Before they could part ways, it appears the world has decided otherwise.
As the morning of Valentine comes to a close, and the even more frigid late afternoon rolls across the small village, the unmistakable signs of a snowstorm creep upon the two of them. Having successfully prevented the guild’s doors from opening, Lilynette instead invites the Bloodsworn to the… 'temple,' for all intents and purposes, of her faith.
The number of cabins grows sparse as they walk towards their goal.
“How do you find the temperature?” she says, turning around to glance at Jin with a knowing smile on her face, “Quite the friendly atmosphere, wouldn't you agree?”
Even the priestess, who has displayed impressive resilience against the cold of Valentine, now feels the encroaching storm. Like any normal creature, her breath now expands in the air as she speaks.
People left outside are already scurrying inside like rats. The cold assaults extremities, and the strange compounded danger of ice and crystal as one begins growing across both natural and artificial obstacles on its way. On the far northeast of the village and a twenty-minute walk away from the Guild Hall of Valentine, the both of them, at long last, can see a rather rundown and isolated stone building. It has a frozen windmill on its top, crudely refashioned into a cross that represents her religion.
It would easily fall upon the luxurious category if not for the fact its second story is in shambles, and one of its bricks unceremoniously falls with the increasing intensity of the storm. As they reach near the double doors leading into the temple of the Rosecross Sanctum, Lilynette extends both arms, as if attempting to to push them open, but…
Nothing.
The storm is getting worse by the second.
The priestess turns around, displaying the best mischievous smile she could,
“Abandon all coin, ye who enter here,” she says, trying her best impression of a shaded countenance often associated with evil cliches. Alas, the attempts of a feminine avatar designed with such round eyes and blushing cheeks... comes across as the equivalent of a plushie holding a knife instead. Lilynette has no qualms about allowing the man some respite from the incoming storm outside, but nothing in life comes for free, is that not right?
The Bloodsworn may find little value in currency,
But the coin gives The Priestess life.
Cupping her delicate hands before him,
She waits for his response.
“You wouldn't want to freeze out here now, would you? Hmmmm?” she says, a knowing smile growing wider, “Even a coin's worth is plenty for the night!”
The people in this place were remarkably unsympathetic toward outsiders, despite the opportunities that came with them. It was obvious that despite settling here, Lilynette was not a natural born citizen of Valentine. She still retained some semblance of personality. Everyone else Jin had seen...
...was found wanting.
The weather was abominable as he trekked into the village to begin with. As night drew nearer, the howling winds and driving snow coalesced into a blizzard in the truest sense. It was not unlike the frigid Pennsylvania winters he was accustomed to.
Or maybe more like one of the smaller, more northern and western towns plagued by lake effect snow. He'd seen that once or twice. White out conditions made travel near impossible, and the cold could kill faster than any monster.
How do you find the temperature?
Steam issued from the lips of the Bloodsworn in the form of a sigh.
"Depressingly familiar," he replied.
Quite the friendly atmosphere, wouldn't you agree?
Philadelphia was famously called the city of Brotherly Love, but since crime ran rampant and gangs took control of many of the neighborhoods, it steadily had become anything but. He imagined something similar here. Whatever factors had driven them to hole up in their homes, whatever darkness that the woman kept shrouded beneath her skin, they were simply victims of those circumstances.
Victims certainly, but no man is ever truly blameless. "They are by and large humans," he said. "They flock together to survive and overcome adversity, but they adapt new ideologies and cleave from groups that inevitably come to hold different values. Racism, xenophobia, nationalism, tribalism- the natural course of civilization. United by necessity, divided by shortcomings they can't escape."
When he saw the sanctum adorned in the manner of a blasphemous cross that re-imagined the form of a windmill, he had to stop for a moment and admire the display. He had seen many remarkable things, none of them more prodigious perhaps than the hubris of the Christian Church. This made mockery of that. It spent no stolen money to create something symbolic, and though it meant nothing to him, to someone, it did.
He could almost admire a faith like that.
Almost.
Abandon all coin, ye who enter here.
At least she killed that small spark of admiration before he could give voice to it. With a smirk, Jin turned to let his gaze fall on the blonde at last. "Just when I almost felt ready to believe there was a human not truly motivated by self-interest, you graciously remind me that there are some things fictitious even in fantasy."
You wouldn't want to freeze out here now, would you?Hmmmm? Even a coin's worth is plenty for the night!
His hand appeared from beneath his black garb and produced a palm full of gold coins, each of which trickled one after the other down into her waiting hands. Like water from a faucet.
It wasn't like anyone else would offer him shelter, after all.
“It sounds like you have quite some experience with the cycle. I cannot say it’s my preferred kind of… dance. Not that the choices we have regarding how society operates are many to begin with. Unless, of course, you take it upon yourself to turn your ideals into reality at all costs…” the thought brings a smile to her lips.
“But when the vision of an individual overshadows the collective, can we truly label it as a society?” she muses, fully aware that acting on one's desires can trigger the very fractures that form over time. While there are countless dances in life, Lilynette much preferred the ones related to knowledge and economics.
She giggles in response to his commentary.
“Imagine believing in devils!” she quips back, making light of the notion.
However, Lilynette is briefly taken aback by just how many gold coins he is willing to spend. Just for a moment, the Bloodsworn complies with her request.
Ah, but nothing in Arcia stimulates the neurons in the Priestess’ mind like precious metals. As each coin descends, her smile widens. She watches them fall with great anticipation, as if her eyes can perceive the coins in an everlasting slow-motion dance. The light in her eyes provides the illumination for this dance of greed, relishing in the subtle but soft glow of the genuine coins. Yes, these are the real deal!
Spotting fakes is her secret skill!
“Thank you so much! Come in, come in!” she says with tiny hops in place.
Lilynette turns around, pushing the doors open to invite Jin inside. Once he enters, she closes the doors behind him, putting an end to the raging winds. The air inside the small, long-abandoned church is heavy with dust, carrying a musty scent of age and neglect.
Simple, weathered wooden pews line the nave, showing signs of wear and potential damage from decay. The altar, once the focal point of spiritual ceremonies, now stands silent and forgotten, its edges chipped, and the central figure of an unknown deity damaged beyond recognition---the damage appears recent. Faded religious artwork adorns the walls, though the colors have dulled over time. Cobwebs cling to the corners, and the occasional spider scurries about.
“It’s not much, but please bear with it just for now!” she says, moving past Jin. “Give me a moment. I’ll return soon! Feel free to make yourself comfortable,” she adds before opening a door behind the altar. Peeking her head out, she waves briefly before closing the door behind her and leaving the Bloodsworn in his temporary lonesome.
The disrepair did not seem to effect Jin in the least. As the doors closed behind him, the darkly dressed figure skulked further into the building, thinly aware of the stifling air. It was something like a barn, doors and windows sealed tight, rife with the pungent mess of animals, dust, and dirt; so difficult to breathe if one had not grown accustomed to it.
The thought enticed him to give a faint chuckle.
It sounds like you have quite some experience with the cycle. I cannot say it’s my preferred kind of… dance.
Did anyone ever choose to be part of that cycle, he wondered? No man alive had ever asked to be born, but a great many were thankful for the opportunity. Jin was a more common breed in the last century, one who had no particular fondness for the "gift" of life.
Not that the choices we have regarding how society operates are many to begin with. Unless, of course, you take it upon yourself to turn your ideals into reality at all costs.
The ramblings of idealists were the most amusing. People who wanted to create change, to "make the world a better place..." or even a worse one, even. Those were The kind of delusional individuals who went to the most hilarious extremes.
Jin had lived in another world for the majority of his life. It was a place that offered the idea of salvation through money, through pious behavior, through positive interactions and cooperation. He'd tried to believe that someone could die and go to a better place, even talked to a god who never seemed to listen.
But when the vision of an individual overshadows the collective, can we truly label it as a society?
Certainly, that was an option. Tyranny and leadership were separated by a paper thin margin. Smashing the separation with unquestioned authority could create an idyllic scenario.
Or it could lead to rebellion, which was the more realistic outcome.
No, Jin had done enough trying to fit in. He had lived trying on various fashions and degrees of chains. None of them were to his liking.
Imagine believing in devils!
Her words tickled him. In their last moments together, his mother had expressed lamentations that she had not brought him up well, and that something was fundamentally wrong with him. She noticed that beneath the son she loved, there was a monster- even if she did not want to look it in the eyes.
