the ground and made its way towards the spire. The creature¡¯s pitch-black scales were only illuminated by the dim orange light of the now bleeding eclipse.
It spread the tiny wings located at its midsection in delight before gazing towards the heavens. The creature then proceeded to let out a guttural roar that seemed to be some sort of greeting. It then craned its neck forward and lowered its head in a sort of bowing gesture. Cassius could only stare at the creature for a sense of shock and wonder had overtaken him. Slowly he managed the courage to walk out from under the cover of the spire and faced down the creature. Once Cassius exited through the doorway, he bowed and knelt on the ground. The creature lowered its head to the floor, almost as if it was mimicking him.
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Cassius chuckled and waited for the creature to speak. Yet when it opened its mouth, no words came from it.
¡±Hello.¡± It said.
¡±What are you exactly? The end made manifest?¡± Cassius asked.
¡±No, for if that were to be the case then you would be dead by now.¡± The creature chuckled.
¡°Well then, I guess a formal introduction is in order. I am-.¡± Cassius began.
¡±Cassius.¡± The creature interrupted him.
¡±How do you know what I am?¡± Cassius stuttered.
¡±My dear, I have been keeping an eye or two on you for a while now.¡± The creature cooed.
¡°Fair, but might I ask why?¡± Cassius started.
The creature nodded and smiled, exposing its thousands upon thousands of teeth in the process. Cassius titled his head in a mixture of both curiosity and confusion.
¡±I was just curious, that¡¯s all.¡± The creature mused.
¡°Right.¡± Cassius sighed and simply rolled his eyes.
The creature almost seemed to shrug and slithered next to him. Cassius watched as its movement caused the water beneath them to ripple. He smiled and stared down at the tree below him. The creature merely glanced at him before turning its attention to the eclipse that was once its prison.
Wales, England, 11th of August, 1888
The bartender awoke the next morning to the sound of someone banging on his door. He got out bed with a stretch and slowly shuffled to the door. Opening it, the bartender was met with a British naval officer staring down at him.
¡±Sir, by order of the British crown, you are under arrest.¡± The officer declared.
¡±Arrest! For what! I didn¡¯t even do anything!¡± The bartender hissed.
¡±Please sir, for both our sakes, remain silent.¡± The officer hushed.
The bartender stopped talking and was led off the boat by the officer. From her room, Bethyinine could see the blood on the bartender¡¯s robes. She laughed upon realizing just what was happening. Quickly Bethyinine left her room and began to follow the pair off of the boat. The officer escorted the bartender into a carriage before closing the door behind him. Bethyinine frowned and watched as the carriage rode off down the street.
She walked over to a bench on the corner and sat down for a while. Thinking about how she was to chase after her prey in this moment. Then the scent of whiskey hit her nose again and she smiled. Bethyinine leapt up from the bench and quickly ran towards the source of the scent. She passed by several people on her chase, even managing to knock some over in the process.
¡±Oy! Watch where yer goin¡¯!¡± One of them yelled.
Bethyinine chuckled as she darted through crowd after crowd. After taking several left turns, and a couple of right ones, she had finally made it to her destination; an old courthouse. She watched from a nearby alleyway as the officer exited the carriage with her prey in tow. Once they entered the building, Bethyinine shifted her form to that of a middle-aged woman and followed them inside.
Once inside the courthouse, the officer led his prisoner to a nearby bench, and two of them sat down. Bethyinine entered the building only a few minutes after them. By the time she had walked a few steps forward, the pair had already entered the main room of the courthouse. Bethyinine shrugged, simply entered the courtroom, and sat down with the rest of the jurors.
¡±Your honor, I¡¯m innocent! Completely innocent!¡± The bartender yelled.
¡±Well then if you are innocent, then how exactly are your robes stained with blood then?¡± The judge inquired.
¡±I¡¯m not sure.¡± The bartender stuttered.
The jurors started to talk amongst themselves as to what exactly was going on. Bethyinine just shrugged, watching and waiting for something.
¡±Officer Clemens, do you have any inputs on this case?¡± The judge asked.
¡±The crew told me that he strangled a fellow passenger to death. Though when I went to retrieve him, there was no body left, it was just him sir.¡± Clemens responded.
¡±Oh dear.¡± The bartender whispered.
¡±Due to a lack of proper evidence, the case has been dismissed.¡± The judge sighed.
¡±Yet according to the law, the accused is required to be kept with a member of the jury. So as to keep an eye on them while the authorities investigate the case.¡± Clemens stated.
¡±Yes, that is the case. Now would a member of the jury please step forward.¡± The judge bellowed.
Everyone in the jury remained still, everyone except for Bethyinine that was. Immediately she left her place with the rest of the jury and went to stand behind the podium.
¡±Miss Claire, how good to see you again. You shall be tasked with housing this man for the time being. I do take that such an arrangement is agreeable on your end.¡± The judge smiled.
Bethyinine nodded and walked out of the courtroom, gesturing for the bartender to follow her. She smiled as she led her prey outside and the two stepped into the carriage together. Bethyinine whistled as her prey shut the door behind him.
¡±Where are we heading?¡± The bartender asked.
¡±To see an old friend of mine, if you don¡¯t mind, darling.¡± Bethyinine cooed.
XXI: Loss and Respect
Wales, England, 11th of August, 1888
Bethyinine stepped out of the carriage and onto the street, her prey followed after her. She smiled and walked up the stairs of the ebony house in front of her. She waited before knocking on the door which opened a second later.
¡±Oh, you came back sooner than I expected!¡± Luxcious shrieked.
¡±Well, the case wasn¡¯t really too long, darling.¡± Bethyinine chided.
¡±Case? What case?¡± Luxcious sputtered as Bethyinine walked past him.
¡±I had jury duty Laurence, I thought you would have remembered that!¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡±Sorry, I¡¯ve just been having a long day so far.¡± Luxcious muttered.
He shuffled towards the door only to be met with the bartender who had just finished climbing the steps.
¡±You brought another guest home with you!¡± Luxcious yelled.
¡±Well, I didn¡¯t bring him home, the judge made me!¡± Bethyinine retorted.
¡°So¡ are you two married by chance?¡± the bartender squeaked.
¡±What kind of person asks a question like that?¡± Bethyinine sneered.
¡±Someone who¡¯s probably lost their mind or is just about to.¡± Luxcious answered dryly.
The bartender lowered his head, walked into the kitchen, and sat down at the table. Bethyinine smiled, sat down next to him, and absentmindedly started tapping her fingers against the table. Luxcious watched the pair and shrugged before returning to his office.
¡±It would be best to leave Bethyinine to her own devices. I just hope she doesn¡¯t stay for long or ruin the furniture.¡± Luxcious groaned.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Bethyinine started making some salad. The bartender stayed at the table and simply watched her cook. She turned her head to look back at him and smiled before returning to her work. After around half an hour Bethyinine returned to the table with her salad in hand. She turned to her prey before handing him a plate and a fork. The bartender said nothing as he started to work on the salad.
¡±So, you¡¯re probably wondering who, or what, I am.¡± Bethyinine cooed.
¡°Of course, I have a lot of questions, I just got accused of murdering my own friend for Pete¡¯s sake!¡± The bartender spat.
¡°Well, then ask away my boy!¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±Your name isn¡¯t really Claire, now is it?¡± the bartender chided.
¡±My, aren¡¯t we a clever bastard! Though I do have to say, what led you to that conclusion my dear?¡± Bethyinine smirked.
¡°Your mannerisms, they just seemed off, if that makes any sense. How you acted in the courtroom, it almost seems like you were someone else.¡± the bartender smiled.
¡±How clever of you, [O prey mine].¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡°I beg your pardon¡¡± The bartender stuttered.
Bethyinine grinned before tilting her head in confusion.
¡±Anyways, I have to ask, just what the hell are you?¡± He spat.
¡°[Death]. To your kind I am extinction itself. Though I for one prefer to be referred to as a judge, jury, and executioner. I¡¯m the reason as to why all of you are still breathing.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡°So, you¡¯re some kind of god?¡± the bartender inquired.
¡±Darling! What kind of logic are you even using?¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡±That was the only logical answer that I had.¡± the bartender muttered.
¡±Knowing your kind that does make sense. You see something that doesn¡¯t look natural and refer to it with some aspect of divinity.¡± Bethyinine sneered.
¡±Do.. do we really do that?¡± the bartender asked.
¡±Yes! Of course, you do! Why else would some of your kin be throwing their lives away as sacrifices for me!¡± Bethyinine cried.
¡±Fair point, but why exactly would people be so willing to do such a thing in the first place? It¡¯s not like you would understand or even care about them, right?¡± The bartender mused.
¡±Why, don¡¯t you catch on fast?¡± Bethyinine declared.
¡°Well, I have studied myths all my life.¡± the bartender chuckled.
Bethyinine smiled and stared longingly into the eyes of her prey. Slowly her illusion began to fade away as her tail was now visible.
¡±[How would you like to spend eternity with me?]¡± Bethyinine whispered.
¡±What? Your lips moved, but you didn¡¯t say anything. That or you did, and I just couldn¡¯t hear.¡± the bartender stated.
¡°So, you can understand some things, just not everything. Now allow me to tell you in your own tongue.¡± Bethyinine chided.
The bartender simply nodded and smiled.
¡±Would you like to spend eternity with me?¡± Bethyinine repeated.
¡°What do you mean? How exactly would I spend eternity with you?¡± the bartender asked.
¡±What if I told you there is life after death.¡± Bethyinine stated.
¡±Ok, now you¡¯ve piqued my interest, but you still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± the bartender sneered.
¡±Well, it would more or less be spending eternity as a part of me.¡± Bethyinine cackled and readied her claws.
¡±Whoa, easy there, no need to act rash!¡± the bartender yelled.
¡±What? You¡¯re not ready to accept your fate [Darling]?¡± Bethyinine smirked.
¡±No, I¡¯m not! Now please sit down!¡± the bartender hissed.
¡±Why should I listen to [prey] you?¡± Bethyinine snarled and lunged towards her prey.
The bartender did nothing to stop her, for why should he? To something like her, he was probably just another name. Yet another body for her to add to her ever growing-pile. So, he smiled when she pressed all her weight onto him. When she let him glimpse her razor-sharp fangs, he simply chuckled.
¡±[So, you find finality to be amusing?]¡± Bethyinine gasped.
The bartender didn¡¯t answer and continued to laugh.
¡±[Are you not afraid of death! Do you not care for your own life!]¡± Bethyinine yelled as she broke into tears.
¡°So, you do care for us after all. You voluptuously murderous psycho.¡± the bartender smirked.
¡±Well of course I care for you, not you specifically, but you get my point. Your lives are precious to me, I find joy in just watching you exist. Whenever I do interact with you, one of you ends up dead. Not unwillingly of course, I would rather have my prey make peace with their fate. I don¡¯t want to kill someone who wasn¡¯t accepting of death. I would feel guilty if I did.¡± Bethyinine sighed.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
¡±So, you¡¯re a creature who refuses to be called a god. You refuse to be worshipped and let people sacrifice themselves to you. Yet you kill those who are willing to die for you. Tell me then, is that not the thoughts of a hypocrite? Where exactly is your logic here?¡± the bartender sneered.
¡±Those who sacrifice themselves to me are willing. While they are willing, I am not, for I believe that all decisions must be respected. You cannot willingly throw your own life away in ¡°service¡± to me and expect me to accept it. Only if I am wholly willing to accept your sacrifice will it be accepted. This is a two-way street that I operate on.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±Life is precious, and yet its value is subjective.¡± the bartender mused.
¡±Aww, now I don¡¯t want to kill you. You¡¯re just too much fun when you¡¯re alive.¡± Bethyinine smiled.
¡°I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re being genuine or not. So, I¡¯ll just take your word as is.¡± the bartender chuckled.
Bethyinine nodded and went to sit in the foyer. The bartender followed her and watched as her tail swayed back and forth. Bethyinine turned back to look at her guest and watched that something captured his gaze. She giggled and went to sit down in one of the chairs next to the fire. The bartender sat down next to her, his gaze still fixed on her tail.
¡±So, you¡¯re transfixed by it?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±By what? Your tail? Yes, it¡¯s rhythmic swaying is rather captivating.¡± the bartender mused.
¡±I figured as much.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±How exactly would I live forever?¡± the bartender inquired.
¡°Your body will die, yet your soul will be a part of me. You keep your consciousness, and you exist inside my mind. You will be a voice in my head if you please.¡± Bethyinine mused.
¡±So, that¡¯s immortality? Living vicariously through someone else? That doesn¡¯t sound too exciting.¡± the bartender groaned.
