1 year and 6 months ago
I wanted devastation and hungry vultures trailing in its wake.
While the easiest way to subjugate other wolves was to make their hearts beat for you, it wasn't always the best solution. He learned that after his furious lover trashed a part of his lab in a revenge. Primarily, love was never Asmoday's goal, only a way to get what he wanted. And when Eden began to worship him as a God, he realized that the devotion one gives to the Gods is much more powerful than one's dedication to a lover.
Asmoday himself didn't believe in the existence of gods, at least not the ones the whole Kingdom honored. He was a God himself, so believing in others only created a conflict of interest. He was aware, however, that common faith helped the wolves survive, so the other Gods were necessary to exist. But he knew that they didn't and couldn't. If Gods existed, all is Their will and from Their will he cannot escape. If not, it’s all his will and he was bound to show self-will. Because all will have become his.
Benares was raised in faith, he followed the Gods almost blindly, convinced of their unconditional kindness and righteousness. When he met Asmoday, he was in the middle of military training, planning to follow in his father's footsteps. In a large house, he lived with his entire family of eight wolves, including his parents and as many as five siblings. He was the only son and also the eldest, the heir of their fortune and duty.
His father ruled the house with an iron fist, punishing his son for every slightest offense, claiming it was the will of the Gods. Even Benares dared not stand up to his father, even if his body was made for fighting and much stronger. He was muscular and powerful, a short, coarse claret fur covering his entire body except for a white patches on his neck and chest, his eyes violet. Beautiful horns adorned his head.
The lack of resistance on his part encouraged his father to increasingly severe and painful punishments that made Benares howl every night to his Gods and ancestors, begging them for his relief in death. Even the rest of the family got used to his suffering and walked past him indifferently, when beaten black and blue he begged for mercy. His faith was torn from his chest and defiled, trampled by the Gods, leaving him with a hole, that was slowly filling with rage.
Anger alone, however, was not enough to break out of the painful loop and when he finally bit the paw that hurt him, he was beaten so severely that the whole family thought he was dead. When he was unconscious, they threw him into a cellar dug in the garden to get rid of the presumed dead body. Luckily, the basement was filled with food the family put away for the winter, so he wasn't in danger of starving. But he was trapped there as well, with no way out without a key.
The sun still hasn't risen for him, and the low temperature was slowly becoming distressing. Even his fur could not protect him from the cold, his body slowly began to shiver. Watching the steam coming out of his mouth, he desperately searched for a way out. The walls were already almost completely covered with claw marks, especially near the exit, which was still mercilessly locked. Along with the desperation and pain, anger grew within him as well. As they said, dripping water hollows out stone, and the male was already at the edge of his patience.
Will I ever get out of here?
As he paced around the room, his steps became heavier and his breathing quickened. How could he allow himself to be pushed around all his life? How could he allow himself to be abused all those years? All his fury, pain, and fatigue had finally taken over him. He let out a roar, then began to thrash around the room even harder, scratching the walls and floors so hard that he was leaving his blood on them. There was not a spark of sanity in him, he became a wild beast that would not die without a fight.
Just at that moment, the hatch opened, letting a stream of moonlight into the darkness. Benares hissed, moving to the farthest corner and trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. Once he did, he immediately thought it was his father and lunged upwards, trying to pull him in and preferably rip him to pieces on the spot. However, he faced a pair of blood-red eyes set in an exposed, bare skull and immediately froze, wondering if he had finally died.
— What are you? — Benares asked.
— What do you think I am? — The Thing replied, his low, hoarse voice seemed unnatural, as if it couldn't come from a wolf… or anything that was alive.
— A demon?
The Thing laughed, baring sharp teeth in a smile.
— Demon, huh. I should offer you a deal, then.
— A deal? — the horned wolf cocked its head, staring curiously at the intruder.
— What do you desire? — the demon asked, dipping its head deeper into the room.
Benares opened his mouth, then immediately closed it, as if he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. Getting out of here was no longer a priority for him, he might as well die here. But then he remembered the anger that was consuming his heart and soul. He gulped, then looked into the monster's eyes as fire burned in his own.
— I want my family dead. All of them. I want the whole world to burn — he answered finally, without even twitching a muscle.
The demon retreated, disappearing from the male's sight. Only then did Benares realize that perhaps these were not the right words to use.
