Mutasm watched as the creature sat there breathing heavily. He watched as she seemed to shudder with a mouth lolled open and eyes that rose up to make moons of bliss and ecstasy. Slowly, a string of drool crawled down from her mouth to the edge of her sharp chin. As though timed stopped, the drool hung there unmoving, unchanging, until finally, it fell as a large droplet. Splashing on the ground, Mutasm flinched as it splattered. Less and less made sense to him every day, but this takes the cake. What could possibly cause something like this to happen? Wasn't she trying to kill him? Or at the very least scare him to death?

Mutasm looked towards the bone sword near the thing. It had fallen out of its, well her, hands as she shuddered her way to the ground. As he stared at it, he wondered how much time he had before she woke up. And if he would be able to reach the sword, with Hope in his hands, before her noticing him. Of course, he would probably not make it in time with having just cauterized his wound and putting Hope down was undoubtedly out of the options. He most likely would not be able or willing to let go of her for the next few days. He couldn't lose her, anything in the entire world but her.

Holding her a bit tighter than necessary - as though it would cause a difference - Hope started to growl again; cute and high pitched. But Mutasm did not loosen his grip, he thought she was growling at the intruder rather than his hug. Instead, he turned his body sideways to keep hope on the other side of the creature. But as the moment continued, Hope began to scratch his shoulder with her tiny claws. Being so small, they were more of an irritation than actually being able to give him a cut. So, he ignored it as he stared at the thing. The lady of vines had begun to regain her senses, her mouth started to close, and her droopy body became straighter and with a purpose.

Letting out a big sigh that had Mutasm crawling a bit further back, the lady looked up towards them with half-closed eyes; an improvement to her previous look. Her drunken stupor quickly receding, and her hollow eyes focusing on them. A small smile started to spread, as though she saw something funny. All the while, Hope seemed adamant to escape the vice grip Mutasm had her in. Almost a second instinct to escape any hold on her no matter from who. Finally reaching a breaking point, Hope could not stand for this any longer.

All Mutasm felt as he continued to stare at the lady was a wet clenching of gums on his shoulder. Slowly turning his head, with a look of utter confusion, he found Hope slobbering all over his shoulder trying to get a good grip for her bit. The confusion quickly passed, and a warm smile took its place. Even in the most distressing situations, Hope was always there being her usual cute self. Losing himself, he was startled back to reality by a foreign giggle he did not recognize.

Swiveling his head, he yelled in horror as the being suddenly appeared directly in front of him. Face tilted to the left and uncomfortably close for comfort, especially considering the enormous smile she had on her face. Showing all her sharp needle-like teeth to an already frightened Mutasm. Jumping back, he heard Hope giggle at his reaction. Doing the same, the lady allowed herself to fall over on her back. Laughing, she clutched her stomach and begun rolling around. While Hope seeing the lady's antics wanted to get away and copy her. Rolling on the ground or her blankets seemed to be her go-to thing for fun.

Frightened out of his mind, Mutasm quickly rushed back towards the wall behind them, fighting against Hope's continues efforts to get away. Slamming his back onto the wall, he picked up the biggest stick he had from the stash that was near him. “W-Who are you?” Said Mutasm as he pointed the sharp end of the stick in the lady's direction. Hearing this, her laughter stopped, and she sat up resting herself on her elbow in a comfortable lying position.

“Oh, you're such a bore,” said the lady with an exaggerated frown and a wave of her hand. “Can't we play? Even for a second? And I was trying my best to sound like those pompous gods of the Gyvūnai,” groaned the lady as though she had been wronged. Mutasm's mouth dropped a bit in absolute incredulity. Hadn't she just demanded he gives her the baby? Hadn't she threatened his life?

“Stop it,” she commanded with finality in her voice. Her frown deepening as she watched Mutasm's face change from fear to confusion, and finally settling on incredulity. “You're going to make yourself look old. Even the Oracle tries to look as young as possible. What good would losing your youthful complexion do for you?” she asked, waving her hand around. Mutasm tried responding, but with a snap of her fingers, she easily cut him off.

“Wha-”

Baring her teeth like an animal, she began breathing heavily from her nose. “If I wanted you dead, you would have never left the meadow in one piece. Alive or otherwise,” exclaimed the lady. Pushing her upper body up, she folded her feet under her. Rubbing her chin, she spoke with a bit less intensity, “I guess I do owe you an explanation for entering your home without your approval. Wouldn't want any stain on my soul. Sorting these things can be such a hassle.”

Sighing, she gestured for him to sit. It was apparent she was going to wait for him, no matter how long. Then again, what could he probably lose in listening to her explain everything he needed to know. More so considering he knew that living in the cave was not the best long-term plan - it was evident that winter was coming from the drop in temperature. Sitting down a ways from her, he put Hope on his lap and wrapped his left hand around her while his right rubbed her head. She was pushing her head into his palm, enjoying the rub more than he thought possible.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Smiling a bit, he looked up to the lady. “Okay, I sat down. What do you have to say for all the suffering you have caused Little Hope and me,” demanded Mutasm from her. It seemed like she spoke of evening out her karma. So he would make it as hard as possible for her. Scrunching up her face, the lady seemed to struggle to speak. Taking a deep breath, she allowed her body to droop as a sly smile appeared on her face.

