“The weapon of a lancer, and those of the heretics, are unlike any that can be forged by known methods. We’ve tried, with bio-weapons, genetic modification, and synthetic connections, to replicate those properties found in ciphers, only to fail at every turn. Those principles and resources might better be invested in other areas of deficiency across the Allegiant Militarium.”
—Doctor Phydus Neeran, Head Researcher at JIAHC Facility Syfon-0031, in the abstract of Report 3-i447/E87-Sfn-0031-4
Zaina turned as glowing, crimson liquid pooled in the chasm, spilling over between the spikes jutting from the ground. Then, a well of energy rose from the depths, and Zaina covered her head—a resounding, howling boom erupted from the pit, leaving wisps of black smoke towering into the sky above.
Facing the chasm, Zaina was stared down by the Eldritch’s skull—there was no darkness cloaking it, so she got a glimpse of its true form as it rose above the spiky wall surrounding the pit. Its base seemed to be a large, humanoid skeleton, but everything about it otherwise was wrong—fleshy, bulbous sacks with snapping mouths, their teeth bared, protruded from between its ribcages, and malevolently staring eyes covered its body. Rotting flesh was stuck to its bones in places, and insects and maggots crawled about freely, drinking the black blood that seeped from its joints—the flash from a streak of lightning illuminated its guts, which consisted of writhing, endless hands, all twisting and fighting, dragging against their skeletal-prison, their fingers spilling through the crevices of the alien’s ribcage and tears in its writhing stomach. The odor was otherworldly—everything about it was impossible. Zaina nearly threw up, but was too enraptured by the primordial horror before her.
The dark streams of smoke rising from the chasm swirled around the Eldritch’s skull, forming its phantasmal cloak once more. The shadows twisted with the shining orb of the Eldritch’s crown at their nexus.
With no weapon to fight, Zaina turned to run toward the ship. Instead, she stumbled, nearly collapsing—the voices had formed a deafening chorus tearing at her brain. The frantic voices blurred together until a singular, echoing voice harnessed them. The Eldritch uttered another phrase of power.
“Stop.”
Ancient sounds tore at the sky itself, as if hundreds of small engines overheated at once, then ground to a halt with a metallic screech that grew slower with every repetition.
Zaina’s body froze again. This time was less absolute—she was able to move her eyes and take deep breaths, but every muscle was completely locked in place. The Eldritch’s haunting chuckles filled the air as everything faded, replaced by darkness—total darkness closing in from every horizon. There was no ground, no sky—only her and the Eldritch, both draped in shadow. A thick silence hung over everything, blocking out the whispers and even her thoughts—only dim, blurred whispers pierced through the mental haze. The creature floated slowly toward her.
“Even now, at the end, you continue to resist.”
The creature’s words pierced the void—Zaina kept fighting against its will, determined to defy its influence to the last.
“Why do you struggle so, human?”
Zaina choked out a response. “I’m—not—listening—to you—”
The Eldritch continued its approach. Zaina squirmed and wriggled, trying to break free like she had before, but it was no use. This spell was different—its grasp bent, but never broke. The harder she fought the more her vision was consumed by shadow—it stained the corners of her sight, threatening to take over at a moment’s notice.
“Resist all you wish, but a greater will compels us. You have been chosen to ascend beyond what any mortal could possibly dream of. Yet, you cling to your old life—your miserable, frightened, meaningless existence.”
The Eldritch stopped inches from Zaina’s face—she was unable to look away from the creature’s monstrous visage.
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She struggled to choke out a response. “It means—something—to me—”
Its skeletal hand reached from the darkness. Zaina tried to pull her head away, but its fingers wrapped around her, making contact with her mark. Flaring pain shot from her eye—it was worse than everything she’d suffered in life combined. Every ounce of effort she had left was redirected to trying to stay conscious through the agony.
“You may have destroyed our altar, but we will create another. The beacon will be lit. This is your future.”
“N—no!” she shouted, drawing on all her willpower.
The creature pulled its hand back into the miasmatic shadow. Another singular word pierced the darkness.
“Kneel.”
