NOVEL NEXT Book 10 Chapter 19
Joan nervously swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to work out the words to say. A large part of her just wanted to scream. "Nameless One, I came to—"
"Oh, no need to be so proper, little Destiny Breaker," the Nameless One said, giving her cheek a little tap. "You and I have much to speak about. As for the rest of you, partake of my realm. As I said, there are no traps, no dangers and, in this case, eating of my realm will not bind you here."
"Uh… huh?" Bauteut said, staring up at them for a few more longing moments before shaking her head. "Joan?"
"I… don't know," Joan said softly. "Last time we met, they were… ummm…"
"Last time was to be our last meeting," the Nameless One said, their tone bordering on what Joan would have almost sworn was excitement. "You were to die and the Hungry One was to devour you. And yet, here you are. Before me once again. Despite the many ways you were to fall… you did not. You have managed to avert your destiny. Is there any wonder I find you fascinating? Even the Chosen struggle with such things. Yet here you are… unclaimed, even."
"Uhhh, thank you? I think?" Joan said before trying to pull out of their grip. She couldn't, however. She gave Chase a pleading look.
"Let Joan go," Chase said.
"Oh, must you take such a tone?" the Nameless One asked before giving a sigh. "Oh, very well."
Then the others were gone. No. SHE was gone. Her voice locked up as she was, once again, inside that cave covered in strange runes. The Nameless One's arms unwrapped from around her and they walked towards the walls.
"W-where are we?" Joan asked, looking around nervously. "Where are the others? Wh—"
"Where they were left in my realm," the Nameless One said. "I have no real interest in the Chosen. Their destinies have long been claimed by others. You, on the other hand…"
Joan gulped and glanced around. "I… I died. I died and I came here. It wasn't a vision, was it? Why? What did you do?"
"I merely finished the ritual you started," the Nameless One said. "Though, I must say. I was absolutely enthralled with how you managed to split your soul already. I should have expected such a thing from you."
"I have no idea what you mean," Joan said. "Split my soul? What do you mean ritual? I didn't do… anything like this. Is that blood?"
"Oh, yes," the Nameless One said before raising a hand. "And before you give some speech or threat or last heroic stand, do know the blood was given willingly. Mortals will give so much for so little."
Joan paused, unable to come up with a counter to that. So instead she walked to the runes and ran a finger over them. "Okay, fine. What ritual? I never started any…" She trailed off as she realized she HAD seen runes like these before. Not often, but a few times. The color drained from her face and she turned to look at the archfey. "This is a shrine."
"Indeed," the Nameless One said, the smile slowly growing on their far too-perfect lips.
"This is a RIVER HAGS shrine," Joan said.
"Indeed," the Nameless One said again.
"You… you made the shrine," Joan said, the horror growing inside her. "You made me… a… I'm a…"
"Not yet," the Nameless One said. "Not until you die. Well… a second time, I suppose. Assuming it properly sticks. You do seem quite… talented at avoiding such fates."
Joan gulped, backing away from them, the panic rising in her. She held out her right hand, starting to gather what water she could from the air to form a shard of ice.
"I did mean what I said," the Nameless One said. "I have no intention of harming you while you are here. Or after, even."
Joan paused, letting the water drip to the ground. "W-what? Then… why… why make this? Why show me?"
Then the Nameless One was behind her. She let out a shriek when their hands slid down her arms and gripped her wrist. The world disappeared around her.
All she could see were the threads of fate, once more.
"See as I see," the Nameless One whispered.
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The Nameless One sat on their throne. Waiting. Watching. The Champion would arrive soon and slay them. That was their destiny. To die by their hand. It was meaningless, though. Because things had already been set in motion. The Hungry One would arise, one day. As they must. And devour all. There was no averting this destiny.
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The Nameless One sat on their throne. Waiting. Watching. Watching as the Hungry One devoured the realm. As the archfey put on a… valiant, if hopeless battle against such a creature. Knowing that, when the Hungry One finished with the rest of the realm, they too would be devoured. Then the Hungry One would move onto the next realm. The Hungry One felt no love for their spawn. In the end, the Nameless One was just another tool. One bound by the threads of their creator more tightly than any chains.
