Chapter 27 A Game By The Bonfire

As they debated among themselves, panic surged within me. I squealed and pleaded, tears and snot streaming down my face, "Nooo! Reeeee! Wreeee! Noooo! Unhand me!" But my cries fell on deaf ears, drowned out by their raucous laughter. My tiny limbs flailed helplessly as I dangled above the fire, my eyes darting between the heartless goblins encircling me.

The adult goblins, with cruel grins and sadistic laughter, agreed to the dreadful contest. My tiny body dangled in the air, my heart pounding in my chest as I realized the horrors that awaited me.

The goblin who held me by my ears swung me gently, like a grotesque pendulum, taunting the others.

"Who wants to go first?" he jeered, the anticipation of violence hanging in the air.

The first goblin, still cackling with glee, prepared to take the first kick. The flames danced hungrily beneath me, their heat licking at my dangling feet. In that moment of dread, I braced myself for the impending pain, hoping against hope that someone, somewhere, would come to my rescue.

I begged them to stop with all of my feeble might, "Please! Master! Unhand me! It hurts! Mercy, I beg! I beg!" I whimpered, my words carrying the weight of desperation.

 The guard goblin, still reveling in his sadistic joy, paid no heed to my pathetic cries. Instead, he delighted in the torment he inflicted on me.

"Oh! I will let go! You shit! But first! I will punish you for speaking without permission!" he cackled, slowly lowering me toward the crackling inferno beneath, the scalding tongues of flame hungrily nibbling at my minuscule, trembling feet. The scorching heat tormented my tiny feet, their searing heat singing my vulnerable flesh. I desperately kicked the air with my blistered legs in an attempt to fight off the burning heat but the pain was unbearable and my effort failed.

 The acrid smoke filled my lungs, each breath a painful reminder of my helpless plight. The smoke clawed at my throat and choked the last remnants of my feeble pleas. In the face of this torment, I clung to the sliver of hope that someone, somewhere, might hear my pleas and come to my aid.

Through the searing pain and raspy coughs, I managed to force out another plea, "Wreeeee! Mercy! It hurts! Reee! I implore you! Cough...! Spare me! I burn! Cough...! Spare me from this wretched fate! Cough...! Cough...!"

But the horrifying game of torment started, and my frail body was subjected to brutal kicks from one goblin to the next. As the first goblin's grip on my ears weakened, I fell through the air, my meaty ears flapping helplessly. But before I could hit the ground, the giant leg of the goblin swung at me, sending me hurtling over the roaring flames toward the waiting foot of the next adult goblin.

The kick that followed was agonizingly brutal, and I felt my rubbery, underdeveloped bones groan and pop as I soared over the searing fire. The scorching heat and the acrid smoke rising from the flames singed my sensitive skin, turning it a sickly shade of brown. I tried to scream, but the burning sensations in my sniffer and throat were too intense, rendering me unable to sound my agony.

The third goblin's turn came, and his kick sent me tumbling back toward the second goblin. His blow landed with such force that it left me dazed and bewildered, my frail body flailing in the air like a helpless leaf in the wind.

With another brutal kick, the second goblin propelled me back toward the first. This time, his nasty-looking toe struck me square in the belly, causing me to vomit uncontrollably and release a tiny stream of poop from my terrified tiny butt. The first goblin, recoiled in sheer disgust, hesitating to kick me again.

My feeble form splattered onto the ground, my skin and flesh charred and still smoking from the brief encounter with the flames. My sniffer and mouth burned from inhaling the searing heat and choking smoke, leaving me gasping for air as I lay there, battered, scorched, and broken, coughing black smoke and ash.

My pitiful body lay sprawled on the ground, an agonized, charred mess that resembled a burnt piece of meat more than a living goblin hatchling. The scorching heat from the fire had transformed my skin into a grotesque, crispy shell, cracked and oozing with molten goo.

My frail limbs, twisted and mangled from the relentless kicks, appeared as though they belonged to a broken puppet, their unnatural angles and grotesque contortions defying the laws of nature. My once-tiny fingers had swollen to grotesque proportions, resembling overcooked sausages, oozing a putrid, foul-smelling liquid.

The smoke and flames had mercilessly seared my sniffer and throat, leaving them raw and blistered. With each painful breath, I wheezed and coughed, expelling clouds of blackened soot and ashes that danced in the hellish glow of the fire.

My pitiable form, adorned with vomit and feces, lay as a testament to the cruelty of the adult goblins, who had turned my fragile existence into a nightmarish spectacle of suffering.

