Chapter 2: With a Whisper

I didn’t have time to get ready before I fell.

I smashed down on the stone floor with a thud. Vibrations rippled from my toes to my knees. My legs buckled. The jarring impact of landing upright was too much for my mangled condition. Above me, the chain rattled, now without both body and hook.

“Fuck,” I keeled over and coughed. The agony of the meathook returned twofold now that the excruciating limbo was broken.

I reached back with my hand to feel the cold metal still securely fastened between my shoulder blades.

“The noise alerted the jailor. You should hurry,” Sera shouted and grinned. 

My eyes bulged at her remark. Not because of the gravity of her words but because of her damn volume.

Crimson spots flickered in and out of sight. I clutched at my head and crawled forward with a hiss, “Damn it, Sera! Use your inside voice!” 

The echoes of whistling streamed out the hallway, the Jailor was coming. Thankfully he never hurried anywhere.  

She just had to go and make it worse.

Sera smiled mischievously at me. Long strands of tissue eerily crept from the wrist of the severed hand to her bloody stump. Her body was conducting a terribly nauseating repair of itself.

“How are you doing that?” I asked while swallowing a rush of acidic fluids. I knew myself well enough that my face went green. 

She chuckled, making her draping mane of white hair sway, “Just a perk of being me.”

I eyed the tissue tying the limbs together one last time, then turned to inspect her bindings with a shiver. “So, how do I get you out?” 

I climbed to my feet while leaning on the altar. My hands and knees had taken on the same dark red hue as the floor. My sneakers were sodden all the way through. They sloshed as I put weight on my feet. I prodded at the nails. They were rigid. There was no way I’d ever get them loose, not without tools of some kind. 

Sera smiled innocently and fluttered her eyes, “About that. I am as stuck as can be.” 

I staggered, “What?”

“I. Am. Stuck,” she reiterated. The flaps of swaying skin made the supposed-to-be cute gesture appear as macabre as death itself staring at me.  

I shook my head, “Yes, I can see that. How do I get you out?”

Her smile grew deviously wide, “The me, as referenced in the pledge, does not have to mean my physical body. You see my body is bound by another contract,” she waved the very important detail away and continued. “It is a whole thing, I will not torture you with the details. Instead I propose that we agree to another pledge.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but she cut to the chase before I could ask, “Don't worry, there will be none of the propagandist clichés you seem to be overly fond of.”

I frowned, “That sounds a bit too good to be true. Why would you go to such lengths?”

Sera's smile faded into a serious scowl, her eyes grew unfocused and deep, “I have grown tired of pain and the sensations of… touch. You will likely have to endure a bit more and I want no part of it. Naturally, the pledge will contain a few additional points to make our relationship more enjoyable.”

I ground my teeth, “Was this your plan from the start?”

She smiled, “It was. I am quite proud of the little scheme.”

I sneered, “You're wicked.”

She gazed back at the hole in the roof and let rays of light caress her marred face, “The things we do for freedom…”

I clicked my tongue, “And if I don't agree?”

“Then you will die, and I will remain here for another couple of hundred years, waiting for someone to fall through another hijacked rupture. You see—time—I have an eternity of it. You, on the other hand, have until the wretched jailor returns to investigate the commotion.”

As if on cue, the rhythmless footsteps grew louder. 

“So, what will it be?” she asked with a grin.

“Just get it over with.”

“Good,” she hummed, “say 'I agree' when I go silent. Understood?”

I nodded.

“Wonderful,” Sera beamed.

Her eyes grew focused and distant as she recited the articles of the contract. Crimson runes carved themselves into the thin veil permeating the room. Their ephemeral nature made it hard to discern whether they were actually floating in the air or just a figment of my imagination. Nevertheless, the terms of the pledge were plainly laid out for me to read.

I winced at the conditions as I skimmed the wall of text.

Article I

Let it be declared that Qui'Secat doth require that I, Caleb, shall henceforth refrain from speaking of her true name, for such utterance would be a breach of the accord between us.

Article II

The souls of I, Caleb, and Qui'Secat shall henceforth reside within one body, bound in shared existence, united in both form and spirit.

Article III

Qui'Secat shall not be left without the right of autonomy. She may speak in the comfort of solitude but must refrain from doing so if it risks being heard by others.

Article IV

Together, we bind our ambitions and goals to be one and the same. We swear upon our very lives to not harm each other willingly.

Article V

I, Caleb, and Qui'Secat are sworn to share one life till the end of our days, or until death do us part, whichever may come first, bound by the unbreakable chains of this pact.

Thus, in witness of this eternal bond, we set our seal upon this covenant.

Her manic hymn intermixed with the rhythmless footsteps of the wretched jailor for what felt like an eternity. She went quiet and looked at me, eyes glowing with expectation.

My eyes shot open as I realized what she wanted, “Oh. I agree.” 

The glowing cracks of the floor shuddered as I voiced my approval. Everything went quiet, the articles faded into nothing. Sera’s chest heaved up and down weakly. 

“Is that it?” I whispered and deflated. I don’t know what I expected, just something… more. 

The crucified demoness levelled her exhausted gaze at me. A sharp gale of wind cut through the room, her eyes glowed, not just looking like they were on fire, they actually were. Flames tore her apart from inside, fiery heat leaked out of the cracks riddling her broken body.

I shielded myself from the sudden onslaught and watched her body tear itself apart through the cracks of my fingers. She smiled. Not deviously or wickedly, but genuinely. 