Imagine believing in devils? I suppose that's fair. My mother didn't believe in me, either.
Thank you so much!
Of course, just like anyone else, she was ready and willing to accept his coin. Greed was the one true God, the singular constant that could be believed in. Juxtaposed against the erased face of some divine entity, the faded and dilapidated building that reeked of dust, and the woman who indulged herself?
It’s not much, but please bear with it just for now! Give me a moment. I’ll return soon! Feel free to make yourself comfortable.
This felt more like home than his little apartment room ever had.
"Take your time."
After all... time was what she had traded with him for.
Shortly thereafter, the door swings open, and Lilynette emerges, draped in entirely different attire.
With a dramatic hop followed by a swift spin on her heels, she showcases her flowing light gold hair, now free of any restraints. The remaining dim lighting inside the building accentuates the meticulous care she puts into her appearance, giving her locks a precious quality reminiscent of the gold pieces that breathe life into the Priestess.
Gone is her saintly attire, replaced by gleaming slip-in shoes, a fine black fabric covering her long legs, an unassuming high-waist black skirt, and a simple red top with puffy sleeves. Two hairbands adorn her crown, adding the final touch to the portrayal of a cheerful woman, despite unknowingly showcasing an attire that is…
Rather infamous in the world Jin hails from.
"Ta-da!" she says, resting her hands on her waist; her hips are tilted to the side, and her ample chest puffed out. "How’d you like it?" she exudes confidence, her voice carrying a distinctive pep as if the choice of clothing defines the woman, not the other way around.
"Anyways! Since you’re already here, I thought you wouldn’t mind giving me a hand with something. What was that again…?" she feigns a thoughtful demeanor, resting her chin on the webbing between her index and thumb.
"…Right! Watering the seeds. Unless, of course, you’d like to spend the night here?" She bites her thumb, drawing crimson, and closes the distance between them, maintaining silence. Ignoring any chance of the man choosing to sleep here in the church, she speaks up again.
"C’mon, now. If we wanna move on, I need the blood; I’m the one that has to harvest it. I’d say I don’t bite, but that would be counterintuitive, don’t you think?" She starts with a straight face, soon morphing into a knowing grin.
…
She parts her lips.
"Ah~❤︎"
She waits, restraining her urge to laugh. Despite her teasing, if the man complies, her teeth snap with practiced ease against his skin. They draw blood akin to a lancet device, with the dubious benefit of having her lips taking the blood away. Her blues remained fixed on his reds all the while.
"Hope you haven’t been doing anything naughty with that hand, Bloodsworn!" With her thumb, she collects the blood from her lips, mixing his lifeblood with her own.
"𝔊𝔢𝔯𝔨𝔩𝔢𝔰 ℑ𝔰𝔦𝔰𝔨𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔟𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔬."Lilynette drags her bloodied thumb across the ruined figure, a subtle distortion in her voice indicating the casting of a spell.
Deafening silence fills the room. Something slithers from within the ruined figure at immense speed several times over, each time slower until a fleshy tendril becomes visible, lapping away at the blood like a tamed canine. The church shakes as a wave of subtle magic washes over its structure. The figure slowly slides away, and the circular space for the altar starts folding itself, like individual mechanical pieces opening up to reveal a massive hole.
Despite that, the sounds are far from mechanical; they are like waves of flesh torn apart and rearranged to serve some twisted purpose.
"I once met another starcalled in Falderen who wouldn’t stop complaining about stairs in the adventurer’s guild." A thud echoes from the altar.
"He used to talk about this strange machine…" She turns to Jin.
"I think it was… An enervator? Alerbator? I can’t quite recall. Anyways, it sounded like something handy—" Suddenly, a mass of flesh shoots upwards from within the hole, sticking to the church’s ceiling. Pulsating like myocardium muscles, it contracts, pulling something upwards from deep within where the altar used to sit at.
A chamber of flesh comes into view, a sight that would best belong somewhere within the ancient dissonance. The rotund mass of flesh pulsates erratically, its three eyes each individually gazing at different angles of the church with immense excitement. Sharp teeth line its mouth, and massive tongues slither about inside, as if they could discern different tastes in the air. The entire creature is composed of raw, exposed flesh, with innumerable tendrils slithering both inside and outside.
"Aaaaeoaehbhlagh…?" It attempts to communicate, but instead fills the room with the stench of rot, easily increasing the temperature inside a few degrees higher. It gazes at the Bloodsworn with curious bobbing eyes.
"Don’t you think it’s cute?"
As soon as she speaks, the creature’s eyes snap to Lilynette, and its distorted voice, mimicking the undertones of her previous teasing, echoes.
"Ah~❤︎?"
The priestess’ countenance grows bright red as she glares at the creature. "...Feeling cheeky, aren't you?Anyways…" She approaches the former altar, jumps into the creature’s mouth, and sits there, as though it is the most natural thing in Arcia.
"This one’s still a prototype, but it’s still fairly safe!" She manipulates different tentacles inside the creature as if messing with its controls.
"We only have like… a two percent chance of being eaten alive?"
"Either way, what are you waiting for, Bloodedge?" She taps the tongue beside her, inviting the man to join her on this madness. "It’s barely got space for one, but we can manage!"
When she returned, Jin stared deadpan at her. From one look to another, one had to wonder if she stocked her wardrobe with a specific retinue of outfits that appealed to certain... tastes. Like any man, he had indulged in such things at some point in life, but Theo had never been nearly as enthusiastic about it as this woman seemed to be about her attire.
How’d you like it?
"You certainly have a definitivestyle,"he noted.
Anyways! Since you’re already here, I thought you wouldn’t mind giving me a hand with something. What was that again…?
He narrowed his eyes.
…Right! Watering the seeds. Unless, of course, you’d like to spend the night here
Such a perversion of his own words. And in typical fashion for a woman, she made a suggestion she had no intention of following through with. The power of words was something this woman clearly understood. Most men's hearts might skip a beat if a beautiful woman spoke so suggestively.
Most men.
She quickly erased that thought with the drawing of blood. Her own blood, markedly. As she closed the distance between them, his gaze remained transfixed on the fluid that welled up at the surface of her flesh. He could feel it's warmth without ever getting closer. The metallic scent, though faint, burned his nostrils. He could feel the ravenous hunger boiling in the pit of his stomach.
C’mon, now. If we wanna move on, I need the blood; I’m the one that has to harvest it. I’d say I don’t bite, but that would be counterintuitive, don’t you think?
She knew not what she asked, and yet, that too was acceptable. Again, she dared to ask for something without giving something suitable in return- whatever followed? Well-earned.
Without speaking, his arm lifted, and the shreds of black, tattered fabric spilled away from his outstretched fingers. Her eyes remained fixated on his now as she nipped his flesh, and her lips took in his cursed ichor.
Hope you haven’t been doing anything naughty with that hand, Bloodsworn!
"Nothing yet,"he replied, smirking.
𝔊𝔢𝔯𝔨𝔩𝔢𝔰 ℑ𝔰𝔦𝔰𝔨𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔟𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔬.
Jin did not know these words of power, but he did not need to. The blood was a conduit for magical energy, but not a proper medium. He could tell by the way she required a willing sacrifice- or unwilling perhaps may have suited just as well- that her own viscera alone would not have been sufficient.
A fleshy appendage writhed into view moments later- had it been there all along, waiting? He could not imagine that it hadn't. Folding his arms, the Bloodsworn watches in mute appreciation of the display.
Vulgar though it was, there was something profound about ruinous powers. Profane magic, the sort which drew the ire of the Landers, gave Jin life. That was what prompted him to take it up for himself.
I once met another starcalled in Falderen who wouldn’t stop complaining about stairs in the adventurer’s guild.
He listened thoughtfully as gurgles and squelches permeated the room, wriggling and worming and ripping and tearing.
He used to talk about this strange machine…
She turned to him.
I think it was… An enervator? Alerbator? I can’t quite recall. Anyways, it sounded like something handy-
Then, it appeared. Like a hungry leech exploding from the depths to latch on to the ceiling, a grotesque, filmy cylinder came into view.
Like a vein, pulsating, flowing blood through the body to various muscles and organs. An elevator. She was describing an elevator.
He could see its eyes, independent of one another, gazing out at an unfamiliar world with evident glee. It's maw was lined with sharp fangs and serpentine tongues, and it appeared ready to gorge itself on whatever it could.
Aaaaeoaehbhlagh…?
