Inhuman Chapter 1

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Murdered by his wife, the soul of a man meets Peyra, the goddess of mischief and lust. While her motives remain unclear, the murdered man becomes her pet, a ghoul called Grym the Faceless. Grym carries the insatiable appetite for human flesh, but he also carries the frightening power of a dark sorcerer.

In a world that shifts to human ingenuity and technology, magic is no longer vital when the empire grows. Cannons and muskets become the weapons against mages and monsters while steam powers ships and trains to haul goods and passengers. With such changes, the rulers now find heroes and their supporters obstacles to their quest for power with armies and technology.

But Grym has a plan to shake the empire to its core. Discovering the eternal tomb of Valary, a healer hero betrayed by Emperor Nazalath, he releases the woman who seeks vengeance for her betrayal. Together, they start on their separate paths of revenge. While it appears the ghoul’s focus centers on short-term revenge, he hides bigger plans. He will turn the world into a bloody realm filled with anarchy and chaos. For a former human now turned ghoul, he sees no reason to help humanity filled with a history of betrayal, hypocrisy, cruelty, and stupidity.

Chapter 1

Pain finally faded to nothingness, a black hole where time and senses meant nothing. An awareness combined with a powerful will wandered a dimension where substance and form were irrelevant. Amid the blackness, the presence still kept its memories and passions. The thoughts of the soul remembered everything, yet it could only turn over the thoughts it burned inside.

Payback!

Revenge!

Vengeance!

A raging need for terrible, unyielding punishment against those who killed his body. No, not just a few, but an entire kingdom filled with such despicable creatures. Images of people he once cared for came to the soul. But now, he recognized them as disgusting creatures wrapped in hypocrisy and soulless passions. Joy filled him when he fantasized about grisly scenes. Images of vengeful mobs stringing up their betrayers and leaders. Sheep-like followers joining a vengeful crusade amid the chaos of burning cities. The cries and screams from the damned, ripped out along with their tongues.

“You amuse me!”

The voice broke through his awareness like a sudden comet.

“Go away unless you can give me revenge!” The black soul thought.

A bizarre, wobbly type of laughter, reedy and obnoxious, came through his thought.

“Dead one, your body feeds my pet now. Yet, your soul seeks vengeance after your death. It intrigues me. Do you wish to stay in the void?”

“You’ll betray like the others,” the presence responded. “Gods are vermin, like the humans they made.”

“I could destroy your soul for such thoughts.” The voice turned cold.

Silence reigned. The presence patiently waited, uncaring about the threat.

“Stubborn as well. Tell me, what can you offer me to get your revenge?” The voice’s amused connection came through again.

The black soul let loose with curses of loathing and rage, which flowed out at the cosmos. When he finished, a long silence returned.

“I bargain with nothing but what I carry inside! Go away unless you have something useful to talk about. But, I swear to the void, I will force my way out of this abyss to deliver my vengeance and to extract retribution upon the world.”

The reedy chuckle at his response irritated him again.

“My, such determination! You amuse me more and more.”

The soul felt the voice come closer as an icy presence filled his space.

“Let’s see if we can come to terms. I’ll give you immortality, dead one! Surely, that’s better than anything else for a human.”

“No, I won’t bargain,” came the instant reply. “Only revenge matters to me! It must come from the power I carried and more! I’m not your dog to leash.”

The presence sensed the god’s contemplation. Finally, a response came.

“Oh, but my terms would not include a leash. I could help you in so many ways. I’ll leave you with free will. What if I give you a path to your revenge? Something with power beyond your past? I can give you steps to bring kings and empires to their knees.”

After a long silence, the presence decided.

“Give me your terms for this soul!”

“Not so fast, dead one. Free things do not exist. Can you accept the eternal cost of the curse you’ll bear?”

Images of a future along with the curse flashed through the dead man’s spirit. After a moment, he recognized the path shown to him by this strange god. Somehow it appeared fitting. Still, he took nothing for granted. The soul knew betrayal came from gods as much as from humanity.

“I trust you no more than the one who laughed while cutting my throat. Unless my free will, my memories, and my mind stay with me, I’ll not accept your bargain. Remember, I’ll not be your puppet to do your bidding. Accept those terms or go away.”

This time a giggle, with the same infuriating tone, entered his thoughts amid the blackness. This time, images flickered like a candle in the window. Scenes of his past and pictures of those he hated and despised. However, the other consciousness melded with his ideas and showed him a horrible, bloody path. Still, the end became a vision, an illuminated, shining path leading out of his dark stillness. An uneasy comfort gradually settled amid the thoughts of a broken spirit searching for one thing.

“You’ll become a beast, a monster for eternity! I warn you that only utter solitude, rejection, and condemnation await you. Do you still accept the power I give?”

