*Thump, Thump, Thump*
The walls shook, the windows creaked, and the doors rattled as the holy church of Carnifex endured its intense bombardment, the few survivors of the attack trapped within. This was anything but a normal siege, however. There were no boulders flung from catapults, no armed thugs or invading soldiers battering down their doors, there wasn’t even a fleet of dwarven airships dropping supercharged dungeon cores upon them.
The silhouettes striking the windows betrayed their attackers’ origins, who were anything but ordinary. Nooses, ropes tied up into the favoured knot of the gallows, were assaulting their haven like rabid dogs. The true cause of this phenomena was still very much unknown, but what they knew for certain was it had all spawned from the gargantuan ball of mana looming over the village. Their lust for blood had already proven the better of the goblin horde that fell upon their settlement overnight, and now it hungered for them.
Hera, the presiding priest of Carnifex, knelt on the stage before the survivors, leading them in prayer. Out of the hundreds of villagers that resided in Carnifex, only four remained, barring the few outside traders that had managed to avoid the slaughter. Despite this horrid situation, however, everyone was able maintain their sanity under Hera’s guidance.
The only other survivor, standing separate from the others, was Miya, a knight of the Faith. She’d already fought and bled to save this village, first from the megabear, and then against the goblin invasion, each time leaving her injured beyond what Hera’s miracles could fully restore.
The knight’s body radiated a faint golden glow, working to patch what injuries she could using her sudden influx of divine essence after breaking down her 5th circle.
Hera wanted nothing more than to heal her friend and colleague, but she’d already expended much of her reserves treating her wounds as it was. Anymore and it could begin compromising the churches defences.
For the last half hour, the nooses pounded away at the church. Fortunately for those inside, their bark was far worse than their bite, lacking the power to breach the church’s divine defences. It was a fact even the nooses seemed to grasp after their relentless pounding yielded no results as, all at once, the thumping abruptly came to a halt.
The sudden absence of their assault quickly garnered the survivors' attention. Initially, everyone was overjoyed, hoping that their torment might finally be over. Hera and Miya, however, thought otherwise. With the prayer interrupted, Hera leapt down from the stage and joined up with Miya as they moved to the main entrance, the doors barred with all the pews the villagers could stack against them.
“They wouldn’t have just stopped without a reason,” Hera stated, trying to deduce the motives behind the pause.
“I don’t suppose you can see anything beyond these walls?” Miya asked, though she was fairly sure of the answer.
“I’m sorry, but that all falls outside my domain. An army could be standing behind these doors and I’d only know if I spotted them out the window,” she gave a wry smile.
Suddenly, Hera felt something come over her. It started as an odd feeling in her heart, which rapidly escalated into a sensation of pure discomfort. She couldn’t help but clutch her chest, her face growing pale.
“Hera, are you okay, what’s wrong?” Miya asked, concern evident in her tone. The commotion drew the attention of the others, watching their moral guide and community leader on the verge of collapse.
“I-I’m fine. I just feel a little overwhelmed is all. D-david could you please take everyone to the pilgrim’s rest for me?” Hera asked, one of her eyes flashing a heavenly gold for barely an instant, doing her best to maintain her composure. Simply by the expression he wore; it was clear that he didn’t believe Hera. Turning to Miya, he looked for her guidance and caught the gesture to follow Hera’s directive. Offering one last suspicious glance towards the priest, he did as he was asked, rounding everyone up to head to the back.
Now just the two of them, Miya moved closer to the ailing priest.
“What’s really wrong with you?” She repeated herself. Hera didn’t face the knight, her eyes fixed upon the door.
“There’s someone outside,” she stated, confusing Miya.
“Like a person?” the knight was surprised by the revelation. “Wait, I thought you said that you couldn’t see what’s outside?”
“I-I can’t, but this is different,” Hera told her, clutching her chest that little bit tighter, her eyes now blazing golden white. Unbeknownst to Miya, the vast quantities of divine essence scattered throughout the church were concentrating at the door. “Someone’s overriding my authority over the church. They’re trying to break in.”
