It goes without saying but there are people in this world that are outright evil for the sake of it. Some might argue that no one is born evil or sinful and others might argue that all sinful people are born in sin and as such will continue to live in sin. But it matters not whether it is in their nature to be evil or their nurture that causes them to be evil. The fact remains that there are those in this world that gain great pleasure from the suffering they inflict on others. These people care not for what they benefit from their evil actions, all that matters is that people suffer from what they do. ******************************************************************************Imperial Year 4004,
2nd day of The Month Of The Holy God's Ascension.
Nyameye and Fionn opened their eyes and found themselves alone in a gaudy, large and extravagant room. Everything there, from the large sofa they sat on to the bed right in front of them seemed to glitter like gold as the room was constantly illuminated by golden ether lamps. An ether lamp, depending on the color of its light, could be as cheap as a candle or as expensive as gold itself as the ordinary white lamps did not cost much to produce but any other color would cost the manufacturer a small fortune. All of these observations indicated to them that the owner of this room must be extremely wealthy.
Without having to confer to each other, they both decided to get up but they were prevented from doing so by someone behind them. They turned to face this unknown person and came face to face with a person covered in a black cloak and wearing a black mask. They instantly recognized them as the one they had seen before losing consciousness. They attempted to fight the masked person off but their injuries and fatigue from their previous fights prevented them from doing so.
“Nothing will happen to you as long as you cooperate.”
Though the masked one assured them of their safety, the pair were naturally skeptical.
“Now, I will take my leave and bring my master to see you.”
The masked one disappeared into their shadow and the pair were once again alone in the room. They waited for a few minutes but there was no sign of anyone coming to the room they were in. To combat the deafening silence, Fionn asked a question.
“I wonder who this master is…”
After that question, they each took a few moments to ponder over it before realizing just how obvious the answer was.
“It’s Skinner.”
“It’s that musclebrained baldy.”
“Musclebrained?”
“Is there something wrong with what I said?”
Nyameye was rather surprised by Fionn’s comment because he discovered from the night before that she herself was rather well-built. The baggy clothes she wore underneath her armor served to hide it but Nyameye could tell just how much she had trained her body.
“Nothing, I just feel like the pot shouldn’t be calling the kettle black, after all you are pretty muscular yourself.”
“Aw stop, you’re gonna make me blush.”
Fionn chose to ignore the first part of Nyameye’s comment and instead focused on what she believed to be a compliment. She even began moving and acting like some sort of bashful girl.
“But honestly though, where is that dumb-”
Before Fionn could finish her sentence, something burst out from beneath the ground causing dust and debris to fly everywhere. When the dust cleared, Nyameye and Fionn saw before them a tall, bald and very well-built man. The clothes he wore, a purple leather jacket and purple leather trousers, served to accentuate his already amazing build. After dusting himself off, the man took a seat on the bed in front of them.
“You didn’t expect it to be me, did you?!”
The man sat lazily and smiled at the pair before him.
“No, we knew.”
“We would have to be as stupid as you not to realize.”
Their lack of surprise seemed to greatly hurt Skinner as the smile he once had was now gone.
“Hehehe..”
A quiet giggling could be heard by all three people currently in the room. It was clear that whoever was laughing was doing their best to stifle it.
“Noir, show yourself.”
Immediately, Noir, still giggling, rose from the shadows. In their hands they carried a small burlap sack.
“Hah, let’s just get straight to it then. The two of you are going to play in a game I’ve designed. Oh and if you don’t do it, I’m going to kill everyone in town, including that wolf you were looking for.”
Nyameye and Fionn were dumbfounded at how casually Skinner had revealed his intentions. He spoke of doing something so comically evil that they struggled to make sense of it.
“You can’t be serious?!”
A cocky smile erupted across Skinner’s face. He was happy that he was able to incite such a reaction from Nyameye.
“Oh, I'm nothing but serious, boy.”
At that moment, Fionn thought of killing Skinner. Her reasoning was that by killing him, they wouldn’t have to go through all of the foolishness that he planned for them. It was a good idea but that was all it would ever be, an idea, for Skinner detected the malice that threatened to erupt from her.
“Since you’re showing off your bloodlust, I’ll show off mine.”