Benares watched his home from a distance, engulfed in darkness. Only one light was off inside, in his father's study, where he was probably sitting now, reading one of his stupid books. Suddenly, the complete silence was broken by a noise coming from the depths of the house, followed by a scream. The light in his father's room dispersed as a shadow covered it. Horned wolf fought the urge to jump to his feet immediately to see what had caused the noise, but he already had his suspicions. More noises came from the house, sounds of broken glass and furniture. Moments later, the demon who had accosted him earlier left the house, leaving the door wide open. He was followed by a strong smell of alcohol, probably coming from an open and tilted bottle, placed between his teeth. Finally, when the bottle was empty, the monster tossed it aside. Keeping constant eye contact with Benares, he got close and handed him a box of matches. The male didn't even think as he took over the box and looked at the matches placed in it. He lit one and, with a blank expression in his eyes, approached the house, then threw the match in front of him.
It was already too late to back out.
He saw the flame move swiftly across the spilled alcohol, rushing into the house. His last sane impulse was to leap forward, to head home, to do something else, to change the course of events. However, the demon approached him, standing right next to him and thus stopping him from moving. He could already feel the heat of the fire and how it slowly consumed his house from the inside. Smoke escaped through the open door and every open window, as the faint crackling noises slowly grew louder. And then, as if out of nowhere, something exploded deep inside, and the fire burst forth. The demon had to stretch out a paw to stop the wolf, which again tried to get inside.
And then, staring at the flames that consumed his whole life, Benares suddenly fell in love. He began to laugh through his tears, and a wide grin began to grow on his face. He finally got his revenge, for all those years, for all the unbearable pain that life had caused him. For the first time in his life, he felt free, as if he had suddenly been relieved of the burden of shackles. Fire danced before his eyes, seducing him and whispering sweet, sweet promises. His heart finally started beating after it had been frozen during the days he'd spent in that fucking basement.
His happiness did not last long, for when the fire finally consumed his entire house, he realized the weight of his actions. He stood alone in the midst of the flames, hearing and seeing how the structure, still consumed by flames, gradually collapsed. He heard crackling noises around him as the wooden structures gasped for their last breaths before tumbling into the ashes. Tears streamed down his face as he slowly realized that there was nothing left of his family. That there was nothing left of him but an empty shell. He looked ahead as the black beast entered the circle, passing through the flames as if they didn't bother it at all.
— It's your fault! — He roared at the demon, his throat scarred from hours of crying and howling.
— No.
— They were just pups. — Benares wept, remembering his sisters, with whom not so long ago he used to play, chasing them in the corridors of their mansion.
He cried, his whole body shaking, his lips trembling.
— YOU KILLED THEM! YOU BURNED THEM.
The demon approached him, standing just above the wolf and looking down at him. His red eyes remained empty, there was not a trace of sympathy or pity in them. The Thing sat down, tilting its head.
— No. You killed them. That was your will - the demon announced, his voice dripping with poison.
— But I-I-I would never… — the wolf stuttered, barely seeing through the tears in his eyes.
— Your road is broken. Join me and give in to your suffering. You have nothing, you are without purpose. Your very existence was a terrible lie.
— What?
— You are one of Gods' disasters. You crying, tragic waste of skin.
Benares felt as if someone had just stepped on him and began to push him into the ground. His throat tightened, and his lungs became heavier, as if they wouldn't let him breathe.
— You are a mistake.
The demon reached out a paw towards him and slowly stroked his head, then wiped the tears from his cheeks.
— A monster. Like me. But I will make you strong. I will make you meaningful.
A huge black paw lifted his muzzle, forcing him to look into the demon's eyes. Looking into the creature's eyes, he suddenly felt better. Their coolness soothed him, even though it terrified him at the same time.
— Come before me, yield yourself to me, and I will show you how good my mercy feels.
Benares had nothing left. Home, family, past or future. Everything was consumed by the flames. Everything has been defiled by anger and bloodlust, even himself. Because the demon was right, it was he who demanded death and destruction. If he really was a monster, who else would be able to guide him in this world but another monster? When he first looked into the flames back then, he realized that no matter how cruel he had to become, he would never be a victim again. He was a monster, he was corrupt, he was a hunter. But if that was the price of not being prey, so be it.
The horned wolf wiped his tears away and looked the monster in the eyes.
— Am I already lost?— he asked.
— I suppose you are — the demon purred, reaching out to him.
Benares gulped, staring at the paw extended in front of his face.
No longer a child, marred by the very devil.
As he laid his paw on the demon's lug, the creature smiled. It was a devious smile.
The one that lets you know that if you can’t be the best,
Then you can certainly be the worst.
"Blood Hunt" zakończone.
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