¡±Well, there are other ways of gaining immortality. Yet they have had volatile results to say the least.¡± Bethyinine chided.
¡±Understood, so there¡¯s only one way to gain immortality if that¡¯s the case.¡± the bartender stated.
Bethyinine smiled and walked over to her prey. Her tail slowly rapping itself around him, starting with his chest and slowly working its way up his frame. The bartender watched and chuckled as his movements became increasingly restricted. He simply shrugged as his captor¡¯s tail wrapped itself around his throat. Bethyinine walked around to face her guest as a Kubrick-esque smile overtook her face. She chuckled and watched as the life slowly faded from his eyes which were surrounded by his pale blue skin.
Bethyinine placed her hand on her prey¡¯s chin. She smiled and sat down next to his lifeless corpse. The fire roared behind them as embers danced around the room. Bethyinine reached out to grab one, but it drifted away from her. She sighed and looked at the corpse of her guest. Something felt off about it, about the act that she had just committed.
¡±Am I to torment myself like this? Am I forever destined to kill those that I love?¡± She lamented as tears poured down her cheeks.
Bethyinine got up and knelt before the corpse of her prey. She gazed longingly for a time into his sky-blue eyes.
¡±No, I can change, I will change. You showed me that there is more to myself than just this.¡± Bethyinine weeped.
She touched her hand against him one last time before whispering in his ear.
¡±I will not fail you.¡± she muttered.
Bethyinine smiled, hoisted the corpse into her arms, and walked upstairs. Luxcious watched in abject horror as she entered his office. He gazed at the corpse which Bethyinine was holding and then her. He could see the sorrow in her eyes, all the pain that she carried, all the guilt that she bore.
¡±You kill your prey, and yet, you mourn their deaths.¡± Luxcious mused.
¡±And? So what, who cares if I feel remorse? Who cares if I feel any real emotion? I do, I care, not you!¡± Bethyinine yelled.
¡°Why exactly did you come into my office exactly?¡± Luxcious inquired.
Bethyinine just looked at him and refused to answer. She sighed and just started to whistle as tears poured down her face. Rain began to cover the window as the sky turned gray. Luxcious watched as bolts of lightning spread through the clouds. The screams of thunder followed them only a few minutes later. Bethyinine got up as the thunder echoed throughout the room. She walked over to the window, taking the corpse along with her. Her claws touched the glass, feeling the cold rain through the window. Bethyinine smiled and simply vanished from Luxcious¡¯s office. Luxcious shrugged and just went back to his work as the rain continued to fall.
Bethyinine struggled to drag the corpse onto dry land. After finally getting it onto her island, Bethyinine sat down and rested for a while. Once she had finished her rest, the sun had started to set on the horizon. She smiled and laid down next to the corpse. The two of them watched the sunset together for a while. Bethyinine stared into the sunken eyes of the corpse. She noticed the lack of light in his eyes and frowned.
After a few more hours, Bethyinine buried the corpse in the sand before going to sleep herself. The next morning, she dove into the sea to catch some fish. Oddly enough, all the fish seemed to be hiding from her. No matter how long she searched, Bethyinine couldn¡¯t find any. She sighed and started to head back up towards the surface. Yet as she made her way back, the fish began to return to the coral reef. Bethyinine smiled and immediately began to chase after some of the larger fish.
She managed to grab three of the four bass that swam past her. Bethyinine smiled before slowly devouring them one by one. She enjoyed feeling them squirm as she devoured them inch by inch. After that, Bethyinine swam off to find more fish to devour. Several hours passed by before she finally returned to dry land. The sun was directly overhead as Bethyinine went to sit next to the corpse. Upon locking eyes with it, a feral urge overtook her, and Bethyinine lunged towards the corpse. She quickly pinned it to the ground and began laughing. Soon Bethyinine started to lose consciousness as her feral urge took further control over her.
Once she finally regained consciousness, Bethyinine looked up to see the moon shining in the sky. She gazed at her surroundings and noticed that the corpse was gone. She sighed and simply went to sleep, waiting for tomorrow¡¯s endeavors to come carry and her away. Bethyinine was awoken the next morning by a seagull poking at her scales. She hissed before grabbing the bird and plucking off its feathers. Once that was done, Bethyinine slowly began to tear off its wings. Now that the bird was completely flightless, she put it back on the ground and chuckled as it stumbled about.
After a few minutes, Bethyinine grabbed the bird by the tail and dangled it above her. The seagull struggled and tried to free itself from her grasp to no avail. She smiled, opened her maw, and slowly lowered the bird inside. The seagull made one last attempt to free itself before its vision was consumed by darkness. Bethyinine chuckled for a little while before coughing up a handful of feathers. She laid down on the sand with her head in her hands and watched the tide roll in. Her tail swayed behind her as the leaves of the nearby palm trees drifted in the wind.
Bethyinine yawned as the moon took its place in the sky. Yet she did not go to sleep and instead dove beneath the waves. The reef was now full of eels and octopuses alongside schools upon schools of fish. All of them helping to illuminate the water as Bethyinine swam past them. Some of the eels swam over to her and began to encircle her. Bethyinine grabbed one of the eels and scratched its chin for a moment. She smiled and watched as the second of the two eels worked its way down her frame.
She chuckled as it coiled itself further and further down her body. She could only see the frame of the eel through the bright neon cyan lights along its body. Eventually, the lights disappeared from her sight as the eel seemed to dart behind her. A few moments later, Bethyinine felt her body shake and shuddered a little. She looked at the first eel which just absentmindedly stared at her. Bethyinine could see something in its eyes, a small spark that wasn¡¯t there before.
The eel moved closer to her and Bethyinine tapped it on the nose. Bethyinine smiled and simply swam off further into the reef. The eel followed her, its gaze was fixed on her tail. Bethyinine turned to look at the eel and groaned in sheer annoyance. She turned her head back and noticed a grouper swimming nearby. Bethyinine hastily darted towards it, yet the eel reached it before she did. Bethyinine hissed and watched in anger as the eel greedily devoured its prey, her prey.
¡±Fine, have it your way.¡± Bethyinine muttered.
She lunged towards the eel; its slender frame now bloated by the grouper. Bethyinine grabbed the thief and began to smile. She noticed that the eel did not struggle, nor did it make any attempts to free itself. The spark in its eyes was now growing brighter and brighter. Bethyinine watched in horror as the creature slowly moved towards her. She felt a mix of both rage and confusion as the eel got closer and closer to her. Bethyinine then fixed her gaze to the grouper which continued to struggle despite the futility of its situation. She opened her mouth to laugh, and to her horror, the eel rushed itself inside her maw.
Bethyinine attempted to force the eel out of her mouth to no avail. The creature had already dug itself in too deep for her to even reach. Now she struggled to breathe as the fattened eel forced its way down her throat. After a moment, Bethyinine regained her composure and hastily swam to the surface. She could feel the eel wriggling around inside her and that made her sick. Once Bethyinine breached the water¡¯s surface she scrambled onto dry land. Upon feeling the sand beneath her scales, she immediately drifted off to sleep.
That following morning, she woke to rain caressing her scales. Bethyinine smiled for all but a moment as she felt the eel once again. It sickened her, the very idea that a creature was so willing to do such a thing. She dared not to look down at herself out of fear of what the eel might have been doing inside her. Bethyinine struggled to think about how such a creature was even still alive at all. Normally they would be long dead by now, and yet this eel was somehow still alive, unlike her guest. Bethyinine hastily rushed over and unburied the corpse from the sand.
She looked into his eyes and started to weep. Then she knelt next to his ear and a thought overtook her mind. Bethyinine started to sing her lullaby, slowly increasing the tempo as time went on. Hours passed by before she finally stopped singing. Bethyinine stopped to catch her breath and looked up at the corpse before her. She smiled upon noticing that the skin had returned to its normal complexion. Then Bethyinine felt a hand touch her cheek and she looked up at the corpse.
¡°I missed you.¡± Bethyinine whispered.
¡±Did you now?¡± the bartender chuckled.
Bethyinine nodded and pounced on the bartender as the sun set on the horizon. She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.
At last, she was at peace, she was no longer alone¡
XXII: The Way Home
The Abyss, August 14th, 1888
Silas walked amongst the ruins of the citadel, he sighed and pulled out his pocket watch. The time read 12:30, yet he could not make heads or tails of whether it was AM or PM. He turned his eyes upwards in hopes of obtaining some sort of answer, yet the eclipse was gone. Silas groaned and quickly stuffed the watch in his pocket as something caused a nearby pile of rubble to shift.
¡±Is anyone there!¡± Silas yelled.
¡±Easy James, no need to scream like that.¡± Lythros chuckled, poking her head out from behind a rock.
¡±What exactly are you doing here?¡± Silas asked.
¡±My, aren¡¯t we ignorant today? I¡¯m only here out of curiosity, that¡¯s all.¡± Lythros chided.
¡±Well, curiosity did kill the cat, I¡¯ll have you know.¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±Which cat, Schr?dinger¡¯s? And another question, why exactly are you here?¡± Lythros sneered.
¡±I¡¯m grave-tending, someone has to keep watch here. ¡± Silas retorted.
¡°Keep watch over what, exactly?¡± Lythros inquired, tilting her head.
¡±You do remember that I killed someone here a while back, right?¡± Silas responded.
¡±Ah, so you¡¯re picking at old wounds? Just lovely.¡± Lythros hissed.
¡±Well I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s dead or not!¡± Silas yelled.
¡±If he¡¯s dead, then you did your job. And if he¡¯s still alive then you just simply have to put him down again, right?¡± Lythros chuckled.
¡±Well, it¡¯s not that simple if I¡¯m being honest. It would honestly be better if I told you the whole thing.¡± Silas declared.
Lythros nodded and curled up next to Silas who just decided to pat her on the head. She smiled as he took a few breaths, some deep, others shallow.
¡±The first bastard that I murdered was a politician.¡± He began.
¡±Well that must have been fun.¡± Lythros chuckled.
¡±It was more fun than complicated actually. Wait a minute, I have an idea.¡± Silas stated.
¡±And that is?¡± Lythros inquired.
¡±You could physically enter people¡¯s minds, right?¡± Silas asked.
¡±Of course I can, but why would I?¡± Lythros retorted.
¡±I would like to take a trip down memory lane. Add a little visual flair to this proverbial presentation if you will.¡± Silas declared.
Lythros smiled and locked eyes with Silas who felt something pierce his skull. He chuckled as Lythros worked her way inside his head. Even as the pain escalated at an exponential rate, Silas managed to keep his composure.
¡±Wait a minute!¡± Silas yelled.
¡±What, what is it?¡± Lythros sputtered.
¡±Memory, you beasts can be brought back with memory. Why would I have suggested such a thing in the first place? Unless- unless he wanted out, that¡¯s the only logical explanation for this.¡± Silas whispered.
¡±So, you trapped someone inside your head? If that isn¡¯t the weirdest thing you¡¯ve done, then I don¡¯t know what is.¡± Lythros sneered.
¡°Better to visit wherever they laid him than to relive the pain.¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±Tell me, where exactly was your first kill buried?¡± Lythros smiled.
¡±Paris, in the catacombs deep below the Eiffel Tower.¡± Silas declared.
¡±Well then, let¡¯s get going, we don¡¯t want to be late now, right?¡± Lythros chided.
Silas nodded and opened a portal as Lythros climbed onto his shoulder. He stepped through and disturbed the dust which clung so tightly to the floor. Taking a torch off of a nearby wall, Silas started to walk down the hallway before him. Hundreds of corpses lay packed into the walls on either side of him. Tally marks were etched into the walls beneath the corpses denoting the year in which they were buried. The men who laid here were from Napoleon¡¯s reign, and yet there were so little of them. Only three hundred at most filled this section, no more, no less than that.
¡°I take it that the person we¡¯re looking for is deeper down?¡± Lythros muttered.
¡±That¡¯s usually how the dead are buried, young on top, while the old are farther down.¡± Silas insisted.
The pair walked down a flight of stairs as the light of the torch started to dim. Silas sighed and continued to trek ever downwards into the darkness. He stopped a few steps short of the bottom upon noticing a serpentine pattern carved into the wall. Walking ahead and into the corridor, the pattern devolved into a spiral which slithered its way from the ceiling all the way to the floor and back again. By now the torch had gone out, forcing the pair to navigate with only their limited sense of vision.
¡±This is some hallway.¡± Lythros exclaimed.
¡±Well, I would say that this really is more artistic than practical.¡± Silas groaned as he stepped over a hole created by the pattern making its way along the floor.
¡±How close do you think we are to his resting place?¡± Lythros inquired.
