Calypso started to slam her hand on the floor, trying to beckon the monster into eating her. “Come on… How are you so slow now? When you were ripping into me that day—I couldn’t breathe without you gaining after me—let alone move!”

As if in response, the lanky skeleton started to gallop toward the girl. Calypso grimaced as she faced it, barely off the floor as she still struggled.

“There we go! That’s the spirit—now to actually work for it!”

Once again, the Grim Subsumed landed on top of Calypso. This time, Calypso had to struggle against keeping the sharp claws at bay—as she gripped at the creature’s wrist, the various assortment of bone easily piercing, digging into her palms. Regardless, the creature’s skull began to lurch forward, opening its barely strung-together maw of fangs to the point that it was nearing Calypso’s nose.

Knowing that the creature didn’t learn its lesson at all—Calypso kicked at the already disjointed leg. Kicking again and again, causing the monster to stop its lurching to howl out in pain.

Calypso heard something shatter. A quick glance made sure that she wasn’t the one that did, and the confirmation that it was the Grim Subsumed was it recoiling away from her, ripping away from Calypso easily as it rolled onto its side.

The girl didn’t even realize what was going on until she followed the creature’s arms. Reaching downward, toward the now broken knee that lost a sizeable chuck of itself. Writhing on the floor, still howling out in agony.

Calypso in turn struggled up to her feet—wincing as her leg quickly caught up to the punishment she put it through. Despite having nothing, despite having a new strained leg, despite being hunched over with an eye closed due to the pain--the girl stood triumphant over the so-called monster.

“Wow... I bring you back, from the brink… Gave you the best-case scenario for your revenge… And you still manage to fuck it up. You even have all of my powers and abilities—including healing! And yet here you are, doing WORSE than when you killed me that day. For someone that’s irreversibly destroyed my life… You’re not even worth it…”

Calypso simply hobbled to turn away from the pitiful creature. Looking into the changing darkness.

“Interesting how part of the ritual involved me showcasing how I changed… I thought I was going to do horrible, against you. Turns out that I barely had to do anything to speed past you: and now the process might be forfeit. Ah well. I’ll see if my fr—”

Within moments, Calypso felt her back splitting apart. Funny how she still recalls how that felt after all this time.

You sure are interesting, child.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Her body landed with a painful thud. She tried to reclaim herself, fasten her hands into a fist… But her fingers began to separate from said hand.

Such bravado, such intelligence… A shroud for your insanity, your inadequacy. If you were truly brave and smart, you would’ve done the sensible thing. And continued on your prior path.

The swirls of shadow, still broadcasting Calypso’s sin, became a fog so impenetrable, so dense, that it became a blanket. She could not see anything anymore.

Until something manifested before her.

We Grimm… Well, we have no problem with being as molasses. To stay still, to simply gaze from afar. For we are the perfect predators. They hunted us to near extinction, remember?

Calypso yelled out in pain. It was as if the Grim managed to find its way to overshadow her once more, yet clearly before her, pressing its claws into… Somewhere, into her flesh.

We simply wait. Because all return to us regardless of what they do, and the efforts lost.

An alabaster skull with a furrowed brow and fastened teeth appeared before Calypso. While it was clear that the voice was coming from it, as the voice rattled and echoed within its shape… There was no active movement. The skull just hung itself against the morphing background, as it softly shined.

Only a fool would proclaim that they are a great swordsman, when only they stole a sword. And yet here you are, boasting and such a terrible braggart. Let us put this… “Growth” to the test, shall we?

She felt pools of blood flood across her body. She felt old, sharp pings that turned into numbness. It was deep… Serrated.

The old wounds that she had when she died began to resurface. Slowly, but surely.

Can you truly say that you stand on your own, when those you’ve leeched around you do the work for you?

The heavy snap of her bones made her vision waver. Calypso refused to scream, but nevertheless mewled out pitiful groans. Her legs broken.

Such a “tortured soul”… And yet you know how irreversibly hollow and small it is.

The sounds of a squelching stab informed her that her insides were craved out, then the immediate feeling of tightness and lack of air. And somehow, Calypso was still hanging on.

“Cursed” with such knowledge… Not only barely used, but wasted. All that time thinking, and yet you never came up with a tangible goal to solve your endless, useless sadness?

Calypso felt the claws burrow from within her. Reaching and search with sharpened blades until they reached the top, as she felt yet another thing taken away. The brilliance, or whatever was left of Calypso’s eyes, were glazed over. Why hasn’t she died yet?

And finally… That face.

The girl felt her chin being propped up. She felt it began to spilt.

You can’t even call it duality. You bury of this under your own flesh. As if you were a small toddler that wet themselves, quickly hiding the covers under their bed. Unable to see the mess they’ve added to.

You only lied, got away with it so long, simply because your fellow man is equally trite.

Simply put. This was always meant to be your end, Calypso Elise Grimes. To have some semblance of power, control in your life… Before it quickly and terribly ends.

She felt her entire left side sliding away from her, like before. Calypso was so induced into this miasma, that she couldn’t grasp what exactly was happening—how it happened. All she knew was that she felt something being taken away from her.

She was finally becoming subsumed.