> “I’m lost.”
> -A lonely girl
A dream has been bothering her lately. In it she was alone in a desolate land, fighting for her life day by day, for food, water, shelter, and for hope that soon her life would get better. It was the earliest dream she’s ever had, and the one that she still clings to from time to time, when the burden of living became too much. Such was normal life for most in the Retribution Fields, whether they came willingly, born into the place, or tossed aside like trash and rags.
All were welcomed. But she wanted more, much more. She wanted the Godhome. Whichever one will take her, she would not complain and she’d live freely and in safety, with peers that will love her, cherish her, maybe even care for her. Karistina Larisfin sighed and soon woke up from her dream, watching the moon crest over the skies of Blood Falls for the first time in ages. It had been days since the cursed thing emerged from its prison below, and still no one had done anything about it. No one cared for anything except themselves, and she herself knew in her heart that she was much the same. A coward waiting to die.
Her eyes searched the stars through the canopy of her bed, searching for a sign that everything would be alright. When the stars gave nothing only then did she turned around and watched the sleeping face of her newest flame; the one who had courted her even if he didn’t know it yet. She had lied and he had lied, but now her lie had became truth, in part, and that meant more misery, more betrayal and longing and regret, and Karistina found that her only worry was what he would think of her when the dust settled, when everything was said and done.
I didn’t think I could love someone again. The God of Minor Scars mused idly, eyes tracing over the scars and wounds that called her lover’s skin home. I don’t think I even know what love is, even now, but this feels the closest to it. This feeling like the home I never had. Her thoughts turned to memories of recent past, of their pact and how unfailingly her partner had come through, even as she herself had became far too lax and removed from her goals.
It was unbecoming, foolish, and a spit in the face of the hard work she had put in for all these years she had toiled as a lesser god in Blood Falls Godhome. She alone should … should …
In a moment of pure horror, Karistina found herself completely at a loss for what her plan was for. Sure, bringing down everyone else down a peg would be quite the sight to see, but that wasn’t her core motivation, her drive as to why she even bothered getting up in the morning and going about her life. She would hardly be the first one to do so, to just give up and lie in bed for centuries, finally turned over and rolled out of their houses when inevitably their neighbors have had enough of such nonsense.
With infinity ahead of you, how does one spend their time?
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The streets and canals of Blood Falls were rife with chaos, as citizens and visitors battle forth the monsters rising from the depths of the lake they’d taken for granted. Amidst all the fighting, a curious group were spared from this insanity; the Logamatons, often mistaken to be creations of the Trium Illustricate, were in fact beholden to another master, and even now they were waiting for their orders on how to proceed further. Only a scant few noticed the Logamatons strange behavior, and only one decided to do something about it.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Newly empowered from her fishing trip, M’al Mai Chaur at first sought to test her mettle against the new foes that were all too eager to slaughter everyone in their paths, but one too many sightings of Logamatons avoiding fights and sometimes even fleeing for battle roused the woman’s curiosity. The mechanical sentries were not known to be pacifists by any means, and she had by habit ignored any deeper desire to learn about them. Now was a good time as any to learn new habits, and she took to it like a fish to water.
She stalked them from afar and sometimes even creeping close enough for her to hear them talk in that strange, rapid beeping language of theirs, unintelligible most people. Mai, however, had the luck of knowing someone who was obsessed with learning new languages, and the device she had tucked into her ear was the result of said obsession, translating the rapid beeps into emotionless, monotonous conversations.
For most of them, the conversations went like this:
“Query: Any new orders?”
“Reply: Nothing yet. Resume patrol.”
“Reply: Understood. Resuming patrol.”
After a while, she was sorely tempted to take out the ear piece she had and figure things out some other way, but luck came to her side. After some quick fights and close-calls, Mai found her eyes drawn to a Logamaton with a peculiar build. It lacked many of the outward armaments its peers had, looking more like a wiry mannequin of an angel than a weapons platform. As Mai watched, it entered a ramen shop that was surprisingly intact and still open for business.
“… Do I even want to know what’s going in there? It could be a trap. But I am getting kinda hungry, and it smells really good.” She licked her lips and resisted the urge to drool as she spied the steam wafting out of the ramen shop. Just before her will could break, she saw something else that caught her eye.
“An old man and a … man, I guess. They’re heading for the shop as well.” She waited for the Logamatons to take notice of the new intruders, but by chance some lake monsters had stumbled over to this part of the city and were now engaging the mechanical menaces just as they have engaged with everyone else. Mai watched as they strolled into the ramen store like regular customers and tried her best to suppress her jealousy at them no doubt gorging themselves on some fine meals.
“Come on, I just ate! I’m strong now, I ate a building-sized fish. Why am I hungry already? Stupid uncle and his ideas on strength.” Mai growled as some of her shark heritage begin to show their mark. She felt the itch on her arms and legs, to move and find prey, to begin a feeding frenzy with others like her. This was hardly the first time she had felt such urges, but it was the first time where she felt her will slipping away far too easily than she had thought possible.
“Ugh, this is all his fault. I’m just gonna go ahead and grab a bite to eat.” Mai announced to no one, jumping down from her hiding spot and immediately catching the attention of two Logamatons, their eyes lingering on her form before their attention were forcefully brought back to dealing with the never ending hordes that walked out of the Infinite Ocean. She watched the tug-of-war with the interest of a cat observing a mouse, only to move on and make her way to the ramen shop bustling with new life.
Hopefully, nothing will go wrong this time.