34 The Jaws of Yawm(Alternate History) (Patreon)

I froze in place, my heart stopping. His voice compelled me to stand, but my mind roared at me to stay still. I stayed seated, resisting the temptation of his voice. As time passed, the iron grip of my mind iron loosened. Sweat poured down my temples and forehead. Every part of my body screamed out, commanding me to stand and listen to him. It was like someone had put a gun to my forehead and told me to obey.

Gritting my teeth, I stayed firm. I bit my lip until poured into my mouth. The iron taste kept me together. It reminded me of all the blood outside and just what Yawm may do to me if Elijah found me. My mind’s dominance crumbled, one piece at a time.

Elijah said into the sky, “If I must come drag you out, you will be punished instead of rewarded. Now come.”

He sounded like my mother, stern yet gentle. It was like I was staring at a cliff, and he was telling me not to jump. He promised so much with so few words. The tendrils of his voice dug into my eyes and ears. They invaded my mind, tearing me apart as I struggled with all my might to stay sane.

One of my feet pressed into the ground, pushing me up with a slow crawl. With my mouth clamped shut, I screamed in my mind for my leg to stop. It wouldn’t listen. The armor would, however.

I retracted the armor from covering the lifting leg before taking a deep breath. I pressed my fingertips into my thigh before sharpening them. They dug into the meat of the thigh, severing tendons and flesh. The pain wasn’t what was hard about it. Watching my thigh gush blood made me sick. The muscles in my thigh seized up. With my fingers inches deep, I finally stopped.

The wood beneath my foot cracked, making Elijah turn and see the mirror I looked at him with. His eyes lit up as he said,

Elijah said, "There you are."

He walked towards me, like a coming tide. Each of his steps quaked the ground beneath my feet before I crawled deeper into the house. Elijah stuck out his arm, pinning me in a gravitational well. The wood beneath me splintered as he said,

"You are a strong willed one. Do not worry my child. Yawm will give you purpose. You must let him."

I shook my head before I said, "What the fuck is this?"

"A ripple in gravity. You see, gravity is more like a two dimensional sheet than a three dimensional presence. If you push down on that sheet, anything within the ripple if pushed down. You are feeling that disruption at this very moment."

Even with all my strength, I couldn't lift myself from the ground. Breathing was a desperate struggle as I kept my arms shaking with effort and exertion. Elijah lifted his arms before saying,

"What are you?"

I floated towards him, unable to move as he said, "Ah, you are a human. How marvelous. Yawm will be pleased. He relishes in newer races joining his ranks. You will enjoy it as well."

I shook my head as I said, "Fuck you and your Yawm, you twisted fuck."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's not a very amiable nature you have. We shall see how long that attitude lasts."

A wing of skin shot out of his cloak, and the other half of his face was revealed. He smiled and said, "Now it is time to bring you, little lamb."

"Why the fuck does everything call me a little lamb?"

He flapped his wings, sending us both flying into the air. We shot into the air. Floating there was like being pulled by a wholly different planet. Earth still pulled me down, but this force pulled me up with a greater strength, leaving me pulled along like a puppet with strings.

We dashed through the air, houses and streets flying by beneath us. The destruction around us was monstrous. It turns out my street hadn't been unusual. If anything, it had been benign.

The entire city had been culled until nothing but shambling mutants walked along. The devastation stretched long and far in every direction, until you see a giant barrier surrounding the city. It was just a slight change in coloration, except a few arcs of violet lightning.

The deep purple contained the entire horde of pink petals flying around. It was an apocalypse inside it. Gunfire shot out from the entire barricade at different spots. In the more populated areas, tanks and other heavy duty artillery bombarded the oncoming throng of thralls. Even in the most peaceful areas, a zombie would walk out of the wall of houses every few seconds.

Elijah said, "Isn't it wondrous? Two forces, one of chaos and the other of order, each sustaining the other out of necessity. The steel legion wouldn't exist without us, and we without them."

I rolled my eyes as I said, "You're just a dumb ass who's high level. Just like Yawm."

He shook his head and said, "You will be taught, little one."

In the distance was giant tree trunk with branches stretching for miles. Flowers and fruit ripened on its branches, turning pink and a deep red. The zombies would flock towards the tree, fusing with the wood. Every second the tree expanded itself, each new shape contorted into a jagged mass. It was like the tree was moving and alive.

We flew towards it, landing beside one of its roots. The root was taller than the nearby houses, digging into the depths of the ground. Beside me were several other people, each of them as confused as I was if not more. None of them were over level 100, so I could imagine what they felt looking at Elijah and seeing four question marks for a level.

A few houses had been crushed into a rubble and arranged as an arena, each wall soaked in all different colors of blood. Elijah landed in the middle of the arena before tossing me onto the ground in the middle of the group.

I lifted myself up, the people around me scattering. I glanced around as Elijah said,

"He is one of your kind, though you may not believe it. You all have survived the onslaught of the disciples of Yawm. This makes you the strongest of those here. There are more trials to be had, however."

He spread his hands as he said, "This shall be your arena. The last ten to live shall move on towards the next tribulation . Do not worry, for your body will be used for the world tree if you should die."

