Fff280 - Blog Posts
Tear in Space
@flashfictionfridayofficial thanks for the prompt.
Warnings: descriptive violence
Nihill stood at the edge of a cliff looking down into the gaping mouth with a strange fluttering feeling in his stomach daring him to jump. All of his notes led to this place. Would it be another dead end, or would he finally find the answers that he had so long been searching for?
“You know you’re crazy right?”
Nihill turned, imitating a smile at his shining faced guide. The young man had grown up in these mountains and recently had become known far and wide for his many feats. That was why Nihill hadn’t hesitated in hiring him, why he had insisted that no other guards accompanied them on this venture.
“You really should face someone when speaking such nonsense.”
The guide turned his head to face Nihill, a look of mild confusion crossing his face. Nihill bit back his irritation. It wasn’t his fault, after all.
“The matter still stands, death valley isn’t a place for mortals to walk, everyone knows that.”
His irritation drew Nihill’s attention, and he took a step closer to the edge, dropping a glow stone down into the inky blackness. It was swallowed up in moments, leaving everything to the imagination.
“An interesting choice of words from someone who frequents the valley so often don’t you think? Does that make you some type of immortal, then?”
He could hear the boy’s breath freeze at that. Bingo.
“What are you talking about? No..oone goes into D..death v-valley!”
Nihill turned his head to stare at his stammering guide with a touch of pity. The thing had intended to make a quick meal of him when they made it to the destination, as he had done with more than thirty men before, and the boy whose face he had stolen.
Loosening his robes, Nihill let them fall to the ground, leaving him in a simple pair of worn pants without any of his usual adornments. His skin glowed with ruins that he had painstakingly carved. The most beautiful adornments he had to offer and no one could see them, truly a pity. The thing’s stollen skin peeled away, exposing bloodied fur and a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.
The creature dove for his robes, tearing through them as he stepped away unharmed.
Nihill watched the creature digging around in confusion for a moment before its jaws locked around one of the pockets, exploding a bag of powder in its face. The jerking motions stopped as the creature blinked in confusion and began sneezing uncontrollably. Nihill stepped forward slowly with a knife in hand. He marveled at the treated surface in his hand, thoughtfully before driving it into the base of its skull. The creature let out a cry of pain before it’s muscles slackened. He probably had about two hours before the creature revived, so he had to work quickly.
peeling away its outer coat, Nihil quickly draped it over his shoulders and let the blood coat his skin. Unpleasant, but there wasn’t much choice if he wanted answers. Once he was mostly obscured, Nihill knelt down near the edge of the cliff, allowing the blood to drip into the void. A set of silver stairs appeared, winding down into the void. He had been right then. This was the place he had been looking for.
The journey down was slow and, at times, rather frustrating, but it wasn’t meant for humans. When he finally reached the base of the valley, Nihill discarded the creature’s skin and pulled his own robes back on. The dark scape before him began to distort in his presence. No human could be in death valley, it was a rule of this world, and it was especially true for something like him.
The air began to fluctuate in front of him, and a tear formed in space. This was it. This is what he’d been searching so desperately for, and now it was here at his fingertips. Stepping towards the void, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. Now, maybe the chaos of this would have some real answers, not that drivel that all of the senile fools spouted. Soon, he would see, soon he would understand why he’d been born without a face and cursed to know it.
