Tears are dripping on me. Galazin is weeping. To my side lies the severed arm of his little brother Kitrin. Where the rest of Kitrin is, we do not know. Galazin’s whimpering isn’t the only sound we can hear though. Outside, a battle is raging.
Everyone must have seen what happened, or at least worked out that they’d been duped. They’re fighting and shouting and screaming.
A portal opens up and Stasis stumbles in, growling menacingly.
“WHY ARE YOU SO PERSISTANT?” he roars, as someone leaps onto him. He tries to close the portal, but it does not do as he commands. I can see Arkay desperately holding it open, while two Raptai charge forward, knocking Stasis over. Stasis struggles to his feet, only for a Tavran to leap onto Stasis’s back.
In his attempts to free himself, Stasis throws the Tavran over his shoulder and into the chains holding Galazin up, causing them to buckle.
“MMMhh!” Galazin tries to shout. It’s Kitrin. Fighting with just one arm. Kitrin picks himself up and sees his arm lying on the ground.
“Thank goodness. Thought that was gone. Forever perhaps. Now let me fre-AAAAAAH!”
Stasis has picked up Kitrin and thrown both him and his lost arm across the room. The portal behind him is barely open, and from what I can see, everyone’s trying to recover as quickly as possible to rush in and take Stasis on. But Stasis has bought himself time by summing a large, gold platform to block the portal and stop anyone coming through.
“I hoped that you two would commit your foul act yourselves, but it seems you cannot be persuaded, and I am… pressed for time. A feeling I do not at all like.”
Galazin growls as Stasis grabs his tail, pulling it down towards me. The end of the Tavran’s tail opens up to reveal a sharp, pointed barb. Despite his thrashing, Galazin can no longer control his actions, or do anything to stop Stasis thrusting his tail straight into my bare stomach. I shout out in pain and start flailing, but I’m utterly helpless.
Suddenly, the portal is unblocked and seemingly everyone pours through. Stasis lets go of Galazin’s tail, which is still stuck inside my body, to fight off his attackers. Amazingly, leading the charge is Retvik, snarling like a frenzied beast. He slams into Stasis, knocking him to the floor and tearing frantically at his armour.
Elksia rushes to our side and thankfully, finally pulls Galazin’s horrible tail out of me, then removes our gags and starts cutting us down. I notice she’s bleeding from her left arm, her natural blade having been torn away. In its place, Elksia is using Arkay’s anti-Deitic dagger. She frees Galazin first, then unchains me.
“Give me your blade!” Galazin demands.
“Why?”
“Because.”
Elksia blinks, then hands the blade to him while she gets back to work freeing me. To my horror, Galazin uses the blade to chop off the end of his tail, then hands the dagger back to an equally confused Elksia. In a feral rage, Galazin then charges off into the fight, using his own tail as a weapon.
“Why did he do that?” Elksia asks.
“Because Stasis forced him to impregnate me!” I panic, snatching the blade from Elksia. “I have to do the same. I have to…” I hesitate.
Behind us, the battle is still raging, but we’re losing. Stasis is unstoppable, despite all the anti-Deitic weaponry we have thrown at him. There is no way to truly defeat him, nothing stopping him from using me again. The blade though could also kill me if I use it wrong. I watch as everyone continues to fight, despite their waning strength.
No. I have to do this, whatever the consequences.
I plunge the blade into my stomach and start cutting. The pain is unbearable. I want to scream but I hold my tongue, cutting deeper and deeper, until I find my womb. I cut and tear at it, before ripping it out and chucking it on the ground. I will not allow anyone to use me like that. Never.
Stasis has seen what I’ve done. He sighs, causing a small shock wave that knocks everyone else to the ground.
“You have ruined my plans, you pathetic, selfish little Deitic!” he shouts, stamping towards me. “Enjoy your new mortality. It won’t last much long- huh?”
Something black and horrific appears between myself and Stasis. It forms from the ground, before finally taking a vaguely Thanatian shape.
“Hey, Stasis! What the fuck are you doing here?”
Stasis takes a step back. “You shouldn’t be here, Death. This is MY ground. They are all here willingly!”
Death points at Retvik, who is bleeding and barely conscious. “He’s not here willingly. You broke his Cycle so I’m here to fix the mess you’ve made.” She spins round, staring at me. “You’re cute for a Deitic. Pretty brave too, stabbing yourself with a blade that will probably kill you…” Death quickly turns back to Stasis. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Stasis tuts. “Fixing the universe. A permanent, never changing cycle. Sounds good, right?”
“Uh, no. I like chaos. You don’t. Not that it matters, your plan is fucked up anyway. You seriously made this Kronospast and that little Tavran have sex? You sick fuck.”
Death’s bluntness is clearly angering Stasis. But as amusing as it is, I am struggling to stay conscious. Perhaps Death is here to personally pick me up?
After some stomping and ranting, an argument that no one else can hear between two colossal beings, Stasis gives up.
“I have had enough of all this nonsense. Farewell and good riddance.”
Just like that, Stasis disappears, and immediately, everything starts to rumble.
“You should all probably get moving!” Death grins as she too vanishes into thin air.
It’s too late for me though. I’ve fallen unconscious.