~ Just a quick trigger warning before we get into it. Some bits of the chapter get... graphic with the gory descriptions, especially at the end. I hope it's not too much, but I just wanted to give a bit of a warning.
I also wanted to quickly address Malenia's power scaling.
Elden Ring is a game and has to be optimized for us, the human players, to be able to actually react to and defeat the enemies and bosses within. That is not the case for fiction, which is why I am 100% going with Lore Malenia in this story. There are theories that the Lands Between are based on Pangea, as the maps do look almost the same, and my headcanon is that this is true. As far as I'm concerned, the Lands Between are as big as Pangea, considering we obviously have several continents, and have their own kingdoms and towns (the Liurnia wars, for example, would make no sense if it was just Radagon and fifteen Leyndell knights fighting Renalla and a handful of mages in a lake smaller than a city district).
Considering all that, Malenia, in lore, nuked a continent the size of Asia and turned it into a Scarlet Rot infested wasteland. Radahn kept the Moon from moving. The MOON.
As far as I see it, the only ones who could match Malenia, or any of the demigods really, are Hagoromo, any Ten-Tails jinchuuriki, or any character on that level, such as Endgame Naruto and Sasuke, or 8th Gate Gai (Thanks ImHellaUgly, for pointing that out!). That isn't to say she's completely immune to all of the troublesome abilities that keep popping up in the Narutoverse, and I just realized there are a few she'd have a real problem with, I'm just talking about power levels, speed, endurance, how much of a hit she can take and such.
That isn't to say that Malenia won't have her own challenges or that this story won't have any conflict. We've already seen her fail to stop Naruto's abduction. There will be plenty of both, I promise.
Hope that clears it all up!
With all that out of the way, enjoy! ~
Chapter Five — Sunrise Stolen
~ The desert holds no pity for the lost, only the scorching embrace of the sun and the relentless whisper of the wind ~
A dull throb pulsed through his skull in the rhythm of a hammer pounding against a nail. His tongue scraped like sandpaper against the roof of his parched mouth. A pool of nausea churned in his stomach, threatening to erupt with the power of a volcano at any moment. Canvas rustled and rasped around him, a whisper against the relentless wheezing wind. Each breath he took dragged hooks through his lungs. Each exhale sent blades of fire through his nose.
'Ugh...'
'What...'
'What happened to me...?'
With a groan that grounded his throat raw, he squeezed his eyelids shut against the sunlight burning against them. The sheets beneath him clung to his skin as if his sweat had woven itself into the fabric. His mind wandered in the fog of sleep, each thought swimming in an ocean of slime as his limbs weighed him down like anchors dragging him into an abyss.
'Why...'
'Why can't I open my eyes...?'
His ears rang. Metallic banging bounced through his head like a ball ricocheting off of walls. Whispering voices. Humming. Heavy thuds. Words and threats he couldn't comprehend.
'I... I need to open my eyes...'
Darkness enveloped him as if he lay in a black sea, unable to move or breathe or think. Buzzing rose from the words, a constant drone that pressed against his skull. His chest tightened with each heartbeat, as if fingers were wrapped around it and squeezing tighter and tighter in an attempt to crush it.
Heavy breathing echoed in the void. Footsteps crunching dead leaves.
A roar.
A roar exploded in a violent crash of wind against glass, stone, and wood. It ripped through the darkness like a hurricane destroying a village, tearing away at buildings and people as if they were made of paper. It sliced through him with teeth and claws. Heat and energy.
Screams.
Crashing wood.
Chains.
A claw piercing flesh.
'It was because of you.'
'All of it happened because of you.'
'Your parents died because you were born.'
He screamed and jumped up.
"Ugh..." A blanket fell off him as he panted and opened his eyes. "What happened...?"
'Was... was that a dream?'
