"If you were given a second chance at life, would you take it?"
Christopher Hallowswift opened his large blue eyes to a completely unfamiliar scene. He stood in the middle of a large, circular, dimly lit room. The only sources of light were lit wooden torches, evenly spaced out along the pitch black, solid concrete walls.
His memory was scattered, with nothing much for him to go by. He couldn't even remember his own name. Every now and then, small fragments of his past surfaced, but it wasn't nearly enough to quell both the emptiness and uncertainty inside him.
Where...am I…? Carefully, he studied his surroundings, taking note of anything that caught his eye. The torches which granted him the ability to see, the smooth glass-like texture of the ground beneath him, the pitter-patter of his light footsteps, anything that stimulated his humanly senses, he felt compelled to memorize it.
He stared indifferently at a small staircase ahead of him. What is up there? Due to the faint lighting, he was unable to see the top...but he could've sworn someone was approaching him…
"H...Hel...Hell...o…?" Christopher's voice was hoarse, barely audible. By the skin of his teeth, did he recall the process of speaking.
Soon, a comprehensible womanly figure formed at the top of the flight of stairs. It had the figure of a human, though the features said otherwise. It's face was clouded in a deep black mist, hiding any facial features it possessed. Around the body was a lengthy, dark, long sleeved cloak which reached from it's head, all the way past the feet, where it was untidily shredded. Both it's arms were two meters long, with razor-like fingernails going for a good twenty centimetres outward from it's massive ghostly pale hands.
The appearance didn't frighten him at all-he had forgotten what fright even felt like. When it outstretched it's arms to him, he, despite not being able to see it's face, felt an eerie smile form on the being's lips. Within his thoughts, he heard the words, "Come here, my darling...it's okay...mommy will take care of you…teeheehee..."
"Mom...my…?" That...that thing is my...mother…? It was clear the being wasn't, but Christopher mind was too dormant to know any better.
Unconsciously, Christopher began to move forward. He took a step closer to the entity. One step, two steps, three steps. The closer he got, the more he craved for the being's loving embrace.
He was entranced by it, hypnotized by the emotion given to him at that moment. He had to get there-it was his destiny. He felt as though all the answers to the universe stood directly ahead of him, eagerly awaiting his arrival.
His pace sped up to a small jog, then a quick sprint. He sprinted half way across the room with his gaze fixated on the entity, ignoring all else other than what was in front of him.
"That's it! Keep going, my darling! Mommy's right here! Mommy's waiting for you!!" Words of encouragement escaped it's lips, and made their way into his thoughts. They served to make him run even quicker, up until he was only a few steps away.
Though the moment he was within arm's reach of the being, his skin crawled. They both locked gazes with each other, and it was nothing like Christopher imagined. The being's face was invisible, but he somehow mentally knew what it looked like. She was female, with an oval shaped face. Her medium sized, shadowy black eyes were filled with twisted affection for the boy ahead of her. Her ghostly pale skin was littered with deep bloodied cuts, blood rapidly seeping out of her open wounds and onto the ground beneath her. They were both standing in an ever-lasting pool of her own ooze.
There was a frighteningly large smile plastered onto her dried up, flaky lips, so wide that the skin was being torn open.
"Teeheehee...You're here...Christopher Hallowswift...my prized possession...you're finally here...teeheehee...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
"__!" Christopher instinctively jumped back when she started moving her arms around him, only to be faced with her fingernails digging into the skin on his back. The nails were like razors, as they easily made their way into Christopher's body.
"Ack-!"
"Oh my, darling~ Don't be so frightened, I'll take good care of you...heeheehee…"
"N-no! St-stay away from me!" He struggled to escape her grasp, but the futile attempts only caused him even more physical pain, as with each movement he made, the nails of the being dug even more deeply into his body. He tried moving in a way to get them out, but the sharp stings kept him still, he was too agitated to try to move any longer.
"Calm down...calm down…don't you want to see your sister again?"
"__?"
I don't have a sister. Was his first thought. In all of the memories he possessed, not a single one of them showed any sign of him even having one in the first place. But...despite that, the thought of a sister brought a familiar feeling inside of him.
Raising his tense gaze, he looked the entity in the eyes.
"I don't have a sister." He uttered.
