Chains of the Void
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
I do not own either Darkest Dungeon or Familiar of Zero. They are each owned by their respective companies. This story is for fun only, no copyright infringements intended.
The entire academy had been in an uproar and the rumour mill was in full swing. Some said that Guiche had challenged Louise's familiar and been beaten badly. But others, the ones with more noble pride, claimed that Guiche was attacked by Louise's rabid Familiar and had been defending himself from a unholy demon, losing a hand for his troubles. This story, unfortunately had some truth to it and the majority of the Academy's Noble staff believed it. The grounds were on lockdown, all students being made to return to their rooms until the crisis had been resolved.
Old Osmund, despite doubting the integrity and bias of these rumour, couldn't deny the words from Professor Colbert's mouth, a Mage who he trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt. He had requested aid via magic communication and sent a report to the capital. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the academy did receive immediate help, in the form of a garrison of soldiers and guards from Count Mott's estate. Although knowing full well Mott did not do this out of kindness, the headmaster accepted the aid anyway. Taking until the next day to assemble, the troops were organised into squads. With at least one mage per squad, taken from either teacher volunteers or some of the noble knights Mott had provided, they were tasked with scouring outside the Academy walls for this creature. As the sun began to set, these search parties set off, their objective was to either drive the demon away, or to destroy it completely.
All the while the students of Tristain Magic Academy waited and whispered, obeying the call to stay in their rooms. One girl had grown, perhaps, a too intimate picture of the escaped familiar, having seen the power and skill during its duel with Guiche. She giggled at the thought of a devilishly handsome demon sneaking into her room at night. Another talked the day away with her familiar, the dragon too big to fit in her room, but tall enough to reach the young girl's window. If any were close enough to hear, they might have even heard the dragon talking back. Other students either shivered in fear, having seen the horrifying transformation for themselves, gripping wands and staffs tightly as they slept. Or tried to sleep. Those who had not witnessed the duel wondered if they would have a chance to catch this devil that had defeated Guiche. If they were able to beat it then their reputation would surely skyrocket. The wounded boy himself was unconscious in the Academy's medical wing, water mage's having retrieved his fingers and fused the severed limb back in place. It would take days, maybe even weeks for him to recover, all the while having a bandage over his wand hand.
But two within the Academy disobeyed the curfew. One a servant the other a noble, they snuck past the reduced staff within the building, neither knowing about the other. They both headed out towards the more forested area outside the Academy's walls, where they knew Louise's familiar would be.
The forest had always looked so peaceful and serene when she looked at it from the Academy. The darker green of its trees against the backdrop of grass surrounding the forest, birds flying past with the sun setting in the background. But now, as the sun set, all Siesta could see was blackness. Branches became grasping hands, snagging and ripping her dress. Every creature's glowing eyes became a stalking predator that watched her every move. The peasant maid had never really left the safety of her home of Tarbes or the walls of the Academy. She had no experience with the terrors of the night and she was afraid. So very afraid of everything. But she pushed herself forward nonetheless, every branch snapping at her feet causing her to flinch and glance around, like any noise would awaken a sleeping beast of the forest. A ragged and torn cloak was bundled in her arms, the only thing comforting her, it's green fabric clutched tightly to her breast.
Not a dozen metres away, Louise almost screamed as a twig snapped behind tree-cast shadows. She was so very afraid. Afraid of everything here. But she raised her wand anyway, her hand shaking, and continued to walk anyway. The only thing she could see, her only guidance was the broken branches, torn from their trees above her. Her familiar had torn through them like it was nothing , leaving a trail of destruction where he had passed. Moonlight had started to shine in the sky, as she moved cautiously slowly onwards. To the noble girl it felt like she had been searching for hours. It had been a stroke of luck that the search parties had limited themselves to the edge of the forest for fear of beasts in the darkness.
'Cowards.' She thought. 'A disgrace to all nobles.'
About a dozen metres more and Louise stumbled into some sort of clearing. Her eyes widened as she almost fell over a tree stump. It had been freshly made, splinters of wood scattered everywhere and the titanic tree itself collapsed along the forest floor. The Abomination had crashed straight through it.
'Had she done all of this? With a single spell?' The young noble girl wondered.
The wind whistled through the trees, converging on the clearing. Louise shivered and looked up. Clouds parted to allow the sickly light of the moon to cast pale rays into the clearings. And that's when she saw him. Slumped against another tree, a trench of upturned earth leading up to him, her familiar was on his knees. His arms were suspended above his head by the same chains that wrapped around his body. Her familiar hadn't noticed her, his head lifelessly staring at the ground.