He rubbed the back of his head and glanced around. The tent canvas flapped like a cracking whip, and dust swirled under the bed he was on. A canteen and a plate with dried jerky sat on a small table. The smell of leather filled the cramped space, and the faint scent of oil and metal lingered in the air. Sand clung to his skin like a thousand spiders crawling over him.
"Malenia...? Malenia, where are you...?" He rolled out of the bed and landed on the floor with a grunt. "Oof..."
His stomach churned and heaved, and his vision blurred as if he was looking at the world through a kaleidoscope.
"Wait... No..." He gagged and threw up. "I've been... I've been kidnaped..."
He threw up again. Again. Again. He pushed himself onto his elbows and gasped for air. Chills crawled through his centipedes with needles for legs. Sweat dripped from his forehead as if he'd walked through a lake at high noon on a scorching summer day.
"Okay..." He grabbed the table's leg for support and climbed to his feet. "Okay... Don't panic... Don't panic..."
The tent rustled around him as he moved toward the exit, and the floor swayed under him with each step as if he were standing on a boat on stormy waters. Shadows shifted on the canvas, and hushed whispers echoed around him like voices in a graveyard in the dead of night.
'Malenia...'
He grabbed the tent flap.
'I need you...'
He pulled it open.
Tents stretched across the sand, a city of cloth and leather that covered the desert like a field of flowers. In a center clearing, an ice-blue bonfire shone against the harsh sunlight, and snowflakes rose from the crackling flames. Long tables groaned under the weight of exotic foods and drinks. The aroma of spices and grilled meats chafed his nostrils and made him swallow more vomit. Musicians played and sang. Dancers wearing see-through silk tops and skirts followed the music's frenetic rhythm, a heady blend of percussion and wind instruments.
"There..." He blinked. "There really are people living in the desert..."
A crowd of men and women wearing dark, flowing robes sat on woven rugs around the fire. Some laughed and talked with animated gestures. Others watched the spectacle with a reserved air, their faces obscured by the shadows their hoods cast.
His stomach convulsed.
He bent over and threw up again.
"Hey, he's awake!"
The music stopped.
'No...'
He panted and wobbled upright.
'I...'
He gulped.
'I need to get out of here...'
He dashed.
He lurched through the crowd, fighting the lead in his legs trying to pull him down. He shoved the robed people, struggling with every movement as if he was pushing through thick molasses. His vision swam. He knocked over a tray of food, launching dates and spiced nuts like shuriken.
'Run... Just run... Just keep moving...'
The dancers blurred into a jumble of colors as he brushed past them, their shrieks barely registering through the pounding in his head. Men yelled curses, but the roaring in his ears muffled their words.
'Why are you running?'
'I... I need to get away... I need... I...'
'You are weak. Give up.'
'No... I need to...'
'Give up.'
'No!'
'Give up!'
~ Thud ~
A fist smashed into his jaw.
He stumbled back as the metallic tang of blood filled his mouth. A fog fell over his eyes as one of the musicians, a fat one with a long beard, walked up to him.
"W-wait..." He panted and staggered back. "W-wait..."
~ Thud ~
Something hard smashed into his lower back and sent him crashing to the ground.
A rough, scraped voice yelled something at him.
He tried to push himself up.
His arms gave in.
He collapsed into the sand.
Dust and sand swirled in a miniature sandstorm. Each grain scraped against his skin, a thousand insects crawling on him and sending shivers down his spine. Voices murmured in his ear like whispers in the wind. Everything blurred into a gray mass of shifting colors, and his chest tightened with each passing second.
'You are weak.'
He threw up.
"Easy there..." A woman's voice rang through his ears like bells on a mountain in a thunderstorm. "Easy, child..."
Something cold pressed against his lips. Water trickled down his throat, coating his tongue in the sweetness and bitterness of honey that had started to go bad. He gulped it down. Coldness flooded through his throat. His limbs relaxed.
"Good..." She poured more. "Very good..."
