Immuena Dies
Life, Death
21782
45/2 2:00
45/2 2:00
The King of Limbs succumbs entirely to his hunger and eats Immuena alive while Allarah, still joined with his mind, witnesses firsthand his perspective.
Allarah was afloat in a tumultuous sea, a place which rejected her with every facet of its being. It was constructed of memories which had been, dreams of what could be, and the nightmares of what were. It was the border between the minds of Josan and King of Limbs, and it was fraying.
Josan called out to her as the King's teeth dug grooves into his back. He lurched away, pulled into an ocean that poured like fog and roiled like blood. Islands of bone stick up through the churn -- Allarah clung to the eye-socket of the Queen of Bones. Butterflies.... no... crows... no... butterflies flapped through the air. A bell rang in the distance, so sonorous that its every toll caused her heart to skip a beat.
She remembered now.
"I will not survive the night," Josan had said. "And if you remain in my mind, neither will you. Already our minds are inexorably linked, bonded across symmetries neither of us can fathom."
Lightning flickered with such ferocity in this place that it provided constant light. There was the king again, hands the size of the horizon as it dislodged the bricks of the sky and tossed them into the sea to reveal a red, glowing void beyond.
Josan took her hand and dragged her into the skull, into darkness.
Josan called out to her as the King's teeth dug grooves into his back. He lurched away, pulled into an ocean that poured like fog and roiled like blood. Islands of bone stick up through the churn -- Allarah clung to the eye-socket of the Queen of Bones. Butterflies.... no... crows... no... butterflies flapped through the air. A bell rang in the distance, so sonorous that its every toll caused her heart to skip a beat.
She remembered now.
"I will not survive the night," Josan had said. "And if you remain in my mind, neither will you. Already our minds are inexorably linked, bonded across symmetries neither of us can fathom."
Lightning flickered with such ferocity in this place that it provided constant light. There was the king again, hands the size of the horizon as it dislodged the bricks of the sky and tossed them into the sea to reveal a red, glowing void beyond.
Josan took her hand and dragged her into the skull, into darkness.
Something ran between her teeth, gliding over her gums and between her fangs in a most satisfying way. The adulation as swallowing something meaty slid down her throat.
Water ran over her skin. Under her fingers she felt a thousand things - meat, bone, stone, water, crows, ghosts, blood, moss, cloth... it was as though each feature of Gorshi was under her fingers.
"I'm breaking..." Josan said into her ear in the darkness. He might well have screamed for how much it burned in her ears, but truly it was nothing above a death rattle.
Shadows in the darkness. Murmured words. Screaming. Screaming. Screaming. The voice of the King of Limbs echoed a thousand lullabies in her ears, each overwritten by the next.
Buildings... she was passing through a doorframe and out into a street. She felt the cobbles under her hands as she crawled towards a figure in rain that came down like static. There was no color, barely any texture. She didn't know who she was seeing. She could see their soul though -- a battered thing heavy with pain and madness splotched throughout.
Another soul... this one almost a void. It was a small black spark in their hand and suddenly it was flying towards her. It tasted like ash upon her tongue, but she swallowed out of reflex. Cold sensation poured down her throat, feeling as though it was freezing her gullet solid as it passed through.
Allarah lurched towards her. She found that her belly felt suddenly as empty as her heart, her gullet as deep as her loathing.
"G̶̗ᴇ̶̣ᴛ̶̳ ̵͜ᴏ̴̣ᴠ̸͚ᴇ̶̼ʀ̸̨ ̴̣ʜ̷͓ᴇ̶̜ʀ̴̮ᴇ̶ͅ!̶͍!"
The words tasted like acid as little hands in her maw flung them through her slavering fangs.
She felt Josan's head at her shoulder, his tears on her breast. She felt fingers like ice and daggers running up her chest.
A new voice... breathy and arid like a cold winter squall. "Leave... you are not welcome here. Hello again, Josan." It was emanating from the pit of void lodged in her gullet.
"No.. plea-" Josan began, but he was gone.
Allarah was alone with the King of Limbs, this new entity, and the frail figure in the street. She could barely focus on them as the King wrested her hands away from her control, grabbed the frail figure, and lifted them up.
Josan was dead.
Her mouth yawned wide.
He was gone.
Their features swam into view as finally they were close enough to see by the King's milky orbs.
Her expression was utter terror, total defeat. Determination glinted in her eyes but it was dying quickly, a candle in a windstorm.
/̧̝̖̈́́̅/͙̤̀͂͝ͅ/͙̟̲̉̑͝/̧̧̭̽̃̎/̪͓̲̓̎̿/̥̥̈́̊̽ͅ/͙̮̽̀͐ͅ/͉̺̹̓̇̓/̠̼̳͋̿̕/̥̰̤̈̉̔/̥̥̙̉͛̕/̠͖̲̎̃̆/̜̲̲͌͂͋/̡̢͉̏̂͝/̢̪̅͂̔͜/̙̻̥͗̏͂
The sound erupted from her mouth.
Their minds touched as Immuena reached out with her divination and linked into the maelstrom. She did not sense Allarah, but Allarah sensed her. Memories hammered her skull with such ferocity that they skipped past memory and instead chiselled themselves some place in her subconscious.