Skinner, without the use of words, clearly expressed his desire and willingness to kill them should they not comply with his plans. He gave off the air of a wild beast staring down its helpless prey. All of a sudden, the atmosphere of the room became oppressive and hot. This display shut down all thoughts of attack that Fionn and Nyameye might have had as they realized that they would not be able to beat him when they themselves had struggled to beat his subordinates.
“Good. Now Noir, show them what you have in the sack.”
Noir opened up the sack they were holding to reveal the severed head of a young man. Upon seeing it, Nyameye immediately recognized it.
“Boy, you recognize him don’t you?”
The head belonged to one of the sailors Nyameye traveled with on The World’s End. It took everything that Nyameye had to stop himself from punching Skinner right then and there. He might not have known the man for that long but he detested how callously Skinner acted about everything.
“Let me explain what you’ll be doing.”
Skinner raised his right hand and held three fingers up.
“There are three sailors that you’ll have to find. Each sailor is in an unknown location somewhere in Osukese. You have until the sixteenth of this month to find them and once you do, you’ll understand what you’ll have to do next. So, here’s my question for you. Will you play this game? Even with the limited information you have of it? I said it before but I’ll repeat myself anyway. The two of you can leave at any time but if you do I’ll kill everyone in this town and even if you die during the game, I won’t lay a finger on anyone in town.”
As someone that had been forced to witness so much death, Nyameye did not want to witness anymore, especially when he had the opportunity to prevent it. Nyameye’s reasoning for wanting to take part in Skinner’s twisted game could be said to be heroic if not suicidal. The same could not be said for Fionn. Although she also did not want the deaths of so many people to be on her hands, she had a more opportunistic attitude towards this game Skinner wanted them to play. The goal that she sought required strength with no equal and the best way to obtain that strength was through battle. If Skinner’s game was truly that deadly, then she would be one step closer to her goal.
Nyameye and Fionn exchanged brief looks and agreed to Skinner’s demand.
“We’ll do it.”
After they agreed, Skinner clapped his hands, communicating to the pair just how excited he was for them to take part in his game.
“That’s wonderful! Now, raise your hand if you have any questions, questions not related to the game of course.”
Nyameye raised his hand slowly as if he was embarrassed to do so.
“You mentioned something about the wolf, where is it?”
“Ah, her. Don’t worry about it, we already captured her.”
“ ‘Her’..... I was right to think you had something to do with her rampage.”
Nyameye narrowed his eyes and glared at Skinner.
“Of course I do but unfortunately I can’t answer any questions you may have concerning her just yet. That would be like telling someone the ending of a good book that they just started and that's just bad manners.”
Skinner wiggled his finger in front of them and shook his fat head like a father scolding his children. Nyameye stopped glaring at Skinner and slumped into his seat. He was having trouble processing everything that he was learning.
With Nyameye’s question out of the way, Fionn raised her hand up high.
“Can I ask a question now?”
“Go ahead girl.”
“Why are you doing all this?”
In the confusion and chaos of their current situation, Fionn had asked a question that Nyameye had not even thought of.
“Why am I doing this? Well isn’t it obvious, it’s because it amuses me.”
It was at that moment that Nyameye and Fionn realized who they were dealing with, a man that could and would hurt people without hesitation for his own sick and twisted amusement. They could have at least understood if there was money to gain from what he was doing. His actions would have still disgusted them but there would have at least been a reason for all that he was doing but there was none. Skinner gained nothing from all this, nothing except joy and delight.
“Well you’re free to go now.”
The pair stood up and were about to leave through the door when Fionn suddenly remembered something.
“Wait, where’s my sword?”
“Oh, that. Noir, give her the sword.”
Noir pulled out Fionn’s sword and threw it at her. Fionn caught it and she was glad that she at least had her sword back but she noticed something strange about it.
“This is just the sheath. What happened to the sword inside?”
Skinner and Noir shrugged as if they had no idea what had happened to the sword. However, the smile across Skinner’s face and the giggles Noir tried to hide made it clear to Fionn that they knew. There were so many other things that Nyameye and Fionn had to say but they were so physically and mentally fatigued that they decided to just leave and return to the inn. Before they could walk out the door, Skinner called out to them.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. While you’re searching for the sailors you’ll be under constant attack by my assassins sooo try not to die and have fun.”
