07-11-2018, 03:08 AM
Makoto’s lungs faced abuse of the highest order. Vital breath escaped through his nostrils in bubbles, displaced by streams of sparkling alcohol.
His limbs instinctively flailed as he futilely tried to lift his head out of the abhorrent liquid. The Storm Demon had him well and truly in her grasp, holding his head down with both of her arms and all of her strength.
The boy’s brain kicked into overdrive, using up what little oxygen remained, as primal fear came into play.
Images and sounds dulled, reality inched away. His shifting grew from panicked to lethargic, his fierceness melting into resignation.
He’d die here, wouldn’t he? Bruised and bleeding, his clothes ripped and stained, he’d die kneeling on the floor.
His strength left him at the thought of his ignoble end. His limbs filled with lead as he embraced his fate. Death comes for all.
‘No.’
He could’ve sworn he heard something, through the haze of his cotton filled head and his muddled senses.
‘Stand up.’
There it was again. It couldn’t be someone actually talking to him, his tormentors would like nothing more than for him to die, his partner was already dead.
A face appeared in the darkness. Soft features, blue-grey eyes, and long blue bangs. He knew that face. It was his face.
Was this what happens when you die of asphyxiation? Your last moments stretch into hours as your brain feeds you fanciful illusions while it shut down?
‘You who rejected the inevitable once before, why do you choose to kneel now?’
His indignation was palpable. He didn’t choose this fate! There was no choice to make at all! His opponent was superior to him in every way. Common sense decreed he’d naturally be the loser in this fight.
‘Common sense would tell you not to fight the gods. You denied it then, or do you not remember?’
What was he babbling abou-?
The thought was cut off before it could form, as his consciousness was flung through the confines of his mind, into a distant memory.
There he was, standing on the topmost floor of a tower. The unimaginable structure was an effigy of madness. Floors twisting and enveloping each other in geometrically impossible shapes as spires jutted out in every direction. It rose impossibly high over the surrounding city, splitting the murky green sky and giving him a perfect view of where the land ended and the blood-red ocean began.
The moon, as full and large as it was, was obscured by a single silhouette.
Nyx, the Mother Night. The goddess that had bestowed life upon the world had come to take it back.
She looked down upon him was a frozen smile and black holes for eyes, but he did not stand alone. Surrounded by his allies and true friends, they fought as one.
They looked Death in the eyes, and they spat in its face.
“He’s taking an awful lot of time to drown, don’t you think?” the blue devil asked her angelic companion, still holding the blue-haired boy face down in the champagne.
A careless shrug was Light’s response, his splendid wings swaying slightly in a non-existent breeze.
Ash’s moment of distraction could not have come at a better time. Beneath her hands, Makoto’s eyes snapped open, careless of the stinging liquid. Twin irises shined like the Sun with the force of his determination. He knew what had to be done.
His arms, limp noodles only moments prior, filled with strength as an unnatural second wind instilled him with fervor. They grasped at the marble statue as he leaned forward and retracted his left leg, trying to wind up like a spring as effectively as he could.
“Look out!” Jak reached for his partner in an attempt to at least warn her of the attack he could see coming.
His leg undulated in an instant, his shoe savagely diving into her gut, and flinging her in an arc through the air like an electrified ragdoll.
“Ash!” the angelic being dived at the aggressor, swooping low to the ground on wings of shimmering light.
Their forms smashed together with a muted thud as they rose up and into the wall behind.
Even with his back flat against the room’s barrier and with the angel grappling him from the front he would not yield.
Clawed hands pushed against his ribcage and pinned his shoulders in place, locking his joints from moving. In response, he looked at the ceiling and brought his head down to meet the elf’s in a devastating headbutt. Blood from his wounded face mixed together with the rivulets from Jak’s broken nose.
Admirably, the claws holding him in place did not budge, even as their owner recoiled from the pain. His admiration for his opponent would score him no points today, he had a purpose.
He’d avenge Taloc.
