NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52: His Agony [Sidestory]
The woman paused in her study, jade eye flaring. Her dead gaze sharpened as she studied the mural once more.
It is incomplete?
The Fox yawned, stretching languidly. The muscles of her form went taut, showing an expanse of silver smooth flesh that had driven hordes of lust-maddened Lords to war.
How many lives were lost due to the Fox's beauty, the woman wondered? Millions, hundreds of millions? Even discounting the atrocities she committed during the Age of the Gods, the death toll was likely beyond counting.
Hers was a loveliness that did not contend with the ruination of singular lives, but feasts on the damnation of entire nations led by Heavenly Kings across centuries.
"I suppose you wouldn't be able to tell," the Fox mused. "It is not something an outsider's eyes could see. And yours are both borne from that wretched place — the hells beyond the Mountain's shadow."
An eye of jade, and the other of an unspeakable shade. That the Hierophant kept it veiled and sealed under a mythic seed of darkness did not change the fact that she had it.
The woman, very briefly, considered using it on the Fox.
The creature scowled. "How rude. I have done nothing but talk, and already you seek to employ violence against me. Does the term 'courtesy' not exist in the deranged mind of yours?"
There was a flicker of irony in that statement. Sanity was not a quality any of them truly had any more. Besides…
If we are to speak of 'courtesy'... Then perhaps I am obliged to the debts of a certain kindness: one that saw your traitorous fangs sink into my God ten centuries back.
The Fox maintained her glib demeanour, but her eyes reverted to that of utter blackness. Something unfathomably ancient stirred within the confines of the room — older than the Corpus; older than Agony itself.
"A deplorable state of affairs, that was. But one, I think, that you would agree was completely unavoidable, given the circumstances imposed by your actions, Parasite."
I have always wondered. In that brief moment, when he held my Heart, and when you and that Primate betrayed him, what was my God's expression like? Was he surprised?
The Fox said nothing. The scent in the air shifted, as something other than blood began stirring within the cell. White powder hissed from the creature, forming the vague shape of nine teeth-bearing tails.
Sharp. Odorous. It stung the nose. It spoke of fire and thunderclaps. It was the prelude to suffering and pain, brought forth by the gentle kiss of a slow-burning wick or the ignition of striking flint.
Lei Gong (雷汞). Mercurius Fulminatus — The Bane of Qi.
The woman didn't care.
Or perhaps he knew all along that his end would come from someone as wretched as you. A pathetic excuse of a lifeform, ever clinging to higher powers for the barest scrap of affection. You call me a Parasite, but at least I never had to veil my intent with the offer of worthless lust.
"Jealousy ill-suits you, darling. Though I suppose it cannot be avoided. You never were able to fulfil the baser depths of his… appetites. Small wonder his gaze turned from you, and instead to someone more receptive to his needs."
The woman smiled. It was a dead thing, made by a corpse. There was no life behind the eye of Jade, but even so…
The nine fulminated tails of the Fox recoiled.
And yet, neither were you ever able to bring him to satisfaction. Tell me, since that first night you shared with him, had he ever once taken another bite from your flesh? Do not prevaricate the truth with fantasy, whore. The care a Dragon gives his possession is not that of affection, but prideful greed.
Rather than being insulted, the Fox instead burst into laughter. The black of her eyes disappeared, replaced with a mellow gold.
"Greed?! As if that 'Dragon' understood greed! No, our lives would be so much easier if that foolish idiot had acted the part of his namesake legend and simply devoured all in sight. That way, at least I would have been spared the disgrace of stumbling after him as he marched headfirst into destruction."
He had never asked you to follow. He had never bound you to his cause.
"Oh, he did. Just not with Pacts, words, or promises. No, that wretched man used something far worse and more intimate. I hate him for that. I always will, I think."
The echoing laughter slowly faded. The woman watched as the Fox's palms bled, her nails digging deep into clutched hands.
"He was always like that. Barging into others' affairs, sprouting that same nonsense of defying Heaven's Will everywhere he goes. Always running forward, meeting Divine adversity with teeth bared and eyes open, while the rest of us could only chase after him as he cleared the Path for us. Because of you. You, whispering in his ears with your lies. So that he could fulfil that worthless Dream for you."
The woman closed her eye.
To live is to suffer. To die is to sin. Where, then, does one find the proper way to exist?
The Fox chuckled. It was a broken, hollowed thing, made sweet by the turning of her flesh. "Evidently, in the perseverance of an idiot who never stopped advancing."
Silence. The wraith gave no reply.
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The Fox's inhuman gaze turned to the wraith. "Is he still the same?"
I have no need to tell you that.
"He must be. Otherwise, you would not have been so proactive in your protection of him. So, he is still a fool…"
The Fox turned her gaze back to the Corpus, smiling fondly.
"I would like to do you a favour, Hierophant."
The wraith shuffled.
You, do me a favour?
"Well, it's more for that boorish man you follow. I must admit, though he was satisfactory in bed, I never saw the appeal in him that had you clamour after his Heart like a lovesick puppy. It is as hilarious as it is disgusting."
You and the Primate have a lot in common. He said the same thing.
The Fox's eyes briefly flashed in irritation, colour changing once more before proceeding in a cheerful voice.