She was powerless against its magick. With a defeated groan, she collapsed to her knees, hanging her head. Pain surged through every inch of her being—her muscles seized and locked in place.
Zaina’s system overloaded—it was all she could do to stay awake amid the sea of darkness. With weak, choking gasps, she tried to gulp down enough air to stay alive.
“You are the inheritor of power beyond human comprehension. This ancient body is breaking—our essence requires a new host. Weak as you are, the shattered Codax—the legacy of the Primortala’s failure—chose you. With your flesh as our vessel, we will cleanse this universe in the last night to make way for the ceaseless dawn. Come, Zaina. Take your place as the Prophet of the Shining Will.”
Zaina tried to move her legs, her arms, anything—her body was unresponsive.
The Eldritch stooped down. Its hand emerged once more, creeping toward her. Her mind raced with everything she wanted to do—roll aside, slap his hand away, turn and run—as she was forced to watch, unable to fight back. The creature’s cold fingers gently wrapped around her torso and grasped her body, lifting it toward the ancient skull.
“If you will not give in, you will be consumed. We can wait for the next. Time is our oldest friend. We are the unending servant of the Shining Will—and soon, you will be too, Zaina.”
This was it—this was how she was going to die. Zaina blinked a few times, making out the skull and its crown amid the darkness. Everything was blurry; the shadows were creeping closer, blinding her. It was too much—darkness enveloped her, the pain stretching past her body’s limits. The Eldritch’s infinite power, a crushing pressure from inside and out, weighed on her.
Then, at the heart of the swirling darkness was a light—it was faint, but it bled through the curtain of shadow. In that moment, it didn’t matter—it was there, and it was something to hold on to.
With all the strength she had left, Zaina stretched her arm out—searing pain coursed through her body, but she gritted her teeth and fought through it. She reached for the light, straining her fingers closer. It was so far away, still shrouded by darkness, but she refused to relinquish hope so long as the light shone through.
The Eldritch gave a haunting sigh. Its jaw made a sickening pop and unhinged—then, the creature’s skull tipped back, revealing the full extent of its mouth. Hands desperately clawed up from its throat to drag Zaina into its bowels, which emitted ghastly shrieks. There were entire galaxies in its putrid, glowing throat, and thousands of frightened eyes stared up from the infernal abyss.
The light pulled away as its mouth opened, but Zaina kept all her focus on it amid the horror within the Eldritch. She willed herself beyond her limits, refusing to give in to this monster. Zaina’s fingers twitched as they stretched toward the distant gleam, even as shadows wrapped around her arm.
The Eldritch’s jaw was open wide enough to swallow her whole. The swirling, endless void within the primordial creature came closer. Still struggling to the bitter end, she kept reaching for salvation.
Just a little more, and I could reach it——Zaina thought—I just need a little more. Now or never—if only—I wish—my heart was—a—
The voices exploded into deranged laughter—the darkness was total. Then something solid formed in Zaina’s reaching hand, and without thinking, she wrapped her fingers around it. With a metallic ring, the light extended from her outstretched hand and coalesced into a sword with a white guard and a glowing green blade—her cipher, there in her grasp.
The darkness faded, swirling into the orb in the Eldritch’s crown—the top half was cracked where Zaina’s cipher had formed, manifesting inside the creature’s head and piercing through. It snapped its lower jaw back into place, closing the endless void.
Everything was back—her mind, her body, the whispers. As she stared at the still-glowing cipher, she wondered if this was the light she’d been reaching for all along.
It didn’t matter—the Eldritch’s magick was interrupted, and now was her only chance. She was still in its grasp.
Its voice, calm and menacing as ever, echoed through her body. “Come now, Zaina. Do you truly believe—”
Putting her second hand on the cipher, she gave a raspy shriek and plunged it downward, driving it through the Eldritch’s orb with a vicious slash—it split in two. The creature’s skull imploded, turning into ash and scattering. As its foul body was torn apart, the sound of a thousand screeching strings and an unholy cacophony of suffering, horrified screams burst out and fused into the air, then faded into nothing—the horrific contours burrowed into her ears to stay indefinitely. The shadowy cloak broke apart, shredded by the light of Zaina’s cipher, and joined its master in oblivion.