I
Cold drops of rain fell in an unrelenting barrage, splattering against the worn cobblestones with a morbid rhythm that echoed the city's despair. Dense clouds cloaked the skies, casting a pall over the street as people hurried home, their faces etched with fear of the storm—and the shadows that lurked within it. Vendors hastily shuttered their stalls, ushering their wares out of reach, while the metallic clang of distant taps mingled with the chaos, a harbinger of the storm's approaching wrath.
As the rain intensified, a man's voice sliced through the downpour, chilling the air even further.
"That’s her—one of the filthy thieves!"
his tone a grotesque blend of triumph and disdain. He advanced with guards in tow, their heavy boots splashing through puddles that mirrored the violence above.
When the man caught sight of the lifeless boy cradled in the girl's arms, a sickening grin twisted his features. The words slipped from his lips like poison, dark and sadistic.
"Looks like one of the brats is dead. Good riddance—less trash on the streets."
The guards shouldered their way toward Raina, their faces lacking any hint of compassion, eyes cold and unfeeling. They seized her with brutal force, gripping her tightly by the arm, attempting to wrench her from the boy’s lifeless embrace. Raina fought fiercely, desperation fueling her struggle, but a fierce kick landed squarely in her back, sending shockwaves of agony rippling up her spine.
"Let go of the dead mutt, you bitch!"
one of the guards spat, a sneer twisting his lips as he unleashed another brutal kick.
With each blow, pain clawed at her resolve, forcing her grip to falter. The guard wasted no time; he yanked her away from the only warmth she had left and began dragging her through the blood-streaked street, the rain washing the crimson further into the earth. Raina squirmed and shouted, her voice a frantic plea.
"NO! You can’t take me from him!"
“SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE BITCH!”
The guard’s fist met the back of her head with a thud, blurring her vision and sending her spiraling into half-consciousness. As her body limply succumbed to his grip, Raina’s world narrowed to the fading silhouette of Tyr, drifting further away with each desperate inch. The darkness of the street closed in, and despair swallowed her whole, the storm's cold embrace echoing her heart's frantic cries.
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II
The heavy door slammed shut behind Raina, the sound echoing like a gunshot through the decrepit hallway. The damp stones seemed to sweat misery, and the pungent stench of mildew and rot clawed at her senses. She didn’t flinch. Her emotions were a hollow void, her heart a thing of the past. The hands dragging her forward might as well have been pulling a corpse.
Chains rattled, a cacophony of metal grinding against metal, punctuated by the sharp click of locking mechanisms. They tossed her into a cell like discarded trash. Her body hit the damp, filth-encrusted floor with a wet thud. She lay there, unmoving, her limbs slack, her face pressed against the cold, unforgiving stone.
A voice, thin and serpentine, broke the silence.
“Psst… little girly. You look like hell.”
Her head didn’t move, but her ears caught the words as they slithered across the cell. From a shadowed corner, a figure emerged, his tone both curious and cruel.
“Let me guess,”
he rasped, his voice a mocking melody.
“The only thing you ever loved… gone. Dead.”
He chuckled softly, the sound dripping malice.
His words hung in the air like smoke.
“This world,”
he continued, leaning forward so the flickering torchlight revealed his hollow, soulless eyes,
“It eats people like you alive. It chews up your love, your innocence, your dreams, and spits them out like rotting meat. Feelings? They don’t get you anywhere. Love? Just another pretty lie to be snuffed out by the rot of this world.”
Raina’s breath hitched, but she didn’t lift her head. The figure stepped closer, his boots crunching on the grime-coated floor. His grin was a cruel crescent in the firelight.
“You know what you need?”
he growled, his voice like the scrape of a blade on stone.
“You need to feel the life drain from those who robbed you. Let the darkness in. Let it guide you. Let it fuel the fire of revenge.”
He laughed then, a sound devoid of mirth, and the room seemed to shudder with its weight.
At last, Raina stirred. Her head rose, her deadened eyes meeting his gaze. In a voice drained of warmth, she whispered,
“I want them all to suffer. Like me. Like Tyr.”
Her words dropped like stones into a still pool.
“I want them all to die.”