Skinner gave them a thumbs up from both of his hands and smiled. In response to his rather annoying antics, Nyameye and Fionn yelled at Skinner at the same time.
“Shove it!”
“Kill yourself!”
They walked out and slammed the door in his face. Once they were out of the room, they found themselves on the second floor of an extravagant mansion. The floor was covered in a magnificent red carpet and everywhere they looked they saw doors made of thick and vibrant wood leading to many rooms. Next to each door was a small table and on top of those tables were vases with the same bright rainbow-colored flower, a rainbow rose. These flowers were known to be on the cusp of extinction so having so many of them in one place was a callous and arrogant display of Skinner’s wealth and power. The same flowers being present everywhere also made it difficult for Nyameye and Fionn to find the way out of Skinner’s home. As they wondered which way to go, Nyameye’s shadow began to flicker wildly and from that same shadow arose Noir. Without saying a word, they beckoned the pair to follow.
They led Nyameye and Fionn down the spiral staircase and onto the first floor, which was also covered in the same red carpet. The furniture on the first floor had no sense of cohesion and their designs were so ugly that Nyameye and Fionn wondered if Skinner had bought them just because he could. The pair didn’t want to stay in the mansion any longer than they had to so they quickly left Noir behind and made their way towards the large wooden doors that served as the mansion’s entrance. They had almost made it to the door when Nyameye noticed something strange above it. A few inches above the door was a symbol of a woman sitting on top of a throne surrounded by four monsters. Namely, a multi headed snake, a beast made up of the bodies of a lion, goat and snake and finally, two multi headed dogs. Nyameye was very knowledgeable on the topic of monsters as he often dealt with their flesh when cooking but to his surprise, he could not recognize a single monster on the symbol. He soon found himself fixated on the symbol.
“Hey, come on, let's leave already. I don’t want to spend any more time here.”
Fionn’s words broke Nyameye out of his trancelike state and the pair walked out of the hall and into the courtyard with the painted over trees and the two golden fountains. At this point the pair had grown tired of Skinner’s display of his wealth so they quickly ran past the courtyard and through the gates of the mansion. Once outside, they looked down onto the town and realized just how high up on the hill they were.
“We have a long way to go, hopefully we can make it before it gets dark.”
“Yeah, we still need to buy the fish from the market so I can make dinner.”
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At the mere mention of the market, Fionn’s demeanor became meek and she began to press her index fingers together.
“...Sooo about that, I might have destroyed the market in my fight with an old woman.”
“....That’s a shame but it’s not like you went out of your way to destroy it. It’s all Skinner’s fault.”
With her destruction of the market justified by Nyameye, Fionn returned to her usual demeanor and broke into chants of ‘It’s all Skinner’s fault’. Watching Fionn goof around helped to alleviate some of Nyameye’s mental fatigue.
“Haha, hopefully Ms. Belle has enough ingredients for a proper meal.”
The pair soon made their way down the hill through the dirt path that extended past the mansion. Their journey was quiet, eerily so. After minutes of nothing but silence, Fionn turned to Nyameye and saw the sullen expression spread across his face.
“...Spit it out.”
“Huh?”
“There’s something bothering you right, so spit it out already. I’m sure a wise and experienced knight such as myself could help alleviate any squire’s worries.”
Fionn took off her helm and smiled at Nyameye. She did this because she wanted him to know that he was ready and willing to listen to his troubles. The pair had barely known each other for two days and yet there was this strange connection between them, a connection that transcended time and grief.
“...It’s nothing too heavy…It's just,...I wanted to know if you enjoy fighting, Fionn.”
Nyameye was unable to understand Boreas throughout their entire fight. So in order to better understand, Nyameye sought Fionn’s opinion on the topic. He was surprised when Fionn did not hesitate in answering his question.
“I do.”
“Can I ask why?”
“...There’s someone I have to kill…but the way that I am now I won’t stand a chance against her when we meet. By continuously fighting…I grow stronger…which means I’m one step closer to my goal. How….could I not enjoy that?”
