Hate is a bottomless cup, it will pour and pour…
Between one breath and the next, the night had passed. Between one breath and the next, everyone had assembled for the journey to a battlefield in which there was a chance there would not be another breath for them to take.
All of Techno's hounds had been brought together, with one of them, Apollo, standing by Eris' side. He did not make a sound nor give any indication as to why he had chosen her in particular; all he did was stand there so close that she could feel his body heat upon her skin.
Techno called them an army, but discounting the dogs, this could easily be mistaken for some sort of family reunion or perhaps a particularly intense book club meeting. However, knowing Techno, he had chosen only the most capable. And Tommy. While the party was exchanging friendly conversations and items needed for the fight, Eris stood on the sidelines. It felt like she had bad blood with everyone in the group.
Tommy disliked her because of his humiliating defeat, Techno tried to avoid any conversation and Phil, well… Eris felt like she couldn't trust him either, and he seemed to have mixed feelings since their last encounter. The only person she could really talk to was Will, but the idea didn't really seem all that tempting.
And why was that? Was it their past? Was any social interaction beyond her interests at this point? Or was it that deep down, Eris knew Will was the one who had fully set her on this path she foresaw would only lead to her own destruction?
"Alright, seems like we're all ready," Techno announced. "Let's head out then."
The journey was long, but not unbearably so. Tommy made it his mission to whine every thirty minutes, but he was quickly silenced by Will. Well, as quickly as he could, as sometimes the attempt to shut him up resulted in an argument between the two. At one point, the spat was so intense that Phil had to step in and say a harsh word of his own.
Through all of this, Eris stayed behind them. Her thoughts were already loud enough on their own, so listening to two bickering children wasn't on her agenda.
Despite barely caring for the collected group, Eris still caught herself sometimes staring at Techno. His posture was still as unyielding as ever, the piglin hybrid making his way through the cold tundra, then mountains and later plains as though the terrain mattered to him not. However, she couldn't help but notice the circles decorating his eyes, dark as the night, or the trembles that washed over his body from time to time.
She felt the guilt she knew all too well wash over her as she stared at the man she could only call her acquaintance now. She wished to apologize, beg for forgiveness, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, it got washed away with the fear of betrayal and fog of mistrust now hanging over her shoulders.
Mercy would never get you far, she thought, as the journey continued.
It wasn't long before they reached the spot where Techno had arranged their fight to take place. Well, to say he'd arranged wasn't right, as they arrived at a kingdom that none of them had seen before, hidden unassumingly between mountains. Even from afar, it was clear that its walls and the building beyond it had not been made of any material found naturally in this world. The lumber a shining red and the stone a darker black than anything to be seen in the overworld.
The party seemed confused. They had known that the journey was to a battle, but Techno had kept the reasons for it and its exact location a secret. It could have been just another attempt to take down an unjust government, to destroy another hierarchy as he'd done many times before, or it could have been an act of revenge, but if Eris had to bet on any excuse, it would have been both.
"I think this is a good enough spot," Techno announced while looking through his equipment and urging the rest of them to do the same.
While everyone was physically and mentally preparing, Eris just stood there, staring at the walls before them. If anyone were to ask, she would say she'd already prepared, but no one did, rescuing her from the awkward attempt to lie through her teeth.
'He's gonna get rid of you the moment he has the chance. After this, you're done for.'
She listened; she thought over the statement over and over, letting her blood boil with every unspoken word and sudden noise, whether the rasp of a blade leaving its scabbard or a growl from one of the hounds. Around her, everyone prepared for battle, and so did she, though what she found herself readying for was not just a battle against the forces of a rival kingdom. The thought of a different enemy had found its way into her mind, and it would not leave it, not until she took action against them.
With her mind still occupied by these treacherous thoughts, she was almost caught by surprise when the battle was announced and her first order given - was it from Techno, Phil or anyone else; she couldn't even say anymore. In a snap, she dashed into the air, kicking up the snow behind her and soon found herself soaring through the skies towards the settlement's walls. She saw the man take positions in the battlements, bows and crossbows at the ready, waiting for her to get low enough to be in range, but her mission gave her no reason to do so. Instead, she clutched at the satchel she'd been given - a satchel containing their way inside.