"The cultivator that currently carries this Corpus. I want you to find and look after them."
Carries? That would mean…
… Clever. This place. It is a Prayer Site. Accessible only through Faith. You used your Divine Arts to create a lesser projection of a Domain.
The Fox scowled.
"Spoilsport. I was leading up to that point."
You left the keys to the Spatial pocket somewhere on the outskirts, possibly in the early years of the War Against Heaven. Written it in texts, or maybe you imprinted the knowledge needed in one of your depraved followers. Either way, someone found access.
"And whoever that is, they have wandered near that foolish god. Wherever you are now, I want you to find this cultivator and have them reach their potential."
The woman blinked. That was not what she expected.
A day full of surprises, it seemed.
Why?
"To help you, as I've said. You are not stupid. The moment I told you these drawings were incomplete, you had already started searching for the flaw. And you should already have found it by now."
I did. But 'incomplete' would not be the right word for this… defect.
'Defect' was calling it lightly. This was a bomb primed to detonate at the worst possible moment. If the woman didn't know better, she might almost say she was impressed by how utterly disastrous this might turn out to be.
Agony indeed… Who knew a Dream could contain so much hate?
A heavy sigh from the vixen followed.
"Fine. Call it whatever you want. In any case, its value for you is clear to see, right? You don't need me to explain how a tool like that could prove useful."
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the Fox couldn't use the tool in its intended function and was offloading its use to her. But even so, defective or not, a Corpus was not an object to be handed over lightly.
And what would you gain out of this?
"A completed mural, for a start." The creature ceased stroking the Corpus, pulling a drop of its blood to her delicate lips. After a second, she scowled and spat it out. "This unfulfilled master work… To a perfectionist like myself, it is a blighted sore to behold. Do you not want to see it? The full Painted Dream of Human Agony."
No.
The Fox continued as if she had not spoken.
"And if you somehow abuse my trust to alter it and aid that idiotic male in his recovery… Well, I suppose I am magnanimous enough to allow some indignity to fall upon my Domain. Let's call it a test of its capabilities."
The one-eyed woman hummed. There was a considerable length of silence. The Fox patiently waited for the wraith's reply, serenely playing with a tress of silver-white hair, her poise unbothered.
Or so she portrayed.
I will have to feed the cultivator some of my flesh to enhance their control. It would damage your link to the Domain, but the Corpus cannot serve as a suitable Conduit for him otherwise.
"Can you find them? I am given to understand your current form is… limited. More limited than you were before, I mean."
I gathered that. You needn't worry. There are others. He is better guarded than you would think. I will find a way.
The Fox's eyes widened. She tilted her head, humming thoughtfully.
"I had wondered where his disciples went. The old monkey once slipped and said that he wasn't able to kill them properly. I suppose it is in the way of students to stray not from their master's shadow. How are the twins, by the way?"
Halves of themselves. Then halved again.
The Fox winced. "I suppose that was the natural consequence to be expected when one faced the Victorious Fighting Immortal, even with a millennium of recovery after the battle. That Primate never knew how to hold back. He lives up to his namesake well."
Their conversation was coming to a close. The woman viewed the mural again.
Agony in pain. Agony in physical suffering. Horrible to witness, without a doubt…
Yet, mundane all the same. Those towering creatures that dwelt beyond the Forests of Concrete had not sought the flesh and organs of men for pleasure. To them, it had been a matter of survival.
Banal torment. Banal purpose. Banal Dreams.
Agony without cruelty was no Agony at all.
The Fox flicked her hand carelessly.
"Do what you will with the Corpus. I can always reassert my control afterwards, once the mural is complete. It's not as if that worthless man is competent enough to satisfy—"
I will never let him forgive you, even if you beg for his love again.
The words came as a bolt: harsh and relentless. It broke upon silent agreements. It spat on the veneer of civility blanketing a feud lasting millennia.
This time, there was no restraint. The lovely face of the Fox twisted into a snarl hideous beyond imagining.
"You dare—"
The woman cared not for the Fox's tirade, nor her earlier facade of apathy. Impassionate thoughts sliced through the words of the creature like a knife across silk.
He once gave you his confidence. He saw you for what you are, knew you would one day betray him, and still offered you his hand all the same. He brought you into his Dream, made you more than a Beast, fed you his flesh, shared in your Agony, and still, you deceived him.
"I saved him! Saved him from you! If I had not done what I did a thousand years ago, you would have—!"
He loved you, once, in his own way — a Fantasy made for you and you alone. Because he knew you would not dare walk with him otherwise. That there was no one else to save you from yourself. But not any more. No longer. That Heart will never beat for you again.
There is no forgiveness waiting for you at the end of this. No Happily Ever Afters.
For as long as I remain, you shall never share in the beauty of his Agony ever again.
There was a howl. It could not be said to be a noise of this world. There was hatred. There was rage. There was a chorus of all things unholy screeching forth from that monster's mouth.
Yet at the core of it all, there was also grief. Because the monster knew the woman's words to be true.
The Thing That Was The Fox leapt forth—
And swung at nothing. The one-eyed woman was already gone.
Within the prison of concrete, heartbroken tears of mercury mixed into the bloody murals of Agony.
Bringing it one step closer to perfection.