'What?! How had more chains appeared? He broke them in the Vestri court didn't he?' Louise thought back to his fight with Guiche.
The chains seemed to have reappeared and bound him again, only this time even more chains now wrapped around his body. The manacles around his wrists now produced a huge length of chain links, wrapping around his arms and the shooting off into the forest. Louise could trace them across the clearing to see them wrapping around the mighty oaks of the forest. His leg manacles were the same, bound and the chains attached burrowed into the ground like roots, their end nowhere in sight. Moonlight shined of each chain, their metal now clean and untainted by rust and ash.
Louise approached tentatively, each step she expected him to notice her. But all she got was silence.
"Familiar?" She tried.
No reaction. She reached out towards him, calling for her familiar again, but the moment her fingers brushed against his shoulder, his head shot up and stared into her eyes.
"Leave me alone!" He roared, straining at his chains, rattling and creaking. "Get away!"
Louise jumped back in surprise and fear gripped her heart as a strange dark power enveloped her. She stared at her familiar, into the abyss of his eyes. And the abyss stared back. His expression was nothing like she had seen it before. It wasn't the docile look of obedience, averting eye contact whenever possible. Her familiar stared straight at her, feral rage and sadness in equal measure. Madness and whispers filled her ears.
"Flee!" One of the voices screamed and shouted for her to run from this place, from her familiar.
That she was afraid and would be torn apart and eaten if she stayed.
"Run!" The other voice pleaded, begged her to leave.
For sake of her familiar, for the sake of herself, for the sake of everyone. Leave her familiar be, let him be forgotten and let him rot here.
The voices got louder. And louder and louder, and louder, until Louise thought she would go insane. But she wouldn't do as the voices said. She wouldn't run, she was a Noble, a Vallerie. She would never back down. The pain increased ten fold at her disobedience, her eyes teared up and blood began leaking from her nose as her brain screamed as such unnatural voices bounced round her mind. But finally as the noise came to a crescendo, and Louise felt her head would explode, her mother mantra cut through the noise.
'Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel. Rule of Steel.'
"No!" Louise shouted back at him, fists clenched in determination. "I will not be afraid!"
That force of will banished the darkness from her mind and her familiar slumped back down, chains growing lax around him. Chilled breath crystallised in front of her face as she panted from mental exhaustion. She once again noticed the temperature and shivered. Abomination did not seem to flinch for a second, despite the only thing covering his body being a ragged set of trousers and icy chains.
"Why..." He started to say, his voice hoarse and hesitant. "Why don't you run? Why are you here?"
"You're my familiar." Louise replied after a moment's pause. "It is my responsibility as a noble. Let's get you out of those chains."
The metal links rattled as Louise approached and tried to tug away at said familiar's restraints. Abomination turned his head slightly to glance at her, hidden eyes flashing in the moonlight.
"That's not the whole truth is it though?" He said, more as a statement than a question.
"W-what do you mean? Of course it's the truth!" His master exclaimed back, still failing to release her servant. "How do I get these blasted chains off of you?!"
"Only I can voluntarily release myself from this imprisonment." He replied absentmindedly, but continued to follow his own train of thought. "Any other noble would have perhaps abandoned such a cursed familiar, one who has caused it's master such trouble. But you have not. You crave something. Need it more than anything else, need it so much that all other concerns are secondary."
"That's not true..." She mumbled back.
"What is it that you seek that I can give you? It is not a servant, that is just the roles you noble's play, keeping up appearances." Abomination tilted his head to get a better look at the twisting emotions playing across Louise's face, as she tried in vain to free him. "You consider yourself a Mage, yet you use just your hands and your mind in everything you do. With enough magic you could probably free me, but you rely only on flesh and indefatigable purpose to push through any circumstance. So what is it that you seek? I can see it in your eyes. You want not for power, nor wealth, nor knowledge. What do you seek that is so important to you?"
"Shut up! I am your master and I order you to shut up!" Louise roared at him, clawing at the chains around her familiar.
Abomination immediately silenced himself, content to hang there as Louise pulled at his prison. Tears had welled in her eyes and she let out a groan of frustration as she wiped her face. There was silence for a time as she retired momentarily from the task of releasing her familiar.
"Why are you wrapped in those chains?" Louise finally asked.