Nyameye stopped and closed his eyes. After listening to Fionn, he began to understand Boreas a little bit more. To desire power, one must fight and this power is used to further one’s ambition. With this one mind, how could anyone with a dream to strive for dislike combat? This was how Fionn felt about combat.
“....That’s a rather interesting outlook on combat…Thank you, Fionn.”
“You’re welcome. But if I may be so bold, why don’t you enjoy fighting?”
“...I’ve seen so many people die that…having to constantly hurt and fight people for my goal just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I can’t really argue against that but, we can agree on one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“That there are people that deserve to get hurt.”
After thinking back to their conversation with Skinner, Nyameye could not help but to wholeheartedly agree with Fionn.
“I can’t disagree with that….”
“But you know it’s surprising that you’re okay with me just declaring that I’m going to kill someone.”
“Eh, it’s fine. We haven’t known each other for long but it’s probably for a good reason.”
“It is…I’m not too comfortable talking about it…but-”
“It’s fine, I’ll be ready to listen whenever you’re ready.”
After their little conversation, the pair continued on with their walk back home all the while engaging in conversation so friendly that it would make one wonder if they had forgotten about the trials that lay ahead of them.
“What the hell happened to you?”
While she asked this question, Fionn pointed to Nyameye’s tattered clothes. Frustrated at how utterly destroyed his clothes were, Nyameye sighed and pouted. Although he had multiple of the same waiter attire, he was still very ticked off about the destruction of the one he was wearing as the blue shirt underneath his vest was one of his favorites as he felt that it perfectly complemented his dark skin.
“It was the stupid guy I had to fight! He had such an annoying power!...The entire time I fought him, I couldn’t help wishing that I had armor like yours.”
“Well it’s not like my armor protects me from everything, I can still feel the dried blood over my body…”
“Wait, you got injured while wearing your armor?”
“Yeah…”
“....That sounds like a hell of a fight.”
By the time they made it to the town proper, the sun was already fast asleep, leaving room for the moon and her children to dance across the night sky. The pleasant aroma of the townsfolk preparing their evening meals drifted into Fionn’s nose. Like a cruel seductress, it tickled and enticed her even though it was fully aware of just how tired and hungry she was.
“Just a little bit more to the inn. What are you going to make for dinner Nyameye?”
“…”
Nyameye didn’t answer Fionn’s question because something had caught his eye. On the way from Skinner’s mansion, they had walked past men and women squatting and loitering along the path. These men and women had rather wild and distinct hairstyles and they wore strange attire that was often torn in places that it should not have been. Without going into too much detail, the clothes they were wearing were not clothes any parent would be comfortable with their child wearing. Though their appearances were unique, for lack of a more appropriate term, they all had one thing in common, they all had tattoos. They were unlike the tribal tattoos of Asafua that Nyameye was familiar with in that they did not seem to be for any sort of ceremony but rather for show.
‘Their clothes and appearance are a bit bizarre but that’s no reason to think they’re dangerous…never mind…they all have weapons….’
On top of their already bizarre garb, they also carried with them deadly looking weapons. These combined made these people look like violent delinquents. Even then, Nyameye did not want to be suspicious of them as he was walking with someone who looked just as, if not more suspicious and dangerous. The person in question was not doing herself any favors as she was currently walking along the edge of the roofs around them. But something else stood out about the delinquents. Among the plethora of strange tattoos they all had, Nyameye recognized one of them. He had spotted on all of the delinquents a symbol of a woman sitting on a throne surrounded by monsters. It was the same symbol in Skinner’s mansion and this together with Skinner’s mention of assassins put Nyameye on edge.
But even more than that, he realized that this was a test from Skinner. Unlike their other tattoos, the symbol of that woman was placed in places people would usually never get the chance to see like in the armpit or under the thighs. But Nyameye had seen their symbol because of their torn clothes and how they positioned themselves. Nyameye could tell that this symbol was not supposed to be seen by people unaffiliated with their group, meaning the only reason the symbol was visible to him now was because they wanted him to see it. It was then that Nyameye realized that Skinner’s game had begun from the moment they left the mansion. However, with how relaxed Fionn was acting, it was clear that she hadn’t realized this so he called her from the roof and whispered to her.
“...Fionn, it seems these are the assassins Skinner was talking about.”