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The Nameless One sat on their throne. Waiting. Watching. The Hero had managed to avert so many destinies, but there was no way they could avert this one. They had seen it.
They watched as the Hero met their end, again and again. At the hands of the children of the Hungry One. Monsters. Beasts. Penthe. Once, at the hands of the strange, de-horned girl with the Demon Lord. Renor. That was her name. Had they known this before, or was it new? They couldn't say. It would take so many, many lifetimes. But the Hero would inevitably fall, just as the Champion had. Then all would end. They had seen it. They had watched. Through countless lifetimes.
Knowing all of fate, all that would happen. Bound eternally by it.
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The Nameless One sat on their throne. Waiting. Watching. The threads of fate had been changed. The tapestry had been shaken in a way they never imagined. They couldn't find it at first, until…
The new thread, a new threat unlike any they had ever seen before. One that changed everything. In their realm. The Hero.
Memories long, long forgotten sprang to their mind. Memories of a little girl they'd once allowed to live on a whim… that had altered their destiny. They reached out to touch the string, to feel it. To see where it ended…
And saw it meet its end. The Hungry One devouring the soul. Penthe slaying her.
But they saw… a change. A chance to make things, slightly, different. While they were bound by the threads of fate, this soul was not. So they reached out… and gave the child a chance. An opportunity.
Then they watched and waited.
Despite all odds, despite how they knew it would end, it didn't.
The Hungry One was slain, once and for all.
Leaving this small, insignificant soul… alive. Not burned away. Not dead. Not torn asunder. Even as they died countless times, it never seemed to stick. A soul that had more experience in dying than most mortals could ever imagine, yet refused to accept it this once.
The Nameless One, in a strange way… was free. A few of the chains binding them shattered. The threads cut.
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Joan gasped when she was released, stumbling forward a few steps and falling to her knees. "W-what? Why… you… what?"
The Nameless One merely smiled down at them.
"Why?" Joan asked. "S-so… is this… am I supposed to be thankful? Is this a… is this supposed to be a gift?"
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"A gift? No," the Nameless One said. "You, Joan, are special. Again and again I have seen you break what should be your destiny. I've seen you fight it and, more than that, I've seen you succeed. You surprise me. So very, very few things can surprise me."
"So, what, you're hoping if you make me a hag I'll keep surprising you?" Joan asked angrily.
"Of course," the Nameless One said. "I had a number of… plans for that. Trapping your soul, binding you in other ways. This one seemed the most… efficient in maintaining you as you."
"Me as me?" Joan asked. "You know what river hags DO, right? How they… survive?"
"I do," the Nameless One said, their smile seeming all the more cruel in that moment. "I wonder if you will be able to avert your very nature in that case."
"You're insane," Joan whispered, her arms wrapping around herself. "I don't WANT to be a hag!"
"Then find a way to stop it," the Nameless One said.
"What?" Joan asked.
"I've already seen your destiny," the Nameless One said, their voice filled with amusement. They then offered her their hand. "I have seen you die and awaken as a hag of my realm. I have seen the pain and suffering you will spread, free to do as you please. But I have seen you break your destiny before… I merely wish to see if you can do it again."
Joan gulped and slowly reached out a hand to take theirs. "You're… insane… you're not going to kill me? Or…?"
"Forcing you would do nothing," the Nameless One said, their hand gently pulling her to her feet. "Aside from taking what I desire from you. If anything, I desire to aid you. Every time you break destiny it becomes harder for me to judge, to see. The chains binding me to fate grow looser."
"What?" Joan asked, blinking up at them.
"I am the child of a fate, of a god," the Nameless One said soothingly. "Bound to the Realm of the Fae, I can see all. Every scheme, every ploy. It is all laid out before me. But you change things. You offer me a glimpse into a destiny I cannot see, cannot fully understand. And it is mesmerizing." Their hand reached out, a single finger under her chin lifting her up so she looked into their eyes of madness. "In many ways, little Joan, I am your ally."