A putrid gas excretes from it as the more creature than machine makes some sort of sound.
Don’t you think it’s cute?
Ah~❤︎?
...Feeling cheeky, aren't you?Anyways…
It was a small wonder she was so free with how she spoke, if even disfigured horrors with dubious sentience could make her blush. He could sense the life flowing through it, coursing through the entire establishment. There was intelligence, something subservient to this woman, but it lacked for the essence of despair or eternal servitude. 'The lights were on, but no one was home.'
This one’s still a prototype, but it’s still fairly safe! We only have like… a two percent chance of being eaten alive?
As she spoke, she began to grab at the probiscii and tendrils as if they were the inner workings of a machine. And perhaps that was not so far off from the truth. Jin found himself wondering what sort of human centipede surgeries had afforded her the parts to piecemeal something like this together.
"Less than that, I wager," he mused. "But for the sake of your science, and my continued interest, I'll simply watch as you work."
Either way, what are you waiting for, Bloodedge? It’s barely got space for one, but we can manage!
Ah, but once again, he manages to surprise the priestess.
Various outcomes danced through her imagination, and she certainly anticipated a barrage of denials or questioning remarks regarding the safety of such a peculiar invention. The priestess' lips unconsciously part, her blue eyes tracking his every step as he draws near. Instead of moral lectures or concerns about the unconventional experiment at hand, he simply joins her.
…
Unexpected. It's simply unexpected. Aware that, while not villainous, her actions to further her goals are of a questionable nature, Lilynette knows that any rational person would condemn her pursuits - her research, her interest in the unknown, and especially the less-than-appealing study of everything related to flesh and its limits. The blonde pauses in her manipulation of the organic controls, a subtle smile gracing her lips. The fair skin of her cheeks burns, and her gaze avoids meeting his.
The Bloodsworn might not be aware, but this fills the maiden’s heart with hope. Perhaps the home she envisions building someday isn't such a bad idea after all!
Lilynette will remember this.
“Well then, first officer!” she declares, as if embarking on a perilous sea voyage, “Any last words?” She smirks, glancing at the man sharing the tight space with her. She looks up at the creaturevator, observing a myriad of fist-sized uvula on the roof of its mouth. One, in particular, is bioluminescent—the one she's ready to pull at any moment.
She waits for only a moment before pulling the mentioned flesh with all the strength she can muster.
“THEN LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!”
The creature’s mouth slams shut almost instantly, enveloping the bio-elevator in near-complete darkness. A familiar thud echoes from outside as the biomechanical process reverses, and the altar returns to its original shape, hiding them from the outside world.
Meanwhile, the bioelevator descends for a brief moment until it stops.
Lilynette bounces in place, anticipating… Something?
Ah, there it is.
Several hundred eyes forcefully open within the fleshy interior, drawing blood from the soft tissue; the Bloodsworn should notice that the crimson liquid is a near-identical mixture of their own lifeblood. At this moment, if Lilynette hadn't given their identification via the blood sacrifice, they would meet their end here as mere sustenance. Instead—
It is deafening, and the stench of death invades and burns the nostrils with no regard for permission. The entire chamber vibrates as the creature cries out in a disturbed cacophony of chaos, a twisted ensemble reserved for the two of them in that moment.
Lilynette appears to be laughing. Not that either of them can hear anything, but she seems ecstatic.
Her lips move, and though he may not hear what she says, “Hold on!!!”
Before he can piece together what she means, Lilynette pulls the Bloodsworn into a tight hug. Perhaps she’s just happy to have someone indulge her strange creations.
Whatever biomechanical spell held the structure is deactivated, and gravity does the rest. The chamber hurtles and rolls down at immense speed, turning their small world upside down and vice versa, a chaotic and weightless trip down a proverbial throat leading into hell. They go deeper, deeper than any delver has gone, where men fear the underdark.
Over time, the mixed assault on their senses dulls their consciousness, and they would fade somewhere along the way...
They suddenly wake up with a loud impact outside, but thanks to the fleshy interior, they feel none of its repercussions. A barely conscious Lilynette, laying on top of the Bloodsworn, reaches for a particular eye in the corner and punches it. The mouth opens up, allowing them freedom, but…
Can they even stand?
“Ahahaha, I will never get bored of this…!”
”Jin? Where are you? Sorry, can’t move…!” She asks, unaware she’s on top of him. The dizziness has yet to fade. She searches for him, finding herself unable to even locate the man's face amidst the disorienting surroundings.
Though it lacked for the sort of refinement most preferred, Lilynette had chosen a path few Travelers would dare tread. The secrets that were unlocked through profane magics and tampering with things that society and the morally rigid proclaimed to be "wrong" were among the fruits that Jin had come to Arcia to seek. The world he'd left behind was a boring place. The most abnormal sciences that were frowned upon were nothing like what he saw unfolding before him. Stem cell research, abortion, transhumanism- things that the more conservative elements of the population disavowed as "unholy" and "morally reprehensible" were nothing when faced with body horror in machine format.
And he found no shortage of entertainment in that fact.
Well then, first officer!Her excitement was palpable, and his anticipation most likely came as a byproduct of that. Any last words?
"Impress me," he gestured for her to continue.
And the creature in turn did just that. Like the true digestive process of a living, breathing creature, it swallowed them down. Moving as if pulled at by g-forces and the natural, flowing, undulating movements of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, they were forced downward-
He could hear nothing, as what should have been stomach acids and churning working to dissolve them was simply rancid gas and erratic motion overwhelmed the senses. Tossed around, shuffled, then discarded. Jin felt the woman embrace him suddenly, and his gaze shot in her direction. There was no time to stop her, and no space. He couldn't even protest if he wanted to.
His senses slowly dimmed, then faded to black.
And finally, he awakens, his eyes open, but he can see nothing. More accurately, he could probably see if not for something warm and large completely covering his face. Jin could not breathe, but he faintly heard Lilynette now.
Ahahaha, I will never get bored of this…!
It was muffled, and it came fromabove him... oh.
Jin? Where are you? Sorry, can’t move…!
His hand slowly rose, tapping her thigh. It was easy to find- less than a foot from his head. She was seated directly in his face.
It wasn't what he had in mind, but it was impressive in its own right.
Having received no response from the fellow practitioner of black magicks, she finds herself massaging her temples as she sits upright. Has he been swallowed? Her eyebrows furrow in response to her initial predicament—Lilynette has performed this procedure time and time again, there is no way—
And then she feels something tapping on her thigh.
She turns, still seated, ready to snap at her elevator for poking her in ways uninten—Oh.
Lilynette sans Giltine is a woman of faith. Every morning, she pays the appropriate respects for her lord, in hopes of discovering something new about this world. Despite dabbling with the occult and many such matters that would count as nightmare fuel in the eyes of any sane person, she is nonetheless a priestess. A woman devoid of lecherous thoughts, when exposed to them—
“EEEEEEKYAYAYAYANONONOS̵͔̓A̷̢̯̾͘D̸̨̤̿L̸̳͋̍I̸͚͘F̶̯͈͗̆K̶̺̖͆O̴̦̰̎̉I̵̢̭̓U̶̞̾S̸̩͘F̷͇̘̀G̸͈͂V̸̹͕͝I̵̩̠̅̇S̴͕̅K̴̢͕͗A̵̭͂Š̵̩̞̓—!” what starts with a startled scream turns soon into desperate eldritch babbling as the blonde does everything in her power to try and stand up. Because of the dizziness that remains clinging to her, however, it takes Lilynette several attempts before her bottoms grant him freedom at last.
Alas, that also means the Bloodsworn would find himself smacked back on the ground witch each new attempt.
As his vision returns, Jin is met with the view of a Lilynette painted in a shade of red so intense that it puts the fleshy environment to shame. Her furrowed eyebrows twitch, and her blues wander everywhere but at the Bloodsworn, demonstrating an ongoing internal battle where she cannot quite tell if she should be angry at him, at the elevator, or if she should kill herself out of embarrassment instead.
“P-please just forget that…” Standing before him, she offers her hand to help him stand up.
The environment, on the other hand, contrasts with the priestess’ bashful display. The walls, the ground, and everywhere the eyes could see are painted in myriad shades of red, with an intermittent black substance similar to sludge. Th umbral substance takes the shape of roots, as if responsible for connecting everything together.
