[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/d8G5rFK.png[/img] [h3]Yorum 3 (Epilogue)[/h3][/centre] The villa burned. Hain screamed as the berserk hain Gaash and his fraternity of monstrous brothers raged and rampaged. Everyone they saw had their skull shells cracked by mace and stony fist. Blood, pain, and death soaked the world, covering the worse depravities. Goading them from the centre was a hain looking cooly on beside them. They didn't care that he looked nothing like any sculptor they had seen. Gaash barely had the sense left to question his survival of the Blinding Purge those years ago. But that hain had helped him with magical fruits and insidious advice. [hider=It was a horned hain. Shell stripped and soul flensed. Body twisted and mind alien.] [centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/adpW6Zh.jpg[/img] [url=https://eemeling.deviantart.com/art/Demon-Spirit-554300472][i]The artist may be familiar to some here.[/i][/url][/centre] [/hider] That demonic hain was the one who pointed with a dripping claw at where the most pain could be inflicted. He advised how the mind could be destroyed. The most succulent revenge was directed by his expertise. Although, he never raised his palms. He never lifted his beak. He was not angry or laughing with glee. He looked at the hung corpses and the running organs like a banal routine. The grey stones of the villa were dipped in red by the time they found Reesa herself. The demon looked on. Gaash breathed rage through his teeth. Reesa was in a spattered green dress. Her beautiful smooth shell was blemished by the tear-rimmed red of her eyes. She hung her mouth open, breathing only as shallowly as she could as Gaash's brothers raged with maces at the others still halfway between life and death. "Reesa," Gaash whined. There might have been regret. Or just desperation. "I have wanted nothing more than to be with you. I will do anything for you. See how much I have done for you already, to be with you." Reesa's teeth chattered. A tremoring hand lifted to her beak. She barely whispered. "You killed them." "Now they will not come between us," Gaash said, lifting his free palm up. "Now you can be honest, instead of having them speak for you. I noticed how you looked at me at the last harvest festival. I know your feelings to be true." Gaash stepped forward and extended a hand. Reesa stepped back. [i]"No, Gaash!"[/i] Reesa shrieked. "I liked you." She wheezed a breath in. "I thought it was unfair that my family didn't let me see you! But now I see why..." Gaash slowly closed his extended palm. She scrunched her eyes and screamed out in as much pain as her expired clan. "You are a [i]monster![/i]" She screamed out the last word until she had no more breath in her lungs. "You KILLED THEM ALL!" Gaash looked to the demon hain. The demon hain looked back. He made a small, almost meaningless gesture. Reesa dropped to her knees and sobbed. Her loud crying echoed with the other tortures. "YOU KILLED THEM ALL!" Gaash saw the demon hain's gesture and remembered what he had said. He looked to Reesa, bawling in the puddle of her family's blood. He stepped up to her, dropping his mace with a red splash. He grabbed her roughly by her arms. She was lying, like her meddling family. The following hour was enough to break the minds of those with a scrap of emotion. Reesa was violated to a similar state as her sisters, before being ground by Gaash's passionate fists until her beauty was destroyed and subsumed by the red of her insides. The demon felt a small twinge. He watched on. His red eyes turned in disappointment. Naturally, Gaash blamed the demon. That announced the final chapter as all turned on him. The looks in the brothers' eyes only gave the demon a dull twinge, too, when they realised their mistake. The demon took them all. He subjected Gaash and his brothers to all the tortures they had inflicted. Their pain and suffering may have been worse, seeing as they were taught all the things they were now being subjected to. They expired with as much fear as their victims. The demon sighed. He walked out of the burning villa dripping blood. A trail of red dapples trailed to the tree on the hill. Here, some careful words to a frustrated man sparked the entire story. The story which was now complete. [hr] The demon sat. He wrapped his cloak around his grotesque form and settled in for his least favourite part of the story; the epilogue. There were no characters left but him. All the excitement was over. He sat and didn't breathe much. Nor moved. In the past, he would weep that the fun was finished. Nowadays he just sat and stared at the orange glowing on the plume of smoke he left behind. He stared. He waited for the emotions that would not come. His mind seemed a black void now. Silent. Idle. He was not tired. He didn't feel like moving. [i]So this is how long it takes.