“But, that’s not possible,” Miya told her. Every initiate worth their essence knew that a priest's connection to their domain inside a church was not only sacrosanct, but beyond almost everyone’s ability to interfere with.
“It shouldn’t be. Only another clergyman of a substantially higher standing could even make the attempt, especially when it’s so ingrained,” She spoke through gritted teeth, a golden-white aura faintly radiating on her skin, the light burning through her eyes growing to an almost piercing level. For Hera to be in this state, Miya knew she must be cycling everything she had and more through all six of her circles. “I can feel it, f-forcing itself inside my domain, contesting my authority.”
“Who’s doing it? Is it that elf, or that faker, Vine?” Miya threw out accusations.
“I don’t know,” she replied, dull moans leaking from her mouth.
Turning her attention to the entrance, Miya drew her sword, adopting a guarded stance as she eyed the great double doors of the church, barricaded by pews. The tension in the room grew until, finally, it happened.
An arm, steam jetting from its burnt skin, phased through the doors, a golden light surrounding its entry, blasting the pews that stood in its path aside as Miya and Hera step back to avoid being struck. It waved around, trying to find leverage to pull itself further into the building while Hera’s divinity fought to keep it out. The arm appeared human, but was too small to belong to an adult, its fingertips stained a dark crimson.
A scream erupted from Hera as another arm forced its way inside, as damaged and steaming as the other, forming a gap in the golden aura. Miya watched, deciding whether she should simply start shooting the creature with her bow before it could make it further inside.
Gripping both edges of the door, the arms dragged themselves through the opening, revealing their master’s form. A human child slunk her way inside, her long, messy raven black hair hiding parts of her face. Her eyes were crimson, shining almost as brightly as Hera’s. Her face was burnt, just like her arms, but her expression indicated anything but pain, baring a large, toothy smile borne of pure mania, steam spewing from her form.
“What in Nith is going on?!” Miya shouted, cycling her essence across her body, readying herself for combat, a heavenly gold lighting up her eyes and surrounding her body.
“S-she’s the one” Hera replied, the burden on her body easing as the intruder made their way inside. With most of the pews knocked out of the way, the girl in a red dress phased through the door, crawling along the floor until she had pulled through the rest of her body, leaving behind a golden light where she had entered. Raising to her feet, the two members of the Faith witnessed the burn marks riddling her body rapidly disappear until her pale skin appeared fresh and healthy.
The girl who stood bare foot before them now looked like a child, at least one or two years short of reaching her teens. Below her beaming eyes were a set of heavy purple bags, indicating a complete lack of sleep on the intruder’s part, despite their manic demeanour. A purple band wrapped around her throat, scarring her neck. Topping off her appearance, a small, cute, unicorn hairpin was clipped onto her raven black hair, something that appeared out of place compared to the rest of her appearance.
The little girl’s eyes clocked both Hera and Miya equally. A small, unnerving high-pitched giggle leaking from her mouth, the look in her eyes akin to that of a madman.
“W-who are you? What are you?” Hera spoke the first things that came to her mind. Normally, she’d never treat anyone so young with any level of distrust or distain. This girl, this entity, however, had breached the inside of her divine fortress, wearing an aura akin to a wild beast ready to rip them apart, should she get the chance. With the discomfort within herself subsiding, Hera took on a guarded stance. Upon hearing the questions levelled against her, the girl paused for a moment, her smile somehow growing even wider than before, as though she’d just been told the happiest news of her life.
“You can see me…” The girl spoke, her high-pitched voice unnerving the two ranking members of the Faith. “Hera, you can see me now, can’t you? Miya, can you see me too?” The girl took a step forward. Miya thrust her blade out ahead of her, trying to deter any further advance.
“How do you know our names? Identify yourself, now!” The knight spoke with a trained authority expected of her class, yet it did nothing to halt the entity, her body swaying from side to side as she approached.
