Island Edge End
Snap
Snap
Caspian watched the quivering stone, the sound of the treads stretching and cracking under the pressure ringing in his ears. He tightened his grip on his sword, while his other hand clutched his talisman.
As the sprouts snapped one by one, the surface of the stone beneath them was revealed, light radiated from the cracks, and the stone surface seemed to inflate as if it were breathing.
Caspian realized that the sprouts had not begun to crack because the stone face had exerted too much force, but because it had grown larger. It wasn't immediately noticeable, but if Stone Face had reached below his waist before, now it was reaching his waist.
Caspian shivered as stone-faced eyes appeared. Now, they were closed, and the lips were curled into a smile. Caspian took a few steps back and returned to the middle of the beach, keeping his distance from the thing.
He did just that; however, at that moment, steam suddenly gushed through the cracks in the stone, and the stone began to rearrange itself. The sides of the stone slid upwards to the sound of stone rubbing against stone, revealing holes in which black muscles moved.
A large, strong arm with four fingers and black tube nails emerged abruptly from the muscles. The stone face was thus overbalanced, but the arm hit the ground and braced itself. An identical monstrous arm emerged from the other side, and the statue's face began to extend and stretch forward.
A cold sweat poured over Caspian at the sight. In all his years, he had never witnessed anything like this. What was that thing?!
Both arms rested on the ground and lifted the stone body, the same long black legs hugged the stone from underneath, twitching as if suffering from a muscle spasm, which was perhaps why the monster remained kneeling on the ground.
The Stone Face rested on the ground, the movement pausing for a moment before another sound, unpleasantly similar to the rhythmic ticking of a clock, was heard. A bluish light began to emanate through the cracks, and the Stone Face stood up abruptly to the accompaniment of a mechanical sound combined with the grinding of stones.
The creature looked unnaturally elongated, its head and neck emerging straight from its chest, its arms so long that it could grab its ankles without bending. It had strong, muscular legs that Caspian assumed indicated it was a fast runner. The arms and legs were completely black, and if he hadn't seen their elegance before, he would have thought they were made of polished ebony.
The stone face turned its head toward Caspian and cocked slightly to the side, the eyes coming so close together that they almost connected. The stone lips had smoothed out, leaving only a narrow line where the lips used to be, but it looked more like just a groove carved in the stone, and it didn't seem like the mouth could use it.
While the whole metamorphosis began, Caspian didn't just stand idly by. He tossed a whole handful of seeds into the air in case the creature eventually stepped onto the sandy beach.
The stone face took one large step and reached the very edge where the grass turned to sand. It looked down once before glaring at Caspian again with blue glowing eyes.
Caspian couldn't tell if the creature was alive or a machine, so he had no impression of its actions. But he had always believed that what was silent were the biggest killers, and the creature made no sounds other than the strange noises it emitted when it moved.
The stone face stood at the edge of the sandy beach, looking down at Caspian as the creature towered over him by a head. Caspian quickly chanted a prayer, and his talisman glowed, but he did not use it immediately. The two of them stared at each other, and Caspian had the feeling that they had reached a sort of stalemate. He was somewhat relieved that the creature didn't actually want to enter the beach.
Suddenly, Stone Face moved, and Caspian tensed, only to see it turn and take long strides away.
"Ah..." Caspian was surprised. "Is it going away?" he wondered, watching the creature move away before sighing. He was glad he had remained cautious. He had no idea what the thing was, or if his powers would even hold up against such a thing. His power was more supportive; he could control plants, but Stone Face's body was made of stone, and it was hard to tell what its arms and legs were made of.
Caspian relaxed a little, thinking he would be the first to return to the ship. He'd have to figure out a strategy to deal with this thing. He wasn't without options, but his current preparations weren't enough for something like this. If he wasn't careful, he'd be dead fast.
Stomp stomp stomp stompstompstompstompstomp
Caspian's core took the blow when suddenly he heard heavy footsteps. He turned his head, and his eyes widened in shock. He saw Stone Face hurtling at incredible speed in his direction.