The men below would look up into the sky, up at the figure, blocking out the sun for a moment with its pitch black wings, and see something fall from its hands. Several small, uniform shapes tumbled towards the walls, and before the men had time to realize what was happening and could yell for their friends to scatter, the settlement's walls were rocked by explosions. The guards went flying, screaming, wounded and dead as the stones beneath them crumbled and fell - granting the force awaiting outside their opening.
And as planned, they used it. With only four people in the assault, it felt like a cruel joke, but the men scattered, warning the others when they saw Technoblade, Phil, and realized the person in the sky was none other than Eris. Blood God, God of the Sky and the Angel of Death had declared war out of nowhere and that statement alone was enough for the men to leave their position and betray the land they oh so loved.
Arrows were flying, potions sailed through the air and Technoblade, ahead of everyone else, let none be spared by his recently sharpened blade, slashing from left to right and in every which way. Eris recognized it as her time to join the fray, and she wasn't going to do without making one hell of an entrance.
She plunged down to the ground and picked up harsh wind under her feathers just before landing and collected it - her first direct kill from her pitch black sword, the word Nyx engraved into its blade. Coincidentally, she had struck down an opponent just as Tommy had come to face them.
"Ey! That was my kill!" Tommy shouted.
"Tommy, stop being a kid for once and focus!" Commanded Techno, who did not even bother to look back at the both of them.
Tommy was visibly upset but had decided to zip it before it would escalate any infighting. Eris, however, found the situation amusing, as if Techno had allowed her to get away with a little something. This wasn't much, and yet it was feeding her with ideas she shouldn't have been having.
The group had handled the fight well so far, just like before, just like every other battle and greater conflict Eris had participated in. Bodies fell before her blade, taking their place on the ground, but this time, she was sure the survivors would give them a proper burial if given the chance.
Something within her resisted that idea. There was an odd urge in her, demanding that she prevent that from happening or, at the very least, make their job more difficult, so after the bodies fell ruthlessly, she tore their limbs and scattered them across the battlefield.
At first, it was just an arm from a boy who seemed to have earned his way into adult life pretty recently, but then the next body lost two arms, the next, a leg, and it continued like that till she was holding a head in her hands, staring at the man's eyes like waiting for some emotion to appear. Anger, fear, anything when facing her, but the man's eyes still reflected the paleness of his last, hopeless moment.
'Maybe the next body.'
It felt like with every soldier, every man dying before her to become a number in some history book, she was descending more and more into a place within her mind. A place within which her old self had been hidden away, now screaming and thrashing about for release.
She loved it, however.
More and more soldiers came flooding in, and every single one went the way of those before them. Maybe one day they could rest under the soil, but not today, not when Eris was making sure they wouldn't get their peace.
"We are almost done; just a few more and victory is in our hands!" Techno loudly announced, and that was the moment when Eris got pulled out of her mind for a brief second to look at her 'allies'.
Techno was covered in the aura of his potions, but more than that, his sword, trident, and the clothes on his back were all thoroughly coated in the blood of enemies, and Eris couldn't help but think about how beautifully the color matched with his eyes, and how the rage reflected in them could match only her own.
Seeing him fight was a sight to behold for Eris. Throughout all these years of fighting, she had not seen a warrior this fierce. His presence alone made people accept death for what it was because there was no escape, not from him.
After minutes, or perhaps hours, all the ones who dared to cross their path had taken their spot in the piles of bodies. The last person standing, shaking in their boots, was a girl who, after seeing all of the wrath released on her friends, allies and no doubt her family, was standing back, hoping to be spared, still holding a bow like it was her only lifeline.
Techno had decided to spare her. He was not interested in shedding the blood of a girl who still had her whole life ahead of her. So when he noticed her, when they were about to leave and escape what was about to come, he stopped, making the rest of the group follow suit.
