"Kneel down, you scum!" Varak shouted, his voice filled with rage, hatred, and malice.
I knelt before him. I looked around the battlefield. The ground looked as if blood had rained from the sky. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers lay dead, piled atop one another. Some had been stabbed ruthlessly, others ripped in half. Some looked as if their souls had fled before death claimed them.
In the middle of it all stood I—Zethar, King of Estopia, the stone-hearted ruler whose chief entertainment was slaughtering innocent souls—now kneeling before my most loyal soldier. No, more than that: my brother-in-arms, Varak.
"Why?" I rasped, blood spraying from my mouth. My ribs tore with every breath, pain and betrayal twisting like knives. My heart counted its final beats, yet I pushed on. My stomach gaped open, blood streaming like a river.
Ha!" Varak scoffed. "Why? you ask." His voice dripped with disgust. Those eyes—once brimming with unwavering loyalty—now burned cold. Only one thing shone in them: hunger. Hunger for my blood. Hunger for my soul.
"You," he snarled, jabbing a finger at me before yanking my hair to force my gaze into his. "You bastard!" he roared. "You slaughtered my entire family. My mother. My sister. Everyone."
His voice cracked, a single tear carving a path down his cheek.
"It's not like that!" I screamed as pain exploded—Varak's fist slamming straight into my face. Blood streamed from my nose, hot and metallic.
I looked up at the sky. The sun had nearly vanished, painting everything in a dying yellow tint, but that wasn't what seized my gaze. Millions of silver soldiers hovered there, their eyes emitting divine light. Spears gleamed in their grips, faces shrouded in knightly helms. Vast white wings unfurled from their backs, blotting out the last rays of sunlight on the blood-soaked ground.
"See them?" Varak sneered, pointing at the silver soldiers with malicious glee. "They helped me bring you to your knees."
"Tell me, Zethar—how does it feel to be betrayed by your own soldier?" A mocking smirk twisted his face; he was clearly savoring the best moment of his life.
I stared at Varak, at a complete loss for words. My mind reeled back to the battlefield—the rivers of blood, the mangled corpses of my soldiers. It terrified me. But not the most.
[How does it feel?] A voice boomed from the sky—not the soldiers, not Varak. Something ancient. Someone. I knew it instinctively from the weight in those words alone.
[Having fun down there?] It mocked.
No other than the Absolute God—creator of this realm, the divine planes beyond, and every soul caught between. He manifested then, a colossal figure tearing through the clouds: a throne of swirling galaxies suspended mid-air, his form a silhouette of endless void pierced by eyes like twin supernovas, radiating power that warped reality itself. Wings of pure starlight spanned horizons, and his voice echoed like cracking universes.
As I looked up at him, Varak's boot crashed down on my head, slamming my face into the blood-streaked ground.
"Stop!" I shouted.
[Does it hurt?] the God asked, his voice devoid of any kindness.
I inhaled sharply—dust flooded my lungs. I choked, coughing blood.
[That's what you get for destroying thousands of souls.] The God intoned.
"You should just die," Varak snarled, grinding my face deeper into the filth.
[Oh no!] The God exclaimed. [Where's the fun in a simple death?]
I gasped, a chill of dread washing over me. I sensed what was coming.
[See? You understand me, don't you?] The Absolute God smirked down, smug as eternity itself.
My mind blanked. Thoughts raced through dark possibilities: humiliation, torment, my kingdom razed to ash. But one fear eclipsed them all...
[Bring her here.] The God's voice turned cold, utterly emotionless.
His divine gaze—laced with cruelty—fixed on Varak.
For the first time that day, Varak faltered. His boot on my head lost its crushing force. He glanced down at me, mouth parting slightly as he drew a shaky breath.
A flicker of hope sparked in me—but it snuffed out instantly. Hatred reclaimed him, shredding the last thread of mercy.
"Yes," he answered the God.