"They keep the demon trapped within me." He instantly replied to her question.
"The thing that you transformed into? That was a demon? How did it escape?"
"I let it escape." He said, slight hesitation in his voice.
"What?" Louise exclaimed. "Why?"
Abomination hung his head in shame.
"I did not want to set it loose. But it is... Persistent. It is constantly straining at its bonds, pounding against my mind. Twisting and corrupting my thoughts, until I finally give in to the temptation. After days, weeks, even months it whispers into my head, until all I can ever think is to give in. The next time I wake always covered in blood, with a foul indescribably taste in my mouth." He shook his right arm to hear the rattle of chains. "And always these chains return to me."
Another pause. Louise had given up trying to pull Abomination free.
"What is your name, familiar?" She suddenly asked.
"I no longer remember. Abomination is all I have ever been known by for such a long, long time. Familiar, most recently can be my name."
"You must remember your name! What kind of idiot forgets?"
Her familiar turned his head to her, a sad and knowing look on his face.
"An idiot who has seen too much..." He cryptically replied. "Perhaps only the demon knows my old name now."
"Then I want to see him!"
Her familiar froze, not even his chains breaking the deafening silence.
"What."
"I want to see him! He swore he would submit to me if I..." Louise remembered back to that time in the Vestri Court, to how Kirche and Tabitha came to her aid. "If we, were able to stop him."
"He will most likely try to kill you." Abomination stated. "Demon's are never the most honest of beings."
"Then I will just blast him back again if I have too!" Louise shouted at him, stubborn determination building within her. "I order you to show him to me!"
"Very well."
The wind suddenly seemed to stop flowing and grow stale. Everything seemed to stop and freeze, as Abomination's face began to twitch, skin and muscles bulging and resetting. The binding chain links did not explode off his body as they had last time. They simply slipped to the floor in a heap. Louise pouted as he looked at her, face pretty much the same as before. Her familiar's pale skin darkened with a slight red hue, but strangely he remained mostly the same.
"I ordered you Familiar! You can't trick me with another illusion."
"Oh, but this isn't an illusion, dear Vallière." The Abomination chuckled darkly, grinning a devilish smile, revealing a set of shining razor teeth.
Each and every one was an incisor, pointed and sharp, his mouth stretching around them oddly. The thing clenched it's fists, and hidden muscles bulged, green veins pulsing against reddened skin. Louise's eyes widened as these changes faded back to her familiar's normal appearance, minus the chains wrapping around his body.
"What are you?"
The Abomination smile widened even further, it's teeth cutting into it's own lip.
"An immaterial being. A eldritch creation. In short, a demon. A very powerful demon I'll have you know."
"And you're the thing inside my familiar?"
"Aye." It sneered slightly at those words. "But you may consider me your familiar as well. I'm a demon of my word."
"Your willingly submitting to me?" Louise questioned, this seemed too good to be true.
"Of course! You beat me fair and square. Although don't expect me to be your servant. That task will be delegated to the Caged One. Think of me as your attack dog. Order the Caged One to release me, and I shall slaughter in your name." The demon stated, licking its long inhuman tongue across its teeth bloodthirstily.
"Why do you torment him so? Why are you even trapped in the first place?"
"It's awfully boring trapped in a mortal's body." It shrugged at her. "He never lets me feed, never lets me enjoy the pleasures of a mortal body, never lets me feel... Alive! I must constantly rattle my cage for the slightest hope of release and even then the Caged one must be pushed from the outside. A role your blonde friend played beautifully."
The Abomination stretched his arms out and rolled his neck with audible cracks.
"But as for why I was trapped, I shall leave that for the Caged One to tell you. It will be enjoyable watching him squirm around that particular revelation." The demon-possessed man began striding in a direction, much to Louise's surprise. "But now I have some time in the pilot's seat, I shall enjoy it while I can. Come, we shall converse in our stride."
"But what about the veritable army looking for you?" Louise questioned as she struggled to keep up with him. "How will we return to the academy unharmed?"
"You're the noble, Vallière." It grinned. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."
Louise gasped indignantly and was about to retort, when the sound of crashing echoed out from the bushes beside them. A cry of fear was soon followed by a terrified maid collapsing in front of them.
"Siesta?" Louise gasped, confounded.
"Ah. The Maid-Saint. Interesting."