¡±Close, seeing as the French probably wouldn¡¯t make anything like this.¡± Silas chuckled.
The pattern continued for a few miles before finally stopping at a door. A door which bore the heads of two serpents gazing at the lock in its center. Silas smiled, slotted his sword into the keyhole, and turned it. Yet even after a few minutes nothing happened, Silas groaned as the door failed to unlock. He proceeded to pull out his revolver and simply blasted the door to pieces.
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¡±Dude, why would you do such a thing!?¡± Lythros hissed.
¡±Like you said, we don¡¯t want to be late.¡± Silas chided.
The way forward was obscured by a blinding white light that covered the room. The pair cautiously entered the room in front of them, expecting the worse, as Silas still had his pistol drawn. The room into which they had just entered was pitch white. A severely decayed corpse hung in the room¡¯s center, suspended by chains on the room¡¯s four corners.
¡±This, is who I killed, or at least what¡¯s left of him.¡± Silas declared.
¡±If that¡¯s his body, then where¡¯s his soul?¡± Lythros asked.
¡±What do you mean?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±Well, judging by his frame, this man was a Weaver. He was one of our kind, so killing the body would do nothing. Tell me then, where is his soul?¡± Lythros declared.
¡±I¡ I hadn¡¯t planned for this! We¡¯re all screwed now thanks to my lack of foresight!¡± Silas shrieked.
¡±Wait, how long has he been dead for?¡± Lythros inquired.
¡±Hundred thousand years at least. Which means we¡¯re not as screwed as I thought we were.¡± Silas sighed.
¡±That¡¯s a relief then. Now what exactly did we come here for?¡± Lythros inquired.
¡±Just to check on the bastard, make sure that none of the safety measures broke.¡± Silas answered.
At that moment, the chains shook as the light began to fade. One by one, the chains slowly broke apart, piece by piece. Silas gazed up at the corpse in abject horror as fear gripped his body.
¡±What¡¯s happening!¡± Lythros yelled.
¡±We¡¯ve been tricked! He wanted to us here. Wanted me here, he wants to us me!¡± Silas shrieked as the corpse drifted to the floor.
Tendons and flesh began to sprout from the corpse. First a pair of arms and legs followed by a head. Next came a scarlet officer¡¯s uniform which wove itself out of the corpse¡¯s flesh. The now revitalized corpse looked at Silas with its blank eyes and smiled. Silas fixed his gaze on the corpse, smiled, and drew his sword.
¡±You really think you can stop him again!¡± Lythros yelled.
¡±I¡¯ve done it before, and I¡¯ll do it again.¡± Silas declared.
¡±Oh really? Is that how confident you really are, boy?¡± The corpse asked.
¡±Shut it old man. I don¡¯t want to hear another word out of you after this.¡± Silas sneered.
The corpse chuckled, rushed towards Silas, and ripped the sword out of his hand.
¡±First rule of engagement: there are no rules of engagement.¡± The corpse declared.
¡±Wait¡ what?¡± Silas asked before being kicked in the chest.
The corpse smiled and placed the sword against Silas¡¯s throat. Lythros watched from a distance as the fight progressed. She wasn¡¯t sure what to do, or whether she could even help or not. After all, Silas had killed this guy before, so what made this time any different?
¡°Go ahead, kill me. Do it! I dare you! Go on and kill me!¡± Silas yelled.
¡±My dear Silas, why should I kill you? What harm have you ever done to me?¡± The corpse sneered and pushed the blade into James¡¯s neck.
Silas winced in pain before uttering a small chuckle. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the irony of the situation. Being killed by his own sword wasn¡¯t something that he expected to happen, not here at least. He watched as blood flowed down from his neck, staining his jacket a deep crimson.
¡±Why won¡¯t you say my name Silas? Are you afraid of what I am? Afraid that your demons will come back to haunt you? Why if that¡¯s the case, you¡¯re too late, for your demons are already here. So please, do us all a favor, if you must. Say. My. Name!¡± The corpse roared.
¡°Fine Nurull, have it your way. But what good is a name ever going to do for someone like you anyways?¡± Silas chided.
¡±Names, if you have forgotten, have power. If someone remembers your name, you are not forgotten. Memory is a powerful weapon, as is a name. So long as one clever bastard remembers your name, you can cheat death.¡± Nurull smiled.
¡±Well, I guess I¡¯ve fallen for your trap then? Coming here was your idea I take it?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±Why aren¡¯t we a clever bastard? If only you figured it out sooner though¡¡± Nurull sneered.
¡±When I¡¯m dead, what are you going to do with her?¡± Silas inquired, pointing over to Lythros.
¡±Oh, I¡¯ll let her live, she hasn¡¯t caused me any trouble. You, on the other hand, have caused me a great deal of suffering.¡± Nurull declared as he twisted the blade deeper into Silas¡¯s neck.
¡±Fair enough. Now what are you going to do with my corpse then?¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±Bury you. Look James, I may be a monster, but I¡¯m a civilized monster.¡± Nurull smiled.
¡°At least you admit to that, unlike my sister.¡± Silas sneered.
¡±That reminds me, how is Bethyinine?¡± Nurull asked.
¡±She¡¯s been doing pretty well, though you would be doing a disservice to her by killing me.¡± Silas declared.
¡±You¡¯re her ¡°caretaker¡± I take it?¡± Nurull inquired.
¡±Well someone had to keep an eye on her.¡± Silas chuckled.
¡°Fair. Enough.¡± Nurull responded.
As he tore open Silas¡¯s neck, Nurull could see the light in his eyes begin to fade. Eventually that light was all but gone as Silas¡¯s whole attire was stained in his own blood. Nurull smiled and hoisted the corpse of his opponent onto his shoulder. He beckoned for Lythros to follow him, and she begrudgingly did so. The two exited the chamber and stepped through a nearby gateway which led back to the Abyss.
Out into the broken courtyard of the citadel they arrived. Nurull gazed up at the tower behind him before beginning the journey north. He looked up at the sky only for a grim horror to pierce his mind. For the eclipse that he had gazed upon his whole life was gone. Now the sky was just an empty pitch black with nothing of warmth to fill it. So Nurull slowly started to weep, for the world which he had once known was now gone.
¡±How long have I been gone?¡± He asked.
¡±Tens of thousands of years at best.¡± Lythros shrugged.
¡°So much has changed since then. I feel¡¡± Nurull muttered.
¡±Like an alien in your own country?¡± Lythros interrupted.
¡±Yes.¡± Nurull sighed.
¡±Well that makes two of us.¡± Lythros chuckled.
Nurull gave a halfhearted smile as a massive wall of ivory came into view. He could see someone standing watch in the ramparts. Though he could not tell if they were armed or not, and it would be better for him to assume that they were. As they neared the wall, the man on the rampart lit a brazier before returning to his post. He squinted at the two travelers in front of him.
¡±Would you kindly stop moving!¡± He yelled.
¡±Why? For what reason should we stop!¡± Nurull hissed.
¡±Inspection, now quit your tone or I¡¯ll have your head mounted to my wall in an hour!¡± The guard barked.
Nurull groaned and simply rolled his eyes in response. The guard jumped down from the ramparts and quickly walked over to them. He took one look at Nurull before turning his attention to the corpse which he was carrying.
¡±Why is this in your possession?¡± The guard hissed.
¡±Wanted to give him his burial rites.¡± Nurull muttered.
¡°And I take it he died of natural causes?¡± The guard frowned as he inspected Silas¡¯s bloodstained body.
¡±Internal hemorrhage. Popped all off his arteries.¡± Nurull whispered.
¡±Really? Well how¡¯d that happen?¡± The guard inquired.
¡°Poor bastard fell off a cliff in a cave. A bed of stalagmites killed him.¡± Nurull sighed.
¡±Must have been one hell of a fall then.¡± The guard chuckled.
¡±So¡ is the ¡°inspection¡± over?¡± Nurull sneered.
¡±Yes. It¡¯s over. Sorry, just had to adhere to protocols.¡± The guard answered.
¡±What about the cat?¡± Nurull asked.
¡±What about it? Why should I bother to inspect it?¡± The guard hissed.
¡±Never mind¡¡± Nurull sighed.
The guard smiled and gestured towards one of his comrades who was standing on the wall. At once, the pearl and gold covered gates were opened. Slowly the pair walked through them, leaving the guard all alone outside the city walls. Nurull smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, now he was home again.
¡±Well, what should we do now?¡± Nurull asked.
¡±Find some place to stay and go from there I guess.¡± Lythros chuckled.
¡±For someone who just watched your friend get murdered, you seem to be pretty fine with it.¡± Nurull stated.
¡±Eh, Silas dies all the time, this is nothing new for any of us.¡± Lythros responded.
¡°Once we do stop to rest, mind telling me what happened while I was gone?¡± Nurull inquired.
¡±Sure, but I might need a bit of help considering I¡¯m no historian.¡± Lythros answered.
The two of them entered the market district as a sliver of light shone just above the horizon. Perhaps it was a new dawn, or an omen of something yet to come.
XXIII: Unto Darkness
Wisconsin, North America, August 15th 1888
The early morning sun shone through the window. The small rays of light that came through were just barely able to illuminate Josephine¡¯s bedroom. She was perfectly asleep until the light entered her eyes. At which point she growled, stretched, and got out of bed. Josephine hastily opened up the blinds and rushed downstairs. She made her way over to the kitchen, and took out a carton of eggs out of the fridge. Josephine proceeded to turn the stove on, crack the eggs, and put them in the frying pan. After cooking the eggs for a little bit, she sat down to finally have her breakfast.
Yet this tranquility would only last for a few moments as someone knocked on her door. Josephine rolled her eyes and hissed before getting up and running over to answer the door.
¡±Who could possibly be visiting me at this hour?¡± She groaned.
Josephine begrudgingly unlocked the door and waited for her visitor to open it. She watched in annoyance as the handle turned and the door swung inwards. Her anger was quickly replaced by joy as she locked eyes with her visitor. Bethyinine merely glanced at her niece as she made her way over to the couch. Josephine noticed some white feathers stuck to her aunt¡¯s back. She could also notice some grains of sand lodged in her scales as well. Josephine watched in anticipation as her aunt sat down, pressing all of her weight into the couch. She slowly walked over to Bethyinine and sat down next to her.
¡±It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve last seen you. How have you been?¡± Josephine asked.
¡±I¡¯ve made a couple of friends lately. Other than that I¡¯ve been doing great, mostly¡ ¡± Bethyinine responded.
¡°Mostly?¡± Josephine stammered.
¡±Had a bit of a bad experience with two of my eels.¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡±How so?¡± Josephine inquired.
¡°Well, one of them got a bit too curious for its own good. The other one stole my prey, and then forced itself down my throat.¡± Bethyinine answered.
¡±Okay, that really does sound like a bad experience.¡± Josephine stated.
¡±That isn¡¯t even the worst part, not at all. Franky the worst part of it all is the fact that I can feel them squirming around inside me.¡± Bethyinine shuddered.
¡±Well, how exactly would you like me to help you?¡± Josephine asked.
¡±That¡¯s what I was going to ask you actually.¡± Bethyinine stated.
¡±Really, is that so?¡± Josephine chuckled.
¡°Mhm, I really have no idea on how to fix this issue.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±I¡¯m not sure whether to laugh at that, or to be a bit disappointed in you. No offense of course though.¡± Josephine smiled.
¡±Well, why not do both? After all, I could have figured out a solution by now. And besides, I for one will admit that this situation is a bit amusing.¡± Bethyinine mused.
¡°Fair, though if you¡¯d want me to actually help I¡¯d need a minute or two to think first.¡± Josephine declared.
Bethyinine nodded and watched as her niece went upstairs. She heard the door being gently closed as the birds were just starting to sing. Despite the genuine calmness of the situation, Bethyinine could feel something gnawing at her mind. Someone frantically and violently knocking, knocking on her skull, almost begging her to let them in. Then the pain started to set in. First it would start with a slow boil, rising ever so gently until the pressure was just right. Minutes passed by as the clock on the kitchen wall incessantly ticked away with maddening rhythm.
Then the pain stopped and she heard the door open as her niece rushed downstairs. Josephine sat back down on the couch and glanced at her aunt.
¡±Are you alright?¡± Josephine asked.
¡±Yeah, I¡¯m fine, why¡¯d you ask?¡± Bethyinine muttered.
¡±Well, your eyes, they¡¯re pale white for Pete¡¯s sake!¡± Josephine hissed.
¡±I¡ I had no idea.¡± Bethyinine groaned as she bit her tongue.
¡±You really aren¡¯t yourself now, that¡¯s for certain.¡± Josephine sighed.
