Death's Gambling

by Martin Länger

“Your whole life you've begged for a second chance, just because you were too weak and afraid to use the first properly. Now that it presents itself in a nicely wrapped gift you start to run away,” he paused for effect.

  “Well isn't that just pathetic?!” Delirias asked with his glowing eyes into the destroyed room, as if he wanted to ask the three unconscious cultists on the ground alike

  “Happiness itself is given to you, but you reject it. Do you really want to go back to your meaningless existence that you were sugarcoating your whole life? Where nothing happened and nothing awaited you at the end? Aren’t you ready to stomp it into the ground and tread on the new path laid out in front of you?!”

  He bent over before Gwyn’s face and extended the hand that was covered in chains towards him.

  “Didn't you also think that there was something wrong with your world? Something had to change. It didn't matter what, just that it had to be exciting,” the aspect smiled wider and wider.

  “BUT WHAT DID THE WORTHLESS VOICES AROUND KEPT SAYING?” With a sarcastic undertone, Delirias started to imitate various voices.

  “Yeah, yeah that's just how the world is. There is nothing you can change, except for moping.”

  “Where there is light there is also darkness. C'est la vie,” he added a high pitched female voice.

  “Everything is based on logical conclusions, that's how it has to be. Your depression is just a chemical reaction - get over it!” he yelled in between with a different tonality as if he tried to interrupt himself.

  “We all are just a part of god's plan”, he brought fort in a deep voice.

  “Rules, laws, foundations, concepts. Everything is but a dream castle, built by the cowards of this world! – So, what shall it be? Running with our tail between our legs, watching others live, as you always did?”

  Moment by moment Gwyn's eyes were dilating, beginning to look more and more alive as he was sprinkled with Delirias speech cascades. Though, there was something quite alluring to his maniac jabbering that he had been quite fascinated by, even though he would've never openly admitted it. Delirias continued on, even though he already had Gwyn's attention, who's mind was getting into gear. Slowly but surely, the gears started to turn, thinking of a twisted solution and a replacement for the emptiness inside.

  “There are so many possibilities and still you humans hold yourself back as much as you possibly can. Because changing something that matters would mean effort, pain, and courage. Ugh, what a pain. Someone else will take care of that, am I right?!” Delirias taunted him, as he waved his finger before his eyes and shook his head.

  “Kikiki, it's not like me to give you this many hints but, my dear little human friend, let me ask you this one thing. After all of this. After all of the bullshit. What do you think we shall do next?” the aspect grinned.

  Life started to return to Gwyn as he felt the warmth of his body as if blood started to flow anew again, rushing through his bloodstream. There was a sharp pain inside him that almost made him believe that he could stand tall. A feeling of bliss and pride that was achieved after an excruciating marathon run. With shaking feet, he tried to stand up all by himself as Delirias came to his side and supported him with this shoulder.

  “Let me guess… there is something you want me to do?” Delirias continued his sly grin.

  Gwyn’s eyes were glistening as he stared at the cold stone floor that was covered in dust. The feet that felt like iron before were recovering their strength. Delirias uttered his last words, igniting the final spark.

  “Do we turn our backs on everything we've seen, pretending like it never happened? Do we give in to our learned helplessness? Living our life in bliss, as long as nothing bad happens to us we can judge until we don't have to do it ourselves.”

  “Shut up, will you?” Gwyn gasped for his breath as he collected his thoughts and went through everything that happened, not only to him but also the Personas that were being taken hostage with him.

  “Huh, so there is still some fight left in this lil' kitty? You almost scared me. Here I thought I evaluated you too highly.”

  “You're right about one thing,” Gwyn pulled himself up on Delirias’ coat, until he stood upright. “Wherever I will be, in this world or my own - I will always have a choice. That's something I always believed in but never exercised. Just like every good advice I gave to acquaintances. That was my incompetence.” He took another deep breath. “And it may be that I delayed everything important out of fear of own failure and responsibility,” he coughed while clawing deeper into Delirias’ shoulder.