The frightened girl scrambled to her feet immediately and ran towards them. Mud clung to her legs and around the hem of her dress. Her usually immaculate serving outfit was torn to pieces, revealing a number of claw marks and toothy bites that weeped red lifeblood. Siesta's hands too were bloodied, nails cracked and flaring in pain.
"Lady Louise, Mr Familiar! Please-" Siesta whimpered before a loud howl cut though all other noise in the forest.
A huge furred figure leapt from the shadows onto Siesta's back, sending her crushing back down onto the gnarled and root-strewn floor. Louise could only freeze, petrified, as the wolf growled and sunk its mangy teeth into the maid's soft flesh. The helpless girl let out a scream of utter agony. The Abomination was already in motion, charging forwards at the wolf, but not before it had taken a large chunk out of the girl's shoulder, blood exploding through the air. Almost in slow motion, in the few moments before the Abomination collided bodily with the wolf, a snakelike tongue flicked out tasting a single drop of hovering crimson.
'Mhmmm... Virgin.' The demon sighed contently.
With a crunch, the two beasts crashed into one another, one in human form, the other a natural four legged predator. With a sick tearing of flesh, the wolf was wrenched off Siesta and catapulted several feet back. The girl whimpered below the demon, but it paid the bleeding maid no mind. It had other prey to hunt. The wolf, tumbled as it landed but quickly righted itself. It growled back at its contender and raised its heckles. The Abomination showed his own teeth and roared back at the beast. The wolf seemed to be already wounded. It's left eye had been clawed at and blinded, a commendable effort from such innocent maid to escape its previous clutches.
Earth shifted and kicked up around them as both, beast and man ran at one another. The Abomination darted to the side, into the wolf's left blind spot, and then impacted shoulder first into its flank. The wolf flipped onto its back and the Abomination tumbled with it. Claws dug into the demon's skin, drawing blood. The furred animal ended atop the demon, it's snapping jaws inches from it's human face, held back by a arm pressed against the wolf's throat. The Abomination punched at it's head, but before he could reel back for another strike, the wolf's head turned and bit down on the demon's arm, green blood running down his skin.
"You want to bite me?" The demon roared. "I'll bite you back!"
The Abomination's mouth elongated into a jaw of snapping razor teeth, as it dragged the wolf closer. The beast whimpered as it quickly realised that it had, both literally and figuratively, bitten off more than it could chew. The wolf's head was engulfed in the Abominations jaws and was systematically crushed into paste. This was soon followed by its neck, then it's shoulders and then it's arms.
Louise had been trying to staunch Seista's bleeding while her familiar held off the wolf. But she froze once again as she heard a unholy crunching, tearing and snapping noises behind her. Silence quickly dominated the forest once again after she heard her familiar let out a relieved sigh. Louise turned around to see her familiar approaching, fur covering his bare chest and blood running down his chin. She couldn't see the wolf. She tried to ignore the implications and turned back to Siesta. The maid was breathing rapidly, mumbling things hysterically. There was so much blood. Too much blood.
"Why are you here, little maid?" The demon kneeled down beside them, turning her head to look at him with a red soaked hand.
Siesta blinked at The Abomination before smiling childishly as though she had just recognised a old friend. She rummaged around at her side and pulled out a dark green bundle of cloth. It was Abominations cloak, the one he had left in Vestri Court. Siesta had collected it and washed it for him.
"Yours..." Siesta whispered, her voice strained and hoarse.
The demon hesitated for a moment, but took the cloak anyway and threw the familiar fabric over it's shoulder.
"I will thank you on the Caged Ones behalf. I'm sure he would appreciate the gesture."
The maid suddenly frowned at that statement, but sighed nonetheless, looking contented. A sudden episode of coughing brought that expression back to pain, as she almost drowned in her own blood.
'Save her!'
The Abomination's ears pricked at the sudden noise, but it knew no one else could here him. Hear the Caged One shouting in his mind.
'Save her!'
'Why should I?" The demon shrugged his shoulders. "I have no connection to this girl. This peasant."
'Save her! Save her any way you choose!' Desperation crept into that echoing ethereal voice.
'Interesting. Very well.' The demon smiled. 'On your head be the consequences.'
The demon grabbed Siesta by the shoulders and lifted her up until she was leaning against it.
"Maid Siesta. What a lucky girl you are. It seems you have a second chance at life, courtesy of the Caged One." The Abomination looked into Siesta's fading eyes, grabbing her full attention. "But if you want to live, you must first choose to live."
The maid seemed to nod slightly, acknowledging the words.
