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The light of the sky was shining through my eyelids. Now awake, I see that I am no longer...on the ground.
Now standing in a wide yellowish plain, I see clouds, both above and around me.
"Where am I..AH! I CAN TALK!" Nyx says in joy and sprightliness. "But...where am I?"
My gaze swivels from side to side and eventually I see myself on the floor. A distorted reflection, but still me. Me. Now in my own body. Gray skin, white hair. "Everything's like before."
"For now, yes."
Stopped in his tracks, Nyx is on his toes. "Who said that?!" he jumps. Looking left and right. "And where are you?"
"Sorry, sorry HAHAHA. I'm here."
Clouds moving and changing shape, a woman appears. She was sitting on what looked to be a...couch? More like a lumpy bench with pillows. "Hi, Nyx."
"Hi.."he replies skeptically, unsure of what's going on.
"You're dead. Again. Remember?"
"I don't want to talk about it." He replies, trying to ignore the question. To remember...all the fear...that he'll end up in that horrible hell again..."Now what?"
The woman gets to her feet. And stumbles two steps. "HeHe..pardon me." Her outfit was beautiful. Tall white boots. An open- front dress, a breast plate, shoulder pads. Green hair with gold eyes. And something strange in her chest. A hole like a broken window. I could see through her. "It's unkind to stare me like that."
"Hmm." I reply to her.
"You just can talk again and you grunt." she continues. "Very mature." she says smiling. "My name is Tamira. Pleasure to meet you."
"I suppose the same. Where are we?" Nyx asks the woman curiously.
"Yes, yes. I am the goddess of freedom and the sky! And this is my home!" she celebrates with her hands to the sky."Eh? What do you say?" she asks palpitating.
"I like it. But where is your bathroom?"
"Pff...I've heard that one before. I don't need one." clearing her throat. "Look. I need some help."
Now...Nyx wasn't in the mood. "What exactly do you want?" But then, the goddess' so-called domain shook, causing the goddess to sit back down on the bench.
"My friends, other gods, and I are in a war. A hundred years ago, Amar, god of identity and desert, decreed that the earth was ours."
"Is it not?"
"No. We, like you, were put here by fate. And though we have grown, men and monsters have grown along us." Another tremor. "For millennia we have lived and watched. Making our presence known in different corners of the world. Offering blessings and help. Amar was less involved. He said everyone needed to find their own purpose and identity. But a hundred years ago he declared war. He convinced other gods to stand with him. He wanted the earth."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Please. Let me finish. He wanted earth. He said humanity was pointless and we were wasting our time. He said that all the gifts, all our efforts put into their simple little lives amounted to not even a fraction of what we would accomplish...if we ruled it." the goddess breathes. "Me, I was the first to go against it."
"Why?"
"The goddess of freedom, you fool." she sneers at him. "The assembly was awful. He persuaded many to join him, saying why not? 'We're eternal, so why don't we do this one as well.' said one. Those who stayed behind didn't want to destroy the balance of the world. They were scared. Pfff... I was scared of what was happening."
Nyx was growing more curious and inquisitive. He waited now only for the goddess to continue.
"The fight was hard on both sides. We had to fight each other. Some saw each other as friends, others just saw each other as nuisance that needed to get rid of. Because of the fights, our interaction with humans and other kinds grew less and less. Time spent fighting battles and escaping with our lives." pointing at her chest. "As you can see, I'm on my last leg."
"Who did this to you?" Nyx asks.
"Amar himself struck me. He's gotten much stronger lately. Listen, the stakes are high. Thirty years ago, Amar used his magic and cast a spell over the earth."
"What did he do?" now somewhat worried.
"He blocks the souls from finding their way to heaven, and trap them down in hell. He connected to it, drawing power from the souls contained within it. The more who die, the more powerful he becomes. We gods live outside of you three dimension space. A strong enough god can break that limit and step on earth physically."
Now Nyx was the scared one. A shitty life on earth, and then trapped in hell for nothing? Just for a selfish god to gain power? "How long was I dead? In hell I mean."