Her head fell limply to the side, eyes glazed over. The smoke gathering above her smouldering body shuddered and surged at me. It clawed its way inside my open mouth, nose and eyes. I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t even breathe as my insides roiled and seethed to make room for Sera. 

I fell to my arms and knees as the smoke dissipated, gasping for air. A dreadful heat spread in my insides. I was changing. Not just my insides, but my outside too. My skin rippled and pulled taut repeatedly, growing paler by each strain.

The meathook slowly began to come loose as I convulsed. Relief washed over me as the cursed thing dislodged itself completely and clattered against the ground.

Wave after wave, the heat filled my body with a vitality I had never before known. It intensified and rushed at my dominant right arm. 

“God dam…!” I whimpered. 

It felt as if someone was putting out a giant cigarette on my arm. I watched in disbelief as the same soot-coloured char that covered Sera’s arms spread from my fingertips and didn’t stop until it settled well above my elbow. The contract made it very clear that I would remain me, yet I was changing, becoming something else. 

I pushed myself to my feet with a groan. The rhythmless footsteps were still far enough away that I couldn't see the hunched figure of the jailor. But they were closing in. 

The world looked ever so slightly different. The radiant light of the cracked floor around the altar was less vibrant than before. A stench of sulfur that had previously been indistinguishable now overpowered my sense of smell to the point that it stung in my nose. The footsteps of the jailor sounded more acute and clear.

“Sera?” I asked hesitantly.

My words faded into nothingness. I sighed to myself, “Really don't know what I was expecting.”  

There was something about a form of communication in the contract. I felt the urge to take a closer look, but it would have to wait. This wasn't the time nor the place to dawdle.

I hurried to the closest corridor.

The violet veil that rested over the world and didn’t fade. I could see it always, like a filter. Crimson runes scribbled themselves into the violet haze, completely filling the edges of my vision, but only one resonated with me on a personal level.

Run.

I was going to, damn it!

The veil wasn’t imposing. Just by not thinking about it, it wasn’t there any longer, sight-wise. I could feel it’s presence, always. 

My time spent in the damned cell had already given me a pretty good idea of the dungeon's layout. Multiple archways led into halls. Some adorned to the teeth, others not at all. I didn't know where any of them led or if other madmen would be waiting in them, but it didn’t matter. The wretched jailor would enter the dungeon in a few breaths’ time, and I sure as hell wasn’t planning on being here when he did. 

Sparing the mangled body of Sera one last glance I scurried away through the closest archway. The engraved stone structure towered above me like the giant maws of a mythical creature. 

As I crossed the threshold, the heat grew unnaturally imposing. It singed at my brows and eyelashes. I shook it off and scrambled my way through the wide hall. Few pictures, and even fewer oil lamps lined the walls. Despite the lack of torches, there was no shortage of light. It was eerie and defied all laws of physics and logic.

Although – I had just signed a deal with a veritable devil. I was well aware that my knowledge of the world and its logic was already beyond flawed. Especially when it came to this place. The layered Empire.

A panicked yelp escaped the torture chamber.

“I guess the jailor found your body,” I whispered and picked up my pace. 

After a good few minutes of running the reason for the imposing heat became apparent. The hallway had been forcefully ripped open by… something, leaving only a large hole. Beyond it, an inferno of magnificent proportion raged. Giant flames illuminated the corridor like a miniature sun. I shielded my eyes to not be blinded. The violent flames were incomprehensibly quiet. I’d seen bonfires that crackled and popped more than this.

There was a thick metallic door left ajar to my right. I reached to it, still awed by the inferno, and gave it a slight nudge. 

“Shit!” I jumped back with a hiss. It took a concerted effort not to berate myself. Fucking stupid. The door was made of metal, and this place was hot as a furnace. My skin sizzled from just the slight touch.

Quiet sobs leaked out from the torture chamber. Somehow, the jailor failed to notice my absence.  

I sighed and looked down at the mess that remained of my favourite T-shirt. It had been a beige band tee once, now it was just blood-coloured tatters. To get the door open I needed something to cover my hands. 

Might as well put it out of its misery…  

I closed my eyes and whispered, “Forgive me, Van Fleet.” 

The fabric tore with ease. I wrapped it around my hands and pulled at the door while praying that the hinges had been oiled recently. To my elation, the door groaned open silently. 

After a few gruelling seconds of effort the thick door opened enough for me to squeeze inside without scalding my body. The tee didn’t fare well. What little of it remained could barely qualify as rags. 

I glanced at the door and mulled over the thought of pulling it shut, but after a quick glance at my hands, I disregarded the idea. Instead, I turned to inspect the little hideaway. 

I thought the room would be something special with that robust door and all. To my disappointment it turned out to be a run-of-the-mill office. Calling it spartan would be an overstatement. 

A large desk and a beautiful chair of dark wood stood in the centre of the room. The desk had a lithe dagger impaled into it. Its handle was engraved with flora of some kind. The innermost wall held a large painting of a staunch woman in a grey uniform with crimson details. She hugged a metallic capirote close to her chest. Impenetrable black hair framed her doll-like face, and almost covered the officer’s patch on her shoulder. 

I stepped inside and let the defiant cool air embrace me. It felt like breathing velvet. I pulled out the chair and took a seat. With a flick of my finger, the dagger's handle began vibrating with a low hum.

I willed the violet veil into sight, and with it, all the messages. 

“Alright then. Let's see what we're working with.”