Vio needed a drink. The thought occurred to them several times over when they crossed the deep divide between city sectors. The moment they stepped foot into the great, neverending cavern, they were reminded of the thought. Hells, anyone who fought tooth and nail to cross the divide deserved more than a blade to the back. But now. Vio needed a drink. A distraction. Skies below, they’d prefer a fight if only for the relief that followed. Vio needed off of this godsforsaken graveyard of a city even if it killed them.
But it wouldn’t kill them.
It was only the thought that mattered.
They adjusted their cloak.The gray swathe of material hung past their knees, dirtied with time and bloodied by combat. With every step, it fell lower. Its golden clasp strained to contain the great infestation.
With every step, hardened ash crunched beneath their boots. Blackened, angry burns reached up the tall metal, only just scraping past the charred remains of an ancient forest. The ground, they noted, was nothing more than a graveyard of deadly husks. Of felled corpses with their arms outstretched toward someone or something that had long since been vanquished or vanished.
An angry, red haze floated just past their knees and a sinking feeling settled in their chest. Vio followed a path some distance until they stood before a jagged chunk of metal that closely resembled a rotted ship’s hull. They brought a gloved hand to wipe away a sheen of ash, revealing an insignia carved into the metal. A set of gears in perpetual motion, they recognized. A calling sign.
Their gaze dropped to see charred remains positioned lazily against the wall. Blackened bones colored a bloody red under the infested scourge. An ancient broadsword pierced its abdomen between the ribs, pinning it to the wall. Vio brought their boot to rest against its pelvis, bone crumbling. Its lower half fell away, leaving the abdomen suspended in the air, only just hanging on. With little hesitation, Vio crouched and took the sword by its grip in both hands. They wrenched it free from its hold, paying little mind to the bones crashing against the ground. Well-rehearsed, they held it under the moonlight, observing the blade’s condition.
Dull. They flipped it over to reveal a series of strange runes crudely carved into the metal. Fire, it was meant to summon. A great flame that reliably should’ve been more than capable of slaying the most envious of beasts. Though here it was, embedded through the abdomen of a lost soul. Useless. Vio discarded it, shrugging past the remains until they stared down the only thing that mattered. Their cargo.
Well hidden, they noted. Vio knelt beside a Rotted blanket. Infested flowers blossomed atop it, spreading its rotten disease in spores of three and four. Vio, though, remained unphased, drawing a hand forward to reveal whatever the hells they were to transport down to the Unlawful Lands below.
Before they could so much as touch it, the blanket writhed.
And they hesitated.
Only for a moment. Then two. Then three before they lifted the material from the ground to reveal its contents.
Vio froze.
A baby stared up at them.
In that moment, bright, blue eyes met hazy silver. And in that moment, Vio wanted nothing more than to leave it.
There were worse fates than being devoured by the Rot.
And there were far better reasons to justify it.
In the distance, someone cried out in agony. Vio turned, momentarily distracted. They only just made out the shadowed form of a hulking beast tromping through the underbrush. Vio squinted to see someone pressed hard against the metal bordering the cavern. They screamed something sinister that almost resonated in Vio’s bones. The beast reared up and they watched the humanoid figure raise a blade in an attempt to defend itself. Metal clashed against metal in a horrific display of power but they made no move to stop it. Vio didn’t take a step. Frozen amongst the ash, they listened in silence, one hand lowered toward the child and the other resting at the hilt of their blade.
And then the screaming stopped.
And the monster turned.
And they might as well have been staring down a god.
Because then it charged. For only a moment, Vio dropped their gaze down to the child, observing it. And it only stared back. They decided then, that there were far better fates than being devoured by an afflicted. And there were far worse reasons to justify it. Vio stood, unsheathing their great, serrated blade.
Vio closed their eyes for only a single moment, silently cursing every god that came to mind.
Silence.
A scream.
A blood curdling scream broke the last semblance of peace in the Streets.
And then, like a monster themself, Vio was upon the great beast with an intensity unrecognized. And behind them, swaddled and innocent, laid a child.