His vision swam as he drank, shapes bleeding into each other like watercolors left out in the rain. He tried to focus on the woman's face, to process her features, but they remained blurry and unformed. The world tilted on its axis, and blackness crept up along the edges of his vision. The heat pressed into him and pushed against his breaths as the stench of rotting meat engulfed him.
The woman took the water away.
He gasped and lost consciousness.
The auburn haze of dim light greeted him as he opened his eyes.
Shadows shifted along the flapping canvas, each one twisting and writhing as if trying to release an eldritch abomination from the void. Sounds filtered from the outside. Clattering. Cursing. Laughter. A cacophony of noise hissed through his ears and blared in his mind like a thousand trumpets blasting next to his skull. The stench of mold and rotting meat invaded his nostrils, and each breath dragged as if liquid fire was scraping through his throat.
"Ugh..." He tried to sit up only to collapse back down with a grunt. "What's happening to me?"
"Easy, child." The woman stepped into his field of vision with a canteen in her hand. "Easy..."
The light gleamed like copper on a porcelain mask of an angelic face crying with her eyes closed. A black hood wrapped around her head, with golden embroidery glimmering along the frays like threads of sunlight on a black sea. A golden belt wound around her waist. She bore bandages all along her arms.
The canteen glowed milky-white in the murk.
He squinted at her. "Who...?"
"Hush..." She approached him and offered him the canteen. "Drink."
"W-what are you giving me...?"
"Drink." She put it against his lips. "It will make you feel better."
"No..." He shook his head. "No..."
She shoved it into his mouth. "You will drink."
The liquid gushed through his mouth and poured down his throat, cold like snow on a winter night and sweet like honey. Its flavor melted into his tongue, and warmth spread through his stomach. Electricity rushed through his nerves, his heart thumped, and his throat burned with cold fire.
"Do not try to use your chakra." She stepped away. "It will not end well."
"What...?" He propped himself up on his elbows. "T-that's... not possible."
"Do you know all the truths of this world?" She staggered as she moved, as if wood joined her bones together. "Do you know all that exists? Can your mind not fathom a method to seal chakra?"
"But... but how..." He crawled back, skittling across the sheets like a mouse until his back struck a wooden headboard. "No... You're lying... You're lying!"
"Ignorance is danger, child." Her hood creaked as if full of wax. "Accept it. Accept the truth of your condition."
"No..."
"Have you not drunk from my canteen?" She wobbled up to him, and the smell of rotting meat burned into his nose. "That was not water."
He stared at her.
A lump clung to his throat like a hand gripping it as if it wanted to choke him. A heavy weight sank into his chest, and his limbs trembled with each second he looked at her. Tears stung his eyes, and sweat soaked his skin. The sounds from outside fell silent, and the world tilted around him as if the laws of physics had stopped functioning. He gulped and wrapped his arms around himself.
"Admit it." She caressed his cheek, leaving numb skin and frost in the wake of her finger. "Say it, and you will be safe. Safe from yourself."
"You... you poisoned me..." He trembled. "You poisoned my chakra..."
"Good, child. Very good."
"What do you want?" He glared at her and clenched his fists. "What do you want with me?"
"Easy child." She collapsed into a chair next to the bed like a tree falling after a lightning strike. "Your anger will only cause you harm here."
"What?"
"I want nothing more than to keep you alive and unhurt, but you must cooperate." The chair creaked as she traced the grooves in the wood. "You must be obedient."
"Obedient?" He snorted. "You kidnapped me!"
"Does that make pain worth it?" She chuckled. "Is it not better to be obedient and unhurt?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Kadaru of the Amber. I am a merchant. I travel the sands to trade." She tilted her head. "Would you like something to eat?"
"Let me go." He narrowed his eyes. "I want to leave."
"I apologize, but I must decline."
He glared at her.
"Why do you struggle? Have I not shown you kindness?" She hummed. "Can you not repay me with obedience?"
"You poisoned me and locked my chakra away."
"Yes." She stood up with a groan, her joints cracking and snapping like twigs under heavy boots. "You ran. That was unacceptable."
