The Son

Without a moment to waste, Reta cried out a fierce howl as she charged forward. Perdilius, now tired and bleeding, leaned back seemingly unimpressed by the display as he clenched his fists in preparation. The wolf lept into the air and latched onto him, cutting his forearms as he shielded his face from her flurry of attacks. She was quick and proved to be agile, flipping over him and slashing his ankle causing him to fall to his knee as Nukka stepped in and pushed the man hard with her paws. Perdilius found himself in the hallway having crashed through from such ****, he reached for a heavy brick and threw it at the bear, aimed for her head but hitting her arm instead. Nukka yelped and grabbed her arm, giving Perdilius time to crawl to his feet and run down the hall, abandoning the fight.

"He's fleeing, the coward." Reta snarled, stepping into the hole in the wall and entering the hallway.

Nyitzcha and Spi'Reto helped Felix up, letting him rest against the wall before he reached for them to pick himself to his feet in a hurry. "No, he wants to get back up. He wants to finish his ritual!"

"Bad news?" Nukka asked with a look of worry in her face.

"Very." Spi'Reto coughed, his legs shaking as he stepped twice forward. He fell to his side and recoiled in pain, clutching his chest. Nyitzcha hurried to him and tore his tunic open, revealing the purple bruises on his side.

"Blast, looks to be several broken ribs from 'ere. Das enough fightin' outta you." She said, rolling him to his back. "Rest now, ye gave it yer best licks. We still gots de other cat who be sleepin' nice and comfy o'er there."

Felix shook his throbbing head and leaned down, checking on Spi'Reto before patting Nyitzcha and getting up.

"Wait." Spi'Reto called out. He reached for his dagger and held it for him. "Use this."

Felix looked down at the object, his fingers grazing the handle before shaking his head. "I cannot."

"You must. It's my father's, take it. Help me make him proud, please." He plead, his eyes a mix of pain and sorrow. How could he deny the boy such a request? Felix held onto the dagger tight, nodding in return. It formed a smile onto the elf's face as he leaned back satisfied. "I think you call her KuriKuri, right? She chose well, you make a great friend."

"It's KuliKuli, and thank you." Felix smiled back.

Reta rolled her eyes. "You two have your silly moment, I'm moving up to find mister holy ass over there and make him use the gods name in vain."

"Right, Nukka let's go. Nyitzcha-"

"Ay!" Nyitzcha chased after them, leaving Spi'Reto and Na'Vi behind.

Perdilius hurried up the stairs, crushing stone with every heavy stomp while holding onto the walls for balance. He was not use to walking around in his old form, for too long he became accustomed to being restricted into the body of man as the way he felt it should be. His biology was his own sin, and sins need to be restrained. Stepping into the top floor, he saw the ritual taking place in the top chamber uninterrupted with no one in sight. The guards must have fled alongside the monsters, mere cowards and fodder in his eyes. He saw no further use for them anyway, not when he had his victory several steps away from him. He stopped as Emyri stepped in his way, his eye raised and his interest peaked as he heard more footsteps approach from behind.

"Hunter, come to protect your employer?" Perdilius mocked him, his back turned to him as if he wasn't deemed as a threat.

Leone traced the bulb at the end of the handle to his sword, thinking of those words being told to him several months back. "That contract was **** to **** my hand. You had many hunters to choose from yet you requested for me specifically. What choice did I have, what say could I when you make it known of my secret?"

"A dark, disastrous secret, one of ridicule and embarrassment to your Guild of Hunters. Could you imagine if people were to know of this? And how often do our Hunters decide to lay rather than slay? Such a hypocritical oath, ripe for a hypocrite himself we call savior, don't you think?"

"Watch your tongue, that's my mate you're speaking to." Emyri interrupted, baring her claws.

"You can't attack me hunter. It would go against our contract, and you must hold to your word or risk the Guild to seek out your ****. And where would that leave your family? Defenseless, lost and alone. Think carefully before you do this, foolish hunter."

Leone kept silent for a moment before drawing his sword. "The contract states that I am not to interfere with the process of starting the ritual. To stand down and allow my family to perish, or stand and fight at the risk of my own life. I was hoping to avoid it going this far, but I have ****. If I die today or die by the Guild, then damn the rules and damn your contract."