"About 70 years. The world had change much you know. Artificers and Mages invented many wonderful things mixing math, physics and magic for bettering of people.Tho some invented... weapons, of course."
"For a time I resisted the spell. But time after time they forced my hand and my comrades to abandon the idea. My power was the only one that could countermeasure the spell. And now I am here. Waiting to crack."
"BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS?!? CAN'T THEY HELP?!" Nyx demanding answers.
"Once I was wounded, I asked to surrender themselves to be spared. No worries..that was my plan. I'm the only one here. The last one."
It was all too much. It was all so overwhelming. All Nyx could do was cry. "And how do I fit into your plan?"
"When I sensed a soul leaving hell, I followed you. You landed right in one of my churches! Seeing your fate, I stumbled upon you my blessing, breaking the control spell. One of my best friends, Korra, sent the bear to help you on your way. I followed you until you were destroyed. I used my strength to drag you here. To have this conversation."
"Wow.."
"We gods can live after death as you, but it is more like rebirth. Some of my allies have done this, but few. Others didn't have time or died completely in battle." Now back on her feet, the bench disappears and the clouds begin to thin.
"I can survive. But the process will take years. In which time the earth will be subject to the cruelty of the gods. My comrades and I have failed, yet hope still remains. I offer you a spark of my strength, my blessing. For as long it survives so shall I."
"WAIT! Before you disappear, tell me, what has become of Kara?" the question that was eating Nyx alive.
Tamira smiled. "She got away. She lived a good life with Sam and made friends. She's in heaven with the rest of them."
"But why not me? Why did I end up in hell?"
"You fought for your freedom, but you killed innocents in the final escapade. Will you accept?"
It's this or hell.
"I accept."
The light exploded from Tamira. Her last powers were entering Nyx. "By supercharging your body, with what I have left, I will mend it back."
"What should I do when I'm back on earth?"
"Why should I know? I wasn't born to tell people what to do. HaHa!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
What's that? the captain's getting angry at the situation. For a moment the woman was dead, torn to pieces! But now her remains explode with power!
Mana was circulating through the air. It flickered and danced from the woman's wreckage like blue flames. Missing body parts came back together, mending her back. What must be her heart now glowed red. With all of her parts, my shield had broken into pieces, now curling and covering ther heart.
Siiiigh...."You did a number on me, you know?" Nyx says. His voice now back, sounding like him, not as Kara.
"Ohoh now you can talk, eh?" Captain comments. "How are you back here? I thought I killed you."
"Naaah...but come closer.. I'll show you how to kill properly." Nyx mocks him. Now back on his feet, he took the same position, but no weapons.
The captain readying his sword, repeats the launch, thrusting the sword forward, ready to pierce and destroy Nyx again.
Nyx looks set to tank the blow. Raising his hand, he prepares to do what he does best. Pushing his hand towards his fingertips, waiting for the captain to be close enough not to miss.
"Boo.." Nyx whispers, snapping his fingers like a gun. The burst of flames rose almost instantly, hurtling between Nyx and the captain like a snake, with only one thing in front of it, the target.
So fast.
Nyx's attack hit him as fast as an arrow. But there was no hole to show that the captain had been attacked. Because everything. Everything. It ignited in flames. Nyx's attack was like denying matter. It burst through the target with no resistance, igniting everything in its path, stopping in the core and from there, branching out to the rest of the body.
Within two seconds of launching the attack, the captain was dead. His remains now as ashes, armor melted and in flames.
"Kyaaaa! He killed the captain! Run!"
"I didn't sign up for this! I'm going home!!"
Now everyone was fleeing the camp, leaving Nyx alone with the rest of the corpses. His flames were slowly dying out. Both the captain's body and the mana wrapped around him.
Siiighh.."Heehm....."
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm mute again!
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Camp in pieces and no one nearby, Nyx went back into the woods to retrieve her backpack. The fire burned it a little.
