Kija walked further into the cave. A tinge of anxiety tugged the back of his mind.
His insight allowed him to partially understand anything that has conspired within the cave, it also slightly boosted all of his senses. In other words, a very good ability for a detective and scout.
Which means, he was not a fighter.
'It seems he rested here for a little while before moving again'
Stroking his chin, Kija glanced at the black rock once before moving again, this time even deeper than before.
And it was there that he found utter darkness muttering in front while it looked back at him.
"What?"
Confusion etched in line art on his face.
'The light's dead?'
One look above sold it. Wires tangled and mingled closely together, their copper fingers touching the ground.
The scene surprisingly felt eerie.
Kija couldn't place his finger on what exact element unsettled him, and he didn't like that feeling of uneasiness.
"Tsk, being creepy for no reason"
His words bounced into an echo, travelling to god knows what ears it might fall onto.
Before going in, he let his eyes adjust to the dark first, also keeping a lookout for any dumbass who might believe they could get through him.
Time flowed with no stop, as it did so. Kija's unease grew tenfold.
'Do I...have to get in?'
Dragging downwards was a bead of sweat, Kija couldn't help but reconsider the task given to him.
"No..."
Fibers in his body twitched at the thought, fear boiled inside him. Fear born from the most beautiful soul being disappointed in him.
Kija would rather die here than face the wrath of his Goddess.
'There is nothing more frightening than her'
Martha has killed many of them.
All of them in the most gruesome ways the human mind could conjure, to establish clear authority of course.
Yet, despite the obvious dread she exudes.
Instead of the numbers dwindling, they grew.
Everyone, every single soul that breathed loved her even more when she murdered in cold blood.
And all of them saw it, the twisted smile when she took, the euphoria crafted onto her eyes when she saw despair slowly turn into unconditional love for her.
Nobody could break free from her eyes that slowly altered everything that you were.
Not...a single....untainted sentient soul.
With the exception of one monstrosity that defied the limits heaven itself set.
"...."
Kija shook his head, he didn't want to remind himself of the day where half of their army was all of a sudden gone because of that being.
Within the squirming darkness he walked, at first he felt a dissonance from the ground below him, as if it twisted in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He wasn't able to see that far in the dark, so he got on all fours to make sure he didn't trip and fall.
Throughout the process, he didn't speak, for fear that it might give away his location to unwanted presences lurking.
He stopped, eyes shifted downwards, nose scrunched at the charred smell that waft in the air.
An explosion, he thought when the tremors first washed over him.
Not knowing who caused it made him overly cautious.
Inflating his desire of wanting to turn every stone to make sure nothing happened like a stab to the back.
He now found its origin.
'Now that I look more closely, this is very devastating'
The crater spread out like a spider web, it was obvious to him now why the lights died when standing on the entrance of darkness.
They were obliterated, ceiling collapsing in tandem with the baton the explosion sliced the air with.
'I can't beat this alone, it is better to fall back'
Chances are, the user was already dead, there would be no point in continuing further.
Though, as his head twisted to leave...
Cr-Crackle!
Electricity crackled, giving a faint light to the side.
Kija's head snapped toward the source.
"Eh?"
However, what met him was just a few copper wires being intimate in their handholding.
His eyes didn't focus on that meaningless detail, what truly caught his eye was what illuminated under their brief light.
"....."
Fresh blood that glimmered with the faint flickers.
Before he could even realize what he was doing. Kija already found himself walking toward it, following the trail as if possessed.
Step
"....!"
His steps didn't take long to stop dead in their tracks when another lacerated through his daze.
Twisting his torso toward the step, he took one step back.
Step
The crunching step came again, this time from a completely different angle than before.
Kija's breath turned ragged at his inability to see the figure, and as if that weren't enough.
T-Tok!
Tak!
His attention was spread between hearing the step closing in on him to hearing pebbles cackling on the floor for a cruel laugh.
Stones kept hitting and clacking from every side.
Ba-Thump!
His heartbeat sped as he panicked more steps in.
Kija could feel it, finality writing off his meaningless fate as fear settled in his lungs that labored for breaths.
'I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!I hate this!'
Kija wasn't much of a fighter, he was a coward when it came to facing helplessness. If he faced a situation where he couldn't simply stab someone to death, he'd fall into panic rather swiftly.
