by V. A. Lewis
At the beginning, I forced myself to watch what happened. I was not sure whether my friends would survive; I had to bear witness to it.
But now that I knew they were fine, I could turn away without any guilt in my heart. There was no weight on my shoulders bearing down on me, telling me that if my friend died, I was not even there to see it.
But what did seeing even do? It did not change anything— seeing would not have let me save Shang if he was about to die. And yet, seeing changed everything too.
After witnessing the bloodbath unfold before my very eyes. As I saw my friends killing so easily. And as I looked at Rin, and saw her smiling at the violent scene; as her face resonated a desire to join in. Everything changed.
It was just my perception of it all, and yet that was the most important part; the world did not revolve around me, but I experienced the world through my own eyes.
And it was through my own eyes I stared at Rin’s excitement, and felt a hint of fear creep up my stomach. But why?
Because Rin and I saw the same thing: ruthless killings and bloody murder. They were killing slavers, but my stomach wretched and I had to stop myself from puking. But she smiled and watched it gleefully.
I looked at her standing next to me, yet it was like there was a huge rift separating the two of us; I was almost afraid of her. I nearly jumped when she finally opened her mouth to speak.
"It’s over," the catgirl’s voice was soft, like a whisper. She turned to me and smiled gently. "You can look now."
Her voice and face were kind; I was certain she noticed my aversion and revulsion to the violence, and meant to reassure me. I turned away and faced the cafeteria. Stop it, Melas. They’re your friends, I tried to calm myself down, and realized my hands were shaking.
I was no longer holding Rin’s hands; I didn't even know when I let go. I wandered past the dead bodies in a daze, and headed in the direction Feri pointed at.
At one point, I tripped over a severed arm. I let out a silent scream, and quickly ran past it. Didn’t I want this? The thought vaguely hung at the back of my head; but I could not focus on it.
I moved mechanically; like a machine designed for one thing and one thing only: to set the other slaves free.
I walked up to the metal door Feri directed me to, and fumbled for the keys. I unlocked the door and swung it open. Light poured into the room, and I stared in.
Dozens of figures sat up in the room, awake from the prior sounds of battle. All their eyes turned to me, and I stared back.
I tried to muster up something to say; to announce their freedom, or something to that degree, but found no words inside of me.
After a moment, a lone figure stood up. A disheveled middle aged man approached me from the staring group of slaves. It was Theodore.
It was counterintuitive, but from his gaze, I saw a semblance of normalcy. A kind older man, who lived a simple life— a world free from all of this misery and death, until tragedy struck.
It reminded me of myself; our circumstances might have differed, but the outcome was the same. And I felt a kinship with the man, knowing that I was not alone in how I felt.
It was welcoming.
"Melas—"
I ran in and hugged him.
It took us an hour before we were ready to leave. Unshackling everyone one by one— even when there were multiple keys for us to use— took some time.
In addition to that, the freed Human slaves went to arm themselves with the weapons from the dead guards. Some of the Beastkin did too, like Shang, but Rin happily let the others take what they wanted.
Finally, the injured Beastkin— the ones who got hurt during the fight— raided some of the storage rooms. They grabbed some healing potions, and distributed it amongst themselves; they used some immediately, and kept the rest for future use.
I was no stranger to seeing violence in fiction back on Earth, but repeatedly seeing it again and again in reality was different. I just wanted to get out of here; I no longer wanted to deal with death and slavery. I just wanted to get away from it all.
But what about your revenge? a thought reminded me of my declaration to the world, and of my grand quest.
It was something simple to think about: the idea of inflicting pain upon those who hurt me was a lot more captivating when I was fueled by anger and rage. But when I was simply watching it happen, I suddenly found myself taking on a whole new perspective.
I still believed that these slavers deserved to die. I believed they deserved their retribution by the hands of Rin and Shang. Yet, I still found myself averse to the action of killing them myself. And that was almost a problem.
If we found ourselves in a situation where I, too, had to fight or die, would I simply freeze and let death take me again? I felt my heart rate pick up as my imagination took over, and I foresaw my failure. I did not want to let that happen, but would I even be in the right state of mind to act if such a scenario occurred?
I sighed. There’s no use worrying about it now. Focus back on what’s important. We’re almost out of here.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theodore discussing something with Rin and Shang; they probably were talking about me and how they were going to take care of me from this point on. They probably realized that I couldn’t stomach the sight of death, nor could I look at them the same way after witnessing such ruthlessness, and were thinking of ways to keep me away from seeing possible altercations in the future.
They probably thought I hated them now, but I did not. Not Shang, or Rin, or any of the Beastkin. I was grateful for what they did for me; I was just a little afraid of what they were capable of.
When they were done conversing with Theodore, Shang and Rin broke off to guide the others, while the older man approached me. I slowly looked up to face Theodore. The middle aged man reached out, and offered me a hand. There were no words exchanged— not just yet.
He helped me up, and steadied me as I got a hold of myself. I bowed my head at him, thanking him, and he smiled back. He simply met my gaze.
