"Wake up child!"
"agh!…..
A sharp, dull ache throbbed at the back of Lucian's head as his consciousness crawled its way back to the surface. His eyes fluttered to a blinding expanse of white—ceilings, walls, floors, everything, the same blinding shade— a seemingly rectangular room without any windows or doors.
"Guess I'm dead then! well shit! So much for my dream of having 2.5 children and living a quiet life on a little farm somewhere."
Laying his head back; the surface beneath him being neither warm nor cold, Lucian closed his eyes and in the quiet of the moment devoid of sound, scent, or the faintest movement, reminisced on the life he lived before. A single fragile crystal clear tear rolled slowly down his face and was quickly wiped away in acceptance.
"I'm dead…so what?
"What the hell am I crying over, it's not like my life was that great anyway."
A feeling of regret and fear suddenly crept in as he began to think about the possibility of having a regular life outside of enslavement. It was easy to accept defeat, to be dead was better than living a life of servitude. After all, the mistress treated him worse than a dog. Maybe I'm better off being dead. Lucian sighed and started to tear up again.
"Shit this death thing is turning me into a bloody sissy!" With a newfound determination, he began to yearn for another chance at life.
Acceptance turned into bargaining.
"Please, please, please if only I could have another chance I'll live differently I swear!"
Of course, he had no idea who he was to pray to but a drowning man will grasp at straws. As he laid there pleading with an invisible deity, his bargaining finally turned into anger as the memories of the betrayal that had gotten him into this dilemma surged like raging waves in his mind. Lucian then rose to his feet, his fingers clenched into fists, nails into his palms as his body trembled then abruptly stopped. His lovely brown eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched until his jaws were like hard ridges. Vengeance was on his mind.
"Oh they think they've won!" he hissed.
Then a gasping fit of laughter, his head tilted back, eyes gleaming unhinged, something utterly terrifying.{was insanity a part of the 5 stages of grief?}
"Filthy Fenrir scum want to erase me as if they've not taken enough already! They destroyed my home and made my existence one of pain and suffering, but no more! They think they can go on living all dandy in their big white mansion? ... .hell no!"
Lucian's lips curled even further back, his teeth bearing a grin devoid of all humor. The once innocent-looking young man seemed possessed by a devil itself. Hate, pain, loss, and betrayal had now consumed his entire being.
"Make my words, I will find a way from beyond to grave to make you suffer, every last one of you. I curse your entire bloodline and all you hold dear. Whatever you build I will destroy and grind it to dust, eternal torment shall be your portion. And when you come graveling, begging for mercy, and when you finally realize what true pain and suffering is…."
His voice then dropped to a quiet whisper, in a calm and sadistic tone.
"I'll be the one laughing just like this, as scavengers feast on your corpse."
Lucian started laughing uncontrollably again, his voice spiraled louder and louder, his eyes bulging from their sockets while drool ran down his cheek into an abrupt silence.
'I knew I didn't do a lot of good while I was alive but I'm getting tired of this place "Lucian thought.
"Maybe this is the first phase of death," he shrugged. looking around. "I wonder what the next phase will be?" Well whatever it is, I hope it's better than this!"
Just then a thick intoxicating metallic scent swept across the room.
"Something different finally." he thought excitedly. (I swear whenever this man gets excited, bad things happen).
All of a sudden Lucian then could hear what sounded like some sort of bubbling liquid; "maybe I'm near a stream" he thought. Unsure of what it was he moved closer to the wall where the sound was coming from. As if by magic, the sound stopped abruptly causing Lucian to raise his brows, puzzled at what was happening. Before he could collect his thoughts the bubbling sound started again, but this time it was coming from another corner of the room. Lucian's curiosity got the best of him as he slowly tiptoed to the corner where the sound grew louder.
"The hell?"
A dark thick crimson liquid came flowing from the bottom of the wall where the wall met the floor. The sickening metallic scent now permeated the room to the point of suffocation. It was blood.
It slithered towards Lucian like something alive. Instinctively Lucian stepped back only to feel a warm thick substance beneath his feet. Within a few seconds, the blood had already clasped his ankles, and was now almost at his knees, as the room began to fill up rapidly.
"No,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no."
Lucian's breath quickened, his pulse hammering into his skull; his eyes began to shift quickly, desperately scanning the room for a switch, a knob, or just something to stand on, but there was none. There is no way of escape. He was trapped. Desperate, he began to claw at the walls like a trapped animal, scraping his fingertips raw, ripping his nails to the cuticle, however, they offered no grip.
"Help! Can anyone hear me?"
He shouted and screamed repeatedly until his throat burned but the room swallowed every sound.
Waist deep now in a room full of stagnant blood, the surface rippled as it climbed higher.
