It was terribly cold within the city premises. Not outright freezing but every gust of wind was chilling me to the bone. Naked and exposed, I never realised just how cold this world could be until I was without clothes. Inadvertently clinging to my groin, I had to force myself to release my grip on it and move forward. I was in desperate need of cover for several reasons so that was my first major goal inside the city. Atebid was probably so far ahead that even he could wait - although I briefly pictured in my head Nephethys' look on her face if I came to her rescue all bare; I even briefly considered that but ultimately decided against such a reckless action when another icy gale made my entire body shiver.
My feet made a flop-noise whenever they connected with the basalt roads that led into the various streets and alleyways. As a matter of fact, Bendicia was rather tightly packed with angular houses that had distinct, geometrical shapes. It was a complete lack of domes and cylindrical pillars as they were often seen in other places. Something about it seemed to not be entirely man-made - or mer-made, or whatever other races once populated the Painted World. From the shambling creatures of the sea I could only guess what other denizens might have dwelt here.
Even the very way the buildings were aligned to one another was more akin to some divine plan or very accurate mathematics than the way a city naturally develops. From the architecture alone, it was clear to me that Bendicia had been, from the very start, designed as a city of this exact size and shape so I inferred there had to be some significance to it. Truly, the only structure that was of the city that was somewhat rounded were the outer walls that enclosed it, as a rounded wall is easier to defend, possesses more structural integrity (thus being harder to break as kinetic force upon it is distributed more evenly along the curves) and wastes less space.
As I moved along I marvelled at the many buildings inside, wondering as to what purpose they might have served in their heyday when the city population was still present and the world had not yet been drowned and succumbed to war, disease and decay. Although, with it being a painted world, I wondered if it has been created this way or if, indeed, some actual history and development took place. It's impossible to say.
Nevertheless, I had clothes to acquire, so I ventured into the first vacant spaces that I could find.
—
The fact that each surface that I could see was perfectly smooth didn't help. It also didn't help that there was no sunlight and what little radiance from the burning sea, the stench of which crept slowly into the city along with its putrid mists, reached aforementioned surfaces was almost made null by Bendicia's high, all-encompassing walls. It took me some very dedicated feeling and looking around to spot doors, windows or other openings. Most of them appeared to be locked, however, so I was stuck outside in the cold, damp air for a long time. I tried to navigate the maze-like streets and alleyways as best I could but I forgot where I came from the instant I made a turn or rounded a corner. Walking aimlessly with only the goal of finding at least some viable shelter amidst the ever increasing blood fog had me feel my exposed skin frequently in an attempt to brush off what moisture was steadily accumulating upon it.
I had a strong desire to dry myself off but my hands were just as moist as the rest of my body. Yet, strangely, I felt a faint echo of some twisted kind of arousal from my state of being. I fought against this feeling in the face of the obviously repulsive nature of what it actually was that seemed to cause it, namely, maternal blood from some unnamed, celestial entity. What made matters worse, too, was the fact that it partly began to solidify in places, becoming either a slimy mess of small blood clots or fully fledged crusts that hardened and splintered whenever the skin underneath them moved. I felt thoroughly filthy. I was in desperate need of a cleaning before I could put on clothes. But something about it held my mind in place, suspending it in intrusive visions of Nephethys in the many ways and from the many angles that I was allowed to see her.
Thoroughly distracted by my mental and physical states, I desperately limped about even more carefully than before. The mist was thickening and I felt myself breathing the heavy air. The strong, sickly-sweet taste of iron and the smell of amniotic fluid flooded my body, overwhelming it, and I lost my way among the dense walls of moisture that hung in the air. Bendicia, cast in darkness from the lack of light, was now entirely saturated with this crimson fog. My eyes began to slightly burn. Whenever I closed them, I saw the shape of an alluring Nephethys before my inner eye. Whenever I got close enough to the surface of a building, I could see the blood run down its wall. The blood was surprisingly thin, hinting at the presence of other substances among it.
With each breath my condition got worse. My head spun, my thoughts revolved around… depraved attempts at procreation. I needed to find an open door. When I had almost lost hope, I happened upon an indentation in one of the walls the size of a person. An open door, leading inside one of the buildings. I quickly shut the door behind me to limit what fog could get inside and breathed a sigh of relief. I was able to somewhat focus again, although calming my body was a different affair altogether. My burning eyes only afforded poor vision and the ubiquitous darkness only allowed for glimpses at the shadows of objects. From these shadows I could fathom that I had just entered a shop of some kind. A counter, shelves and racks were present. Upon the shelves sat several items that I could not make out but naturally, I was looking for clothes and linen cloths in order to at least wipe myself dry.
I investigated the shop for a long time but found nothing of use, not even weapons or food. Disheartened and afraid of the outside, I turned to the door and went out again, looking for another building I could enter. The thick, hot air immediately struck me like running up against a wall. In a lucky turn of events I tripped over my own feet in the ensuing confusion and fell through another door on the opposite side of the incredibly narrow path. Again I shut the door behind me as soon as I was able. I soon realised that I wasn't alone anymore.
The house I had fallen into appeared to be a personal living space. Glancing back at the outside I now saw that the fog had gotten so dense that it became impossible to see ahead. Like this, I figured it was safer to stay inside and wait for the fog to pass. Lighting conditions were slightly better in this place, so I could see that I stood inside a vacant living space complete with chairs, a table and shelves on the right hand side, a chest at the far end below a flight of stairs and a window to the red outside to the left. My first impulse was to rush to the chest in hopes of finding something to wear but I only found some indescribable, black mass inside. Closing the chest, I realised I hadn't seen a bed so I hurried up the stairs.
