ELDRITCH NIGHT (Rough Draft)

Chapter 56: Hubris, Slayer of Gods

The parry cost her only a fraction of second, but it was enough for the golden lash of energy to break through her defenses. She screamed as flesh sizzled and a long gash appeared that ran down her shoulder and across her chest.

I continued my barrage, forcing her to split her focus between myself and the tendril of energy that danced around her. Its blows continued to increase in speed, but I noticed the tendrils wrapped around Liv's torso were beginning to grow fainter.

Once more, my throw broke through her defenses and she was forced to parry. As she deflected my blow, she turned to look at me, her eyes narrowing and her cheeks dimpling as she smiled.

"Finn," she said with a raspy wheeze. "Aid me and we can be together once more! We can unlock your birthright and rule this land together as gods..."

"Fuck you."

My words were quiet and failed to rise above the howl of wind. I was too tired to banter. Instead, I communicated with action. I continued to throw my conjured javelins but also split my focus to produce a rain of spikes from above. They might not do much damage, but I would whittle away at her focus as much as possible.

Wait... if all I wanted to do was distract her, then I had the perfect tool. It was dangerous. Who knew what fucked up shit I'd see inside Liv's head, but it had proved effective. I threw a spear while dozens of razor sharp spikes rained down from above. At the same moment that Liv spun her spear to deflect my attacks, a glowing eye slowly opened in the middle of my forehead.

A wave of pain and nausea rolled through me as my vision went black. I fell to my knees and clasped at my reeling stomach. I felt as if burning needles were being shoved under my eyelids, and every inch of my skin began to itch.

A soundless scream escaped my throat as an image began to materialize in my mind. Dull, earthy browns floating in a void of white swirled until they revealed a forest. Men and women dressed in fur and linen walked down a cobblestone path. Horses and goats followed, with small children playing underfoot.

I saw a man turn to speak to a woman next to him, both smiled as he took a small child from her arms. As the man raised the child above his head I looked into the babe's eyes. They were brilliant sapphire-blue gems framed in golden curls.

The image began to fade, but before it went dark, I saw a powerfully built warrior turn to scold the two lovers playing with their child. The face was harsh and weathered. His mouth twisted in anger as he shouted unheard words. Deep lines creased his face, and intense green eyes stood out against a massive beard streaked with grey.

"Dad..."

The pain intensified, and my legs gave out, sending me into the dirt. My hands scraped against the sharp stone and splinters of bone that still littered the ground. The eye in my forehead began to burn and my head craned upward, as the eye focused on Liv.

She no longer fought, she merely stared down at me. Her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was slightly open, but still turned upward in a wide smile. All three of the golden lashes held her firmly and were beginning to draw her downward as they tightened, cutting into her.

"More, Finn!" she yelled in triumph and glee. "See the truth. See what we truly are!"

As the eye locked onto her I became aware of every molecule of her being. The information was too much to process, and all conscious thought stopped. I gave in completely to the desires of the eye, its mission to show the truth.

As the golden lashes bit into Liv's flesh I became aware of hidden lines of energy binding her to something else. Thin, wispy streams flowed from her. She was connected to thousand of people from all over the earth. I could see them, their belief in the goddess of myth giving her power.

These connections were insubstantial and flimsy, true belief had long since vanished. Only the faintest whiff of tradition and yearning for times of old remained. Something larger and more powerful bound her as well.

It flowed into her as a thick, venous tendril of purple and black. It spread throughout her, rhythmically pumping as it filled her with vigor but taking something as well. I cast my vision outward and saw that the writhing vein stretched far into the distance, disappearing beneath the ground. Whatever was connected to Liv was located directly at the center of the pillar of purple light that divided the sky in two.

At the bottom of the dungeon, something waited. Something far older and more powerful than giant spiders. I could sense its hunger as its attention noticed my gaze. For a moment our vision met. It whispered something to me, before breaking the connection.

The eye in the middle of my forehead slowly closed and faded. Whatever was feeding Liv was powerful and sinister, but obviously didn't wish me dead. At least not yet.

As the eldritch vision cleared, my phiscally eyes regained their clarity. I was still looking upwards at Liv. She was bound, but no longer struggled. She merely looked down at me with a wide smile on her face. I could see the streams of energy that flowed through her, but as the Eye of Madness faded the tendrils began to diminish.

In the moment before they disappeared from my sight, the thin, wispy tendrils began to glow. Liv moaned in pleasure as the human half of her face began to mend. She closed her eyes and reached out to one of the golden lashes binding her. She squeezed the lash between her thumb and forefinger, and the binding shattered like glass.

Golden sand fell to the ground, losing its luster as it was cast among the dust and bone that littered the field.

"Oh, Finn," she said. "You have truly outdone yourself. I had no idea so much of the old religion still existed. Thank you for opening my eyes."

She pouted, playfully sticking out her bottom lip as she put one hand on her hip.

"Well, they don't exist anymore – but, oh well." Her voice was chirp and chipper. She sounded just like the cheerleader I remembered from High School.

"I think a little Old Testament style recruiting will do wonders for my complextion."

I stood alone on a field of bone, beneath the literal goddess of death. My mind was still confused. I tried to speak but my words came out as slurred syllables, lacking any sense. Liv slowly glided to the ground, standing above my prone form.

"Oh, Finn," she said. "I hope you didn't believe that whole 'rule together' thing. It was all an act, you understand." Liv's face lit up with delight, as she reached down and grasped me by the throat. She easily lifted me above her head, as if I were a toddler.

"Know I could kill you Finn. I've killed those far closer to me. You'd be but an ant beneath my boot, and in the end that's all you are." She sighed dramatically, before throwing me back unto the ground.

"But... he seems to have a plan for you." She leaned down and pulled me up by the jacket, until her mouth was inches from my ear. "You know where to find us. Don't keep him waiting."

The back of my head struck the dirt once more and I saw four massive wings unfold before I drifted out of consciousness.