“Again, I seriously don’t understand what you are talking about. What is... NaNe?" Crinnan asked, perplexed by all the foreign terms, “What is NPin allocation? What do you mean digital? What the fuck are you talking about?"
“Digital? You know," Lucaas said, “As in computer-based?"
“I still do not understand," Crinnan sighed, “I thought I was in the Hells…" Lucaas went silent for a moment and Crinnan heard nothing. He listened and waited in the darkness; he figured he had the time so he might as well not get impatient.
“I should say I am terribly sorry for Lucaas,” a much different voice suddenly declared. He had a rather posh sounding accent and perhaps sounded a bit of a dandy, “My name is Sajinious Lynx, though my friends call me Sage. You are welcome to call me Sage, but do not call me Vajinious. I should say that if we are not friends by the end of all this, then I will have done a rather unsatisfactory job,"
“By the end of what?" Crinnan asked, “What is going on?”
“I have taken an interest in breaking you out of the Hells, dear boy." Sage explained, “It has not been done for, ironically enough, nearly a century. Eon the Calamity was the last to do it so long ago but your Black Knight boys knocked him back down there as they say."
“Why?" Crinnan asked.
“Why what?" Sage replied with a mild hint of confusion in his tone, “I should say they in all probability sent him back to the Hells because he was quite an unsavory fellow."
“No," Crinnan sighed, “Fuck that. Why are you breaking me out?”
“Does it matter?" Sage asked, “We are on a bit of a tight schedule here, it is quite difficult keeping the Empire from tracking down our operation so I must be brief. Listen close, this is not a riddle. When the darkness fades you will find a sword. I have gained super administrative rights and encrypted your particular entity with a lock that only I have access to. Crinnan, you are no longer a non-player character, you are now a player. Standby for further clarification."
“What the fuck does any of that shit mean?" Crinnan growled. He was frustrated that he had no idea what is going on.
“It means that you are turning the game upside down," Lucaas chimed in.
“That does not bring any clarity…" Crinnan replied.
“I said, stand by for clarity! Crinnan, take the sword and kill the succubus," Sage replied, “We have to leave now, we have to set up a new proxy before Govia finds us. We will return though…" at that Sage and Lucaas went silent
For a moment the silent darkness persisted. He tried to replay the conversation he had with Sage and Lucaas in his mind but it all sounded like gibberish to him. The only words Sage had said that Crinnan understood were sword and kill. He took a breath and suddenly became disoriented. The glowing orange light of the flames slowly returned to view and for a moment, Crinnan became disoriented
When Crinnan came to, he found himself naked once again and laying on what looked to him like a stone altar. He immediately sat up and saw that he sat atop a large hill composed of the same red ground that he had laid on earlier. Above him was only blackness and the fires raged as far as he could see. Crinnan swung his legs over the side of the altar and heard someone speak.
“The warrior awakens…” a seductive voice hissed from somewhere close by. Crinnan hurried to his feet and looked around frantically as he searched for whoever owned the voice. He could vaguely make out a female form in the shadows in front of him and took a step back away from her.
She giggled and her glowing blue eyes shot open, piercing the darkness she hid behind. Crinnan’s breath turned heavy and his eyes scanned the area for the sword Sage had spoken of. After a moment, he found it. It was rested against a stone between the altar and the shadows that the female demon hid within. Crinnan looked up at the demon again and then quickly vaulted over the altar just in time for her to lurch forward and grab his arm with a dark purple and jagged black-clawed hand.
“Let go!" Crinnan shouted as he ripped his hand away, leaving deep gashes from the claws behind. A read “12” floated up from his arm and growled at the numbers that he hated so much. The demoness, a tall, long-legged, purple-skinned and black-haired succubus smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Her large naked breasts bounced as she stepped away from him and she bit her lower lip as she began to circle him.
"You want it?” she asked, glancing down at the sword, “You think you can… finish me?”
“Stop it," Crinnan growled, rolling his eyes, “I know I can."
