"And this is where you shall live until you are needed," I tell my gladiator, as the gate closes in between us – he looks up at me from looking at the ground. "We run short on ration. So you can eat whatever is in the arena."
"Hmm," he says, looking around.
"You are consid-"
"My father was a strong man. Surely the meat from there would be my best shot."
I look at him search for his father, Romairam's, body, laying in the middle of the arena – the arena where Romairam used to be my gladiator… until today. He looks back at me, as if his expectations on me speaking were broken – and I feel my own jaw having parted down.
"Why? You asked of me to."
I see a grim smirk on his face, and my own feels defeated. The pride and confidence in him… after I took his everything. I can't help but unclench and smile wide with amazement. I laugh, first as a light – perhaps could be considered wrongly to be a hearty laugh… but I feel pain in my stomach and throat, so I hold them and laugh.
My head moves slightly when I hear feet dragging a bit away from me, but I continue to laugh. I look at the grim, a kind of terror or fear, in my soldiers' faces… and I laugh more. Even my gladiator gives me a weird look. But I laugh.
He inhales deeply and punches towards the gate, so I open my hand in front of my face, with my thumb pointing at me… and my gladiator gets tossed like a cat, but falls to the ground.
"Ah…" I say, trying to hold back from laughing. "I was just thinking… you look SO similar to your mother," I chuckle and look at my soldiers, prompting them to fake laugh at my hilarious joke. Even with their voices mixed, I was clearly laughing the loudest.
"Oh yeah?" he asks. "And you needed hundreds of soldiers to hold back my mother?"
"Actually that whore came with me for old nights' sake," a soldier says, making me look back without turning – with wide eyes. I nod and sigh… while just moving to my side.
I hear metal hitting the ground and look back… mouth of one, the chest of one, and finally the bottom of another… and to the ground, a spear. The mouth soldier was obviously the one who had spoken.
"So it was you," my gladiator says.
I go closer, and graze my hand over the spear… finally at the edge my hand hovers and touches the dripping blood. I move my finger around and feel their woes… the pain, the suffering… and it relaxes me just a little.
"So calming the scent of blood… oh gush thy with warmth and pain your body to death. Slumber them to a sleep to sate them and the ones watching to nigh feel alone and meaningless. The meaning is your gush to lush out life from a death… so beautiful," I say, bringing my finger to my mouth.
"Are you sure you're a king?"
"Hmm…" I say, inhaling the scent of the blood… while holding back the lust to savour it. "I'm only me who likes a massacre… so show me something more calm."
I move my hand and the gate slowly starts to lift… I feel the eyes of my soldiers on me. A desperation is easy to sense… but when I hear their breathes begging for mercy, I find their eyes lingering upon my gladiator.
The gates lift and the dark aura emanates around the boy… making him look like a man to be fathomed. One could say he was just like his father, while wearing the skin of his mother. What a sight for the family to merge this way… alas, my boy was away. If only him and his sister, Vile… what an idea.
I watch as heads fall to the floor before the body. Tongues and eyes tear out in a leap of sacrifice to save the rest of the body, but fail miserably. The ones who kneel either kill themselves or get the quicker death. Bloods of all, come together to be one… making me relax.
What an idea it'd be.
"Sir," a soldier looks up at me, from near my feet. "Please make it stop."
I look up at my gladiator holding his sword's top towards me… begging for me to allow him to kill me. But his muscles tense and keep him frozen, making me smile.
"Certainly," I say.
I lift my finger and push the tip of the sword down… and the sword thuds down to the top of the soldier's head… all the way down. And the sword slashes back out and my gladiator holds his hand against the sword's blade, trying to push it towards me.
"Oh dear boy… how the black tides emanates within you and around your body… so beautiful and puny."
"My mother's skin burns and all I can do is watch… I'll soon replace it with your skin."
"Don't stop… tell me more."
"The dark flame… it knows no mercy, but, I made it quick. I made it hurt. I made it end. The screams sure drove me crazier… to a shore of an island away from sanity and mercy."
"Is your hand tired?" I ask, looking at his shivering hand, still holding the sword up.
"I see fear in your eyes," my gladiator groans, and I question with my eyes and a raised eyebrow. "I killed without your permission."
"I opened the gates."
"You were testing me."
"Maybe…" I say and smirk. "Yet you can't kill me."
"Can't I?" he asks, as his form turns smaller, his mother's skin wrinkles down, and his shivering hand moves in a stable way.
I look at him with shock, my feet move on their own and take me backwards as he tries to get closer… I unsheathe my sword and push his away – effortlessly. What did I have to fear? I was still a king.
"You cannot kill me," I say, and slap him to the ground. "And no one can, as long as you are here… and when you are not, somebody stronger than you will take your place and obey me."