He’d break their backs upon his knee and let their beaten bodies serve as a warning for those who’d dare to touch his friends.
His limbs instinctively flailed as he futilely tried to lift his head out of the abhorrent liquid. The Storm Demon had him well and truly in her grasp, holding his head down with both of her arms and all of her strength.
The boy’s brain kicked into overdrive, using up what little oxygen remained, as primal fear came into play.
Images and sounds dulled, reality inched away. His shifting grew from panicked to lethargic, his fierceness melting into resignation.
He’d die here, wouldn’t he? Bruised and bleeding, his clothes ripped and stained, he’d die kneeling on the floor.
His strength left him at the thought of his ignoble end. His limbs filled with lead as he embraced his fate. Death comes for all.
‘No.’
He could’ve sworn he heard something, through the haze of his cotton filled head and his muddled senses.
‘Stand up.’
There it was again. It couldn’t be someone actually talking to him, his tormentors would like nothing more than for him to die, his partner was already dead.
A face appeared in the darkness. Soft features, blue-grey eyes, and long blue bangs. He knew that face. It was his face.
Was this what happens when you die of asphyxiation? Your last moments stretch into hours as your brain feeds you fanciful illusions while it shut down?
‘You who rejected the inevitable once before, why do you choose to kneel now?’
His indignation was palpable. He didn’t choose this fate! There was no choice to make at all! His opponent was superior to him in every way. Common sense decreed he’d naturally be the loser in this fight.
‘Common sense would tell you not to fight the gods. You denied it then, or do you not remember?’
What was he babbling abou-?
The thought was cut off before it could form, as his consciousness was flung through the confines of his mind, into a distant memory.
There he was, standing on the topmost floor of a tower. The unimaginable structure was an effigy of madness. Floors twisting and enveloping each other in geometrically impossible shapes as spires jutted out in every direction. It rose impossibly high over the surrounding city, splitting the murky green sky and giving him a perfect view of where the land ended and the blood-red ocean began.
The moon, as full and large as it was, was obscured by a single silhouette.
Nyx, the Mother Night. The goddess that had bestowed life upon the world had come to take it back.
She looked down upon him was a frozen smile and black holes for eyes, but he did not stand alone. Surrounded by his allies and true friends, they fought as one.
They looked Death in the eyes, and they spat in its face.
“He’s taking an awful lot of time to drown, don’t you think?” the blue devil asked her angelic companion, still holding the blue-haired boy face down in the champagne.
A careless shrug was Light’s response, his splendid wings swaying slightly in a non-existent breeze.
Ash’s moment of distraction could not have come at a better time. Beneath her hands, Makoto’s eyes snapped open, careless of the stinging liquid. Twin irises shined like the Sun with the force of his determination. He knew what had to be done.
His arms, limp noodles only moments prior, filled with strength as an unnatural second wind instilled him with fervor. They grasped at the marble statue as he leaned forward and retracted his left leg, trying to wind up like a spring as effectively as he could.
“Look out!” Jak reached for his partner in an attempt to at least warn her of the attack he could see coming.
His leg undulated in an instant, his shoe savagely diving into her gut, and flinging her in an arc through the air like an electrified ragdoll.
“Ash!” the angelic being dived at the aggressor, swooping low to the ground on wings of shimmering light.
Their forms smashed together with a muted thud as they rose up and into the wall behind.
Even with his back flat against the room’s barrier and with the angel grappling him from the front he would not yield.
Clawed hands pushed against his ribcage and pinned his shoulders in place, locking his joints from moving. In response, he looked at the ceiling and brought his head down to meet the elf’s in a devastating headbutt. Blood from his wounded face mixed together with the rivulets from Jak’s broken nose.
Admirably, the claws holding him in place did not budge, even as their owner recoiled from the pain. His admiration for his opponent would score him no points today, he had a purpose.
He’d avenge Taloc.
He’d break their backs upon his knee and let their beaten bodies serve as a warning for those who’d dare to touch his friends.