The demoness snickered, licked her lips with a forked tongue and pointed at the sword, “Make it happen, baby. Thrust it inside me. Make me scream… Let me show you how sensual your nightmares can be."
At that, Crinnan darted forward and scooped up the sword from the ground. He gripped it tightly in his hand and the demoness cackled with her claws outstretched.
“You have no idea, do you?” she asked as she licked Crinnan’s blood from her claws, “That you are just fodder. A useless remnant of what you once were. You cannot fight me; you can only die. That is how this game works!”
Crinnan gripped the sword tight in his hand, his blood dripped down on the handle, “I will decide that."
The demoness laughed again and opened her arms, “I will give you one try. One strike, and then it will be my turn to have my fun,"
Crinnan snarled and charged forward, thrusting his sword between the succubus’ breasts. He heard her sternum pop and watched her ribs snap apart as if they were spring loaded. The number “576” appeared and faded over her chest and she stood stunned. Crinnan looked her in the eyes and ripped his sword up and out the side of her neck. Another number, “412”. Her eyes blinked in surprise and disbelief as blood spewed from her wound as she collapsed dead onto the ground.
“Your turn bitch,” he spat. Crinnan took a deep breath and turned around. He looked as far as he could and examined the terrain before him. He saw the flaming ground, the unending darkness, and he feared for what was to come.
He wondered who Sage and Lucaas were and wanted to know more. As he gripped the sword tight, he took one last look at the corpse of the succubus and spun the weapon in his hand. With a sigh, he took a step into the depths of the Hells and vowed to find answers.
Chapter Two
Sarasin IV
22nd of Ramlia – 346 AG
20:00 – Canrom
Sarasin opened her eyes…
The Brothers had set and the world around her had turned dark. The streetlights illuminated the sidewalks and the facades of the shops and structures of Canrom City; cars drove through the roads and Inquisitors flew overhead among the tops of the buildings. Lights still shone in some of the windows of the skyscrapers as some people remained at their jobs and burned the midnight oil. Curfew was not for another four hours. Sarasin felt that she had plenty of time left to drink away her sorrows.
The alley she had chosen to hide in was just like any other. It was dark and dank, puddles of water peppered the ground and the smell of piss stung her nostrils. Cats wandered around and moaned in heat and the sounds of rats scurrying could be heard. It was perfect.
“He fucking made it,” she slurred in a drunken tone as she sulked and lowered her head. She sat with her back pressed against the exterior brick wall of some building she had never seen the inside of. The molded structure felt cold and moist against her body but she was beyond the point of care, “And now he's public enemy number one. That’s what I get for helping."
She laughed at herself and took a drink from the bottle that she loosely held in her hand. At first, her laugh was fake, perhaps even forced. As she continued, however, it became hysterical and almost crazed. She wiped the excess dravink from the corners of her lips, smudging her lipstick in the process.
“One fucking brother is the damned Demon,” she sloppily laughed, “The other is the President of the weakest point of the Agra Triangle Corporation… the third? Oh, thank the fucking goddess that he’s normal; otherwise I would go insane from all th
eir drama!" Sarasin looked over at the orange cat that she was talking to and snorted.
“Yeah, yeah... I have another brother too,” she hiccupped and raised her bottle again, “I come from a big family, you know. Mom and Daddy got-it-on!" She chuckled and closed her dizzy eyes, "His name is Cris… he is training to become a Centurion like good ol’ Crinnan the Demon,” the orange cat licked its paw as it seemingly ignored the ramblings of the Bishop General. Sarasin wasn’t about to have any of that though.
“Me? How do I know all this?” she asked the cat with an elevated tone. She moved her head down so that her nose was only a foot or so away from the cat's. The feline stopped licking it's paw as it cautiously looked at her and released a small disapproving meow, “Why I am a Bishop General of the mighty Govian Empire!” she pounded her chest proudly with her free hand, “I represent one of the five stars on the Govian banner, I wear those same stars right here on my wrist!" she pulled back her sleeve to show the cat her five-star tattoo… and of course the scars on her arms too were hauntingly revealed, the very ones that she herself had inflicted.