“You can! You can! You can! You can! You can!” She repeated herself, her unnatural actions unnerving Miya to the point she considered cutting this girl down on the spot. She too was conflicted by the threat this child posed, but with every step she took closer, Miya’s body screamed for her to act.
“Stop! If you take one more step, I will defend myself. Do you understand?!” Miya roared, declaring her intentions to the girl. With the knight’s ultimatum thrown down like a gauntlet, the entity paused and stood up straight, the smile gone from her expression as she peered directly into Miya’s golden eyes without any sign of fear or apprehension, cold and serious.
“You should have died instead,” the girl told her, all emotion stripped from her voice as she delivered her message. Miya felt something inside her heart twist, a button that should never have been pressed being punched firmly through the console. Her face twisted in unbridled rage, her golden white aura flaring as she raised her blade into the air, intending to cut the bitch in front of her in half. Seeing Miya’s explosive rage on display, the raven-haired girl’s twisted smile returned in full force.
“Oath to Humanity, cutting edge!” Miya shouted her miracle, producing a layer of divine energy that slithered across the edge of her blade, granting her weapon a heavenly boost in power.
Charging forward, the knight swung her blade down on the entity as she leapt backwards, avoiding the strike. Almost in sync with her feet hitting the ground, three nooses burst in through the hole the girl had emerged from, much to the two’s dismay.
Each noose spread out across three attack vectors, shooting towards Miya in sync, their open maws ready to clamp down on the knight. With trained reflexes, Miya quickly dispatched the noose ploughing towards her centre, slicing the open loop apart before it could bind her, the remains retreating back through the hole. However, before she could recover to face the other two, they were on her, locking themselves around her wrists with such strength that even the reserves of divine essence coursing through her body, strengthen by her four remaining halos, could not overcome it. Unable to maintain her grip, she was forced to drop her sword to the ground, the golden edge vanishing the moment it left her palm. Her knuckles grew pale as blood flow was cut, a numbness beginning to take hold.
“You’ll die first!” The girl told her, “Break her!” Her words prompted the nooses to pull the knights arms apart. Miya screamed in agony, the strength of the hangmen threatening to rip her limb from limb.
“Strike from the Heavens, Lance!” The voice of Hera boomed through the halls of the church, as two massive bolts of holy energy rapidly materialised above Hera’s head and shot towards the nooses pulling at Miya. In a flash, they were severed at the necks, releasing Miya while the neutered ropes retreated. A cloud of dust and splintering wood filled the air as remaining pews around the door were struck by the miracles, though Hera didn’t mourn their loss.
Despite being cut off from their hosts, the heads continued to constrict around Miya’s wrists. While the knight worked to free herself, Hera took the initiative and moved towards the entity. The grin had evaporated from her face since Hera’s intervention. Now she seemed almost confused, as if she was looking upon a stranger for the first time.
“Hera?” Her name was spoken once more by the entity.
“SILENCE!” Hera’s voice boomed throughout the room, a golden aura surrounding the invader as the weight of the priest’s demands within her domain were enforced. Just as instructed, the girl’s mouth shut.
“Oath to humanity, Bindings,” Hera waved her hand across the intruder, summoning forth a series of divine chains that wrapped around her body so tightly that it dug into her skin. The girl grew more bewildered, glancing around herself while testing the strength of her restraints.
“Strike from the Heavens,” Hera began the incantation, as two golden pools of energy formed beside her. Where she more ruthless, the entity would have already been blasted apart by her holy might. Instead, she held back, opening up a dialogue once more.
“I don’t know who you are or what you seek to accomplish, but this church is my domain, where I hold authority. Now, answer me, who are you?” Hera demanded of the girl, the light surrounding the intruder flaring in intensity after the question, ruffling her clothes and hair.
The domain of a church isn’t absolute. Anyone with a level of divine essence flowing through them have some ability to resist commands issued by the residing priest. The blessed common folk, for example, could never be compelled to commit acts that go against The First’s commandments. Asking for a simple name, however, that should be child’s play.
