“Azadou, it doesn’t have to be like this.”I clutch the tumbler in my hand, reducing the glass to powder in my palm as I attempt to dispel those words from my mind. Everything about that creature has been a plague on my senses, yet it's those words above all that cling to my thoughts like gum stuck under one’s shoe. Is it the words themselves, or the pleading tone her voice took when she uttered them? As each syllable echoes through my ears, I recall the look in her prismatic eyes as she spoke them. In their colourful depths, I saw hatred. It’s a look I’ve grown accustomed to seeing in the faces of those who gaze upon me and one I have come to expect. Until this morning, she had never looked at me that way.I sought to break her, to make her beg me for rejection, but never once did the thought cross her mind, not even as hate swam in her eyes did it occur to her. There was something else in her eyes; an unfamiliar emotion I could not place and though I cannot name it, the thought of i
I rise to my feet, my nostrils flaring as I hold my arms out, reading myself to try again. With lightning speed, Jartre is in front of me, his hands fisting my shirt as his eyes glow silver and bright, his jaw etched in tension.“Dammit, Azadou, stop this! It doesn’t matter what you do or what you throw at me, I am not going to fight you!” he bellows in frustration.“Afraid you’ll go too far and kill us both?” I taunt with a cold smirk.Jartre’s mouth curls in disgust as he throws me to the side, dropping me on my ass like an annoying bug.“When are you going to get it? If the only thing that came from our deaths was you finally finding peace, I would grant it to you in a heartbeat, but this isn’t about you or me. I’m not choosing not to hurt you because I’m scared for you or myself, I’m choosing not to hurt you because I refuse to cause Orenda any harm, especially the kind that could cost her her life!” he shouts, his words coated in turmoil.I sit up, resting my arms on my knees as
“Are you okay? You’ve barely even touched your ramen,” Ayawamat points out with a concerned lilt to his voice.I shrug, absentmindedly pushing the ingredients around with my chopsticks. “I guess I’m not that hungry.”Ayawamat slides the bowl away from me and takes my hands in his, turning me gently on my stool to face him. I manage to look at him, but the worry and compassion etched deep into his face has my heart clenching painfully in my chest and tears burning behind my eyes.“Did Azadou say or do something? I’m not judging, I swear. I just know that he was here and now…Orenda, I’ve never seen you like this and it’s honestly scaring the fuck out of me,” he explains, his voice cracking from his concern.That did it.I squeeze his hands tight as the tears break through and fall from my eyes. I throw my arms around his broad shoulders and bury my face in his neck as sobs wrack my body and I struggle to breathe air into my lungs. I thought all the crying I did in the shower was enough,
As if the universe is trying to emphasise Ayawamat’s words, a burst of pressure hits me in the torso, knocking the wind from my lungs and making me clutch the kitchen counter to keep myself in place.“Orenda?” Ayawamat frets, grasping my shoulders, his brows raised with worry.I blink in confusion, placing my hand over my chest as I collect my bearings, trying to figure out what the hell I just felt when I suddenly feel deep and overwhelming rage rising up like a violent tempest inside me.“Azadou…” I whisper.“Now what’s the fucker done?” Ayawamat seethes through gritted teeth.“I don’t know,” I murmur in confusion as I stand up. “Something is wrong…I can feel so much rage,” I quaver, rubbing my chest as if to soothe the emotions intensifying from within me despite our bond not being completed.“Isn’t that him on a normal day?” Ayawamat quips mildly.I shake my head in disagreement, “Not like this. I have to find him,” I declare, marching towards the front door.“Orenda, wait!” Ayawa
At my words, his mask slips and instead of indifference I now see rage and hatred as clear on his face as it is through our bond.“You blame me for the chaos in the world, but chaos reigned long before me and will continue to exist long after me. Chaos is the very nature of humanity. I didn’t create it, I’m merely pulling back the curtain on it,” he declares, stretching his arms out wide, grandstanding at the terror around him.Tears of anger well in my eyes as disgust burns in my stomach. “From the moment you came into this world, malice has filled your every being and here you are spreading it like a virus and boasting about it as if it were a badge of honour to be worn proudly,” I condemn sorrowfully.In an instant, Azadou is towering over me, his eyes ablaze with fury. “I DIDN’T ASK TO BE CREATED! I was born of your creator’s darkness and hatred because he was too weak and cowardly to face it. You look at me with disgust for being what I was made to be by the very God you call Fat
I was wrong.I’ve always said that to encounter the eyti is to experience true purgatory, but I was wrong. I now realise that the eyti are more than just shadows of the humans they once were. They are not the epitome of purgatory; they are merely shadows of it. I believed the haunting, empty coldness they leave in their wake was the worst kind of emptiness a person could feel, but as I lay here on the jagged rocks – my essram shattered into infinite pieces as my body barely clings to life – I realise that this is true emptiness.Pain and exhaustion circulate through my body on an unrelenting loop, my eyes too tired to remain open. The devastating feelings of despair and loneliness are so consuming they have erased every happy memory from my mind. I can’t even remember the sensation of happiness, to the point that as I lay here, feeling the life draining from me, I begin to question if it ever existed, or if I imagined it.As the darkness begins to take over, a sudden jolt of electrici
