The hellbeast had gotten closer and Zero had no idea what to do. The protruding organ that hung out of its mouth seemed to get more excited as it neared his cage. The snow was covered in dark liquid.
' I have to think of something fast ' Zero thought, heaving silently.
None of the traders could see the thing as it was invisible to mortals. So calling out to them would be of no use. There was only one thing these ruthless men feared. The Corruption. According to the Hairy Girl, they feared the entity so much they had to take this route twice. It was the only option.
The beast was gradually pinpointing his location, getting closer and closer to the cage. In its wake the sticky trail of dark, oozing fluid emitted pungent fumes that burnt the snow away.
Zero rushed to the other end of the cage, pushing aside the dumbfounded females who were still observing him interest. Even with the weight of the chains, this previously paralyzed boy was up and moving about. They were very much in shock.
At the other end, which was closer to where the traders were camped.
"The corruption! I see it coming! Heading towards us!" He shouted as loud as he could for the traders to hear in their tents. He kept an eye on the pulsing head of the Soul Ceaser hoping it would stay put.
' What an ugly creature! '
Zero was unexplainably distraught. Of all the times for a hunt. The beast could have at least waited till he was out of a damned bamboo cage!
There was no time to think.
The traders definitely had not heard him. The other slaves in the cages around were still very much asleep. Outside, the snow howled on. It was impossible for any sound to pass.
The Soul ceaser drew nearer.
Inside the cage, however, another hostile energy had begun to form. Hairy girl had lost her patience. Her father. She wanted her revenge and freedom.
She remembered his words as he sold her off to the Nisari men. She remembered how he took away the family jade pin that had sat in her hair and placed in her sister's. "You're a freak of nature. And we need the money for your sister's dowry."
That was it. That was all it took to be slaved away.
Now suddenly, this corpse boy was on his feet, with a new arm. Free from maggots too and screaming at the air. Overnight?? There had to be something magical on his person. She had to have it. She was desperate for freedom.
She rose to her feet, eyes glinting with greed. Three armed woman seemed to understand as she too, had her own thoughts nesting in her mind.
They approached the boy slowly, ignoring how he panicked over something in the distance.
Zero hadn't noticed them. How could he when this beast of hell was right outside his cage. The only thing that separated them, was the bars of sturdy old bamboo.
'It doesn't seem to know where I am exactly.' He observed. It had so many eyes and none looked directly at him.
He held his breath. There was a dead maggot stuck to his inner cheek. Wonderful.
The night was simply beautiful.
Just then, something struck him hard across the back. One of the shackle chains. Before he could react he was on the vomit ridden cage floor, receiving deathly blows.
"Tell us the truth boy! Are you a sorcerer? A mage?!" Cried the shrill Three Armed Woman. The night was too dark to see much, but Zero could have sworn he saw her eyes glow red.
He wasn't given leave to speak. Another chain struck him across the cheek, almost chipping at his tooth.
"How did you free yourself from the mutation?! How? You were a Mutated like us but all of a sudden, it's gone! How?!" The Hairy girl's voice sounded like the cry of a dying bird. The hair in her throat was in quite a tangle.
Zero wanted to laugh but his lungs burned. His eyes watered and he pretended like he was not hurting from the chains.
Was there more that could surprise him? In the corner of his eye, he noticed the Soul Ceaser had suddenly fallen to the ground. It wasn't moving.
Dead?
Zero was more than happy for that but wasn't that too sudden? Was the corruption close? He had to get out of here.
The women continued with their beatings. They bruised his ribs and scratched his face. Blob person wailed in the background. Deaf boy slept on.
Zero couldn't move under the weight of the Three Armed Woman sitting on his stomach. Consuming the eye hadn't made him stronger. He was still frail.
Eye or not, he was a weakling.
"Search him for anything. He may have a talisman of grand healing! I heard that in the imperial Jin City, alchemists and forgers created parchments with words of healing magic." Hairy girl told the three armed freak.