It was then I remembered the mark on my face; the symbol of the Mancis Company, claiming me as theirs. I remembered how he flinched when he saw it, and felt like covering it up.
But Theodore did not look away. He just looked at me, and finally he spoke.
"Let’s go."
I stared at him dumbly, meeting his face that showed not a hint of fear; it was only when we left the room, did I realize he had spoken.
His words were short. Succinct. Something to just fill the air, and ease into a proper conversation for later. And it worked.
As we emerged from the stairway, out into the dimly lit corridor, Theodore spoke again.
"When we first met, I thought you reminded me of my daughter. I told you that, didn’t I?" The middle aged man’s grip tightened around my hand at the mention of his daughter. He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "But now, I think you remind me more of myself." He chuckled slightly.
I stared fixedly at Theodore, as we continued on our path. We turned a corner as he glanced heavenward at the ceiling, as if in thought.
"Well, a younger, less-wrinkly, version of me," he added in lightly.
I snorted. It was not even a good joke; in fact, it was a terrible one. Just as bad as any dad-joke my dad would tell me!
And perhaps that’s what made it so funny. A sense of normalcy; not even like banter with its jabs at another person. Just something lighthearted and simple.
His voice then turned more serious, and his smile was replaced with a longing look.
"Over a month ago, you told me that you believed that it’s not been all bad. That there is a silver-lining to all this. Back then, I didn’t believe you." Theodore shook his head, and took a deep breath. "I didn’t believe that the Goddess would plan for any of this. It was all just so terrible."
I nearly froze at the mention of the Goddess. But I caught myself, and continued walking inconspicuously. The man continued.
"But n
ow, I think I’m starting to understand a little bit of Her plan. I was not able to help my daughter or my wife." His face was morose. The death of his family was still haunting him. And yet, when he finally turned to face me, he spoke with a determination that I truly envied, "But maybe I could help you. Even just a little. Maybe that’s what the Goddess wants. For a pure soul such as you to not suffer."
I looked up at Theodore. At the middle aged man. And I felt his pain. Yet despite all that, he still could say this.
It felt wrong. The idea that he lost his family just so he could meet me— no, it was wrong.
But it gave him hope, a voice inside of me argued.
His faith in the Goddess— his belief that all his suffering was not for naught— it spoke to me. Perhaps… if I…
"It is like you said: the Goddess has a plan for us all," Theodore said, the words echoing in my head.
I wanted it. I wanted to have his hope. To cling on to something where I had none. He had faith in the Goddess so he could find light in his life. And so, out of desperation— and out of suffering— I willingly uttered the curse that was repeated throughout the world.
"May the Goddess illuminate our lives."
I smiled at Theodore, and it immediately disappeared. The older man stopped too— everyone did.
It was almost as if the world itself heard me speak, and decided to play some sort of sick joke on me. My infinitesimally small faith in the Goddess vanished, and I finally realized that if She did exist, She simply hated me for I hated Her world.
Because in front of us stood Marcus.
The head guard of the Mancis Company stood at the entrance of the warehouse, blocking our exit. He was not alone. Behind him were a hundred guards, all armed with weapons of all kinds pointed in our direction.
"How—" the words came from more than one source behind me
The crowd of guards parted, and from the back emerged a man dressed in a fancy suit and a cane. Julian Mancis walked alongside two men. Two slaves. The ones with Feri, I thought, heart sinking at the realization of a betrayal. Or perhaps it was my own folly that led to this.
"I’m sorry, Feri. But you would have died. This way you would—" one of them spoke out, but was silenced by Julian.
The owner of the Mancis Company raised his hand. "Yes, we will ensure nothing happens to your… friend." He then stepped forward to address us all.
"Once again, I find you lot futilely trying to escape. Never in my entire life as a businessman, have I had merchandise as troublesome as you all. So for that, I do applaud you."
He cast his gaze around our group, and nodded his head. He took a deep breath, and his voice emanated authority.
"However, you have also caused me a lot of trouble. And for that I’ll have to punish some of you."
Julian lifted his cane, and pointed at Shang.
"You."
Shang blinked, but Julian just moved one. He pointed at a Rabbit Beastkin, another Dog Beastkin, two Humans, and finally at the man standing beside me: Theodore.
"You. You. You. And you," Julian said, before finally lowering his cane, and nodding to himself. "All of you shall be killed and made an example of. So that there will be no more… issues."
Shouts of outrage came from multiple people. Shang stepped forward, and barked at the slaver.
"If you really think we’ll just—"
"You really should just surrender. Do believe me. It pains me as much to kill you, as it does for you to be killed," the slaver spoke without a hint of irony in his voice. "I’ve already alerted the city guards. They’ll be here at any moment. You’ll all die if you fight back. Give. Up."
Shang hesitated, and even Rin was left without any quips. It was all over. Our grand plan to escape was ruined. Foiled by my kindness to two foolish slaves.
