Beneath The Surface

Act 44 - Please don't hate me...

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Astaroth's POV
"Sister, I did it."

Astaroth was leaning her head against the goddess's shoulder, dutifully reporting all the good deeds she had done. She wanted to be praised. She wanted her sister to be proud of her.

"We won the war. The Fist of Shadow position belongs to Kali too. I made sure to cripple that rabid dog for Kali."

Her sister smiled amiably while rubbing her head, "You've worked hard. Time to get some rest."

Rest? No. Time was of the essence. There's no time for breaks. The matter of happy endings has yet to be settled. She still needed to orchestrate a monumental play. One that would be passed down in history books.

"I'm planning to take up Bel'Veth's offer."

Sister Luna's shoulder tensed.

There was a palpable silence before she whispered tentatively, "Why? That creature's a bad guy."

"Everyone's a bad guy in this world. It's only a matter of perspective. To me, my parents are incorrigible devils. To others, they are untouchable gods. It all depends on who's the one benefitting."

Seeing the unconvinced look on her face, Astaroth sat up straight, "This is not a heat-of-the-moment decision. I've already been thinking about it for a long time-what's my purpose for living? And I think I now know what it is. It's to make sure no one ever bullies the people around me. You remembered how we were tortured by reality and its ugliness."

Astaroth recalled how traumatising her childhood was. The constant screamings and beatings that scarred her for life. And every second of it was filled with lies, corruption, gaslighting, and scheming rats. The bloody sheriffs refused to help her escape from literal hell. Even worse, they directly shove her to the point of no return. No one was willing to just listen to her plight. They only treated her as a liar when she's the one covered in unsightly bruises and blemishes. Just because her father appeared in conference meetings. Just because he's a Council leader who paid ample cash to 'fund' the regiment. Her city of birth was rotting from the inside out.

Even her beautiful baby fox didn't have an easy time with her naturally seductive looks. She had to change her appearance. Just so she could suit other people's tasteless aesthetics. She had to hide her pretty black hair and amber eyes from the world. Cease her rightful feasting sessions, even in the face of possible death. All to earn the favour of insignificant fools. What bullshit! Only the strong decide the fate of those who are weak. Ahri was the predator here while the rest were prey. Since when did God need to pander to the desires of peasants? Why must she cater to their preferences? Why must she be the one to change??? Instead of working on their own flaws, those fools somehow think that the fault lies with the outlier. It must be the issue of that charming vixen. That's why they all looked so pathetic and revolting. Those bloody clowns were too wrapped up in their own insecurities and jealousy that they found the need to pull down a goddess to their level. Trample her down to size. Just to prove a preposterous point-that they're more than the cockroaches they were. If there's no existence that outshone any of them, they'd be in a much better light. This idiocracy was really absurd. Childish. Utterly shameless.

On the other hand, Kali was isolated by the very people she's protecting. Just because of some scheming bitch's venom, they somehow lost all brain cells and ability to think. Why were they even fighting amongst themselves for a dumb title? Ionia's getting invaded and instead of rallying morale, Mayym decided to turn both candidates against each other. All for the sake of keeping to old traditions that heirs must inherit the position at 18. Meanwhile, Shen's too busy maintaining the 'sacred balance' and did nothing to stop the onslaught of madness. Just to uphold his belief of neutrality. You don't leave man-eating weeds alive. You pull them out from the moment they're seen.