"I'm sorry Obelisk but I will be delayed for a short while and cannot meet again for the requested soul. Something... unexpected came up. I'll delay the meeting by about 4 iteration-standard weeks. I will inform you of my progress then. End message."
-?̡͠?̴̷͜?̸̴
Nynae couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear anything either, the only sound being a deafening silence that burrowed itself into her ears. The instincts that she had somewhat trained back in her tribe during mock fights against family told her to crouch down and flee. The only thing that stopped the instinct taking over was the remaining shock at finding a redcap. Even though she and her friends had supposedly prepared to fight and defeat redcaps, the mere sight of one had brought her to a standstill. It was almost comical to Nynae that a mere children's story description of those monsters could have been so accurate to her first meeting with one. And this redcap was in front of Nynae mere moments ago, before the blindness and deafness took over.
With the memory bringing her back to reality, she began to sprint towards the opposite direction of where she had last seen the redcap. Scrambling for the blade she had brought, Nynae barely managed to draw it before colliding with someone. Unsure if this was the redcap or not, she decided not to use her knife and only pummel the person with her fists. That was until the person grabbed her fists in their hands to stop them. Though it was only for an instant, Nynae recognised these hands from when she grabbed them upon entering the Precipice. This was Connor.
Allowing Connor to lower her fists, he ended up feeling around her head area and seemed to find out her identity too; probably from her size, though Nynae would've never admitted that. Once again taking their hands in each other's, the two began to run the best they could. Until light returned once more. Strangely, the change in the light level of the area caused no discomfort for Nynae's eyes and was able to see fine again immediately after regaining sight and hearing. Looking back to where she ran from, Nynae saw an impossibly dark sphere surround where she and her friends once stood. It was an impenetrable void obscuring all that hid beneath its veil. Including the redcap.
"Fucking... Fuck!" Connor aptly exclaimed, describing the situation to a tee.
"We need to get someone." Nynae said, words emotionlessly rushing out of her mouth, unaware she had meant so say them before they were said. Despite the panic and horror of what was happening, Nynae also felt strangely calm. Calm, and perhaps a bit of excitement too. A terrible, burning excitement.
"Shou- Should I go? For help?" Connor asked, barely audible over the chattering of his shaking mouth.
"I don't know!" Nynae's calm broke, finding herself angry at Connor's inaction. Why wasn't he moving? Why was he so afraid? Why am I the only one enjoying- Nynae's line of thought stopped with the terrible realisation that she was enjoying this. Enjoying the thrill. Enjoying the hunt. "We should-"
Whatever semblance of a plan they had shattered when the veil of the void disappeared and the gaping black hole in Nynae's vision was replaced with the sight of a massacre. Kurai screaming. Kurai's weapon stabbed into someone. Seiichi grasping at his chest, his brother's blade embedded all the way in. Sid, unconscious on the floor. Sid's entrails leaking from a hole in her stomach. The redcap licking his dagger clean as he loomed over Sid's body. Licking his dagger clean of her blood.
Nynae saw red.
And Nynae began her hunt.
God-Killer contemplated whether or not he should return to Iteration 312 having only collected a few souls or continue his hunt for more. He relented in the end, however, as he could always only hand in what he has now and make it easier for himself later on. Always keep the expectations of the employer low, so they don't expect anything but the worst from you. Even if that worst was better than anything any mortal or immortal could possibly achieve. Colliding through the iterational boundary while making sure not to harm it too much, God-Killer once more breathed the air of the world mortals called Alium. Although he could do what he did with Ussan's iteration and completely shatter the boundary without any regards for the future stability of the iteration as a whole, Obelisk wouldn't particularly like it if his home iteration was destroyed before he had a chance to escape it.
God-Killer emerged directly onto the sequence planet of Alium unlike before when he found himself drifting in empty space, only a slight pull of gravity partially giving him a sense of direction. Alium's surface gravitational pull was a bit lower than the average sequence planet gravity of other iterations and God-Killer enjoyed all of the fun that fact entailed. The only issue with Alium was that a good half of its habitable space was destroyed in a pantheon-wide battle, killing almost every single god of the iteration. If the fact a god wanted to inflict Ruin on their own iteration wasn't unique, then that was certainly something Alium had going for it. Another consequence of that battle was the higher level of spiritual enlightenment each mortal of the iteration was bestowed with in the form of so-called 'Nodes'. If only these mortals knew how blessed they were in comparison to others of their kind.
In searching around for where to find Obelisk, God-Killer stumbled upon a peculiar sight. A small group of mortals attempting to fight against another mortal. God-Killer couldn't help but take pity on the group of mortals ganging up on the other one, as the target of their hostilities was very clearly superior to them in almost every way. His partial pity soon turned to full pity as God-Killer realised that it was the more powerful mortal instigating the attack instead. With a laughably simple application of soul energy, the stronger mortal created a sphere of influence centred on themselves and used his more powerful will to block out the senses of the other mortals within their sphere.