“It seems so. He couldn’t even give us just one day off, could he.”
Nyameye was surprised to hear Fionn be so nonchalant about their pursuers. It was almost like she had known the entire time.
“...Fionn, did you know this entire time?”
“Well, duh! It’s not like they were trying to hide their bloodlust.”
For these past few minutes, Nyameye had agonized over whether or not the strangely dressed people were enemies, so to hear that Fionn had known the entire time and not even bothered to tell him made him pause and smack himself in the face.
“....Whatever, guess we’ll just have to fight.”
“We…who's we?”
By now, Skinner’s assassins had stopped squatting and were slowly approaching Nyameye and Fionn and yet, Fionn did not seem to have any intention of fighting.
“Huh?!”
“I don’t have my sword remember and what kind of knight fights without their sword.”
Dumbfounded at how obtuse she was being, Nyameye, despite how tired he was, begrudgingly stretched his left hand in front of her. Once he did so, his arm violently shook and cracked until it formed a sword from his flesh and bone.
“Thank you!”
Fionn gleefully thanked Nyameye for the sword as she collected it from him. With a weapon in hand, Fionn got to work. She dashed into a small crowd of people armed with axes and swords. Once she did so, they all turned their attention towards her and like a nest of wasps pouncing upon a weak and pitiful bee, they swarmed around her and swung their blades upon her.
‘Eclipse Blade.’
However their weapons would not so much as scratch her armor as they all collapsed to the ground while blood flowed from the wounds Fionn inflicted upon them. After this display of power, the delinquents were very wary of Fionn. So much so that quite a few of them choose to attack Nyameye instead. Unlike with Fionn, Nyameye made no sign of retaliation and simply stood there as their axes, swords and daggers slid into his flesh, like hot knives through butter. This supposed victory made them ecstatic as they had been promised a rather handsome sum of money if they were able to kill Nyameye and Fionn. So what if they were only able to kill one of them? Skinner would surely give them something worthwhile for their success. That was their thought process. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed the moment Nyameye sighed in response to the damage they inflicted upon him.
Alarmed by his nonchalant response, they tried to remove their weapons from his body but soon realized that they were stuck. The logical thing to do would’ve been to simply let go of their weapons but they were so overcome with fear that it completely slipped their minds as Nyameye dragged them along. He hopped from wall to wall, gradually building up speed until he jumped up high into the air and together with his attackers, still desperately holding on to their weapons, he crashed back onto the ground. Unlike his opponents, Nyameye easily and quickly got up from that fall. It bears mentioning that those were not all the delinquents. There were far more delinquents still standing than the ones Nyameye and Fionn had just defeated. Quite frankly, the two of them were outnumbered but numbers do not mean a thing when facing off against monsters. The other delinquents realized this and quickly took off.
With their opponents defeated, Nyameye and Fionn were presented with another problem.
“....”
“....Well…we can’t just leave them here.”
If this was a battlefield in some sort of war, then it would have been fine to just leave their enemies there licking their wounds but this was just a town street, a town filled with regular men, women and children so they could not just leave them there. But with that came the question of where should Nyameye and Fionn put them. Thankfully, they wouldn't have to worry about that as Noir appeared out of nowhere and offered to take care of it in their stead.
“..But why though?’
Nyameye could not help but be skeptical though. And honestly, no one could blame him for feeling that way.
“Because I’m the one that sent them.”
“Not Skinner?”
“This little incident was all my doing. Congratulations on correctly identifying and dealing with the threat and good luck with the trials laying ahead of you.”
With those parting words, Noir turned their back on Nyameye and Fionn and disappeared along with all the people laying at their feet.
At this point, Nyameye and Fionn were both very tired so they simply continued on their way back to the inn in silence. Once there, they slowly opened the door and just like the previous night, Ms. Belle was ready to welcome them back.
“I heard Skinner’s got your eye on you.”
She was not in the least bit surprised to see them injured and was even aware of the game they were playing with Skinner.
“You heard?”
“He announced it in town earlier today, and since you are quite literally fighting for our lives, the bed and board here is free until you beat him.”
Nyameye was delighted to hear that as his wallet was getting lighter and lighter. Fionn on the other hand was more surprised that Ms. Belle was still staying in town.