Yet, Hera’s command went unheeded, the girl’s glowing red eyes drilling a hole into the priest, even while bound in chains. From the outside, seconds of uneasy silence passed between the two, as Hera grew worried. Beyond the naked eye, however, a fierce clash was taking place, as the overwhelming tide of Hera’s authority within the church crashed against the unyielding wall of the entity. This was the first time she’d ever felt someone contesting her ownership of the church, a feeling that more than made her uneasy.
“You will tell me your name.” Hera reissued her command, as their authorities clashed once more, the girl’s body pulsing with light under the oppressive force, pressing her head down. Once more, silence filled the nave. A small bead of sweat ran down Hera’s forehead, unnerved by her second consecutive failure. Suddenly, laughter burst out from the girl, her manic gaze returning back to the flustered priest.
“You’ve been hiding so much from me, Hera. I thought I’d seen it all, but you’re showing me so much more. You’re amazing. Amazing! Show me more, show me more!” the divine restraints creaked as she pushed her body against them. “You want to know my name? You don’t have to force me to tell you, I want you to know who I am. My name is Lyvina,” one of the chains snapped from her body, causing Hera to take a step back. “And, when you reach the Heavens, remind that bastard First who I am, and tell him that he’s next!”
All at once, the divine chains snapped under the entity’s raw strength, a feat that not even a berserking orc should have been able to accomplish. Hera, too shocked to act in time, failed to call upon her awaiting miracle, as Lyvina sped towards her. Before she knew it, the raven-haired girl had smashed her fist into her stomach. Hera could almost taste the vomit and bile, the attack sent her tumbling backwards, her prepared miracle fizzling out of existence as she missed crashing into Miya while she still worked to free her wrists from the nooses.
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Given no time to recover, Lyvina leapt into the air, pouncing down on the injured Hera.
“O-oath to Humanity, First’s shield!” Acting fast, the 6th circle priest called forth a barrier, materialising it before she could be crushed. The shield cracked under the weight of the entity’s assault but held long enough to force her back.
“Strike from the Heavens, Lance!” Hera declared, as two new pools of energy appeared, swiftly forming another set of lances and launched themselves towards their target. Lyvina dove to the side, avoiding the strike, and with a roll, returned to her feet. Another set of lances materialised, racing towards Lyvina, yet each time, they failed to hit, striking the reinforced walls of the church or damaging the flooring beneath them.
“Oath to Humanity, Bindings!” A fresh miracle was brought forth, hoping to snare the intruder, but she was again too fast, leaping over the chains before they could grab her. Despite the stakes involved, Lyvina seemed to be having the time of her life, her manic smile never far from her face. Hera didn’t relent, however, understand the threat this girl posed if she continued to live.
“Oath to Humanity, First’s shield!” Miya commanded, forming a heavenly barrier right in front of Lyvina. Unable to react in time, she slammed face first into the shield, falling onto her backside. There wasn’t even enough time for her to rub her forehead before a set of four lances came racing towards her.
An eruption of light filled the air, as divine lances clashed against the divine shield, causing the knight and priest to avert their gaze; a wave of heat spreading throughout the room from the impact. As the glow faded, Miya and Hera glanced over to where they last saw Lyvina. However, there was no traces of her, revealing only deep cracks wrought on Miya’s shield.
Where did she go? Hera thought as she scanned the room. The heavenly lances were a powerful miracle, but even they would leave some trace of their target behind. That could only mean—
Two hands suddenly phased through the floor, latching onto Hera’s ankles. The priest felt her body instantly grow lighter, her flesh turning transparent. She could barely muster a scream as she was dragged through the floorboards into the basement below. That buoyancy she felt disappeared when she entered the room, her skin returning to its normal solidity, just in time to be slammed into the ground like a sledgehammer on stone. Flecks of blood shot from her mouth as she was smashed across the solid floor, the wind being knocked right out of her.