The entire area around them pulsates in the same rhythm as the elevator, further cementing the possibility of everything being connected together. It’s a long corridor, leading to a large ‘door’ on the other side. Sometimes, individual parts of flesh akin to bodies of different species seem to try and separate themselves from the clusters, only to be forcefully brought back together by all the other flesh around it.
Regardless of whether or not he accepts her hand, Lilynette eventually snaps away from him with arms crossed.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” Her blues shoot back to steal glances at him. “Sorry for the rough trip. I-it’s fun once you get used to it! She begins walking forward, expecting him to follow her lest he becomes one with the flesh walls around them.
"We're almost there. Make sure you follow me so you don't get lost."Before the distant door grows closer, she continues, “Since I’ve decided to reveal this much to you, I take it I get a pass for questions now?”
A brief silence. She does not wait for his approval before asking.
“What makes you so obsessed with watching things unfold before you, anyways?”
He wanted to stand up, because this was infuriating.
One person had ever held him down and cut off his ability to breathe, and lacking the ability to see, violent images- flashbacks- flickered in his mind. Rage burned in his chest, pulsed through his veins, threatened to explode out at the slightest provocation. As she floundered, he found his head bouncing off the floor akin to the way a basketball might be dribbled. This, too, sent uncomfortable memories of his father's abusive tendencies rocketing across his neurons. Jin found his fingers clawing at the fleshy substance that existed in lieu of the ground, seeking purchase on anything that might give him leverage.
Alas, it did not last.
The fire burning in him remained hot, but the scene that unfolded quickly pulled him back to reality. At best, the Bloodsworn found himself annoyed, and with no one truly to blame.
P-please just forget that…
He had been trying to do that for the better part of his life.
"I will try my best," he told her honestly. Neither of them knew the other was not on the same page. "Regardless, think nothing of it."
You're not hurt, are you?
"No."
Sorry for the rough trip. I-it’s fun once you get used to it!
Was it? "I'm sure it is," he entertained hospitably.
We'realmost there. Make sure you follow me so you don't get lost.
Jin took a moment to situate himself, suppressing the animosity that threatened to take hold when unbidden memories were forced into the forefront of his mind. There was, after all, no call for his rage to be unleashed on the girl.
Since I’ve decided to reveal this much to you, I take it I get a pass for questions now?
I assume you're going to take the liberty of asking regardless,he folded his arms.
"What makes you so obsessed with watching things unfold before you, anyways?"
For once, she asked a question that he did not mind answering. Jin found it particularly amusing that someone busied themselves with curiosity about his motives at all. Most people wrote it off as some sort of odd quirk or a kink, and at some level, that may not have been entirely off base. Satisfied with the query, he deigned to offer her a real answer.
"Boredom." He said the word so suddenly, so venomously that it might even startle the girl. "Ennui." Jin found himself giving voice to the demons that danced behind his eyes, the dissatisfaction with the reality he was born into and the circumstances he had been dealt.
"I was born into a society, into a world filled with cheaters. Thieves. Murderers. Creatures that thrived entirely on the basest of instincts, but every one of them was lying not only to everyone around them, but to themselves as well." He looked to Lilynette, offered his hand- a gesture different from the shake one might offer with a deal. No, the way he held it out was akin to an invitation to dance. "But for all that potential, that chaotic, discordant beauty, they denied themselves with notions of "order" and "justice." They plastered ideals over reality, masked their true nature with the pretense of society, and ambled meekly through life without ever embracing who they really were."
He took her hand, spun her once around, pulled her close. With a slow blink, he looked deep into Lilynette's eyes. He smiled.
"My dear girl," he crooned sweetly, "ask anyone who knew me then and they would tell you I was a monster born in the flesh of a man. The things civilization craves, I reject. The horrors they turn away from, I delight in. I want to see everything, unmasked. I want to gaze at a world without lenses, with no filters, no censorship. I want the joy and the suffering, I want everything in between."
Jin let her go, gently.
"I want everything," he said, grinning madly, "and I want nothing, because in its own way, that too is a feasible outcome."
"And so, I want everyone in the world to act out their parts... simply that I might enjoy the show, madness and all."
Her blues widen in response to the venomous undertones of that single word. In this fleeting moment, Lilynette finds herself pondering the intricate machinations of his mind until her gaze meets his, and the crimson demons whisper answers to unasked questions.
She… belongs to her lord.
So why is it that every time their eyes lock, she feels herself descending further into red?
Before she can delve deeper into the matter, the Bloodsworn pulls her with unexpected finesse. Having some knowledge of dancing herself, she allows his intention to lead, resulting in a smooth spin that brings her dangerously close to Jin. Her eyes instinctively gravitate upwards, meeting his gaze once more as his lips curve into a smile.
What… a bold move.
In any other situation, she would have thrown some sass his way, but considering her previous blunder, her lips remain sealed. It takes some effort to comprehend his words while stifling her wild imagination. As Jin delves further into the raison d’etre of his obsessions, however, the tension on Lilynette’s shoulders dissipates. Her gaze moves away slowly, as if staring into a distant abyss. A curve draws a smile upon her lips, yet, it feels so…
Bittersweet.
“I see!” she says amid chuckles, “Then you really are a perfect match,” she adds, turning around just as he releases her, unwilling to expand upon her statement.
The flesh door vibrates in response to Lilynette’s presence, and the eye in its center, acting as a lock, retreats inside its fleshy surroundings before the organic barrier splits itself in two equal halves, sliding away like modern doors from the real world.
As she steps past the door, the blonde turns to face Jin again, just as the scene unfolds before him.
“I guess it’s a little late, but either way, welcome to Hypokristalos!” she says, spreading her arms. Behind her sits a massive unknown entity, an abhorrent mix of flesh and plant melded into one. They stand on what appears to be a circular platform, with a fleshy yet transparent barrier preventing entry into the gigantic multi-story vertical space that the abominable tree occupies.
“Since you were so kind to share all that information, I guess it’s my turn?” she says before taking a turn to the left, following the curved platform as she continues her explanation, “This is where I undertake my research in the name of my faith and my lord.” As she speaks, several isolated rooms come into view on the wall; the same fleshy transparent film makes up what should otherwise look like glass, while amorphous flesh forms the rest of the structure, resembling doors.
Inside, bioluminescent light illuminates myriad tables made of polished black bone, each with many small, flesh-like alien specimens growing in a controlled environment. Strangely enough, the lights flicker, as if the facility itself is undergoing some major problem.
“This is where I can research everything I please, the things people would call… horrors, according to your own words, I guess? It's also where I develop the food people in Valentine eat.” she says, revealing many other rooms; some on platforms above them, others below. At the end of the curved platform, another door awaits them.
She sighs before speaking up, “We’re here. This one is such a pain…”
Unlike the previous door, the one before the two has the semblance of a face at its center. Lilynette pulls on the sleeve of her right arm, positioning her left index and thumb fingers around the distorted face’s nose, “…But it can’t be helped. Security measures and all that…”
…
A moment of silence ensues as the blonde focuses on the long-lost skill of deep breathing, until—
“HNNGH!!” she pinches the abhorrent nose, aided by a might comparable to that of a magma gorilla.
“GYEOOOOOOOOOAH—” the face tries to yell in pain, but its attempt is in vain. The priestess is quick on the uptake, shoving the entirety of her right arm within the door’s ‘mouth.’ The thing gurgles and drools as she seems to look for something inside, as if searching for the secret switch of a messy machine.
“And… found it.” With one powerful yank, she pulls from deep within its mouth a needlessly long tongue. It lolls out for a brief moment before the face swiftly slurps back its own tongue, and the door opens up.
Lilynette turns to Jin with a knowing grin on her face.
“You seem skilled at moving your body!” she says, offering the goop-covered limb and hand to him, “Shall we dance, then?” She can’t keep a straight face for very long after saying that and ends up turning around while suppressing a laugh.
The room within is dark, and oddly enough, the ever-present pulse of Hypokristalos does not match that of the one outside, further cementing the idea that something is wrong here.
“What I need help with is over there.” she points towards the end of the room, where something akin to an blazing heart beats to its own rhythm, filled with rebellion and, to the spiritually aware Bloodsworn, an innumerable number of souls packed into a series of glowing organs.
“The facility is still undergoing development, and sometimes, those things pop up because of unexpected mutations. They absorb precious resources, and don't do anything beneficial at all. They heal far too fast for me to just tear them out, so, I imagine that, perhaps…” she glances at Jin,
“The pro on souls here knows how to deal with this?”
