Damp iron slides down my wrists. The smell of warm coins on a humid summer day mixes with rust and hormones. Paved and polished black cement spreads out beneath me. The chains capturing me slither across the floor like a snake, making an awful sound.
I don't yank at my bindings or attempt to thrash about. 96 years taught me thoroughly. New, fresh Magic contains my Mana. Days old at most and stronger than before inherently.
If there is one thing Witches needed to learn it was how to keep their spells alive over time.
This room is less than intriguing, with nothing to look at but darkness and pain. I barely see the way my own body outlines in faint torchlight or how spacious the trap truly is.
"You're awake," a sadistic voice purrs. The sound slips off the walls and rushes toward me, the air shifting ever so slightly. "I was wondering when you would awaken again."
"Are you attempting to unsettle me, Brother?" I ask aloud, sliding my legs to the side beneath me and finding a wall to slouch against. "I'm beyond such simple tricks."
Nothing but silence follows for a few moments.
"You've been away for so long now, you know..." the disembodied voice echoes in my ears now. Soft, almost feminine. "People do not remember what it is like to be ruled. There are no more Gods... Each and every one of them has been put to rest or detained. Just as you will be."
I roll my eyes, scoffing. "Once again, I am immortal. The only of my kind to be. If you were to put a shred of fear in my heart, Kiel's blade should've gone through my chest."
"You are wrong."
"I, in fact, am not wrong. You, however, seem to be particularly unwise and egotistically arrogant."
An indignant growl shakes the floor slightly. "Your kind will not remain here!"
"Are you the one who put Kiel's knickers so firmly into a twist that his own balls have merged with his ass?"
"You're nothing but an insolent child," the voice spits out.
"I am older than you and I will not sacrifice divinity for the likes of an abomination. I taste the bile in the air, Demon. Do not think you can bribe me as if I were the next false profit."
A low hissing sound vanishes from the crack of light shining from underneath a door. The room vibrates, shivering my very cells before ceasing.
I feel the absence before true solidarity washes over me.
However preferable, it is not ideal for escape.
Closing my eyes, I taste the air and search my surroundings with the flames' help. My candle's fire spreads down to the floor and circles around me, surging with flecks of power.
I'm careful not to waste any Mana.
Like a soft blanket of light, the fire slips out of the door and feeds me the information of several directions. The west is an air supply, the east somewhere deeper and colder.
Torches beyond this prison flicker in response to my own fire, but only illuminate small images in my head for a moment. Other cell doors. Rusted shut over time. Yet this Cellar appears well kept, swept, and dusted.
My door is clean.
This cell is the only place manicured.
Perhaps the others are graves. The foundations of this building are built around bodies and secured with magic sown into the very fabric of the earth.
I pull the fire back through the cracks and into my room, topping it eternally on this candle.
My brother's blade is not labeled falsely. They earn titles through generations of slaughter or creation. He's taken some of our siblings. Slain children of theirs and left his own to wander freely if they follow his ruling.
These very well might be graves.
Footsteps scrape against dust and paved flooring, strolling casually to the front of my door. "How's the concussion treating you, Iridian?"
A small laugh escapes me. "I don't have one, Brother. Such human ailments don't often plague me."
Though my neck did ache and it is true that my muscles are sore, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing such things. They weren't more than discomforts anyway.
"Someone hit the cut-throat button," Kiel chuckles a little bit. "I don't know where you think that's going to get you,"
"We both know I'm not stupid enough to assume I'm coming out of this until you attempt to kill me again."
I'm sure he goes through a few things in his mind. Kiel's breathing changes for a moment, whether it gets softer or turns into a weird huff I wouldn't know. There's undetectable emotion without seeing his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Iridian."
I scoff, sliding my wrists into my lap. The chains rattle again. "I read your blade, Kiel. How many of our siblings did you kill? How many of their children? You might be able to slaughter the lives of many, but the reason I exist is far different than the Gods of Assembly or Safety."
He stutters slightly.
"You were hoping I didn't see right? Hoping I didn't catch the shock on your face when the blade didn't pierce my chest... I know that's why I'm trapped in a gravesite. Or what I can imagine is one. The other cells are memorials for the dead, yes? Is that why this is the only clean cell?"
Kiel's mouth moves to make words, I hear soft, angry mumbles but nothing solidified.
"So you panicked... Grateful I was incapacitated by the hit to the fireplace and hoping I wouldn't have the Mana to break out of this shithole of a cell. Trapped me in chains with more modern magic than the Temple, yet still old enough for me to feel their temporary... I can only assume because this whole situation is to you. That you can kill me and I will die. Or perhaps drive me insane in the dark. You panicked and shoved me in this dungeon of demons and you're just as unsure about any of this as I am."
"You don't know what you're saying," he snaps, smashing the door with his fist. "I'll make you regret ever opening your damn mouth."
I take a deep breath, sighing to myself. "Will you, Kiel? I don't know if what I hear is remorse or fear... But what I do know is I suffered nearly 97 years of insanity and torture... I already wish I was dead. So please do break me, but there's already nothing left."
The tension drops, the weight of sadness, and grief sinking the rage.
He makes a noise to speak, but instead turns on his heel and walks away. The steps are even and slow. It's almost as if the silence is an apology in and of itself.
I know better.
I know that the Fates are the most emotional of any deity. Their souls contain the most empathy in the spectral realm. Nothing could change that.
Not even demented corruption.
Watching Daniel has taught me a lot of things. Being soft isn't always a weakness, his strength is in the balance of determination and understanding. A fact I will forever be envious of.
To feel so deeply and love so hard while making well-guided decisions... Reminds me similarly of Lindon.
Though there are merits to the edge and brutality of apathy, I cannot condone everything I lack.
Kiel reminds me of something in the middle, yet his decisions are misguided and frightful. Malleable. He is confused and easily manipulated. Perhaps ending his existence is where I begin.
Perhaps the God must kill me. Perhaps he has no choice and the world is all meant to explode.
But Kiel will carry this Guilt with him into kingdom come.
Of that, I will make sure.
Good Morning Destroyers!
I'm sorry I disappeared for a little bit, but with Father's Day and all, we all were busy huh? Welcome back! I'm so excited! I get happier with every chapter I write!
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Have a great day everyone!