Abyssal Awakening

The first impression of this world.

A bad fall. A sudden pain. The shock of something going wrong.

These fears cling long after the details have faded. The context, the location. All you remember is the action that led up to that fear. It’s how most learn.

Later in life, when they look back at that memory and laugh, they can’t help but wonder: why were they so afraid in the first place? Something so... meagre had embedded itself so deeply, that after all these years, it refuses to fade away.

Enris.

She wasn’t born a child. No... she lacked the time needed for a childhood. She simply came into existence as an artificial being.

Though at that time, Hayil didn’t know the truth.

There was no cruelty in her expression. No anger, no disgust. But there was also a lack of warmth. No sense of tenderness toward the arrival of new life. She simply watched.

Whether or not she was worth the effort of keeping around.

Her motion was clumsy, awkward. A ’soul’ still getting used to her body.

She smiled at the fragile being reaching out toward the god, despite not knowing her nature as one who revels in chaos.

was of rejection.

Instead of love, Enris gave Hayil only one thing.

It wasn’t a lesson. It wasn’t wisdom. Not the kind passed down from parent to child.

As an empty state, survival was deeply ingrained into her mind.

But looking back at it now...

The request for survival, she had followed it faithfully.

She had not known who he was at first. He was simply someone her ’parent’ had made an agreement with.

She would be placed under his ’care’ for the time being. Nyer would look after her for a while, and Enris would come back for her.

Nyer was not a kind man. He didn’t beat around the bush.

Needles were arranged around her, carefully inserted into her body.

She was simply... an experiment.

Pain flooded her mind, and her body jerked. Straps held her in place, but they did little to dull the torture.

Abyss blood entered her veins. It felt... alive.

Then there was the crown.

That burning white light overhead while her body was mutilated and abused.

But that was only the beginning of her pain.

After the operation, her hell had truly begun.

These... ’things’ moved. Crawling, wriggling, tiny things that swam through her body. Countless restless worms chewing and digging through her from the inside out. She could feel them everywhere.

They consumed everything, rebuilding her body into something... disgusting.

Sleep never came. Every time she teetered on the edge of relief, the writhing would intensify.

They wanted her to stay awake through the torment.

That was what Enris wanted her to do. To survive this ordeal.

She cried out for help, for forgiveness. For the pain to stop.

Like a curse, her words echoed ceaselessly in her mind.

She’ll be given praise...

So Hayil endured.

How long did the cycle last?

The operating table, where new flesh would be grafted. The burning sensation spreading through her veins like lava being poured into her body.

One of these days, she’ll be back.

Endure and come back stronger than ever.

That was the order. For her to survive and return.

Return.

Return.

Enris... Enris... Enris... Enris... Enris, Enris, ENRIS, ENRIS ENRISENRISENRISENRIS!!!

"We’ll stop here," Nyer said.

"There’s no need for us to continue. I suppose I should congratulate you in the end." Nyer placed down his scalpel.

Hayil paused.

She survived.

Yet Nyer simply stared at her with pity in his eyes.

She was ’fixed’ in a sense. Her wounds closed, scars healed. A new vial was injected into her, one that seemed to temporarily calm the writhing mass within her body.

She gave Nyer a quick glance before turning to Hayil.

She was barely able to lift her head, but did so anyway. An excited smile on her face. Eyes begging for validation, for recognition. For her parent to love her back.

She had survived and returned, just as the God had ordered.

Her hands trembled. Her arms reached out, weaker than the first day she was born, yet the intent was the same.

Enris glanced down at this small being, observing her body. The changes within. The things squirming in her flesh.

Hayil’s smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly deluded herself. Maybe Enris wanted her to prove herself. To make the journey without assistance. To reach out and jump into her arms like a child learning how to walk.

Enris turned to Nyer.

###

She tilted her head back before looking at the girl holding the black and white lightning.

Ria creased her brow before shaking her head.

". . . I see." Hayil closed her eyes. "You are truly blessed."

"I know. And I... I hope you find someone better in your next life."

"I doubt it."

Cracks of light formed across her skin, yet this was the most peaceful she felt in all her years alive, if you could even call it that.

Tears began to fall once more as she cried like a child who didn’t know what they did wrong.

Her words were cut off as her body shattered into pieces.