Chapter Sixteen: Frenzied Dance.
I just realized something.
I haven't had a shower in a while.
If I ever get out of here the first thing I'm gonna do is have a shower.
Probably a long one.
"So. Have you ever had tea before?".
Oh yeah, her.
After I... killed five, A... Gothic elevator...I think that's how it looked, Showed up and there wasn't much of a generous selection of ways to leave.
And she was there.
Sitting at a similarly designed table was a woman, Her clothes were weird. It was like she took cue's from ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt all at the same time, Overall it didn't cover much.
Pale.
She was deathly pale.
And her eyes...
Gold.
Like they were doors to an otherworldly ocean.
Suffocating, Like I was gonna drown of I stared for too long.
The rest of her was just as...wrong.
She was beautiful...Too beautiful... Horrifyingly, Sickeningly beautiful...
She was perfect...Too perfect... Horrifyingly, Sickeningly perfect...
She told me how to leave.
And that was enough.
There wasn't much left of my shirt, Lost the tattered remnants of my jacket when i … Killed four.
Did I regret doing this?, Yes.
But...I can't let that get in the way...I had to do this...
"Yes, Though it was more hot water than tea...".
"Well" She started to say "I've brewed some up, I was wondering if you wanted to try it. So if it tastes like hot water then just let me know".
One minute there was nothing on the table.
Then, Two cup's and a teapot.
I picked up the cup in Front of me, It's contents looked more like coffee than tea and the smell... Caramel?.
It actually boggled my mind just how weird this drink was.
Why the hell did it taste like butter scotch?.
"Well?, Better than hot water or...Just hot water?".
I sighed.
"... Better".
In all honesty it was probably the best thing I've had in a while now, But there could be a chance I just drank poison or something worse...Or I'm just overthinking things again. What the hell is it with me and just attracting weird women like a magnet recently?.
"R-really!?" She squeed.
She actually squeed.
I don't know why, But this felt like some kind of bad omen.
"I knew you'd like it!, Once this all blows over I'll have you try all sorts of things I've cooked!. And don't think you can just run away from me~ I know where you live~".
Was the wink really necessary?.
Suddenly, the elevator lurched to a halt.
I was startled for a moment, Before I knew it i was already standing by the time the door had slide away to the side.
"Well, Guess we'll just continue next time. Good luck, Darling~".
"WHAT'D YOU-!?".
And just like that...Her, The table and the everything else there was...just gone.
Why...
Why did her saying that get so under my skin...
Well she probably didn't see me blush... hopefully.
I exited the elevator and before me once again was a staircase whose sheer length meant that most of it vanished in the distance.
What I didn't expect to see were the doll's that acted as walls.
They all sported a disproportionally large head in comparison to the rest of their body, their eyes, mouth's, joint's and abdomens held a pinkish hue to them and their eerie grins didn't help.
Unfortunately, their numbers seemed to match the stairs length.
Though, Creepy doll's were a better alternative to be surrounded by than mountains of corpse's.
I took what felt like another in a seemingly endless of steps in this death march of mine, That was the only thing i could call what i was doing.
I kept marching forward, Step after step, Doll after doll passed me by.
Footstep after footstep.
Step by step.
Doll by doll.
Again.
Again.
faster.
Footstep by footstep.
faster.
Step by step.
faster.
Doll by doll.
faster.
Again.
Faster.
Again.
Faster.
And again.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
"FASTER!".
I pushed off my next step, Launching forward I broke into a sprint once my feet touched the stairs.
Grey and pink blurred by as I ran down the unending staircase, I needed to go faster.
Too long.
This was taking too damn long.
Faster.
Faster.
My body felt like it was on fire as i overexerted myself.
I couldn't stop.
There had to be more than doll's and Stairs.
Faster.
Faster.
I had to outpace them, These feelings that flared up threating to burn me up from the inside. Feelings that she sparked with those words...I don't understand...I don't need to.
Faster.
Faster.
I just have to go Faster.
Everything blurred together into a world of indistinguishable shapes and colours.
Faster.
Faster.
My body was screaming, I don't know how I'm even keeping this up.
Faster.
Faster.
After what felt like an eternity I was surrounded by dust and stone.
I felt numb, It was difficult to move my body after all of that. I had trouble but I was back to standing again.
"Ghuh!?".
I clutched my head.
This is one hell of a migraine, Felt like my brain was trying to push out of my skull. I tried my best to push the sensation aside as I looked around to asses where I was.
What the hell...
It was hard to tell but...those were definitely body parts. Hung up on hooks and dangling from the darkness was a countless sea of dismembered body parts, The walls...The floor...They were everywhere.
Nausea crept up my spine and clenched my throat, My migraine leaving didn't help and only made me more aware of the sensation crawling over me.
I forced myself forward, One wobbly step at a time.
I couldn't stop, Not now...
Not yet.
My jaw clenched hard as pain shot throughout my body, Each movement shooting me with a fresh experience.
Through clenched eyes i saw it.
A light in the distance, Not too far but not close.
Step by agonising step.
Over and over.
I kept putting one foot in front of the other and yet...
It felt as if this wasn't enough.
As if that far off exit was forever out of reach.
…Faster...
My body protested, Pain intensified as i tried to go from my attempt at walking to jogging.