Penetrating the sphere of influence with his greater will, God-Killer began to smile, revelling in the chaos of the stronger mortal's hunt. The strong mortal, at least physically, pounced on and disembowelled one of the weaker prey, feasting on his assumed kill's blood. Two of the mortals took to running out of the sphere, a good tactic for avoiding their ally's fate. One of the other mortals in their group stumbled upon his friend, a short-lived grin breaking out on his face - glad at finding a familiar-feeling friend - before the other panicked and stabbed him in the chest. When the strong mortal finished revelling, he shattered the sphere of influence, re-absorbing the soul energy that was used to construct it. The horror on the two mortals who ran upon seeing the sight of the strong one's hunt was pure bliss to them, readying to continue their slaughter.
The cap-wearing mortal whistled in a unique way, and soon other mortals in the surrounding area perked up and began to look for where it came from. The strong one was clearly looking to satisfy his own friend's desires too. Personally, God-Killer preferred to hunt alone, but even he couldn't deny the solace found in numbers. God-Killer was about to turn away from the hunt, predicting how it would end, until his all-seeing eyes almost missed something. A burning will, manifesting in one of the mortals who fled. A will that smouldered in the spiritual realm, before cascading into the cognitive and then the physical. A will that was alight not with desperation, not with hope, but with excitement. A thrill. A familiar thrill.
The Thrill of the Hunt.
It was odd to God-Killer, as he peered upon a will so familiar to his own, that he had wandered upon this hunt seemingly at random. If he didn't know better, he would've assumed it was destiny. Perhaps... It was destiny. A work of fate. His fate.
With a slight smile on his face, God-Killer descended. Not to hunt. Not to join a hunt. Rather, to interrupt a hunt.
Nynae's body moved on its own. She didn't understand what she was doing, only that it felt right. With a flex of soul energy, she elicited an Art.
"Poison Art: Dark Mist."
A blacker-than-night mist bellowed out from Nynae's body, but unlike her first time properly chanting an Art, this was controlled. The mist exploded outwards towards the redcap, curling and twisting to track the accursed thing. It tried to dodge away but the mist would follow wherever it may go. Feebly trying to block the mist somehow, the redcap raised up his arms trying to cover his face as the mist enveloped it. It didn't try hard enough. As the Dark Mist burned out the redcap's vision, its grating screams of pain causing her to flinch slightly, Nynae charged forward and readied her knife. It was only a kitchen knife, and it would be hard to stab through the redcap's hardened skin with it, but she wasn't aiming for the skin.
Jumping up into the air a few metres away from her target, Nynae let her momentum carry her into the redcap. Though small, the girl's momentum was more than enough to tackle the redcap to the ground, as he tripped over Sid's still legs. Nynae was no fool and knew that the redcap would soon retaliate, it was a trained soldier after all, so she struck fast. She tried to plunge the knife into the redcap's eye, but missed and stabbed into its mouth, the redcap's tossing and turning making it hard to be precise. It was lucky that its skin was softer on the inside as the knife plunged deep into the back of its throat, slipping straight through and only hitting resistance at the back of the skull. The redcap could only scream.
Dark blood and something acidic covered Nynae's arm as she yanked the knife out. At the last second, the redcap bit down hard on the blade itself, and it bit down hard. Nynae tried to pivot and bend the knife out but it was simply not budging. It was almost too late when Nynae felt the redcap's arms reach out and grab her waist, trying to pull her loose. Thinking quickly, Nynae freed one hand from her grip on the knife and readied to strike, eyeing the barely lucid glare that the redcap was now giving her. Smashing a few fingers into its left eye, the redcap let out a howl of pain, jaw and arms going slack for just a moment. A moment that was more than enough for what she was about to do.
Nynae pulled the knife out and grasped the redcap's skull with her embedded hand, using its eye socket as leverage, trying to keep its head still. With all the strength left in her, Nynae stabbed the knife directly into the other eye, piercing it, shattering the skull, and going directly into the brain itself. It tried to struggle, but whatever head movements the redcap tried to make only made the knife stir more of its brain matter into sludge. Nynae drew the knife back once more, the redcap spasming from the movement and the knife catching on some of the skull, dulling it more than it already was. She then plunged it again. The redcap tried to scream, but its harsh voice was dying. She withdrew the knife. She stabbed. She winced from the scream. She withdrew the knife. She stabbed. No screams. She withdrew. She stabbed. She withdrew. She stabbed. She withdrew. She stabbed. She withdrew. She stab-
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"Nyn!"
