To Be Proud: Revamped

Chapter 69: Sacrifice

~Bona~

      "Welcome, to the Sacrificial Pit."

We were brought into the heart of the castle, which pulsed with bright light and vibrations low enough to cause a trembling in one's spine. The walls around us slowly caved in the higher up we looked, smoothly melting into a glass pane roof surrounded by long, thin stalactites hanging around the perimeter of the skylight. Everything was an agonizing red, perfectly matching the intense heat of the large chamber. All of the other monsters seemed unfazed, however; they were all Fire monsters, serving for this supposed "queen," which implied that the heat meant nothing to them. The whole space seemed uninviting as is, disregarding the chamber's main centerpiece.

In the center of the room was a large pit, which took up a majority of the chamber floor. Its blazing, bright red light pulsed with an energy that caused my own eyes to start stinging in pain. A low humming sounded from the chasm, almost like the bass of a castle, which swirled the heat within the chamber around. Large translucent pipes ran down the sides of the abyss, connecting the large stone table across from us to a large box within the pit. Despite the strange markings and the off-color appearance of the box, it seemed to be similar to the shell of an inactive Wubbox. Something about the box made me tense up, as if a malicious type of energy was surging through it, but for the time being I ignored it.

      "S-Sohwy," Thwok responded with a slight quiver in his voice, "the whaht?"

      "The Sacrificial Pit. It's the chasm made for both the chosen few and the rebellious unfortunates." I went to make a snarky remark, but the braces over my teeth muffled every single sound that tried to leave. I gave up soon after the fact was realised.

      "Wha-whaht ahe you mahking a sa-sacwifice t-t-to?"

      "I'm glad you asked," the queen responded in a teasing manner. "Everything we give to the pit goes to the Ultimate Vessel, a monster with untold power and limitless possibilities. They came to me when I was in need, and now I'm returning the favor."

      "B-By twahding the-the lihves ohf othuhs?" I watched as Thwok shifted uncomfortably at such a thought, shifting his weight between both of his feet.

      "Well, not just 'others.' If any monster is deemed worthy by me or gives me any lip, ahem," the queen spoke while clearing her throat and glaring up at me, "then they'll be given up to the Vessel. Don't worry; their heads get sliced off and hung up in memoriam."

      "Th-their heads?"

      "Mhm."

      "So...the ones we pahsed by, in the main hawl—"

      "—are real, yep." Thwok loudly gulped in fear, and I could see his pegs slightly twisting and turning.

      "Wh...whaht's thaht bohx, in the piht?"

      "That is the Ultimate Vessel. Two hundred tons of reinforced steel, roughly thirty thousand watts worth of raw energy, and the ultimate source of power." She turned towards Thwok, clutching the spear in her hand. "They found me when I was in need, trapped within the walls that stand before you now. With their assistance I got out, still alive and in charge of an entire island of cold-hearted warriors. Now, all I'm doing is paying back what I owe. Paying off the debt, you can say."

      "Paying bahck...how?"

      "By feeding energy into the Vessel." She faced him completely. "And it doesn't matter what method is used. Decapitation, scorching, freezing, drowning, poison, pressing, slicing, stretching, tossing into the pit—even blowing a monster into smithereens works." I could tell that Thwok was unnerved by the queen's keenness, wanting to interject, but he bit his tongue.