Bethyinine gazed into her nieces deep violet eyes for a while. Her mind began to wander for a moment as the pain returned in force. She could feel it, the knocking, only this time it was much more incessant, impatient even. She watched in horror as her claws reached out towards Josephine. Only to be utterly relieved when her niece backed away. By now the pain was so much that she couldn¡¯t hear anything. Her vision began to darken as she lost control over herself.
¡°This, this isn¡¯t normal, I¡¯d still be able to see if I really was losing control over myself. No, something¡¯s amiss here, there¡¯s someone else at play. Someone just barely out of reach, yet this intrusions, my senses tell me that I am familiar with it.¡± Bethyinine thought to herself.
Josephine stepped back from the couch as her aunt reached out towards her. Her eyes were now a rather luminous purple. Josephine could sense that her aunt was gone, that something had taken hold of her. She watched as Bethyinine prowled around the living room, almost as if she was getting her bearings. Finally, she lunged towards Josephine, her claws outstretched so as to tear through her scales.
Josephine frantically dodged out of the way as her aunt tumbled to the floor. Bethyinine growled and struggled to regain her balance as Josephine ran towards the door. Yet when she reached it, the door was locked shut, yet it was just open half an hour ago. She groaned as Bethyinine drew closer, her claws scraping agains the hardwood floor. Josephine turned around to face her aunt whose claws were brushing up against her chin. She chuckled and stared into Bethyinine¡¯s eyes before quickly punching her in the face. Turning her attention back to the door, Josephine tried in vain to force it open.
Eventually she resorted to using her own claws as makeshift lock-picks. Josephine grunted as her claws repeatedly broke off from her attempts to open the door. She couldn¡¯t hear her aunt anymore yet her guard remained up nonetheless. Even after all of her claws had been filed down to dust, she still hadn¡¯t gotten the door open. Josephine pondered the idea of just smashing the door open when Bethyinine lunged towards her. In the heat of the moment she had no time to react and was knocked backwards. The force of the lunge was more than enough to blow the door open, throwing Josephine outside in the process. She quickly got to her feet and locked the door behind her, trapping Bethyinine inside, at least for the time being. Provided she wasn¡¯t smart enough to try and open the door herself that was.
Josephine breathed a sigh of relief as she opened up a portal and stepped through it. She had to warn someone, anyone, about this situation. The first person on her mind for a situation like this, Silas.
The Abyss
¡°Perhaps we should stop somewhere?¡± Lythros chuckled.
¡±Not now, I still have a body to bury.¡± Nurull stated.
¡±Wow, aren¡¯t we a stickler for tradition.¡± Lythros sneered.
¡±It¡¯s called being respectful. I take it a creature like yourself would hardly know what respect is?¡± Nurull hissed.
¡°Hey, I was just making a joke, alright?¡± Lythros groaned.
The pair walked towards the entrance of marble cathedral at the center of the city. Nurull smiled as he knocked on the door only to be greeted moments later by a spider-like creature adorned in gray robes. He lifted Silas¡¯s corpse off of his back and handed it to the priest.
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¡±See to it that this man is buried honorably. I¡¯ll pay for the burial arrangements if need be.¡± Nurull declared.
The beast looked at the corpse and nodded before closing the door of the cathedral with a deafening boom. Nurull glanced at Lythros and smiled before the two of them made their way down a rather crowed pathway. They walked past dingy market stalls and lavish ebony inns. All of them having a different level of care put into their design. Eventually several people rushed past them, some were screaming, while others muttered to themselves.
¡±What exactly is going on here?¡± Lythros inquired.
¡°So asks the creature that feeds on chaos.¡± Nurull chuckled.
¡±Now¡¯s not the time for jokes, you bastard!¡± Lythros hissed.
Nurull nodded and grabbed one of the fleeing pedestrians by the shirt collar.
¡±My good sir, why exactly are you running?¡± Nurull asked.
The man looked at him, a faint hint of purple shining in his eyes. Nurull locked eyes with the man for all but a moment as searing pain shot through his skull. Quickly he let go of the pedestrian and turned his gaze back to Lythros.
¡±Something. Something tried to take control of me. Just like it had taken control of him. That man, his eyes, there was something in them. Something different, something foreign, something hostile.¡± Nurull wheezed.
¡±Well, then I suggest we get out of here as quickly as possible.¡± Lythros declared.
The pair rushed past several the fleeing pedestrians, making sure not to make eye contact with any of them. Though in their haste to flee the city, Nurull ended up knocking into one of the pedestrians.
¡±So sorry about-.¡± Nurull stuttered as he locked eyes with the woman.
¡±No need. Oh, hello again Lythros.¡± Josephine smiled.
¡±Josephine! Wait, since when did you leave the house?¡± Lythros inquired.
¡°Since today, Bethyinine¡¯s gone completely mad.¡± Josephine answered.
¡°Isn¡¯t that normal for her though?¡± Nurull asked.
¡±Yes, but this time was different, something¡¯s off. It¡¯s like-.¡± Josephine declared.
¡±Like something¡¯s taken hold of her, same thing¡¯s happen to all these bastards as well.¡± Lythros finished, gesturing to the fleeing mass of people behind her.
¡°Anyways, how about we get out of here!¡± Nurull yelled.
¡±Just one minute, I need to find Silas.¡± Josephine declared.
¡±Silas! He¡¯s dead, this bastard killed him.¡± Lythros chuckled and glanced at Nurull.
¡±Well it¡¯s not my fault he didn¡¯t bother to attack me while I was monologuing.¡± Nurull hissed.
¡±We could just wait for him to come back, right? He always comes back from death.¡± Josephine asked.
¡°Given what¡¯s going on right now, I¡¯d say that¡¯s not likely.¡± Lythros stated.
Nurull got to his feet and started running towards the gate as Lythros and Josephine followed behind him. The trio watched in horror as a patrolling tower started to close the gate. Nurull groaned, summoned an arrow, and sent it flying towards the crankshaft. At once the crank stopped turning and the gate refused to close any further. The trio quickly dashed through the gate just as the guard had dislodged the arrow from the crankshaft.
Nurull sighed and looked back at the outer wall of the city. He could just barely see the glowing purple eyes of all of the guards stationed there. Their gazes fixed on him as a sharp pain entered his mind, forcing Nurull to shut his eyes. Yet just as quickly as the pain had come it had disappeared. Nurull opened his eyes once again and saw Lythros staring back at him.
¡±Wait a minute? What just happened?¡± Nurull asked.
¡°They were trying to take over your mind. You¡¯re very much lucky I stepped in.¡± Lythros sneered.
¡±So, let me get this straight, they can¡¯t touch you?¡± Nurull inquired.
¡±Well, she is a creature born of chaos.¡± Josephine chimed.
¡±And her unpredictability prevents anyone from taking control of her.¡± Nurull stated.
¡±I think you meant to say ¡°thank you¡±.¡± Lythros growled.
¡±Sorry, but thanks for saving my life, cat.¡± Nurull chuckled.
Lythros sighed as Nurull turned his attention towards the sky. She could see a faint purple glow in his eyes and panicked for a moment. Though her curiosity quickly overpowered her concern as she too turned her gaze towards the sky. Josephine glanced at the two of them and simply sat down to rest for a while. Meanwhile, her companions were gazing in abject horror at the sky. For a crack had started to form a few hours earlier, a crack that had now grown exponentially in size. Now the crack had opened, revealing the horror of what lurked on the other side, a massive purple eye which stared back at them.
¡±I think we found the source of this madness.¡± Nurull chuckled.
¡±Yes, but what in Nadahr¡¯s name is that!¡± Lythros hissed.
¡±I don¡¯t know, I just don¡¯t know.¡± Nurull gasped.
Lythros continued to fix her gaze upon the eye, and as she did, she could feel something burrowing into her mind. She screamed as the pain became too much for her to bear and recoiled in agony. Nurull quickly picked her up and put her on his shoulder before tapping Josephine on the shoulder.
¡±We have to run, now!¡± Nurull yelled.
Josephine glanced at him and then at the eye behind him. She nodded, got up, and the pair began their mad dash towards the spire. The eye watched as its prey started to flee and turned its attention towards the nearby cathedral. Inside of the cathedral¡¯s basement, Silas¡¯s corpse was being laid in the morgue. Surrounded by the dead of ages past, whose souls had disappeared and whose names were long forgotten.
Silas couldn¡¯t really sense anything as his body was shoved into one of walls of the morgue. Yet he could vaguely feel the wind rushing past him. Yes, he was falling again, falling downwards into the ever darker abyss. He groaned and loaded his revolver as the world around him became an unrecognizable blend of smeared colors. He understood what was going on and simply wished that it would be over soon.
¡±I swear, if I have to talk to that beast again, I will not hesitate to kill her on the spot.¡± Silas hissed.
Eventually his vision turned a deep crimson as his feet touched the surface of the lake. He chuckled upon noticing the beast¡¯s massive eye staring down at him.
¡±Oh, back again so soon [O adversary mine]?¡± The ouroboros asked.
¡±Oh don¡¯t bother me with your philosophical waxing again. I¡¯ve just about had it with you at this point.¡± Silas growled.
¡±Easy [darling], I was just asking you a question.¡± The ouroboros declared.
¡±Well, that might be true in your white world. But to me, that was just you asking to get hurt. How would you like a little change of scenery perhaps?¡± Silas questioned.
¡±How so?¡± The ouroboros inquired.
¡°I don¡¯t know. How would you like your world to look a little¡ redder!¡± Silas yelled.
He smiled, pointed his revolver at the ouroboros¡¯s eye, and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced the creature¡¯s iris, popping a blood vessel in the process, causing the creature¡¯s vision to become a dark red. Silas watched as the ouroboros writhed and screamed in pain, its eye now stained a deep red.
¡±You bastard! Why would you do such a thing! How could you even do so in the first place!¡± The ouroboros hissed.
Silas didn¡¯t answer and just started laughing. First it started as a low bellow, but then it became a maniacal chant. He reveled for a while in the pain which he had just caused. Then Silas stopped for a moment to catch his breath.
¡±I¡¯ve seen your kind before, no, I¡¯ve killed them before.¡± Silas began.
¡±You claim to be a perfect representation of eternity, yet you can still die, why is that? You¡¯re cowards, lying cowards, all of you! Hiding behind your supposed enigmatic nature, thinking that we wouldn¡¯t dare approach you. No, you poor bastards thought wrong. You should not have underestimated our curiosity, not one bit. So that¡¯s why I blinded you, for the immense arrogance which you hold. Are you happy now that you have your answer?¡± Silas sneered.
¡±Look who¡¯s waxing philosophical now.¡± The ouroboros chided.
¡±Yes, very funny, now would you tell me just what you are capable of?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±Let¡¯s start with names first, that¡¯s much easier in my opinion.¡± The ouroboros deflected.
¡±Fine, I¡¯ll play your game, only if you start first though.¡± Silas conceded.
¡±Shenya, and yours?¡± The ouroboros smiled.
¡±Mori, Silas Mori, I¡¯m the bastard who murdered your relatives.¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±Yes, you¡¯ve already told me that Mr. Mori.¡± Shenya growled.
¡±That I have, now would you kindly answer my previous question?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±Fine, I¡¯ll tell you what I am capable of.¡± Shenya groaned before taking a deep breath.
¡±The only means of which I can commune or interact with lesser creatures is through their minds. Telepathy wouldn¡¯t work because I¡¯m far too powerful for them. So I just take control of their minds, even if they don¡¯t want me to. How exactly do I gain control of someone you ask? Well, the eyes are the window to the soul after all. That or I imprint my will on lesser creatures in order to reach my target.¡± Shenya declared.
¡±So, you enslave those below you just because you think you have the right to do so?¡± Silas asked.
¡±No, it¡¯s just, they need a little bit of guidance.¡± Shenya answered.
¡±It¡¯s still enslavement considering they aren¡¯t willing. Thus making you a tyrant, albeit a rather cowardly one.¡± Silas chuckled.
¡°And yet I see you as my equal.¡± Shenya stated.
¡±You¡¯re equal? Why would you see me as your equal?¡± Silas questioned.
¡±You¡¯re the only one who¡¯s actually shown some sort of interest in me.¡± Shenya replied.
¡±Yet that interest has been rather malicious.¡± Silas chuckled.
¡±Fair point Mr. Mori. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll be sending you back to the land of the living. Word of warning though, it might not be the same as when you left.¡± Shenya smiled.