Nothing good left here but the book and my money. A lot of paper's burned. Burned clothes. And the map's in pretty bad shape.
No regrets over the objects, I throw them on the campfire left over by the soldiers. It's a good thing my clothes I'm wearing are still intact, thanks to Tamira, or else I'd be walking around with my tits out.
So... what do I do now?
There's nothing left in the camp except the main tent...and that rubble of stones. Nyx was analyzing at a small building that had been dug into a uneven patch in the ground. Like a pantry. But he turns back to the tent. Walking up to it, outside the entrance, he sees a stand, holding a couple of spears, all steel. Picking up one, he can feel its vibrating as it rubs against the wood and hits another like it.
I like this.
Getting rid of the old spear, Nyx grabs four and places them on his back . Compared to the wooden-handled one taken from the boy's hands, these are shorter. Smaller blade, but better. Perfect for throwing or holding with one hand.
Inside the tent a few lamps were burning. There was a table set up as a desk, a makeshift bed, a trunk and... a woman. The girl was tied by the wrists to a pole, unconscious.
Ignoring the woman for the moment, I looked across the desk. A candle, pencils, ink... but on the wall... On the wall was a detailed map of the eastern Shyw region. Places marked in red, including the eastern city of Elth, an area marked with a skull to the southwest, and the little town of a few days ago..
Picking up some notes, Nyx comes across some reports.
"Monsters sighted south of the city. Attacking at night, dangerous, hunting domestic animals and humans."
"Dr. Wilson killed, son, mother, neighbor killed. Need investigation."
"Boats sunk in river, north."
Hmm... A report on me... But... Ah... a sketch. Flipping through the rest of the paper, I find a little bag. Two gold coins. Pretty. But nothing else seemed useful. A small spark ignites the paper tank.
"AAH! Who are you?" The panicked girl who was just unconscious crawls away to hide behind the pole.
She pulls her face out from behind the wood. "Please...can you let me go?"
She showed me the chains tied to the pole, to which a lock was attached. "The key is on the shelves over there." she pointed to a cupboard without doors.
True enough, a key was placed there beside the vases and a few dishes and clothes. Should I let her free? But still, I'd ask the same in her position, but would anyone want to let me go?
Turning the wrench in the lock, the chains fall off, remaining attached to her wrists by handcuffs. "And these, please."
Now free of the chains, she stands up. "Thank you." A little interest. "Where is that stupid brute?". Nyx manages, cutting her throat with her finger. "Dead? Wow. You to blame?"
I cross my hands over my chest. I nod yes. Looking at her, we were about the same height. Long black hair, dressed in simple clothes. A long green dress, with white clothing underneath.
"Well..bye!" She smiled vigorously and ran out of the tent.
Ignoring the woman who had just left, Nyx starts searching through his things. The trunk was rather disappointing, just clothes and a few belts.
You'd think someone as "self-imposing" as him would own more stuff. I guess not. Exiting the tent, Nyx contemplates his next move. What's left is that room. Or search through the soldiers' things, but eh... Not in the mood.
"Mrroooaaar!!"
The bear... as usually... shows up out of nowhere in the nick of time. But now, he looked more thrashed. Wounds from the soldiers were still visible and a bolt in the back. Giving him a hug, I grab the bolt and pull gently. He breathes hard and fast, but the arrow comes out, not leaving the sharp tip behind.
Brave boy. Followed by more scratching.
Focusing back to the stone construction. The door was solid wood and metal. It's open. Inside, hanging on bars and hooks... sausages. Some chickens. Ham. A couple boxes of vegetables. Carrots, potatoes, onions. Beans? And a bucket of... fat?
This is their pantry. Looking outside, the bear was munching on a corpse. Hmm.
Nyx went back inside and grabbed as many rolls of sausage as she could, along with bacon. Puts it all on a crate of vegetables and grabs the bucket in his other hand.
This will be fun!