The dagger-tips of her fingers punctured into Immuena. Ribs cracked and popped like sapwood in a fire, organs burst and deflated. She felt the muscles coil around her digits like a soothing massage, she felt Immuena's last gasp push through the holes in her chest rather than from her agape mouth.
Immuena's agony crippled Allarah. She felt what it was like to die, the utter terror of being eaten alive. She felt the glorious tension and friction of her teeth carving into her friend.
"I'm sorry... I failed..." Immurena's quailing mind fired off.
Some part of Immuena ruptured and splashed against the back of Allarah's throat. That frigid voice invaded her mind again, this time bolstered by the chorus of the King's.
I said Lᴇᴀᴠᴇ!
Allarah woke screaming to the red text indicator [Immuena has left chat (Reason: Deceased)] flashing in the corner of her vision.
Rolling from the bed to the floor, her screams only grew louder. Her body writhed as she dug her nails into her scalp, trying to claw the images from her mind. She could see her, could taste Immuena on her tongue, and she was...
Delicious
Water ran over her skin. Under her fingers she felt a thousand things - meat, bone, stone, water, crows, ghosts, blood, moss, cloth... it was as though each feature of Gorshi was under her fingers.
"I'm breaking..." Josan said into her ear in the darkness. He might well have screamed for how much it burned in her ears, but truly it was nothing above a death rattle.
Shadows in the darkness. Murmured words. Screaming. Screaming. Screaming. The voice of the King of Limbs echoed a thousand lullabies in her ears, each overwritten by the next.
Buildings... she was passing through a doorframe and out into a street. She felt the cobbles under her hands as she crawled towards a figure in rain that came down like static. There was no color, barely any texture. She didn't know who she was seeing. She could see their soul though -- a battered thing heavy with pain and madness splotched throughout.
Another soul... this one almost a void. It was a small black spark in their hand and suddenly it was flying towards her. It tasted like ash upon her tongue, but she swallowed out of reflex. Cold sensation poured down her throat, feeling as though it was freezing her gullet solid as it passed through.
Allarah lurched towards her. She found that her belly felt suddenly as empty as her heart, her gullet as deep as her loathing.
"G̶̗ᴇ̶̣ᴛ̶̳ ̵͜ᴏ̴̣ᴠ̸͚ᴇ̶̼ʀ̸̨ ̴̣ʜ̷͓ᴇ̶̜ʀ̴̮ᴇ̶ͅ!̶͍!"
The words tasted like acid as little hands in her maw flung them through her slavering fangs.
She felt Josan's head at her shoulder, his tears on her breast. She felt fingers like ice and daggers running up her chest.
A new voice... breathy and arid like a cold winter squall. "Leave... you are not welcome here. Hello again, Josan." It was emanating from the pit of void lodged in her gullet.
"No.. plea-" Josan began, but he was gone.
Allarah was alone with the King of Limbs, this new entity, and the frail figure in the street. She could barely focus on them as the King wrested her hands away from her control, grabbed the frail figure, and lifted them up.
Josan was dead.
Her mouth yawned wide.
He was gone.
Their features swam into view as finally they were close enough to see by the King's milky orbs.
Her expression was utter terror, total defeat. Determination glinted in her eyes but it was dying quickly, a candle in a windstorm.
/̧̝̖̈́́̅/͙̤̀͂͝ͅ/͙̟̲̉̑͝/̧̧̭̽̃̎/̪͓̲̓̎̿/̥̥̈́̊̽ͅ/͙̮̽̀͐ͅ/͉̺̹̓̇̓/̠̼̳͋̿̕/̥̰̤̈̉̔/̥̥̙̉͛̕/̠͖̲̎̃̆/̜̲̲͌͂͋/̡̢͉̏̂͝/̢̪̅͂̔͜/̙̻̥͗̏͂
The sound erupted from her mouth.
Their minds touched as Immuena reached out with her divination and linked into the maelstrom. She did not sense Allarah, but Allarah sensed her. Memories hammered her skull with such ferocity that they skipped past memory and instead chiselled themselves some place in her subconscious.
The dagger-tips of her fingers punctured into Immuena. Ribs cracked and popped like sapwood in a fire, organs burst and deflated. She felt the muscles coil around her digits like a soothing massage, she felt Immuena's last gasp push through the holes in her chest rather than from her agape mouth.
Immuena's agony crippled Allarah. She felt what it was like to die, the utter terror of being eaten alive. She felt the glorious tension and friction of her teeth carving into her friend.
"I'm sorry... I failed..." Immurena's quailing mind fired off.
Some part of Immuena ruptured and splashed against the back of Allarah's throat. That frigid voice invaded her mind again, this time bolstered by the chorus of the King's.
I said Lᴇᴀᴠᴇ!
Allarah woke screaming to the red text indicator [Immuena has left chat (Reason: Deceased)] flashing in the corner of her vision.
Rolling from the bed to the floor, her screams only grew louder. Her body writhed as she dug her nails into her scalp, trying to claw the images from her mind. She could see her, could taste Immuena on her tongue, and she was...
Delicious