As far as adventuring miles beneath the earth went, Elia was doing pretty ok. She had only been slashed a couple times, and stabbed twice. It was her luck that the bald things, which her [Psychometry] referred to as ‘forgotten wretches’, did not keep their spears very sharp. It was her misfortune that they made up for that with a surprising strength for their dwarfish stature, muscles undoubtedly reinforced by the power of souls.
“Gah! Fucker got me in the guts,” Elia said. “One sec, lemme just–“
She dry-heaved over in a corner. No amount of tenacity could change that bellies were the squishiest bits on a person’s body. Even with just the butt of the spear she received, it felt like she was about to buckle over.
Better?
“Better.” She kicked the corpse at her feet. “That’s the seventh one.”
We seem to be closing in on their territory.
And that involved more encounters, more traps, more opportunities to whittle away at her body and her sanity. Elia had dodged flying dart traps and spears hidden in walls, ducked under twisting scythes and on one occasion, outran a rolling boulder. If this place really had an exit, then they were making her fight for it every inch of the way.
“Screw him and his entire misbegotten family. I’m coming through one way or the other. Gah, that fucking hurts though.”
That is, ah, my mistake. I should have expected that the same trick wouldn’t work every time.
“Yeah, well, shame on me for trusting myself,” Elia grumped.
Mind-Elia did not appear to take that jab personally. She didn’t seem to understand that it was aimed at her at all. Maybe that was a sign that she represented the self-absorbed part of her that never seemed to register that other people were there too. Just an hour ago, she had taken over a part of Elia’s body, steering it along an interesting part of the inscriptions while mumbling to herself about dynasties and genealogies.
You’d think that since they are dregs, they would be weak. But we’ve seen it with The Old Maiden before: Souls make the dregs stronger, even without greater ones to affix them.
Elia blinked, slowly registering which thought-process she had just picked back up. “Wonder why that doesn’t work for us.”
Godly bias? Mechanisms one cannot understand while viewed from the inside? Honestly, we don’t know and the more I don’t know the more it drives me crazy.
“As long as it’s only you,” Elia mumbled.
They walked along in silence, hand dragging along the wall.
Inscription
A wall inscribed with the story of Water.
And thus, with the fell twin-faced god vanquished, their corpse was split into four: One part fell to Worga, who set the skies alight with her sun of devotion. One part fell to Erethel, who secreted it away to bargain for knowledge of magic. One part fell to Ruthe who flung it into his grail of ages, and with it laid the seeds for his dynasty. The final piece however fell unseen, falling into the hands of pitiful creatures still beholden to the laws of the dark forest. Thus, the first souls found man.
Fascinating.
“Yes, absolutely riveting.” Elia deadpanned. “Instead of focusing on history, you could tell me where we are.”
We have been walking in a zig-zag line roughly in one direction for, oh, I’d say thirteen miles? Oh, and I’d appreciate if you didn’t devalue my interests. It is demoralizing and, as Rye would say, rude.
“Your interests aren’t helpful in our current situation.”
Oh? Says miss I-made-seventeen-manifestos-on-cheese. It’s not like you didn’t have surplus time in the maze, I am just using mine to retain a healthy state of mind.
Elia’s stomach clenched painfully. “I am a bit busy dying over here. I can feel blood seeping into me through internal injuries. I don’t need a healthy state of mind, I need gauze, I need answers!”
Well, you’re not getting any if you continue speaking in that tone.
“Great. Just what I fucking needed. A traitor in my own damn head.”
Elia, you are being emotional.
“I am not! You are being unreasonable while presenting yourself as my voice of reason, you fucking hypocrite.”
I didn’t want to do this. But we are clearly at an impasse.
Elia’s arm moved and before she could do anything, she felt that same disorientation as before, as if looking at a shattered mirror. More of someone settled into the forefront of her mind and she knew without a second blink that Mind-Elia had just used [Psychometry] on her.
Elia toppled over forward, falling exactly on the sore part of her chest.