"Why did you take me?"
"We have been tracking you for weeks. You were traveling with a goddess." She traced her fingers through the fabric of her robes. "You are a rare delicacy."
"You can't mean..."
"Yes." She hobbled toward the exit. "I trade slaves."
The tent flap fell closed behind her, and Naruto stared at the canvas wall in silence. Each breath scraped through his throat like sandpaper, and his arms trembled like branches in a hurricane. Shadows shifted in the tent, each one turning into a monster with horns and claws, and a chill shuddered down his spine.
'Malenia...'
'I need you...'
He clutched his shirt in trembling fists, digging his nails into his chest. His pulse thundered through his ears in a constant drum. His heart thumped as if a rat had plunged into his chest and dug its way inside.
'You keep calling for her to save you.'
'Please...'
'Because you are weak.'
His muscles gave in, and he collapsed onto the bed.
"Tch..." He sighed and stared at the ceiling. "I've been abducted by slavers... This is gonna suck..."
'Is she really going to make me travel all tied up? What am I even going to do without my chakra?'
Kadaru climbed on a camel as the caravan prepared for departure. Servants rushed around, filling barrels with water and putting tents into sacks. Bearers shouldered bales of clothes and crates of food. Dust swirled around as they stomped across the sand, a cloud of tan powder thickening with each passing minute. The sun beat down on them with burning rays, and the wind blasted them with waves of sand as if the desert was trying to grind them into the dirt.
'Although...' He started wiggling his hands under the rope. 'They are super distracted right now...'
'Maybe I can get away before they notice...'
'I'm not drugged this time.'
The ropes bit into his wrists and ankles. Each twist and tug grated against his skin like a swarm of wasps stinging him a thousand times a second. The air reeked of rot and iron, a scent that reminded him of a thousand-year-old corpse that had been dragged through sewers before being buried in the sand.
The rope ground his skin away.
Drops of blood splattered against the sand.
'C'mon...'
'Almost there...'
His hand came loose.
'Yes!'
He untied the ropes from his ankles and crouched.
'Okay, now what's the best route to sneak—'
"He's loose!" Someone screamed behind him. "Lady Kadaru! The prisoner is free!"
'Right away? Seriously?'
He dashed, pushing through the servants and bearers in a zigzagging motion like a fleeing rabbit. He spun around obstacles and shot through gaps between people. Dull thuds echoed behind him as arrows pierced the sand where he had just been standing. The shouts rose as the entire caravan froze, and more arrows whistled through the air like a rain of spears on the battlefield.
"Get back here!"
"Stop!"
He swerved between camels and jumped over packs. His heart thundered through his ears with an orchestra of pounding drums. Sweat soaked his skin and clothes as he raced across the sand, weaving through the servants and cargo like a fox evading hunters.
An arrow flew next to his cheek and cut his skin open.
"Leave me alone!" He glanced back over his shoulder and sped up. "I'm getting out of here!"
An arrow slammed into his knee.
Pain shot through him like a bolt of lightning, and he fell face-first into the sand. It scraped against his skin, scratching and burning as he writhed and fought to get up. Blood oozed into the ground, leaving a crimson trail as he dragged himself forward.
The robed men descended on him like a pack of rabid wolves.
"You little piece of shit!" One of them pulled out a knife. "I'll cut off your nose!"
"Enough." Kadaru shoved her way through the crowd. "Stand back."
"But he tried to escape..." A man holding a cudgel bowed his head. "Please... Give me permission to—"
"Silence." Her voice cracked like a decaying bone breaking. "Take him to the cart and bind him. That is all."
The group bowed their heads, and most of them dispersed.
The biggest two grabbed his arms and yanked him up. He kicked and trashed, but they dragged him along like he was nothing more than a pack of meat. They shoved him onto an empty cart, tied up his wrists and ankles, tied the two together, and tied him to the cart's railing.