Given no time to recover, Hera was spun through the air by the giddy entity before being thrown against the stone wall, collapsing to the floor. Hera focused a couple of her circles on restoration, but the damage was coming in too quickly. The strength behind every attack was insane. She doubted anyone without The First’s own divinity flowing through them could withstand even a single strike, let alone the pounding she was receiving. One thing was for certain, if this kept up, Hera wouldn’t survive, and if she fell, everyone left in Carnifex would be killed. Using what little distance she had earned; she powered another miracle.
“Oath to humanity, First’s shield!” Hera commanded, as a wall of divine energy flashed into existence in front of the priest and sent charging towards Lyvina. Momentary realisation flashed across Lyvina’s face as she readied herself, pushing her hands out just as the essence collided with her. Her feet skidded along the floor, unable to halt the miracle. A flurry of blows quickly followed, her fist striking the surface of the barrier relentlessly. Even a megabear struggled to break through the shield of humanity, yet this girl, with her fist alone, cracked the charging wall, landing blow after blow until the golden barrier shattered to pieces. The two got to their feet, standing at opposite sides of the basement. Lyvina looked at her hand, bruised and bloody from her attacks, quickly fading away under a jet of steam that was ever present on her body.
“Mace of the Heavens!” Hera brought forth another miracle, moulding her divine essence into her favourite blunt weapon. Its form was close to perfect from both head to hilt, manifesting in a shining silver like the enchanted weapons of old. It had been a long time since she last called upon it, and her first since becoming a priest. It brought back memories of her time as a militant, serving in all corners of the kingdom while refining her circles. Just a hint of her rustiness shown through in her creation, with the head of the mace maintaining its gold base form that left a tiny golden trail wherever it was swung.
“A mace!” Lyvina cawed, surprised at Hera’s ever-expanding arsenal. “What else have you been hiding from me?”
“I may be a little out of practice, but I still swing just as hard,” Hera retorted, dropping into a combat stance.
“Let’s see then!” The entity accepted the challenge, charging down toward the priest.
“Oath to Humanity, reinforcement,” Hera chanted, bolstering her body in a heavenly glow. She swung her mace towards the girl, as Lyvina attempted to block at the last second. Crashing into the entity’s arms, the weapon pulsed, sending her into the floor, grinding along the stone surface, coming to a stop near the basement’s edge. A degree of pride shown across the priest’s face, proud she hadn’t lost her touch.
Broken on impact, Lyvina’s arms saw an outsizing of steam as they worked to repair the damage. The manic grin had shifted into one of deep thought. Hera, meanwhile, kept her feet firmly planted on the ground, feeding off the divine energy pouring through her church.
Suddenly, the raven-haired girl broke into a sprint, moving towards Hera’s left in a counterclockwise arc, attempting to target the area her mace was absent. Shifting her body, the priest thrust down on the girl with another, mighty swing.
At the last moment, Lyvina’s body gained a blue auric glow, using both her arms as shields to defend against Hera’s swing. Once more, the mace crunched down on Lyvina, the pulse of energy ripping through the air, unleashing another world of force down upon her. The ground cracked under the sudden pressure, stirring the stale air of the room. Lyvina, however, didn’t faulter.
A jet of steam blasted out from her arms, blinding the priest just long enough to provide an opening. Shoving the mace back, Lyvina delivered another devastating strike to Hera’s gut. Even with the strength of her reinforced body, Hera couldn’t help but stumble backwards. Lyvina didn’t let up, pressing her advantage against the staggering priest. Hera swung her mace again, hoping to turn the tables, but her nimble opponent dodged just in time.
“Got you,” Lyvina’s words held a sinister tone, as she unleashed a flurry of blows onto the priest. Strike after strike, blow after blow rained down on Hera, treated as little more than a punching bag. Each strike was like a runaway cart hitting her one after another, Lyvina’s unnatural strength threatening to break her bones despite her divine enhancement.