There, now we have a third party to mediate. This wouldn’t have been necessary if you could control yourself. You’re welcome.
“You absolute, self-absorbed, unapologetic bitch,” Elia croaked.
Then there was a third voice.
Weheyyy, wassup? Elia’s here and ready to shit some fuck up!
Oh god, it’s an annoying you.
“Fuck you.”
Woah woah, chill your chili, dog. I didn’do nuffin. Hey, did you guys try if these dwarf-dudes are edible? ‘Cause man, I am hungry, and I am not fasting again after the maze–
“Shut up!” Elia yelled.
…ok, I will just sit back here and sip on my margarita while you girls hash out your drama, ‘kay?
That margarita is imaginary.
I can still drink it!
And there went all her hopes that this voice was worth listening to.
“Only one way this day can get any worse,” Elia muttered.
As she pushed herself to her feet, her head brushed a thin wire.
“And there it is.” She tensed, the whole of her sore body ready to dodge whatever bullcrap the world decided to toss at her today.
Instead, all she heard was a metallic rattle, like two cans clacking against each other. The sound continued down a line, but grew louder as it echoed across a large cavern that must have been to her left. Beneath the racket, she could faintly make out worse things. The sound of spear butts scraping along walls, of light feet pat-pat-patting all around. She could hear their breaths, a hoarse, undead cacophony that made it feel like the cavern itself was breathing in her entire existence.
You better run, girl.
She didn’t need to be told that. A fiery blast illuminated the ascending corridor and indeed, the left wall was cracked and blasted open. Pale, white eyes looked at her from past scattered bricks. Elia hurried, but they were already too close, too accustomed to moving in the dark. A set of spears came at her flank and she was only spared after pumping a considerable amount of reservoir into a fire blast.
It missed, and smoke and soot filled the room causing her to hack and cough uncontrollably. But as creatures accustomed to the dark, they were blinded more than her. Additionally, if they navigated by sound, they’d have a hard time stabbing at her without possibly hitting someone else.
You don’t sound a whole lot better than them. Shit, how many times did you make us die?
“No clue,” she said, “not twelve.”
She hadn’t gotten the notification that she needed to sacrifice a boon yet. But she was close, and there were worse consequences if she died here.
Elia had just cleaned the soot out of her lungs and eyes when she ran headfirst into a wooden wall at the end of the corridor.
“Ow! No, nono, not now!”
Her fist hit it with a resounding thud. Elia blinked.
That sounded hollow. It’s a door.
Hell yeah, want me to jingle-jangle the lock?
Elia didn’t answer. Her fingers explored around for a seam. After an agonizing few seconds, she finally found a wide enough crack, jammed her fingers in there and heaved. The door ground open so, so slowly, and when she was inside, it couldn’t close quickly enough behind her. She barely had the wherewithal to bolt it shut.
Slumped to the ground, basking in the glow of having survived for a few moments more, Elia couldn’t help but laugh and sob.
That door won’t hold forever. But thank god for your quick fingers.
Bet Karla would be real thankful for those as well. If, y’know, she wasn’t cursed to be a princess.
“Don’t – don’t bring her into this.” Elia gulped in a mouthful of air. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, the kind that when it left would leave her feeling like a box of lead. “You don’t get to fucking judge me while sitting on your ass.”
Then let me drive. C’mon, it’ll be the smoothest ride you’ve ever had. Since, y’know, that’s my body you’re mishandling.
“Shut up! You’re not Elia, I am!”
Mind Elia cleared her throat. I guess that makes you Body-Elia then. Welcome. I am Mind-Elia, or just Mind for friends.
Elia screamed into her hands. How could two voices be so vastly different, but equally frustrating. Suddenly, she had a frightening thought. “Wait… does that mean there are two more of you in there?”
Oh, giiirl, you have no idea.
“Thanks for the uplifiting words I guess. However, since I spawned you guys, I am clearly the original Elia,” she said, standing up to scout out the room. A small puff of fire revealed a statue with its head smashed off, sitting behind a bowl for offerings. She could faintly hear scratching outside the only door, the one she had come in through.