A soft expression washed over his face as he slowly kneeled and gestured for the girl to come with them. "We're not going to hurt you…" he almost whispered while his hands were hinting for her to come closer.
However, as expected, she hesitated, and Techno didn't have all that much time to persuade her. The rest of the group, especially Tommy, were yelling for him to get out of there, to leave the poor girl to her own devices. So, he placed down a bag of some armor pieces and potions to hopefully still ensure her safety if she decided to take the items, then ran after the group.
"Where's Eris?" he asked, but all he received in response were shrugs. While the whole group were already worried enough about her well being physically and especially mentally, there was simply no time to look for her - she'd have to handle things herself.
Moments passed, and they had gotten far enough to not be caught up in the hellfire that was going to rain down upon the town. Techno had placed a huge amount of TNT blocks underneath it and had planned it out so that they would not be in harm's way from the explosion. He was worried about Eris's whereabouts but was quickly assured by Phil that her wings were made out of obsidian and that she would be fine knowing her reaction time.
So, when Techno noticed the poor girl finally picking up the bag he had left for her, he knocked an arrow burning in hot flame and fired. It flew through the sky with a loud whistling sound, like counting down the city's final seconds, but soon enough, an oh so similar sound came in for a duet of death.
Eris, after dicing up her last victim into countless tiny pieces, had spotted the poor girl and, without thought, launched into the air in her direction. She knew the girl was scared; she knew Techno had decided to spare her; she knew that when she saw the girl's eyes, she could see herself, see how scared she was when Phil was teaching her the basics, but all that was washed away by her heartless desire to leave no survivors.
So she flew in and when she was close enough, the poor girl's head was thrown aside, detached from her body. In her eyes, like frozen in time, was displayed the last of her innocence, framed by a pair of braids sailing through the air, a trail of blood in their wake.
Everyone else had watched in horror as Eris turned around, her bloodied sword displaying Nyx more brightly than ever, the contrast almost matching her blue eyes that were so bright they might as well have been lanterns in the night. The sight had almost made everyone forget about the arrow, almost, because Techno remembered as soon as he heard the thud of it landing somewhere.
"Eris look out!"
She didn't know who had shouted it. It could have been Techno, Phil, anyone from the group, but it didn't matter because immediately after the scream came the hissing of TNT and the explosions to follow it.
It took down half of the city. Wind picked up, and the explosion could have been heard for miles. It was so big that none of them expected any survivors; even Techno's sparing of the girl had been nothing more than wishful thinking. Despite the original plan of them leaving the dogs to finish the job, had any stragglers decided to take up arms after all, they all rushed down to check on their comrade who, after them approaching, had climbed out of the rubble, debris falling from her wings.
A collective sigh of relief washed over them as she looked up with just a small cut on her cheeks. She still seemed all in one piece and well, nothing was lost. Techno still seemed worried as one of the people he cared for had almost died by his actions - despite this, he still kept his cool while listening to the voices, assuring him that all was well.
He turned around, ready to order the dogs to scout out the area while they head back. "Alright, I think we are done here. This was an easy victory-"
Maybe it was the odd silence around him, or maybe the way the wind had suddenly picked up, he'll never know, but he would remember how quickly the voices made him turn around and raise his sword to guard himself. As soon as he did it, he was met with two raging blue eyes whose owner had collided her sword against his.
"Tech!" Phil shouted, but Techno had moved his hand up to stop everyone, including the dogs from attacking her. She wasn't herself, he knew that. They had spent so much time together, had their fair share of moments where he thought he could finally relax for his coming days, until it changed. Until she changed.
He was thinking of reasons why this could have happened, he was trying to find solutions in his mind, but he'd be given no time as Eris went for another attack again, again and again. Techno refused to fight back, he hoped she would snap out of it or exhaust herself, and with their fight coming to a standstill after another one of his maneuvers, it seemed like that would indeed be the case.
"Eris, I think this is something we could talk about."
"Talk about what? Techno, you almost took me down with the city!"