“Is she…” I trail off, my voice trembling as I fear his answer.“She’s alive. For now,” he answers gravely, freeing my heart from the dread that was strangling it.Jartre sniffs the air, his nostrils flaring and his silver eyes narrowing. In a second, all of Orenda’s bedding is replaced, and her dress is replaced by cosy sleepwear as she’s bundled up under a thick blanket that Jartre tenderly tucks around her. I walk over, my eyes burning from unshed tears as I carefully sit on the edge of the bed. I reach out and softly caress the top of her head, my heart lodging itself in my throat as I feel how cold she is to the touch.“What’s wrong with her?” I ask, my voice a strangled mix of anger and sorrow.Jartre stands up straight, looking down at Orenda with a guilty expression. “She rejected him.”My eyes widen in disbelief. I know I’d made those stupid remarks about rejection, but I never meant them. I know the ramifications of rejection. I only said those stupid things out of frustrati
A thunderous, harrowing roar bursts from my lungs as I throw my right hand out like the strike of a hammer, an intense bolt of purple lightning discharging from my hand and striking through the interior of my home, obliterating everything in its path. I stare at the resulting destruction, my chest heaving and sweat forming on my skin as I remain unburdened from the cataclysmic agony tearing its way through me. I pant, my lungs feeling constricted as if air cannot reach them as a current of purple electricity moves across my flesh. With a strained roar, I throw out my left hand, hurling another bolt of purple lightning through my interior, watching it obliterate everything it touches, but still, I feel no better.Feeling drained, I collapse against the banister, the flimsy material breaking under my weight and making me fall to the floor. I move onto all fours, my fingers tearing through the floorboards like butter as the wood triturates in my palms as I clench my fists. Every cell in
A thunderous, harrowing roar bursts from my lungs as I throw my right hand out like the strike of a hammer, an intense bolt of purple lightning discharging from my hand and striking through the interior of my home, obliterating everything in its path. I stare at the resulting destruction, my chest heaving and sweat forming on my skin as I remain unburdened from the cataclysmic agony tearing its way through me. I pant, my lungs feeling constricted as if air cannot reach them as a current of purple electricity moves across my flesh. With a strained roar, I throw out my left hand, hurling another bolt of purple lightning through my interior, watching it obliterate everything it touches, but still, I feel no better.Feeling drained, I collapse against the banister, the flimsy material breaking under my weight and making me fall to the floor. I move onto all fours, my fingers tearing through the floorboards like butter as the wood triturates in my palms as I clench my fists. Every cell in
“Is she…” I trail off, my voice trembling as I fear his answer.“She’s alive. For now,” he answers gravely, freeing my heart from the dread that was strangling it.Jartre sniffs the air, his nostrils flaring and his silver eyes narrowing. In a second, all of Orenda’s bedding is replaced, and her dress is replaced by cosy sleepwear as she’s bundled up under a thick blanket that Jartre tenderly tucks around her. I walk over, my eyes burning from unshed tears as I carefully sit on the edge of the bed. I reach out and softly caress the top of her head, my heart lodging itself in my throat as I feel how cold she is to the touch.“What’s wrong with her?” I ask, my voice a strangled mix of anger and sorrow.Jartre stands up straight, looking down at Orenda with a guilty expression. “She rejected him.”My eyes widen in disbelief. I know I’d made those stupid remarks about rejection, but I never meant them. I know the ramifications of rejection. I only said those stupid things out of frustrati
I was wrong.I’ve always said that to encounter the eyti is to experience true purgatory, but I was wrong. I now realise that the eyti are more than just shadows of the humans they once were. They are not the epitome of purgatory; they are merely shadows of it. I believed the haunting, empty coldness they leave in their wake was the worst kind of emptiness a person could feel, but as I lay here on the jagged rocks – my essram shattered into infinite pieces as my body barely clings to life – I realise that this is true emptiness.Pain and exhaustion circulate through my body on an unrelenting loop, my eyes too tired to remain open. The devastating feelings of despair and loneliness are so consuming they have erased every happy memory from my mind. I can’t even remember the sensation of happiness, to the point that as I lay here, feeling the life draining from me, I begin to question if it ever existed, or if I imagined it.As the darkness begins to take over, a sudden jolt of electrici