"Your next life will not be simple. It will never be the same as it once was. But it is life and it can and will be whatever fate chooses it to be. It may be full of contentment or it may be full of sorrow, but it will be your life eternally, for better or worse. You are unlikely to enjoy what comes next."
"Will..." Siesta choked through the blood filling her throat. "Will it hurt?"
The Abomination only smiled at her.
"Oh absolutely. Pain like nothing you could ever imagine. Torment that would drive lessers mad and agony that makes even the most unholy of beings shiver."
Siesta hesitated for a moment. Just a moment, before the Abomination spoke again.
"Your alternative is dying now. And I hope you don't mind, but I will be eating your corpse while it is warm. No hard feelings."
Siesta no longer hesitated.
"Do it... Please."
The Abomination dug clawed fingers into the puncture wounds in it's hand, previously made by the wolf. Wounds ripped open, it clenched the hand into a fist, green glowing blood flowing down it's skin and into Siesta's prized open mouth.
"All of it. Do not stop." The demon instructed, lowering the hand until the maid was suckling off his wounds.
At first Siesta obeyed. She drank. And drank and drank. The liquid burned down her throat and soon she began to choke. Her throat was on fire! Her body was afire! Everything within her burned in revulsion at such a unnatural liquid flowing round her body. On instinct she tried to throw it back up. For a moment she stopped drinking.
"All of it!" The demon shouted at her, slapping her across the face with it's other hand.
Siesta continued to drink, instincts flattened by the sheer need to survive. To live!
"Louise! Please approach." It said, beckoning his new master forwards, grasping her hand.
"What are you doing to... Ow!" Louise gasped in pain as sharp teeth bit down on her wrist.
Switching it's hand for Louise's wrist, the Abomination ordered Siesta to drink again. Red blood took the eldritch green's place and Siesta drank heavily. This was a different experience. This new liquid was the firsts opposite. It soothed her pains as it passed through her throat, silken and smooth. And it's taste... Oh it's taste!
"Stop drinking!"
Siesta suddenly snapped back to reality and released her hold of Louise. She hadn't realised The Abomination had been calling for her and that she had hold of Louise with both hands.
"Oh I'm so sorry Lady Louise! Please forgive..." Siesta started, but suddenly realised she could speak properly.
She no longer felt any pain from her wounds and looking down her eyes bulged as she saw her skin spotless as the day she was born. Around her, she saw Louise looking slightly pale, wrapping a bandage tightly around her wrist. The Abomination stared at her, with arms crossed. She stared back, sheer relief and admiration in her eyes.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Siesta shouted, jumping at him and embracing him.
The demon simply sighed and pulled her away, holding her at arm's length.
"Don't thank me yet." The demon chuckled. "It's only just begun."
No sooner had those words been said, that her blood began to bubble. The unholy concoction of eldritch and noble blood mixed within her system, shaping and changing everything it touched. Siesta instantly screamed as she felt every bone in her body break. She screamed louder as they reset into new positions. And then they broke all over again. She collapsed under the pain as everything in her body revolted against her, organs pulping and tendons snapping. Muscle wasted away or bulged until they exploded. Breaking and mending over and over again, in a continuous cycle of relentless torture.
Lousie couldn't look away, as Siesta writhed on the floor madly. Blood wept from her eyes and frothing saliva at her mouth, madness consuming her mind only for her to be granted sanity again.
"How long will this last?" She whispered, too scared to speak any louder.
"Perhaps an hour. Perhaps two."
"And then what? We go back to academy? How can we explain all this?"
The Abomination grinned at her once again. His face always split by a sadistic, inhuman smile.
"And then." It spoke slowly, approaching Siesta. "When she stop squirming..."
She looked right at him, somehow hearing the demons voice despite the torment. The Abomination bit into his hand again and held it out above Siesta. A single green drop landed on her mouth. She instinctively licked her lips and regretted it.
"Then we do this all over again. Feeding her blood for, perhaps a day." The Abomination cackled as he saw realisation hit Siesta's face. "Or perhaps days? Or weeks or month or a year? I never can quite tell with these things."
Siesta screamed once again, as the demon wrenched open her mouth, allowing more demonic blood to drain down her throat, laughter ringing in her ears.
Hours later.
"...HEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVET..."
...HEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVETHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODTHEBLOODIMUSTHAVET..!
Reviews and criticism are welcome.
Signed by Imperial Decree
BluePanedGasMask
