Creature Born from Sin
After Dark II: End of the World After Party
"Why? Why?!" Athena cried out to the millions of stars in the sky. An ensemble of dry humorless sounds, meant to be laughter, responded. Like dead leaves scattering in the cold wind, like dark shadows swallowing the night, like decaying bodies submerged in pools of human waste... the sound that wasn't laughter grew to its orgastic .
Famine's wicked smile stretched across his face like a mask. War's razor sharp teeth flashed against his ravenous tongue. Death's voided eyes watched silent as the eye of a storm. All the while, Conquest stood at the center of the world, basking in all her innocent glory.
"Quick, Athena. Try to get away. It's not too late to run." Her vibrating warmth seeped into Athena's open pores but Athena knew better now. She had to resist... for Conquest wanted her to run... only because it would be fun to chase.
She took a couple of steps back. "Run, Athena. Now." Was it her own voice she was hearing or was it Conquest's she was remembering? It didn't matter. Athena ran. She didn't stop. She didn't look back.
Conquest's warmth dissolved into the diluted stink of mold and stagnant water just as a single tear would've been swallowed up by a vast ocean. "Release your hounds, War."
He unwound the prisoners from his fingers. "Go and her up, my pets. Feed on her youth and make her plead... plead not for life but for Death." War's brutal command spurted from the depths of his past and spilled bountifully over into the present.
"Oh my... you y beast, you..." Famine wasn't to be left out. "But I've seen too many shows with hounds hunting little girls. Let's put a twist on this. For all our involuntary contestants, how about a dose of mutated leprosy which I like to call Velox Lepra."
"Latin. From Famine. Didn't see that one coming."
"Yeah, I took a class back in the 18th century. It was totally in then."
Death held out his hand and brought the small talk to a halt. "Do you sense it? Animosity is thick in the air."
"Yes. When everything is stripped away, we see what they all amount to... pests that must be exterminated." Conquest lifted her head to the heavens, tracing the fine line between this world and the Master's. "Are you watching? We are almost there... to the finale." She toyed with the diamonds clasped around her bony wrist. They were given to her for safe keeping. The purest tears in the world.
With her nimble fingers, Conquest plucked the invisible heartstrings, sending an deadly melody composed by War, Famine, and Death through the air. Like a ripple in a still pond, it spread, encompassing the whole world in a blanket of suffering.
"Their sins are more than enough to destroy them. We need not lift another finger. Sit back, darlings and watch the world burn."
• • • • • • •
"Do you understand now, Min dearest? They are the beginning of the end."
"Yun, can they... see us?"
"I don't-" Min's hand slipped out from Yun's. "No, Min. Stop! You don't know what you are getting yourself into!" But Min, overcome with pain, could no longer hear his dear companion. "I beg of you... please..." Yun clenched his fists and held his breath.
Min drew near, reaching out to Conquest with a pale hand. Bright substance formed in his palm and trickled down towards the woman in white. The streams of light stalled in midair, never reaching her.
"I was wondering when those two cowards would step out from hiding." Famine seized Min's bare ankle with a strong hand.
"Should we put him on a stick and roast him on a fire?"
"To be honest, I don't mind a charred angel... kind of tired of humans."
"Now, now, boys... that's no way to treat our new guest." Conquest jabbed Famine in the side. He was reluctant to let go but he did anyway. "Death, I'm disappointed in you. You're supposed to be neutral."
Death unleashed a demented cackle. "Believe me... I am far from neutral."
"What does he want here anyway? Is he trying to take us on or something?"
"Well that's just ing stupid."
Min couldn't find his voice to reply. It was as if something had wedged itself in his throat. Conquest raised her hand up to the bright substance suspended in the air. She swirled it around with a finger. "He was trying to understand me. To feel what I feel. Isn't that right? But I wonder... can your little soul handle all that I've conquered? Shall we experiment? I'll give you what you want... but only a small portion." Conquest projected the bright substance back to Min and his pristine body absorbed it like a sponge.
The blinding light turned into old black stains. Disfigured, the angel fell. He curled on the ground, twitching in misery.
"I guess we got our answer. Being around for a millennia means . This angel hasn't see half the things we have."
"How could they? They've never lived." Conquest bent down and addressed the agitated puddle. "I've opened your eyes, angel. Now you understand why this must happen. You can't stop it. No one can."
"I think we're done here."
"Yeah, let's head for higher grounds."
"Sounds good. We got the end of the world to catch." The four bringers of the apocalypse abandoned their prey, leaving the angel to fester in despair.
"Min!" Yun's cries melted into sorrowful moans. Min, who was now faceless, struggled to speak. "I... have the answers..."
"Do not speak, dearest."
"We... we were wrong..."
"Shh..."
"They've suffered. More than this world... will ever know... It will be the end... the end of suffering."
The puffs of grey smoke rose from every burning home. It assembled on the horizon like a gigantic storm cloud. And then... it grew, expanding to the corners of the world. Hands formed, then legs, then arms. Soon, there was a head, teeth, and a pair of eyes, red from weeping. It was a parody of man's sins.
Then, it multiplied like a cancer.
"I should have realized it..." Yun held Min to his chest. "Fate. To be trampled by their own greedy sins. If this is the end, what was the point of their existence?"
"No point, Yun... There is... no point."
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