Silas titled his head in confusion as his vision started to blur. His steps were frantic and his mind was heavy. He couldn¡¯t feel anything as darkness filled his vision for a moment. Next thing Silas knew he was somewhere dark and cold. He sighed and, after a little bit of time, forced his way out of his confined cell. Silas hastily glanced around at the walls of the morgue as he made his way upstairs. Now was not the time for sightseeing, he had bigger things in his mind. Once he was back inside of the cathedral, Silas dashed outside and onto the streets.
However, he stopped after a little bit of walking. His gaze fixed on the lone figure standing in the middle of the street. He could just barely see its deep blue scales shining in the moonlight.
¡±Beth?¡± Silas cried out.
His confusion turned to horror as his sister turned around and began to rush towards him. Fear gripped Silas¡¯s body as he reached for his revolver, his gaze fixed on his sister.
XXIV: Mori
Silas¡¯s hands shook as he pulled the revolver from his pocket. He smiled and quickly sidestepped his sister as she lunged towards him. She growled and hissed at him as her claws scraped along the ground. Silas merely chuckled and raised the revolver to his forehead. He smiled and closing his eyes, gently squeezed the trigger, yet the gun didn¡¯t fire.
Silas opened his eyes to find that the revolver had been taken from him. His sister stared back at him, playfully twirling the gun in her claws. Silas locked eyes with her, sighed, and simply shook his head.
¡±Can you please give that back to me?¡± He groaned.
¡°Can¡¯t.¡± Bethyinine whispered.
¡±What do you mean you can¡¯t give it back to me?¡± Silas hissed.
¡±Can¡¯t.¡± Bethyinine repeated.
¡±Is it because you¡¯re afraid? Afraid to lose me again? Or is that just her speaking through you?¡± Silas growled.
¡±No.¡± Bethyinine stuttered.
¡±No? As in, no you¡¯re not afraid? Or no, she¡¯s not controlling you?¡± Silas groaned.
¡±No.¡± His sister repeated.
¡±Answer me Beth! Answer me!¡± Silas yelled.
Silas locked eyes with his sister, he could see her staring back at him. Her gaze was almost hollow, there was no light whatsoever in her irises. Just a vast sea of deep purples as far as the eye could see. Well, that wasn¡¯t entirely true, for within the sea of purple was a small flicker of orange light.
¡±Keep fighting. I know you¡¯re still in there.¡± Silas whispered.
¡°James.¡± Bethyinine sighed.
¡±Yes, what is it?¡± Silas inquired.
¡±James.¡± Bethyinine repeated, her voice hoarse.
Silas gazed once more into his sister¡¯s eyes. The faint orange light buried within them only grew brighter as their conversation continued. Silas smiled and reached out to touch his sister. She merely stared at him as his right hand touched her left shoulder. Silas then took a glove out of his pocket, put it on his left hand, which he then placed on Bethyinine¡¯s right shoulder.
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He slowly inched his way towards her, his gaze still fixed upon her eyes. Silas smiled as he wrapped his hands around his sister. He could just barely see a faint smile from on her lips as he embraced her. Silas smiled and tried to grasp the revolver from between her claws. Yet his sister¡¯s claws were far too long, and his arms were too short for the task. Silas sighed and quickly let go of his sister, his gaze turning skyward.
Bethyinine glanced over at her brother as tears slowly formed in her eyes. She twirled the revolver between her claws for another moment before throwing it over to Silas. The gun landed on the floor in front of him, for he made no attempt to catch it. Bethyinine sighed, sat down, and began to observe her brother.
¡±What¡ are¡ you¡ doing¡?¡± She asked, her voice strained.
¡±You¡¯re still in there?¡± Silas responded, his gaze still fixed on the sky.
¡±Yes¡¡± Bethyinine answered.
Silas glanced at her, smiled, and picked up the revolver.
¡±If that¡¯s the case, I take it that you wouldn¡¯t mind me doing this?¡± Silas inquired as he pressed the revolver to his forehead.
Bethyinine quickly lunged at her brother as the cold barrel of the revolver touched his forehead. Silas smiled as a sound of piercing thunder echoed around them. Bethyinine¡¯s eyes widened as she knocked her brother to the floor. Her gaze turned to his forehead, where a massive hole now was. She reached out to touch his body and it was cold, ice cold.
Tears began to flow down her cheeks as Bethyinine turned her gaze towards the sky. She wanted to scream, yet no wretched sound escaped from her throat. Her eyes glistened with rage as she locked her gaze with the blind and bloodstained eye. She could feel it staring back at her, yet it didn¡¯t pierce her mind, not anymore. Bethyinine smiled and looked at her brother¡¯s body as it faded to ashes. She watched as the ashes were then scattered to the winds, leaving her all alone.
¡±What made you do it this time? What were you so afraid of?¡± She asked.
¡±Was it her, that damn eye, she¡¯s blind now isn¡¯t she?¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
Something inside of her wouldn¡¯t accept this loss. Just as it had denied his death before. Some part of her still hoped that he¡¯d come back from this.
¡±You¡¯re going to come back right? You always do. Please Silas, we need you, I need you!¡± Bethyinine cried.
Yet Silas didn¡¯t answer her, and deep down she knew that he never would. Bethyinine sighed and picked up the revolver. She quickly pulled the trigger and was met with a gentle clicking sound. The revolver was empty, it only had one round in it.
¡±You knew. You damn bastard, you knew! You wanted to go out like this didn¡¯t you! You wanted me to kill you!¡± Bethyinine yelled.
She got up and made her way towards the spire, her head bowed. Now she had to tell them, break the news that Silas was well and truly dead. How on earth she could do something like that was beyond her. Yet she¡¯d manage this, wouldn¡¯t she?
XXV: Hereafter
The Abyss, August 23rd 1888
¡°One day, we¡¯ll all be dead, that¡¯s just how life is. Well, all of us except for you, you¡¯ll still be here. Too full of hate to face death. Too full of loss to do anything about what you¡¯ve become. Alone, you¡¯ll sit upon your throne, wondering just how things could have been a bit different. You¡¯re the Apex, it¡¯s in your nature to survive. To outlive all those around you until you¡¯re the last thing standing. Long after everything else has faded to dust. That¡¯s what it¡¯s been like, what it¡¯ll always be like, for now and long after the rest of us have passed on.¡± ~ Silas Mori.
Those were the last words that James wrote in his own eulogy. Or at least those were the last ones that she could find, seeing as the contents kept shifting with no rhyme or reason. Bethyinine groaned and exited the cathedral, the revolver gripped tightly in her hands. She made her way towards the spire, hoping to find someone, anyone. Desperate to pour out her grief to them so that she could free herself from this burden.
Yet even as she walked towards the structure, she could see that the brazier wasn¡¯t lit. Ice cold fear shot through her chest before quickly spreading throughout the rest of her body. She couldn¡¯t move, her legs were seemingly rooted to the ground. Beth gave a nervous chuckle as the fear took hold of her.
¡±Just what have I done?¡± She whispered.
¡°[Nothing.]¡± A voice responded.
¡±Who said that?¡± She asked.
¡±[You/I/We did.]¡± The voice answered.
¡±Great, now I¡¯m going insane.¡± Bethyinine growled.
¡±[No, you¡¯re perfectly sane.]¡± The voice cooed.
¡±So says the voice in my head.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±[Touch¨¦.]¡± The voice responded.
Bethyinine simply smiled as she entered the spire and began to climb its spiral steps. Only, this time the steps were well beyond any attempts to repair them. The oak wood banister was completely rotten and was falling apart n some places. Nonetheless, Bethyinine made her way into the foyer, or at least what¡¯s left of it anyways. The fireplace was gone, its ashes spread all about the room.
Bethyinine glanced around the room for any signs of life, only to find none. Yet where her eyes had failed her, her ears hadn¡¯t, as a faint whimper could be heard in a nearby corner. Bethyinine¡¯s ears perked up as she prowled over to the source of the disturbance.
Once the sound had gotten loud enough, she leapt towards its source. Only to be met with a faint scream as she pressed her weight onto the frail corpse of Aliyas.
¡±Mercy! Mercy!¡± He wheezed.
¡±[Mercy?]¡± The voice in Bethyinine¡¯s head asked.
¡±Yes. Mercy.¡± Aliyas sputtered.
¡±You¡ you can hear it?¡± Bethyinine whispered.
Aliyas¡¯s bright orange eyes stared back at her and blinked twice so as to answer her question with what seemed to be a ¡°yes¡±. Bethyinine simply groaned and pressed more of her weight onto his frame. The poor man wheezed as he struggled to breathe in his current condition.
¡±What exactly has happened here?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±You, you happened, that¡¯s what.¡± Aliyas chuckled.
¡±That doesn¡¯t answer my question!¡± Bethyinine snarled.
¡°I just did, what else do you want? A detailed account of how you brought my home to ruins!¡± Aliyas yelled.
Bethyinine growled, got up, and began to make her way downstairs. Yet before she had even started to descend the first step, Aliyas rushed over to her.
¡±Your husband¡ he¡¯s been looking for you.¡± He stated.
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Bethyinine simply glanced at Aliyas and nodded. Though she wasn¡¯t entirely sure what was going on at all. Last thing she remembered doing was making her way to the spire. Yet somewhere along the way she went back to the cathedral. And now this happened, she wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make of any of this.
¡±Just how long did I lose control for? And since when did I have a husband?¡± Bethyinine muttered to herself as she opened up a portal back to her domain.
She stepped through it only to be met with a pitch black sky, devoid of any stars. The bartender sat by the shore, silently watching the tide roll in. Bethyinine walked over to her companion and sat down next to him. The bartender picked his head up and turned to face her. He could see the look of abject horror on her face, along with a mix of confusion.
¡±What happened to you?¡± He asked with a touch of concern in his voice.
¡±I¡ I killed my brother.¡± Bethyinine stated.
¡±You¡¯re serious right? You didn¡¯t kill your brother now did you? Right?¡± The bartender replied.
¡±I couldn¡¯t save him, he died because I wasn¡¯t strong enough. I couldn¡¯t regain control over myself. And now he¡¯s dead because of my weakness.¡± Bethyinine sighed.
¡±Hey, take it easy, no need to be so hard on yourself.¡± The bartender sighed as he placed his hand on her back.
¡±It¡¯s just¡ I loved him, that¡¯s all. He was the only person that I ever knew who truly understood me. He treated me like I was¡ human, like I actually mattered.¡± Bethyinine cried.
¡°Well, he definitely sounded like a nice guy. How exactly did he die though?¡± The bartender asked.
¡°Took himself out, used this thing to do it.¡± Beth growled as she handed the revolver over to the bartender.
¡±Ouch, I¡¯m so very sorry that that happened.¡± The bartender apologized.
¡±Don¡¯t be, it wasn¡¯t your fault that he died, James could have planned this whole thing out for all I know.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡°Mind if I keep this?¡± The bartender asked.
Bethyinine didn¡¯t answer for a little while and just stared at the bartender.
¡±I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s the only thing that I can remember him with. Even with everything that just happened.¡± Bethyinine sighed.
The bartender nodded in acknowledgment and handed the revolver back to Bethyinine. She placed it on the ground beside her and began to cry.
¡±Take it easy, everything¡¯s going to be all right.¡± The bartender whispered.
¡±Thank you¡. Say I haven¡¯t asked you for your name yet.¡± Bethyinine smiled.
¡±It¡¯s Aurelius, well, Thomas Aurelius Kennedy to be precise .¡± Aurelius chuckled.
¡±Well then, now I can finally start working on a nickname for you [darling].¡± Bethyinine cooed.
¡°Yes, yes you can indeed start working on that. Perhaps I¡¯ll leave you to it then.¡± Aurelius smiled.
¡°Oh, if you want to leave, you can just walk into the sea. It¡¯ll take you back to dry land, usually wherever you last were. So, you¡¯ll be in Wales if my memory serves me correctly. And don¡¯t worry about getting back here, you¡¯ll manage it.¡± Bethyinine stated.
¡°Thanks.¡± Aurelius waved as he walked into the waves.
Bethyinine sighed and decided that it would be in her best interest to check in with Luxcious.
¡±I hope he¡¯s okay, Nadahr knows what happened to him after I left.¡± Bethyinine muttered to herself as she opened up a portal.
She stepped through it only to arrive in the foyer of Luxcious¡¯s house. Looking around she noticed that the fireplace was still burning with its emerald green flame. Bethyinine didn¡¯t bother herself to sit down and instead made her way upstairs towards Luxcious¡¯s office. She gently gripped the door handle and pulled it towards her, only for the door to remain shut.
¡±Hello? Who¡¯s there?¡± Luxcious stuttered from behind the door.
¡±Why¡¯d you lock the door?¡± Bethyinine asked.