The man with the cudgel approached and sneered at him. "You may have gotten lucky now, but trust me, I will—"
"Save your threats, Keigo." Kadaru walked up to them and climbed up to drive the cart. "You know how I feel about violence."
"But—"
"Enough." The stench of rotting meat pulsed from her. "Back to your post."
Keigo frowned and stepped back. "As my Lady commands."
He left.
Kadaru grunted and hunched over like a flower about to die in the winter.
An hour later, the entire caravan stood ready for departure.
Kadaru grunted and snapped the reins.
The caravan started moving in front of them.
'Freaky…'
Once their cart was the last left, she snapped the reins again.
The camel grunted.
The cart jumped to life, moving forward on rolling wheels that squeaked like a rusty hinge under the glare of the sun. The breeze blew against Naruto's face, bringing with it the stench of rot and wood. His shirt stuck to his skin as if he'd been running through a river, and the arrow in his knee chafed and sent bolts of pain with every tremor.
"Kadaru." He craned his neck to look at her. "The arrow is still in my knee."
Heat radiated from the ground like a burning oven, and his mouth dried out like it was full of cotton. Sand dunes covered the horizon, blending with the sky until the two became one and the same.
"Seriously, I'm in so much pain."
The camels' footsteps plodded on, a clop-clop-clop that echoed in the open landscape. Waves of sand glimmered like a river of gold under the blistering heat. A distant falcon cried in the air, soaring through the endless blue as if it were flying on a path between heaven and earth.
"You know you don't make any money if I die, right?"
"I have seen your healing factor work. It will hurt, but your body will handle it." She shook her head. "Perhaps that will teach you to behave."
"I'll never behave." He clenched his fists as another jolt of pain rushed from his knee. "I'll keep making trouble until I escape."
She turned to look at him.
"What is it that you want?" Her mask gleamed like human bone. "Tell me."
"Freedom." He glared at her. "I don't want to be a slave."
"I understand your pain, child. I do." She shook her head. "But that is not how life works."
"Malenia will come for me."
"Your goddess is as much of a stranger to the desert as you are." She chuckled. "The only way she could find us in time is if one of our own betrays us."
"You really think your people are that loyal?"
"Yes." She pulled out a crimson flask from her robe. "There are no tortures that would break one of ours."
"Well, you won't break me either."
"You will do what you must." She turned around and drank from the flask. "Protégé of a goddess or not, we will find your limit as we have for everyone before you."
"No, I won't!" He wriggled the ropes and winced at the pain in his knee. "I'm not gonna be some tool for others to use!"
"We will see about that."
The sun beat down on the endless expanse of sand, turning the world into a shimmering mirage of gold, brown, and blue. The heat pulsed and burned as if they spent the days and nights that bled into one another in a furnace. The air hung heavy and still, thick with the smells of sunbaked stone, sweat, and rot. The cart wheels creaked. The wind howled a melody of mourning and loss across the rising and falling dunes.
Then the words came.
At night, with the coldness that permeated the desert's depths and seeped into his bones.
Words in the darkness.
Whispers and cries in languages that Naruto could almost understand. Phrases and sounds that left bitterness and ash scraping against his tongue. Songs that grated along the inside of his skull like a file against wood. Shapes that slithered along the tent canvas, slithering and crawling like spiders hunting in the shadows.
Kadaru refused to answer any questions about what happened in the night.
With his healing factor slowly pushing the arrow out of his knee and his chakra unavailable, he spent the days staring into the vast emptiness stretching around him in all directions. An endless sea of gold with waves undulating beneath the sun and the wind. Dust swirled around him, stinging his eyes as it blew past the cart in a hurricane of sand and dirt. The camels plodded on, their hooves thudding against the ground as they pulled the caravan forward in a constant rhythm.
The sun started descending behind the horizon.
Kadaru pulled out the crimson flask and drank from it.