No hesitation came as the dead spirit agreed.

~~~

Deep in the forest of an abandoned manor, a decomposing body lay on a dust-covered bed. One hand jerked, then the other. A moment later, eyelids opened.

Staring at the cobwebs sagging from the curtains above, the body carefully sat up. The stale stench of death filled the room. His movement in the reflection of a dusty mirror next to the bed caught his attention. He leaned forward, unsure of the image until he remembered the conversation inside the abyss. Staring at the image of his hideous new body, the man smiled, a grotesque expression on his pale face.

“So, you’ve put me inside a cursed vessel of retribution! I can’t wait to see their faces.”

~~~

Drip!

The ceaseless sound of the water trickling amid the soft echoes barely entered the battered woman’s consciousness.

Drip!

Barely able to lift her head, she forced herself to try. Pain shot into her as her withered neck muscles rebelled at the attempt.

Keep trying!

The woman took a deep breath and tried again to lift her head. This time, the pain lessened. Still, she saw nothing in the blackness.

Drip!

How long has it been since I’ve looked around? Days, weeks, years? What’s the point!

Time meant nothing inside the dark confines of her eternal tomb.

Those bastards weren’t lying! I’m still here!

Drip!

As she retreated back to inside her mind, she heard the faint scurrying of an unseen creature near her. The slight sound once made the woman’s flesh crawl. Now, such emotions no longer existed. She did not bother to look for the creature in the pitch-black darkness of her home. Instead, she waited for the expected pin-prick tickles of a worlbie scurrying across her skin. Suddenly, the sensation of those blood sucking creatures crept into her mind as she remembered several of them already hung down from her body.

Drip!

More are coming, I can feel it!

The woman grimaced at the thought of the coming wave she must endure. The regular cycle continued. Creatures who fed upon her ravaged body. Soon, the taelis and the harpids would join to feast upon her flesh. Their presence brought larger monsters. The gradual increase in pain became torture as each creature farmed her broken body. The progression occurred time after time, day after day. An endless repetition…

No, I can’t think about them! I must lose myself again.

Her aether drove the monsters to her immobile presence where the beasts absorbed her very essence of an immortal life. When the larger beasts arrived, Valary’s body became a target for even worse torture. Unable to rip apart her steel-enclosed body for her aether, the rutting monster's frenzy became a hideous gang rape of appendages. The continued until she eventually lost consciousness when the aether finally drained from her.

Immortal torment given by a worthless man sitting on a throne!

The woman attempted to push herself back into the trapdoor she had made inside her mind. Her deepest fear remained. Welcoming her torture with a shattered mind became the only thing she feared. So she locked herself inside fantasies and memories within her head. A place where the beasts could not break her sanity. However, the ability to keep the door closed weakened each time. She realized each bite into her flesh and each suckle of her skin threatened to shatter her mind. The woman felt the screaming insanity coming closer. Yet, she held no way to kill herself. The price of her near immortality of self-healing that came from the same aether craved by the beasts. Instead, she always woke to the revolting sensations coming from the monster’s leavings which covered her caged body.

Crunch!

The woman froze. While she could not see their stinking forms in the darkness, the woman knew each beast by its size and sound.

How could she not remember? Her group killed them for the empire. Still, something was wrong!

They’re too early!

Crunch!

Something came closer to her, but the sound of footsteps were lighter and certainly bipedal.

Boots!

The woman almost forgot the sound of leather pressing into the crushed harpid shells covering the stone. She tried to lift her head, then dropped it again with a groan.

Flick!

She opened her blind eyes to the sound. However, the length of her time in the pitch-black darkness robbed her sight. Still, the smell of something burning wafted by her face. Slowly, she recognized the burned fragrance of the stubblefield weed. As a healer, she knew opium addicts used such cigarettes to relieve their cravings.

“Well, well, it looks like I found the eternal grave of Valary, the Hero of Idmore!”

The cold tone of an unfamiliar voice drifted over to the woman.

“You would think that a virgin healer could do better. It’s a shame that you can’t trust an emperor.” The voice continued with a resigned sigh.

The boots stepped on more shells, and her face turned in the direction of the sound.

“Well, the stories I overheard are true. You live in your waste while the labyrinth’s monsters enjoy your body to recharge themselves.”

Again, she still saw nothing but black. Her head dropped again.

“You’ve been here for over six months. You might say something, so I might know you keep some sanity.”

“W…what…do…” Valary struggled to remember the words. “I’m…brok..n.”

The man’s unsympathetic laugh echoed around her.

“Broken? Please, a hero of the empire so easily betrayed now can’t speak. Yes, you’re dead and forgotten. Tis a sad story, I’m sure,” the sound of his crunching footsteps moved closer as the barest hint of light came to her blind eyes.

“My, my, you are in a terrible state. Worse than I imagined. Scarred tissue where they hacked away your limbs. Tis a wonder you didn’t bleed out.”

The voice carried a hint of surprise as he inspected the damage revealed on the woman’s body.

“Then again, Nazalath probably knew you’d survive losing your arms and legs.”

