The underworld had been painted white.
The milky substance the wardens had for blood tainted the landscape. Only four colors survived the carnage. White for blood. Black for darkness. Blue for light. And red. Red for hair.
Alta couldn’t even guess how much time had happened. It could be an hour, or maybe a month. They only knew that everyone lay dead. Sounds other than the souls could be heard, maybe some had survived, but they were too frightened to approach the chimera.
Their body was weighted down by the mass of a thousand soldiers, even if their volume had stopped increasing a long time ago. Their steps echoed through the infinite cavern, powerful and heavy. The fake sky made it seem as if they were in the open, yet they knew better.
There was only one way now. To seek Death itself.
With every subsequent step, Alta felt their mind clear up. The battlefield was silent except for their steps. A thousand sounds. Some were fast and light, others slow and heavy. A thousand legs, every single one with their own weight and pace, their own speed and sound.
Unstoppable force.
Their body slowly shifted, becoming ever-so-efficient. There was strength in numbers, yes, but they no longer needed. Not that kind of strength, at least.
The chimera’s body had but become a cradle for something even greater. The words etched on the bird’s statue resounded in their brain.
My chimera, my Alta. You were born for greatness.
They were of no one, but they finally understood what the last part entailed. What being a chimera meant, and how that was related to greatness.
The temperature began to decrease, and at the same time, the tangible light blue light became brighter. The essence of Death wasn’t detectable, but outright solid.
On the horizon, something awaited them.
A tree.
Not of Life and wood, but of Death and light. It was far bigger than any other they had seen. The dryad or the watchtower’s tree looked like ants in comparison. It was far bigger than the mountains Alta had seen on the horizon back on the Evergreen.
The branches of the homogenous light blue tree expanded into the fake sky as if they were holding the weight of the whole cavern alone.
A fearful sight, but not the one Alta looked at.
At the base of the luminescent tree, a dark figure rested.
It was occluded by the radiance of the tangible light behind, but Alta knew what they were.
Death.
Something moved on the horizon, near Death. A figure, completely dark, and around the current size of the chimera.
It rushed forward at a speed the body of the chimera was unable to recreate.
A blink later, hundreds of meters of distance had been erased.
Enough time.
A blink later, the creature lunged on top of Alta.
The creature was canine in aspect. Two-headed and colossal, the dog-like monstrosity had powerful jaws and claws. The chimera readied their own.
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A blink later, the dog bit them.
The sizeable jaws allowed it to seize a bite big enough to threaten the integrity of their body. But the canine didn’t have any more chances to attack.
The mound of flesh that had separated from Alta’s body shifted at vertiginous speeds, far quicker than any previous shift. Blood sprayed everywhere as the shifting was imperfect, forced. Nonetheless, it was completed.
Flesh transformed into chitin, and the chitin became claws. The claws became thinner, and they penetrated the dog’s mouth cavity relentlessly.
Alta didn’t stop there.
They raised tens of arms and legs, all covered in sharp claws, some even holding the weapons of the deceased wardens, and they all hacked into the creature’s fur. Again and again.
The remaining head howled in pain, surprisingly still managing to cling to its undeath.
The dog clawed with its front legs the chimera’s body, and whilst it managed to damage it, the onslaught was far less intense than the first attack. Flames spurted from the claw marks, not only healing but also damaging.
“Awooooo...” The dog howled again, yet this time it felt more guttural, more primal. And weaker.
Picking up the defeated creature with their uncountable arms, the chimera threw them hard towards the fake sky. Air rippled as the dog flew and the sound exploded once it impacted against the ceiling. It remained there, stuck in place as a thousand needles pinned it to the sky.
The chimera doubted they could easily kill the dog, it was tougher than it looked like. Just like them. Opposite, but equal.
Silence lingered. This far away, the laments of the two-headed creature couldn’t be heard, and at some point, the chorus of the souls had ended. Yet...
Clapping.
A series of slow, dramatic claps tore the silence apart.
Alta looked forward to finally see the responsible for that. In the base of the tree of light blue light, sitting on a throne of stone, a figure clapped.
A woman.
Death incarnated was but a woman. She wore a black dress that heavily contrasted against her pallid skin. She slowly clapped as Alta walked forward, unphased. Strands of golden hair fell from her motion, her eyes shone with a light blue light.
A woman of impossible, objective beauty. Or at least, that was half of it.
The other half was hideous, a rooting corpse that only Death could love. How someone could even think she was attractive as a whole just remarked how impossible was the beauty of her living side.
“You shouldn’t play with other people’s pets without asking before the owners.” The voice was silky and captivating. Yet impossibly cold. Frigid. Uncaring.
Alta shifted. Their inwards turned into a form, no longer shapeless. This wouldn’t be the job for an abomination.
The chimera’s legs were bent and their body fell to the ground. The body began palpitating like a heart, an organ. Because that’s what it was. From the flames and flesh, an opening formed to reveal a humanoid shape, naked.
This was the job for a man.
Alta walked away from the mound of flesh, it pulsated alive, yet it no longer had a host. His new body was identical to the one he originally had, yet now he had the rightful male genitally and a healthy constitution, not the skinny one festered by imprisonment.
“Oh, my.” Death sang, amused and unamused at the same time.
He took a few steps more until he finally stopped at ten meters from the half-corpse lady.
“Would you mind explaining to me why you interrupted in the domain of one of the Queens of the Underworld?” The woman stated after ending her clapping. She hid her skeletal hand behind her dark dress.
“You know that.” The man stated calmly, yet powerfully.
“As a matter of fact, I do not.” She responded. “Contrary to popular belief, we are not omniscient. That right is reserved for a single being in all of Existence. But I’d suppose you come here for vengeance, chimera. For you Mother.”
The chimera nodded. “You are right in one thing, but wrong in two.”
“How’s that?” The light of the Queen’s eyes shone dangerously. “Please, illuminate me, Mutation.”
“First, my name is Alta, not chimera nor Mutation.” The woman slightly smiled at that explanation. “And second, I do not come in vengeance for someone I didn’t know, but someone I saw die.”
The discarded body of the chimera began to emit crunchy and wet noises, overall repugnant sounding. A new hole tore open in the flesh and little creatures spurted out. They carried a corpse. The dead body of the fairy was in perfect condition, not single a scratch on her skin nor any internal wounds. Even blood and grime refused to latch onto her dress.
“I see.” The lady caressed her living cheek with her healthy arm. “Now you’ve piqued my interest, Alta.” She added with a hint of venom as she spoke his name.
The Queen stood up, her golden hair flowing down graciously as her meticulously crafted dress did the same. She stood tall, less than the man, but not by much. Her figure was even more accentuated now that she was on her foot. But that also made her dead side of the body more visible.
“Then let’s get the presentation, over with.” Light flooded out of the woman’s eyes. “You stand before one of the Queens of the Underworld, Winter!”
Then, reality was painted blue.