The spirits were so joyous that even the streets shimmered in the sun. Heaps of food were being sold, from roasted meat glazed with nectar to buns stuffed with live slugs. One's head would spin trying to look at the kaleidoscope of colours that the spirits wore. There were fabrics from burning scarlets to shining yellows to dazzling azures. Many of them wore sweeping dresses and robes embroidered with gold and silver. Some wore animal skins. Sand tiger coats and horned eagle hats proved to be quite popular. Some cut the middleman and wore animals. Emerald snake necklaces were always a safe choice.
It was a day of celebration. Spirits were out and about in the sparkling village in all manners of dress. The air was pungent with the smell of all the spirits grouped together. They spoke excitedly of plans and hopes and waved around their variously sized and numbered arms in the air. There were quite a few guards in obsidian armour patrolling the roads. Whenever a guard passed them, the spirits would fall quiet, bowing their heads.
No matter what kind of spirit the guard used to be, if they swore to protect Fear, their features would be twisted into her image. Large horns protruded out of their heads, threatening to gore anyone in their way. Their eyes were empty and unfeeling. Anyone who dared look them in the eye would be subject to horrific images of their worst nightmares. Their mouths were filled with needle-sharp teeth. Their giant claws could tear down anything before them.
Fear stood high above the village, watching the purple morning sky. She watched others pass her by quickly with their heads ducked down. Her web of fear stretched out for miles. Whispers of horrible fates befell all those who refused to bow down to her. Night after night, these voices tormented those unfortunate souls. They turned against each other, devouring their enemies into nothingness. Anyone who didn't give in had their minds slip into insanity. Once the whispers wormed into their minds, there was no escape.
She smiled, not only enjoying exercising her powers over them but at the news that her plans were all going smoothly. The gradual assaults to the human world were finally taking effect. The two separated worlds would once again have their barrier fall.
There was someone she wanted to see. Fear descended the high stairs and walked through the village. The colourful ornaments and brightly lit lanterns on display were ignored as she passed them by. Fear didn't even bother to smite those who crossed her path.
Despite her nonchalance, a spirit village was a sight to behold. The roads were paved with rainbow stones that shimmered and shone in the sun. Banners showed dancing painted figures, spinning from one side to the next. Wind spirits played with the lanterns released to the sky. They bounced the lanterns from one rooftop to another.
She turned and saw some roasted wormflies being sold. A tittering bluebird spirit was the vendor standing in a stall made of fragrant wood. Candles lit the space, emitting a dreamy light. She stretched out her overgrown arm to drop a few coins onto the spirit's wings. The spirit tittered nervously. Fear held the bag of wormflies in her hand and went on her way.
A wormfly was popped into her mouth. It writhed around uselessly, barely alive. How lucky had it been to survive the fire. She held it in her mouth to feel it flap its wings one more time. A quiver hit the roof of her mouth. Her jaw snapped down. The mush explosion coated the inside of her mouth with delicious insides. She loved the earthy and bitter taste of them.
As she made her way to her destination, her surroundings became bleaker. The purple sky muddled into a grey gloom. The stones lining the ground scraped away to jagged pieces. Bulbous heads hung above her, their tongues painted into flags depicting her. Slimy two-tailed millipedes crawled around her feet. She crushed them with her foot. The cracking that could be heard under her boots made her smile.
Spirits of sickness and suffering sprawled all over the grounds. They bowed down to her. She smiled at them in return. They had preserved the area with their powers just in the way that she liked. Destitute child spirits scampered away when they caught sight of her. Rotting skin was littered everywhere. The stench of filth polluted the atmosphere. A thick fog of fear surrounded the whole area.
Fear arrived at a fortified building that towered over the other houses. Her guards opened the massive door that opened into its insides. The floor was sticky with blood. Tapestries detailing her conquests hung from wall to wall. Soon, there will be one more. She sauntered past paintings of agony and terror. Sculptures of petrified dissidents decorated the gloomy fort. Their faces were frozen into expressions of despair.
Moans of sorrow echo the halls. She took it all in. Fear could hear the anxiety and sickness that reverberated through every soul. She loved those niggling voices, those sick twisted actions that struck horror into their victims. Both predator and prey were nothing more than her prisoners. She came closer and closer to the heart of the fear and despair that rung through the whole fort. She pushed the door open. Even her guards gagged and turned away.
A gargantuan blob of a being sat in the middle of the room. Its skin festered away, leaving a sticky mess of flesh and blood. It gorged itself on souls that were bound to her. The decaying bodies of souls lay in agony atop each other, neither alive nor dead. When the being picked up a soul, its body dissolved and fell through its fingers. An eaten soul would cease to exist. The dissolved bodies would be scooped away from becoming one with the being's filth by a lone soul that she kept alive, though bound to her. Upon seeing the soul, her lips twisted into a sadistic smile.
She walked forward towards the soul. He didn't flinch or run away from her. Fear's claws gripped his face and forced him to turn to her. His expression didn't change from the defiance he showed so long ago when she claimed his soul. She stared into the eyes of Ken Fukumura. His blood dripped down her hands. Images of war and famine didn't faze him one bit. Her threat of leaving his daughter to die by finally killing Amada - who dared to defy her all those centuries ago - proved to be effective at stirring his heart. His resolve faltered at seeing his daughter dead. His knees gave way. His eyes wanted to disbelieve. She laughed and let him go.
Soon. She would unleash her powers upon the human world and conquer the worlds once and for all. Discord and hatred would rule all. She didn't care for land or adoration. All she desired was domination. Nothing gave her more joy than to wreck the world. If she plunged the humans into destruction, it meant endless power to her.
"You will regret not dying peacefully, Amada."
Once she was dead, she knew Bheur and her vessel would have no more hope. The sorrow that would take over Bheur would be enough to leave the human world in an endless winter. Then, all humans would know was suffering and fear.