Now hol’ up. You’re bleeding all over the place, clearly you are not skilled enough to deserve the illustrous title of ‘awesome’. I’m the original Elia here.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I, meanwhile, choose to be impartial, and weigh my thoughts after we have enough information to work off of. However, you know what they say about copies and wanting to be the original.
The attempts at breaching the door suddenly turned serious. Massive, heavy thumps slammed against it, again and again.
Elia blinked, one part trying to rationalize how screwed she was, the other trying to at least salvage some useful information from this conversation. “I can’t rely on you. Neither of you sound like you’re worried at all that we’re locked in a room with no way out except through a horde, in pitch blackness.”
Hell yeah, more shards and souls!
I… may regret some actions taken that have led to this point.
“Then at least one of you agrees with me.” She sighed, feeling around herself for signs that she lost anything precious. “My shards. I lost my bag of shards. Fuck.”
Yeah, well, sucks to suc– hey, what’s that glow over there?
Elia looked up. In the offering bowl beneath a slab of decayed meat, a few cracks of purple shone through. She picked the thing up and after a moment, started laughing wildly.
No way.
It’s an epic shard.
You have gained: Bone shard [Epic] x1
“It’s the one – the single thing – we needed,” she said, still giggling. “But it’s useless now. Gods, why me? Why?”
Hey, look on the bright side. We only need five more and we can roll for an epic shard.
The laughing stopped, abruptly. “I would have had six. You ought to know. But you aren’t me.”
I was… very distracted. But still, finding this underground is statistically improbable. Where did this tribe even get it from? Are there Yolons just wandering about in this place under the mountain? Did they manage to scavenge it from a corpse?
“Doesn’t matter.” Elia sighed. “All the luck in the world is useless unless I can get these five more times.”
She felt something pinch her thigh. Elia looked down and plucked a squirming Quibbles right from it.
“Hey buddy. What’s up?”
Quibbles shook, then spewed a sort of slimy residue onto her hand. A whole heap of bone shards came with it, which he must have kept safe in between then and now.
You have gained: Bone shard [Common] x11, [Uncommon] x9, [Rare] x3, [Epic] x5
Elia did a double take, then broke out into a wild cackle.
“Oh my gods, Quibbles! I love you, I love you, I love you!”
Easy now. Karla is actually going to get jealous. And don’t you dare kiss the toad.
Elias snorted. “You really aren’t me at all, else you would know to appreciate the toad. With this, our luck really has changed.”
You have fused: Bone shard [Epic] x6 into Bones of Boons [Epic] x1
Oh boy.
“Here we go.”
I hope it’s somethin’ punchy. I feel like punching things today.
No you muscle-brain, we need something to see. That’s the whole reason we’re even stuck in this place and–
Elia flicked the dice and for a moment was enveloped in blissful silence.
It’s so quiet, she thought. Maybe I should stay here, for a while,
More voices didn’t solve more problems than they created. She could already barely think as it was with two, with a few more she would be threatening to break down. After all, where were all these Elia’s coming from? Who was making them? And what if, after a thousand other hers, pure statistics declared one was more Elia than she was?
Could she hand over the wheel if it was better for everyone else?
The die flew, skipped off of an invisible barrier in the darkness.
Would I be ok with not being ‘the original’?
No, focus. Boons.
I need a good boon to live through this.
It tumbled down an object, bouncing in spirals towards one decisive result.
And if I wasn’t the original, it wouldn’t matter anyways. The creatures have just about broken through. We’ll all be dead together then.
Blue Purple Blue-Blue Green Purple-Green-Grey Blue.
Purple.
The die stopped, right in front of the broken statue.
You have offered a boon dice
Right inside the offering bowl.
Rokokoko, the unsleeping princess, notes your great sacrifice
A small slip of paper fell from the heavens, drifting by Elia’s eyes slowly so she could read it.