A brief silence.
“If you can get rid of them, the souls are all yours. My lord has no interest in them.”
He could see something in her gaze that no one had ever showed him before, and Jin found that intriguing. The world was full of expression, of various looks that meant a multitude of things, but the Bloodsworn could not place that one. He gave her the slightest of smirks. She'd shown him something unintended, but welcome. New experiences always delighted him, because they were never boring.
Then you really are a perfect match.
For what? Did it really matter? Jin found himself fascinated with her meaning, but she did not bother to elaborate. Ah, well.
This is where I can research everything I please, the things people would call… horrors, according to your own words, I guess? It's also where I develop the food people in Valentine eat.
Oh he'd known whatever she was offering him before wasn't quite normal, but this only served to amuse him even more. She wasn't so much drugging them as attuning them to the magicks of this "Hypokristalos." He'd seen similar forms of ennervation adjunct to assimilation, but nothing quite so sophisticated. He started to contemplate the nature of the process, if it were simply ingestion, a slow process akin to poisoning, or something more... sinister.
Before his wild imagination could take flight, however...
What I need help with is over there.
Jin was uncertain whether she could see them, but she was most certainly aware they were there.
"Fascinating," he spoke breathlessly, for a moment overcome by the sudden and immense hunger of his weapon. He could feel his pulse quickening, the ravishing, unending desire that followed causing him to licj his lips unbidden.
"What you're dealing with is a direct acquisition, through what I'm assuming is a harvest. I'll admit that I've pieced together some of your enterprise here through just what I've seen, though how you effect assimilation simply through the..." he stopped himself short of the word victim, opting for something more appropriate. "...subject's ingestion of the substance you've manufactured is, admittedly, outside of my ability to piece together."
It was only natural that, short of death in the proper sense, still-functional tissue would retain its ability to heal. What she had created here retained the fundamental self-restorative aspects of the human genome, but as a result...
How positively brilliant.
"In lieu of the ability to die, the soul remains bound to the body. In this situation, the souls seem to bottleneck in your Hypokristalos, and as souls are wont to do, they reject the unnatural state of being amalgamated."
Jin laughed. He laughed suddenly, loudly, and wildly.
"Humankind prided itself on the ability to adapt and overcome through the rise of civilization and the growth of societies. For thousands of years, they coexisted and lauded how skilled they were at communication, at cohesion, at coming together as one-"
He gestured toward the pathetic display of resistance, smiling.
"How the mighty do fall, panicked and desperate for isolation, for freedom from being herded together like cattle. Yes, I do believe I have a solution that you might find suitable. It will not be a simple process, and it will require some upkeep over time to properly maintain, as I lack the capacity to simply bar new souls from entry... but I can certainly do something about your current infestation."
She stifles a series of giggles, trying not to ruin his moment of sudden loud amusement. To think she’d find someone as interested in the questionable taboo arts...
Goddamn nerd!
“I’m impressed you could deduce so much from exposure alone. You’ve got... about the latter half right!” she says, approaching Jin. Focusing a minimal amount of lifeforce into her left index, the blonde draws a horizontal line across her right palm. Her black nail does not draw blood—instead, a thin line opens up, and from inside, a mouth reveals itself to the world.
She begins curling and pressing her fingers against the second mouth as she speaks up, “The process starts with a seed.” she says, opening the palm of her hand soon after. The mouth opens up in response, and the tongue within presents a globulet of flesh.
Rubbing it between her index and thumb fingers, Lilynette presents it to Jin so he could better perceive her creation. “Once ingested, they spring to life and invade the subject’s body.” with a light squish, the seed comes to life, sprouting several arachnid-like tendrils from within itself.
“Each one has a specific set of instructions when I create them. They can record what the host perceives, monitor their health, intentions, what your kind refers to as genetic material, and more.” The seed promptly jumps off from her grasp, fleeing from the two of them.
“…Of course, what goes in, eventually comes out.” she says, just as the fleshy ground suddenly spikes up, capturing and consuming the small seed. “When the host expels them, they bury into the ground and follow the roots of Hypokristalos,” she says, pointing back with her thumb, as if referencing the massive tree from before.
“…and then they return here. Once I cultivate them within incubators, the end result are all sorts of specimens! I can cultivate flesh of the avian, bovine, porcine, and many other variants.” she says, crossing her arms, eyeing the soul cancer disrupting the flow of her creation.
“That said, since they’re grown from the genetic material of people from Valentine, they’re essentially consuming their own, uh… You know!” she shrugs with her shoulders alone, hoping the implied information is clear, “But I’ve come to the conclusion they don’t need to know that.”
“However, since the genetic material is coming from humans, that means the shape of the flesh I cultivate does not match that of its soul. The end result is this thing.” she nods towards the anomalous heart.
“My lord abhors spirit magic, and as a result, I find myself unable to perceive it right. It’s not a perfect system yet, so we’re kind of in a pinch. If this thing keeps absorbing energy, the lifeforce cultivation won’t be able to keep up. If the facility shuts down...”
A brief silence.
“Everything dies. Valentine included.” she says, releasing a sigh. Lilynette glances to Jin as she speaks up again, “Therefore… Some upkeep over time is much better than losing everything.”
So his theory about an invasive, parasitic anomaly proved correct; but the means by which the biomatter was absorbed had been in error. Still, it was not overly consequential. If he'd been able to merely guess at the method to her process, it would have been dreadfully boring. Needless to say, Jin found himself smirking as he stroked his chin and watched Lilynette explain her passion project. At the sight of her hand opening up to reveal a mouth of its own, the Bloodsworn leaned forward just a bit.
She had gone so far as to expose herself to the experimentation. And why wouldn't she? The woman touted this business in the way a religious zealot might. It stood to reason that anything she would inflict on another "believer," she would happily do unto herself. He had to be impressed. There weren't many religious people he'd met who would go to those kinds of extremes to appease their gods.
When she explained the minutia of the process, and about how the various creations functioned in different ways from one another, he blinked. "Akin to cells in the body," he observed. His skill in hemomancy wasn't simply a choice driven by "edge." The human body was a machine in its own right, fueled by oxygen, which when suffused into blood energized, fueled, maintained, and repaired its various parts. Red blood cells performed the various functions necessary for the blood to deal with those tasks, independent of one another, coded with an intrinsic role since time immemorial. White blood cells dealt with disposing of matter that did not belong, like sickness, viral infections, poison...
Yes, Jin's fascination with the body gave him profound insight into something like this.
When she made the connection, it clicked immediately. They excreted the necessary biomatter harmlessly, returning it to Hypokristalos to then use in whatever way it needed. The subtext was where things started to blur. That was where Jin came in. However, since the genetic material is coming from humans, that means the shape of the flesh I cultivate does not match that of its soul. The end result is this thing.
My lord abhors spirit magic, and as a result, I find myself unable to perceive it right. It’s not a perfect system yet, so we’re kind of in a pinch. If this thing keeps absorbing energy, the lifeforce cultivation won’t be able to keep up. If the facility shuts down...
"Finally, we have the full scope of the issue laid bare," he declared. Jin stepped forward, placing two fingers onto the malformed heart. "An unforseen circumstance. An accidental byproduct of what you aim to achieve." He felt the pulse crawl up his arm, out of synch with his own heartbeat. "By some twist of fate, the small sample of biomatter that you recieve in each..." he clicked his tongue, "transaction, brings with it a shorn fragment of the subject's soul. So small, perhaps, that it does no lasting damage at face value. But over time, the same subjects lose so much of themselves, their identity begins to fray. They lose the will to resist, to function, and finally to live at all. Naturally the process by which this is achieved would take many cycles..."
Oh, the cogs were turning. Even if only by accident, Lilynette's experimentation had yielded not only startling, but phenomenal results. Jin was grinning madly, barely able to contain the excitement brought on by this revelation. With magic, it was actually plausible to manipulate and even destroy a still-living organism. Not only that, but the very soul that resided in a living being could be whittled down, shorn apart atom by atom in the same way that the physical form could. This information was nothing short of a steal for his investment.
Not that the woman needed to be made aware that he'd already made dividends. No, after all, he was here to help her.
Everything dies. Valentine included.
An apt assessment of her current predicament.
Therefore… Some upkeep over time is much better than losing everything.
He nodded. To preserve something like this and ensure it's longevity...
...where do we even begin, then?”
