The three spirits I'd dragged from the World of the Lost moved forward, invisible to the soldiers but fully visible to me. Their translucent forms shimmered faintly, their disjointed limbs twisting unnaturally as they crept toward the soldiers. Their hollow, glowing eyes locked onto their prey with predatory precision.
One of the soldiers barked. Trying to shake the other out of their petrified bodies. "Stay in formation! Whatever he's—"
His words were cut short.
One of the spirits lunged forward with a guttural snarl, its clawed hand plunging through the soldier's chest like a knife through water. For a moment, the man froze, his mouth opening in a silent scream as the spirit's claws tore through his essence, ripping something unseen from within him. Blood splattered across the cage bars as the man collapsed in a heap, lifeless before his body even hit the ground.
"What the fuck—?!" Another soldier stumbled back, his face pale as the spirit turned to him, its translucent grin spreading unnaturally wide.
"They can't see them, can they?" I muttered, almost to myself. The spirits moved like ghosts, silent and swift, their forms shimmering in and out of sight as they tore through the Orford Corps.
"Exactly," the Fool said, perching himself on top of the cage. "These little soldiers are fighting shadows, and shadows don't lose."
A younger soldier, barely older than me, screamed as his legs were swept out from under him. He hit the ground hard, his helmet rolling away, revealing wide, terrified eyes. The spirit standing over him raised its clawed hand, and I saw the reflection of its jagged form in his pupils just before the claws came down. Blood sprayed outward, painting the ground in violent streaks.
The metallic tang of blood filled the air, mingling with the screams of the dying. The once-organized Orford Corps were in chaos now, their disciplined formation broken as they scrambled in all directions, slashing their swords at empty air.
"This isn't right!" one of them yelled, his voice cracking. "What is this? What the fuck is this?!"
Another soldier dropped his weapon and ran, only to be caught by one of the spirits. It slammed him into the ground with enough force to break bones, its claws digging into his back as it tore him apart.
I stood there, gripping the bars of the cage, watching it all unfold. The world felt distant, the screams muffled as though they were coming from underwater. Blood splattered across my face, warm and sticky, but I didn't flinch.
I didn't look away.
Instead, I watched as the soldiers who had mocked me moments before were ripped apart, limb to limb. Their blood soaking the earth.
A part of me—the part that might have hesitated, that might have cared—felt like it had been buried deep, smothered under the weight of something foreign. Something maddening.
"They deserve it," I murmured, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
The Fool chuckled, his laughter sharp and hollow. "Ah, look at you. Already learning to enjoy the show."
"I wouldn't call it enjoyment," I said flatly. My eyes lingered on a soldier writhing on the ground, his hands clutching his torn abdomen as he bled out. His mouth moved as if to pray, but no words came.
"But I don't feel bad for them either."
"You're learning," the Fool said approvingly.
One of the spirits stepped back from its latest victim, its claws dripping with blood. Its hollow eyes turned to me, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw something resembling… satisfaction in its distorted face.
The last few soldiers tried to regroup, their backs pressed against each other as they formed a desperate circle. One of them, trembling but defiant, raised his sword and pointed it at me. "You… you did this! You're the monster!"
I stepped closer to the edge of the cage, my left eye burning as the purple fog drifted outward, curling through the air like tendrils. The soldier's sword arm shook violently, his face drenched in sweat.
"You attacked me first," I said quietly, my voice cold and steady. "You get what you sow."
The final spirit lunged into their circle, its claws cutting through flesh and bone like paper. The soldiers screamed, their cries echoing into the distance as the massacre reached its brutal conclusion.
When it was over, the spirits stood among the carnage, their translucent forms flickering faintly as they turned to me. The ground was slick with blood, the bodies of the Orford Corps strewn about like broken dolls.
The Fool hopped down from the cage, landing lightly on the blood-soaked earth. He stretched his skeletal arms wide, gesturing to the scene around us. "Now, little godling," he said with a mock bow, "this is what a battlefield looks like."
I stared at him, then at the corpses. Blood pooled around the cage, staining the white armor of the fallen soldiers. The spirits waited silently, their hollow eyes fixed on me as if awaiting further orders.
I wiped the blood from my face with my sleeve, the sticky warmth smearing across my skin. My heart didn't race. My hands didn't shake.
This was normal now.
I glanced at the Fool, who was watching me closely, his mismatched eyes glinting with something unreadable. "What now?" He asked.
I smiled. "Now, we move. The Orford Corps is finished, but my journey is far from over."
He gestured to the spirits. "Dismiss them. They've served their purpose. The rest is up to you."