[/i] Ruminating thoughts didn't usually come up in the epilogue. This might be new and exciting. [i]How long it takes for what?[/i] It was better than the idle abyss. [i]To get bored.[/i] [i]I think not. I shall just try something more.[/i] [i]More wanton pain and suffering.[/i] [i]More temptation.[/i] [i]Greater tests.[/i] [i]There is much work to be done with the Adversary so silent.[/i] [i][b]What, is this about duty now?[/b][/i] [i]No, pleasure. As always. Appreciation for being alive.[/i] There was a chortle. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]What pleasure, you pitiful creature?[/b][/colour] The demon hain jolted up to his feet at the base of the tree. [i]Master?[/i] No, it couldn't have been. It was too crisp. Too cutting. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Not quite him, blossom. But! Blessed you are to target this place. Your presence in this part of the world is more an opportunity than a nuisance, as it happens, Cherry Eater. Welcome to South Yorum.[/b][/colour] "Who are you?" Ch'eater asked to cover his shock with curiosity. "And how do you know my name?" [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]I am the only friend you have left, darling. Friends know each other's names. I might not be as old as you, but I have known you for long enough to be a friend. Call me 'Friend' for now.[/b][/colour] Ch'eater liked to think he knew of the gods of Galbar. This did not sound like any of them in tone or wording. He splayed his claws in and out, ready to pounce at the patronising being. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]So, do not be rude, my dear. You did not answer my question, did you?[/b][/colour] "I'm more curious as to why you want to know it. What drew you here?" A high, shrill cackle echoed in Ch'eater's skull. He clutched his horns in a pain he had not experienced since his adoption by the Adversary. The pain faded when the voice of 'Friend' continued. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Always the twister of minds. Allow me to speculate your answer, then? Is it that you do not wish to answer me for fear of the answer itself?[/b][/colour] No amount of concentration could expel or control this 'Friend.' He tried a different approach. "I did not know that I had such a fanatic. I am flattered." [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Oh, you are too kind, honeycomb! Another question, then. Did you enjoy tonight?[/b][/colour] Now Ch'eater paused. He blinked slowly. "I did. But I am more interested in-" [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Is that the truth? You seemed so distant. So...disappointed. And it was quite the bloodbath. Quite the...punishment. Mmm, very creative, what you did.[/b][/colour] 'Friend' was deflecting him handily. "I would think you already know that. You know so much about me already." [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Hmhm. Well, doesn't that have implications, hmm?[/b][/colour] "I am afraid I do not follow your point. Share yourself, so we can be equals." [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]You do not follow? Oh, it is nothing much, do not worry yourself,[/b][/colour] 'Friend' said sarcastically. It sighed into its next words. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]I just wonder sometimes. I wonder the reasons that you continue.[/b][/colour] "It is a concept that can only be experienced to be known. I do what I do for the Adversary. I am his Sinon-" The voice snorted. "...I am the Horned Hain. Mammon is my patron." [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]I hate to test you further, little gum nut, but your Mammon has not even defended his own holdings. His submaterium is infested with Jvanic entities and nought but the odd demon has been seen to mark his presence for ages now.[/b][/colour] Ch'eater held his breath. 'Friend' sounded like it was speaking through a pout. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Mnaw, my adorable manipulator, sorry. I know he has not spoken to you in some time. How long has it been? How many [i]years?[/i][/b][/colour] "I..." Ch'eater closed his eyes. "I lost count. I need you to help me-" The cackle resumed even louder than before. Ch'eater grunted as its reverberation wracked his mind. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]You do not [i]care[/i] about Mammon, do you? You [i]hate[/i] him! You always resented him.