"I didn't know you would run into the line of fire like that. Eris, calm down, let's head back and talk about this at home!"
She didn't listen. She attacked again and again, waiting for a misstep on Techno's part that would lead to his defeat. Just one mistake, that's all she needed - but it wouldn't happen. They continued this dance while the rest watched, the outcome unpredictable.
Techno still held some sort of hope. He prayed to the Gods that she would snap out of it, that she would realize what she was doing and stop this; that they could go back to how they were, sitting under trees late at night, watching the aurora and talking about silly stories Phil had told them.
"I trusted you! I did! But then you decided to drag me down, kill me, all in the name of victory!" She spouted, but that wasn't true. Techno could never put any of his friends in danger, especially her - but by now he'd realized that there was no saving her. Her onslaught would not end until one of them fell.
He attacked, despite how much it hurt him to do this, he attacked to make sure she would be stopped. Eris was set on killing him. All of the things Will had told her fuelled her rage and there was no longer a way to bring it to an end. What she had loved was now to die by her hand - or so she hoped, despite how slim her chances of success were.
It was then that, with one swift move, Techno had knocked her down so quickly that she could not even tell how he had done it and a sword was placed by her neck, cutting a deep line in her skin. She could see sorrow in his eyes, anger, regret, but that no longer affected her. In Eris's eyes, Techno was a traitor and that's all he'd ever be.
"Give up, Eris." He whispered, but she stayed as stubborn as ever, averting her gaze, making Techno shake his head. "Alright. I'm sorry. I held back on you during our training, but now I have to put you out of your misery."
Seeing her now - powerless beneath him, he could have killed her right then and there, but he didn't have the heart to do it. Defying his hesitation, he knocked her out with the hilt of his sword and left.
This could have turned out differently. This could have all been different had she made a single move differently, had she opened her heart and let someone in. But she hadn't, and in her mind, those mistakes now echoed, though she'd sparsely remember them when she'd wake.
She sat in Phil's cabin, where she could still feel the sweet scent of pine trees and earth which followed him wherever he went. Sobbing, she'd pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them tightly. Everything felt wrong. Up seemed to be down, and her thoughts were a hazy cloud of rage and terror.
But soon enough, she could hear heavy steps outside the cabin, followed by the door opening and someone walking in. She couldn't help but look up and see Techno holding a huge stack of wood over his shoulder. Snow had piled up on his shoulders and was stuck to his boots. She had not told him she was here, but knowing him, she knew he had guessed as much and had decided to provide more firewood, as Phil wasn't coming home anytime soon, and she had not left the house in a while.
Once he had turned around, his expression changed from its usual stoic look to one of worry as Eris pulled her knees closer as if trying to disappear. How embarrassing, she thought, knowing everyone around saw her as an undefeated warrior, one who could not afford to be weak. A warrior who never cried, never sat on the floor of a lonely cabin feeling a mix of emotions that tangled together in the pits of her being.
He carefully placed the firewood down by the door, not breaking his gaze on her. "Are you okay?" he asked, but no response was heard. Eris was hesitating, almost hoping to avoid the conversation altogether.
Techno looked around as if trying to find an escape from the situation, but a deep sigh fell from him as he looked back over at her and unbuckled his cape. In a swift move, it fell off of his shoulders and into his hands, and he made his way to her, draping it over her quivering frame.
"I'm fine, Techno," she protested but did not move an inch to remove the cape off of herself. Once again, he sighed and got back up to take a piece of nigh-frozen firewood and made his way to the fireplace, tossing it in.
It was then silent. She hoped Techno had decided to drop the topic, that he would do what he came to do and then leave her. That would be a truly Techno thing to do, but instead, he stayed by the fireplace and looked deep into the fire.
"I think we both know I don't exactly believe that," he said while making his way back to her. "I'd appreciate honesty, Eris. I feel like I have proved myself to be trustworthy enough."
Again, no response. She debated telling him the truth. She hoped he would persist and drag the answer out of her, but instead, with no response, he started getting up to leave. Almost instinctively, she grabbed his hand, tears pouring out of her eyes.