'Think Lucian, think. Wait, I'm dead! Can someone already dead, die again? No no no, wrong thought Lucian now's not the time for folly.' But if I'm already dead, maybe I will be ok or not", he shrugged.
'Shit, my mind has gone blank. I'm dead and losing my mind at the same time. Just my luck!'
As if his efforts to escape had now pissed off whoever was in control, the blood rose even quicker than before, reaching his chest. He took deep breaths steadying himself, all the while cursing in his mind, "{Fuck, fuck fuck". Reaching his shoulders, the weight of the pool of liquid began to pull him down along with the exhaustion of trying to escape his bloody prison... Fear swept over him as the tip of his chin came into contact with the ever-rising flow.
"Fuck! He screamed desperately, as he realized he was losing yet another battle. With nowhere to turn, no way of escape, and no glimmer of hope, he went under. Still fighting to survive his second stint at death, Lucian tried gasping for air but found none; just a thick suffocating flood.
Lucian kicked and thrashed around yet the flood was merciless and with blood filling his nose, mouth, and lungs, Lucian sank as his consciousness faded once more into nothingness…dead again…(this dude cannot get a break).
Lucian's eyelids flung open wide, his body lunged forward, fingers clutching the ground beneath him.his chest heaved, each breath came in desperate gasps...
"Am I really alive or is this some sick twisted dream?" "Well, it seems that I'm as alive as a dead man can be."
The suffocating taste of iron had suddenly passed, replaced by golden sunlight streaming through trees that swayed effortlessly in the wind. Lucian found himself lying in a meadow, with the scent of wildflowers filling the air, while a gentle cool breeze passed his sweat-slicked skin. He slowly pushed himself up to get a better look at his surroundings.
Beyond the meadow, Lucian saw a village outstretched before him, bathed in the warm glow of the late afternoon. White marble and grand stone buildings stood about. As he moved closer to the village he noticed an unusual sight. Villagers sported crimson red hair, dressed in flowing ancient Greek-like garments moved about whimsically. Their laughter so light and carefree. Women carried baskets of fruits and loaves of bread, while the men conversed in shaded courtyards, and children with familiar beautiful golden brown eyes dashed past him playing a game with small wooden hoops, who seemed to have not a care in the world.
"The living should not walk among the dead!"
An unfamiliar voice scolded and startled Lucian as he quickly looked around for its source. His eyes then stopped on a wrinkly old woman, looking exactly like the rest, with red hair and golden brown eyes.
'Who the hell is this old old hag, and what does she mean living? Am I not dead?'
"Who are you calling old you little shit!"
Surprised, Lucian didn't dare have another thought.
'Wait I only said those words in my mind, does that mean she can read minds? Is she hearing me right now?'
Lucian stared at the old woman confused, weary, and a little impressed.
The old woman sighed and then shook her head, as though annoyed by his indifference.
"There is not much time left child so listen well, you are not dead but momentarily between the land of the living and the dead, limbo if you will. The people you see here are all your ancestors, we have been trapped here unable to move on for decades."
"I say all this with the utmost respect, Ancestor Granny, but I wouldn't exactly call what I've seen here trapped; everyone looks really happy and content."
Ancestor Granny's demeanor shifted to a more serious tone.
"Then let me pull back the veil so you can bear witness to the fate that awaits us all."
Ancestor Granny quickly curled her fingers as if she had caught the very air in her grasp, and an unnatural silence spread outwards like a ripple in a still pond, as she raised her hand to the sky.
The blue sky cracked like glass, its color bleeding away into an abyssal black. The sun once proud and blazing, withered into a sickly ember before it vanished altogether, and darkness surged forth, swallowing the landscape, creeping over trees and buildings as if it were alive. At that moment a terrified Lucian felt all warmth flee and a hollow empty cold took its place.
Without any warning Lucian found himself standing in the middle of a battlefield where the once peaceful village was. The once happy villagers now stood defenseless against vicious knights clad in gleaming armor that had descended upon them like reapers with a sickle.
Men, women, and children were all slaughtered senselessly and mercilessly. Lucian rightfully angry moved to pick up a sword to defend a woman and her child but as he went to grab it, his hand passed through for he was nothing but a spectator, unable to do anything. This was only a vision, a glimpse into his ancestor's tragic past.
Eventually, the bloodshed ended and a depressed Lucian stood alone among a pile of bodies.
The vision shattered and Lucian found himself back in the white room but this time Ancestor Granny stood before him.
We exist in this place forced to relive our deaths over and over for decades. Only by returning our blood and bones to the earth can we truly have rest.
Lucian was confused, but before he could say another word, she vanished echoing only a few last words.
As a parting gift, the conditions for a blood curse have been initiated, as well as a title.
[Child of Perdition].