  “'I still have time.' - 'I'm still young. My time will come.'” he reminisced. “It's almost sad that a crazy maniac such as yourself has to remind me of what I used to believe in.”

  “Meow,” Delirias mewed while forming a claw with his fingers.

  “So, what will you do?! This is the most important question I could ever ask of you. And to give you some proper motivation; I will leave you behind if you don't answer properly.”

  Delirias jumped back on his self-appointed podium full of enthusiasm, leaving Gwyn to stand on his own.

  “Philosophies, ideas, world's, kingdoms, ultimatums and the concept scaffold that the universe is based on as we know it. Everything has to be thrown off the table to make room for something new,” as if Delirias was somehow delighted to bring forth the greatest shortcomings of his fellow partner he abruptly turned himself around while his coat was flattering along his movements.

  “SO WHAT WILL IT BE?! THE FALL OF REALITY OR THE TRIUMPHANT RISE OF THE KING OF THE INNER SELF?” he screamed through the corridors and rooms.

  “Ugh, alright, alright – calm down. My head still hurts,” Gwyn ached as he finally found back to himself, disrupting his monologue. “You can fight… right?” he asked cautiously.

  “Maybe,” Delirias grinned at him

  “Then it will be high time that I'll use your strength for myself.”

  “Ho?” Delirias seemed surprised but not unhappy. “I admire your courage, but why should I become your lapdog?”

  Gwyn managed a little chuckle of his own, “heh, indeed why should you?”

  With a little spit, he moisturized his fingertips to remove the blood that landed on his shoelaces while he had been captured. “That's the question I've asked myself ever since you risked your neck to save me back then. Someone who's as mysterious as you are claims he knows barely anything and is able to manage himself in a fight. Why should someone like that protect me?” His posture fixed itself little by little as he dusted himself off and searched through the room.

  “To be honest, I didn't like you ever since we've met for a number of reasons. Most of them personal. I think of you as an incredibly manipulative and insane being, but not a fool. There had to be something more to it. Almost everything has a reason, and when I'm not able to fight for myself, then you shall do it in my stead, succeeding where I can't.”

  “And what if you've already depleted your usefulness to me?” Delirias argued confidently.

  “When that time comes, I will accept it, and with my last dying breath, I will thank you for sticking with me. Even if it was just an illusion until the bitter end,” Gwyn prepared himself to leave the room.

  “Fufuf, so you're prepared to go all the way with me, even though it might cost you your life?” Delirias twitched, the excitement in his body was overflowing. “You're way more wicked than I made you out to be, little Gwynnie.”

  “I never wanted to be a hero, and you are neither, but together we can do something I alone cannot. Something I could actually be proud of. I don't want to be stopped or trampled over ever again. No matter what.”

  “Fuffufufuf,” Delirias couldn't stop his laughter. “Yes, Lord General,” he saluted as his white teeth were brightly visible, following his human partner into the dark corridors.

  Chapter 15 – Malice

  Not far from where Leandro and Destare met Delirias, they moved onward and eventually stopped, as they reac
hed a giant hall that looked to be even bigger than every other room they had visited before. They were rushed through an equally enormous wooden gate that was closed behind them as everyone had entered. The duo marveled at the frightening space surrounding them. It was unusually quiet. Many cultists gathered around, standing there almost completely silent. Even though it was supported by giant stone pillars deep underground, like some of the halls before, the room was unlike any other they had seen so far. It was solemnly decorated. No cobwebs could be found anywhere, and all the dust had been wiped away. Giant iron chains at the back end of the room were leading up to a dark ceiling that Leandro couldn't even begin to see, even while squinting his eyes together.

  Everything was leading up to a black throne that was covered in skulls, as the glorious eye-catcher with a pedestal standing next to it. On top of it was a golden grail that seemed like thrice the size of a normal one. Everyone's attention was focused on the grail as Leandro and his aspect sneaked near the crowd.