"My...darling, but you do...Don't you...remember, heeheehee…"
"__" He remained silent. Was she mocking him? Christopher's memory had been seemingly wiped-not even his name, he recognized. He only assumed that he was called 'Christopher Hallowswift.'
He once more looked at her, quietly saying, "I don't remember. I don't even remember my own name. You expect me to remember whether or not I had a sister? Who even are you?!"
She anticipated that response. Releasing him from his grip, and removing her then-bloodied nails from inside his back, she licked his ooze from her razors.
"Heeheehee...My name is Alastor, I am the Elder Goddess of the Eternal Night. Also called, 'Puppeteer' or 'Goddess of Marionettes.' You, Christopher, perished in a futile attempt at rescuing your sister from a speeding truck headed your way. Due to the age in which you were killed, you were eligible for reincarnation. Originally, it was Creation who was responsible for that, but I decided to take you for myself...heeheehee…"
It was that statement which sparked all Christopher needed to remember. He did have a sister, her name was Roselina Hallowswift. Age 13. They were both middle schoolers, and were torn apart by an unfortunate road accident.
He was happy though, Roselina turned out to be alright...while he wound up deceased, his abdomen nearly detatched from his body and ribcage completely shattered. It was a supposed quick and painless death-which he was partly glad for.
But Alastor said 'futile.' Did that mean she perished anyway?
"W...wait...but...you...you said...futile...attempt. Did...Roselina p-perish...any...way…?" He stammered, unnerved and reluctant to hear the answer.
"Heeheehee...yes…" Alastor said. She leaned forward, then tapped Christopher's nose with her spiky fingernail. Blood immediately started pouring out of the tiny cut. "...But I shall not reveal the answer to you...that's for you to find out when you are reincarnated."
"Rein...car...nated…?"
"Yes! You are eligible for reincarnation, darling~! Isn't that wonderful? You get to live again!" She seemed genuinely happy, but Christopher was more baffled. He wanted to know how Roselina passed away, but automatically sensed Alastor wouldn't explain it to him.
He decided to ask about the reincarnation instead.
"Eligible…? Reincarnation…? What do you...mean by...those…?" Alastor anticipated those questions. She answered them accordingly, and with full confidence.
"You, Christopher Hallowswift, are eligible for reincarnation due to both the age at which you perished, and because of the reason."
"__"
"You willingly threw your own life away to save your sister's. That there has to be rewarded. A meeting was held at the Holy Council, and the majority decided that you should be given a second chance. Does that answer your questions, darling~?"
"Yeah...more or less…" Christopher replied. Basically, due to his heroic actions, and also his age, Christopher was given a second chance at life to make up for the one he lost. Easy enough to understand. However, the question remains of whether or not his sister would be there. Alastor said she was dead, so assuming that it was true, Christopher gave her another inquiry.
"What...about Roselina…?"
"Oh my, what about her?"
"Will she be...there as well?"
"Hmmm~ Will she…?" Alastor paused for a moment. If Roselina was there with him, then Christopher would have full reason to reincarnate. He didn't know the world he would be sent to, but assuming he'd be alive again-and with Roselina, he knew he just had to go.
Not long after, Alastor laughed mockingly at him. Putting a cold, bony hand on his left cheek, Alastor leaned in close to his face. She was close enough for Christopher to feel her icy breath on his mouth.
"That's something you'll have to find out for yourself, darling~! Hahahahahahahaha!"
"Grr…" Annoying… Was the only thing Christopher thought at that moment. It was the best answer he was going to get, and he knew it.
At least he was getting a second chance at all...dying at age 14 is not something Christopher was looking forward to.
Alastor backed up from the boy, and held her hands together at her chest, a gleeful twinkle plastered onto her lips.
"Now...shall we begin?"
"Begin with what?"
"Teeheehee…" He knew full well what it was. Suddenly, Christopher's entire body tensed up. But before he could react, he was face with total immobilization of his muscles.
"W-What the hell-w-why can't I-"
"Heeheehee...hahahahahahahahahaha…" Alastor backed up, her eyes stuck on the boy's struggling body. He couldn't move-not even a little. What awaited him...he wasn't prepared for in the slightest.
Out of the blue, the mist from around Alastor's face faded, and her face was revealed for the naked eyes, even though he'd already seen it, viewing the face with his peepers instead of mentally filled him with a dread he'd never felt before.