In that moment, the child she once was—the innocent girl who had giggled, dreamed, and loved—was consumed by a darker force. Revenge slid over her like a shroud, and she welcomed its suffocating embrace.
Days bled into each other as Raina sat in the corner of her cell, her body deteriorating as her mind sharpened. Her once-vibrant hair became brittle and fell in uneven clumps. Her skin clung to her bones, taut and gray, and she reeked of decay. She scarcely touched the scraps they threw her, sustenance feeling as useless as hope. All that mattered now was the plan. She nurtured it like a wound, feeding it with her hatred, her loss, her pain.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
One day, the figure left the cell. He paused at the threshold, casting her a look that burned like a brand.
“Remember,”
his voice a razor’s edge,
“What this world does to people like us.”
He threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing in her ears long after he was gone.
Raina’s release came days later. The guards shoved her out with no ceremony, and she staggered into the gray light of a world that had taken everything.
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III
Raina wandered the desolate streets, her gaze fixed, her mind consumed by a singular, burning purpose: revenge. The district mirrored her emptiness, its streets strewn with rotting trash and broken dreams. Locals shuffled aimlessly, their ragged clothing hanging off skeletal frames. Crumbling buildings lined the road, their shattered windows like hollow eyes, staring vacantly into the decay. This was a place where the strong cast the weak aside, leaving them to fester and die.
She moved like a wraith, unnoticed and uncaring, her steps aimless but determined. The world around her blurred into insignificance until a sudden jolt brought her back. She’d stumbled into a man.
“Watch where you’re going, you little bitch!”
he snarled, shoving her to the ground.
Raina hit the filthy pavement with a dull thud. She didn’t cry out or protest. Her blank expression remained unbroken as she picked herself up and resumed her march.
The man hesitated, his bravado faltering as he watched her walk away.
“What the fuck is wrong with her?”
he muttered, unsettled by the hollow vacancy in her eyes.
Time slipped by in a haze until she saw him. A thuggish man she could never forget. Her body stiffened as her vision sharpened. The man was the one who trampled Tyr. Her lips curled into a twisted smile; her hollow gaze now alight with sinister purpose.
She followed him, her heart pounding with the anticipation of what was to come. When he veered into a shadowy alley, her smile grew. Her eyes caught a glint of metal in the dirt. She knelt, her fingers brushing the blade. A knife.
She picked it up, its weight cold and familiar in her hand.
“Perfect,”
she whispered, her voice tinged with a chilling glee. A giggle escaped her lips as she stepped into the alley’s suffocating darkness.
The shadows wrapped around her like an old friend. She moved silently, her bare feet padding against the filthy ground. The thuggish man was oblivious, his back turned as he sorted through his bag.
In one fluid motion, Raina plunged the knife into his back.
The man roared in pain, his cry tearing through the silence.
“AHHHHHH!”
He fell to his knees, clawing at the blade lodged between his shoulder blades. Raina yanked it free, her small hands steady, and drove it into his shoulder. Another scream.
He twisted, wild-eyed, his expression shifting from agony to bewilderment as he saw the frail girl standing over him.
“What the hell? A kid?”
With a surge of brute strength, he grabbed her and hurled her against the wall. Her body hit the cold stone with a sickening crack, and she slid to the ground, gasping for air.
“You little shit,”
he spat, standing despite the blade still embedded in his flesh.
“I should kill you for that.”
Raina laughed—a low, rasping sound. Her lips curled into a wicked grin, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“I don’t fear death,”
her voice as cold as the grave.
“As long as I kill you, I’ll die happy.”
The man sneered, his rage boiling over. He gripped the hilt of his sword and drove it into her stomach. Raina coughed, blood spewing from her lips as the blade pierced her.
But she didn’t flinch.
She surged forward, impaling herself deeper onto the blade, her hand reaching for the knife still lodged in his shoulder. With a guttural scream, she yanked it free and stabbed him again. And again.
His cries grew weaker as she drove the blade into his chest, over and over, until he collapsed to his knees. With one final slash, she opened his throat. A torrent of blood sprayed across her face, warm and metallic.