Luxcious didn¡¯t answer for a while as Bethyinine heard the door click as it slid open. She blinked upon seeing Luxcious, his robes were a complete mess, the sleeves were torn to shreds and the rest of it wasn¡¯t faring any better. He stepped aside so as to let her enter his office which Bethyinine obliged. Once inside she saw that the walls were peeling off. The four-poster bed was completely unmade and sheets were stained. The desk, alongside the chair and nearby bookshelf, were covered in ash and dust.
¡°Normally you¡¯re so neat, when did you let yourself go?¡± Bethyinine smirked.
¡±I didn¡¯t, I just had to survive, something broke into my house last week. About a day or so after you had left to be precise.¡± Luxcious answered.
¡±What exactly broke in?¡± Bethyinine frowned as she looked down at her claws.
¡±Some creature, it looked just like you, but its voice. It¡¯s voice was something different, something that I haven¡¯t heard in quite a while. Not since we first met James if I recall correctly.¡± Luxcious stated.
Bethyinine looked up at him as tears began to fall down her cheeks.
¡±Is something the matter?¡± He asked.
¡±James¡ James is dead. And I¡ I killed him!¡± Bethyinine sobbed.
¡°How did that happen?¡± Luxcious inquired as he walked towards her.
¡±Shot himself with his own revolver after I lost control of myself. Something took over me, and it wasn¡¯t my feral urges. Some beast that called itself an ouroboros if I recall correctly.¡± Bethyinine mused.
¡±Wait a minute¡ one of those things is still alive? I thought we killed them all.¡± Luxcious exclaimed.
¡±Not all of them, apparently there¡¯s one left. Silas managed to blind it somehow before he took himself out to pasture.¡± Bethyinine cried.
¡±He went beyond death didn¡¯t he? That bastard managed to fight one of them on their own terms! Yet now he¡¯s wiped himself from history, and we¡¯re the only ones who¡¯ll remember him.¡± Luxcious mused.
¡±Well, he did use an Auynx bullet to take himself out, so there¡¯s no second chances for him.¡± Bethyinine declared.
Luxcious reached out and hugged Bethyinine as she began to wipe the tears from her eyes.
¡±Aliyas told me that my husband was looking for me.¡± Bethyinine whispered.
¡±Since when did that old fool think we were married?¡± Luxcious chuckled.
¡±Well? Would you like to?¡± Bethyinine asked.
Luxcious simply looked into her eyes and didn¡¯t respond as the rain began to fall outside.
XXVI: Before the Dawn
Wales, England, August 23rd, 1888, 9:00 am
¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like a while to think about the whole marriage thing.¡± Luxcious said.
¡±That¡¯s fine with me, seeing as I¡¯m just as unprepared for it as you probably are.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
Luxcious looked Bethyinine in the eyes and walked over to grab his suitcase. He then went and opened up the window before heading towards the door. Bethyinine looked back at him as the rain continued to pour outside.
¡±Don¡¯t leave me, please?¡± She shouted.
¡±I have to find Cassius, he¡¯s the only chance we have at stopping that beast.¡± Luxcious said.
¡±And you¡¯re doing it all by yourself. Why can¡¯t I come with you?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±Because you¡¯ve already been controlled by it before. I¡¯m sorry to say this Beth, but you¡¯re a liability. This is for your own good. I don¡¯t want to have to hurt you if you join me on this.¡± Luxcious answered.
¡±I can fight it, I¡¯ve done so before, and I can do it again.¡± Bethyinine stated.
Luxcious didn¡¯t answer and simply walked out of his office, closing the door behind him. Bethyinine could hear him descending the stairs, followed by the sound of the front door opening and then quickly being shut. All while the rain only poured down harder and harder as a storm began to brew.
¡°[That was very rude of him, wasn¡¯t it darling?]¡± The voice in Bethyinine¡¯s head cooed.
¡±Have I named you yet?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡°[No, you haven¡¯t, and why are you try to change the subject?]¡± The voice replied.
¡±Just wanted to ask, that¡¯s all.¡± Bethyinine smirked.
¡°[Fine, and I think Axolaire has a nice ring to it, don¡¯t you?]¡± The voice chirped.
¡±That it does.¡± Bethyinine answered.
¡±[So, are you going to chase after Luxcious now? Or are you just going to sit here?]¡± Axolaire chided.
¡±Better to sit here than to risk that thing taking over my mind again.¡± Bethyinine groaned.
¡°[That thing, it had a name too, didn¡¯t it?]¡± Axolaire inquired.
¡±Shenya.¡± Bethyinine growled.
¡±[She took him from us, and now we just have to kill her. I think we¡¯ll both enjoy ripping her limb from limb.]¡± Axolaire cackled.
¡±Don¡¯t think we can do that to an ouroboros.¡± Beth sneered.
Beth sat down on the bed, she could hear Axolaire utter an audible groan and smiled. Best to let Luxcious go off and search for Cassius on his own.
¡±[I wonder where the boy is now.]¡± Axolaire cooed.
¡±Who knows.¡± Beth chuckled as she drifted off to sleep.
The Abyss, August 23rd, 1888, 1:30 pm
Cassius sat beneath a dying sycamore tree and stared at the bloodshot eye above him. He could feel it staring back at him, trying in vain to burrow into his mind. Yet the beast was too weak, too scared to really try anything. He glanced down at the serpentine creature that was nestled on his lap and smiled.
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¡±Enjoying your rest, Fyrenihl?¡± He asked.
¡±Yes, yes I am.¡± Fyrenihl whispered.
¡°Just what are you, anyways?¡± Cassius sighed.
¡±A mother, an animal, a protector. Frankly, I¡¯m too many things for even myself to list.¡± Fyrenihl chuckled.
¡±If you¡¯re a mother, then where are your children?¡± Cassius inquired.
¡±You¡¯ve already met one of them, my daughter to be precise.¡± Fyrenihl smiled.
¡±Wait a minute, Bethyinine¡¯s your daughter?¡± Cassius said with a hint of surprise in his voice.
¡±I know, there¡¯s no real resemblance between the two of us. But yes, she¡¯s my daughter.¡± Fyrenihl said.
¡±I take it you also know what that thing is as well?¡± Cassius asked as he gestured towards the eye.
Fyrenihl gazed up at the eye which stared back at her. There was a sort of malice in its gaze as it tried in vain to pierce her mind.
¡±Shenya. Last I heard your other half had killed all of her kind.¡± Fyrenihl growled.
¡°Yet she still remains, despite all that Silas had done.¡± Cassius sighed.
¡±Well, aren¡¯t you going to do something about it?¡± Fyrenihl asked.
¡±Don¡¯t think we have much of a choice.¡± Cassius groaned as he got up.
Fyrenihl took her place on his shoulder as Cassius made his way towards the citadel. His ashes robes trailing behind him as he walked.
Shenya observed the pair from the safety of her realm, though a frenzied panic gripped her mind. For she had been unable to take control of Fyrenihl mere moments ago. Which meant that Cassius wouldn¡¯t be on the table for her corruption either.
She growled before turning her attention back to Bethyinine. Making yet another attempt to pierce her mind, just as she had done a few weeks prior. Yet something was resisting her efforts, and it wasn¡¯t Bethyinine herself this time. Shenya could feel a beast pushing back at her attempts with rabid force. She tried to overwhelm it with her cunning, yet the beast did not falter.
Its assault on her growing more and more frenzied by the second. She could feel it burrowing into the deepest recesses of her mind. Shenya tried in one last breath of desperation to remove the parasite from her mind. Yet the beast was far too powerful for even her to overcome. But just as quickly as the beast had burrowed into her mind, it had left, perhaps feeling satisfied with the damage that it had caused. Shenya breathed a sigh of relief before descending back to sleep for all but a moment.
Meanwhile, Luxcious had made his way into the citadel in search for Cassius. Yet he found nothing beneath the rubble of this abandoned place. Still he continued onwards in search of his companion, even as Shenya had awoken from her slumber. Her solemn gaze now turned hungrily upon him, eager to break his will.
Yet the scholar paid her no mind, and thus she could not touch him. For his attention wasn¡¯t being wasted on her, something that Shenya despised. For all her strength, she was still limited in her power. For the only way in which she could take control of someone would be if they were aware of her. Their attention focused solely on her existence, given just how much of a threat she was to these peons.
¡±Why won¡¯t you notice me! Just turn your head up and look at me! It¡¯s not that hard to do, but I suppose that a scholar such as yourself is far too busy to do so! After all, you prefer the company of books to that of any living creature. Even something so enigmatic and powerful as myself.¡± Shenya hissed.
Even as she lamented her current situation her cunning continued to stir. For there still might be some way for her to get the scholar under her control. Yet her gaze turned south as she noticed the arrival of poor Cassius along with the beast Fyrenihl. Shenya growled as they entered her view as now her plans to take the scholar for herself were ruined. So she returned to her slumber out of frustration, her mind still at work, still trying to hatch some sort of scheme.
¡°Cassius my dear boy, where have you been for all this time?¡± Luxcious asked as he ran over to embrace him.
¡±I¡¯ve been thinking, and how exactly are you faring as of current?¡± Cassius replied as a smile crept across his face.
¡°James is dead and everything is falling apart.¡± Luxcious sighed.
¡±Wait, he¡¯s actually dead? When did this happen, and how exactly did grand old Silas meet his end?¡± Cassius inquired.
¡±Shot himself with his own weapon around two weeks ago. Beth¡¯s devastated by this, she was there when he took himself away from us. Feels as if she¡¯s responsible for his passing. There¡¯s nothing that I can do to console her, I¡¯ve tried everything.¡± Luxcious answered as his gaze turned to Fyrenihl who was adorned on Cassius¡¯s shoulder.
¡±What exactly is that lizard-like thing?¡± Luxcious asked.
Cassius opened his mouth to speak, only to have Fyrenihl cover it with one of her claws.
¡±Fyrenihl, Mother of the Abyss, and you must be Luxcious I take it?¡± Fyrenihl smiled.
Luxcious, turned his eyes towards the ground, and bowed before Cassius.
¡±Yes. I offer to you my Lady my sincerest apologies. Now how exactly did you come across a man such as this?¡± Luxcious asked.
¡±No need for any formalities, I find them to be too much. They¡¯re much too flattering for my tastes, and frankly they¡¯re quite boring as well.¡± Fyrenihl groaned.
¡°I think it¡¯s best that we sit down and discuss this, seeing as standing would do none of us any good.¡± Cassius chimed in.
Luxcious nodded and sat down on a collapsed pillar as Cassius Fyrenihl joined him. All while the eclipse began to dip below the horizon as the sky turned from black to a deep red.
XXVII: A Little Rest
Wisconsin, North America, August 24th, 8:00 am
Rain fell down and off the roof, covering the grass just beyond the porch in a thin sheet of morning dew. Josephine sat absentmindedly on the couch, knitting a sweater. Today she would not be expecting any visitors, or at she hoped that she wouldn¡¯t get any. Better for her to be left alone at a time like this, especially when she started her knitting.
¡±Between Beth losing herself, and everyone else being mind controlled, I¡¯d rather just stay at home right now.¡± Josephine told herself.
For now she would continue knitting, making sure not to prick herself in the process. Normally something like this would take an hour and a half at least. Possibly more time would be needed depending on what she was knitting. Yet today Josephine had decided to knit herself a little scarf, seeing as it would be getting colder soon.
It wasn¡¯t until two and a half hours later that she had finally finished the scarf. Only stopping to have a small breakfast before continuing her work. The rain had not stopped but had instead increased in that time frame. Josephine could hear the droplets hitting the roof even as she made the finishing touches on the scarf. Though she enjoyed the constant white noise that the rain provided. It, like her knitting, was a soothing distraction from what had occurred two weeks earlier.
Though said events weren¡¯t worth going to therapy over, despite their severity. Something that Josephine was very much thrilled by, not that therapy would be expensive for her anyways. Seeing as she could just pay Sierra a visit if need be. Though Sierra really didn¡¯t practice any traditional types of therapy, or at least any kind done by a licensed therapist.
Not that any of that mattered at all, seeing as it was just something for Josephine to think about for now. She really didn¡¯t have much to do on days like this. Especially considering Beth would often pay her a visit at this time. Something that she looked forward to and relished with great anticipation.
¡±It¡¯s been a while since I last used Catharsis. Frankly, I think testing it now wouldn¡¯t be great. Considering I¡¯m going to have lunch in an hour. After that I¡¯ll relax for a bit before going out and messing with it, probably.¡± Josephine chuckled to herself.