Perdilous turned back and opened his hand as a contract formed from thin air as a rolled up scroll. Tossing it to his feet, he grinned and gave a mocking laugh. "Then the weight of your sin has stained your feet, and you too shall be left behind."

Emyri and Leone both charged in from opposite sides, with Perdilius kicking the Nekomata back and narrowly dodging the hunter's blade. He launched a punch striking a pillar nearby when Leone ducked in time, lifting his sword just to find Perdilius stomp his foot down on top of it. It dropped from Leone's grasp, it was his turn to dodge Perdilius as now the priest began to take control of the fight. Emyri lept onto his back and began biting at the side of his head. Perdilius let out a groan of pain as he grabbed her hair and flung her aside, his ear bleeding from her teeth. Leone searched for his belt for a tool, an item, something to use when Perdilius jumped up and stomped his large foot onto him. Luckily he rolled away in time, getting on his feet as he know held two small daggers in each hand.

Annoyed, Perdilius dug his hands into the stone ground and tore away a chunck of rock, tossing it to him like it weighed nothing. He jumped out of the way, moving in as Perdilius threw another fist toward him. Leone caught his arm with a dagger impaled at his bicep and another to his shoulder, causing the man to shriek in pain. Perdilius caught his head with his hand, slamming the hunter into another pillar hard enough to break it loose. He fell back as Perdilius brushed the daggers from his arm, looking up in time to find Emyri on him once more. She swung at his chest and waist, slicing him further before being delivered a blow to her chest sending her flying. As he wiped the sweat and blood from his brow, he turned back to find himself struck by some kind of blast which sent him to his back. He was stunned, aside from the Bear no such attack could move him from his feet. Moving upward, he stared down the hall as behind him Felix, Nyitzcha and Reta had just arrived running up the stairs. But they were not the ones who attacked him, the blast came from the opposite side from where the rituals took place.

Raz stood his ground with eyes filled with hate, his arm stained with blood but his other arm controlling a small red river around him flowing like a snake in the air.

Janette felt her toes touch the ground, she sunk to her knees clutching her churned stomach as her head spun with dizziness. It took moments for her to recognize the white color tone of the ground she stood on, raising her head to acknowledge that whatever room she was held in carried nothing but emptiness colored in white. Turning around, she stepped back when she noticed seven odd dots in the far distance coming toward her. They grew larger with each passing moment, appearing three feet from her position. It seemed as each orb laid out a trail behind them, not one of smoke or footsteps but a trail of colors. Blue, red, green, yellow, orange, indigo, and violet colors began to spread across the open world, splashing around like the waves of an ocean current creating life around her. The blue would begin forming the blue sky, leaving empty white spaces which began growing a distinct fluffy texture before turning into clouds. The green turned into grass, plants and trees. Red would form berries and apples, ladybugs and other insects. Each color would help mold new life and structure around them, the sight seemed hypnotic as she felt unable to take her eyes away from it. It diverted her attention when to her shock the orbs now surrounded her, somehow despite lacking in any distinct shape besides its black color she could feel their watchful eyes staring into her. It was then she realized her own body lacked color, she herself was an empty white body with black outlines like a drawing on white paper.

Be at peace, they mean you no harm.

That voice whispered to her like a friend leaning over her shoulder. Another voice spoke to her, this one less of a whisper and more of a bellowing feminine tone spoken outright.

"You asked for our presence and offered us sacrifice in return for one wish. What is it you desire?"

"My wish?" Janette asked, pinching her chin in thought. "I-I wanted to see if I could put a stop to this whole thing. End it, not have a sacrifice."

"Sacrifices have been set." Another orb responded, "The blood of our daughters introduced, gathering such is no easy feat."

"One does not simple turn back at this point, not when they have come this far."

"Unlesssss," The third orb hovered forward, its vocal accent adding emphasis to its wording. She imagined this thing would be thinking to herself, much like a schemer would. "You are not the one who set this in motion, are you?"