"A most excellent question!" Jin praised. Precious few people ever asked them. "We begin at the heart. Quite literally, in fact. This construct houses a patchwork quilt fabricated from the people of Valentine. Intricately woven, the most obvious manner in which to sunder it is by way of medical death." he said. "However, my understanding of your operation here leads me to believe that the loss of this particular mechanism may prove to be an unsavory setback. Therefore," Jin peeled his fingers away from the organ, snapped them promptly, and pointed to Lilynette. "We utilize the new information that we've gleaned here to conduct another test."
"In this world, when a life ends, there is a pattern that varies between Lander and Traveler," he explained. "Death works differently for Landers, you see, for when they expire their souls go to the plane governed by a god. But Travelers defy the cycle by way of rebirth, much to said god's chagrin. So, you can imagine the balance is upset when Lander souls are disrupted from following the course and making their way to the Afterlife. This does happen in various ways- a Traveler or a seasoned Lander mage might utilize healing magic to forestall true death, returning soul to body; or, as we see here, the soul is somehow trapped, unable to release and make its way to death's door."
"This situation is fraught," he admitted. "Under normal circumstances, a deal could be brokered with these souls to allow me to become their warden. In that way, I could freely remove them and leave you with a heart bereft of any spirit of rebellion. However, that is all you have here. Their will to resist. The will to live, to be free, to do all the things that humans are wont to do. It lacks for reason, and all of the ability to cognate that follows. It has no way of making any such deal."
Jin smiled.
"However, today we have learned that souls are malleable in other ways. They can lose pieces of themselves at the mere provocation of outside interference. Completely by accident!" He clapped his hands. "And so today, my good hostess, we are going to see what happens when we tear them apart again, then stitch them back together. Without their collective will, the results should prove most illuminating."
"I trust that you have no objections to the proposed method?"
"?!," she almost squeaks in response to his enthusiastic praises. Lilynette, having spent much of her life as a servant under her lord's guidance, is uncertain about how to accept such compliments. The Priestess had anticipated another negotiation before progressing, but the Bloodsworn once again defies her expectations.
Her curious blues observe Jin as he closes the distance between himself and the rebellious organ. Soon enough, she finds herself mimicking his motions, watching the unnatural kernel beat to its own discordant rhythm, oblivious to the immense collective of souls it houses.
Considering her machines are technically alive but stripped of individuality, she theorizes that their souls must go somewhere. This theory now solidifies into truth, thanks to the man by her side. Still curious, she watches him grin in the face of an abomination. Why does finding someone so thrilled by her research feels so—
...good?
Make no mistake; Jin, the Bloodsworn Adventurer, is not the first outsider to step into Hypokristalos. Somewhere within the facility, a few villagers have joined her cause, diligently working to keep it functioning. On the other hand, in the past, many intruders considered themselves liberators of Valentine, ready to wrest The Root from her lord's grasp, even through violence.
Today, they are all incubators.
Yet, now that she has found someone who doesn't fit the aforementioned descriptions, why does she yearn for something unknown? Is that why she wants to rebuild Valentine into something greater? If not, then what?
It almost feels like something important is missing.
Before she can delve further into the matter, she's startled as the man snaps his fingers and points at her. Blinking a few times, she allows the information to disseminate within her mindscape. "Then I should revise my methods in the future," she muses aloud, glancing downward as she makes a mental note.
"I don't want the people of Valentine to become husks. Their purpose is to build a home where we can all study the arcanum together." A sigh escapes her lips before she concludes her train of thought, "Puppets can't understand the arcanum. They must seek the truth themselves—my mission is to guide, not control." It's frustrating, but she quickly overcomes this feeling with a bright smile.
Regardless of the challenges she may face in developing her passion from here on out, she knows there is much to learn and improve. Whether in the real or virtual worlds, the prospect of discovering more about the world is what propels a researcher forward.
…"And so today, my good hostess, we are going to see what happens when we tear them apart again, then stitch them back together. Without their collective will, the results should prove most illuminating."
Lilynette can almost hear her own heartbeats over the abominable heart. Her fair face burns a light pink, and her lips curve upwards, signaling a positive response in the making—
But alas.
He. Is. Here.
The light inside her blues flickers amid the chaos wreaked upon her mind, undermining will, perception, thought, and instinct. She bites her lower lip, attempting to maintain composure in the face of sudden mental strain. She yearns for this moment of shared interests to linger indefinitely, but unbeknownst to her, she made a disastrous wish almost eight years ago.
Now, she is but property—a bondservant devoid of rights and wishes.
Lilynette belongs to her lord, but this man does not. Jin still has a chance.
The priestess finds herself unable to meet his gaze as she takes a step toward him, "I had a lot of fun today...," another step, "If I did anything that wronged you, I'm sorry, and..." one final step as she closes the distance between them,
Her gaze gravitates up, where teary blue meets red for the last time.
"Thank you!"
With no warning, she lunges forward, pushing the Bloodsworn as far away as she could. Before Jin can even find himself touching the fleshy ground again, a massive hand descends from the top of the room and lands squarely where they were near each other. The impact is forceful enough to catapult him away, catching Lilynette's lower body and crushing it under its massive grasp.
A distorted and echoed voice reverberates across the room, shaking the entirety of Hypokristalos with its raging introduction. The flesh on the walls, on the strange machines, the abhorrent heart, and even the very biomatter that makes up the ground distorts as if attempting to stay away from whatever it is that clings to the top of the room.
There, amidst the ceiling swallowed by shadows, glowing orbs watch the Bloodsworn like prey. Multiple other arms reveal themselves as it drags itself down near the half-crushed priestess.
“F-forgive me… milord, I… don’t know…what I…” on the verge of passing out from blood loss, she mutters in hopes of—
"̷S̶H̶U̵T̴.̴ ̴T̷H̸E̷ ̵F̷U̷C̸K̴.̸ ̶U̶P̵.̸"̶
“…”
As it descends, the same black substance from earlier cascades down the room, falling as massive and vicous individual torrents. The scarce light remaining in the room reveals an amorphous creature with a myriad of glowing orbs, akin to eyes. Its body bears no shape, composed of a sludge-like substance with massive black skeletal arms erupting out of its shapeless frame, clawing at the fleshy walls for support.
She’s not sure why…
The hand that keeps Lilynette prisoner raises her into the air, and crimson overflows from her body like a cascade of blood. The major glowing orb turns to the Bloodsworn, before its ominous voice reverberates again,
In the end, she can never get anything done right, isn’t it?
The massive hand holding the Priestess pulls her into the amorphous black mass, which promptly swallows her whole. What follows suit is the cacophony of torn flesh, bones crackled and shattered, as the sludge tears apart everything that makes Lilynette sans Giltine an individual, repurposing her for its own needs instead.
Lilynette belongs to her lord,
And so does her skin, flesh, sinew, bones, mind, psyche, and soul.
The arms holding the creature together retract into its amorphous body just as the black sludge begins contracting itself into a singular point. It’s gigantic mass splashes near the abnormal heart, decreasing in size with every moment.
“Yes, milord!” the black mass responds, flesh and bone connecting together where they belong. It immediately stands at attention not unlike a servant, just as the sludge takes the perfect replica shape of a [scarlet-black dress], revealing Lilynette’s expressive visage and flowing light gold hair once more.
glowing orbs occasionally open up on her outfit, gazing at the world surrounding it.
“Your wish is my command, milord. Welcome to Hypokristalos, esteemed guest! I am Lilynette sans Giltine.” she says, at last turning to Jin with a smile.
In the wake of her first step, the ground and walls of Hypokristalos scream in discord, as if warning the Bloodsworn of impending doom. “Unfortunately, I cannot hope you enjoy your stay. Such is the will of my lord!” she says as though she has never met Jin in the first place.
“If you value your life, I kindly request that you…” Around her hips, bat-like wings unfold as the joint corruption of master and servant expands, transmuting the flesh beneath her feet into a myriad of minions, including flying eyes, canine abominations, and bumbling humanoids marching alongside her. Her minions advance at once, hoping to tear him apart where he stands.
Then I should revise my methods in the future. I don't want the people of Valentine to become husks. Their purpose is to build a home where we can all study the arcanum together. Puppets can't understand the arcanum. They must seek the truth themselves—my mission is to guide, not control.
Despite her methods, Lilynette is a visionary.
She is a kind person who wants the best for her people- the people of Valentine.
Theodore Russell Davis - the Bloodsworn, Jin- is none of these things.
