Beyond the Void

Chapter 48, The woman in blue

ANDREW

Two moons and three tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed. The moon of Shrouded Life has come.

Surrounded by demons and freaks on all sides and cliffs, Sten and Andrew had reached a larger clearing in the middle of the hills. The weak sounds of a waterfall sounded from nearby.

Andrew stopped, but Sten kept marching towards a woman in a blue dress. She kept speaking in her unrecognisable language.

Sten laughed. "Finally! Here he is! I am just a bystander. You can let us go now! I do not belong here!" Sten was gesturing wildly, trying to make the woman understand.

"Keep away from her, Sten!" Andrew tried to warn the stocky man. But his warnings fell on deaf ears.

"Shut up! They are here for you! I am going to leave and let you get what you deserve!"

"Sten! She is not human!" Andrew was ignored. Sten only stopped after reaching the woman. He knelt before her and froze.

All this time the woman kept talking, with great passion and anger she addressed those monstrosities around her. Her gaze kept ending up on Andrew. Had she even noticed Sten there? Suddenly she shrieked something and pointed straight towards Andrew.

A grotesque from the rear bolted and, without thinking twice, swung at Andrew. He stepped to the side to avoid its bladed arm and let lightning roar from the skies into the beast right next to him. Swiftly he closed in on the confused thing and drove his blade into its head. Immediately it turned into dust.

The woman in blue shrieked and grabbed her head. There was no doubt. Andrew had heard that same shriek following them throughout their journey. Without warning, she smiled and placed her hand around Sten's cheek. Slowly she brought him upright and turned him around, having Sten face Andrew. Then she placed her hand on Sten's head. It was odd how much taller she was than Sten.

"See! I knew it! I KNEW IT! They are here because you should not be here!" Something terrible was about to happen. He could feel it. The insides of Sten suddenly alighted into a storm. That small presence of his suddenly inflated and burst out around him.

"Sten! Let go of her!" Andrew pleaded.

"Stop talking, you freak! She told me what you are! A murderer! You are at fault here! You! You killed all of them! Gave empty promises and let all the humans slave away for you! You pretended to care for them! You let them exalt you as a god!"

"Sten, for the love of god, let go of her! Do not let her touch you!" Andrew shouted.

"You murdered a child! You let them use her, you are the one at fault here. They left her broken and twisted. With no choice for what came next! You killed her!" Sten's voice was no longer human.

Sten's flesh was being ripped to pieces, but he did not seem to notice. He was bursting out of his clothes and armour as his flesh grew and rearranged itself. Something was bursting out from inside of him. Bones shattered and pierced his skin. And so was the flesh of the woman changing. She was shedding her human skin.

There was nothing else Andrew could do. She was still small compared to the other monstrosities around here, although not by human standards. She had sprouted wings similar of a butterfly and multiple pairs of arms. Four? Five pairs? It was hard to keep track of them. She had a horse's hooves for legs and her knees were bent backwards.

Her wings kept growing with sickening speed. Their edges became rugged and flappy. As if skin had been torn off her back and shredded against a grater. Her face disappeared and only a single purple slit remained where the eyes should have been. All around her body was decorated with bone plates, spikes and unhealthy hues of brown and orange skin.