A man behind me shouted,

"Shut the fuck up-"

Elijah stuck out a hand and squeezed it. The skin split on the man's face split as four indentations carved into his face, like fingers. They squeezed his skull, first cracking the bone then squirting fountains of blood in every direction. Elijah continued,

"Thank you, for your early withdrawal. Your body will be put to good use."

With a wave of Elijah's hand, the man slung through the air before landing on the bark of the tree. Roots crawled out of the bark before digging into his skin. Within seconds, there was nothing left.

Elijah grinned as he said, "Well then. Begin."

Several people turned towards one another before someone screamed. After hearing the yell, all hell broke loose around me. Someone punched my face, but his knuckles cracked against my skin. I backhanded the man, snapping his jaw and breaking his neck. No one approached me after that.

They tore each other apart in seconds. People shoved their thumbs into each others eyes. Some shoved their hands into other people's mouths, digging it into their throat and choking them. Other's just beat their faces to a pulp.

I figured my high willpower prevented me from being controlled by Elijah, but he seemed satisfied with the current bloodbath. A minute or two later, seven people were left. Most of them had forgot that ten people would be allowed to live. Unfortunate for the three people that died.

Elijah pulled out seven seeds from his robe and said, "It's good to see such enthusiasm. You will need it for what is to come."

Elijah pulled walked up towards us as he said, "Form a line."

They did as told before he pulled me into the back with whatever magic he had at his disposal. I sighed as he handed the woman up front a seed. He said, "Swallow it."

She glanced up before putting the bit of green into her mouth and swallowing. After a second or two, lines of green streaked under her skin before reaching her eyes. The nameless woman said,

"I see now."

"Indeed you do, child of Yawm. Enjoy your new found flesh and freedom, for only Yawm may give it to you."

She nodded before walking off towards the tree. A bead of sweat poured down my face as I watched him convert each member with a seed in hand. When he reached me, he put out his hand and said, "Eat it."

At that moment, the idea of eating the seed sounded completely sound, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I reached out my hand before lashing at the train of thought with my own reasoning. My hands shook as I struggled with the compulsion in my mind. Elijah said with stone in his voice,

"I said eat it. Do not make me repeat myself."

The urge to eat grew, but so did my resistance. My knees wobbled and my eyes twitched as I forced myself back. A minute passed before Elijah reached out his hand and said, "Why do you continue to refuse my order, defier?"

I grit my teeth and said, "Because I will not bow my head and obey. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."

"Oh, really now? Let us see the will of your spirit then."

The pressure escalated slowly, turning from a push to a shove to a landslide. A grounded my mind in my spoken words. I wouldn't let him control me. I wouldn't sink into whatever cess pit this fuck wanted me in. I'd struggled to get so far. I sure as hell wasn't about to let some random command stop me now.

Time passed, however. The might behind his words turned into an overwhelming force. It was like standing against a flood with all the wieght of the water pushing me backward. I grit my teeth as I shook with exertion, struggling against his glare. All the while, Elijah stared at me with a serene calm.

After a minute of this escalation, he raised an eyebrow and said, "You've no doubt invested into the perk of will then?"

I spit onto the ground and said with my mouth drooling, "What do you think?"

My stomach lurched before I vomited onto the ground beside me. Sweat poured down my face before I said, "I'm not eatin that seed. You'll shove it down my goddamn throat, but I won't swallow it."

"We shall see."

The pressure cracked the edges of my mind, turning me to a thick slush. Elijah sighed before saying, "You would rather your mind be broken then be freed from your slavery?"

"You aren't freeing shit."

"How can you know without ever seeing what truth this seed holds." He lifted his hand and said, "This is the key to a door. You must let me open that door for you."

I roared my words like a storm, "Some doors are better left unopened. Even worse, there are doors that can never be closed."

Elijah leaned back before nodding as he said, "Very true. Yawm has spoken the same words, though with a different circumstance." Elijah placed his fingertips together before placing them onto my helm. He outstretched his hand, bending my helm away from my face as he said, "You are an intersting soul. I would love to discuss this another time, but I don't have a choice anymore."

With his other hand, I moved the seed towards my mouth. Before it reached me, my armor lurched out, devouring the seed from his outstretched palm. Elijah raised an eyebrow as he said, "Well, that is quite an interesting set of armor you have."

I grimaced as I said, "What about it?"

Elijah grinned as he picked me up by my neck and said,

"Yawm would love to see it, I assure you."

He flew off towards the tree, passing through innumerable branches on the way up. A sea of leaves passed by my eyes, the light green and pink contrasting with the calamity occuring below. At the center of the tree was doorway leading into the central trunk. Elijah lifted his hand, forcing the door open. We flew down several flights of stiars, the elegant engraving evident.

Scenes of war and peace were plastered on every inch of the wall. Banisters ebroidered with silver and green hung from the walls. The rich scent of cedar and peppermint was in the air. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Elijah set me down and said,

"It is time you met our master Yawm."

I closed my eyes and braced myself for what would come next. I opened the door, and glanced inside.

I would never be ready for what was inside.