The Cries of the Dead (A Moon Knight Inspired Fan-fiction)

Chapter Three: Embers in the Darkness

(Strong sexual references, strong course language, strong themes, drug use, mention of sexual harassment, non-consensual/forced oral sex, and violence.)

Death was beautiful. At least that's what she thought, as she wandered through the never ending field of onyx and starlight flowers.

They were strange, with a scent of ash and embers. Yet there was something sweet, so subtle that she wondered if she'd imagined it.

Her mind was foggy, but she recalled the events leading up to entering this field.

She'd been standing at a sparkling golden archway. Guided through it by a phantom. A mere whisper of a being that was lost somewhere else.

She'd heard the screams and pleas of the creature, clearly in her mind.

"You cannot do this!" It had raged, even as it was ensnared in the trap. "I will be freed. And I will tell whoever listens what you have done..."

There was no sense to any of this. Not as she continued down the path - a hallway - lined wooden doors. Memories waited behind each. She saw no labels, but she sensed what she'd see behind each one.

Some leaked happiness or contentment. Others sorrow and pain. One caressed her with its violence, making her shiver.

The phantom could not use its mouth to speak. But she entered its mind once more, feeling the shock at her intrusion again.

"Help me." It whispered, sounding as if its voice was caught in the wind. "Find me."

They were not requests, but demands. Her guide was in trouble, and a wave of desperation swept over her - not her own.

She sensed that phantom's desperation, bleeding into her skin. Her pity seemed to startle the creature, and it flinched.

Suddenly, she was before an archway. One of ancient stones, with symbols that she couldn't understand carved into it.

The phantom was beside her. Lingering. Hesitating.

"Save me," it whispered again, before vanishing.

One step. One step through this veiled archway and she'd truly known what had happened. Accepted that death had claimed her.

Something invisible latched onto her. Wrapping around her waist and trying to pull her in. Before an invisible finger brushed her mind.

One that was supposed to be tender and enticing. It made her shiver from disgust, but she moved forward.

The flowers before her were a mere distraction. Bait to keep her right where Death wanted her. Yet, even knowing this, she couldn't help but stare at the beauty.

Starlight shimmered inside, and made her mind relax. She did not fear Death, but she would not let herself forget what had happened. What she'd left behind.

A face stayed with her. Imprinted in her mind forever. His name was lost to her now, but she'd never let herself forget it.

"What have we here?" A seductive voice asked. It echoed all around her, and threatened to tear her apart.

She'd known violence from a voice so similar, it made her freeze.

"Curious," the being's eyes appeared in the darkness.