I nodded, my gaze shifting to the spirits. They bowed their heads briefly before fading into nothingness, their forms dissolving like smoke.
As their presence disappeared, the air grew still again, the heavy silence pressing down on me.
The Fool clapped his hands together, his grin returning. "Onward, little godling! There's a whole world waiting for you to conquer—or destroy. Whatever suits your fancy."
I stepped out of the cage, my boots splashing in the blood-soaked ground. For a moment, I looked back at the battlefield, at the shattered remains of what had once been a formidable force.
This was just the beginning.
I was going to kill any and everyone who came after me.
.....................…
"Hey Cairith we have been walking for so long. At least tell me where we are going." The Fool groaned.
"It's just been this barren desert and treacherous sun for a couple hours now. I am tired."
"As if. You don't even need to walk. Heck! You don't even need to be out in the sun."
"This is so damn boring. Let's go to the world of the lost and get another spirit to carry you. It will be quicker."
"Go back to that fucked up place again? Hell no. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. Bear it."
"Ahhh. So god damn boringggggg."
Before I knew it the day blended into night. The hot and barren desert slopes turned into a cold desolate night scape. It took another three hours of walking but we finally arrived.
"We are here. Finally" I said falling down on the cold and biting sand. My feet aching from exhaustion.
"Here where?" Asked the Fool.
"That hill you see?" I said, pointing at a small cliff of sand.
The Fool nodded.
"Behind it is what we call 'Herium'. The gates of dimensions."
"Herium? Ahh that piece of junk. I remember that" the Fool said, with a bland expression.
"Junk?! That is the only way to get to the inner strandem of the mortal realm." I snapped back.
"Ehh? You guys can't just snap your fingers to switch dimensions? That's so irritating."
"You can?"
"I could. Well not anymore. Not in this state at least."
"Huh? The more I talk to you the more it feels my reality till now was a lie." I said, standing up.
"Anyways. Since we killed the Orford Corps the high and low true gods must be aware of our presence by now. Worst case the mid true gods know too."
"If it gets to them then their is no where in the god plane that is safe." I continued waking towards the Herium.
"So you want to escape to the mortal realm?"
"I need to go as far as the middle strandem to escape their grasp."
"You know you have been talking so much about strandems and all but to be honest I don't get what strandems are in the first place!" The Fool said with a bored tone.
"You don't? I thought you did." I snapped back.
He just stared at me in return.
"Well, the mortal realm is like a spider web, with the god plane at the centre. The closer you are to the centre the more aware you are about the existence of gods." I said nonchalantly.
"The inner strandem are the universes that directly interact with gods on a daily basis, while the middle strandem knows about our existence but don't interact with gods. The outer strandem on the other hand doesn't even acknowledge our existence."
The Fool and I climbed the final stretch of the hill, the biting wind howling in my ears as we reached the peak. I crouched low, peering over the edge, and there it was.
The Herium.
It glowed like a wound in the earth, an enormous, ancient gate of stone and light. Cracks of violet and gold shimmered across its surface, shifting and pulsating as though the structure was alive. The air around it buzzed with energy, sharp and suffocating. Even from here, I could feel it pressing against my skin.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the Fool said, his voice almost reverent for once. "The Herium. A door between worlds and yet… so much more."
My eyes narrowed. The gate wasn't unguarded. Far from it.
Dozens of soldiers in gleaming armour patrolled the area, their formation tight and precise. They moved in overlapping patterns, their spears glowing faintly with infused essence. Behind them stood several gods, their divine forms radiant even in the darkness. Some of them hovered near the gate, murmuring incantations as their hands traced the glowing cracks in the Herium's surface. Others stood farther back, their watchful eyes scanning the desert.
The Fool whistled softly. "Well, they certainly didn't skimp on security. Must be expecting someone. Wonder who?" He gave me a pointed look, his grin widening.
My stomach tightened, but I forced myself to stay calm. "How are we supposed to get past that?" I whispered. "There's no way we can fight them all."
The Fool shrugged, floating lazily beside me. "Who said anything about fighting? Use that clever little brain of yours, Cairith. Chaos doesn't always need a blade."
I glanced back at the Herium, the glowing light reflecting in my left eye. The soldiers below moved with precision, but even the most disciplined defence had cracks. I just had to find one.
Still, the weight of what lay ahead pressed down on me.
"This," the Fool murmured, gesturing to the Herium and its guards. "This is what survival looks like, little godling. Impossible odds. Now let's see if you're clever enough to beat them."