"Even if I oppose you?" Joan asked.
"Especially if you oppose me," the Nameless One said. "Because you cannot succeed. For each time you do, I only gain more."
"… You're strange," Joan said finally.
"As are you," the Nameless One said before pulling away. "But now you know what awaits you, should you die again. I take it you want to know what else has bound your soul? Which, frankly, I find infinitely amusing. Considering you allowed it."
"What do you mean I 'allowed' it?" Joan asked. "I didn't allow anything!"
"You defeated the Soulbinded Weapons while wielding your own and bonded with them," the Nameless One said with an amused grin on his lips. "Did you not wonder why they were following you?"
"… Wait, what?" Joan asked.
"The trident, the warhammer and the daggers?" the Nameless One asked.
"YOU KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE?!" Joan yelled, unable to stop herself. "Wait, they bound to my, WHAT?! How? Why?"
The Nameless One merely laughed, a hand covering their mouth. "Perhaps, in your case, ignorance is what allows you to break destiny."
Joan's cheeks burned with embarrassment and she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to ignore how stupid the fae made her feel. "I can't be the only person who does that."
"Mmmm, no," the Nameless One admitted. "Those who are not tightly bound and aware of their destinies are, sometimes, able to escape it. You, however? Have managed to escape a destiny that resulted in slaying a god. Very few of your kin have managed to do such a thing." Their hand reached out and lightly tapped her chin again, making her look up at them again. "I wonder what other threads of fate you will cut before you are done. Perhaps you will even manage to escape my control and I will lose out on my new prize. Wouldn't that be impressive?"
"You make it sound like you're hoping I do," Joan said softly, pulling her head back from their hand. "Fine then. Let's start with that. How do I get unbound from those weapons?"
"That, at least, is simple," the Nameless One said. "You merely have to destroy them and free the souls trapped within them. Something I imagine you would have done already, if you could."
"That's it? Destroy them? That's… wait. What's the catch?" Joan asked. The growing smile on the fae's far too beautiful face warned her she was right. There was more to this.
"Well, you have to locate them first," the Nameless One said. "And it'll be more difficult now, since there are four weapons, not just three."
"Yeah, two daggers," Joan said with a shrug. "I know. That's… why are you looking at me like that? Oh gods. It's not the daggers, is it? You mean another new weapon, don't you? Is it a glaive?"
"A sword," the Nameless One said. "A very familiar sword, for you. I am curious how it will affect things. It is so very tempting to look at the threads… but I fear doing as such now would add yet more chains."
"A sword? What other plans?" Joan asked. "What, did one of—" The words died in her throat as she choked on them. "G-guardian Nova."
"Exactly," the Nameless One said.
Joan gulped and slowly glanced around the cave. "Wait. Is my soul currently… split… between…?"
"No," the Nameless One said. "Your state would be even more dire, were that the case. Very few things can be both living and dead. But your sword does have a life all its own in many ways. Now that's just more… true than normal."
"I have to destroy… Guardian… Nova?" Joan asked, an ache going through her heart. That sword was practically an ancient friend to her now. She couldn't imagine never having it again, let alone destroying it.
"Perhaps," the Nameless One said. "Breaking the curse will, likely, suffice. After all, the sword is quite fond of you. I imagine destroying it would be difficult."
"Right. Break a curse, get my sword back, find a way to… unhag myself. Wait, am I a hag now? I don't feel very haggy," Joan said, looking down at herself.
"No, not yet," the Nameless One said. "You're… something in the middle, I imagine. Tasted by death, but not fully swallowed by it."
"And you're not going to try to stop me? Really? Truly?" Joan asked. "Not going to just kill me now to complete the ritual?"
"Not at the moment," the Nameless One said. "In fact, I'd even like to offer you aid in your quest. But I feel there is something else you should know."
"Uh huh," Joan said in a flat tone, glaring at them. "What else?"