"Say, Kadaru..." He squirmed on the cart, trying to get more comfortable with all the ropes digging into him and the dull ache from the arrow. "You know this is wrong, right? What you're doing is wrong."
She chuckled. "Is that so?"
"You're selling people into slavery. That's messed up."
"Not everyone can afford a good life." She took another sip. "Those who can will do whatever they need to maintain it."
"But you shouldn't!" His knee and skin burned as he jerked forward. "You can't just—"
"You are naïve, child."
"No!" He tugged at his bonds again and again. "This is wrong! You are wrong! You cannot justify—"
She turned around and clenched his cheeks. "Enough."
He flinched under her fingers.
Coldness blared from beneath the bandages and sent shivers down his spine. Her touch froze his skin, numbed his muscles, and spread ice into his veins. The stench of decay crept up into his nostrils and left bile rising in his throat. He froze and stared at her porcelain mask as a quiver went down his spine.
"Stop shouting here." Her bandaged nails scraped him as she squeezed, leaving bloody gashes behind. "Here, the desert listens."
"I-is... Is this because of what happens at night?"
"Do not speak words you do not want the desert to hear." She let go and pulled back. "Do you understand?"
"Yes."
She nodded and turned back around.
The caravan trudged along. A cold wind blew, bringing with it a chill that sank into Naruto's bones like an ice dagger cutting into flesh. It smashed into them like a gale slamming into mountains, sending sand and dust swirling in a frenzy of brown clouds. The camels struggled with every step they took, and the dunes swayed in towering waves that threatened to swallow the entire caravan if they collapsed.
Naruto shivered and gritted his teeth.
~ Tick ~
Naruto glanced behind the cart.
Vapor and steam rose in the distance. The sun crawled down behind the horizon as the shadows lengthened and merged with each other, becoming one overarching shroud of darkness that swallowed everything it touched.
~ Tock ~
Whispers sang a song in the darkness, a melody of clashing metal and mournful wailing. Hissing echoed around him as if snakes were speaking in an alien tongue. The outlines of figures appeared on the edge of his vision, swaying like apparitions as they fluttered between the dunes like moths.
His heart pounded against his chest.
~ Tick ~
Kadaru turned back to look and hummed.
~ Tock ~
"Kadaru..." He gulped as the caravan rolled to a halt. "What is that?"
She jumped off the cart. "Be silent."
"What the hell is going on?"
"Be silent." She pulled a knife out of her robe.
"Must we do this each time?" A voice echoed from the darkness like dry leaves rustling in an abandoned graveyard. "Is it not simpler to come with us?"
Naruto stiffened as a group of masked figures formed out of the darkness bearing weapons that shone green. They wore black robes with gold embroidery, and their eyes glowed milky-white under their waxy hoods.
"Kadaru." The figure spread its arms. "Come with us. Be with us. Move on with us."
"The Great Inviters will forgive you, Kadaru." Another offered her its arm. "Please."
"Leave me be." Kadaru pointed her knife at them. "Let me remember you in peace."
Naruto gulped.
'She... She can't really mean to—'
Kadaru jumped forth, rushing at the figures like a tiger leaping upon its prey.
One of them swung a curved sword at her head.
She ducked underneath it and slammed her shoulder into its chest, knocking it to the ground. She pivoted on her heel and lunged at another one, slashing its chest open with a single strike. Its screams rang out across the desert as milky-white, luminescent blood gushed out of its wound, spraying on Kadaru's cloak like paint on canvas.
'She's fast...'
She moved like a tidal wave striking against a reef. The wheeze of her blade cutting through cloth, flesh, and bones drowned out the wails and screams of the figures. She hacked and slashed. Their limbs fell off. Their heads fell off. Their cloaks and bodies vanished in burning fog.
The figure that first spoke appeared at her back, stabbing forth with a glowing spear. It struck an invisible force that knocked him back into the remaining figures.
"Must you do this to me whenever I pass here?" Kadaru shook her head and let her hand drop. "Can you not leave me in peace?"