The man crumpled to the ground, his lifeblood pooling around him. He shuddered once, then went still. As he fell, his sword slipped from her gut, leaving a gaping wound.
Raina swayed, the world tilting as blood poured from her wound. Her knees buckled, and she fell beside him, her face inches from the crimson pool. She smiled faintly, her breath shallow, her voice a whisper.
“I did it, Tyr… I avenged you.”
Her body went still, her face serene as darkness claimed her. The alley was silent save for the distant hum of the streets, the blood of vengeance soaking into the cold, unfeeling ground.
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IV
“Where… am I?”
Raina’s voice quivered, echoing into the endless void of darkness.
She lay curled in the fetal position, her small frame trembling. The emptiness around her was suffocating, its silence only broken by her soft sobs.
“Is this… what death is like?”
Her tears spilled into nothingness, vanishing before they could reach any surface.
“It’s so cold,”
her frail body shaking harder as the void’s chill seeped into her very soul.
Then, a voice—a heavy, menacing presence—rippled through the darkness, each word vibrating through the void like thunder.
“Good work, my child. I knew you had it in you.”
Raina’s head shot up, her hollow eyes scanning the endless abyss. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
“Who are you?”
she cried, her voice tinged with fear.
“I am a friend,”
the voice answered smoothly, a hint of satisfaction in its tone.
“I am your salvation. Tell me, child, what is it you desire most?”
Raina hesitated, then sat up, wiping her tear-streaked face.
“I… I want to be with Tyr. I love him,”
her voice fragile yet determined.
The voice let out a deep, rumbling laugh.
“Ah, love… Such a sweet, fleeting thing. Very well. I can grant your wish, child. You’ve earned it, after all.”
Chills crept down Raina’s spine. Memories stirred unbidden images of the figure in the cell, his soulless eyes gleaming in the torchlight, his whispered promises of vengeance.
“Why…”
she choked, her voice breaking.
“Why did you make me do that?”
The voice responded, its tone calm and unrelenting.
“Make you? Oh no, my dear. I did nothing of the sort. It was your thirst for revenge that guided your hand. I merely… nurtured it. And what a sight it was, child. Beautiful. Pure. Watching you take that life; was nothing short of divine.”
The weight of his words crashed over her like a wave. Guilt clawed at her chest, and fresh tears poured down her face.
“Don’t cry,”
the voice purred, almost tenderly.
“You’ve done so well. You deserve your reward. I will reunite you with your beloved… but there is one final step.”
From the void, a hand emerged—large and grotesque, its blackened skin pulsing as though alive. In its palm sat a heart, still beating, its rhythm unnaturally steady.
“Take it, child,”
the voice urged.
“Consume it, and you shall be with him forever.”
Raina’s breath hitched as she stared at the glistening organ. The hand extended closer, the bloodied heart pulsing in time with the silence. She rose shakily to her feet, her limbs weak, her movements hesitant.
“I’ll do anything for him,”
her voice trembling yet resolute.
She reached out, her fingers brushing against the heart. It was warm, almost alive, its surface slick with blood. With trembling hands, she brought it to her lips. The first bite was tentative, her teeth sinking into the flesh as blood spurted across her face. The metallic taste filled her mouth, and she gagged but forced herself to continue. Bite after bite, she consumed it, the rhythmic pulsing slowing with each tear of her teeth.
The voice hummed with approval, a dark satisfaction dripping from its tone.
“Good, my child. Very good.”
When the last piece was swallowed, the hand receded into the void, leaving Raina standing alone in the darkness. Her breaths came ragged, her hands slick with blood.
“Now, my child,”
the voice whispered, soft and final,
“You simply have to die.”
From the void, a massive blade shot forth, its blackened metal gleaming with malevolence. It pierced her chest in an instant, the force lifting her from the ground.
Raina gasped, blood pooling in her mouth. But she didn’t cry out. A small, serene smile spread across her lips as warmth bloomed in her chest.
“I’m coming, Tyr,”
her voice weak but peaceful.
As the blade withdrew, Raina collapsed into the darkness. The pain melted away, replaced by an all-encompassing calm. Her vision blurred, the void swallowing her whole.