[/b][/colour] The last throes of 'Friend's' laughter bubbled up. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Admit it, you silly little sadist.[/b][/colour] "Please!" He said with red eyes quivering. "Stop...Laughing. You're hurting me." [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]I shall try my best, but you are just too amusing, hmhmhmm.[/b][/colour] 'Friend' breathed in deeply through an unseen nose. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]So...I suppose your purpose is coming to an end, isn't it?[/b][/colour] "...What?" 'Friend' spoke as a matter of fact. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Well, you have no duty, no legacy, no family, no base instincts to pander to, and not to mention little left in the way of fulfilment. A few more years of depravity and drama and you're as good as an ashling -- a mindless husk blindly thrashing about the earth.[/b][/colour] Ch'eater clenched his jaw. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]That's right. Only the void will be left.[/b][/colour] He would not be scared. He could not allow himself to be defeated. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]And the only way to escape that fate, well...the wraithstone has been waiting for you for some time now.[/b][/colour] No answer. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]You have no escape, it seems. No hain left in you to trade away for another chance. You have nothing left to give.[/b][/colour] The void gaped wider in Ch'eater's mind. 'Friend' teasingly sped up. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]One more question, my cute little chestnut. This one is easy -- you've answered it before. What would you give to stay alive?[/b][/colour] Ch'eater clenched his entire body in determination. He spoke with a flat honesty so disused it felt foreign. "Anything. Make the void go away. Just let me live." He felt a broad smile from the unseen 'Friend.' A dreadful smile. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]But you have nothing left to give.[/b][/colour] "Then why do you even ask?" He responded in a low, seething voice. [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Because I do not want you to give, my sweet. I want you to take.[/b][/colour] "Anything." [colour=AntiqueWhite][b]Can you take an Oath?[/b][/colour] [hider=The Horniest Hain's Reprise] I smashed this out in a fit of inspiration. It may not come further into play until much later. But for now it's a little supplement to the Yorum storyline. We have a short scene where a demonic hain has manipulated another hain called Gaash and his brothers into a massacre and rage against a clan in a villa. They are torturing, maiming, and otherwise doing unpleasant things to the occupants. Gaash's rampage pauses when they reach his crush, Reesa. This beautiful young hain woman was cloistered away by her family and Gaash has come to retrieve her, because she gave him the eyes once or twice. Reesa says that she used to be interested in Gaash, but killing her entire family was kinda a turnoff. She is understandably upset. Gaash thinks she is lying in his alchemy-induced rage and does horrible things to Reesa as well. Once Gaash realises what he has done, he turns on the demonic hain that had been advising them all this time. The demon ends up subjecting Gaash and his brothers to all the tortures they inflicted on Reesa's family in an unpleasant turn of fate. The demon seems rather bored. Leaving the burning villa behind, the demon reflects on the depression that he has been feeling as of late. The demon hain's ruminating thoughts unexpectedly talk back at him in another voice. He is surprised. The voice, a patronising presence calling itself 'Friend' reveals that the demon is the long-lost favoured hero of Mammon Ch'eater. It also reveals that the entire scene took part in the southern end of the Yorum region. It then proceeds to dodge every attempt by Mammon to manipulate it and gaslights the living crap out of the poor demon hain. After sufficiently filling Ch'eater with existential dread following his surprising lack of enjoyment of the crazy test he put Gaash through, 'Friend' falls back on Ch'eater's original insecurity: Mortality. Ch'eater repeats his plead to Mammon. He just wants to live another day. 'Friend' forwards him a proposal: Take an oath. Cliffhanger credits roll. [i]Might Accounting: Before:[/i] Toun - L8 - 15 MP (+22mpt) - 3 FP - 8C/8D -4 MP: Creation of 'Friend.' More on this later. [i]After:[/i] Toun - L8 - 11 MP (+22mpt) - 3 FP - 8C/8D [/hider]