Sharp Teeth - Sleep Token/Vessel FF

Chapter XIX

I didn't need the scarlet liquid anymore. As if fulfilling a vision, the moment I thought of Sleep's realm, I was transported there.

The realm was quiet and serene, almost deceptively so. The creatures that usually stirred their shadows were nowhere in sight. I entered Sleep's manor and headed straight for the bedroom—the one where Ava and I had last woken up together—only to find it empty. But near the bedside, my old journals were stacked in a pile.

Ava must have found in the library those journals Sleep had stolen from me in a pathetic attempt to understand what he could never hear: My thoughts. He had always been desperate to decipher me, but somehow my mind was beyond even a God's reach.

I made my way to the library, each step weighted with hope and dread. I thought only of Ava, her voice, her warmth. The hallway stretched on, unnaturally long, like time itself resisted our reunion. As if it was waiting for me, the library door opened before I could touch it.

And there she was. Ava. My lover, my life, my everything.

"Vessel?" Her eyes widened, her breath catching. "Is it really you?"

My chest tightened and then burst with joy.

"Ava!" I rushed forward and threw my arms around her, holding her as if I could press every moment of separation into nothingness. "I thought I'd never see you again! Are you alright? Has Sleep harmed you?" My thumbs brushed over her cheeks, feeling the heat rise in her skin.

"I can't believe you're here! I'm fine now," she whispered, breathless. "But... how did you get in? I tried to reach you, tried everything. I couldn't find a way out."

"I found another way that doesn't involve the scarlet liquid. You shouldn't worry about that now, I will explain everything to you once we're out of this forsaken place. What matters is that I'm here and we're together again."

I kissed her, softly, reverently, willing time to stop and let this moment stretch into eternity.

"I missed you so much, Ves," she said, her voice trembling. "I thought you were gone forever. I want him to pay. I want Sleep to suffer for what he's done, not just to us but to every soul that entered this realm."

"I'll make him pay," I said. "I shall destroy this entire realm. The power that runs in my veins wants me to, too. Just promise me you'll wait for me here, my dearest Ava. This battle is mine to fight alone."

She pulled back slightly, eyes searching mine. "Power? What power? And hell no, I'm not leaving you to fight a God alone, Vessel." She was adamant, but I could not let her get more involved than she already was.

"I made a deal with an ancient God called The One Below, who's waited patiently for his chance to bring Sleep down. The other Gods are tired of him, too; they're done with the way he hoards stolen souls to sustain this place. As long as I destroy this realm and deliver the souls to The One Below, he'll keep his end of the bargain."

Ava hesitated, worrying filling her eyes. "Ves, deals with Gods always come with consequences. Do you really believe The One Below will honor the pact and let us go free afterward?"

I held her gaze. "I don't know what comes after, but we'll face it when the time comes. Right now, there's a God to destroy, and I've waited long enough to unleash my wrath on him. Please, Ava, promise me you won't leave this library until I call for you."

She nodded silently, and I turned away, uncertain if we'd ever lay eyes on each other again but hoping she would keep her promise.

......

Am I walking with gods or merely stumbling forth

Until there's fire at the gates, until I fall to the floor?

You know I live by the feather and die by the sword

And I will sunder the earth only to burn the reward

The manor opened into a vast garden, the place where all souls first arrived upon entering Sleep's realm.

The trees were twisted into impossible shapes: Serpentine branches, crystalline leaves, roots that whispered memories if you stepped too close. Pink and red flowers bloomed in midair, suspended in slow spirals of time. Black flamingoes roamed free, gracefully. I have dreaded this place so much that I didn't realize how beautiful it was.

I stepped into the garden with Ava's warmth still clinging to my skin and vengeance burning in my blood, each footstep shattering petals beneath me. The two blessed swords The One Below gifted me pulsed with the godblood that now ran in my veins.

"I know you're watching, Sleep," I said aloud, my voice echoing through the eternal twilight. "Come face me. Or are you a coward?"

The wind stilled, and the flowers held their breath.

Then, he appeared.

Sleep emerged from the shadows of the willow-like tree wearing his human-like form. He wore no crown, but the realm bent gently around him. His skin was pale as moonlight, eyes bottomless pools of midnight. Silver hair cascaded down his back, mirroring the delicate threads woven through his emerald velvet robes. Where I carried blades, he carried nothing, yet power rippled off him in invisible waves.

"Vessel." His voice settled like snow over a grave. "Calling me a coward requires either bravery or a death wish. Yet you know the only possible outcome: I grow stronger while you fade into nothing. You are no match for me. Is that truly what you want?"

"For centuries, you made me harvest souls like a reaper," I snarled, my voice cracking with the weight of lifetimes. "You cursed me with immortality only to show me my love was forever out of reach. I was your puppet, and you have poisoned my heart with your designs." The air itself seemed to vibrate with my rage. "No more! I'll burn your kingdom to cinders and grind your divine power to oblivion. I'll walk through hell itself just to see you undone. Even if it costs me my own soul."

A cold smile sliced across his face, never touching those dead, starless eyes. "My dear, rebellious Vessel. I know no hell. And I expected nothing less from you." His voice was calm, welcoming my rage in. "Now... Is that ancient power inside you I sense?"

"You're not the only God who's offered me a bargain." Why I was taunting him, I had no idea. Perhaps it was the centuries of devotion still bubbling to the surface, or perhaps just the burning hot hate that had replaced it.

With a flick of his wrist, Sleep remade the world around us. The earth shuddered violently as the garden dissolved into a scorched battlefield, the air suddenly thick with the metallic promise of blood.

"You truly imagine yourself capable of deicide?" His laughter was a cold kiss against my spine. "Well, I will mourn my Golden Soul. I'll write you an eulogy, Vessel. Let every syllable of yours memorialize your arrogance. And never forget: you begged for this."