Stone Face's body was bent low to the ground, its arms outstretched behind it, and the only thing moving were its legs, which were quickly hitting the ground.
Stone Face ran out of the shadows of the forest and bounced violently. The strength of its legs and speed threw it several feet into the air. Caspian lifted his head, mouth agape, and watched in amazement as the creature did a somersault in mid-air, pointing its body upside down and falling straight at Caspian, one arm pulled close to its body and the other outstretched and balled into a fist.
"Holy sh...!" Caspian immediately lunged to the side.
BOOOM!
Sand exploded behind him, and he felt the tremor even through the unstable beach floor, his back buried by the sand thrown up into the air.
He looked back and saw with a pounding heart that Stone Face had landed where he stood, his fist leaving a large crater in its wake. "Damn it! That thing has no problem with sand at all!" His assumption was completely useless. But why hadn't it wanted to step on the sand before?
Caspian gritted his teeth and picked up the talisman that was already charged with his prayer, and several sour yellow beams fired out of it, landing variously on the ground around the Stone Face. Green sprouts shot out from the ground, which, in an instant, grew into thick green ropes that rushed at Stone Face, trying to entangle its body.
Stone Face looked at the green ropes that wrapped around his hands and arms and began pulling on them, while Caspian did the only sensible thing he could do right now: run away.
Caspian turned quickly, his eyes finding the rowboat he had kept ready just in case, and gathered himself off the ground to run in that direction. He didn't look back when he heard the sounds of the plant ropes snapping, causing Stone Face to break free. The rowboat was close enough so he should be able to make it.
However, he hadn't even had a chance to wet his boots in the surf when he heard rumbling sounds behind him, and Caspian's instincts made him immediately roll to the side. He felt a gust of wind as a large hand passed him, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Stone Face, his arms outstretched forward as if trying to grasp him.
Caspian took a deep breath before he hit the ground, exhaling as he landed on the sand. A thick cloud of pollen burst from his mouth and flew into the monster's face. The stone face straightened and waved its arms as it tried to fight it off, even hitting its head once or twice.
This took Caspian by surprise. He thought the creature was intelligent, but this rather gave him the opposite impression. He had no intention of investigating, however. He rolled over and rushed towards the rowboat again, and the tracks he was leaving in the sand brightened slightly as a thick thicket of thorns grew up behind him to slow the monster down.
Caspian's heart raced as he sprinted toward the rowboat, each step feeling like an eternity. The thorns behind him slowed Stone Face, giving Caspian a slight advantage. He reached the rowboat, hands shaking as he fumbled with the oars, desperately trying to launch the small vessel into the water.
The rumbling sounds grew louder behind him, and Caspian stole a quick glance over his shoulder. Stone Face, undeterred by the thorns, was closing in fast. Panic surged through Caspian as he finally managed to push the rowboat into the water and clumsily climbed aboard.
The rowboat rocked in the surf as Caspian paddled away from the shore with frantic strokes. He could feel the vibration in the water as Stone Face pursued, its enormous strides carrying it through the shallows. Caspian's mind raced for a plan, but the monstrous creature gained ground with each passing moment.
As Caspian rowed with all his might, a sudden jolt shook the boat, and he looked down to see a massive hand gripping the edge. Stone Face, relentless and determined, was pulling the rowboat back towards the shore.
Caspian had assumed that when Stone Face was finally delivered to the sandy beach, water wouldn't be a problem either. Fortunately for Caspian, the ship was made of wood, and even though it was a long-dead plant, it was still a plant.
"Abaeranaste esta na!" he exclaimed, pressing his palms against the wood. Sour yellow energy began to flow through his hands into the wood, and sharp spikes shot out from the sides of the ship, forcing Stone Face to let go.
The waves began to carry the rowboat away from the shore, and Caspian grinned triumphantly, feeling his knees weaken with relief. He mentally swore that he would definitely destroy this thing. He would come to the island with a crew and move the Hood Face somewhere they could blast it with cannons. Then we'd see how Stone Face could withstand such a force.