…Faster...
I ignored it, Stumbling and wobbling as I...
"Wha-!?".
… Tripped and fell over.
I actually reached it...
How...
Was it a trick of the mind?, Did things work differently in this place than the others?.
I didn't know.
Wait...Are these stairs?.
My body stopped tumbling after what I think were minutes...Maybe, I'm not sure anymore to be honest.
I could still move, But now I'm pretty sure this whole place is screwing with me...
I dragged my left leg up so I could at least kneel up right, Now I just need to-...!.
"Yo -. .!?".
Something happened.
It took me a few seconds to register it.
"...Ah...".
I looked down at my left arm...
"...Ah...ah...".
My left arm...
"...Ah...ah...ah...!?".
My...Arm...
"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!".
My arm was gone.
"Hmm, I see. Your bodies ability to repair itself only deal's with minor injuries".
I clenched down hard on the stump...But...
The bleeding wouldn't stop...
It wouldn't...
"Considering what you've put it through, It's durability is something to look into".
Get away...
Get away...
I have to...
No.
I turned to face her.
The woman I knew, Clad in purple clothes and black armour covering her limbs.
Three.
With a roar I threw my remaining arm at her, The jet black limb exploded into countless blades that charged towards her.
With a roar I jumped and charged at her, My blade's failed to reach her as three kicked out of reach. I ran after her throwing blade after blade at her yet none of them hit her, Three was barely moving to avoid them.
Damn it! Was I that easy to read!?.
Bladed limb after bladed limb.
Again and again.
Over and over.
Faster.
Faster
The storm of blackened blades raged yet not a single one struck her, Three was like a light dancing in a blurred fog of darkness- !.
Sparks flew past my face.
Before i realized it three had already struck, Her scissors were inches away from piercing my skull. The fact that i was even able to throw my hand in the way was nothing short of a miracle, My hand stung from scissor blade that pierced through it.
I glared at her.
Her bored expression answered back.
The blade was dislodged, She jumped back from the blades that flew to skewer her, The blades travelled with such speed that they were little more than black and red streaks...Yet still i couldn't hit her.
Damn it.
Damn it.
Damn it!.
I reached out for her, My body was a blur of motion moving at impossible speeds all to grab hold of her. A second was all i needed to reach three and grab her wrist, I pulled with all the strength i could muster...…..
…..And tore her arm off.
With that our battle lulled.
"There, We're even now".
"Hmm, Seems I've underestimated you. Your ability to regenerate so rapidly is truly impressive. Considering how its kept up with how fast your destroying your own body...Its perplexing really".
There was something mixing with her expression, But i couldn't make it out.
"The spontaneous burst in speed should have, At the very least, Caused major haemorrhaging throughout your body. Clearly that arm is an arcane armature reinforcing your body and granting access to magic".
"Oh so now you figure that out".
Still, Her conclusion was impressive even with little context. I kept a combat stance to be safe, My bladed limbs snaked around me and i kept my arm up in case she tries for another stab.
I didn't give her time to reply, I jumped her, A blur of motion, A demon of speed rushing head first with a wall of blackened blades.
I saw it.
Looks like those katanas weren't for show, Three had met my barely visible rush with her own dislodging and kicking the katana sheathed on her left leg. I couldn't call grabbing it easy, Rather the action was as trivial as looking with my eyes.
But...That was exactly her plan.
Her rush towards me was far more successful than mine, She was in the perfect position to kill me.
No god speed could help avoid that.
Slower.
Slower.
Slower.
She was already close, getting closer by the...minute...
Slower.
Slower.
Slower.
What i saw could only be called a miracle.
Somehow, That minute was extended, Drawn out.
Three's killing strike was taking longer and longer to come.
This wasn't merely my senses being affected by my ludicrous speed, This was something else...Something deep within me changed, As though a trigger or switch had been pulled.
Right...I felt this before...This sensation...This...This...
I don't want anything else to slip away.
I was tired of it.
Over and over, Losing what i had, Losing what i held.
My home, My family, My life.
My humanity.
All slipping away between my fingers by forces beyond my control.
I was sick of it.
I wasn't going faster nor was it that three was getting slower.
Time itself was stopping.
My flow of time was reaching a crawl, Hours extending in length leaving three as little more than a stationary object.
I thrusted my arm, The obsidian limb piercing her chest and wrapping my fingers around her heart. No, It may have been shaped like one, Beat like one and looked like one, I couldn't call what i grasped a heart. The miasma that flowed from it could only be a curse, Indeed that is what i held, A gathering of curses wrapped in the shape of a heart.
I crushed it.
But, Knowing them it'd probably take more than just this to finish an intoner off, Drawing my blades back i shot them forward skewering her.
Much like how it arrived so suddenly, The frozen time had ceased. I felt my flow of time resume as realization washed over her face as three went limp, I let her body slip off my arm the crushed remains of her heart in hand.
I could see it.
I was getting closer, Closer to that precipice of an ominous cliff of a decision, I let the crushed organ fall to the ground.
The elevators bell rung, I could feel it. Her encroaching embrace, Cold enough to burn burn skin yet warm enough to sear it away.
I didn't care, I couldn't.
I was too terrified of what would happen at the end of this.