"Must you pass here where we can see you?" The figure looked down. "We miss you. I miss you."
"Go in peace." She put the knife back into her robes. "Go be with the Great Inviters."
"We love you, Kadaru." The figure bowed its head. "We will always love you."
The figures dissolved into fog and dissipated into the evening air in a vortex of white smoke. Their song echoed through the desert like a warning call in a storm, wailing and whining as it blared across the sands.
Kadaru limped back to the cart and climbed onto it with a groan.
Naruto stared at her. "Who were they?"
"Memories, child." She took out a golden canteen and drank from it. "Memories."
"Why did they want you to go with them?"
"Do not concern yourself with them." She coughed and fell down with a thud. "They will not bother us again tonight."
"But—"
"Enough." Her voice came out raspy and strained, as if her throat was full of gravel. "Sleep now, child. We shall travel through the night."
"Didn't you just say—"
"Worse things than memories prowl here." She groaned and forced herself back up with a loud snap. "Besides, we are close enough to our destination to make the effort."
"I don't—"
"Sleep." She clicked her tongue and whipped the camel. "We will be safe in the morning."
Light sparkled on the edge of the horizon, shining as if a new star had been born and risen over the desert. The temperature had risen, and the winds had subsided into a calm breeze. Clouds shifted through the sky in billowing shapes of gray and white like scattered ships on a cloudy sea. A hill of brown stone grew in front of them, an island of stone on a sea of sand that stretched into infinity behind them.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the hill. "Is this it?"
"No." Kadaru pulled the reins, and the caravan slowed down. "We are for water."
"So..." Naruto wiggled his arms under his ropes. "Will you finally pull this arrow out of my leg?"
"Has your healing factor not been pushing it out?"
"Yeah, like an inch a day! Seriously, Kadaru, do you want me to get an infection?"
"Your healing will deal with it."
"But it'll hurt!" He squirmed. "Can't you just pull it out?"
"Child, do you wish me to sew your lips shut?"
He sighed. "No."
"Then be quiet."
'Malenia... Where are you?'
The caravan stopped at the base of the hill.
Kadaru stood up and wobbled over to him. "I shall take you inside with me. Please, do not cause trouble."
"Trouble? Me?" He chuckled. "Why would I do that?"
"You would do well to restrain your rebellious proclivities." She pulled out a knife and cut the ropes around his ankles. "Your mistress will not approve."
"You're stupid." He glared at her as she cut his wrist bonds loose. "I'm not a slave. I will never be a slave."
"Would you like me to leave you here with my clansmen? No." She grabbed him by the hair and dragged him off the cart. "Then be quiet and come along."
'I really need to find a way to get the hell out of here...'
Each step he took sent a bolt of pain shooting through his knee and up his thigh. He grimaced as they walked past the rest of the caravan. Men and women in robes of various shades of dark blue dismounted and started setting up tents. A group of them piled wood up for a fire. Some climbed up to the top of the hill, while others took out pans, pots, and ladles.
They stepped into a cave entrance buried into the hillside.
Dry rocks and stone surrounded them in an arching tunnel with pale crystals shining in the cracks. Scratches and shapes lined the walls in swirling patterns, and a fluttering wind blew through the passage bearing the smells of fire, dead meat, and excrement. Dripping sounds echoed in the distance. The ground sloped down.
They emerged into a cavern.
A ceiling of stalactites hovered far above them like stone tears falling from the eyes of a widow. Wind whistled around them, a song of wailing and grief, and the sound of rushing water echoed around them like the murmur souls that had suffered torture finding release. Crystals glimmered along the stalactites, patches of starlight among the eternal twilight that permeated the cavern.
'What is this place?'
Naruto glanced down as they descended down the narrow slope.