"One day…" he says, and I just turn away to leave. "If not you, your prodigy."
My heart sinks to my gut. "He is not even here, so good luck with that." I scoff and turn away. "And if it is my daughter… she'd use her own broken bones to kill you."
But an idea… a what if… makes me meet my boy and take him to the screams of chained prisoners.
"Isn't it melodious?" I ask, and my son, Niu, shakes and jerks a bit away from me – making me frown. "My bad… I understand you do not possess chaos like I do. And that's ok."
"Is it?" Niu asks me, and I raise my eyebrows. "You don't seem to keep me around."
"Yes… for my powers… there are worse dangers which would be around me. And I wouldn't want you there."
"Then that is not ok, father. Let's just… agree. It is alright."
I just scoff and smile, while putting my hand to his shoulder. "It is… that is why we are here."
Niu looks at me without understanding, but I only make him hurry up and follow me. Into the place where the voices of torture were the loudest… in the middle of the room where guards were alert to kill the one at the centre – if she were to move.
"Vile," Niu says, rushing forward.
"Prince Niu," a soldier tries to stop him, but I put my hand ahead and let them know that it is okay.
"Father, why is she…"
"It's ok, Niu. Your sister… just needs to be here. Her powers being like mine… sadly, they need to be contained. She is only a child."
"She is. Please release her!"
"She tried helping Romairam. She was helping one of the… prisoners. A friend of Romairam. Her fault was she was found by me."
"Help Romairam? Vile. Why'd you ever…" Niu looks back at Vile, who still doesn't speak.
"She was after his powers, Niu," I say, and Niu freezes… stepping away from Vile.
"There's a way?" Niu asks, and I feel the lovely chaos in him… still yet to bloom. "What do I need to do to her, to get it, father?"
"Patience, Niu. Don't be impatient and kill her, like you did your mother."
"Then do I rape her? Eat her insides? Sacrifice everyone in this room and worship her, like you did to mother?"
"No, dear boy… patience. We are here for that exactly. Don't you worry."
I sign to a soldier and they get a box and keep it next to Niu. I sign them all to back away, and go towards the box, opening it.
"Is that… mother?" Niu asks, looking at the body wrapped in spices. "How?"
"We preserve such rare specimen for a reason, dear boy."
"Mother chaos," I hear a whisper.
"NIU!"
Vile screams in pain as the bandages around the body turn to fire and burn towards her. I see the spices having turned black, and grab Niu just in time.
*
A week after…
"Is my son…" I ask, but hold back my concern. "Where," I say, clearing my throat, "Where is my son?"
"Sir he is in-"
"-NO!" I say and slash my hand – throwing the minister far to the door, and my hand shivers as my gaze falls on it. "The answer is that you don't fucking know."
The minister gets up while coughing and hold his bleeding mouth, he seems to hold back his vomit – so I look away.
"I apologize, my lord."
"Just…" I say, and look back at him. "What is the status on the betrayer?"
Vile wasn't alone. And her helper had moved beyond Romairam.
"We got all his confessions on being acquainted with the friend of Romairam, sir."
"HE WAS JUST MY GLADIATOR, AND SO IS THE BOY! THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY NAMES, THEY ARE MY SLAVES!" I scream, making the minister look down and stumble backwards.
"T-the… motive was… also to kill you, Lord Farzer."
"Right… failed in a pathetic way, died in one too," I say, feeling proud of myself. "Be sure that the prince relocates every now and then… I'm sure that…" my minister looks at me – expecting for me to continue. "They will, without your help."
"Sir?" As my hand chokes the air, the minister holds his neck. "Please."
I increase the pressure while looking at him, but at the corner of my hand I see the colour of my arm changing… turning a black or some kind of a painful red. So I let him go.
"Thank you. I will-"
"-fight me," I say, and the minister looks up at me. "Make a cut on either of my arm… and you're free to go."
I see the happiness on his face just fade… he states at me for a while, but quickly runs like a gorilla, towards the side of the room with some spear. Wise choice. I only smile and scoff, and move towards my throne. Right as I sit down, I see him jump towards me – I grab my sword but hold back. I let it happen.
"Daughter," I say, with a surprise up my face.
"You let people just try and kill you?" I hear her whispering echo through the chamber… last I heard her was…
"I am growing weak," I chuckle. "Yet you somehow always survive and surpass."
"Then maybe-"
"NOOOOOO!" the minister screeches, as his legs extend out.
"Sh…" I see a knife appear at his throat. "Lowly, lovely screams."
I see a disfigured body and feel a little disgust… however the hell that thing moves, she does and stands in between the minister and me. Vile… her body was so too.
"Humans are weird, father," Vile says.
"Vile… my dear Vile. So funny of you to say that."
