(TW: Murder, cult themes, child abuse, gore)
Regan hated the color green. It was a reminder of the Earth and Gaea. And when she looked in the mirror, it was the color of her eye.
She made black paint, crushing berries and charcoal until it looked thick in the water.
Her mask's green halfwas carefully painted black. She took care to make sure the paint didn't get on the white details. She observed it for a moment. The face was split in two, looking now like a yin-yang. The smile was still plastered on.
Joy. That was what it represented. A contentment and joy to serve Gaea.
However, this would be her moment of joy.
While she waited for it to dry, she looked at her armor, the jet black metal meant to be covering her body. To keep herself from overheating, she had on a simple t-shirt and denim shorts. They made all of her scars visible.
She carefully slipped on the armor and looked at herself in the mirror.
She looked evil. But she was ready to accept that with what she was planning.
Regan took up her blade. The adjustments on it were glimmering. The sleek size and handle that was perfect for her grip. This was the sword of her childhood. Her training. Her pain
The wires on the sides fizzled and hummed with energy. The electric generator inside the handle was warm.
The blade was a culmination of her life.
The paint finally dried and she placed her mask on. She was ready. She sheathed her blade and took in a deep breath.
She couldn't be scared now, but her heart was beating so rapidly it hurt.
"You painted it?" Kai's voice nearly made her scream as she whipped around. The two stared at each other for a moment.
"Yes..." Regan whispered, nodded.
"Speak up."
"Yes."
Kai narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable. "Take it off for a moment." He ordered.
Regan fought for her hands to not shake as she took it off. She clutched the mask. Kai stepped closer.
He took the mask from her and observed it. "Interesting skill, I like it. I'm impressed." He complimented, looking back over to her and handing the mask back.
Her shoulders lowered as she let out a breath of relief. He didn't seem mad.
"But you do realize how disrespectful this is, don't you?" He asked.
Regan's breath caught in her throat. "B-but... you said you liked it..." She managed to speak.
Kai's hand struck across her face, making her stumble away.
"I do." He said, simply smiling at her as if nothing was wrong.
As much as she built herself up to fight and be brave, this man terrified her in every way. She almost considered not going through with her plan.
However, she couldn't upset him further if he was dead.
So, she just nodded, her cheek burning from the hit. She quickly put the mask on, determined for him to see neither fear nor tears in her eyes. It was time.
~~~
She had stood on this platform only once before. The day she was announced to be put in the sparring section of her training. She was there with fifteen other kids. Only three of them were still there.
Unlike before, she wasn't smiling. And she was shaking with fear, not excitement.
Well, maybe a bit of excitement.
Kai stood in front, to the left of Regan. Despite it being her ceremony, he was front-and-center. Like he always was.
"The last child of Margo, Regan - the dearest Ivella -, has proven herself worthy in the eyes of greatness and of Gaea!" Kai shouted over the crowd. Applause and cheers erupted.
"And while it was difficult, with much of my sacrifice. Still, my good heart and patience persevered! I brought her up to an incredible stage of honor and obedience, and her sacred duty has been chosen by me and observed by Gaea!" He continued on. Regan felt her hand tighten around the handle of her sheathed blade.
He held up his own mask- the mask of the leader. "And as Gaea's vessel, her spokesperson, and her most loyal of deities," he looked at Regan, gesturing for her to move forward.
Regan stepped closer, keeping just behind Kai.
He turned back to the audience. "Grant her one of the great roles of our clan! Our destiny! She is my bodyguard, the protector of the truth and of Mother Earth herself!"
His smile was so wide and startling. "I SHALL NOT FALL!"
With those words, Regan lost any sense of composure she managed to keep through four years. Four years of hate and fear and rage.
Four years without her family.
Four years trapped in the house of a monster.
Four years listening to the poison this "god" had dripped into her ears.
She unsheathed her blade and lashed out at Kai. With an ear-bleeding shriek - of pain, of fear, of despair - she betrayed the man who had once been a god to her.
Regan Margo stabbed Leader Kai in the back. Her blade tore through flesh and muscle, slicing and ripping through anything that stood in its way.
Kai shouted.
Maybe in pain, like hers.
Maybe in rage, like hers.
Maybe in fear, like hers.
'This is for my life.' She thought, watching red spread through his clothes.
'This is for my childhood.' She thought, watching him stumble to the ground, his body removing itself from her blade.
'This is for my family.' She thought, as he cried and choked on phlegm and blood.
'This is for my brother.' She thought, as she stared down at the pathetic Hare.
'This is for everything.' She didn't stop, taking another swing at his body and ripping his back to shred until she saw bone.
When she stopped, everything had gone silent.
The crowd- the clan. The cult was quiet. They stared on with horrified expressions and gaping mouths. Some children shouted and some adults gasped and gagged. But no one moved.
Regan looked back to the ground. She looked at the corpse splayed on the platform.
This was it. This was her moment of joy.
And it felt terrifying and wonderful. And horrifying and incredible.
She looked at the mask of the leader that had been discarded, just an inch beyond the corpse's hand. She crushed it under her foot, watching it crack and shatter.
Regan took a shaky breath.
There was blood all over her. Her hands, her armor, her blade. She hated blood.
But this was the only blood she ever wanted to see.
She tore off her own mask and held it up the way Kai just had.
"THIS CULT IS THE DAMNATION OF US ALL, WITH RUINOUS FLESH AND HORRIFIC CRIMES. THE GODS AND GAEA CARE FOR US NOT, AND NEITHER DID THIS MAN WHO HELD HIMSELF AS HOLY."
Her voice cracked and shook, but she didn't care. Revenge tasted sweet in her mouth and her heart pumped faster with each whiff of blood entered her senses.
She was afraid. But she was smiling.