Chapter 8: A Darkness Deep

  Meditation classes were… strange. To the now ten year old Null, he never could really get used to them. Though he didn't really have any specific expectations, some part of him was hoping this would be the start of his character arc.

  Maybe they'll have a grumpy anthropomorphic hat that puts me in the same class as the village bully, he would muse. Somewhat disappointingly, the days consisted of lecture on the nature of self, reality, and one’s environment. As lecture concluded, the ‘students,’ would retreat to the caves to meditate. The caves were the closed off remnants of volcanic lava tubes- to a golem, they were a veritable buffet of natural essence- to Null, they were just hot, dark, uncomfortable sensory deprivation chambers. Dutifully, null would follow the class instructions. Some part of him wanted to know just how much control he could exert over this strange passenger brought on by the full moon. His experience in the forest stuck with him, the rabbit, the Sabretooth, the blood, the unrelenting violence of it all. Orrey was not a kind world. Neither was Earth, but back there, he was insulated from it all, numb to the violence of nature and man- here, you lived until you died and death came from all angles at any given time. One moment, you are a timid rabbit grazing at the forest’s edge, the next, you’re being hunted by an apex predator you can’t even begin to conceptualize, then darkness.

  Today’s session in the cave, Null’s mind wandered back to the rabbit. He focused on the cycle of life and death. The rabbit’s life served, perhaps, the sole purpose of saving his own life in the end. Maybe there was room for all things: life and death, animosity and sympathy, ruthlessness and compassion. He let these concepts flow around him, not favoring one over the other, truly letting them run their course.

  Me and him, he thought, thinking of the beast he transformed to. This was harder to let pass. That monster was… a monster. There was a sentience to the monster that, in a way surpassed Null’s. Without a doubt in his mind, Null knew if he let it, the monster would take over and never give back control if he gave in completely. He would become the rabbit, the Sabretooth. He felt the meditative state falter under his conflicting emotions. He switched back to simpler thoughts, or at least he tried. The Monster wanted him here and he was helpless to the game it now played.

  What is this thing? His mind raced in a panic. No werewolf story he’d ever heard went like this. Sure the full moon often led to a lack of self-control, but this was different. There was always this sense of creeping dread. Why? He thought back to all those years when he selected his race. Back then, it was all theory, but he vaguely remembered the Vulpritch description. What was system-sanctioned extermination and what quality could an entire race possess that would turn the heavens themselves against them? I mean, this monster is, objectively, kind of an asshole, he managed to jest in his panic. Perhaps the secret lies not in the clearly vulpine portion of the rae, but the eldritch portion. If he remembered, eldritch horrors were the brainchild of an old horror writer back on earth. These beings were ancient and surpassed technological sophistication in a way that made them almost magical. What if this monster was more that than anything? He felt the grip of the monster tighten around his soul. He dug in, he could feel something new. Fear? No, this monster did not know fear; it wanted darkness, it wanted shadows. This was its normal reaction to light. It was avoiding truth!

  Hey there, I’m Null. He thought. I see you. The monster reeled, all but crushing his soul. He let out a gasp.

  ‘It’s okay, there’s space for… both.. of… us” he ground out, struggling against the feeling of being dragged into an abyss. The pull doubled in its urgency and he knew at an instinctive level that he was in real danger.

  A scream pierced the darkness causing Null and the Monster to pause. Another primal scream echoed down the cave. The monster took the opening to rip at null’s soul.

  What is happening?

  Fostin went about his day, savoring the relief of knowing his troubled son was flourishing in his new learning environment. It was so difficult raising Null. In his spirit, knew the system gifted only the most capable with children like Null, but still- parenthood was hard. Golems and humans shared enough outward physical similarities that, mercifully, Null didn’t have issues blending in, but there was something about that boy. He was wise beyond his years- and old, almost tired, soul. Yes, that was it. Perhaps it was what made life so hard for Null, it had to be confusing, to be so intelligent and yet so young, so limited. A pride swelled in Fostin’s chest, he’d make Null the pride of this village. He absently dropped a package at a door as he continued his route. Yes, there is no way Null would be confined to such a mundane life as a delivery man. Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Typically animals avoided the village, it was too inhospitable for most other life- which is what made it so safe. Now it seemed a bird of some type lost its way. A bird. No. that wasn't right, too big. As his mind caught up with events, his eyes grew wide with horror. Not a bird, a griffin. In its clutched the severed remains of a golem, gray and inert. Overcoming the initial shock, Fostin transformed. His life was not always that of a mundane delivery person. Once upon a time he served on village guard and thus learned to take on a fearsome war form. The griffin screeched a challenge as it shredded the remains of the villager in its beak. A few village guards thundered toward the commotion, but he could tell they were much too far away to arrive in time. Fostin drew in a breath and assessed his surroundings. Griffins had an affinity for lightning and wind. Golems were highly resistant to both, but that beak would be an issue. He decided on a harass and harry approach until backup arrived. He shifted to shed some mass and began launching stones at the beast to draw its attention. Villagers ran for shelter as he launched his attack, a few letting out yelps and screams as the griffin tore toward the source of annoyance. Fostin withdrew closer to the approaching guards. The griffin shot lightning which Fostin absorbed without effort, grounding the attack.

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  “Fostin, on your left!” he heard his wife Elle’s voice over the din. She had been his commander in the village guard. He instinctively placed her to his left in his mind. An absolutely gigantic figure stepped forth, dwarfing Fostin. A stone hammer came down crushing the griffin in one blow. Feathers and entrails flew. Elle lifted the hammer, to reveal a crater. He let go a heavy sigh of relief.