At the inference that she needs to revise her methods, Jin's lips tugged into the slightest frown. Her experimentation had yielded the kind of information he might never have obtained without her skillset. And she wanted to cast that aside for a more humane approach?
With a sigh, he relented. She is not him. Now he knew the truth, and he could use it however he wants. She could do the same.
I had a lot of fun today... If I did anything that wronged you, I'm sorry, and...
She pushed him so suddenly, he had no time to be surprised. Lilynette had been more handsy from the moment he met her than he was usually willing to allow, so getting closer, posturing provocatively- he'd let his guard down. Now, he was reeling into a new situation, quite literally unprepared. Oh, that soured his mood immensely.
Thank you!
Thank you? Thank you? She had a strange way of showing-
The hand that crushed her body was not dissimilar to the rest of the biomass that littered the area around them, so he had to conclude that it was somehow involved with or a part of Hypokristalos. The voice, however, he'd heard for only a moment before. It was that strange phenomenon from before, outside. Now, he could see the source.
And now that he could see the source, he was once more acutely aware of the situation he was in. This was deep behind enemy lines. The very world beneath his feet was treacherous, wont to tear him apart if he chanced upon any of its orifices, tentacles, appendages, or teeth. Despite this, Jin was never the type of man to lose his head.
"My sincerest apologies," Jin replied as he righted himself, giving a curt bow in the direction of the creature that had at last revealed itself. "Had I known that my true host had the manners of a dog with mange, I would have dispensed with the pleasantries and foregone formality from the start."
Jin was a creature that never stopped looking back over his shoulder. He went nowhere without a plan, and fewer places still without contingencies to those plans. Jin was the sort of monster who made deals. Pacts. Trades. Nothing that he gave was given for free.
In his lifetime, all that the world had ever done was take from Theo. His childhood. His first and last love. His dignity. His mother. All that world could do was take from him. Jin had resolved that no one would ever steal from him again. Now this thing wanted his life, and his body?
If you value your life, I kindly request that you-
His body shivered in ecstasy as the limiter was removed. There was no reason to hide, no one to chide him for being everything he wanted to be. And this girl, who had in her own awkward, backwards way offered him kindness bid him...
𝕰𝖓 𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊!
His hand rose, slowly, purposefully, and with one furious, swift motion, he made a fist. Now visible, the chain in his grasp clanged and rattled across the floor. "You may not have a soul for me to shackle," he said, "but if it bleeds, it can be bound."
As if in response to his words, that small amount of blood that Lilynette had taken from him responded. In a hot, violent, and nigh explosive series of chain reactions, the curse bonded with the viscous fluids that suffused Hypokristalos with life. Agony, blissful agony. As his curse seeped outward and spread like a cancer, he uttered a single word, fueled by pure venom.
"Heel."
And blood-bonded-to-ichor began to swell, rupture, and tear outward from creature and fleshy wall-like biomass alike. It ripped outward and sought to anchor them to the ground below.
Lilynette's velvety voice initiates a macabre festival of servants, where blood and carnage may be unleashed among its participants. Her guest requires no introduction to the dance, tapping into his magical reserves and releasing his blood curse upon the machinations of her magnum opus. Flesh contorts and writhes before crimson chains erupt from her lord's domain and his minions, aiming to subjugate their bloodlust.
“𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖞 𝕬𝖗𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖘𝖖𝖚𝖊.” A frozen moment painted in blood unfolds, one leg extending behind her—the arch of her back and the curve of her arms create a seamless line meant to cleave anything foolish enough to approach. Her magicks surge forth, corruption pumping in her veins instead of eau de vie, and in an instant, Lilynette speeds up with inhuman rotational force, initiating a short burst of a violent counterattack. The colors that paint her blur, and the dress stretches out, lashing against any chains that would otherwise restrain her.
Her minions, however, remain bound.
As soon as she stops, she resumes her slow, graceful steps toward the Bloodsworn. “Impressive!” amid the groaning and roaring of her beasts, Lilynette claps her hands as she continues approaching, “To think a droplet of blood is enough to trigger such a powerful curse. My lord shall be most pleased with such a fine—!?” The priestess finds herself interrupted by the erratic trembling of the attire she wears.
“Yes, milord!” noticing the urgency in his orders, the graciousness of her movements is replaced by the urgency of someone with the clear intent to kill. Entwining her fingers, she extends her arms forward before flexing her palms outward, revealing one mouth on each of her palms. They both open, tongues expanding with every passing moment.
They stretch to unnatural degrees until, finally, they are launched toward Jin. The flesh projectiles explode mid-flight, releasing a scarlet smokescreen to cloud his vision. Soon after, she points her right hand back toward her bound minions; their flesh twists and turns, tearing apart to give way to their bones.
Her lifeforce subjugates their rigidity as they fuse before her, becoming a massive skeletal hand sticking out of the ground, its palm facing towards the bloody smokescreen.
“𝕾𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖙𝖆 𝕿𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖟𝖆.” Lastly, she snaps her fingers, and the wrist of the giant hand turns at immense speed—its fingers are launched and renewed like projectiles, akin to a gatling gun from the real world.
The anchored chains began to sink, burrowing themselves into the earth. The deeper they sank, the less freedom that the shackles allowed their captives, until it became not only oppressive but also immeasurably cruel. The whimpering of dogs turned into yelps and rasps as they were pulled so tight that their airways were shut off. Still the chains continued to bind, until the constricting pressure was enough to snap bone and sinew.
Lilynette was fortunate in that she was seemingly untouched by the curse. Hypokristalos' ingestion of his blood had not extended to her, and so, he had no direct power to enslave the very blood in her veins. Her Lord however, had grown complacent in the belief that Jin was not a danger to him.
Impressive! To think a droplet of blood is enough to trigger such a powerful curse. My lord shall be most pleased with such a fine—!?
"But I already have," Jin positively beamed, so wide that his eyes were little more than slits. "Rather, perhaps I should thank you for graciously handing me the reins. So, you know about my sword..."
He couldn't see anything, suddenly surrounded by the scarlet mist that obscured not only himself, but also the woman, from view. Whatever weapons she had were outside of his control, perhaps, but the lair itself? Well...
"You know, we had a deal, Miss Lilynette."
The way he spoke the words, so casual, so cryptic.
"And I was content to allow it to continue, uninterrupted, unmolested- to think, I was even about to help you advance your research."
His expression hardened as he spoke, to the rigidity of stone. The Bloodsworn was displeased.
"I am taking my due, as your malefactor has deigned to covet what is mine."For the very first time since entering Valentine, Jin broke the seal on Eschaton.
𝕾𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖙𝖆 𝕿𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖟𝖆.
The weapon slowly moved from its sheath as the projectiles pierced the mist and tore at screaming speeds toward his body. The weapon, permeating the weeping, wailing spirits of the twice-damned, plunged into the squelching biomass beneath his feet. "Urukhan detests those who cheat and defile his cycle of death and rebirth," he repeated a fact he'd stated earlier, but curiously, naming the god explicitly. It was never a good idea to True Name a god, especially if one did not want to draw their attention. "So understandably, he hates me."
Jin tore the blade with a sickening gurgle through the ground, and suddenly, the howling of souls was infinitely magnified. An unholy blue glow pulsed outward from within the crack that formed, and as energy came erupting outward, it began to grow into a fissure.
"But I think that he's going to adore you, Carnifex sans Giltine."
Greens, whites, blacks, blues. The colors of souls pouring forth from the gate that had been shorn open. Their wispy bodies flowed around in circles, trapped within a strange and unholy prison- that of Hypokristalos. Their forms intermingled with bone, flesh, muscle, and began to revolt. The projectiles intended for the Bloodsworn were not spared this fate. These souls wanted their freedom back- the very problem which Jin had previously intended to solve, multiplied to the nth degree. As the mist scattered, the chains that bound parts of Hypokristalos could be seen sinking into the underworld, quite literally dragging anything and everything with them.
Deathless Carnifex was on the Precipice of Hell, and Jin had invoked the God of Death himself.
“Deal…?” she retorts his statement with a question, as if unaware of what he means. “Kh, TEREZA!” Pouring even more lifeforce into her spell, the hand speeds up even further. Meanwhile, a secondary one erupts from the fleshy ground, mimicking the aspect and function of the first, effectively doubling her offensive.