She was scared - scared to lose him again because of her own actions. She knew she would never see him again when she woke up, so she wished he would stay and wished he would stick around so they could have a peaceful moment once again, just like before, even if this wasn't real.
"Don't leave me again…"
"Again? Eris, I have been next door this entire time," he laughed, but Eris seemed far from amused. "Gonna tell me what's wrong?"
He kneeled down in front of her and softly brushed away her tears with the tips of his fingers, but they kept pouring. She felt like she had shattered in his arms, finally being honest with him for once. He was so gentle; his touch could lull her into sleep had she allowed it, but instead, she stared at him as his expression shifted from worry to a soft smile.
"I'm scared, Techno. Scared that all of this will end. Scared they will hunt me down, scared that you will leave, and I don't want to be alone, Tech," she sobbed, but all he did was smile even wider and looked down at her hand that was still gripping his for the life of her.
"Let them try and hunt us down; the three of us can take 'em," he stated and the heaviness washed off of her as she looked into his eyes with relief. She wasn't alone in this, he had assured her - and so she had nothing to fear. "And I won't leave, I'll stay by your side till the end of time."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Oh how she wished this was real. How she begged the gods for the rest of what had happened to be a bad dream and she could wake up in Techno's arms, but soon enough, she felt the desire for revenge and a call for blood wash over her - and she woke up.
Smoke rose from the ground, covered in smoldering soot. The sun was covered by a huge cloud of black-gray dust hovering over the ruins she now laid in. She couldn't believe she was alive, but a quick brush over her face was enough assurance - she could sense the sting of the fresh cut when her fingers touched upon it.
The once prosperous kingdom was now nothing but ash beneath her. She could still see the bodies scattered around her, frozen in place, and two hollow, glazed-over eyes were staring right at her. The eyes of a young girl, her last kill in this horrendous battle, and she was assured that her previous assumptions were wrong and there were no survivors left to bury their dead.
She ran her fingers through her hair, immediately hissing in pain as her nails dug into the fresh wound. Thick blood gushed forth, covering half of her face, and that's when it dawned on her.
She'd finally lost everything.
Wilbur had set her up for this, she knew that for a fact, but Techno probably hated her for the betrayal and Phil… Well, he probably hated her as well. He had raised her and kept her safe, and she had repaid the favor by trying to stab his closest friend in the back.
"Oh well," she mumbled to herself. "We just have to move forward."
She quickly scanned the area and found that Techno had left the bag that was offered to the poor girl right by her body. He was not one to steal from the dead - unless, of course, they deserved it or his situation wasn't truly dire. This worked out perfectly for Eris as she rushed over to grab the contents of the bag.
Some strong armor, potions, food, she couldn't have asked for more as she dug the items from the singed, old sack. She hastily collected everything, lest someone did indeed come to investigate these ruins, taking the time to loot the rest of the bodies on the way, then stood on the edge of town, sword in hand, deciding on a new direction. A new path for herself. A new purpose.
The choice wasn't difficult, as the only option now seemed to be pursuing revenge in the name of which she'd given up everything. There was no longer anything holding her back. Nothing important, at least. Not to her.
Eris continued her journey to a land she'd heard whispers about. She expected the path would lead her through the snowy tundra once more by the place she was no more welcome in, but instead, it headed somewhere else.
The journey wasn't as long as she had anticipated, but once in a while, she would have to stay in an inn or a tavern to rest her wings and her body for the traveling that was still to come. Every time she would stop, the closer she was to the very spot she was looking for, the more she would hear rumors about the very place.
Sometimes, people spoke about the expansion of this small and destitute village. Sometimes, they spoke about an ambitious person who had founded it and saw the potential, and sometimes they would talk about how everyone wanted to move there because of its growing prestige and potential.
All that it meant for Eris was that it was much more difficult to get rid of it now than compared to a year or two ago.
