Arc 8: Break Gently

Snarling. Snorting. Tearing. The visceral sounds of the beasts devouring their meal drowned out the rest of the battlefield as I stared down at the body of the Seeing Oni. The gunshot had broken the strap of her mask, revealing her face. Her lifeless eyes watched the storm clouds above. The blood covering the long […]

“Two.” The woman’s eyes behind the mask slid over to her partner. “Are you sure? They look tough.” Both masks were painted red with gold accents, with curved horns and sharp teeth bared in a grimace of a smile. There were even ripples carved in at the brow, emulating facial muscles pulled together. The partner’s

The high-pitched ringing in my ears slowly tapered down until pop, my hearing returned to normal.  The scarred Aberrant with skin like bleached bone stood in a circle of scorched earth, embers quickly picked up by the hot wind and scattered into the air. It seemed unbothered by the fact it had just been struck

The tall grass bowed in the strong winds that howled over the hills surrounding the manor. The sky was roiling with dark clouds that looked like an inverted landscape of its own, with crumbling gray hills and valleys that sometimes revealed glimpses of the lightning held within them, yet to be unleashed upon the earth.

A water droplet beaded at the end of my hair and dropped down to join the darkened wet spots on the carpet of my living quarters. Calling it my room felt wrong, it lacked any personal touches I had back home, like the childhood comics I’d cut out my favorite pages from to adorn the

The next few days passed in a blur of meetings and preparation. I felt unfocused, haunted by what I’d seen in that basement. Sometimes it felt like the Aberrant Witch’s hollow gaze still pressed against the back of my head, even though it was buried under a kilometer of concrete. “If anyone has any questions

“Director!” Conrad called out. Nell and I had followed Conrad through the compound to the large conference room and ended up intercepting the Director who was heading inside alongside a few of their subordinates. They stopped and turned with a tinge of good humour at their brow and lips. “Conrad,” they said. “I intended to

Nell spun on one foot and then stumbled as she tried to place her other foot back down. Her face flushed and she shot me an embarrassed look. “That’s totally normal,” I said. “Everyone does that at the start.” “You didn’t,” Nell replied as she tried again. I froze. “Huh?” Nell wavered on her legs