So, when faced with a situation where brute force wasn't the answer.
Step
"Hik!"
Kija would shrink in fear.
As the steps grew closer to him, Kija hurriedly walked backwards until—
Thump
His back softly touched the rock behind him.
"Ah..."
His mind froze for a moment before thawing.
Stepping swiftly away from the wall, the steps that evoked a primal emotion in him stopped entirely.
He didn't think much of it at first, but as the pressing silence kept choking him, he began thinking it was strange.
Senses heightened under immense pressure, each and every single sound was taken note of.
Wires that fell, a tearing in the distance, everything was fed to his paranoia.
Kija's legs turned weak from fear.
Not from the silence, but from something else, that something else being.
The dominant presence making itself known right behind him.
Haaaa
Its ragged breathing trickled down his nape.
'When—!'
Just as he was about to flail and struggle.
A thin wire fell in front of him, two bloodied hands tightly grappled onto it.
And in a swift but concise moment.
"Kugh!"
The wire closed and began its chokehold.
Strength surrendered, no matter what was attempted, anytime resistance was made, the creature would tighten the wire coiling.
Szzzzzzzz
Exposed copper began burning his neck, eyes flew open at the sensation of death approaching.
But then.
It stopped, the coiling wire that choked him loosened.
The presence behind him had all but disappeared, and the wire fell to the ground.
"Cough!"
Kija coughed, gasping for air on his knees.
Before anything else surfaced in his mind, he ran as if his life depended on it.
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'
Lips twisted, cursed murmurs flowed through the gaps of his mouth.
Kija tripped many and many times before reaching an enclosed space with only one entrance, his palm brushed against a round, giant boulder right at the side.
Without even knowing it, he flashed a smile.
Arms rested on the curved surface.
"Huap!"
Kija pressed in his weight, arms strained to push the boulder.
And it started to budge, proceeding to roll to the entrance.
Thud!
With a thud, the boulder sealed him inside.
"Ha....Ha...."
Panting, he hid in a corner.
His panicked heart settled.
However, fear never left him.
It stayed with him, embracing him with constant love.
That same love shook him.
Kija's pupils dilated, lips twitched more erratically.
"N-No my lady, I-I...."
Symptoms of withdrawal appeared.
He bit his nail, so hard in fact, that it cracked.
Drip!
Blood sharply dripped to the floor.
As it did. Memories of a few words of encouragement in the far past hypnotized him into a daze.
'Kija'
A heavenly voice crushed his heart. The moment it called his insignificant name, Kija felt that his life was truly appreciated at that moment.
'Do you see your brother over there?'
She pointed at the corpse with a crushed skull.
Her eyes were filled with dread, yet at the same time.
'Beautiful'
They were a treasure.
Just the mere sight of them erased any hate that tried to boil.
Martha broke his daze with her sweet voice.
'Do you want to know why I killed your brother? Despite him doing so much for me?'
Truth be told. Kija did not care that she killed his brother, just staring at her was worth any price.
If killing his brother was the price, then so be it.
As long as the voice addressed him.
All was fine.
'I killed him because he failed me'
Her voice cut through him once more, speaking as if it were a natural phenomenon to happen.
She leaned in closer, voice tickling his ears.
'Those who fail me....Do you not believe that they should be given a crime?'
Her hand caressed his chin.
'Like'
His heart flatlined at the next words.
'Death?'
If those who fail their Goddess deserve death....Then isn't Kija's current situation a certain failure.
Drip!
Drip!
Mutters full of despair dripped from his mouth, like the blood that dripped from his nail.
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"
Tears streamed down as he growled for this to be a dream and that he still could admire Martha's beauty.
In death, he couldn't be by Martha's side.
He couldn't die, not here when it isn't even by his Goddess's hand.
Kija's hand scratched at his scalp for what felt like eternity, when a single voice cut him in his self-deprecation.
[H-Hello?]
A voice rang, and a soft knock followed suit.
[I-I know you are in there....]
It spoke again.
'Who?'
[P-Please he-help me]
Kija's hairs stood on end.
He gripped at his sides.
Knock Knock
Two soft knocks followed.
[Open it]
A flat voice demanded in a whisper.
[P-Please?]
And it shrunk back as if it knew it overstepped.