"Hm?" Caspian stopped his victorious thoughts.
Stone Face didn't follow it deeper into the sea; instead, the thing's head fell to the side, revealing a space in the stone in which blue energy howled and shot forward.
"Ah!" Caspian shouted, about to throw himself over the edge of the ship. But his movement was slowed by the spikes he created on the surface, and the energy hit him. He expected pain, but it didn't come. Instead, a blue light wrapped around his body and pulled him into the air.
"Nooo!" Caspian cried out in panic before Stone Face dragged him to the edge of the crack in its body, which widened itself and then swallowed him whole.
Darkness enveloped Caspian as he entered the belly of the stone behemoth. The world outside disappeared, replaced by an oppressive stillness. The last sensation he felt was the cold, unyielding embrace of the creature's insides.
The thorns, the rowboat, and the sandy beach were now distant memories as Stone Face stood triumphantly at the water's edge. The creature's eyes glowed with an eerie satisfaction, and the rhythmic ticking, reminiscent of a clock, echoed in the silence.
The stone face then slowly turned and started back but stopped when it reached the point where the sand turned into grass. It looked down as if it were some impassable barrier. Then it looked up.
*****
Peril Harbor
Ellar's Art Shop
"Master Dancy, you are truly a great artist!" A plump, middle-aged woman in the decent dress of a well-to-do middle-class woman unveiled the portrait she had ordered from Ellar.
Ellar wore the smile of a salesman who had practiced honesty at selling in his stall in the lower district. "You are too kind, Madame Keman. It was naturally easy to portray you because you have classic features," he flattered her, touching his heart in his sincerity.
"Hoho! Flatterer!" Madame Keman waved her handkerchief shyly at him, in a way to make him stop, but from the reddened cheeks, she was pleased.
"But the portrait is not yet finished. One last thing is needed, for which I badly need your cooperation, madam. It is necessary to infuse the painting with spirit. And even as a conquering artist, I cannot do that without a live model. If you would be so kind as to model for me for a moment?" Ellar bowed slightly.
"Pfff." Ellar heard and discreetly glanced reprovingly towards the counter where Leo and Dali were sitting on the bench. The one who had taken a turn was Leo, though his face remained blank, there was no doubt that it had come from him.
Madame Keman didn't notice and nodded her head in agreement. "Of course. Of course. It would be my pleasure."
Ellar grasped the portrait by the hook with one hand while he offered the other to Madame Keman and led her into the back room where he kept a small studio. He escorted the woman in front of the easel and then placed the painting itself on it, taking the brush in his hand and taking a moment to compare the painting to the model.
"If you please. I need to set you up a bit, ma'am," he walked over to her. "Please close your eyes for a moment," he asked her.
"Close my eyes? Why?" Madame Keman wondered. "Don't worry, madam. Just for a moment. I want to take a closer look at your eyelids so I can properly highlight your eyes in the picture," Ellar smiled politely.
Madame Keman didn't find that strange, so she agreed and closed her eyes. At that moment, Ellar's eyes lit up blue, and his hand burst into flame. "Let me position you a little, if I may," he said and took the woman's chin lightly and lifted her face a little, and as he let her face go, he caught something between his fingers and pulled his hand as if he had ripped something off. He quickly walked over to the painting he was hiding behind and touched the portrait and then the paintbrush, which he carefully set aside before taking another.
"Just out of curiosity. Who do you have the painting for?" he asked in the same voice, as if he hadn't done anything unusual.
"For my husband. He's been working a lot for a while now. He works in banking, you know?" Madame Keman explained.
Ellar nodded, finishing a few details on the painting. "Yes. You mentioned it before. You said he's very successful and he also represents a couple of employees in Galeona. That's impressive."
Madame Keman smiled proudly. "Yes. It's great, it's just that my poor husband has to work so many hours a day. I want him to have something in his office to remind him of me. Um... Master Dancy. Can I open my eyes now?"
"Yes, Madame Keman. It's all right now," Ellar replied, finishing his last move. He looked at the portrait. The woman in the painting moved her eyes slightly and returned his gaze.
