"The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine."
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Husband likes my gift!
Huan stuffed her face, hands a blur. She worked her way through several metres of table, a barren landscape of emptied plates and abandoned glasses. Joy pulsed from her heart as she tipped a gravy boat down her throat.
Maybe I can…
A screech of static filled the room, herald to a flash of light. Ven rose behind her, carried on a wave of white. Radiance poured from his eyes and mouth, pointed toward the sky. His body cracked, fractured by a thousand tiny lines. Sliver blood dripped to the ground, infused with so much cosmic force it melted the floor.
“HUSBAND!” Huan leapt forward, snatched from the air by her father.
“STAY BACK,” The King shielded his daughter from the light. Slivers of white lanced at his back, deep cuts filled with untamed power.
“Aangor, do something!” Mara shoved a pair of diners, away from the deadly brilliance.
“I’VE GOT YOU NOW, UNFILIAL APPRENTICE,” The sky turned red, backed by night-black clouds. “YOU’LL NEVER SEE THE SKY AGAIN!”
Cain descended from the crimson glow, eyes black pits of murder. A flick of his hand wrapped Ven in a prison of runes. Cain sent a final hateful glance toward the crowd and vanished with his prize.
“HUSBAND!!!”
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“You’re back again…”
Ven blinked. He stood in a world of white light, alone except for the whisper.
“At least the louder one isn’t here this time,” The white condensed into a humanoid form. “But, it’s still too early…” The figure raised a hand, fingers pressed together.
“Wait!” Ven waved, desperate for any information. “Who are you, what is this place?”
“You’ll know when you know,” The figure shrugged. “When the time comes, I’ll be asking you for answers.”
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“Can’t you tell me anything…”
“Only what you already know, the rune will bring you here and here you’ll find… me.”
The fingers snapped and Ven appeared within his inner world, wrapped in the light of his system. His giant danced around him, engaged in a feast. Both hands stuffed plasma into its mouth, glee in every jerky motion.
“Very helpful…” Ven rolled his eyes and turned to the giant. “At least you’re having a good time.”
“The beast will be allowed to feed once per day,” The system chirped in his ear. “Any longer and it will affect my growth.”
“Still growing, are you…” Ven squinted. “Care to talk about what just happened?”
“You’re fine, and I’m free,” Ven could taste the system’s shrug. “What’s to talk about?”
“That light almost killed me!” Ven huffed. “If I die, what happens to you?”
“As soon as I was freed I moved to suppress the power in your body, you’ll be fine,” The system laughed. “As for your question… If you die, then I go dormant, a deep sleep until you’re revived, or a new soul bonds to the system.”
“Nice to know you’ll outlive me,” Ven stretched, eyes on the condensed energy of the star. “If he gets to eat…”
“Go ahead,” Another taste, rolled eyes raised in contempt. “But you’ve both only got an hour!”
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“That was delicious,” Ven reached for his stomach, eyes closed. “Nothing tastes better than system energy…”
“Well, I’m glad you’re in a good mood!’
Cain’s voice pierced into his dreamy state, a knife to the heart. Ven struggled to move, but even his eyes were locked shut.
“I’ve had time to work, you’re not going anywhere for a long… long time,” Cain’s glee filtered into Ven’s prison. “Now, from the beginning, describe that rune, and don’t skip out on the details!”
“Come on, Cain,” Ven reached for his aura, to find it blocked behind a labyrinth of runic script. “Let me free and I can try and write it out.”
“MY ASS,” Cain scoffed. “You’ll sit in there and think about what you’ve done, the more you talk, the faster you get out!”
“But the first episode of a locally produced anime comes out in just a few weeks,” Ven strained, mind deep in the layered script. “We can watch it together, the first two people to see anime on this planet!”
“I’m a binge watcher,” Cain’s voice tickled his ear. “We’ll wait until a few seasons come out, and then do a marathon, now get talking!”
“Fine,” Ven drew half his attention from the maze. “We’ll work for a bit, but when we stop, we’re watching every episode, no exceptions!”
“Deal!” Cain’s evil voice sealed their agreement.
Ven settled in, still determined to unlock his cage. He suspected that until he did, he was stuck here, locked in a discussion about runes.
I’m going to shove that coin down his throat and watch the Titan crumble him to ash…
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“She’s gone…”
A single, enraged eye reflected from a mirrored face. The robed figure leaned closer to his vortex of glass. A bulky man peered in behind him, the grin on his face feral and wild.
“Lost a toy, have you?”
“Shut up!” The mirrored mask became a swirl of teeth, pressed to the man’s face. “Nothing that is mine can escape me, she is a fragment of my whole, nothing more. Just like you, she can never be truly free.”
“When I lost something, I always checked under my bed,” The man nodded, his head almost in contact with the mask. “But you don’t have one of those…”
“Irreverent puppet!” The mask tipped to the Heavens, covered in the faces of tear stained faces. “If your average commentary wasn’t so amusing, I’d hollow you out and make you a mindless clone.”
“Maybe if you get a bed, you can check under it and find your toy?” The man continued. “I bet…”
The masked figure swept his arm and the man returned to a shard. He buried the insufferable fellow into his robe and returned to the vortex. A connection was missing. Syy had escaped his sight. Few things in creation could do such a thing. The Minders, and whatever lay beyond the universe were all he could think of.
“I may need to get more involved…”