Josephine smiled and got up from the couch to water one of the nearby plants. Only recently had she actually renovated the house. Well, it was just her replacing the couch and adding a few plants, which really wouldn¡¯t classify as a renovation. Yet it was better than actually redoing the whole house from the ground up. Adding smaller pieces to the interior as time goes on was a better option in her eyes.
¡°Maybe I won¡¯t test Catharsis today, frankly it might just be a waste of my time at the moment. Yet I really want to use it again so very badly.¡± Josephine sighed.
She shrugged her shoulders and sat down at the kitchen table. Not to prepare lunch or anything, seeing as it was only eleven in the morning. Right now she just wanted to do something to keep herself occupied. Something to keep herself from obsessing over Catharsis, to prevent her more animalistic side from getting ahold of her.
¡±I have no idea how Beth manages to stop herself from obsessing over all of this.¡± Josephine shuddered.
Then she remembered, Beth didn¡¯t really think, she just embraced her urges. She didn¡¯t care about what she was doing, so long as she was enjoying herself.
¡±Now that I think about it, she¡¯s extremely depraved. And so am I for letting her into my house every two weeks.¡± Josephine sighed as she turned her attention to the stove.
She wasn¡¯t quite sure what to have for lunch today, other than a salad. Though it had been a while since she had made a sandwich or two. Josephine smiled, got up from her seat, and walked over to the fridge. She opened it and took out two slices of ham and a slice of cheese. Putting those things on a plate, Josephine grabbed two pieces of bread from the breadbox next to the sink. Once all of that was done, she returned to her seat and prepared the sandwich.
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After checking the clock, and noticing that half an hour had gone by, Josephine shrugged. She wasn¡¯t sure how it had taken her that long to collect herself, let alone to make a sandwich. Then again, it took Beth half an hour to even make a salad. So something like this probably just ran in the family for all she knew.
¡±It couldn¡¯t have taken me half an hour to make a sandwich though. Pretty sure I was thinking for most of that time, so I probably only took five minutes at best to make a sandwich. Though that still is a bit too long, even for my liking.¡± Josephine chuckled.
After having lunch, she went back to her place on the couch. By this point it was almost three in the afternoon, and Josephine still hadn¡¯t truly made up her mind on Catharsis. She groaned and returned her thoughts to the topic again. This time, dead set on making sure that she indulged herself today.
¡±Given Beth¡¯s off the table for today, what should I test my powers on now?¡± She smirked.
Josephine set her head against one of the arms of the couch and began to think. Though she wouldn¡¯t be doing so for long as her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of something rushing past her window outside. She groaned and rushed to the window, only to see a doe darting into the forest. A smile began to creep over her face as she scrambled out the door in a hurry.
But as she rushed off the porch, Josephine stopped, her gaze quickly turned to the sky which was now a bright lime green. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the adrenaline began to kick in. Josephine could feel something staring back at her, trying to pierce her mind, trying to take control of her. Then she noticed the eye, with its massive pink iris, staring down at her.
¡±Oh hello there¡ Josephine.¡± It whispered.
¡±Who are you and how do you know who I am?¡± Josephine spat as she locked her gaze with the eye.
¡±Shenya, and well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been watching you honey.¡± Shenya cooed.
¡±No kidding, now what exactly do you want from me?¡± Josephine hissed.
¡±Oh, I just want to talk, that¡¯s all, seeing as the rest of your family aren¡¯t willing to listen to me.¡± Shenya sighed.
¡°Fine, let¡¯s talk then.¡± Josephine growled.
She looked at the forest one last time, only to notice that the trees were starting to wilt. Josephine didn¡¯t have much time to really get a good grasp at the rest of the forest before she started to feel lightheaded. Immediately she was transported to a pale white room that was bathed the in pink light of Shenya¡¯s eye. Josephine bowed and immediately sat down, not making eye contact with Shenya.
¡±What is it you want to discuss?¡± She asked.
¡±Just life, that¡¯s all.¡± Shenya answered.
¡±I¡¯d rather you be more specific seeing as I¡¯m not all too philosophically inclined.¡± Josephine sighed.
¡±Fine then, I¡¯ll just jump to what I brought you here for.¡± Shenya groaned.
¡±And that is?¡± Josephine inquired.
¡±I need a body.¡± Shenya stated.
¡±Why? Why do you of all things need a body? It just doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± Josephine chuckled.
¡±Without one, I can¡¯t interact with you, physically that is. Without a body, I¡¯ll have no hope of undoing whatever mess James has made.¡± Shenya growled.
¡±What¡¯s he done now?¡± Josephine frowned.
¡°Removed himself from the game, permanently, that¡¯s what he¡¯s done.¡± Shenya chuckled.
¡±And you want a body so that you can clean up whatever damage he might have caused?¡± Josephine asked.
¡±Precisely, because even though he¡¯s dead, we still have all of the protocols that he¡¯s made. Last I recall he had some that only activated upon his permanent death.¡± Shenya mused.
¡±You know this how, exactly?¡± Josephine inquired.
¡±I¡¯ve met him long ago, before I ascended to what I am now. He was just as cruel and selfish then as he was before his final death.¡± Shenya smirked.
¡±Great, now you¡¯re going to tell me the story of how you met him.¡± Josephine groaned and rolled her eyes.
¡°No, no, that would take too much time.¡± Shenya said.
¡±Well then, what should we do now?¡± Josephine asked.
¡±I propose we make a deal you and I.¡± Shenya declared.
¡±What sort of deal? Because I don¡¯t want to lose my body, I kind of like it.¡± Josephine hissed.
¡°Oh, you won¡¯t lose it, I promise. Seeing as it¡¯ll be more like you having a second voice in your head. Basically, I could take control of you whenever you let me. That sort of thing, if that helps you with a description of what it¡¯ll be like.¡± Shenya smiled.
¡±Fine, I¡¯ll agree to your deal, frankly I think you might be more loose with these than Beth is.¡± Josephine chuckled.
¡±Good, then it¡¯s settled, I¡¯ll move in to that head of yours in a couple of days. That way I get some time to prepare, ok?¡± Shenya said.
Josephine nodded and watched as she returned to outside of the forest. She smiled and noticed that neither the sky, nor the forest, had changed back to normal since she had left. Then she noticed the doe poke its head out from behind one of the trees. It quickly sprinted away as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the sky. Josephine chuckled and quickly began to chase the animal, not really caring about what would happen next. Seeing as at least she would get to enjoy herself for at least a little while longer. For now, she could just focus on the task at hand, hunting down her prey.
XXVIII: Meeting Overdue
Wales, England, August 25th, 1888, 9:30 am
Bethyinine looked out the window at the pouring rain. She smiled and turned her attention to the street below her. The lampposts just barely lighting the foggy cobblestone streets. She then fixed her gaze back on the cloudy gray sky and started to doze off for a bit. Yet she was quickly awoken from her nap by a knock at the door.
Bethyinine growled, made her way down to the foyer, and opened the front door. At first she thought there was nobody there. But then Bethyinine looked down and noticed the courier beaming at her. He had to be no more than twelve, an errand boy perhaps. Bethyinine squatted down so as to grab the parcel that the boy was offering her.
¡±How much do I have to pay you, lad?¡± She asked.
¡±50 shillings.¡± The boy answered, his tone rather cheery.
Bethyinine smiled and walked back into the foyer. She looked around for a bit before picking up a small pouch in an oak drawer. She then returned to the boy, and after drawing five pounds from the pouch, handed them to him.
¡°That should cover it, and an umbrella too, it¡¯s pouring out after all.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡± The boy squealed.
Bethyinine watched as the courier carefully made his way down the stairs before closing the door. She sighed before taking a seat next to the fireplace. She then glanced down at the parcel, noticing that it was addressed specifically to her.
¡°Normally Luxcious would be the one who gets all of the mail. I wonder why, and how for that matter, I even got this package?¡± Bethyinine said to herself.
She then began to open the parcel, trying to be as careful as her claws would let her. Occasionally Bethyinine would tear a bit of the parcel, which caused her to wince in pain. Once she had finished opening it, she set aside the remains of the parcel and took a look at its contents.
Inside of the parcel was a heavy leather-bound book and a letter. Bethyinine struggled to place the book on one of the empty shelves before sitting back down. She sighed and turned her attention to the letter, noticing that its handwriting wasn¡¯t at all familiar to her. Yet she opened it up anyways, her curiosity goading her on.
Dear Bethyinine,
Meet me at the coffee house, I¡¯d like to discuss some things.
Sincerely, ¡°Eggs¡± Benedict O¡¯Connor
Bethyinine¡¯s ears perked up as she finished reading the letter. She quickly sprung up from her chair, placed the letter in a nearby drawer, and went over to the front door. She smiled and stepped out into the pouring rain, enjoying the feeling of it caressing her scales. Bethyinine didn¡¯t quite know the directions to the coffee house, yet she didn¡¯t really care. Besides, she had already memorized the scent of Benedict, or at least memorized it enough to be able to track him.
So she began to follow the scent, or what little of it there was to follow. Given there were so many people about, so many other scents for her to pick up on. Bethyinine had to make sure that she wasn¡¯t too distracted. Yet with the rain pouring down it was hard for her not to be.
For she liked the rain, she liked being wet, and the comforting feeling that it gave her. Nonetheless she continued her walk, though she didn¡¯t bother to increase her pace. Seeing as all she wanted to do now was enjoy herself out in the open rain. After a while she had finally found the source of Benedict¡¯s scent. Not after wandering around aimlessly for a good half hour.
¡°I wonder if he¡¯s still there?¡± Bethyinine smirked as she crossed the street.
Bethyinine entered the coffee house and frowned as the rain outside stopped. She then noticed a man in a white naval officer¡¯s uniform at a nearby table. He gestured for her to come and sit next to him, and offer which Bethyinine obliged.
¡±Am I late?¡± She asked.
¡±No, not at all, frankly I think you¡¯re early.¡± Benedict chuckled.
¡±I take it there¡¯s no need for any sort of introductions between us?¡± Bethyinine inquired.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
¡°Considering this is the first time we¡¯ve met, I¡¯d say introductions are in order. Would you mind some coffee first though?¡± Benedict said as he passed her a cup.
¡±Yes sir.¡± Bethyinine smiled as she grasped the cup with one of her claws.
¡±Good, then I¡¯ll start first. Benedict, Benedict O¡¯Connor, though you could call me ¡°Eggs¡± if you want to use a nickname.¡± Benedict smirked.
¡°Bethyinine, Mistress Bethyinine. Though considering we¡¯re sort of using shorthand here you could just call me Beth.¡± Bethyinine replied as she took a sip from the cup.
Her eyes widened as she tasted the coffee, it was bitter, almost poisonous. Bethyinine quickly got up, grabbed a napkin, and spat in it.
¡±You didn¡¯t poison this, did you?¡± Bethyinine wheezed as she began pouring sugar into the cup.
¡±No, I haven¡¯t. For starters there¡¯s too many people here. And I wanted to meet you, not kidnap, or kill you for that matter.¡± Benedict answered as he rummaged through his pockets for her.
¡°Fair point, then I guess it¡¯s just the fact that I¡¯ve never had coffee like this. Normally I put a lot of sugar in it.¡± Bethyinine chuckled.
¡±So, we¡¯re just going to sit here and chat?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±I certainly wouldn¡¯t mind that.¡± Bethyinine answered.
¡°Yet we have something important to discuss!¡± Benedict yelled as he slammed his fist on the table.
¡±Go on, tell me then. Tell me what you want to discuss.¡± Bethyinine cooed, her tone almost mocking him.
She smiled and then began to absentmindedly tap her claws against the table. Benedict simply looked at her and sighed.
¡±You¡¯re very difficult to work with, you know that?¡± He said.
¡±James once said the same thing about me.¡± Bethyinine sighed as tears began to form in her eyes.
¡±Is something the matter?¡± Benedict asked as he noticed the shift in her tone.
¡±It¡¯s just that¡ James is dead. He¡¯s gone and he¡¯s not coming back.¡± She cried.
¡±Wait. Silas is dead? As in, permanently dead?¡± Benedict stammered.
Bethyinine nodded and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.
¡±How¡¯d he die?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±Took himself out with this.¡± Bethyinine answered as she slid the revolver across the table.
¡°Was he engaged with something before he did this?¡± Benedict inquired.
¡±Yes, he was, and I¡¯m pretty sure he blinded it.¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡±Blinded what, exactly?¡± Benedict asked as he tilted his head.
¡±An ouroboros, something that was considered extinct two millennia ago.¡± Bethyinine stated.
¡±That thing is precisely why I brought you here. I want to tell you how we could kill it.¡± Benedict declared.
¡±We? You want to help?¡± Bethyinine stuttered.
