Screams echoed all around, fading in and out of pitch-black emptiness. It hurt, everything hurt. Lianne tried to move but found her body unresponsive. She could feel the air closing in, becoming tighter, suffocating her. She wanted to scream, to lash out, to do anything. The cold stone floor below her grasped at her, pulling her down to it. Something moved out of the corner of her eye, something familiar.

She tried again to will herself to move, to find a way out of the progressively tighter area she was trapped in. Her breath quickened, turning more into gasps of the little air she had. Her throat closed up, her skin crawled. Something was on her leg. She hoped that it was nothing more than a leaf or a bug. It sat more weight onto her shin in the form of a hand. It crawled up her leg, getting closer. She desperately tried in vain to move.

Black nothingness kept her still, forcing itself onto every part of her body. As much as she tried, she wasn't breathing air anymore. The black void forced its way down her throat, her lungs closing themselves off. Each gasp became quicker, more desperate. The hand laid on her stomach, gentle and smooth. It offered no comfort.

It quickly moved up to her arm, then to her shoulder, wrapping onto it. Lianne was somewhat grateful for her inability to move; her involuntary jumps of fear weren't evident. She wasn't sure whether the tingling on all of her limbs was her imagination or something on top of her. She wanted it to stop, to leave her alone.

The warmth of another hand reached her cheek. It was delicate as it caressed an old wound. Lianne tried to claw away at it, but only was able to feel it do as it pleased. Slowly, something opened in front of her. Two small red lights, or two eyes rather. Those eyes, she remembered them, she knew them too well. Lianne wanted to rip that hand away, gouge out the little dangling lights in front of her. It scooped one arm under her shoulder, pulling her limp body upwards. Fear took over, and she stopped attempting to breathe altogether. The eyes pierced her soul, the helplessness overwhelming her, crushing her. The hand crawled to the back of her neck, grasping onto it. A shiver shot down her spine as its fingers slowly touched her skin.

Get away.

It kept its stare on her.

I'll kill you.

It tugged her closer.

I'll fucking kill you.

It moved her body upright.

I'll make you suffer.

Its face was inches away from her, shrouded in blackness.

Come on, try it.

There was no attack, just deafening silence. Wings of darkness shrouded the air.

Do it. I'll take you with me.

Its hands grasped around her tightly, just enough to be unbearably uncomfortable.

Just do it.

Long locks of hair grazed her face as it leaned in closer.

Why?

Air from its mouth wrapped around like a whisper as the torture continued.

How long are you going to drag this out?

Its head tilted slightly to the side, and it slowly blinked.

What's the point of this?

The piercing red reappeared even brighter than before, eyes ablaze with crimson flame.

Why do you want this?

It looked at her softly, mockingly.

Just fucking end it.

The silence dragged on forever, as it stared into her through the darkness.

Please.

Just make it stop.

~

A small groan came out of Lianne's mouth as light hit her face. She slowly rolled over, staring out the destroyed roof above her. After a few blinks, she sat upright. It was still dark out, and she was still in the destroyed hunter's lodge, the dead beast laying a few meters away from her, blade still in its chest.

Huh, not dead yet.

She got up, walking groggily over to her sword which lay in the water. She let out an annoyed sigh as she examined the waterlogged cloth. Luckily these things were reliable and durable, otherwise she would've gone through at least 6 by now. She sheathed the sword and wiped the caked mud off her clothes. As her hands reached her chest, she saw matted blood on the cloth. She touched the torn fabric on her shoulder, holes made by the beast's fangs still in it. The wound was fully healed, skin immaculate once again. Blood stained the inside of her jacket, still sticky to the touch.

She made sure the cloth over her eye and the hair clip in her hair were still there before she walked through the water to retrieve her other sword. The monster laid there, unmoving, unfeeling. Its gaze was unfocused, and the remaining mouth it still had left lay limp with the tongue sagging loosely on its bloodied throat. Squelching and ripping flesh echoed as Lianne tugged her blade from its chest. She wiped off the blood and sheathed it as well. The moon was still up, barely visible; It would be dawn soon.

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Right, proof of completion.

Lianne scanned the room, her eye locking onto the dismembered jaw.

That should do.

The skin on it had become soft due to absorbing so much water. It practically disintegrated as Lianne picked it up. Corrupted ether clung onto her hands, slightly stinging. She hated how they leaked it after they died, it was always a pain to deal with. On the bright side, it degraded the bodies if they were left there for long enough.

Corrupted ether was a large field of study for the people who actually cared. They knew that it was made from pure ether and that it made ether blight- the thing that made manipulating ether hurt like hell- but everything else was speculation. All Lianne cared about was that it made the monsters, and that was cause enough to despise it.

She dropped the jaw in a pouch on her belt and pushed the door open. The forest was still dark and Lianne couldn't see anything. She pulled the lantern back out, examining the now shattered glass. With a sigh she lit it and held it out. As she began the long trudge back, the exhaustion set in. Healing always left her like this, but as uncomfortable as it was, she needed to push through it.

