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Little Shorts: Stories Inspired by Artober
Day 7: Cremation, going out in flames.

Day 7: Cremation, going out in flames.

image [https://i.imgur.com/3vBJlcT.jpeg]

Aldric entered the final chamber, sword drawn and heart pounding. The room eerily quiet. He expected to find a monstrous beast—something with scales, horns, or multiple eyes. But instead, he spotted a figure in the center of the room.

A beautiful woman stood, draped in a flowing gown shimmering in the dim light. Her eyes were wide and desperate, her hands clasped together as if in prayer.

“Help me!” she cried, her voice trembling. “Please, I was captured by the beast! It’s gone for now, but it will return. I just want to see my family again!”

Aldric hesitated, lowering his sword slightly. "You’re... not the monster?" He looked around, confused.

She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. "No, please, I’m just a prisoner! You have to help me. I need to get back to my family. I can't do it alone."

Aldric's resolve softened. He'd come to slay a beast, not rescue a damsel in distress, but he couldn't turn her away. That wasn't what heroes did. He extended his hand. "I’ll get you out of here, I promise."

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She reached out, taking his hand, her touch cool and soft. He pulled her up gently and her grip tightened. Her fingers dug into his skin, and before he could react, her form began to twist and crackle.

The beautiful woman’s eyes blazed with malevolent light as her skin rippled, turning molten red. Her hair burst into flames, cascading like a fiery waterfall, and two more arms erupted from her sides.

Metal armor jutted out from her now-scorched flesh, glowing with the heat of a forge. Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

“Thank you, hero,” she taunted, her voice now a guttural growl that echoed off the stone walls. “You’ve made this so much easier for me.”

The hero's eyes widened in horror as he struggled to pull his arm free, but her grip was unbreakable. "What... what are you?!"

“Oh, just the deliverer of your death,” she said with a wicked laugh, her fiery hair whipping around, a living inferno. “How naive you heroes are, thinking every monster looks like a beast”

She yanked him closer, her breath scorching his face. “Don’t worry,” she sneered. “I’ll be sure to tell my family all about the fool who fell for my little act. And when you see them in hell, be sure to say hello.”

With a flex of her wrist, a searing wave of fire engulfed the hero. Aldric barely had time to scream before the flames consumed him entirely, reducing him to nothing more than a pile of ash. The monster smirked, her fiery form blazing even brighter as she watched the last traces of the hero scatter into the air. With a satisfied sigh, she blew the ashes away, her laughter echoing through the chamber as the stone floor around her smoldered and burned.