“Thanks for the purple! Here’s your reward, o’ my lovely struggler.”
You have gained a boon: Ravishing [Epic]
[Body/Mind] Ravishing [Epic] [Socket x2]
You are beautiful. Enchanting, neck-twisting, mystifying. Man and woman, young and old, human and non human, all will be bound by your beauty from beyond this world. Come to Nos Deindolen, home of the gods, and let the prettiest of gods lift you to greater levels of being.
See you there~. Wink Wink.
That moment which lasted for an eternity went past and Elia was back in the world where creatures were bang-bang-banging on the door. Elia could feel the boon light up The Rhuna’s greater soul. Her everything grew more dense, became taller, became more in every way. Already corded muscles bulged and wrapped themselves like titanium wire. She could hear the exact number of creatures shuffling outside – 52, and one of them was twice as large as the other.
The boon was of epic quality. But it was exactly the opposite of what she’d hoped.
–and, and… shit, no, nono why?
Aw crap, you totally screwed us. Way to go, “original”.
“Me!? I-I can’t control this I… I couldn’t see! I couldn’t see.” Elia’s lips quivered, stone door cracking in the background. “And now we’re dead.”
Welp, life was good while it lasted. Hows about you let me steer now and I give us one last glorious stand, hm?
Elia almost considered it. But she couldn’t trust them. Not the voices in her head, not the gods, not herself. There was no one to rely on either, no one but her.
“Maybe it’ll be ok if I disappear.” Elia sighed, petting Quibbles in his pocket. “Rye should be safe. Karla is. If she has any sense, she’ll be on her way down the mountain right now. She’ll get over me. I’m not the right one for her anyways.”
Her voices didn’t answer as Elia swallowed nervously and turned to the door, getting her beaten and bloody body ready in a low stance. As she reached to pat Quibbles one final time, a wooden figurine slipped into her hands. The figurine of Valti, lady of the hunt, and Elia’s least-hated god. Her boons were practical, and she accepted every bad one Elia sent her way.
She thumbed it in thought, finger going over the smooth contours. Then she picked one of her shards – a blue one, just to be safe – and pressed it against the wood until it disappeared in a puff of divine light.
“I don’t know what you gods even do. But if you can, send a message to Rye and Karla about what happened to me. Tell them I’m glad they’re safe.”
An agonizing few seconds passed. The door in front of her cracked through audibly; now they were just working to pry stone pieces and metal from the hinges. The snippet of paper came, glowing faintly in the dark.
“Tell them yourself.”
Her heart sank. She should never have expected more from a god. Those she had learned not to trust early on at least.
But then a second snippet came, and then a third and more.
“Would you be interested in a trade?”
“Purple for purple. A boon that fits your needs. I will carry the fee.”
“My sister is vain and uncaring. I am not. But my gifts are not pretty.”
“When we meet in person, you have but to indulge in my one bidding.”
The words trickled down like drops of lead. Elia’s gut clenched; sacrificing her epic boon would mean losing out on the buff from Rhuna’s soul, a moderate one to all her stats. There was no guarantee whatever she got in return would be worth it. Even with a useless epic boon, fighting in the dark wouldn’t be much easier. Without it, this would certainly be the end. And did she even have time?
Don’t do it. The gods fucked us, remember? They’re the reason we are in this whole mess.
I concur, though to be fair, technically Sam put us in the maze. I digress. I could give you seven hundred reasons not to accept, if we had the time. She just wants our boon before it’s lost. She wants to get back at her sister. Gods aren’t friends, they see us as their tools and playthings. We’re a Sim going wa-hoo and they’re a bored player. So yes, don’t do this.
Elia closed her eyes.
Oh, you damn contrarian. Don’t you dare do it.
The last piece of scrap paper floated past and she could see it even through closed eyelids.
“Will you trust me?”
“Yes.” Elia breathed out. “One chance. That’s all you get.”
You have sacrificed: Ravishing [Epic]
That’s it. We’re officially uber-doomed.