  “ Thank you, Elle. Do you know why that thing attacked?”

  “No idea,” She returned as her form shrunk down to her customary diminutive form.

  In the distance, the guards shouted something.

  “All clear!” Fostin shouted back, mirroring their waving.

  They kept shouting and waving. A shadow fell upon them,

  “Fost-” Elle began before a claw descended pinning her to the ground. She let loose a blood-curdling scream. Fostin froze as he stood face to face with a much larger griffin. His gaze fell to Elle, whose gaze softened and then shifted to behind him.

  “I love you.” they said in unison.

  A weathered beak engulfed the top half of his body at the same time, the griffin pinning down Elle cut off her primal scream.

  The guards arrived to see the bodies of their former captain and her husband. The griffin that killed the captain seemed to be impaled by a stone spike, joining the captain in death. The other griffin hovered in the air as if waiting for them. As they transformed into a more defensive form, it attacked. The griffin drove them back toward the caves, picking them off one by one with swooping dive attacks. Three of nine guards down. Two. One. As the final guard backed into the caves, something shot out of the darkness toward the Griffin, cleaving off its giant wing. It was the captain’s son- sort of.

  The commotion grew too great to ignore. As he processed the voices, that scream stuck with him. It was familiar. It reached a place not accessible to anyone. Anyone but his… mother. With an effort not belying his age, Null beat back the grip of the monster. He rose to shaky feet and sprinted toward the cave mouth. The monster, cowed, seemed to offer itself to him. He accepted. He allowed the monster space. He sensed two notifications pop up, but he ignored them as he channeled the beast to fuel his desperate sprint. He saw the massive back of a golem guard, beyond that, was a giant eagle… thing. The eagle lurched forward, but Null sped up, past its beak, claws biting into flesh. He overshot, or at least he thought until he heard a thud followed by a terrible keening. The beast, a storybook griffin, wheeled around, murder in its eyes- all directed at Null.

  Null summoned his pistol and activated [wireframe]. Nothing was available, but he had a path to victory already. An ungodly volume of blood gushed from the severed wing. With every step, more blood rushed out.

  An artery, he thought.

  He aimed at the source, peeling off two shots. Opening up a slightly larger wound. The beast hopped, shifting its body to protect its vulnerable side. A tail lashed out, Null dodged, firing off two more shots that uselessly pelted the side of the animal.

  Right, this is a 22 against a fairytale monstrosity.

  He felt an urge, like a nudge, from the monster inside. He shifted his focus to the beast’s eyes. He grinned and let loose. Two shots ruptured its eye, forcing it to favor its vulnerable side. It compensated by launching indiscriminate tail swipes. Null worked the problem, using [Wireframe] to chart a course to pin the beast between himself and the cave mouth. The guard pelted it with stone spikes from deeper in the cave. Null peppered it with bullets, grimacing each time his tattoos reformed to reload. Finally, an opening presented itself as the guard scored a critical hit, causing the bast to rear up in pain. Null shot in, hands outstretched toward its chest. A small weeping bullet wound, his target. Claws ripped into flesh. Null gripped and ripped flesh and then bone and then spongy tissue. He kept going until he hit bone and then feathers again. He found himself on the back of the griffin- who lay still on the ground. He panted heavily. Surveying the carnage. A smile grew as he realized he had saved the village. He couldn't wait to tell his parents.

  My parents. He thought as rationality returned to him. That scream. His head swiveled as he looked around at the chaos. He saw the bodies, but he refused to understand. He covered the distance in a few numb loping bounds. A dead griffin lies with a spike protruding from its head. In its mouth… in its mouth. His world went dark as the monster took control- mercifully, it took control as he turned to meet the unseeing gaze of his father staring at his mother’s body.

  Some days later, Null regained control. He learned that [Chimeric Origin] was somehow unlocked and the soul mark served to modify his abilities as it grew. [Full Moon] was evolved by the mark to [Tidal Lock] which gave him the ability to shift to a lesser form at will and fully shift during a full moon- the +10 stat boost was transformed to a percentage. None of that mattered now, though. He was truly lost.

  The guard found him in the forest and confirmed his parents had indeed perished in the attack. In the coming days, the guard took him in. Null never bothered to learn his name, his days from here would be a deep, deep darkness, with the monster his only comfort.

  A scream of fury washed through the tower.

  “What the hell was that, Dint? Golems can’t do that. You told me Golems destroyed my rabbit!” Ragged panting echoed.

  “Answer me you, you…”

  Thud. Thud.

  It’s not that Dint didn’t want to answer. He couldn’t on account of him missing a head. A fine powder collected on the floor as spittle flew from Halisendra’s mouth dissolving chunks of the former servant.

  “Useless!” She screeched, tossing the remains out the window. She smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in her white gown.

  “Dint, it’s not that I don’t value you, it’s just that Griffin assets are extremely… costly, I’ll verify the source of the… operational hurdle and address it myself. I’ll notify the staff that you’ll be taking leave until further notice.” With a snap and flourish of her hand a White owl silently good through the window and landed on her chair.

  “Well, hello. I’d love to discuss partnership options with you.” She gushed. “Don’t mind Dint’s uncharacteristically rude silence. I’m sure he’ll come around to introduce himself soon enough.”