  “I think we've seen enough,” Destare whispered to his partner, but before Leandro could answer him, loud footsteps were overshadowing their conversation, under which the hall began to tremble ever so slightly as they came closer.

  “T-that has to be a joke,” Leandro mumbled in disbelief as he saw what had anteceded before the cultists.

  He couldn't believe his eyes as he saw a creature that was almost as tall as the giant pillars that supported the hall. Its appearance was more like a boar than anything else.

  Thick thighs that were shaped like a hoof with three toes, looking like they were already rotting, as they stomped themselves into the stone floor. A monumental belly that was covered by iron plating reaching to his loins. Even thicker were his buttocks where a short tail emerged from, covered in black spikes.

  Its shoulders were also covered in spiked iron plates that were burning with black flames that didn't seem to fade or enhance visibility. Leandro’s eyes were troubled by its color, as it was closer to a shadow than a source of light. Not even his face looked pleasant, as his jaw suffered from an overbite due to his many fangs.

  Its little fig-like eyes were covered in black tar that was makings its way over its puffed up cheeks, what seemingly poured out of its skin from the top of his forehead.

  Yet, what made Leandro speechless were the giant horns on top of its fat head, raging as far as his whole back, scrolling down in a spiral. As the young man still tried to make sense of what was happening, the monstrosity appealed to its followers. With a deep, rough voice it managed to pull apart its teeth.

  “I'm happy that all of you were able to gather here. After all this time it's finally about to happen. Our Lord will accept us as one of his own after the festivities, and together, under his rule, we will evolve and bring terror to this world to our hearts’ content.”

  The crowd rejoiced in complete agreement and ecstasy as the disgusting creature turned himself around to what seemingly waited next to the grail and the throne.

  “Oh, great Lord Despair. It saddens us that you cannot further indulge us with your presence, but we will follow your orders without fail, so that the Akeyanaru will think of us as their equal,” the cultists’ leader had switched to a more obedient sounding tonality.

  Purple eyes were glowing in the darkness at the throne, and another voice spoke to everyone present in the room.

  “I expect many great things from you, Malice. The grail ritual is very important to our cause. Your loyalty shall be greatly rewarded, for this will usher in a new era. Our era. Let down the chains, as the moon before the dawn welcomes us in his arms.”

  With these words, the black chains behind the throne were released, and Leandro heard a strange noise echoing through the hall. It almost seemed like the rustling was from the chains rubbing against each other, as they were let loose at full speed. As the uncomfortable sound come closer and closer, Leandro desperately tried to grasp what would happen, but everything he saw was the dark ceiling whenever he looked upwards.

  With a sudden halt, the moving sound came stopped before Leandro heard another sound of abrupt snapping and tearing. Without knowing what had happened a single red drop landed on his forehead and ran down his nose. Just as he started to contemplate what was going on, a downpour of drops occurred. It drowned the hall, covering nearly everything within its reach. The viscous texture ran over his whole robe covered body, blurring his vision. The cultists around him were rioting with bliss as they tossed and turned in the shower, falling into each other's arms, and pulling out little cups to catch the liquid.

  Aghast, the young man swept his finger over his face, realizing what was falling. He couldn't believe it, but now even Leandro could see what was raining down upon them. His heart couldn't take it, and his mind didn't believe him, he looked like a former shell of himself.

  As much as he wanted to close off his eyes from reality, he couldn't hide anymore. It was blood. Everything was covered in it. He was soaked from top to bottom, and paralyzed with bewilderment. Even his legs felt like they didn't know if they were supposed to give in or not. The liquid ran down his coat like a river and poured itself over the cold stone floor.

  As Destare realized how traumatized his partner looked, he quickly reacted and brought him out of the crowd, standing on the sidelines, as the festivities continued, while the rain of blood didn't seem to let up. Dimly lit by the surrounding lights they saw Personas hanging from the ceiling. Iron hooks were anchored into their spines, while the sudden momentum of their bodies falling and the abrupt halt let to the downpour of blood.

