Violence

Within the nothingness, they experienced something beyond ecstasy. Something beyond fear. It walked a knife’s edge between mania and death, and it felt like it was snapping Wretch’s ribs as she tried to hold her sister. The feeling was unlike anything she’d ever known, but she did know it hurt. It hurt the way cold hurt when she’d fallen through a frozen lake and the frigid water had seized her muscles into knots of needles and knives. It hurt like the times she had burned herself after her crown shard had broken and there was no way for her to stay miserable. Only this covered her entirety, even the parts she’d thought were inside and untouchable.

Heavy, oppressive white drowned them. White that scorched, seized, peeled, and consumed truth as it reduced their world to emptiness. The ground split beneath Wretch and Burden’s tiny feet, nearly pulling them into the glowing crevices that had appeared.

“Burden!” Wretch shouted as she grabbed her sister and yanked her to safety.

All the world seemed to be consumed by the garish, haunting light. All they could hear was a roar of agony that seemed to hold thousands of howling, unstable laughs. Euphoric, rupturing delirium growled along the edges of Wretch’s thoughts as she tried to drown out the horrifying noise.

This was wrong. This wasn’t how she imagined the moment to play out. Whatever was shaking the world was not well.

Beside them, the wanderers had bent against themselves, clawing at their ears and mouths as they heaved overwhelmed yells of unrelenting, all-consuming happiness.

Burden closed her eyes and buried her head against Wretch’s side, who was clinging to a chain link with all her strength. Both were screaming, but neither could hear the other above the storming rage that was slowly lifting their feet from the ground.

A deep, bellowing voice resonated within the storm, layering over itself as frantic pleas repeated again and again.

“MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOP!”

“mMaAkeKE iiiIttT StToOpP!”

“please make it STOP!!!”

“Metus, please stop this!!!”

Wretch flinched as the massive beast continued to scream. As it buried its face in its palms, she saw the light from its eyes cutting through the gaps of its fingers, shining pure radiance out into the milky haze that had engulfed them. Another wail sounded out, and the god fell to his knees, shattering the flooring completely.

Now they were truly in danger. Chunks of foundation fell into the chasms, snapping the remaining structural integrity and buckling the supportive columns. Tiles ten times larger than them fell around them, crushing several wanderers in the process.

Wretch almost lost her focus as she watched the colossal monstrosity swing and sway, shattering its restraints as the world disintegrated into blinding light.

She had expected solemn remorse, or grandiose repentance. Whatever was before her was feral and a risk. But they were too close now, and the ground was falling away.

The remaining wanderers finally broke from their frenzied screams and set their dead eyes on the behemoth before them. In seconds, they were sprinting forward, mouths frothing, arms flailing. Some were large. Others were like the first they had seen. None were his size, but there were far more of them than him alone.

Their attacks began just like the others. Mouths wide, locked in a smile as they slammed against his body and lurched forward. Teeth separated from top and bottom, laughs channeling through darkened throats as though being pulled from some distant chamber. Dense, viscous bile spewed outward, carrying the corrupted notes of the former laughs as they lowered in tone. Wretch rose slightly to get a better view of what happened next. That was crucial. Burden covered her ears once again.

He roared in fury as the putrid regurgitation bubbled and simmered on his deified legs and hands. For regular souls, that would begin the corruption. But he was already corrupted. The infection of unrelenting joy posed no threat to a being that was its own personification. Instead, the wounds simply scorched and cracked as he raged to understand what was happening.

Wretch almost smiled but stopped herself with a quick twist of her crown.

“They’re hurting him,” Burden cried.

“Good,” Wretch replied coldly.

Her little sister looked up in concern, but Wretch kept her gaze on the violence.

“If he’s in a great deal of pain, he’s less likely to be happy,” she added.

Their vomiting gave way to blows, as fists, claws, and enormous fangs hurled into his skin with malicious intent. He was panicking now.

Sol was terrified now. He’d been in agony for so long. They had taken pieces of him that he didn’t know he could part with. They’d shattered edges of his mind he thought were indestructible. He had been violated in so many ways. This felt different than those assaults. He did not recognize the sounds or smells of those who usually harmed him. It had been daysyearslifetimes so many days lifetimes and years SOmany since they’d come to harm him harm him harm him.

This was different. TheyWereHurtingHim.

He’d been hurt so so so so so many times.

But this time his restraints weren’t there.

“Stop! Please stop!!” he roared.

But the violence continued.

Burden sniffled as she dared to look at the carnage just in time to see chunks of glowing skin rip away, spewing splendid fluid in arcs that painted the nearby ruins. He cried out, and she found herself wanting to help him.