“Aren’t you going to leave?”
“As cruel as it is to say, there really is no reason to leave because whether the two of you succeed or die, I’m still going to live. But I really do hope that you live.”
Ms. Belle’s words served as a rude awakening for the pair. Even though they were desperately fighting to save the people of the town, due to the conditions of the game they were playing, whether they succeeded or not bore no consequence on the lives of the townsfolk. All that mattered was that they played the game.
“...That’s….a bit depressing…”
“Even so, thanks for the help Ms. Belle. And if I may be so bold, can I use your kitchen?”
“But of course, feel free to use whatever you want.”
The depressing mood Fionn had been put in by Ms. Belle’s words was easily destroyed by the mere mention of food and soon the pair found themselves in the kitchen. It was a very simple kitchen but all Nyameye really needed were the coal pot, pots and charcoal there.
“First things first, Fionn take off your armor.”
“Uhh, why?”
“The kitchen is no place for such attire and also there’s something I have to check.”
Fionn, still confused by Nyameye’s request, complied nonetheless. She took off her armor and in doing so revealed her white shirt and trousers, now cut and torn from her fight with Psamathe.
“If I recall, those are the same ones from last night. Do you not have any other clothes?”
“....”
“Remind me to lend you some of mine….Also, I hope you don’t mind me touching your arm.”
Although she was a bit embarrassed, Fionn still stretched out her arm to Nyameye, allowing him to roll down her sleeve and examine it.
“Wow, I only caught a glimpse last time but your body’s really well trained.”
Just by looking at her arm, it was clear to see that Fionn put a great deal of time and effort into training. The calluses on her hands served as proof of that.
“Hmm….I can tell that your arm’s badly hurt but it’s not from an external attack…You really do push yourself, don’t you Fionn? I’ll prepare the next meal with your injuries in mind.”
At this point Fionn was more than a little embarrassed so she shot Nyameye with a remark of her own.
“This coming from the guy who lets himself get hit by his enemies.”
Fionn had said something that Nyameye could not refute, so he didn’t. Instead he shrugged and made an expression that seemed to say ‘It is what it is’.
“Fionn, you can go wait in the mess hall. I’ll be done before you know it.”
“You don’t need my help?”
“Nope.”
Dejected from that simple answer, Fionn hung her head and slowly left the kitchen.
She took a seat in the mess hall not too far from the kitchen. As she sat, Fionn heard a lot of loud thumping and noises coming from the kitchen as Nyameye was cooking. However, this was to be expected and none of the sounds really caught her off guard, until she heard Nyameye singing.
“~We are going, heaven knows where we are going, but we know within. And we will get there, heaven knows how we will get there, but we know we will. It will be hard we know and the road will be muddy and rough, but we’ll get there~”
Initially, the shock of Nyameye singing nearly made Fionn burst out laughing but she soon grew accustomed to and even enjoyed the song. A couple of hours later, Nyameye walked out of the kitchen with two black earthenware bowls.
Before he could set the food down, Fionn, with a cheeky smile across her face, asked where the song he was singing came from.
“Ah, sorry if it disturbed you, it’s a habit of mine.”
Fionn never intended to insinuate that she disliked his singing so she rapidly shook her hands and head to let him know.
“No! I think it’s a lovely song.”
“Oh, thank goodness. But if you really want to know, it’s a song my mother taught me. From my understanding, it’s a pretty old song from my hometown.”
“Your hometown, huh… sounds like a nice place.”
“Yeah…it is.”
Nyameye, not wanting to sour the mood, simply served the meals in silence. The beautiful and fragrant aroma of fufu, pounded yams and plantain, as well as the aroma of the hot groundnut soup and the smoked nkrantie, otherwise known as the greater cane rat, filled Fionn with a gluttonous disposition. The likes of which could even compete with the lord of gluttony himself.
“This meal is a balanced set of carbohydrates, proteins and fats that your body’s going to….and she’s too busy eating to hear me….”
As he watched Fionn greedily consume her food, Nyameye could not help but smile. There were sure to be many trials ahead in the days to come but for now it was heartwarming for him to be able to share a nice, hot meal with a friend.
Chapter 8: Coming Face to Face With Ruthless Evil