Hunter: The Reckoning

Chapter 11

Uranus knelt over Nieve, his hands capturing my blade and despite how I tried it was a losing battle as he slowly began to stand and forced me back. My arms shook from the effort of attempting to force it down, sweat ran along my spine and the grunt of effort turned into a scream of frustration.

Being in his presence was different to how it was around Gaia and how it had been with Tartarus. You would think the personification of Hell would be dark, terrifying and the source of all your nightmares but despite his obvious power, he hadn't been all that bad.

Uranus wasn't like the other two.

It didn't matter what Gaia wanted, or the threats Tartarus had made. Uranus had to be stopped. Right now, I needed to get to Nieve and since he held the blade as if it was a soft toy and not a life taking weapon, I didn't know how to get him out of my way. Until I did.

Relying on this tension, I used it to brace myself and prayed I didn't regret it later. Taking a breath I adjusted my footing just so, and as he was nearly back to standing, I kicked my foot into his knee. Primordial or not, a body is a body and stumbling from the hit, he let go as instinct kicked in and he needed to balance himself or fall onto Nieve's soon to be corpse. As the momentum of my sword being released had it swinging backwards, I gladly let it go for free hands and to keep my own balance. The sensation of my fist finding his jaw sent a jolt through me, not expecting to actually connect with my target.

Reality sunk in seconds later as my knuckles protested the sudden abuse I'd just given them. It had been too long since I had used my hands this way, and instantly recalling back my weapon from where it had fallen, I created a shield to give me the seconds I needed to slam my sword into Nieve.

Instead it hit dirt and slipped forward as this time keeping my balance was more of a struggle. Furious, I looked to see Uranus rolling his shoulders after rubbing his jaw where I'd hit. The giant form was not quite as big as Tartarus yet as he stopped in front of me, I had to look up. Anger switched to desperation as I caught sight of The Furies standing around a broken, floating Nieve, and in a flurry or orange light, the four vanished.

"No!" I sent everything I had after them but it was pointless.

They were gone.

Nieve was gone.

I glared up at the amused face before me, and for the first time truly saw him. His eyes were dark and endless, scars covered his skin in streaks of silver and gold, more hidden by the beard that hid most of his neck down to his chest. There was a chunk of hair by his ear that I had a feeling would never grow back. His teeth were sharp, bared at me in warning as I clenched my fist, wanting to hit him again. A coldness surrounded this First, a void that reminded me of Oizy as he held the same endless sense of despair that had remained in the air seconds after I had killed her.

He was the embodiment of an endless sky, of a darkness that would consume anything and everything in its path and leave nothing behind but a trail of red and pain. Gaia created, he destroyed. I saw their split, the arguments and the fights. I could see her hiding away her treasure, the first soul, the limitless being they had started to create together but like everything else it hadn't been enough for him. The negotiating to weaken and split these sparks was not as simple as Hecate had described. Nothing about Uranus was that simple. He was the grey in the black and white, existing beyond everything, in a way the other two didn't for they had a place, a home and a purpose he lacked.

"Look at you little Empress." He snarled, making me cringe as I felt his breath and spit on my face. "You tried, and you failed. Spare the lives of thousands more and submit to my cause."

His tone softened, as if he could show some level of empathy on what had occurred despite being the one to cause it. I had no doubt he would do it again and again in a heartbeat.