Before her older sister could stop her, she raised her sling and flung a smoothed stone with all her might. It struck the smallest wanderer, who yelped and turned, its grey eyes scanning to find its attacker.

“Over here!!” Burden shouted.

Wretch grabbed her wrist, eyes wide.

“Why did you do that?!” she pleaded.

It was too late. Several of the monstrosities turned toward them.

Sol paused long enough to listen. That voice hadn’t been cruel. He had seen the things attacking him turn away, towards a new target. His unrefined sight scanned the void until he caught the faintest glimpses of murky, weakened soul stones peering back at him. One was dark blue, nearly black. The other was deep, somber green. But they were soul stones. And their shimmers told him they meant no harm.

He saw the two small creatures struggling atop a tiny outcropping of stone. Wide fissures of light were cutting away at the remaining ground beside their right, and the attacking beasts were sprinting to their left.

His limbs moved without command. Titanic arms extended, pulling gusts of stale dust behind him. Fingers tensed and pulled tight against his palm. Strobes shot through veins, and his knuckles turned the color of summer clouds just as his massive hand slammed down onto the unsuspecting beasts.

Bone and flesh snapped beneath his blow, smearing along the soot-covered stone as he swept through the strike and raised back to deal with the two he’d missed. Wretch felt a shudder of terrified awe as the winds from his motion whipped across her face, pulling her ears side to side.

His teeth bared, but he looked remorseful. That did not stop his fist from returning for the ones who remained. They shrieked as their bodies were reduced to piles of pulp and ash.

The impact sent another round of cracks through the last bastions of support, and the building began to collapse.

“Wretch?!!!” Burden cried out.

Her sister hesitated.

“We have to run!” Burden screamed.

Wretch resisted, eyes wild.

“No!! Not after all this! We need him! He can help us!!”

“He can’t help us if we die here! If we die, we’ll turn into one of THEM!” Burden begged as she pointed to the remaining wanderers that the god was now ripping in half.

Sol howled as he tried to pull one from his stomach, but its fangs were unrelenting. So his other hand found the villain as well, and then twisted. He felt its spine snapping and its ribs collapsing as it yelped and released him. Only three remained.

So much of him was burning. He hurt. He hurt so much. This was wrong. This was different. Who were those little ones? Why were they alone? Nails scraped. Teeth tore. Fists struck. He wanted the pain to stop.

One was lifted by its leg, then slammed down against the harsh corner of a pillar.

Another, larger one was crushed between both hands.

“Wretch, please, let’s go!” Burden sobbed.

Wretch swore she heard lamentations in the air.

The white was fading, and she caught a glimpse of the carnage at their feet. She’d stayed too long. Most of the ground was gone beside them, and the gaps were too great for her to jump. Certainly too great for her fragile sister. Dead flames rose in fury as the laughs ended and only the agonized howls remained.

Sol caught the last attacker and heaved it full force into the distant wall, causing it to splatter before crumpling on itself.

White burned out, and his eyes cleared. Wretch felt the painful radiation fade from her fur, and she looked to her broken prize.

“Sol! Lightbringer! Help us- we are trapped!” she shouted.

The titan’s piercing gaze locked on them instantly, and Wretch once again felt afraid. It did not look joyous. It did not look gentle. But it understood.

Sol realized the ground was falling away and they had to flee. Two unsteady strides allowed him to cover the gap, and he knelt before them. Stone snapped, and the little ones cried out as his leg sank into the chasm, but he caught himself just as the flames seared his foot.

Wretch was even with his eye. There was no reflection peering at her as she would see in so many other pupils. Only deep, eternal white peered back at her.

“IIIIIII caaaaaaan hel-hel-hellllllp youuuuu,” the god muttered in a far softer tone as he strained to lift himself free.

Another segment of ceiling ornamentation fell loose and began to drop towards them.

Wretch cried out and threw her body over her sister, bracing for death and failure. Horror cut across her soul as she fought with the realization that it was her fault and they would now be condemned to remain through time as beasts. But then he roared and crawled above them. She looked up to see his enormous chest covering them as the dense stone struck his back and neck.

Then he was scooping them up. All of their bodies fit within the palm of his hand, and Wretch found herself clinging to his thumb that was as wide as her torso.

Burden stayed latched to her side, sobbing uncontrollably as they fled the cursed hall.

Behind them, hundreds of wanderers appeared to give chase, but the ground was failing. Every massive step from his feet sent waves of light outward, and the earth disappeared as soon as his foot lifted. The last thing Wretch could see of the hall of worship was it shattering and falling downward as the womb of the world swallowed it.