This is, technically, the first time she has ever seen this intruder. The Lilynette sans Giltine the Bloodsworn met in the past is forever lost, her body shred to pieces and devoured, her memories slurped away and her experienced sensations ruthlessly swallowed as though a banket. Lilynette is naught but sustenance to the creature that is her lord. Such has been her life for near a decade, periodically devoured and regurgitated to sate the bottomless hunger of a monster.
Carnifex is no deity nor Lord, but a Parasite.
Suddenly, the Bloodsworn draws an insidious fissure within the lair of Hypokristalos. It spews forth phantasmagorical essence, tarnishing a sancturary of flesh built upon a near decade of hard work.
Regrettably for her Lord, his tenacious defenses against the curse ultimately crumble. The ichor-flesh of Carnifex undulates like a living, seething liquid, warping the form of the dress it had adopted to aid Lilynette. From the golden orbs, nefarious chains burst forth, exacerbating the agony of a creature that should never have endured it in the first place.
At this juncture, Carnifex’s howls and screams reverberate through the room once more, as the parasite swiftly loses its ability to think and assess the situation, succumbing to the voracious magicks wreaking havoc within its body.
Ah, but this is not where it ends,
For a leash is meant to be pulled.
Sensing the imminent peril of her master, “Tereza!” Lilynette commands the giant hand in response. The skeletal appendage halts its rotation before promptly seizing the priestess and burying itself even deeper into the fleshy ground.
Nay.
The chains relentlessly draw forward with the titanic might of chronos, and with each passing second, the otherworldly pull becomes greater and greater. His servant clings to the chains binding the black creature, but her efforts are futile, and amid their shared screams, the ichor of his body is finally torn away from Lilynette, pulled like the mangled dog of a parasite it is.
The amorphous creature sinks its teeth into Jin's ankle, gripping him desperately. It attempts to confront and retort in a distorted, echoed voice until its final words are abruptly cut off, and then...
Everything halts.
There are many a cycles in Arcia. In particular, individuals across the cycle of life pave the way for their goals and desires, exercising upon the world the force of their will, so as to shape it to their liking. Ironic is the aimless quest of the Starfallen; they escape the throes of their original world to immerse themselves in the possibilities inherent to a new life, but tarnish this new land with their own needs all the same, infesting the local culture with their knowledge and changing its natural course, reshaping the land into what they escape from. The greater karmic triad of fates mortals must conquer far outreaches their minuscule lifespan, thus perpetuating a cycle driven by selfishness masqueraded as justice. But none is to blame; ignorance is a sin inherent to mortality, for no mortal shall live long enough to know everything, and…
…you, Bloodsworn, is no exception.
…you, Bloodsworn, devil of deals.
…you, Bloodsworn, should know better.
Many talented landers and starfallen alike wield the might of souls, pulling upon powers from the afterlife.
Yet, to seek aid from the underworld to supplant the will of another soul without offering anything in return?
You should know better, Bloodsworn.
One should be prepared to pay the price before striking a deal with the world.
From the fissure, a lone phantasmal hand wisps towards Jin. It is featureless, barely noticeable compared to the great souls summoned upon Hyprokristalos. Like a moth on death’s door, it wobbles across the air, invading his chest and caressing a heart forced still by powers beyond.
As the life of Theodore and Jin flashes before your eyes, you feel what they feel, againagainagain. In this infinitesimal and everlasting moment, Bloodsworn, you shall know PAIN. You feel the pain originating from powerlessness, as a familiar grin gazes down upon you, his fists the judgment dealt by the twisted mentality of a progenitor. You feel the scorching pain brought about defiance, as even the flames of hell fail to burn your soul to a crisp, your teeth clattering like a skeleton driven by madness. You feel the pain of a mother slowly rotting away by the day, while her most precious in life and in the world remains unchanged. You feel the pain of a priestess torn asunder a countless number of times to appease the hunger of a creature in the precipice of hell.
What is the price you have paid, Bloodsworn?
Relying on divines will get you no answer.
And then the world turns once more; Carnifex disappears into the fissure, and so does the phantasmagorical cacophony summoned by Jin's blade.
Meanwhile, the massive skeletal hands release Lilynette, “Kya?!” who promptly crouches down and hugs her own frame in a barely effective attempt to shield her bare skin from the hostile environment of Hypokristalos.
“What… is going on? What was that thing?” the undertones of her pleasing voice are shaky, just like her body. “M-milord?! Where are you?!” she asks to no one in particular with teary eyes, urgently looking everywhere in the room for her Arcanum, but it is no more.
Before her emotions could flood, however, she feels.
The touch of her arms upon her skin.
The sweltering heat of a room suffused to the brim with magic.
The Binding Blade remained rooted in the earth, at the center of all things. The border between the worlds of the living and the dead was a paper thin line that was pulled wide open, and as the souls of the damned sang their baleful chorus, the recusant parasite was slowly dragged down, ever deeper. The creature that only moments before loomed over, a deadly and disastrous construct Jin perceived as a danger now only managed to sink teeth into his flesh. There was an acute pain, followed by the ripping if flesh as it failed to keep itself anchored in this world. It shredded skin and spilled blood, but ultimately continued on the projected course.
In the end, Jin knew he had only drawn the attention of the denizens of the underworld. It was folly to believe that he had any lasting pull there, that his actions would force the hand of the divine. Still, when freely offered, one who blasphemed the natural order of life and death was hardly something to balk at. Freely delivered, Carnifex would enjoy the hospitality of those it had killed or wronged, in the domain of the very entities upon who's control it spat.
Jin, on the other hand...
His eyes had rolled backward, and his body had contorted suddenly as something otherworldly gripped at his heart. It was unlike the souls that he could control, that he could simply bind or shackle. This power, willfully invited, was something greater than his own, and he had no time to genuflect or otherwise respect its authority. Instead, it took his offering and repaid it with...
Jin staggered, clutching his head.
The familiar, wicked smile of Theodore, his father, and the horse-drawn carriage whip he used to flog his son. The red, screaming scars on his back, open wounds that scabbed over, but never healed properly because they were opened again, and again. The pain of entire layers of skin ruined, turned to scars, transmuted into a tapestry of torment that the world could see if ever he took off his shirt.
He spasmed, doubling over and quickly grasping at his gut.
The day his father drank the poison, and how he had tried to strangle the life out of him as he struggled in vain against death. He could feel the pain of a stomach failing, of the liver shutting down, the hatred that his father felt for him... and the horrified, helplessness he felt with those hands clenching his throat. The pain of fingernails driving into his flesh, which made the pain not not simply in his intestines, but his throat, and in his head.
Jin laughed hysterically as tears streaked from his eyes unbidden. He was not broken, but his body and mind were at odds. He refused to give into something so paltry as pain. No, this was worth every ounce. He would endure it. Had endured more- an entire lifetime.
His body twisted, arms hugging his chest as his back cracked, and he was sent sprawling to the floor.
He could see her again. That was perhaps the most callous, hateful thing this entity could inflict on him. Seeing the sadness, the feelings of failure- and confirming that was in fact what they were, because he experienced everything in that moment that she had. Jin could taste the rage mixed together with bile as his stomach evacuated its contents. He flailed as he fought in vain against that feeling, those feelings, things he had never felt any kind of connection with suddenly swimming through his mind.
Curled in the fetal position, Theo saw his mother, her genuine love, her distraught sadness, and finally, the end of her life and the feelings of unresolved motherly duty that he would never fully understand.
Limping, gasping for air, crawling across the slimy, slippery, bloody floor, groping at the mockery of flesh, Jin reached out toward Eschaton.
And he felt his body being torn apart. Only, he remained intact. He slumped to the floor, only to collect himself, fight to his knees, and experience the pain again. This was not quite being burned to ash only to rebuild himself. No- that experience was within control. This ended with release. There was a moment of respite. And then, once more, nothingness.
Jin had not been given the freedom to experience death. He was simply feeling the echoes of others around him. Their losses. Their hate. Their sorrow. Their suffering.
His eyes had gone dark, sight shorn from him as his mind reeled from an overload of information. Surely, man was not built to understand everything. By the time his body collapsed from exhaustion, one of his hands tightly gripped the hilt of the sword he had been striving toward.
The spirits were gone.
The parasite was gone.
The gate had closed.
The limp form of the Bloodsworn, propped up fittingly on the blade that had bought him his freedom in exchange for ever more chains, could faintly hear her words. What was going on? What was that thing? Where was her Lord?
”