“Do not judge me cat!” she snapped as she downed yet another drink from the bottle, “Do not presume that you could even begin to know…"
Sarasin lowered her hooded head and released a burdened sigh, “I fucked up cat,” she shook her head and her eyes welled up with tears, “I killed a monster and now I am the one suffering for it. Isn't that just so fucked up? I mean, I was not wrong for slaughtering the pig, he deserved to die. He deserved every moment of his suffering and I wish I could make him suffer every day. I do not feel a bit of remorse for killing him. None!” the orange cat looked at her and then looked away. It licked its paw again and curled up next to her.
“It was not supposed to be like this," she took another drink, “I am not supposed to be here now… sitting in a piss-soaked alley regretting the one thing I was never meant to regret. I have been waiting my whole damned life for this you know!" she sighed again and as a fit of anger came over her, she threw the bottle across the alley. It smashed against the brick wall across from her and rained down glass and alcohol on the concrete.
“I was born to the same parents as Crinnan the Demon," Sarasin looked down at her hands, and smiled briefly at her bomb-ass nail job, “I look like my mother, my older brother Kiersen used to look like a big version of father. The twins, of course, look exactly like mother. Cris? I do not know who he grew up to look like. I only really know his name to be honest. But yeah, me. I was the apple of my father’s eye. I only remember him looking down at me, smiling," Sarasin sighed and dug her expensively manicured nails into the palms of her hands.
“Daddy… father loved me. He was good to me, taught me how to build, how to fight, how to use my imagination. I was his only daughter and he wanted the world for me. He would always tell me that I was beautiful, that I was a princess… Father was a general. He was a Black Knight, served under Commander Emilio during the Exgrane Liberation war. You could not tell by looking at him but with a blade and pistol, he was unmatched as far as skill was concerned.”
“Mother… mother was so serious. She was disciplined, very much, unlike my reckless dad. I guess you could say she was his other half. I mean, they're cute together. While daddy was a leader and warrior, mother was a strategist and had a brilliant logistical mind. She kept him in check, kept him alive. Good with a rifle too… or so she said.”
“Of course, though, mother was loving in her own way," Sarasin continued her reflection, “I cannot say my problems are rooted in any wrongdoing from my parents. They were always busy but I have so many happy memories dear cat. Many happy memories… before I met Korros."
Sarasin sighed and wiped a bit of snot from her nose. She looked down at the cat and stroked its head, “I met Korros when I was just a girl. He was handsome, wise, charismatic. Not that I realized any of that at the time, I was too young and stupid… but he saw something in me. I can still hear his silky smooth voice telling me I was beautiful… that he wanted me. That the Goddess wanted him to have me," her stomach churned and she closed her eyes. The memories were eating away at her.
“Well he fucking got me,” she bellowed, “I would not be here if he hadn’t! That nasty old shit got me whenever he wanted and however, he pleased for as long as he desired. Secretly, quietly. You see, he found out who my parents were… he told me that he would have to turn them in to the Govian Empire unless I became his relief vessel! I had no idea what that even was; I had no idea what I had to do… but even if I had known, I still would have. To protect my family."
“He…” she sobbed as blood dripped from her nail-punctured hands, “He stole what joy I fucking had and I didn't even see it. He threatened my family, my life… He killed whatever person I was supposed to become, and what about me you ask? Well, I was made to feel like I was the one in the wrong. He told me I was lucky to be alive; he molded me to feel grateful, to adore him… and I did! I loved him, cat! Whatever that may have meant... but then came Eliss…”
Sarasin paused and took a moment to breathe. Her history was always on her mind; it affected all her decisions. It helped her at times but usually, when it crept up on her, it ended with a blade being dragged across her arm.
“Eliss…” she murmured, letting the sound of his name spread over her like a blanket, “He is the purest and most blameless thing in my life, even after all these years," Sarasin sobbed and shook her head. She wished that she could just have been rid of it all, that all the emotion could be just flushed away.