Janette stepped back as this orb pressed further, the world around her shifting in color and appearance. The trees filled with life shriveled, the sky wept as a darkness crept above their heads. The full moon casted a pearly white light upon them as if watching with deep fascination. As soon as the orb hovered into the light, an outstretched hand suddenly appeared creeping toward her. Its fingers looked wrinkled and ancient, her forearm severely gnarled and twisted as more of her form was revealed. Janette walked back until she felt resistance, turning around she found herself facing a tall woman, far greater in height than herself. This woman had to be at least seven feet, with beautiful gold hair flowing from both sides of her head reaching halfway down her legs. She wore a silk white dress decorated in symbols and markings, she wore a gold headband with a ruby at its center as it sat atop her head. Her ocean blue eyes kept Janette visibly stunned as she smiled back and reached out to hold her hand. The very touch was indescribable to her, like a mother's warmth spreading through her body, just the contact from her fingers made Janette feel relaxed.

"You are nervous, do not fear. We take these forms because they are familiar to you." The woman spoke to her, brushing a strand of Janette's hair to see more of her face. The orbs around her were gone, replaced by six other women of different height and appearance. Janette noticed each one seemed familiar, some resemblance could be seen from each one. This one who spoke to her, she looked similar to the descriptions of Amazonian women from the northern colonies according to the stories she had read. Turning around, the one who she believed had the deformed hand was absent as now stood a woman with her black hair braided in the appearance of a crown. She had pale skin and sharp violet intimidating eyes.

"This one trembles before is, as it should be. She should know how to address us properly, like royalty."

The golden haired woman chuckled at her sisters words. "Still upset at the name they gave you?"

"It's insulting! I'm nothing but aware of what I am and of how squishy they are. Those creatures are mere dust collected beneath my fingertips, a simple wave of my hand would more than suffice to make short work of them. After what they have done to my daughters, a thousand plagues shall fall upon them."

"Those daughters of yours were just as prideful and arrogant as you are." Spoke another woman, this one with a short brunette bun wearing a slender dress which compliment her hourglass figure. Her pointed ears stuck out to Janette as this woman began speaking out to the other. "I told you to tone it down when you kept pressing on, giving them more and more and more. Eyes that pierce the night, eternal youth, fair skin, an immunity to natural disease and a thirst for blood. It's nothing short of a miracle they hadn't gone extinct after the others endeared such **** for decades."

Janette looked around, observing each women carefully. The first woman stood near her height and looked to be thin to an unhealthy degree, the dress she wore seemed baggy with an intent to disguise it. But she could not hide her face, perhaps she looked beautiful once but she seemed to be malnourished. Her eyes sank into her sockets and you could see her arms were skin and bone with little meat to them. She looked disinterested, yawning as she struggled to stand upright with her slumped stature. Her head was tilted to one side, her eyes half open and her toffee hair lazily brushed in a messy fashion as if she were late for something with plenty of loose strands over her face. The second woman was horribly wide as if she were two women standing side by side. Her dress left little to the imagination, she was heavy and her pudgy face left no neck to be found, only a second chin. Her curly dirty hair looked miniscule in comparison to her large face, with a mole on her cheek and a snack held by her pudgy fat fingers, her dress was stained with drool and grease. The third woman was the dark haired woman of before, glaring at her silently mocking her presence with ridicule. The fourth woman she struggled to describe as odd, she looked clean and very pretty with her ruby hair styled in a braided tail and bright red lips. Her caramel eyes seemed fixated on her, but Janette could not help but feel shaken by this woman. Something hid underneath the skin, she could tell this woman held something, suppressed a fire held within. It was the way she dressed in her teal dress with her hands displayed on her front and her head looking down as if she were a humble servant or maiden. She looked to be fair, but the act played far too well to disguise the anger inside. The fifth woman stared with a look of concern and worry, she looked to be shorter than the others with wavy sand hair concealing her shoulders and smaller breasts in size. Her eyes were not fixated on Janette alone, they were darting around her body glancing at her breasts, her eyes, her figure and her hair. This woman had dull gray eyes and freckles decorating her face, her nails seemed uneven and her dress struggled to find a consistent color with different color schemes attached. She looked lost in herself, and incredibly jealous of their new visitor. The sixth woman could not contain her greed, not only was her dress decorated with sparkling gold glitter but she wore a different ring on every finger of hers, ten rings with ten different stones. Her brunette hair fit into a nice bun from behind, less as a style and more as a way to show off the shiny stones hung from her ears. That leaves the seventh woman who's hands now rested on Janette's shoulders, the golden haired beautiful woman from before.

The stories were true, the gods do exist.