Everyone knew it was over. Perhaps we could fight. But we would lose in the end; it was a pointless fight that we could not win.
But something happened.
In the distance, bells began to ring. The city guards mobilized as the alarm was raised, and was echoed throughout the city.
"The city alarm? They did not have to—"
Julian turned around, then paused.
It was not just him. We all did. Everyone stopped and stared at the city walls.
To the west, there were hundreds of gunshots being fired from the battlements of the walls and from below it. Bolts of blue energy flew back and forth at something on the walls. A figure, barely visible in the distance, ran vertically down the inside of the walls of Bys. At the dead of night, such a small and dark figure usually would not be seen from where we were.
But each bolt of gunfire told us where to look. It shone in the darkness, shedding some light at the hooded figure. But even more important was what the figure was doing; a person could not physically run down a wall because they would fall. Not unless they had magic.
And magic they had.
With each step the figure took, a magic circle appeared. The magic circle glowed yellow, and had a radius of about six foot. They ran down the walls with that magic, and dodged the oncoming bullets with ease.
The figure looked like they had their hands raised the entire time, as if they were casting another spell. And if it was a spell, it was not meant for their attackers or to defend themself.
They continued bobbing and weaving as the bolts of energy rained down past them. The figure spun and danced in the moonlight, as if they were in a waltz with no partner but the incoming hail. Finally, the figure was finished casting their spell. They crouched for a split second, and in an act that defied gravity once more, they leapt off the wall.
The figure flew at least 30 feet away from the walls; spinning and dodging the barrage of bullets mid air. Then, when the figure was about to land, they pointed their hands at the gates of the walls.
With that, their spell was complete. A large black magic circle covered the gate, before quickly shrinking in size to a mere speck. And for a second, nothing happened.
Then, from the center of the circle, from where the speck of a magic circle was, a massive ball of green and black energy quickly expanded into a sphere that engulfed the gate.
Everything that the sphere touched was obliterated, and it stayed like that for a moment. However, that moment ended, and the sphere erupted into a massive explosion that blew apart the surrounding walls and all nearby houses.
The walls were gone. Collapsed. And beyond it was a void of darkness that stared into the city.
Everyone— Shang, Julian, Theodore, Rin; both slaves and slavers alike— stared dumbstruck at the sudden destruction of the city walls. No one moved. No one made a sound.
I gazed at their expressions. At the look of shock at such utter devastation that occurred out of nowhere. And I almost wanted to laugh.
I knew this would happen; well, not this specifically. But I knew something would happen. Because—
Because if there is a powerful Goddess that hates me, then there is an equally powerful god who hates me more.
And perhaps I had been arrogant. I dared to challenge god, even when I was only Human. I wanted to defy him. I wanted to exact vengeance upon him.
But he had finally responded to my petty resolve.
I stared as from beyond the walls of Bys, the first abomination stepped out of the darkness. The first of many. Creatures not of this world. Beings made of nightmares and the primal feeling of horror. Hatred incarnate.
These abominations came for the city. The Slave City. And that night...
The Free City of Bys was destroyed.
Chapter 21: Abominations
The Free City of Bys had seen many conflicts in its time. Unlike Boleria, which was a city that focused mainly on trade and commercial businesses, Bys was a city of slavery. As such, Bys would often get into conflicts with other Free Cities, enslaving the prisoners of war for free labor.
It had gotten into conflicts with not just other cities within Besha, but brought it up against the mo
st prominent of cities in the Free Lands. And though it had not won all those wars, it had won some of them. And that was enough. It had worked out for the Free City.
Over a century ago, Bys had finally established itself to be one of the pinnacle cities of the Free Lands. It went against the, then, Free City of Colynas, and won. In their victory, Bys razed the city to the ground, and enslaved its entire civilian population, earning it its name as the Slave City.
But those were wars from times gone by.
In modern times, the Free City of Slaves had not been idle either. Just three decades ago, Bys was a part of the unified force that fought off the Holy Xan Empire’s invasion into the Free Lands. The Alliance of Free Cities had won that war, if only for the Xan Empire’s thin supply lines from fighting a war across the world.
And even more recently were the petty squabbles between Bys and the Free Cities that made up the Chalstics Confederacy. Apparently they were still upset over what happened with Colynas so long ago!
Without a powerful city in their region, the cities in the Chalstics region were being trampled over by the other Free Cities. So they formed a confederation to protect themselves and each other. But even a hundred years later, they still held a grudge against Bys in specific.
These were the relatively recent wars and conflicts that the Free City of Bys found itself faced with. And David had been through most of them.
When he was a young man, David had been conscripted to fight in the Free War during the Xan Empire’s invasion. And when Bys won, he did not retire from the military, but instead continued fighting for his city.
He later found himself fighting against the Chalstics Confederacy, and continued to work his way up the ranks. He had loyally served his country, and was rewarded for it.
David was promoted to a Guard Captain!
Sure, he was only in charge of the western part of the city. And sure, it could be both dull and tiresome at the same time. But at least the pay was good!