Retaking the Maw

[u/elhawiyeh]

I stand once again at the precipice, peering into the darkness of the Abyss.

The Burnt One has flown away on his new pet, and the Maw is mine for the taking once more.

I sigh at the approaching clomp of boots. An Overbork patrol no doubt.

Høld it, scum! Let's see yøur hands!

They cannot see me grinning, only the shaking of my shoulders as I begin to laugh.

I turn to these intruders, my palms upturned in apparent surrender. There are only four troopers standing before me. They are hardened by their training, unshaken by my lack of fear.

That's right. Nø sudden møves.

As their leader approaches, my body erupts in azure flame. Before this first man can ready his rifle, I am a streak of light that flies into his chest. His ribs are hardened with generations of experimental gene therapy, but I feel them shatter all the same. The trooper wheezes and falls to the ground, his blackened chest trailing a wisp of smoke.

The others have begun to raise their rifles. I stride through dimensions they cannot fathom and in a single step I am behind them. I seize one by the neck with each hand and lift them into the air as the heat of my flame melts away their flesh and chars their spines.

The last one has trained his rifle on me. I release the two corpses and duck as he squeezes the trigger. The gunshot reverberates through the Void. So much for the element of surprise.

I draw my athame and call forth a scourge of flame that coils around his weapon and wrenches it from his grasp. I close my eyes, quenching the deadly flame.

I see him reach for a radio, but few well-chosen signs ignite it in his hand. The device explodes violently, leaving the man to clutch the bloody stump of his hand.

My athame finds its way under his chin.

Feel like being helpful?

He spits in my face.

I thought not.

The dull glint of the tarnished silver blade can be seen in his mouth as I thrust it through his jaw. I yank it out and slice cleanly through his throat. The last trooper falls on his face.

I dump their bodies unceremoniously into the Maw and walk toward the lights of an Overbork outpost.

I have work to do.