"There is a way to avoid your… fate as a river hag," the Nameless One said before holding out their hand. "At least, in some ways. Become my servant."
Joan stared at them as if they were mad. "Your… servant."
"Yes," the Nameless One said. "Many archfey will make deals with creatures like you they find interesting. Why should I not?"
"What, so in return for me becoming enslaved to you now, you'll… not enslave me when I die?" Joan asked.
"I won't enslave you either way," the Nameless One said. "I will, however, watch you closely and give you some… guidance from time to time."
"Uh huh," Joan asked. "Will you give me a fancy sword, too?"
"If you desire," the Nameless One said with a low chuckle.
"For some reason that doesn't seem like a good idea," Joan said softly. "I think I'll need to decline."
"I expected that," the Nameless One said. "I do have something else for you, though, that I think will make you want to consider it a little more."
"Uh huh," Joan said, that gnawing sense of dread returning. "That is…?"
"Guidance," the Nameless One said before they were right behind her again, making her jerk. Their hands moved to rest on her shoulders and, once again, she could see the threads of fate. Her own thread, then it leaped from her thread, back to another, then another. Until…
She saw Penthe, her weapon dropping from her hand. Pierced through the chest by a black sword. An… oddly familiar man was standing over her, but something about them seemed off. It took her a moment to realize what it was. They weren't human. A vampire.
Qakog's body was laying not that far away, his throat torn out.
Then Joan was back in the cave, stumbling forward and pulling away from the Nameless One. "I-is that what you're trying to do? You're going to just, to just threaten me? Become your servant or Penthe dies? W-well, don't think—" She went silent when a finger went over her mouth, shushing her.
"No," the Nameless One said. "I told you already. I have no desire to push you to that extreme. Those who have in the past result in you turning your particular talents on them, no? I merely wish to show you what I can offer you, by working with me. For example, the impending demise of your aunt if you do not move swiftly. Granted… without my help, you will fail and likely die. But that is for you to risk."
"Well, I… that… thank you then," Joan said. "I'm going to go get Chase and we'll deal with this our way. Err, thank you for your hospi-- Did you say my aunt?!"
"It was quite easy to jump from your thread to hers," the Nameless One said, their far too perfect smile only growing wider. "From child, to mother, to sister. All woven so tightly."
"S-she's my aunt?" Joan asked. She shook her head and took a small step back. "No. No no. You're messing with me, right? You have to be. There's no way that she's my… she wouldn't… she… she's my aunt? That means my parents, my mother, she's… she's Penthe's sister? Why didn't Penthe tell me? She knew I… I…"
"You'd have to ask her, if she survives," the Nameless One said, turning their back to her and focusing on the runes. "Perhaps after you die, hm? River hags aren't the best at conversation… but then, I suppose you'd both die in that case, wouldn't you?"
"W-what would I have to do if I became your servant?" Joan asked.
"Oh?" the Nameless One asked. "Merely this and that. Maybe the odd task. Nothing you'd find objectionable, I assure you. Most I imagine you'd do if I merely made you aware of it."
"T-then what do you get out of it?" Joan asked.
"The severance of threads," the Nameless One said. "The chaos that creates. The ability to watch, first hand, as destiny itself becomes unpredictable."
"I won't have to hurt anyone?" Joan asked.
"No one you wouldn't want to normally," the Nameless One said. "If you feel uncomfortable with it… perhaps I could offer you a sample?" Once again, they offered their hand. "My aid in rescuing your aunt… should you survive? You can decide then."
Joan gulped, looking down at the hand. They were playing her. They HAD to be playing her. Why else would they offer her help like this? There had to be something else they were getting out of this.
There was no way Penthe was her aunt. If she was, why hadn't she said anything? How long had she known? Was it really possible?
It was a trick. A trap. It had to be. The Nameless One was up to something. They couldn't be trusted.
Worst of all? It was a trap that the Nameless One knew she'd fall into.
"Just until I rescue Penthe," Joan said. "Or die trying."
"As you wish," the Nameless One said.
Joan's hand reached out and took the archfey's.