  “Leandro! Are you alright?” Destare stood before the young man, shaking him back and forth as he tried to talk to him, discovering that the situation had gone on too far for him to mentally handle. As Leandro’s view was focused on the cultists that were still dancing he managed to utter a few sentences.

  “W-why would they do something like this? What did these Personas do to them?”

  “LEANDRO!” he yelled into his face, hoping he could reach him, even though they were dangerously close to being discovered. As the situation escalated their Master, Malice, spoke again.

  “No need to rush my fellow believers. There is something for everyone. It doesn't matter if they are Personas or humans. We will desecrate them all alike,” he jolted.

  “BOY, PULL IT TOGETHER! WHAT DO WE DO?!” Destare despaired as he thought he was out of options. Leandro seemed like he was gone. As if the last precious glimmer of hope in his body that had been utterly destroyed. Meanwhile, the grotesque creature continued his speech.

  “Well then, let us rejoice and dine, celebrating our Lord and the Akeyanar-” He was suddenly disrupted by a giant explosion that burst down the huge entrance gate. A gate so massive that it needed four cultists on each side to be properly closed was now torn apart, flying across the hall split in half, almost burrowing its followers below it. With a loud impact, many pieces of the wooden gate were hitting the ground, and a wide dust cloud spread itself through the entrance.

  “WHO DARES TO DISTURB THIS HOLY AND SOLEMN ACT OF GRACE AND VIRTUE?!” screamed their enraged master.

  “Phew, you're quite the tyrant. Letting me do all the heavy lifting,” a voice resounded from the dust cloud.

  “I WILL ASK ONE LAST TIME; WHO DARES TO INTERRUPT US?!”

  “Kikik…” Insidious giggling engulfed the room. “He wants to know who we are. Pretty philosophical for a first meeting, don't you think? And here we are, only beginning to get to know each other.”

  Slowly the fume and excitement settled as the shadows of two silhouettes were starting to reveal themselves. Something came flying out of the cloud, hitting the ground before the cultists’ feet. Lying before them were three of their fellow followers, stripped of their clothing. The dust finally thinned out, and they could all see who was responsible.

  Gwyn rushed behind Delirias’ back with crossed arms as if he were to strike a pose. “Very dramatic, but I'm all for it,” the young man nodded in agre
ement.

  “Kikiki,” Delirias grinned with focused eyes, being regaled by the fact that he had the honor of being the first one to present himself in such an over the top manner. Gwyn shrugged with his shoulders as his gaze fell onto the unconscious followers.

  “Your brothers were so kind as to let us know all the important details and I'm afraid we simply can't let you get away with it like this,” he proclaimed with a self-assured look on his face.

  But before they could even get the most out of their surprise moment, the creature on the opposite side of the throne room was about to derail with anger, making any further discussions meaningless.

  He roared through the room, “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! I will tear everything apart and eradicate this worthless human spawn. Go, my followers, you know what to do!” He turned his head around. “Don't worry, Lord Despair, this will only take but a moment.”

  It took a while for his master to answer, as he was seemingly annoyed by his subordinate.

  “Do as you wish. You know what to do. I won't be waiting for you,” the flashing purple eyes answered, as Gwyn overheard their conversation. Meanwhile, a fight erupted between some of the cultists that tried to take on Delirias, who easily flung them away and back into each other.

  “B-but, Lord Despair, we won't disappoint you. This is just one miserable human maggot that needs to be exterminated. We will join you in Pride’s City shortly,” Malice tried to explain, but the figure, with the hellish-looking eyes that were glowing in the dark, took one more look at Gwyn.

  “Do what you have to. I don't have time for this,” the creature said, his purple eyes disappeared as a wall of black flames engulfed him and a final flash of shining metal reached across the room.

  “It's him… a disastrous disease that plagues this world. Just like some people our world…” Gwyn thought to himself as the cultists around him were swept away by the efforts of his aspect.

  “Woohoo!” Delirias rejoiced as he paused for a moment to put his hand onto his forehead to look into the distance.