Nynae's stab stopped mid-swing, Connor's voice breaking her trance. And for the first time since she started her attack, Nynae saw. Dark blood covering everything. Hints of a translucent fluid that floated on top of some of the blood. Bits of bone and brain matter scattered over her. The redcap's face, reduced to flaps of flesh and meat, all bloodied beyond repair or recognition. Her entire body drenched in all the blood and remains. Her face wet not with tears, but with red.
Still in shock, Nynae finally looked around and saw the pale face of Sid's soon-to-be corpse looking back at her. The shivering mess of Kurai, crouched on the floor nearby, rocking back and forth. Seiichi's pained look, desperately trying to press used and bloody bandages against his wound. Connor's pleading look, staring at her with... fear? That can't be right... right? Why would-?
"It-It called out... for more..." Seiichi muttered, scowling in pain.
It called for reinforcements? When? When did I miss-?
Nynae looked outward towards the horizon and saw a group of figures, swiftly approaching. A glimmer of hope cried out, trying to convince her that these were Guild members. Despair won out in the end though when they came closer and their red caps were revealed. We're all going to die here, aren't we? Might as well make it fun then.
She tried to take a stand, but her shaking legs gave out on her, Nynae tumbling backwards and away from the redcap's corpse. All of the fire in her had gone out, her strength expended, and hope shattered. Hadn't she thought this was exciting? That this was enjoyable? Nynae couldn't help but wonder if it was her attitude to the situation that cursed them. The redcaps were advancing on them quickly and would be on them in but a moment, weapons drawn with bloodthirsty looks on their faces. The darkness of unconsciousness danced on the edges of Nynae's vision, tempting her to simply give in and resign herself to her fate.
No. This was her hunt. She was the predator here. She was not prey. She was not like Dan-
Disgust overwhelmed her. How could she have even thought that? Even considered it?! Nynae had betrayed them all, cursing her friends to death for her recklessness; and she dared to blame Daniel for it. Her first friend. Her friend who she would bet fought for life every step of the way. She would fight just like he died. For life. For-
"Mortal. Will you form a contract with me?" A heavenly voice made the air around her shiver. Nynae's friends, all previously half-ready to fight, turning towards the redcaps, slumped to the ground unconscious. The vicious redcaps stopped in their tracks, their faces going pale, some of their caps even falling off of their heads.
Was this a god? No, they're dead, right? But if this was a god... maybe I could repent.
With every last iota of will inside her, its flickering embers bursting with power once more, Nynae whispered two words.
"...save... ...them..."
"As you wish."
Before everything went black, Nynae could've sworn that she saw the heads of every redcap in front of her disappear. If only her delirious fantasy was real. If only I could repent.
And repent she would.
* * *
Nynae's eyes sleepily drifted open, revealing a strange sight. A hospital room. She was laying down in a hospital bed in a somewhat private room, a nurse sitting next to her who was in the middle of falling asleep herself. Nynae's lazy eyes crawled their way across the room, taking everything in. Including the-
"Ah, you're awake." The nurse said, staring at Nynae with a mix of shock and relief. Getting up from her seat, she smoothed her clothes and moved to the side of the bed. "Well then, Miss Okshlaw, how are you feeling?"
"That's not my sur- Wait, the- The redcaps they-"
"All gone. You've had a long couple days, Miss Okshlaw, so you need to rest."
"My friends, they were hurt and-"
"Your friends are recovering well. There's nothing to worry about. I just need to do some check-ups on you now that you're awake and then I can leave you alone. Is that alright?" The nurse beamed at Nynae, while also taking out some equipment from a bedside table.
"Y-yes... that should be fine."
Nynae resigned herself to the examination, which was not too invasive, but felt unnecessary at times. Unlike her friends, she had gotten off pretty well after all.
"Do you know how... Sid and Seiichi are doing?" Nynae trembled, fearing the worst despite the nurse's comforting words.
"Sid is the only one who hasn't woken up yet, but her injuries have been healed." The nurse said, a thin smile on her lips. "While Seiichi is recovering well, his brother... he's having some trouble dealing with it all. No need to worry about that all, though, I'm sure they'll be fine in the end.
"I've finished with the examination, so I'll leave you alone now, if that's okay?"
"Yes... privacy would be welcome."
"Good to see you well, Miss Okshlaw, and I'll come back in a few hours for another check-up." The nurse smiled, packing up her things and leaving out the door of the private room.
As Nynae's gaze followed the nurse out, it naturally drifted away from the exit to the room, and towards the man standing in the far corner of it. The man she instinctively recognised as the one she formed, as he called it, a 'contract' with.
"Why couldn't the nurse see you?" Nynae whispered, trying to determine if her body was well enough to run.
"A simple application of will, more than enough to shift someone's concentration away from oneself, especially when applied to a mortal." The mysterious man said, an endless stare on his face that showed a hint of boredom. "Now, onto more pressing matters."