“After Korros killed my son he sent me away," Sarasin continued as her eyes stared off into nothingness, “I didn't even have time to heal or say goodbye. The asshole whisked me away from my family with threats against their lives knowing I couldn't resist… All this," Sarasin raised her scarred arms and looked at the cat, “Is because of him!"
The pressure inside her skull had become immense. The fury that boiled in her mind was enough to keep her awake, even with the debilitating amount of alcohol she had in her body. The recounting of her memories drove her fingernails deeper and deeper into her palms. The fear of everything that had happened to her made her feel like she was on the brink of insanity.
“Mommy?” she suddenly heard a small voice call out from beside her. She turned her head so quickly that her drunk self had trouble catching up and she had to brace herself on the wall to stop from falling. The young boy form of Eliss sat beside her, the very one that had visited her only hours before.
“Mommy, why are you sad?" Eliss asked with a tone of pure innocence. His hair was blood red just like hers and he wore a look of concern, “Why are you crying, mommy?”
“Do not do this…" Sarasin groaned as she sealed her eyes shut. She wanted to block him out, to pretend like she was going insane and that none of it was real. It was so much easier than facing him, “Do not torment me like this,” she reached her bloody hands up and clamped them over her ears, “Just stay dead Eliss!”
“I…" Eliss’ voice cracked. He sounded hurt and confused, as if he couldn’t understand why his mother was angry with him, “I don’t want to stay dead mommy.” His lips trembled and he sniffled as tears welled up in his eyes.
Sarasin heard him. She opened up her eyes and looked at the boy with pain in her heart. He had Korros’ smile but the rest of him was her. She shook her head and softly wept at the thought of harming him.
“How could I let him take you from me?” she whispered as she yearningly reached for the child, “I could have fought, I could have saved you but I let them kill you! I am sorry Eliss… I am so sorry my beautiful son!"
“Mommy…" Eliss looked up at Sarasin with his deep green eyes. He sounded like he so terribly wanted to be heard by her, “I’m still here."
“You cannot be though!" Sarasin lowered her head and pouted, “You are just a vision, a voice. You are in my head! I made you up; you cannot be real!"
Eliss reached across Sarasin’s lap and scratched the orange cat be
hind the ears. The cat in return purred and leaned into Eliss’ hand. Sarasin watched, looking back and forth from her son to the cat and once again closed her eyes. She told herself that she had made up the cat as well.”
“Why are you here?” she asked angrily. A different side of her did not want to listen to the inclinations that she was going insane; she wanted to believe that Eliss really was there with her, that she was of right mind and something miraculous was happening, “I do not know how to mother you…”
“I have watched you, mommy," Eliss explained, “You have taught me, I have learned and grown because of you. I have seen your pain, I have been there with you through your moments of weakness and through your victories…"
“You have watched me kill," Sarasin gasped and sobbed with shame. There was so much in her life that she would never have wanted her son to see, she had done so many terrible things, “You have watched me…”
“I have seen only good in you mommy," Eliss interjected confidently, “I see your strength because you are strong. It makes me strong too. Mommy, you are not alone, you never have been,"
Sarasin’s chest felt heavy. Against her better judgment, she cautiously reached out and grabbed her son’s hand and choked on her emotion. The little hand was warm as it should have been, it felt real… too real for her to have made it all up in her head.
“I have always been alone Eliss…” she admitted, “I have always been afraid,"
“It is time for your fear to die, Sarasin,” a small and sensible-sounding female voice suddenly declared. Sarasin turned her head to where the cat had been sitting and saw the red-haired girl from the temple. She gasped and clenched Eliss’ hand.
“Do you remember me?” the girl asked as their eyes locked.
“You…" Sarasin shook her head and fought back the tears. She knew exactly who the girl was; she had always known, “You are... me."
“I am you,” the girl smiled and gently nodded her head, “But you are not me. I am your youth, your innocence. I am everything that was killed so long ago; I am who you are supposed to be."
The Black Knight Box Set Page 27