Ruined buildings of brown rock rose in the field below, forming a maze of rubble that spread among the crushed walls, broken gates, and cracked streets. Bodies of men, women, and children littered the ground between the ruins. The men held swords or spears or bows. Some bore cuts. Some lacked heads or limbs. The women and children lay in pools of blood and vomit and bore fungi and mutations upon their bodies.
Naruto gagged as the smell of it all hit him.
'What the hell happened here?'
Kadaru clenched her hand around his arm and pushed him faster.
As they reached the gate, a man coughed next to it.
He lay in a pool of blood. His scale armor hung off his skeletal frame like an ill-fitting cloak a wild cat had cut apart. Crimson mold spread across his skin in branching veins. Pustules littered his limbs, appearing and bursting with popping noises like apples someone was crushing under their boot. Fungi wrapped around his throat in a noose that pulsed and writhed with each shudder that ran through his body.
He coughed, and a cloud of crimson mist spewed into the air.
Naruto bit back his vomit.
Kadaru let go of him and limped up to the man.
Lesions and growths buried his bald head. A rotting stump stood in place of his nose, and his ears missed chunks of flesh and skin as if maggots had chewed them off.
Kadaru knelt next to him. "Oh, young Daigo..."
"L-lady... K-kadaru...?" He panted and heaved. "I-is... t-that... y-you...?"
"Yes, Daigo." She propped his head up and caressed his cheek. "What happened to you? What happened here?"
"A-attack... D-don't... G-go... I-inside..." He turned to look at her. Scabs and scarring covered his eyes. "C-contagious..."
"Do not speak, child." She pulled out her crimson flask. "Drink. Drink."
"M-message..." He choked as he gulped the liquid down. "M-must... S-say... C-cannot... C-cannot..."
"Hush, child." She stroked his head and neck. "Hush. You will give your message. We must make you better first."
"N-no..." He wheezed and trembled, and the stench of rotting flesh and festering wounds wafted from him as if he were a cesspit on a battlefield. "I... I a-am... Dead... Already..."
"You will live, child." She pulled out her golden flask. "Drink."
"P-please... My... Lady... Don't... waste... the golden... on me... I... truly... am dead..." He shook his head. "My soul... wants to leave. Wants to move on. It... cannot. The Rot holds me. Until... I pass on... my message."
'He...' Naruto stepped back. 'He can't mean...'
Kadaru bowed her head, and pressed her forehead to Daigo's. "Tell me your message."
"Do... do you have... a boy with you?" He coughed out a glob of blood and pus. "A... a boy with... with golden hair... and blue eyes... and... and... and three whisker marks on each cheek?"
Naruto stiffened.
Kadaru nodded. "I do."
"Give him back." Daigo started sobbing. "The message is 'Give him back'."
Kadaru petted his head. "Hush, child."
Daigo shook his head and retched blood onto Kadaru's bandages. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"Hush." She tightened her hold around him. "You have done nothing wrong."
"I feel it..." He whimpered as tears of blood oozed from his eyes. "The message was for you... It's letting me go..."
She hugged him, squeezing him tight against her chest. "Be at peace, child."
Daigo coughed again, retching as red foam sprayed from his mouth, and his body stiffened in her arms. Blood and bile stained her robes, seeping through the fabric and into her bandages as she cradled him. Each cough sent a shiver running through her body, and her arms quivered as she held him. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. He shook. He twitched. He went limp.
He exhaled.
"Farewell, young Daigo." Kadaru hummed as she closed his eyes. "Rest with the Great Inviters."
'Give him back...' Naruto stared at the destroyed city. 'Malenia found this place first...'
'Malenia destroyed this city.'
He looked at the dead children, and tears slithered down his cheeks.
That's a wrap for Chapter Five!
Let me know what you liked and disliked, I would love to hear all your thoughts before this goes live!
Chapter Six — Ephemeral Requiem (Malenia PoV) is already available on my p. a. t. r. e. o. n. at: user?u=53437875 (just paste that after p. a. t. r. e. o. n. / (don't forget to remove the spaces)).
Quack, quack