At my words, his mask slips and instead of indifference I now see rage and hatred as clear on his face as it is through our bond.“You blame me for the chaos in the world, but chaos reigned long before me and will continue to exist long after me. Chaos is the very nature of humanity. I didn’t create it, I’m merely pulling back the curtain on it,” he declares, stretching his arms out wide, grandstanding at the terror around him.Tears of anger well in my eyes as disgust burns in my stomach. “From the moment you came into this world, malice has filled your every being and here you are spreading it like a virus and boasting about it as if it were a badge of honour to be worn proudly,” I condemn sorrowfully.In an instant, Azadou is towering over me, his eyes ablaze with fury. “I DIDN’T ASK TO BE CREATED! I was born of your creator’s darkness and hatred because he was too weak and cowardly to face it. You look at me with disgust for being what I was made to be by the very God you call Fat
As if the universe is trying to emphasise Ayawamat’s words, a burst of pressure hits me in the torso, knocking the wind from my lungs and making me clutch the kitchen counter to keep myself in place.“Orenda?” Ayawamat frets, grasping my shoulders, his brows raised with worry.I blink in confusion, placing my hand over my chest as I collect my bearings, trying to figure out what the hell I just felt when I suddenly feel deep and overwhelming rage rising up like a violent tempest inside me.“Azadou…” I whisper.“Now what’s the fucker done?” Ayawamat seethes through gritted teeth.“I don’t know,” I murmur in confusion as I stand up. “Something is wrong…I can feel so much rage,” I quaver, rubbing my chest as if to soothe the emotions intensifying from within me despite our bond not being completed.“Isn’t that him on a normal day?” Ayawamat quips mildly.I shake my head in disagreement, “Not like this. I have to find him,” I declare, marching towards the front door.“Orenda, wait!” Ayawa
“Are you okay? You’ve barely even touched your ramen,” Ayawamat points out with a concerned lilt to his voice.I shrug, absentmindedly pushing the ingredients around with my chopsticks. “I guess I’m not that hungry.”Ayawamat slides the bowl away from me and takes my hands in his, turning me gently on my stool to face him. I manage to look at him, but the worry and compassion etched deep into his face has my heart clenching painfully in my chest and tears burning behind my eyes.“Did Azadou say or do something? I’m not judging, I swear. I just know that he was here and now…Orenda, I’ve never seen you like this and it’s honestly scaring the fuck out of me,” he explains, his voice cracking from his concern.That did it.I squeeze his hands tight as the tears break through and fall from my eyes. I throw my arms around his broad shoulders and bury my face in his neck as sobs wrack my body and I struggle to breathe air into my lungs. I thought all the crying I did in the shower was enough,
I rise to my feet, my nostrils flaring as I hold my arms out, reading myself to try again. With lightning speed, Jartre is in front of me, his hands fisting my shirt as his eyes glow silver and bright, his jaw etched in tension.“Dammit, Azadou, stop this! It doesn’t matter what you do or what you throw at me, I am not going to fight you!” he bellows in frustration.“Afraid you’ll go too far and kill us both?” I taunt with a cold smirk.Jartre’s mouth curls in disgust as he throws me to the side, dropping me on my ass like an annoying bug.“When are you going to get it? If the only thing that came from our deaths was you finally finding peace, I would grant it to you in a heartbeat, but this isn’t about you or me. I’m not choosing not to hurt you because I’m scared for you or myself, I’m choosing not to hurt you because I refuse to cause Orenda any harm, especially the kind that could cost her her life!” he shouts, his words coated in turmoil.I sit up, resting my arms on my knees as
“Azadou, it doesn’t have to be like this.”I clutch the tumbler in my hand, reducing the glass to powder in my palm as I attempt to dispel those words from my mind. Everything about that creature has been a plague on my senses, yet it's those words above all that cling to my thoughts like gum stuck under one’s shoe. Is it the words themselves, or the pleading tone her voice took when she uttered them? As each syllable echoes through my ears, I recall the look in her prismatic eyes as she spoke them. In their colourful depths, I saw hatred. It’s a look I’ve grown accustomed to seeing in the faces of those who gaze upon me and one I have come to expect. Until this morning, she had never looked at me that way.I sought to break her, to make her beg me for rejection, but never once did the thought cross her mind, not even as hate swam in her eyes did it occur to her. There was something else in her eyes; an unfamiliar emotion I could not place and though I cannot name it, the thought of i
Alertness returns to my mind, and I immediately wish it hadn’t. Before I open my eyes I become aware of agonising pain, radiating through my entire body. Slowly, I force myself to sit up, biting my lips together as tears spring to my eyes. I bite back the groans of pain as I manage to get my body upright, only to look around my room and see that I’m completely alone.Shame and despair begin to drown me from the inside when the realisation that my own animai has once again used me and abandoned me and that I allowed him to do it. I look down at my body and choke out a sob when I see the state of myself. I cover my mouth as tears stream from my eyes, barely obscuring the sight of my marred flesh. Dark bruises litter my thighs and hips and the pain coursing through my body is beyond excruciating. Bile rises up my throat when I see the cum sticking between my thighs which quickly forces me to look away.I throw myself out of bed, only to fall to the floor with a painful thud that brings o