Christopher's fight or flight manoeuvre compelled him, but he was powerless to use it. He stood there and watched as the Goddess took a few steps back, then cackled at him.
"Now then...darling...prepare yourself...this is going to hurt just a teenyyyyy bit, okay?"
"W-What are you doing?! AHH-!" Alastor raised the palm of her hand, and immediately, four black strings appeared, and they all wrapped around both of Christopher's arms and legs until not a spec of skin showed.
The strings proceeded to lift him off of the ground, where he was held captive, his limbs continually pulled on, as if the black laces were attempting to dismember him.
"AHH-AHH!! L-LEMME GO!!"
"Nuh-uh-uh~ Don't you want to see your sister again?" Alastor questioned him, sending a sadistic smile his way.
"I-I do b-but this...th-this isn't-AHRRGHH-!"
His sentence was cut short by a sudden pain in his chest. When he looked down, he realised that he had been impaled. Not by a sword or blade, but by the very strings which Alastor had seemingly summoned. It went through his ribcage, out his back, then it made a 'U' turn, and stabbed him through his left shoulder blade, going through his upper left arm in quick succession.
"AAAHHHHH-! O-ARUG-N-NO-ST-STO-AAAAAHHHHHHHH-!" A second one came, and started mimicking the first. Then a third, forth, and fifth. All of which punctured Christopher's flesh, attaching themselves to the boy both inside and out. Worst of all, none of his vitals were hit, he was alive throughout.
One by one the needles plunged through him. Each time one did, blood spewed onto the ground, blue green veins hung out of his body, carelessly dangling from his wounds. His mouth was dyed red, and all he could feel on his tongue was the signature, disgusting, metallic taste of his own red ooze. He wanted to pass out, even for a minute if it meant getting away from the agony, but the torturous sensations refused to let him go.
Soon, he was unable to move any longer. All his struggling came to a halt. At that moment, he fully succumbed to the cruelty of the demonic Goddess's actions...
***
"*Cough**Cough**Sputter* Nn...r...ng...A...Ah...p...please...n...no...more...I...pl...plea...se…"
The only thing that held the unfortunate soul's body together were the bloodied strings tied in and out of his vessel. His liver, ribcage, intestines, stomach, gall bladder, and flesh were completely annihilated. Most of his body was made up of these black strings. By then, he was basically just an ugly living doll. It was a miracle in itself that he was still alive. Only his vitals remained. By only a hair's breath did he manage to survive.
"Oh? What's this? You're still alive?" Alastor said. She appeared as though she enjoyed his torment.
"*Cough**Deep inhale**Sputter*" With each word Christopher tried to speak, a sharp pain flowed his upper body, as if the passage of oxygen was being blocked. It was better for him to stay silent.
"I see. Well then, the process has been completed. Teeheehee, you did well, my darling~! Not everyone could make it this far alive." Alastor kept him in the air as she took a few steps back, examining her masterpiece.
"Ah, my work here is done. Now, listen closely, Christopher Hallowswift, my darling. The world you are about to be reincarnated into is like no other. Humans are not the only ones who live there."
"Wh...wha...t...d...do you...m..mean…?"
"You are going to be reincarnated as a full-blooded demon, and be skilled in manipulation and illusion. Your agility, magick potential, speed, and strength will be majorly increased. You will be able to see a person's true intentions with ease. As for how you fight, you will automatically know after incarnation due to what the strings have programmed into you."
"…?" S-so...all that...pain I went through...was in preparation…?
"When you open your eyes, there will be a girl near to you-she shall be your familiar for this lifetime. Good luck, darling~ I shall be with you every step of the way. If you find yourself stuck, go to your familiar, she'll know what to do."
Simultaneously after her remark, Alastor stepped close to him, and gently kissed him on the cheek, stroking him gently.
"Take care my darling, and good bye."
"W...wha…? A-Ahh-AAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"
A split second later, the strings tightened, and Christopher's body was completely torn apart. His flesh and blood was scattered all across the room, hitting the walls, and painting the ground beneath the two a deep crimson.
Though throughout it all, Alastor kept on smiling. Not even once during his torment had she lost it. Truly, Alastor, the Goddess of Eternal Night, was a monster.