The relentless attacks left her reeling, unable to cast even simple miracles. Desperate, she needed to force some distance between them. While her reinforcement miracle still held out, she slammed a foot into the ground, her foot denting the stone as she flew back towards the basement wall. Grunting in pain, her body bruised and tenderised, she countered. Wasting no time, Hera slammed her foot into the ground again, launching herself towards the entity before she could react, smashing her mace into Lyvina’s face with all the force her divine powers could muster. Once more, there was a pulse of light, and the girl was sent flying across the room, crashing into the wall, shaking the foundations of the church. To anyone else, this would have been a fatal blow.
Lyvina, however, survived, her body twitching as she was engulfed in steam.
This is bad, I can’t keep this up for much longer. Hera thought, knowing she was reaching her limit. To stand a chance in close quarters, she needed to maintain the reinforcement miracle, sacrificing her ability to heal her body in the process. I can’t show any weakness, not yet, not while she’s still in the church. Ignoring the injuries racking her body, Hera maintained her combat stance.
Lyvina rose to her feet once more, the extend of the damage visible beyond the cloud surrounding her. Massive cracks stretched across the left side of her face, revealing the veil of bright blue that lurked beneath. She had always suspected, but seeing proof her opponent wasn’t truly human provided some level of relief to her conscience. A trembling hand inspected the damage, clearly noticing the extend of the injury before attempting to obscure it.
“T-too strong,” Lyvina muttered, her voice filled with bitterness at the revelation.
“I’m but a simple priest of the Faith, Lyvina.” Hera told the entity, who wasn’t pleased by the answer, and even less so by the appearance of Miya by the stairwell. “It doesn’t have to be this way. I know you control those nooses that eliminated the goblins outside. Though you may not have intended it, you saved everyone inside the church. I don’t understand what you wish to achieve in this attack, but surely there’s some way we can resolve this without any further bloodshed.”
Lyvina gave no response, removing her hand from her once cracked face, now almost completely healed.
“I’ll deal with you two later,” Lyvina told, as several nooses smashed through the damaged basement floor above, zipping towards the pair with the ferocity of an awakened chamber wolf. Suddenly engaged with the emerging enemy, neither could prevent Lyvina from making her exit, as she grabbed a hold of a nearby noose hanging above her, rising her back into the now undefended church. Hera’s eyes opened wide as she realised their mistake.
The first noose that shot towards Hera didn’t stand a chance, as the priest abandoned the mace in favour of ripping the open maw of the noose in half with her reinforced bare hands, rendering it useless. Miya too made short work of the next pair that came for her, her enhanced sword dispatching them quickly.
“We need to get to the others, now!” Hera shouted, just as another wave of Nooses entered the basement.
-------
“Good morning,” Lyvina’s eery voice burst into the pilgrim’s rest, her head phasing through the door where the remaining survivors of Carnifex were hiding. Though Hera had truly surprised her with her abilities, it didn’t matter. After all, Lyvina had promised to kill them all. So long as she produced results, it didn’t matter what order she killed them.
The survivors were already pressing themselves against the back wall in anticipation of her arrival. Hera had been correct in sending the survivors away, but it had not stopped some of them from peeking through the door to witness the battle, right up until Lyvina emerged from the basement alone, where their eyes met for the first time.
“Y-you monster, what did you do to Hera and Miya?!” David shouted at Lyvina, who only returned her creepy smile.
“They’re occupied, David, and they won’t be coming until I’m done,” Lyvina informed him.
“Wha— how do you know my name?”
“Oh, how could I not know your name, David,” Lyvina playfully put her arms behind her back, wandering left to right as she reminisced. “I’ve spent so much time in your inn, wandering its halls, watching you and your patron’s go about their lives night and day. Of all the people in this dull little village, you’re the one who was the most entertaining. Being your daughter all that time ago was so much fun. Tell me, did you ever feel like you were being watched?” Lyvina asked the innkeeper, acting like a stalker speaking with their obsession for the first time. It unnerved him.
“She’s your daughter, David?” Miss heartland gasped, with Maranda and the traders too looking similarly surprised.
“Of course not! This thing is just another abomination brought forth by that damnable elf or that false knight!