Sitting down on the chair backwards where the nurse once sat, and focusing his stare inwards, as if seeing through her very being, the man spoke.
"I shall give you a name and in return I will have yours, so our obligations to each other will go smoothly. You may call me Kil. This is not my real name, for names have power from where I come from. So, I will not ask for a true-name from you if you so wish, but it would make this all much easier."
"You may call me Nyn." Nynae muttered, trying to take a page from Kil's book, imitating him in a way that hopefully would seem polite and respectful of his ways rather than mocking.
"Thank you, Nyn. I am saddened that you do not offer a true-name, but your apprehension is warranted. I will now remind you of the details of our contract.
"The first clause of our contract we formed on the battlefield was for me to save your friends. That does not have a time limit, so I will instead restrict that to only that event for the simplicity of cost management. You may adjust that clause if you wish before the contract is finalised. I am now about to suggest a second clause to this contract: I will teach and instruct Nyn in the ways of the soul, and in return I will receive information on the gods of this world. Are these alterations satisfactory?"
"Who... are you? If I may ask, Kil." Nynae said, her suspicions waning with how the man acted.
"I don't think I can say who, or what I think you're truly trying to ask, what I am." Kil answered, deep in thought for a moment and scratching a bit of stubble on his chin. "How about I say it like this. I am from a very far away place called █████ and- No, I cannot say that either."
Nynae heard nothing. No, to describe what she heard as 'nothing' would do what she did hear a disservice. It was an emptiness, a nothingness akin to that of the spiritual realm, in audio form. And it hurt. Small lines of blood trailed from her ears as Nynae's head thumped. It was a deeper pain, a more real pain than anything she had experienced in her life, as if those erased words were an affront to her very being. And as quickly as it came, the pain was gone. The second it was gone, Nynae couldn't even remember what the pain felt like, only that it was. Questions threatened to tumble out of her mouth, but Nynae would rather speak them with some coherence. So she waited for Kil to finish.
"Apologies about that. To clarify then, imagine that I come from somewhere incredibly far away, farther than the reaches of what you and your kind have explored. Where I come from, we... didn't have the same gods as you did."
"That's... impossible though. The gods are everywhere! They're all powerful and they're... well, gods." Nynae reasoned, trying her best to wrap her head around the situation, and wiping the blood from her now aching, sore ears.
"Just think about it like this, Nyn. If the gods were omniscient and omnipresent like you so imply, then why haven't they killed you all already?"
"I... suppose-"
"Now where was I? The contractual link is fading so we need to be quick." Kil interrupted her, a note of impatience replacing his boredom. "I need you to tell me about this wor- place and its gods as this is all very, very different to what I'm used to. As discussed, in exchange for this I will... train you."
"Wh-what's in it for you?"
"Think of it as an impulse. I saw you in need of help and was interested in you, so I helped."
"Interested? What-" Nynae began to say, before something clicked and she began to grab some of the bed duvet to form a makeshift shield between her and Kil. "You-!"
"No, not like that!" Kil exclaimed, showing a bit of embarrassment on his, for the most part, expressionless face. "You're... how do I phrase this... you have some talent that's... similar to mine. And from where I come from, that talent is unique to me. So to see it in another person... it's... I'm interested in your talent, let's leave it like that for now."
"Fine... and you just want the information, right? Nothing else...?" Nynae reiterated, still suspicious from the misunderstanding.
"Yes, just the information." Kil sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Do you agree to the contract then? The link’s almost faded now, and I don't want to repeat the terms all over again."
"...I agree to the-"
The world flashed. The physical realm partly vanished, the cognitive fading to the background, and the spiritual revealing itself to Nynae as a shadow that covered her view of the room. She saw her soul, strong with an almost formed Iron Heart, the link connecting Nynae to her Poison Node, impossibly far away and, now, a hint of something new. A thin yet impossibly dense - denser than any soul construct she had ever seen before - string reaching into the distance, towards something outside of her spiritual space. A link, not too unlike the one with her Node, connecting her to her contractor. To Kil.
Then all faded away, the room returning, all normal once more.
"Well, now that's sorted out, let's get on with your training."
"W-what? I'm still injured thou-"
"This will be no physical training, 'Miss Okshlaw', but spiritual training instead. We have to fix up that pathetic soul of yours too if you want to even think of starting my physical training." Kil scoffed, taking a bit of glee in mocking Nynae with the nurse's formal way of calling her. "I believe this contract will be very fruitful for you Nyn, me included too.
"Let's start with some soul mechanics then. What do you know of state?"
I'm going to regret this in the future, aren't I? Nynae couldn't help but grimly chuckle to herself, before diving straight into whatever 'training' this... thing had in store for her.
Wait, I never found out what he was, did I?