*****
A few hours later, Madame Keman's portrait hung proudly on the wall of the office, an elderly man who was past his youth but still quite good-looking.
It was getting dark outside, but Penn Keman was still in his office even though most of his colleagues had gone home. What he was doing, however, was not work.
"Hahaha! Penn, that tickles!" A woman's clear voice echoed. The woman was voluptuous, in her twenties, her work clothes now loose and rumpled, and Penn had his face buried in her cleavage, revealing more than was decent.
He certainly wasn't as busy as he had told his wife, at least not as busy as she had thought. He was working very thoroughly on his new assistant. He had no plans to leave his wife; he liked her and was used to her by now. But after years of squeezing the same ass, when a young and willing assistant appeared, his brain softened and other places hardened. The affair happened very quickly.
In fact, after what he received from his sweet but foolish wife's painting, he felt guilty and planned to end the whole thing with his assistant. But as soon as he started talking about it, she exposed her skin, and his will went elsewhere.
"Cheater!" His wife's low cry sounded in Penn's ears. He raised his head abruptly, and his eyes glanced fearfully toward the closed door, where he expected to see his angry wife momentarily.
"Did you hear something?" he asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean? I didn't hear anything. Oh, Penn! You should have shaved earlier. Do you see how scratched up they are now?" The assistant pouted her lips cutely and bared more of her breasts.
This got Penn's attention back, and he forgot about the whole thing. He brushed it off, thinking that his guilty conscience was probably playing tricks on him.
He didn't see the painting of his wife, whose expression twisted angrily. The image held only a tiny fraction of his wife's soul, but feelings were a powerful tool. It was easy for that little bit of soul to turn into an angry wraith.
*****
Ellar returned home in good spirits. He led Leo and Dali by the hand and talked to them calmly. He sold a few paintings today and got some commissions. Business was picking up. But what made him happier was that his reputation was increasing, and he could easily deploy spies in almost all of his customers' homes.
He had certain types that Ellar avoided. Like the fervent worshippers, he was concerned that their proximity to the churches might reveal something, and naturally, he wasn't going to mess with priests either. He felt, however, that his work would soon bear fruit. Today he was closer to Galeona than ever thanks to the financier. Watching the flow of money wasn't without its benefits either.
When Ellar returned to the house on 22nd Street, he found that, in addition to Hellcage and Marik, the two heads of the Wendigo community were there.
Ellar released the two children from his custody and followed them. "Good evening," he greeted everyone present and looked curiously at Jelen and Kailam. "What is going on?" he asked.
Hellcage tapped his fingers on the brim of his top hat. "We're preparing revenge," he replied.
Ellar was confused. Revenge? To whom?
Marik took the floor, sitting off to the side with his arms folded across his chest, looking tired and resigned. "Against the Church of the God of Moon and Night," he replied.
"God is about to attack End of the World and our Liege. This cannot go without an answer!" Hellcage said, waving his walking cane as if he wanted to emphasize his words.
"Oh," Ellar let out a surprised and still a little confused breath.
"Hellcage wants to attack one of their temples the moment they take action against End of the World. And I'm telling it now, that's not a good idea, Hellcage."
Hellcage looked at Marik. "So you're saying we should let them trample all over us? Make them think they can lay their hands on what's ours whenever they want?"
Marik frowned. "I'm not saying that. But you're acting rather rashly now, Hellcage. Did Liege even approve this? I thought we were supposed to keep things under wraps. Aren't we going to reveal ourselves too soon?"
Hellcage turned away from them and walked closer to the altar in the center of which a blue flame was peacefully flickering. "I don't plan on being seen," Hellcage replied, spreading his arms dramatically to the sides.
"The gods are certainly something to be feared. But as long as Liege is hidden, they can do nothing. Do you know where the power of a god lies?" he asked, momentarily confusing everyone with his sudden change of subject.
"In faith?" Marik said, quite understanding this.