"I'll hold him down. You search." The woman replied coldly.
Zero lay there in silent agony and they stripped him bare, letting the abrasive cold winds kiss his skin. Letting him lie in shame.
The tore at his skin as he tried to struggle.
"Don't let him scream too much. Hold his mouth." Hairy girl said as she fiddled with his clothes.
He stopped struggling knowing it was useless. Having working arms and straight legs didn't mean he could over power these women. He felt like a sheep to slaughter.
"I found something. A scroll!"
Hairy girl was smiling maniacally. She immediately loosened the red thread that bound it.
What happened next was a shock. Even the blob in the corner let out something akin to a scream.
Immediately she opened the scroll, her head burst open.
BANG.
Viscera went flying and her warm blood painted the cage red. A piece of sharp skull landed on Zero's chest.
Like an unsuspecting feather, the scroll fell down. The cage was silent.
Immediately, the Three Armed Woman rose. Her heart was in her mouth. This common boy. He was clearly being bound by her so he did not attack or say any spells. How then...
She had seen a lot in her lifetime but death by reading a scroll?
She backed away from the young boy. Shaking. She was terribly afraid.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice a trembling whisper.
The boy did not answer.
Zero was staring at the scroll as one would a lover. His eyes were fixated to this piece of parchment that promised destruction. He smiled and looked up to see the Three Armed Woman staring at him waiting for an answer to her question.
He silently chuckled and took the scroll gently. He tied the red knot about it once more and clothed himself. When he was dressed, he put the scroll in the folds of his robe.
"Tell me who you are! What did you do...what was that magic?"
Zero himself had no idea so he kept silent, eyes on the dead girl's body. He knew the traders would soon wake. They would demand an answer to the death of their goods.
And they'd be very much interested in how their corpse had grown a hand and become living again overnight.
Eventually, everything would come down to the scroll.
He couldn't be sure what happened to Hairy girl will happen to them all. He couldn't take his chances and risk the scroll being found out.
The Three Armed Woman would talk given the chance.
He knew what he had to do and he couldn't believe he was having such thoughts.
'It is the only way to keep the scroll a secret!'
He stared at the shaken lady again. Could he really? The night was becoming brighter. Dawn was not far. Outside the snow fell lighter. And the Soul ceaser was...gone?
There was no time to think.
'Do it Zero. If you're found out, the only source of power you have will be taken away from you! Do you really think a weak boy can survive in this world without power?'
His mind was racing.
He had never killed someone. At least not deliberately. Hairy girl had died by the power of his possession. Not by his hands.
'Weakling. A little boy. '
The inner voice hissed at him like a snake. Zero was disoriented. Night was turning to day. Some distance away, a bird cawed.
He could hear two traders talking. There was no time to think.
His resolve steeled. The moment he looked to the woman, she screamed. She knew the gaze of a predator all too well.
Zero dashed at her, and the shackles pulled at the dead body of the Hairy girl so it followed behind him.
The corpse didn't slow him down. He had made up his mind.
He dashed at the woman, the chain wound around his fist. A makeshift weapon.
"I...I won't say anything about the scroll! I'll keep it a secret! I promise! I promise!! Help me!"
Zero couldn't hear her. He was too busy pouncing and punching. Never in his life had he felt so alive. It felt good to hit back. To punch and to tear.
Again and again, he delivered blows to her head. Her ear was ripped off in the process and she gave off a painful wail.
Zero was driven by bloodlust. He raised his skinny arms higher and smashed. A laugh left his throat.
"Die! Die!!"
Three armed woman's head gave out with a squelching sound and brain matter splashed over Zero's dirty face.
He laughed. The inner voice laughed along. Tears ran down his face, mixing with blood and sweat. A boy maddened and scared.
The sun had finally rose; it's soft rays dancing on the horrid aftermath of the night.
The eye within him hummed in delight. A perfect host.