“That is a lot to sort out. Might as well as start with an introduction. I am Miška, Ruler of this here Forest, and forest in general,” she said as her arms waved in a large circle around her. “I am what you can call a goddess of a domain. In this domain, like all, I get three things that help me stay as the goddess,” she continued, raising a hand in front of her held up three fingers. “The first is a power to be bestowed. I am given something, that I can inherently use and give to others, from my domain. It does not give me anything but the ability to use it,” she continued, lowering a finger in the process.

Pausing, she watched to see whether Mutasm understood everything she had said. Receiving a nod of affirmation, she spoke again, “The second is a passive way to gain power and fill up our domains with krotálisma. Mine is overflowing and abundant as you have seen.” A smile of accomplishment and pride showed on her face.

Looking a bit confused, Mutasm asked, “I have?” Frowning again, but this time in disappointment, she nodded her head. “Yes, haven't you torture yourself by constantly eating from my forest and touching almost everything filled with krotálisma. The first time you zapped yourself, I laughed until I couldn't breathe.” Eye twitch, Mutasm had to make sure he understood what she was saying, “So, you're saying that the trees, bushes, and animals are so filled by this energy, krotálisma, that they feel like they crackle and zap?”

“Yes,” she said impatiently. “My source of energy is the cycle of life. I have been blessed with such a powerful passive boost. When anything dies or is born, a bit of energy that gathers to place or remove the soul is dispersed into the surroundings. As the goddess of this domain, I have a divine right to use it at will - with limits of course.” She lowered the second finger as Hope started to become more restless, the head-scratching was not enough anymore. So, she occupied herself by chewing and slobbering all over Mutasm's hand and fingers.

Smiling at her antics, He nodded his head for Miška to continue. “The third is a rare boost of power to my own energies. It has to be one that has been recognized as difficult to achieve. Some happen more than others, but the rarer it is, the more power is received. Mine is Sacrifice, and as such, I did what I had done for you to sacrifice everything for someone else. Including her mothers, it has been decades if not more since I had such an ecstasy-inducing experience,” smiling slyly, her eyes narrowed into crescents again as she remembered the feeling.

“I have a question,” said Mutasm breaking Miška out of her reverie. Clearing his throat at the awkward way she had looked. “What are the see-through, evil looking, and hideous tentacles supposed to be?” He asked, but regretted it instantly. An intensity greater than what she showed before leaked out of her in visible waves. Her eyes were wide open, and mouth closed in a straight line. Mutasm looked down at Hope only to find her completely unaffected.

Sweat crawled down his back as he shook in his spot. He felt like the entire world was placed on to his shoulders. He felt his shoulders were being pushed inwards to his chest and his skull into his neck. Letting out a groan he barely heard her harsh whisper. “Are you telling tales? Or can you truly see? Lie to me, and I will make sure you never die; suffering an endless torment the gods of death would recoil in fear once I release you,” her voice was no longer the same. A depth he could not have believed lined every syllable she uttered. Her voice seemed beyond the boundaries of age, having lived longer than what was conceivable.

“I swear, I am telling the truth. Everything in the forest has them, even the people I saw that left Hope in the forest. Only us three are the only ones without it. Please, I can't breathe,” begged Mutasm. He felt like he was at the bottom of an ocean. The world wavered around him, and a darkness invaded the edges of his sight. With a wave of her hand, the pressure disappeared like it had never existed. Breathing heavily, Mutasm looked up to see Miška looking to her left with a faraway look.

Sighing sadly, Miška spoke with a pain laced voice. “It is my greatest failure. When the world had just started to spring life, two diverging paths were given to us all. I failed to lead everyone to the right path.” Shaking her head, her sly smile returned and her sadness hidden under layers of emotions and falseness. Mutasm did not know what it felt like to hold such an enormous burden on one's shoulders, and even more so when one fails.

“The Vitsaus is a blight that consumes everything born after its ascension. Anything born or somehow reaches this world has two choices, either to accept its effects and gain krotálisma. Growing stronger, faster, and for those lucky enough to progress so far, the ability to wield it externally. But in return, you give up most of your morality. The alternate route is to forever remain weak and fragile. With no power to grow stronger.” Her smile faltered a bit as she spoke, but to Mutasm it seemed she was adamant she keep the facade that was so easily seen through.

“Of course, there are some who wish to get the best of both worlds, but even they know there is no true purity. Except in one way,” said Miška. This time when she looked into his eyes, there was a seed of regret and loss that hurt Mutasm's heart. “It's through my domain of sacrifice. In order for two to stay pure, one must sacrifice all power except those gifted from a domain to their partner. The one sacrificing must suffer extreme pain to give up the blight and the one receiving would always feel ecs-” her voice broke, the sadness too much for her to handle.

Clearing her throat, she continued without stopping, “They would always feel ecstasy from the transferring of power. It is the only way,” said Miška as she looked down towards Hope, her meaning clear to both of them. If he wanted to survive in this world, he had to sacrifice Hope. Or he could bank on an uncertain future and pray he does not die before she became strong enough to defend them both.

Could he sacrifice the only reason he had not ended his life? Could he make that decision?