The goblin who had lost his bet seemed to revel in my suffering. He snatched me from the ground, his grip like a vice around my battered body, so strong that he squeezed what remained of my inside out through my gaping holes, then, his face contorted with rage. 

"You worthless piece of shit," he bellowed, stinky spittle flying from his mouth, "I lost food because of you! Die, you shit!"

Without a shred of remorse, he hurled me into the air with all his might. Then he kicked me with a devastating kick that sent me flying. My frail, malnourished legs couldn't withstand the force of the kick, and they crumpled beneath me as my pitiful body contorted into a grotesque, fleshy blob. Vomit and poop erupted from my mouth in a vile, repulsive fountain.

As I soared through the air, propelled by the monstrous kick from the heartless goblin, I had no control over my twisted, mangled body. The world around me blurred into a chaotic whirlwind of agony and disorientation. The force of the kick had crumpled me into a grotesque, shapeless mass of skin and flesh, a pitiable creature that defied the laws of anatomy.

Vomit and feces sprayed from my contorted mouth, a revolting trail of bodily fluids painting the night sky. My feeble limbs dangled uselessly as I tumbled through the air, the world spinning in a cruel mockery of flight. I soared over the ramshackle fence of the breeding farm, my shattered body carried by the unforgiving momentum of the kick.

With a ghastly thud, I crash-landed in a distant field of towering grass. By some stroke of grotesque fortune, my mangled body didn't collide with hard ground but instead crash-landed with a grotesque splat in a colossal mound of dung. 

The waste, moist and repulsive, offered me a rather unpleasant cushioning, as my frail frame pierced through its dried-up crust and splashed into the vile, feces-filled innards.

With a grotesque splat, I sank into the foul mound of dung, my broken body merging with the repulsive slurry of waste. I lay there, trapped in a nightmarish purgatory of agony and filth, unable to move, unable to cry out, life fading away, buried deep within the bowels of despair.

My last glimpse of the world above was of a starry night sky, visible through the putrid layers of dung that encased me. My vision faded and my consciousness slipped away as I descended into darkness, all too well familiar laughter started to echo in my ears. The cold embrace of darkness closed in around me, and I was swallowed by stinking wet feces.

In the depths of the void, fragmented memories swirled and fused, a chaotic jumble of experiences from my previous life as Shota and my brief, tragic existence as Hermit. I struggled to make sense of the conflicting recollections, trapped in a disorienting whirlpool of identity.

Then, in a sudden burst of light, a throne materialized in the void, upon which sat the enchanting goddess of lust, Lusseria. Her intoxicating laughter filled the emptiness, mocking my predicament with a flirtatious tone that sent shivers through my tiny, goblin-like form.

 "Ah, the miserable Shota or should I say Hermit?" she purred.

 "You look as pathetic as it could get. But you probably didn't notice the difference, between a once-pathetic and useless human to this wretched, goblin-like existence. It's quite a fitting transformation if I had to say."

I gazed up at the alluring goddess, my mind a swirl of conflicting memories. 

"Uh... M-master goddess, Lusseria, ma'am. What be happening to me? I was Shota, now goblin, what is this torment? What has happened to me? Who am I now? Please, you must tell me!" My voice quivered with confusion.

Lusseria leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with a tantalizing allure.

"You see, Hermit," she cooed, "your past and present selves have merged into a fractured identity. The memories of Shota, the pathetic wimp, and Hermit, the tormented goblin, are now entwined in a chaotic mix within your mind. But do not worry; your memories of being Shota will fade very soon. Your very soul is now that of a goblin - just look at you. A pathetic, tiny, ugly creature destined for endless torture and misfortune. But it didn't have to be this way, no. You could have had an easy and fulfilling life, living as a great hero! But no! You had to anger me. And now you are this pathetic, useless creature."

I clutched my goblin-like head, struggling to make sense of the conflicting memories. 

"But what is my purpose now? Am I to remain this... this abomination? I do not want that. Please, goddess, I beg you. Let me go back. Undo whatever curse has befallen me. I just want to go back. I want to be Shota again. Please, goddess, I beg you. Return Shota, give purpose. Goblin life be filled with pain, sorrow. Too much pain! Too much suffering!"

I clenched my goblin fists, "Is there a way out of this? Can you undo what you've done?"

She tilted her head mockingly, "Oh, little goblin, so eager to escape the pitiful life of a miserable creature. Well... perhaps there's a way, a task for you to complete."

I hesitated before asking, my goblin mind grappling with the weight of the situation, "What task? What must be done?"