However, that wasn't all that the patrons would talk about inside the walls of a rundown inn that had been patched out to no end. They would sometimes talk about the land's history. Sometimes, there would be talks about the beautiful city that was blown up, leaving no survivors, a story Eris knew every in and out of - but sometimes, they would talk about executions that had happened a little bit before she had moved in with Phil.
The talk had startled her so much that she stood up at such a speed that the chair beneath her had fallen over, disturbing the patrons around her. She made her way over to the small crowd of people surrounding three men, all much older than her, and slammed her hand against the counter, startling the teller of the story in the process.
"Mind telling that story to me as well?" She phrased it like a question, but the men knew it was a demand.
The man, after composing himself, turned his head to look at Eris with a cocky grin, but it soon got wiped off when he was met with her ice-blue eyes and wings puffed up in anger.
The men knew this combination of features from different stories told by people who had barely escaped with their lives from a war they didn't wish to be a part of, and the man knew this all too well. As much as he thought the height and strength difference would put him at an advantage, he was not one to challenge a god.
"After the revolution, L'manburg wanted to establish its power. What better way than by executing an enemy of the state?"
"So who did they choose?"
"The Blood God. I think his name was Technoblade," he stammered out, rushing in hopes that Eris would leave him alone and not threaten his life, that she'd only been looking to start a scene and not a bloodbath.
"But why him? What did he do?"
"Well, he participated in the revolution. He turned on them afterwards and assembled an army of Withers to take down L'manburg. There's a whole list of things he had done, and after a while, people forgot about you and just… went after him."
It went quiet between them. Eris, just like many travelers, knew how quickly rumors spread. People probably knew that she was living with Techno and wanted to use her against him. They had used Phil for the same reason a while back, so why not turn her against Techno as well? The realization hit her like a heavy wave in the ocean and although briefly, she regretted attacking him - and regretted not placing more trust in him.
She had a feeling she wasn't the first and certainly not the last to turn on him. She knew he didn't deserve it; deep down, she understood that, but the feeling got drowned out by her hatred of the man once more. She no longer had a strong reason to despise him, yet she still held on to that feeling like it was her only way to feel something for the cause she was set on achieving.
Seeing no reason to continue the conversation, she left, allowing the man to take a deep breath of relief from not being beaten to a pulp or slain. It was safe to say that he was planning to be more careful when telling his stories henceforth.
The next day, Eris finally had reached the nameless village and it matched the rumors in its glory. In its center were wooden houses occupied by huge families of different types. The houses seemed to be barely holding onto their existence as the walls seemed to be rotting and barely standing, but remained as they were as monuments to the village's history - and the history of its government. Despite the rundown state of the center, it was the most lively spot in the entire town, with market stalls and patrons littering the streets.
Going further through the city, Eris noticed the difference in the buildings getting progressively more sturdy as she approached the city's walls.
'What's with governments building walls around their cities?' she thought as she reached one of them. It was monumentally tall and made out of cobblestone, already collecting moss in its cracks. It was strong enough to protect the city from a starting war, but she couldn't help but wonder how long it could stand against her wrath.
Making her way north from the wall, she finally reached the city's grandest structure - a huge castle towering over the surrounding buildings. Its base, just like the walls of the city, was built out of stone, but most of the building was made out of white concrete and marble with some gold detailing. She couldn't help but think this person in charge must have been full of themselves, but that just made the idea of burning this place to the ground more satisfying.
After looking around, as usual, Eris settled in an inn to rest and plan out her next steps, and just like expected, just like always, she heard new stories and rumors. Most were about things she didn't care about, but one stuck out more than the rest.
The ruler of the land was throwing a ball to celebrate the government's rapid growth, and on behalf of that, the city was throwing a festival. The festival part was not important to Eris, as the amount of information from that would be equivalent to the amount she would get by sitting in the main lobby of the inn for twenty minutes, but sneaking into the ball would be a treat in itself.
She didn't go to events like these, but she was sure she could find a presentable outfit in no time - and so long as she didn't make herself stand out, she'd remain undetected.
'This will be a piece of cake' she thought while taking a sip of her sour drink.
Tomorrow night was going to be interesting indeed.