In a World without God

Faith is like a bonfire swaying in the wind. The embers glow red when a gentle breeze blows, and the fire roars with energy.

Ishkur was a gentle breeze. He fanned the flames that Ed’s memory had ignited in the people’s hearts. Their shouts swallowed up the old lies.

Ishkur smiled at the sight of his followers.

“It’s over, Kindatu. I will drag you to the ground.”

Though, there was no bonfire in Ishkur’s mind. His heart was as cold as iron in the winter. Lutea, Bosha, the children of Ygraine; none of them mattered to him. They were a pathway to his revenge.

Ishkur remembered clearly. He remembered Kindatu plunging a knife into his father’s sternum. He watched as Kindatu kicked his mother in the stomach and snatched Ishkur from her hands. He was only three or four years old.

All this time, he had pretended not to remember. He ate, slept, and idled around like he didn’t care. Ishkur, the lazy one! No one noticed that the sharpened anger in his heart was waiting for the right time.

While a gentle breeze can fan the bonfire flames of faith, a strong wind risks snuffing them out.

As Iskkur gazed at the crowd around him, the earth beneath his feet began to shake. It was subtle at first, but it grew more and more violent. The crowd cried out.

“What’s happening?”

“Is it an earthquake?”

“What is that smell? It smells worse than a pile of manure left in the hot sun!”

The people were stunned and unsure of what to do. They didn’t know whether to run or wait it out. Then, the ground before them began to crack open. They stood stunned as the creature began to haul itself out. When they first saw it properly, they couldn’t even scream. They couldn’t believe such a thing existed.

“What is it!”

“It’s a living nightmare!”

Some people began to vomit as they laid eyes on the creature, its vile smell permeating their nostrils. At first glance, it looked like a giant worm covered in countless bristles like a centipede. But the bristles were pale, bloodless human arms infested with maggots. Between the arms were festering boils, each with a tiny hole in it. From the holes, ghoulish voices could be heard calling out.

“Kill me.”

“I want to die.”

“Curse, Lutea!”

Attached to the head of the hideous body was the upper half of a woman with a beautiful face, her eyes closed, and her hands clasped together in prayer. Then, it opened its mouth to speak.

“Those who call upon the name of Lutea!”

The voice was soft and haunting as if singing a lullaby.

“I will take death from you. I will give you eternal, unending suffering. Even if your flesh rots and your face decays, you will move as my feet."

It chuckled.

“All this pain because you called out Lutea’s name. Lutea does not reward your faith. Lutea will never save you. Curse Lutea, blame her, and beg for mercy from me!”

The grotesque creature began to move. Countless hands pushed at the ground like oars, and rotting flesh and maggots rained down with each movement. The flowers in the square started to wither.

Before the crowd could begin the move, the creature was upon them. Shrieks echoed across the grounds as dozens were caught by it, like flies on a flypaper. Its hands tore the bodies of its captives to shreds, like a child tearing confetti. The torn flesh was sucked into its own body, and dozens of new arms and heads sprouted across its flesh. They belonged to colleagues, family, and friends who had been beside the crowd moments before. Their bloodcurdling screams could be heard across the square.

“Help me, help me!”

“What is happening?”

“Ishkur, save us!”

Some of the crowd turned to run as fast as they could away from the thing. Others stood trembling, hearts shattered by what they had just witnessed, unable to comprehend their grief.

Ishkur gritted his teeth. What was happening? Where did this monster come from?

“What the hell did you summon, Kindatu!”

His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood. Ishkur swallowed his repulsion and called out to the crowd.

“North! Everyone, run for the north gate!”

The road to the North Gate was wide and flat, perfect for a crowd of people to flee. It was Ishkur’s best judgment. The most important thing to him right now was to help as many people escape alive as he could. He needed them to help him spread the truth and bring down the Le Fay family.