“Then enough of this!” One of the traders snapped, charging out with a panicked battle cry with a short sword pulled from his waist. Lyvina didn’t attempt to move, as he swung down on her. Just before steel reached flesh, however, Lyvina’s hand shot out, locking around his wrist and preventing it from moving.
“So heartless. To think, you’d want to harm a poor little girl like me. Have you no shame?” Lyvina taunted with a toothy smile, as she broke his wrist. Crying out in agony, the sword fell from his grasp as Lyvina plucked it out of the air. With a flash of steel, the blade meant for her split opened the trader’s throat, who collapsed to the ground with a gargle.
Miss Heartland & Mrs Forester screamed while panicked voices emerged from the other survivors, except one, little Jason Forester, who sat motionless, almost absent from the situation. She knew the boy well. He was good natured, energetic, spoiled, and unable to accept when things didn’t go his way. It was strange seeing him so withdrawn after watching him grow up into the brat she knew. His time as her latest little brother may have been brief, but she supposed she owed him the courtesy of being killed last.
Flipping the sword into the air, Lyvina caught the blade between her digits. Now, if she remembered correctly, there was a time a group of militants passed through the village, and among their number was one man that loved to show off his knife throwing skills. He managed to hit every target, no matter the distance or difficulty, a feat which left Lyvina, and the other villagers, in awe, enough to make it a village wide fad for weeks.
Of course, in Lyvina’s condition, she never had the chance to try it herself. Until now.
With a flick of her wrist, the short sword flew across the room, sinking deep into Miss Heartland’s chest. In an instant, her screaming stopped as her lifeless body slumped against the wall, blood smearing against the stone. Lyvina cackled in triumph at her accomplishment, unmoved by the terrified screams around her.
“Please! Don’t kill us! Mercy! Mercy!” Mrs Forester begged, falling to her knees at Lyvina’s approach.
“Have you ever seen me before?” Lyvina asked her, stopping only a few feet from her.
“W-what?” Maranda questioned, bewildered.
“Answer me. Have you ever seen me?” Lyvina repeated herself, her glowing crimson eyes staring a hole into the woman’s head. “I want to hear your answer, I want to hear you say it.”
“I-I… I don’t” Maranda couldn’t find the right words, only incensing Lyvina’s rage. She already knew what her answer would be, but wanted to hear her say it, needed her to confirm what she had known all these years.
“JUST SAY IT ALREADY! Tell me you’ve never seen me! Tell me that after all these years, you never once noticed me!” Her rising emotions got the better of her, unleashing her pent-up fury. “I’ve always been there! In the places you sleep and dress and love and eat. I’ve seen every part of all your boring, mundane lives over and over! I could recite your entire routine to you minute by minute! I know everything about all of you! And you… Did you never feel anything?! A cold shoulder, a tingling on your neck, a sense of unease, anything?!” Lyvina roared at Maranda, her fist unconsciously curled up into a ball as she vented her deep-rooted hatred of the villagers. “Did you… never notice anything at all?”
“I’m- I’m sorry,” Mrs Forester trembled as she told Lyvina, tears streaming down her face. “I-I-I-I don’t know w-what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t listen to her Maranda, she’s just another insane mage. Look at her, she’s obviously related to Vine in some manner. She’s just another monster!” David shouted at them both, as Lyvina petted the purple mark around her neck.
“A monster… yes, I think I’ve known that for a while now,” A small smirk appeared on her face as she thought back to all the times she faced herself in the mirror, looking at the disgusting figure always staring back at her. The only difference now was her ability to justify her title.
Turning her gaze towards the innkeeper, she grabbed a hold of his arm, twisting it behind him and pressing her foot against his back. She was going to enjoy tearing off his arm and beating him to death—
“Beautiful.”
Lyvina froze, slowly twisting her head towards the voice, until she landed on the dead trader with his throat slit. Or, at least, that’s what she should have seen. In place of that, she found the man stood upright, looking perfectly healthy, outside of the blood that had already spilled from his neck, staring directly at her. She wasn’t the only one in shock, with the survivors focusing their attention on the seemingly resurrected trader.