Valti, the Distant Lady, offers you a boon
You have gained: Shattered beauty
[Body/Sense] Shattered beauty [Epic] [Socket x1]
You are a pupae, in the midst of remolding yourself into a frightening being. You gain power, but your body is turned into a form no god and only the most twisted of men could love.
Halfway through reading, Elia felt like she might have just made a mistake. Valti would serve her needs, yes. But all things had a price.
Your Strength is slightly decreased, but your Finesse is greatly increased.
Elia fell into a pile, her muscles and sinews cramping, rewiring themselves.
You gain natural armor, scaling with your tenacity. You gain a strong resistance to fire. You gain natural weapons, scaling with your Finesse.
The air grew cold and the ground less rough as she felt her skin harden and cover in a foreign substance. Her fingers elongated, claws pushed to the front.
You gain a new set of senses. You gain a third eyelid. All your senses are moderately increased.
For a moment, bright colors jumped up all over her vision, like a television test screen, or a box of smarties in a blender. Her headache intensified until it was like a pick to her forehead. She felt things growing out of it, things that moved.
Your hair changes.
The air felt like such a foreign thing to taste. It had a wet feeling to it, coupled with the smell and tang of mildew.
Rokokoko is incensed
Your bounty has increased.
Current bounty size: Soul x190,000
Elia pushed herself to stand, feeling like she had just been thrown out of a plane inside a tumble-dryer on heavy-mode. She looked at her hands, touched her body up and down with them. Everything looked and felt new, from the variably sized scales covering her like a lizard to the sharp claws that jutted from hands and feet, to the feeling she had while standing still.
Somehow, she felt… lighter? And why was everything red, what were those splotches of orange over there, what–
Before Elia could contemplate her transformation, a massive club hit her in the face and she was flung off her unsteady feet. Her head hit a wall and she clocked out.
***
In the depths below Gatheon, a pale, misbegotten creature stood above its prize. It had long forgotten its purpose, to hound and keep away the maligned prisoners of Tartazon from any precious daylight, but the need to hunt and eat served the same purpose.
Now, the intruder lay twitching beneath the nameless creature’s club. They didn’t get intruders, not since their starving dirty-ones were banished, forced to solely hunt near the kindred-grub territory. This intruder smelled like death and felt the same way a lizard felt; cold and leathery, yet full of delectable muscle.
But he was wary. One small problem kept him from approaching for the finishing blow. Its hair was hissing at him.
Did hair normally do that? No, he would have known, he had the longest beard and if it were to hiss, it would be a loud, and mighty one.
The question then was: Bad snake? Or good snake?
The creature deliberated while the chirps and belches of the lesser hunters grew louder. He squashed the hand of a greedy youngling beneath his hairy feet. But the young one’s stomach spoke a profound truth: Meat was meat. And with this one, they wouldn’t have to throw the hair away.
More meat.
To lead by example, he stepped into that old place, where that ugly, unhairy statue once dared to look down at him in his youth, when the creature flinched.
His club whistled through the air and smashed it into the ground, sending out a deafening crack. His blows could shatter stone and cleave challengers in two. But when he lifted his weapon, there was nothing but dried blood surrounding the cracked tiling.
A tittering laugh came from the corner of the room. Two piercing yellow eyes like rock-knives stared back at him. Then, like a whole pack of sinew-rats, dozens of smaller eyes alighted around them. A long forgotten feeling bubbled to the forefront of his mind, a feeling that overwhelming size and strength had made superfluous: fear.
“Ohoho, hell yesss,” the creature croaked in a guttural tone, and with a hint of a hiss. “I’m finally back, baby.”
You have challenged: Elia, The Shattered Beauty
The creature realized its mistake in the same moment when its head sailed over its shoulders. The intruder quickly went to work on his subordinates without missing a beat; the hallways were filled first with angry, then with panicked screeches and all the while the intruder laughed and laughed.
“Watch me, miss ‘original’. Imma show you how to really drive this body o’ mine.”