"Of course. But do you really think that pure faith is something that is enough? That one's faith really has the power to change anything or give the gods power?" Hellcage stood with his back to them, reminding everyone of a fanatical priest preaching to his sheep in church.
"Um..."
"Well..."
No one could answer him, so they just looked at each other and made awkward noises.
"It's about Prana. Every living being has Prana in them. You might call it the breath of life, the heartbeat of all living things. It is the pure energy with which all living things are born. The gods are like bottomless funnels that absorb this energy voraciously. The more believers, the more strong believers, the stronger and purer Prana becomes. Everything has its own laws, even the Gods. If the Gods want to perform miracles, they need Prana to do it," Hellcage lectured.
Marik rubbed his forehead; this new knowledge gave him a headache. " Good, but what does that have to do with our situation?"
Hellcage lowered his hands and turned towards Marik. "My dear admirer..." He began, and Marik groaned muffledly, but Hellcage didn't let that stop him.
"Every temple is like a beacon to the gods. Where do the faithful pray the most? In temples, of course. It's as if small streams flow into a single, larger river that flows directly into their open mouths and bottomless stomachs."
Marik paused and frowned. "So you want to destroy the temple and cut off the flow of the Prana." he understood.
Hellcage gave a short laugh and snapped his fingers. "Yes and no. It would be a small act, but big enough for the god himself to feel. Still, until we can attack on a larger scale, there's no point in actually attacking and destroying temples. Recognized gods have too many rivers flowing in their direction and damming up just one of them won't do much."
Ellar scratched at the short stubble of his beard and pondered. "But then what is the point of this? It's like a pinch against a shark bite. Isn't it pointless to attack them? "
Hellcage smiled and twirled his walking cane merrily. "My options are limited now too, but I'm not completely without methods. I can send the God of Moon and Night an unpleasant gift that will keep him occupied for a while. All I need is time and an altar in the temple dedicated to him."
Marik narrowed his eyes and met his gaze. "What do you have in mind?"
"Nothing in particular. I'm just going to give that punk some hell of a diarrhea."
*****
Island Edge End
Stone Face walked all the way through the forest and stopped at the edge of the village. Automatically, he stood in his proper place and from his height, he watched with blue eyes a dark village that was unlike anything in his memory.
"Don't think too much about things, Echo." He heard a voice and looked down. The sight of the village triggered his memory recording.
The voice belonged to his creator. It was a very small man with a strangely hairy face of grey and white color and whiskers that blended in a strangely symmetrical way with his feline and human appearance. The man wore a loose robe with a vest on which many different tools and components were hung. On his head was an oversized top hat from which a cloud of smoke was rising, but there was no fire anywhere.
They were in a small workshop where Echo had to crouch and squirm to get in, and the cat man was working on something on Echo's leg, but he took no notice and watched his creator in silence.
"No one thought they'd do that. Thinking they were so desperate that they would shatter reality. Reality is relative! Haha! Haaa..." The creator laughed at his own joke, but then sighed sadly before falling silent and continuing to work.
"In the end, only you will remain. You'll have to take care of the island until then. Hopefully, it won't take that long. What? Heh, I'm not immortal, Echo. If you can hold out till we get back to where we belong, you'll have to say hello to everyone. That Old Auja took care of things. Even if he didn't survive, hehe..."
Echo didn't answer. He wasn't really a living creature in the first place, but he recognized the moment his creator died.
A lot of time had passed since then, things had changed, the sky was suddenly blue, people were happy, things had changed, the village was decaying, people looked pale, things had changed, other people had come and wanted to hurt the village, Echo had removed them, things had changed, the smell of blood had begun to fill the air, things hadn't changed, things hadn't changed... and then things changed.
Echo's energy suddenly increased, not much, but he could start acting again, and then things changed. A ship came in. Other people came. They weren't hurting the village. Echo could feel the energy in one of them. Things changed... he had to protect the village.
Echo looked up and saw a figure standing in the village street, white bone gleaming under the moonlight, hiding red flesh beneath. Sawtooths were bared in anger, glaring at Echo.
Things had changed...