Indeed, the upper portion of the small house featured a bed that stood against the far wall, a wardrobe on the left and a window to my right, illuminating the area. I wanted to approach the bed when I noticed that the bed sheets and blanket were of bulbous shape - there was someone occupying it! I took a step back, tripped over some loose floor tile and fell, landing on my behind. Just then, the figure awoke and rose from its slumber.
What happened next still seems like a distant fever dream to me, but the implications of the occurrence were such that I was sure Atebid knew of my entering the city somehow.
The figure rose and its details were difficult to make out at first, but as the blanket slid off its body I saw that it was a naked female. A naked female without arms, with a gaping maw for a face and exposed bones for calves. Altogether of dark skin colour, I was instantly reminded of Nephethys but without hair or other personal features, although her silhouette was the same. I sat on the ground in shock, one part of me responding with paralysing fear, the other responding with… desire. Thinking became more difficult as the blood wandered off to other places, though I knew that, if I gave in to the temptation presented before me, it would be my end. But I moved too slowly.
The armless, faceless entity came closer as I was still mesmerised by its appearance. I saw it, or her, or whatever it or she was or represented, spread her legs, squatting down to envelop the already thoroughly stimulated manhood. My first impulse was that of touch. I ignored the face of the thing successfully at first as it set itself into motion, more or less against my will but determined to break it. I let my hands wander all over her body in enslavement to my senses. My wet skin, the aphrodisiac odours playfully encircling my nose and laying themselves on my tongue. Helpless and with my eyes closed I only felt. I felt the buildup, the friction, the explosion. When I opened my eyes after I had involuntarily inseminated her, I came to my senses once more as I was a hand's breadth from being swallowed alive by that thing that had the body of a beautiful woman but the head of a devouring creature. I pulled back, crawling backwards into a corner. The seduction was almost perfect and would have killed me if not for my relatively premature pleasure.
At once I manifested a sharp, pole-like appendage from my hand and impaled it in the head before slicing it in half with a strong, downwards strike. It, or she, fell apart, leaking blood and semen onto the floor.
There was no time to rest. I heard queer gurgling noises from outside and feared there might come more of them. I quickly opened the wardrobe, again finding nothing, and hurried downstairs to look at the extent of my misfortune. The fog had cleared somewhat and through it I saw several, curvy, humanoid shapes headed in my general direction. I readied myself for combat when a blinding light filled the room.
—
The Goddess, sun incarnate for this lost world, had returned. Why or how I couldn't guess but I presumed there were many things going on that I didn't know about. The city was filled with light and warmth, causing the blood fog to gradually disperse only for me to see the naked horrors more clearly. But with this new light, I regained my sense of direction and could probably make a run for it. I stepped outside, impaling one more creature that was closest to the house through its stomach before cutting it open from the bellybutton to the head.
Just as I was about to try my escape, the weather changed. Clouds had formed in the meantime and now, it was raining blood. I beheld it gathering in malodorous puddles in the streets and in corners, I felt it wash down my body, dripping from every surface. The creatures delighted in the rain - and in me. I had just escaped from an undead horde and killed myself not to be eaten alive and now, I was faced with the same threat hidden behind the erotic facade of perpetual arousal. But fighting was no good. There were too many of them and I could get easily overpowered. Everything about them was tailored to my weaknesses.
I had to get away, so I started running, down the narrow paths and open streets, desperate for an ajar door somewhere. The rain entered my mouth and the sweet taste almost had me stick out my tongue on purpose. I made sharp turns to shake off my pursuers who, to my surprise, were incredibly fast. It was difficult not to focus on their bodies as they moved, however threatening their maws were. I made another turn and pressed myself against a nearby wall that featured a large enough indentation for me to fit inside. Three of them ran past me but I felt a sensation hit against my still extended member. This alerted them before I could react and I was being hungrily pursued once more. I ran from desire, lust and death.
Out of every other street, more of them emerged, making my flight all the more difficult. When I turned the next corner, I ran right into one of the creatures, bumping into it with full-body contact. I briefly hummed involuntarily but got a hold of myself quickly before I disposed of it with a sharp spike. Throwing the corpse aside, I continued to look for more openings. Behind me, a few of them tripped over the corpse and fell, buying me at least a little time. When I looked next, I saw that more twisted variants of the creatures surfaced from the shadows. Some with missing legs that lay squirming on the floor, some with a missing head that felt docile enough for my mind to rationalise about them. Some even with legs for arms in addition to legs which made them appear orders of magnitude more threatening than the others. Imperfect copies of a sort of weaponised Nephethys flooded the streets in order to tear me apart.
I was about to be out of breath, already coughing with burning lungs and a pounding heart. The weather made moving forward even less easy for the blood on the pavement was quite slippery as the downpour went on. The creatures were unfazed by this change in ground texture for their bone legs weren't as prone to slipping as my bare feet were. The disadvantages mounted and I was running out of options. Even if I somehow managed to hole up inside a building the onslaught would most likely break down all barriers unless I could go into hiding somehow. But for as long as I was being pursued, they could see me wherever I went.
In a final attempt to shake off my pursuers, I made another sharp turn into a very narrow alleyway, temporarily breaking line of sight to the horrors as they kept looking for me. And just as I was thinking about finding a place to hide, the road under my feet gave way, opened up and swallowed me whole.
Replies