Eote - Chapter 4

With Loki’s words echoing in his head, Rykar was startled as he realised that they were currently stood in front of two dead bodies but after all they had been through, an inexplicably calm feeling came over him. He actually felt more secure while being next to a dead body, no matter how lifelike it may look, than to be in the presence of yet more people with unknown agendas.

While examining them, the origins of the people in front of them looked anything but normal. Their clothing was the first thing to stand out to them as being amazingly immaculate. The darkness of the cloth seemed to suck in the light as it draped around them yet was sculpted to their figure. The twins hadn’t even imagined that clothing could look so neat, the closest comparison they could make was to the stories of nobles and kings that their mother had told them.

This also led them to suspect that the duo had only recently passed away as, although the room was not well lit, there was not a speck of dust on them nor the rest of the space.

Just like the rest of the surroundings, there were no superfluous details on the clothing however they still appeared compellingly eye catching as though simulating a black hole. While looking around, almost no attention was drawn to the attire however once their eyes had been trained on the bodies, it was as though the rest of the room lost its light in comparison, slightly stifling them with a formless pressure.

As they finally pulled their eyes away, they came to rest on the faces of the men. They appeared middle aged, no older than thirty. All of their features seemed refined and perfected, only adding to the feeling that they were amazing works of art rather than bodies of the deceased. With long black hair that spilled over their shoulders and all the way down to the floor, spread out like tendrils of darkness comparable to the depth of the clothing. Their charm would have been comparable to that of deities, had it not been for the lifeless grey hue that radiated from their eyes.

While in the village, they had seen many skin colours, from the brown skin of the archery instructor to the fair skin of their fathers wives, however this was completely different it was as though the skin of these two men had been made from stone, or ash. Which led to Loki hesitating for a moment before declaring them as bodies rather than sculptures. The darkish grey left the twins feeling bewildered but without any reference to go by, they simply cast it to the back of their mind.

‘They must be the same as us, cast out for being different.’ As the thought crossed their minds, both Rykar and Loki began to feel an inexplicable bond to the two figures before them. although their stories had only been drawn up by their imaginations, there was so much alike between them.

This tree appeared like the destined resting place for them all, only narrowly escaped by the anomaly which stopped the charge of the wolf just moments ago.

Sobering up, Rykar walked over to one of the twins to stand directly in front of him. He had no idea why but there was no fear of the corpse. Not even agitation. He felt nothing but a compulsion to be close to the man who looked more like he was crafted from stone than someone who used to be alive.

While watching Rykar walk over, Loki grit his teeth while shuffling himself over in a similar fashion. As he finally made his way over, he was no longer even able to stand, having long since over drafted himself in the earlier escape. Losing his balance, his body twisted awkwardly as he attempted to avoid contact with the body in front of him at all costs.

“I leave my body and my tome in your hands, brother. May their contracts forever bind them and your word dominate the cosmos. Behold, the inheritance of Greed.” An archaic voice sounded out clearly within the room however the voice was soft, almost a whisper. It was as though the voice never lost its strength as it travelled through the entire room before fading away as it made contact with the outside.

Slowly looking up towards his left at Rykar, Loki was emotionally broken by this point. While reassuring himself that the whisper hadn’t come from the deceased man in front of him, he desperately tried to distract himself by thanking his brother for his support but Rykar was still stood two steps away from him.

Loki stared blankly, seeing that Rykar was in the middle of reaching out his hand to touch the man’s face. It was then that the ‘body’ in front of Rykar fluidly stretched out its hand gripping onto the incoming wrist of the boy who was now frozen in shock.

Tears streamed out from their eyes as Rykar turned to stare into the eyes of his brother as they were both similarly gripped by the bodies before them. If the living state of the bodies were disregarded, the seated figures seemed to be tenderly supporting and holding onto their counterparts, as though seriously considering those as brothers.

“I leave my body and my world in your hands, brother. May chaos serve as your sustenance and the void be consumed with every breath. Behold, the inheritance of Gluttony.” Once again, an ancient whisper proliferated throughout the room, this time originating from right in front of Rykar.

Both of the twins had been violently shaking by now, trembling all over apart from the areas which were firmly being held by the strong dark hands which were placed on their wrist and shoulder, gluing them to their positions.

Without a chance to voice out a reply, the room dimmed down even further as a pitch-black mist began to radiate from the men in front of them. It swirled around the room as their bodies disintegrated into the finest particles, disappearing in a similar way to the wolf that had attempted to take their lives.

As their bodies had finally completely dispersed into the air, the hands which had been holding them in place had vanished, causing both the boys to sprawl out on the ground unable to support their own weight. All they could see around them was a cloud of darkness, occasionally revealing small pieces of the room whenever there were gaps in the dense particles.

Despite the abnormally high speeds that the cloud was moving, there was no disturbance in the room, only a sharp whistling noise, as thought the air was being repeatedly cut open.

Struggling to pick themselves up, the brothers were both actively trying to cover the single metre of distance that was separating them however they were completely spent, without any energy left in reserve.

Tears were still spilling freely from their eyes as they began to see changes around them. The particles were no long simply spinning randomly but were slowly converging around them, enclosing them in the darkness without the ability to even see each other.

As the particles began to come in contact with their bodies, there was no more movement. The black motes of light simple sat on their bodies refusing to budge. To their horror, as the cloud condensed on their positions, there were more and more particles sticking onto their bodies, slowly covering them from head to toe.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH”

Without even the strength to shake themselves loose, the twins let loose a desperate cry, praying for help to come in from the outside. Tears and snot covered their faces as saliva flew from their mouths as they clung onto their last shred of hope for survival. Their faces only comparable to that of James as he had been devoured by the wolf only minutes earlier.

All pretences aside, appearances meant nothing when one was confronted by undiluted with despair. So much more so for these boys who were only at the tender age of thirteen.

Before they could had the chance to find out if their plea had been heard, the cloud intensified once more, seeming to form a tide of eternal darkness as it poured down their throats like liquid night. Their senses were completely consumed as their orifices were used as entrances which the cloud used to rampage within them, slowly altering them from the inside out.

From the moment the twins had let out their last struggling cry, the dark mist had robbed them of their senses, their world was now completely void. Emptiness was the only thing occupying them to the point that they were no longer even left with a sense of self.

Time itself became an unfamiliar concept as their consciousness drifted through the nothingness alongside the silence and darkness which enveloped all.

A second, a minute, a day, a lifetime

These terms mean nothing without something to compare against.

And so, they slumbered within the void.