¡±Yes I want to help, well, me and the rest of my associates that is.¡± Benedict answered as he handed her his business card.
Bethyinine looked down at it, and squinted her eyes so as to read the finely printed letters.
Benedict O¡¯Connor, Bureau
Director of Foreign Relations
¡°So you¡¯re the bastards that James told me about!¡± She hissed.
¡±How much has he lied to you about?¡± Benedict said.
¡±Wait, he¡¯s been lying to me?¡± Bethyinine spat.
¡±He¡¯s been lying to people his whole life. I¡¯m just surprised you didn¡¯t catch him doing it.¡± Benedict chuckled.
¡±I¡ I didn¡¯t know. I thought he was telling the truth. I trusted him.. I. Trusted. Him.¡± Bethyinine sighed.
¡±Well, he isn¡¯t trust you, and he also didn¡¯t trust me either.¡± Benedict said.
¡±What do you mean by that?¡± Bethyinine asked.
¡±Told me he was going to be doing diplomatic work with your people. Then he faked his death, all so he could get us to come and lay our respects.¡± Benedict started as he took another sip of his coffee.
¡±After that he killed me, well, he almost did. Lucky for me, the living aren¡¯t supposed to be in your world. And after a few weeks, and some bloodshed on James¡¯s part, I came back to the land of the living.¡± He finished.
¡±Oh, and he planned on killing you too, by the way.¡± Benedict added.
¡±No, that can¡¯t be right! James told me himself that he¡¯d take himself out before he even thought about killing me.¡± Bethyinine stated.
¡±Was that him lying to you, or was that Cassius speaking?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±You know about him?¡± Bethyinine inquired.
¡±I¡¯ve heard about him. The Bureau doesn¡¯t keep tabs on everything you know.¡± Benedict chuckled.
¡±You can only spread your resources so thin. Especially now, given what¡¯s going on back home for me.¡± Bethyinine sighed.
Benedict nodded and passed the revolver back to her.
¡°Now for us to discuss the details of our little project.¡± Benedict stated.
¡°Go on.¡± Bethyinine smiled as she retracted her claws.
¡°Every single ouroboros is merely a beast of raw psionic power. Which means they lack any true connection to our physical world.¡± Benedict started.
¡±So they have to take control of us in order to even interact with the rest of the world.¡± Bethyinine shuddered.
¡±You¡¯ve been possessed by one of these beasts?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±Yes, and it was not at all pleasant.¡± Bethyinine replied.
¡±Then you¡¯re very much vulnerable to being overtaken again.¡± Benedict sighed.
¡±Couldn¡¯t that work in our favor though?¡± Bethyinine said.
¡±How so?¡± Benedict asked.
¡±Let it take complete control of me, then take me out. Given it now has a physical body, that should put it down for good.¡± Bethyinine suggested.
¡±You really want us to do a suicide mission for this?¡± Benedict inquired.
¡±Unless you have any other ways to kill this thing.¡± Bethyinine sneered.
¡°I do, actually, and it might be worse than what you¡¯ve just suggested.¡± Benedict sighed.
¡±And that is?¡± Bethyinine insisted.
¡±Your niece, what she¡¯s capable of is.. Honestly I don¡¯t even know what her powers even do. But she is very much a viable candidate.¡± Benedict said.
¡±Candidate for what? Your version of a suicide mission?¡± Bethyinine hissed.
¡±No. We¡¯ll have her gain the beasts trust before killing it. Last I checked, she helped you cope with James¡¯s false death. So what¡¯s stopping her from tricking some wayward beast?¡± Benedict smirked.
Bethyinine simply nodded, smiled, and walked over to Benedict. She extended her hand for him to shake, which the Director gladly did.
¡±We have a deal then.¡± He sighed.
¡±Indeed we do, Eggs. Indeed we do.¡± Bethyinine cooed.
XXIX: Not A Circle
The Abyss, August 26th, 1888, 3:00 am
¡°Just give up already, you can¡¯t stop this mess.¡± Aliyas groaned.
The cold dark machinery around him continued to hum as a faint beeping sound grew ever louder. The blinding neon white clock that made up the floor continued its rotation. He had been at it for hours, he wasn¡¯t even sure what it was. Aliyas simply glanced down at the gilded console in front of him and sighed.
He had tried every single combination of buttons on that blasted machine, yet none of them worked. His gaze then turned to the searing red display above the wretched machine. He could just barely make out the exact positions of the clock hands from beneath the sickening glow.
Yet that wasn¡¯t exactly necessary when the clock itself was clearly visible through the see-through floor beneath him. Aliyas growled and touched one of the buttons on the console again. This time, the device chirped to life and Aliyas¡¯s face lit up with a smile.
¡±Even if I shut this thing down, I can¡¯t leave this death trap.¡± He chuckled.
Just as quickly as the console had turned on, it went dead again. The ticking of the ginormous clock beneath him growing louder and louder. Drowning out all of the other sounds in this hellish space. Yet soon the ticking grew quiet as the clocks hands were locked into place on top of one another.
¡±Twelve o¡¯clock, stroke of midnight maybe?¡± Aliyas wheezed, having no idea how long he had been at this gambit for.
He groaned and turned back to his diagrams. All he knew was that this contraption, this weapon, had a timer on it. And when, not if, it expired, the presumably resulting explosion would be too large and devastating for even him to calculate.
¡±For all I know, this thing could be a time machine. Yet given its design, there¡¯s no real reason for me to just assume that it isn¡¯t a weapon of some kind.¡± Aliyas sighed.
As he banged his knuckles against a solid metal wall, the clock whirred to life again. This time its hands went in a counterclockwise motion. Perhaps the arming mechanism had to be prepped both ways, yet he could never be sure with this beast.
Hells, he wasn¡¯t even sure how he had got here in the first place.
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¡±Last I remember I was in the catacombs beneath the cathedral. And now I¡¯m here, in this elaborate death trap, how fun.¡± Aliyas growled.
He then returned to the console again and began to tinker with its mechanisms some more. And as he did, the hands of the clock temporarily ceased their motions. Before returning to the proper clockwise rotation that they had done half an hour ago.
Aliyas breathed a cautious sigh of relief and stepped away from the console. He debated whether to rest or not, given how volatile this machine could possibly be. Yet he slumped down against one of the cold walls and drifted off to sleep against his own better judgment.
While he drifted off to sleep, the contraption continued its movements. The room turning from a blinding white to a dark and hazy red. A few seconds later, the clocks hands locked themselves in the six o¡¯clock position. The room had soon gone quiet, almost too quiet. This simple lack of any perceivable white noise roused Aliyas from his slumber.
Now he wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do, his panic only elevated as a hideous alarm began to sound. The decibels of which measured close to that of a gunshot, stopping any future plans of sleep dead in their tracks. Aliyas groaned and frantically rummaged around in his pocket. His hand immediately finding purchase on the wooden handle of a mallet.
A devilish smirk appeared across his face as he drew the mallet and dashed towards the gilded console. Hastily smashing it to pieces in a matter of moments in a fit of rage.
¡±Fine! If this thing is going to finally blow up, then let it! I don¡¯t care anymore! I. Don¡¯t. Care!¡± He cackled.
The reddish haze of the room slowly died down and returned to its usual blinding white madness. Yet this did nothing to calm Aliyas, not at all.
¡±So James, are you mocking me from beyond the grave? You are, I know you are! This was all part of your plan wasn¡¯t it? To blow us all to pieces! Some plan you had! And now it¡¯s no longer going to work. All cause a senile old bastard like myself just so happened to stumble upon it!¡± Aliyas chuckled as a look of terror dawned upon him.
Now he knew that he was going to die. He would have to die, lest everyone else would also meet his fate. After all, it would be better to sacrifice the needs of the few for those of the masses. The life of a valiant one given to safeguard the weak many. And he was to be that sacrifice, and the thought scared him.
For as much as death was a welcome thing to his kind, a sacrifice like this was often seen as overly heroic. As there are often methods of further minimizing casualties in these circumstances. Yet here, here there was no sort of option. Either he would die, or they all would, and that provided him some strange form of comfort. The fact that he would be doing his kin a service by sacrificing himself.
So he breathed a sigh of relief as the obsidian walls around him turned gray and hardened as he pushed a nearby button. Then a slight buzzing sound was heard, droning on for a few moments before a voice filled the room.
¡±
XXX: In The Family
Maine, North America, September 1st, 1888
¡±Thought you said it was just going to be a routine house cleaning!?¡± Beth hissed.
¡±I did, but now Josephine¡¯s missing. Anyone know who was with her last?¡± Cassius asked.
¡±I think Xyun was.¡± Lythros chimed.
¡±Look, don¡¯t go thinking I killed her. Last thing I heard was her screaming before something dragged her off. We were in the library when it happened. Only thing I could recover was her lantern, well, what was left of it anyway.¡± Xyun sighed.
¡±Someone should go look for her instead of all of us just sitting around.¡± Luxcious groaned.
¡±Bastard¡¯s right, we shouldn¡¯t just wait here. Either we find it, or it finds us.¡± Beth sneered.
Cassius sighed as he, Lythros, and Xyun scurried off to the foyer, leaving Beth and Luxcious to themselves.
¡±When was the last time we were here anyways?¡± Xyun asked.
¡±Years ago¡ Man it¡¯s been a while.¡± Lythros smiled.
Cassius walked over to the fireplace and bent down to examine it. Only to get his hand burnt as the fire quickly roared to life.
¡±What the- !¡± Cassius yelled.
¡±Forgot that thing was enchanted.¡± Xyun groaned.
¡±Stop trying to cook yourself, please.¡± Lythros cackled.
¡±Not. Funny.¡± Cassius hissed as he stormed back to the kitchen for ice.
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Lythros sighed as he left before trotting over to Xyun who was preoccupied with dusting off one of the banisters.
¡±Thought we were supposed to be looking for Josie.¡± She smiled.
¡±Also supposed to be cleaning too.¡± Xyun answered.
¡±And that¡¯s more important than finding your sister?¡± Lythros snapped.
¡±She¡¯ll turn up eventually, no need to fuss over her.¡± Xyun sighed.
Lythros sighed and went upstairs to search the bedrooms, seeing as Xyun wasn¡¯t much help. She was just about to enter the master bedroom when she heard someone screaming downstairs. Lythros hastily darted down the stairs, only to be greeted with Xyun¡¯s lifeless corpse slumped over one of the chairs. Moments later, Cassius returned, along with Luxcious.
¡°What in the Hells happened here!¡± Luxcious screamed as he pointed to the corpse.
¡±I.. I don¡¯t know.. I went upstairs to go check the bedrooms, then I heard her screaming so I rushed back down here.¡± Lythros sighed.
¡±Still not any closer to catching the killer..¡± Cassius groaned.
Luxcious glanced at him before going over to examine Xyun¡¯s corpse. Her rib cage was broken in, and her skull was fractured. Yet neither of these things explained all the blood on the floor.
¡±There¡¯s no trail either, how odd.¡± Luxcious muttered.
Lythros groaned and began to sniff the air, yet her senses didn¡¯t yield any promising results. Just the scent of charcoal and homemade chicken soup with a hint of rain. That was until her nose got a whiff of something that smelled akin to whiskey with a touch of wet earth.
¡±Something is in here with us..¡± she hissed.
¡±Well that¡¯s just great.¡± Cassius groaned.
Lythros looked around, her eyes hastily moving from one end of the foyer to the other. Then something darted out from the corner of her eye and quickly pounced on her. Lythros tried to scream, but all she could manage was a small yelp as she was pulled into the darkness.
¡±What was that?¡± Luxcious asked, having only heard Lythros¡¯s yelp.
¡±Some beast most likely, could only see its claws and not much else.¡± Cassius groaned.
Luxcious sighed as he and Cassius returned to the kitchen. Only to be met with Beth sitting down drinking a cup of coffee.
¡±Xyun and Lythros are dead.¡± He said.
Beth looked at him and put down the coffee as her pupils shrunk. She swallowed the coffee before walking out into the foyer and quickly heading back to her seat in the kitchen.
¡±Any ideas as to what that thing is?¡± Beth asked.
¡±Some sort of animal maybe.¡± Cassius sighed.
Luxcious just sat there for a moment, not really sure what to do.
¡±There are only three of us left, no use in trying to find out what this thing is. Better to get out of here while we still can.¡± He blurted.
¡°Why¡¯d you say that like we¡¯re trapped in here? I have the keys right here in my pocket.¡± Cassius said as he patted his vest pocket, feeling the hard metal of the keys inside.
Beth just looked at the pair and sighed before continuing to drink her coffee.