The Divinity's Curse

Ely's words strung above them, and the woman's rosy lips pursed as she replayed his words. Debating on what she would tell him.

A dark shade of sangria completely overtook the sky above them.

He watched as her eyes rapidly flickered to each feature of his face. He couldn't tell if she was acting dull on purpose or because she was ignorant of his blank stare.

It was only when her eyes settled on his forehead did he shook his head to redirect her attention.

She met his gaze once more, "I am a [Divinity], Ely," her words were blunt and sharp as she spoke, only her face and delivery were the opposite—with a welcoming aura.

Ely never expected to encounter a [Divinity] who sought out solely for him. Let alone to be face-to-face with it. Usually, they took the form of their host, but something inside of him told him the woman in front of him was the real deal, not the worshipper.

He was eye to eye with an entity far more capable in brute and mental power than he could ever have as a human. To him, [Divinities] did not need to think through things. It was like the benefits and consequences of their actions came to them swiftly and clearly.

Like a priceless fortune being told.

'Was this even her true form?'

Her head slowly shook in response to his thoughts. He wasn't awake to see the magnitude of a figure reaching towards him moments earlier. He didn't question the strangeness of her face as he came back to consciousness, the untold boundlessness her face had held.

Or how her body had no defining makeshift of it, it was like looking at illuminating marble. Her chest didn't rise and fall—it solidified.

Though in front of Ely, she appeared 'normal,' in an appearance that wouldn't disturb him. To ease him with her human-like completion and mannerisms.

The woman's hand dug into the stone floor of the water, leaving dents in the places her fingers pushed into to this the marking glowed lilac, spreading until the water looked as if it was dyed that color.

Her hair seemed transparent as she did this and the strands that oscillated looked as clear as the water it was in. Only when it subtly shifted with her slight head movements, would one be able to spot that it was hair and not some illusion.

Taking a deep breath she retracted her hands from the water, 'She's crying?'

Where she sat emerged a mixture of crimson red in the water, it was from her fingernails that had etched out from their nail buds.

Yet she didn't scream in pain, she acted as if it was something out of the ordinary, and her tears looked as if it was because of something else.

Ely's nightgown began to move less in the shallow water. The nightgown the woman wore was soaked from the water unlike his which still felt dry to the touch despite what he was inundated in.

He didn't ask to see if she was fine, with the uncomfortableness making his tongue numb. Ely assumed she didn't feel any pain so there was no point in asking.

Her head moved to the left. Small lights began appearing in the water, and millions of small fishes swam to their sides making a halo around the woman. Each had a different color but their eyes were the same color—pitch black. Some had small razor-sharp teeth while others had puffy lips.

'What kind of fishes are those?'

Ely's viewed around him, there were as many fishes as one could see from where they were to the water that outstretched elsewhere. Fishes that kept a distance but still made themselves visible through their glowing colors.

The woman let out a small smile before running her hair through the water and brushing through the many fishes in search of a specific one.

Her eyes seemed to only get brighter, the white part of the eye became covered in the hue of the iris, like the black eyes of the fishes.

It was only when clutched onto something that hurriedly moved side to side but became calm in her hands did her smile got larger.

It seemed to fix her hair too since it went back to how it originally was.

She had got hold of-

"That's a big ass fish," Ely came closer to her to inspect its size. He didn't take notice of the rising water that was now at his abdomen.

Or notice the fish in the distance whose head started to bob up, its head was the same size as an elk. Its body is hidden from the eye to see, the only fish to possess a different pair of eyes than the rest.

The fish she held had similar symbols on its side as the stone underneath him did. He reached his hand out to touch its scales—at this, the fish went limp in the woman's arms.

His eyes widened with an opened mouth, retracting his back to himself, 'Was that her favorite fish? It died so easily.'

The woman didn't become angry with him, she stood up letting the purple sky be painted in luminous star-like lights. Her tears had stopped as well, with the dead fish in her arms.

Every nerve in Ely's body reacted to her but in a good way. His heartbeat slowed to a pacifying tempo.

The carvings under the water started blazing brighter.

The fish turned into ash in her tight grip, she looked straight at Ely as it did.

Many questions raced through his head to ask her, but Ely settled with getting to know one another first, "What do I call you?"

"Ludus is just fine," her satiny smile pushed its way off of her face as she spoke.

She didn't appear calm at all anymore. She wore the same expression a toddler has when you throw out their favorite tone.

"Are you angry, Ludus?"

"No, how could I be? It's what you humans do—always killing everything that you get a hold of."

Ely became defensive to this, "Why didn't it die when you touched it? It only died when I did," his point made no sense. But he felt justified to add it in.

"Because it wasn't meant for you."

She began walking away from him in small steps as if the water was taking her anger within it since her calm expression returned.

The water had gotten to his collarbones, and Ely had risen from the ground to catch up to Ludus. He strode beside her as neither of the two exchanged any words.

Ely could sense there was a reason he was able to see her on the borderline of his death. But he couldn't ask about it at this moment so he just watched the side profile of Ludus. A dead man seeking sympathy.

He watched as she crouched down, her hands were gliding through something but he couldn't make out what it was from behind her shoulder.

If this wasn't a place he had made then surely it was the creation of Ludus. He knew it was possible for [Divinities] that had a host to manipulate someone's subconscious—as long as they were alive. But-

"Didn't I die, Ludus?"

She didn't look over at him but she replied while keeping her attention to what was in front of her, "Do you remember the time you went fishing with your father?"

Ely stayed silent, 'How would she have known about it?'

It was a long-forgotten memory of Ely's because of how loving his father was at that time—that short time.

She continued, "You played in the water as he boated around," a small chuckle escaped from her, "You thought you could catch one with your bare hands."

Usually, this would've been heartwarming but to Ely it made his face stiffen.

Ludus scooted over so he could see what she was touching this whole time, "That's when you saw this guy," her nails playfully scratched at its sides, "you didn't call your father over, and you weren't scared of this cutie."

Ely looked at the abnormally large fish, realizing it was the same one he had seen when he was a kid.

"That's when you took out the largest stick you could find and pierced right through it. But Mr. Cutie didn't move, out of trust. Even after being killed by you, he still loves you."

The fish swam towards his legs after Ludus removed her hand from it. She rose to stand close to the statue like Ely, her hand caressing the side of his face.

"Your minds a mess, Ely. You're worse than the cruelest murderer," The fish began to frantically thrash in the water next to Ely—as if it was reenacting its death. "I know what you've done. To them, to that girl, and this fish. And that's why you're so special. Because you need me, don't you?"

Her voice was like listening to the soft winds whisper into your ears.

Ely rarely cried when he was younger, but he couldn't help but question the strangeness he felt when Ludus was opposite from him.

As if she could read through him. It was apparent that she knew everything there was to know about him.

She took his face in both of her hands, it was as if she wasn't glaring down at him. Like she had no eyes at all, none that could judge him.

He held the back of her hands with his own, slowly looking back down at himself in the water, 'Why am I crying?'