Ishkur closed his eyes and summoned his Magick. His shadow darkened, and twenty soldiers and twenty archers stepped out of the shadows. The soldiers, who were as black as their bodies, advanced toward the monster.

“Shadow soldiers, face the monster and protect the people!”

Observing Ishkur’s actions, the head of the monster let out a low chuckle.

“Oh, how unpleasant!”

The monster swung its tail wildly in a great circle. The shadow soldiers tumbled out of the way, melting back into the shadows.

“Damn it!”

Ishkur narrowed his eyes. A crack appeared just below the creature’s head. The long, vertical tear widened from side to side, and it began to spit out something, a clay-like goo.

Each drop of the goo piled on top of the one before it, forming a wall high enough to block the mansion and road. Only the rolling eyes and screaming mouths gave away what the creature was made of.

“No!”

A man leading the crowd to the road suddenly cried out. Just a step in front of him, eyes on the wall stared back at him. No one had gotten through. Not a single one.

“What did Lutea do to protect you? I, Tibea, am the only one who can give you protection now!”

The monster, Tibea, struck out at the people once more. The same scene repeated itself—horrific screams, flesh and blood splattering everywhere, and the cries of those who couldn’t die.

Tibea cackled as she watched the chaos before her. Ishkur looked around him at the panic.

Think of something. Think of anything. Please!

“If we’re facing that thing, there’s only one way out.”

It was Ashur who called out to Ishkur.

The shadow ropes that bound Ashur, Dersh, and Dumuzi were gone. Ishkur had been so focused on summoning the shadow soldiers that he hadn’t realized the rope had broken. He turned to Ashur.

“And what’s the way out?”

“It’s simple,” Ashur grimaced and nodded to Dumuzi. Before Ishkur could even blink an eye, Dumuzi swung his blade and sliced off Ashur’s head. It was a clean cut, and blood sprayed vividly from the open wound on Ashur’s neck. Ishkur stared in disbelief. Dumuzi turned to meet his gaze.

“You’d better hurry, Ishkur, before it’s too late.”

Dumuzi turned back to face Dersh, who also gave a solemn nod. Dumuzi swung his blade again, and Dersh’s head rolled to the crowd. With a final look at Ishkur, Dumuzi turned his blade on himself, holding it against his neck.

“What are you doing!” screamed Ishkur.

“It’s the only way,” Dumuzi replied and cleanly slit his own throat.

The remaining crowd, mouths agape, soon realized that Ashur, Dersh, and Dumuzi had made a wise decision. Once captured by Tibea, there was no escape—it was better to die quickly while there was a chance.

But who could so quickly end their own lives? Was the only choice now to take their own life or fall victim to Tibea’s cruelty?

Despair spread through the square.

Faith is like a bonfire swaying in the wind. When a strong wind blows, it is extinguished. Faith becomes insignificant in the face of such darkness.

“Why should we follow a light that cannot defeat darkness?”

“I should have sided with Lord Kindatu! He would never steer us into this mess.”

People cursed Lutea. Some prostrated themselves on the ground, begging Tibea for their lives.

“Tibea, I have been deceived by Lutea! If you spare me, I will serve you for the rest of my life!”

Ishkur’s entire body weakened at the sight. He realized that the armed crowd was no longer on his side. He felt foolish for desperately trying to find a way to get over the wall and lure the creature away. No one would listen to him now, even if he could devise a plausible plan. He slumped to the ground on his knees.

Pathetic. I’m pathetic. This world, too.

At that moment, Ishkur knew that Ashur’s words were correct. It was the most rational decision. He drew his dagger from his belt.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I’ll wait for you in the afterlife with Father.”

***

Many took their own lives. It was unbearable to see them become instruments of Tibea. But Ishkur’s dagger waivered in midair, unmoving. A sight caught his attention.

A pure white blade arced through the air. Tibea’s rotting flesh scattered to the ground.

Ishkur, holding the dagger in his hand, looked at the blade’s wielder.

It was Enri.