Laying everything on the table, he looked around. Under the roof where the soldiers were supposedly eating was a three-legged disk. Black. Yet when he grabbed the handles, the color stuck to his hands.
Soot... Aha! That's like a barbecue pan! Perfect! Placing it over the fire, Nyx dropped in some grease.
Waiting for it to melt, I take some sausages and cut them into smaller pieces. The bacon in slightly thicker pieces and the onions in halves. And potatoes. Looking at them brings back a memory. Fries. Kara's favorite.
Cut into long thin slices, all done. Throwing one into the pan, Nyx sees it's hot enough. Now the bear next to me is trying to steal some ham off my hand.
No, no, no! I pull his ear.
"Mroor..." the bear grumbles. Yeah, he was hungry.
Throwing the rest of the food over the fire, the fat shot up and spattered a little, but nothing I could feel even with contact with the stone skin.
Picking up a fork, I stir it through. Can it taste right? I take out little bits and slices of food and lay them on a towel found at the table.
Potatoes are all that's left. Oh wait! Taking the food in my hand so the bear won't take it in his mouth, I walk to the pantry. Around here.. there are three jars. Picking one up...SALT! YES!
Back to the fire. Nyx sees the bear. Sitting at the table? That's cute. Checking the potatoes, he pulls them out of the hot bath of grease by hand and sprinkling salt on top. Now everything was ready. Putting the food back on the table, everything looks delicious.
"Mrooaar!!" the bear cries happily. He digs with his mouth through the food. Everything was for his delight. Even the fries Nyx cooked. Must be the salt, he thought.
Picking up a potato, he wondered. I've not tried to eat anything till now. Crushing the food in my mouth, yet I can't taste it. Not even the salt. My mouth is as dry as sand.
He spits the scraps on the ground. Just as he feared, his diet will amount to nothing but blood.
The bear was still eating and licking what fat he could. Now it's my time to eat something.
Forcing himself to get to the few bodies left in the camp, Nyx grabs the males and as before pushes his fingers into the wound.
Of the six dead men, only four had anything left to give. Looking at the wound in the chest of one, he causes him to remember. When I was reformed, that shield. It broke into pieces and wrapped around my core.
Even now, I feel nothing different about myself or my movements. Maybe a little heavier but I have no scale to check. And those blue flames. Tamira's power. Like I was back on adrenaline.
"Mroorr!" the bear wailed. Now at me licking my hand of scraps. Scratching his head, I turn around and call for the axe. It jumps into my hand, now covered in ashes and the handle slightly cracked. Now just a useless junk.
Shoving the blade into the table, I leave it there, just so. So no axe. Looking around, I find a few swords. But these are everywhere. Maybe people will recognize the sword and I'll get in trouble. Spears too, but I like them. Maybe I can lie and say I bought them. Yeah, that should work.
Snuggling the satchel on my back and securing the spears underneath in their holders, I leave camp and hit the road. Nothing of value but two gold coins and new weapons. New weapons. Yes, I'd better put the spell on them. Ha... maybe I fish with them.
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A night and a day of just walking. From the time Nyx left the camp in the middle of the night till this afternoon. Just now, almost evening. Along with the bear, this time not leaving his side.
But far ahead, tower peaks and building tops were in sight. The city of Elth. Nothing good could come of going into the city. But where else? Sleeping inside a cave? Hell no. I need something to keep my head busy until the goddess recovers her powers. Alas, how long will that take?
"Mrrroooaar!!" cries the bear, drawing my attention. He paces back and forth. But stops at the side of the road. Looking at the forest and back at me.
Oh no...
Putting my hand on him I point toward town. Come on... please? I gesture for him to come. But he's just breathing heavily. I reach into my purse and pull out a sausage saved for the road. I try to lure him back down the road, but to no effect. I let him eat the meat, which he accepts.
Eating it, he looks at me. And then I hug him.
"Mrrooororor..." he whines and licks my face. He wags his little tail. And then he leaves. Back into the woods.
I look at the bear. Until he disappears. If I could cry, I would.