Luckily, the forest had settled, and the ambience was softer. Whether that was actually the truth or if it was just her dulled senses Lianne didn't know. Nonetheless, it was pleasant to worry a little bit less. As she left the forest, a hint of pink rose on the horizon. How long was she unconscious for? An hour? Two? At this point she didn't care and just wanted to get over with this. New guards were in the process of taking their posts at the gate as she arrived.

She approached, hoping they weren't overzealous idiots. Standing by the entrance, she stared at one of the guards on the top banister.

"You there, what's your business?" A young voice called to her.

"I left a while earlier on a bounty."

The man looked around, seemingly taking his time. Lianne let out a groan as he visibly contemplated her entry. After a moment of silence, the gate was pushed open by a new shift of guards from before who scanned her wearily. She briskly marched through the doorway, their eyes tracking her movements. One of the guards nervously spoke up, shifting in his mismatched, dirty, and poorly made armour.

"Hey, do you need-"

"I'm fine." Lianne brushed him off and walked past him and towards the town.

A few people were outside at this hour, the farmers going to the fields early, the drunks stumbling home, and the ones who didn't have a home to go to. She passed the town blacksmith entering his shop, considering whether she should visit him for repairs, or maybe get some actual armour if she could afford it. She continued onwards, trudging her way towards the city hall once again.

Lianne's joints pulled and stretched as she reached the stone steps once again. Pushing open the door, she was greeted by a bustling crowd making their way through the building. She quickly hid away, hugging the wall as she shifted towards the corridor. She wanted to just get out of here, back to someplace where she could rest. The door flung open and Lianne entered the room.

"You're supposed to knock first." The receptionist stated dryly, slowly glancing up at the woman who just entered her office, examining her dirt ridden and bloodstained clothing.

"I'm assuming you completed the bounty?"

Lianne pulled the jawbone out of the pouch on her waist, throwing it on the table. The bone hit the wood with a thud, it's decaying flesh spilling down. The receptionist retracted her hands, crinkling her face at the sight and smell of it. Gingerly picking up the dismembered piece of bone, she quickly threw it into a large hole in the wall beside her which Lianne hoped led to an incinerator.

The receptionist climbed up onto her stool, examining the shelves.

"You were.... Ah, there."

She pulled the bounty contract out of the pile as well as a stamp from a drawer. The woman inked the stamp and pressed it onto the contract. She handed the paper to Lianne, who took it and headed for the exit.

"Wait, the request, remember?"

Lianne looked up at the ceiling with a groan, out of energy to even pretend to be polite.

"Just tell me what it is."

She turned around to look at the woman, who held the slip of paper out to her once again.

"Tomorrow, or today rather, by sundown at The Dead Crow."

Lianne took the paper.

"Which one was...?"

"Down the street past the butchers."

With a nod, she left the room, tucking the slip away in her jacket. She wiped her forehead, feeling the texture of grime and mud on her skin. Approaching the door next to the one she just exited from, she opened it to see a burly man behind a comically small desk. She walked up to the iron bars which separated them and placed the stamped contract on the table. He took it, examined it, and then gave it back to Lianne. He moved to open a small vault behind him, opening it up to reveal stacks of gold coins. After taking a small pile, he returned to the counter, counting them slowly as he glanced up at the blood stuck on her clothing.

"You should get that looked at." His voice was gruff yet unthreatening.

"I'll be fine." Lianne brushed him off, turning to put the contract in a small slit in the wall which led to the other room.

"What about the eye? Have you gotten that checked yet?"

"No."

The man finished counting and pushed it towards Lianne.

"You really should, there's a guy in town, good at making old wounds look better."

Lianne took her coins, filling her purse.

"I'll be fine."

The man nodded, giving up on the conversation. She put the purse into a pocket and turned out the door.

"Have a good day." He called out calmly, returning to his seat. Lianne nodded at him as she left.

The walk back to her room went by in a blur of delirium. She was so damn tired. Was the poison still in her system? Because it sure as hell felt like it. Fumbling for the key, Lianne opened the door to her room. Everything was silent save for the creaks of the floor. She unbuckled her belt and laid her swords in their hole, covering it back up. Staggering to the bathroom, she pulled her coat off, examining the decrepit state of it.

The blood dried in a maroon hue, blurring with the stains of mud and dirt. She checked the holes on the shoulder; they were deep, irreparable unless she wanted to replace the whole segment. With a sigh, she got some water and scrubbed the mess off of it. Looking up in the mirror, she saw the disgusting filth on her face. Her own blood coated her entire shoulder, running down her arm and chest. Some more blood that wasn't hers was splattered onto her cheek as well, complementing the grey and brown streaks.

She splashed her face with water, feeling the stains gradually come off. She hoped the water would wake her up more than it did. Her bare arms shivered from the cold, begging for her to stop using them.

Why does it always end up like this?

She should be dead, anybody else would be. Whether it was luck or fate she didn't know. Either way she despised both scenarios.

She looked back up at the face in the mirror, skin immaculate, smoothed over with no wounds to show, no tales to tell. She left her still dirty clothes in the bathroom as she fell into the room and collapsed on the bed. It was almost morning, the perfect time to sleep, right? Lianne let out a hoarse chuckle as she stared at the dark ceiling. Her smile quickly disappeared as her sight drooped. She resigned herself to the exhaustion and let her body relax, hand resting near the knife on her leg.