“Donny?” One of the other traders called to his fellow man.
“Beautiful,” was the only reply he received, the revived man slowly stumbling towards Lyvina.
“Huh?” The ghost of Carnifex uttered, releasing David’s arm.
“Beautiful,” The man named Donny edged closer to Lyvina, undeterred by his death only moments ago.
“How… how are you doing that?” there was no joy left in Lyvina’s voice, only a boiling rage that threatened to bubble up to the surface.
“Beautiful,” he repeated the only word he seemed capable of saying, now only a few feet from her.
“… No” Lyvina muttered to herself. “No, no, no.” She stood before the man, just as she had before his death. In an instant, his arms shot out, one grasping her shoulder while the other pulled her hair, exposing her small, fragile, white and purple neck.
“Beautiful!” The trader whaled, his mouth wrenching open as far as possible as he plunged forward to chomp on the girl’s neck.
He never reached it. Lyvina’s fist smashed into the man’s jaw with such force that his head was ripped from its body. Sailing through the air, it almost struck the roof on its ascent, as his body crumpled to the ground like the lifeless husk it was meant to be, blood spurting like a geyser.
No sooner had the head landed by the entrance to the room did the door slam open. Hera and Miya had finally arrived, only a little worse for wear. Lyvina had been too distracted to keep them occupied any longer. Their intervention, however, was far from her mind.
Miya was the first one inside and could only gasp in horror at seeing the bodies of the dead survivors littering the room. The knight’s eyes beamed with light, as pure unadulterated rage filled her heart.
“BOW OF THE HEAVENS!!!” Miya screamed, her bow practically searing itself into reality with the excessive light she was producing, pouring in all the essence her weapon could take. The fact Miya would risk firing her weapon despite the risk of hitting the others spoke volumes to her fury, surprising Lyvina by how far she was willing to go. Grabbing the corpse, she prepared to use it as a shield as Miya drew back her bow string, loaded with her payload and—
“Beautiful,” the same voice spoke once more.
It was the head. It was still talking.
The sudden distraction prevented Miya from firing her arrow, her rage transforming into panic at the sight of the talking head. For a moment, Lyvina believed she’d unleash her attack on the thing.
“He’s still alive?!” Miya shouted the first thing that popped into her head, the same thought within Lyvina’s mind, her crimson eyes staring at the still living man.
“What’s going on in here?!” Hera called out to the room, though no answer came.
“No, no, no, no, no, no…” Lyvina muttered, moving towards the outer wall.
“Oh no you don’t,” Miya released her arrow at Lyvina, though the power had been scaled back considerably. Grabbing one of the nearby beds, she flipped it up, shielding herself from the attack. Before Miya could load her next shot, she had already phased through the wall. Either Hera had not anticipated Lyvina leaving through that point or she was happy to be rid of her. Either way, she exited with minimal resistance.
This is wrong, this is wrong! Lyvina told herself. Nobody could just come back to life. Only she had defied the gods to return to this world.
“…?!” It was only when she was outside the church, beyond the interfering authority of Hera’s domain, did the full extent of the situation start to become clear. In that moment, Lyvina abandoned her goal of killing the last survivors in the church.
It should have been impossible. After all she had been through, all she had to suffer!
But she felt them, stumbling around her prison.
She heard them, crying out that same word over and over.
And soon, she saw them, as she watched from the edge of the hill that the church stood upon.
“Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.”
“Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.”
“Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.” “Beautiful.”
Everyone that had died that night was returning to life, a feat she had only just achieved through decades of torture and misery. They were all coming back, from the feral goblins to the horrible villagers, god had decided to give everyone that second chance she’d always craved.
“How?… HOW?!”
Was this some final insult? Was The First trying to tell her that even her one single accomplishment of returning to life was worthless too?
As Lyvina looked over Carnifex, all the joy she once held left her body. She tilted her head, her glowing eyes unblinking as she came up with her solution to this insult The First had thrown her way.
“I. Will. Kill. Them. Every last one.”