"That name…" Vile says, putting a hand to the minister's mouth as he screams in a muffled way while his legs go far apart. "This is what is Vile, father… your minister is horny while in pain… in moments it'll tear apart like nothing."
"Why are you here?" I ask.
Vile freezes in a standstill… and removes her hand from the minister's mouth. She comes sits at the handle of my seat – from where I remove my resting hand and stare between Vile and the minister.
"Don't panic, father. Have patience. Your turn shall come too. For now… watch him."
Vile moves me by my chin using her two disgusting fingers… the minister looks at me – begging me to help him in a silent way while also crying, but I only wipe my chin. As he screams up his lungs, his bottom splits in halfs from his leg gap… his gut starts tearing as his head starts splitting from above… both the tears stop at his chest, and he falls to the ground.
"Go on and sate your blood thirst, father," Vile tells me.
"I… have stopped doing so."
"Cannot afford it with your gladiator away?"
"Cannot afford to get as crazy as you. And your mother."
"Ah…" Vile says. "Father, dear father. You thought of saving your powerless son… but not one thought about me? That's heartbreaking."
"I expected if not that day, the kid would kill you," I say, and look at her. "But you just became his whore."
I turn to Vile… and her eyes lost on the blood on the floor… twitch. Her smile fades, so I instantly grab the knife which comes to my chest. She adds another hand, but I move it to the side while twisting my body – hitting the knife to the throne.
"Still can't use those powers on me, can you?" I ask.
"Can you? Or will you watch your soldiers rape me, and watch me rot while killing them?"
Vile throws her head towards me and bites my the hand she finds. I scream and throw my shoulder to her face, she backs away while slashing her knife to my face – leaving a bleeding cut.
"I will let them have you corpse too!"
I throw myself out of the throne and grab towards her – as she slashes I hold her wrist and twist in a little breaking sound of bones.
"How about you instead let me shove my bones up your ass?"
Vile grabs her own wrist and breaks out a chunk of it, while crying out loud. I see the sharp edge of her broken bone, as it arrives to my eye. We both scream in pain… I don't try to hold my face or her hand.
"F-father," Vile says, as she shakily feels around my hands.
I breathe deep. I shake my hands, pushing hers away, and lift my foot to her mid-body. Even when it hurts, I hold the knife instilled up her chin… this had to happen. Even through pain, my hand holds the knife with all my strength.
"Oh dear daughter… the pearl of my eye…"
Vile scoffs, and I push her body while the knife shatters to split her face in half. Cracks of her skull making the bits of the knife disappear, and I merely collect out the hilt… I lick my hand like a hungry animal, leaving my saliva where Vile's blood was.
The energy… it was a bit of a temporary thing, like when Niu killed his mother… but it surges in my body, and eases the pain in my eye. It doesn't heal… but it didn't matter.
I look at her… she was dead surely. Even when being powerful… we had more limitations than just not being able to hurt our own.
I duck down and graze my hand upon her face – barely touching it. The rotten flesh… her it was vile and disgusting even on the insides. I could cough at the taste in my mouth. But, I lick the sluggish, rotten, tasteless… divine-
"She really preferred she kill you," I hear a voice.
I continue tearing out whatever hard flesh remains, and directly swallow without chewing – while coughing. Turning back quickly, I stumble upon my feet to stand. "Boy…"
"Farzer… for having killed your own daughter," the boy holds his hand in an exotic way, while looking at it – as it forms rotten strength on him. "Your Gladiator shall paint your walls with your insides."
"I MADE YOU!"
I throw Vile's body upon the boy, and leap to punch down his face. He had already turned into my gladiator… the soulless look in his eyes, to view death as if it were breeze. The lust for blood without having to put too much effort to kill.
I punch it. I hold him down and bruise his strong face. I kick and slap him, but he only keeps looking at me even after each time I make him look away. I use my foot to swing up his sword, but as I hold its hilt – he holds its blade.
"Romairam!"
"I'm not him!" the boy says and presses his palm to my chest – breaking something and sending me across the room – through the wall. "It's time, Farzer."
My vision starts blurring, but I lift my numbing feet… I feel with my hands and exit this room. I couldn't… I needed help. He was stronger than me… but he wasn't allowed to…
"G-guards… GUARDS!" I scream, feeling the walls and moving forward.
"She wanted to kill you… but you know what I wanted?" I hear his voice close to me, from behind.
"GUARDS!"
"To kill EVERYONE in your little kingdom. All your soldiers. People who worship you. People who cheered as my father killed those people, while losing himself."
"YOUR FATHER WAS MY GLADIATOR!"
I find a sword and pierce it into empty air behind me. My vision starts clearing… and I see the boy pass bodies of my soldiers… they were all… slain. The blood on them… flowing… painted the whole path. The bodies were dry and lifeless.