Landing on the ground, Enri leaped again and lunged at Tibea. His attack barely left a scratch, but he persisted, throwing everything he had at the monster.

“Enri! Enri, descendant of a saint, has come to save us!”

Ishkur was curious. What was going on with Enri? Was it a last-ditch effort, or did he have something else in mind?

“Oh! An annoying little flea!”

Tibea addressed Enri, a long tentacle made from human arms extended from her body. At the tip of the tentacle, eight palms opened like jaws of hell.

Meanwhile, Enri was muttering to himself incessantly, repeating what Ed had taught him.

The body holding the sword is the axis of the spinning top, the eye of the storm. The Black Fangs of the sword are the front paws of a charging wolf.

Enri spun, dodged, leaped, and slashed. His gestures were no longer futile but still no match for Tibea’s behemoth body. When Enri was not easily caught, Tibea extended more tentacles.

Eventually, Enri had no way to escape. Maggot-infested hands clamped down on his body and lifted him to meet the full force of Tibea’s gaze. She stared at Enri with catlike eyes.

“You’ve inherited a shard of Lutea, haven’t you?”

Tibea giggled like a girl who’d just thought of a funny prank.

“You will now suffer a fate worse than death. And yet you still trust Lutea?”

Without hesitation, Enri answered.

“I do.”

Tibia giggled again and looked coyly at Enri.

“You’re a pretty child. All right, I’ll give you a chance. Curse Lutea and swear to serve me, and I’ll spare you. I will pamper you as a subordinate.”

When the people heard this, they began to shout.

“I will serve you, too, Tibea!”

“We curse you, Lutea!”

But still, Enri shook his head.

“I serve only one Goddess. Lutea.”

Tibea furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes.

“Look around you! Lutea has done nothing. She hasn’t helped anyone. I am the one who can save you, not Lutea. Why do you serve Lutea and not me?"

“Bullshit!” shouted Enri. “I doubted Lutea before, but now I know. Lutea has given me bread, companionship, and a teacher. She has given me joy, she has given me hope, and she has given me meaning. She put a sword in my hand to cut through despair and a silver flower to reveal the truth.”

Tibea’s face contorted in disgust, but Enri continued.

“You who crawl underground, hide in darkness, you can’t even begin to fathom what Lutea has given me. What reason do I have to serve you?”

“You ungrateful, disgusting maggot! Good! Suffer forever!” screeched Tibea.

“You cannot cause me any pain. My flesh may rot, and my face may blister, but I have Lutea in my heart. There is one true light, which alone will fill my life with joy!”

Enri’s words, in the face of such a monstrous beast, silenced the crowd.

Ishkur thought it was all nonsense, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off Enri. Useless gestures and foolish words, but of all the people in the square, Enri was the only one who baffled Tibea.

Tibea flailed her tentacles at him. One of the rotting arms smashed through his chest and ripped out his heart, throwing it to the ground. Enri didn’t utter a single scream.

The remaining crowd watched in horror, some shrieking at the scene before them. Others cried out differently. They had watched Enri’s heart fall to the ground and witnessed what happened next.

A silvery-white light, soft and glowing, rose from the heart. It transformed into a white butterfly and began to flutter its wings.

“What is this!”

Tibea, apparently irritated by the annoying butterfly, swung her tentacles wildly.

But the butterfly simply flew through them, easily dodging maggots and flesh. It looked like a dancer wielding a fan. It dodged left and right, seeming to be aimless and not in control of its movements. The crowd watched until it finally settled on a flower on the other side of the square. One of the few remaining flowers that had sprung up from Ed’s body. The moment it touched the flower petals, a new bright, white light erupted from the spot, and then the butterfly was gone.

The light had burned so bright that many had had to look away. As they turned back to look at the spot, only a glimmer of light remained, like a tiny spark in the dark.

As their eyes adjusted, gasps erupted through them.

The dark outline of a new figure stood in the spot where the butterfly had vanished.