Valary felt her cage move.

“It’s even more amazing is this ingenious method to make an iron rack perfect for holding your body in such a way for the monsters to enjoy you. Your naked body remains perfectly exposed to anything that wants your aether. Yet, the monsters can’t rip you apart in their frenzy. You know how to get people angry.

The blind woman winced from a sudden pain erupt from her breast when the stranger pulled off a bloodsucker.

“You’re covered by these things.”

He whistled lightly as he looked around.

“I noticed your tormentors lined these labyrinth walls with diatomite to suppress your healing magic. So, you’ve got just enough power to survive. Did you stop to consider what you were up against by confronting that bastard on the throne?”

His amused tone infuriated her.

“Mock me else…where!”

The grunted words were all she could force out. Undeterred, the stranger tapped on a water dish hooked to her cage.

“They’ve really thought this out,” he continued with apparent approval in his voice. “Water dripping from the ceiling into a container close enough to drink from but too far away for you to drown yourself.”

The light seemed to move, and she turned her head to follow the path while the man walked around. Then, she heard a metallic tap on the other side of her cage-like coffin.

“Interesting, a steel tube of moldy food for you to feed on. Looks like the guards show up once a month to refill this thing from above. Lucky for you, the rodents hate the diatomite in here, so you can eat this wretched stuff.”

His tone remained steady, and his analysis reminded her of a scientist. Now she hated them as much as those who had put her in the grave.

“It really looks hopeless for you. I mean, even if you somehow get to the floor, you can’t crawl out of here. I must say, it’s really pathetic for the hero to become like this.”

The stranger chuckled, then she heard metal striking the floor. The temperature in the cold confines of the tunnel seemed to drop. Valary felt his face in front of her, barely seeing the outline. But she felt his hot breath strike her face.

“So, what do you want?”

His voice filled her mind like an endless echo for a moment. The blind woman’s pained expression changed to confusion.

“Don’t you understand the words? I asked, what do you want?” He repeated.

She spat out the words.

“To live, you idiot!”

A blurry blob of yellow light finally came through the blackness as the woman felt tears streaming down her cheeks. The brightness ebbed and flowed as her eyelids fluttered to wipe away the tunnel grit and tears. Soon, his bitter, smirking tone pierced her thoughts.

“Everything wants to live; it is the very essence of our planet. Even these crawling bugs eating your waste at my feet want to live. But such creatures carry neither the intelligence nor the courage to stop my boot from crushing them. Give me a better answer or stay here and rot for the emperor you…”

An echoing roar interrupted their conversation.

“Oh, it appears you have a guest coming to use you again. From the sound of that particular growl, it’s probably a Dalax. I’ll bet he spends a great deal of time probing your body with those tentacles in its head. Sucking that aether from whatever holes he finds.”

The man’s voice moved away from her.

“Still, I’m impressed you don’t cower from what’s coming. Bravery — no, something else.”

He stopped, then he asked a question.

“Do you enjoy this place? I’ve seen mortals who take erotic delight in the pain and humiliation of a whip or a beating. Tell me if that’s the reason you remain stoic in the face of what comes toward you. If so, I won’t stop the monster if you wish it.”

“I hope the gods rip off your pole and stuff it down your throat!” Valary raged at him.

The man snickered at the response.

“That certainly sounds like a heroic healer who stood up to an emperor to reveal the corruption around him and his court. Still, why the hesitation in telling me what you really want? Tales came to me about your brave work with the Infinites. You defeated a demon like Thrarion; don’t you wish for something more than to survive?”

He sighed again at her silence.

“Still, it’s been a while since I got to see a Dalax in action. Ah yes, I remember now. A stupid young Arok warrior stepped in front of one in a vain attempt to save me. Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of helping him. Two monsters ripped him apart in their frenzy to get inside his body with those black tentacles. They made quite a mess.”

The crunchy sound from the man’s boots as he walked away filled the air.

“Still, the man deserved his fate. As I’m sure you know, Arok’s carry more Aether than a human. So, I’m curious why you’re still holding out. Maybe you’ll give me an answer after it finishes.”

The footsteps continued to fade, and Valary’s eyes finally noticed a blurry image outlined by light.

“Curse your soul! I want revenge!”

The hysterical shout came out of her throat before she realized it. The figure halted.

“Against who?” The man’s tone changed.

The question forced Valary to pause, trying to sort out her muddled thoughts.

Everyone in the empire put me in this state! But he wants something concrete.

“I want to cut off the balls of the emperor!”

Her words sprang out like cursed epitaphs.

“Nazalath last gaze must be on me as I rip out his heart. Even more, I want to wade in the bodies of his court minions. They laughed while his guards rape me again and again.”

She took a deep breath, then screamed as tears streamed down her face.

“I need a god to grant me the power to kill them, resurrect the bodies, and then burn them alive a thousand times! That is the revenge I need. Are you that god?”

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