"You… are more chaos than him or me," I claim, with fear in my eyes – I feel it. "We can… rule the world. We can… watch the Lowly screams. We can rule it. We can… cause more. More vile and foul creatures. I dream… an empire of chaos."
"I dream… my life being normal. But you took it. You… better die painfully. Or the wrath I'd cause…"
"Yes… so that," I twitch my lips to form a smile.
The boy freezes and states at me. "Your family deserves what was brought upon mine."
"My boy would've made sure his mother's skin wasn't that beaten up like your mother's is," I say through my teeth.
"I'll visit him with yours."
The boy moves his sword, and I step back. His sword was infested with rot… so I infest mine with it too… but this mere sword would break easily. I had no choice even so. I bring my blade upon his, and push it in a arc above his body. But like me, he brings his sword to my neck.
"DO IT!" I say, but we both kick each other away.
He was me in a way. Or so it feels by his aura. So he must be just as strong-
"Farzer… I didn't want it to be simple. You aren't going to die yet, are you?"
I drop my sword, and it dusts down to its hilt. I fear holding my own head… but I was confused if I should hold the bit attached to me, or the one on the floor. I feel the air around my head… there was a bit over here, but now… no. He just…
"This is wrong."
"Kneel," the boy says, and I fall to my knees. "You had no chance…"
My shivering hand, finds the edge… it wasn't fleshy… and I feel no blood. "What?" but it… the rot…
The boy falls to his knees. "What?" his rot starts fading… but his skin looks burnt yet.
"I made you…" I say, jerking a little forward – while scaring the boy. "You really thought…"
I scratch towards his face, his little hands couldn't push me away. Nor could he run away. The gap between my nails and my fingers tip fills as I tear his face however successfully I could. But I feel my own nails ready to break apart.
"You are just a kid."
His hand moves to my head, and mine moves to his. I grab his hair pull it out, I use my teeth to tear out his hair impatiently. Then I reach his soft scalp. I almost feel my teeth break apart. I try to find something… I don't realise what but I tear at his skin.
"You have my eye."
I dig my finger into his skull and get to his eye… I feel it in my grasp and pull it out. His screams were only melody to me. I shove his eye into my mouth and feel like puking.
"Here, want your eyeball?" I spit it out into my hand and shove it in his mouth.
Then I tear at his lips, I pull and bite at it. I put my hand to his jaw and try to split his face… but I was only a weak madman. So I bash my head into his, while screaming cryptically in rage. I use my hand, my knee, a shield or something – to break his ribs. He was gone… but I tear his limbs with the little strength I acquire… I rub my fingers to squeeze out his skin.
"You have no one I can give your skin to. So I won't be gentle."
The more I tear him down, I feel more powerful. A lot more powerful than I ever did… a lot… my strength grows, my limbs feel… bulkier than ever. Bulkier than Romairam's. The energy surging through me… makes me…
"And then Farzer," I hear, with a buzzing. "Became his own gladiator."
"NO!" I scream, letting my energy burst out of me. The walls… the whole castle… crumbles down on me. But I stand above it, rising up.
"This cannot happen."
I look back, still feeling powerful than ever… there was no person. But red… sparks of… nature. Some kind of an… energy.
"Who are you to say so?"
"Balance…" it says. "By you becoming your own gladiator… you have become a paradox. And so…"
As it comes towards me, I grab to fight it. But it embraces me. It entangles me. I feel it around the outline of my body… as if I were just an outline, with no face… no form… no, only a form as a shape… I feel only where it entangles me.
"This is you… and it shouldn't be anymore."
"Get off me!"
The sparks dig and stitch into my skin, they tailor down my entire form. I still feel only tingles… I couldn't stop it. It only… no, I was stronger!
"You are strong. I'm no one to do this for your power… but the boy… he knew something like this would happen. Miles and miles… you are the only soul. And so when he died… you could be the only next gladiator. You were doomed to start."
"What are you…"
"Chaos with a name…"
"What?"
"Don't panic… have patience. In the end it is always me."
My skin flies out, it dusts and I only remain as echoes of my scream. I stretch and stretch… not sure if as sound or the bits of me flying everywhere… but I feel each bit of me burn in a flame of… something. Something terrible. Something with no escape. So-
Farzer was gone. Erased from existence, from there on. His empire just had a king who disappeared before his empire wiped out. Or so was written.
His son was still- wait, these aren't my notes. Why is this being written… That's it for this chapter of Lowly Screams. We will be… What the fuck is this?
And so the writer stops writing. But history writes itself to cause… all of this you have witnessed. But I won't return, unless I have to bring balance in this horrific world. But it is chaos it strives upon. And I shall let it be so.