Malediction

Light used to rain down from the second night’s moon, so sanguine that it made blood look pale. It was a crimson cascade of shimmer, incredibly beautiful yet even more dangerous than it was stunning. It was an impurity in the world. A simple brush of the red moon’s light causes a Malediction so potent that it pollutes your mind, corrupting it until you are left deserted like a butterfly’s cocoon. You crave nothing but more power and destruction and become an enemy of everything that is left to be infected. How vile and worthless you’d become by allowing your sanity to flee.

In exchange, the moon gives power. Enough power for a human to stand side-by-side with the elves. Enough power for mere mortal creatures to become strong enough to be compared to Gods—that idea itself is vile, and thinking about it makes me want to bite my tongue. However, those who willingly accept the invigorating energy of the red moon are nothing but idiotic fools afflicting themselves with an incurable disease. They are not true Gods. They are the False Ones. I like to call them the ignoramus.

Let me tell you a story about humanity’s real God. He was a nameless stranger, an elf of incredible power, and the slayer of evil.

He was Merikh Deimos.

“How powerful can he really be?”

“They say he can flatten a mountain with just the air from a hand’s flick…”

“That’s crazy drivel thought up by fanatics. Not even the strongest of us can flatten the Earth itself, it’s preposterous.”

“He can repel the blight of the red moon, so who knows what else humanity’s God is capable of? Maybe he’s from another world entirely.”

A group of seventeen False Ones sat upon a cliff overlooking the city of Eden, the last paradise of humanity. Almost human in appearance, yet with every single one of them there was something just wrong when you gazed upon their features. It was clear, once you peered past their cloaks, that their shrouded figures had their mortality stripped away long ago. It was quite rare for False Ones to maintain higher levels of intelligence, and rarer still to see so many gathered in one place. Mindless beasts often had no need to gather, so this was a momentous occasion.

“That barrier is the only thing he has displayed—” A larger False One spoke up. The Great One. He was clearly the leader with the way the others slightly lowered their heads the moment his voice rang in the crisp night air. “—If humanity’s God was truly so powerful, then he would have woken up long ago.”

“Indeed!” A scrawny one piped in. The Gaunt One. “He’s been asleep for over 3,000 years… maybe this is all he can do?”

All the False Ones on the cliff turned their gazes towards the city, falling into a momentary silence as all conversation halted. The sky was hazy red from the second night’s moon, but it stopped abruptly around Eden. The city was surrounded by a barrier of incredible size which shielded the humans inside from the harmful shine of the Malediction. The barrier–deemed the Effervesce by humanity–was so impressive that even from the vantage point of the cliff, none of the onlookers could clearly see the apex, or even to the other side.

Clang clang.

A False One hit two metal clubs together in a threatening fashion, letting out a sick chuckle. The Imbecilic One. The noise distracted the group from the foreboding magic keeping them from their goal of world domination.

“We… kill God,” the Imbecilic One spat.

The Imbecilic One was disgusting. Teeth gnarled out of his mouth, curling in odd directions like a boar’s tusks. His body was bloated and meaty, and his arms were barely sticking out of his body. Boils and blisters covered his skin, leaking fluids down his pudgy sides. This miserable creature’s entire existence was ugly.

“So it shall be,” the leader decided. He raised his head, neck extending to an unnatural length towards the red moon that glossed the second night’s sky. “The one who kills humanity’s God is the one who kills humanity.”

The crowd of seventeen became a swarm of eighteen as another figure came up the hill towards the cliff’s edge, sauntering forward as if they were meant to be there. Immediately, all eyes were on the uninvited newcomer who held something nobody had ever seen before, yet all of them knew it was something that was world-changing.

It was a spear that shone as bright as the red moon, gleaming a brilliant rich crimson. The power that radiated from it could be sensed by all those present, and it sent pleasurable chills across the False Ones’ skin just being within sight of its magnificent beauty.

“You…” The Great One’s voice bellowed in a low tone. “What is it that you bring?” He demanded.

The masked and hooded newcomer didn’t stop until he was directly in front of the Great One, then got down on one knee. He held up the red moon spear and lowered his head, presenting it to the strongest of all present like a knight to a king. His behavior seemed honorable, but something about him felt conniving. He was wearing a cloak and a mask, yet much of his skin was exposed, wanting to bask his skin in the red moon’s light.

“I bring to you a weapon capable of killing humanity’s God,” the newcomer stated. He said it so confidently, that there was a silence in the air for a few seconds before there were any verbal reactions. His conviction alone wasn’t enough for all to believe in him.

The Gaunt One scoffed, curling his lip and looking at the newcomer with contempt. “Such a bold claim. What makes you think your wimpy spear can break the Effervesce?”

The newcomer didn’t even raise his head, simply continued presenting his craftsmanship to the Great One. Despite so many possible enemies surrounding him, he didn’t look worried.

“I have forged this spear using the light of the red moon. If anything can kill a God, this definitely can. I’ve infused the red moon inside this catalyst weapon.”

“I can indeed feel the power of the Malediction… it must be true.” The Great one rubbed his hairy chin with a long crooked finger, then reached out and brushed the pad of his thumb against the flat side of the spear’s blade. It was incredibly sharp, and the edge was refined. The large False One’s hand began to trail across the metal shaft of the weapon before stopping next to a flaw. A weak spot in the center amongst the otherwise perfect craftsmanship.

“Is this… an imperfection?” The Great One implored. His expression was displeased.

The newcomer still did not raise his head.

The Great One took the red moon spear and held it, giving it a gentle test swing. “You’re called the Chameleon, isn’t that right? I’ve heard of your smithing. You just became one of us just a couple of centuries ago, however, you aren’t known for being strong… only for fleeing very well.” His gaze narrowed. “As well as every weapon you make being a failure.”

Seventeen sets of eyes bore into the blacksmith’s shrouded frame–sixteen if you wanna be exact; one of them didn’t seem to have anything but barren, bloody sockets–eying up the easy prey. Every single one of them here was higher on the food chain, and now they knew it.

“Me—” There was a disgusting throat gurgle that almost sounded like words before the sentence continued, “—kill Chameleon. Steal organ,” the Imbecilic One sputtered, stepping forward and holding his maces menacingly. His eyes gleamed with the hunger of a feral beast while he looked down upon The Chameleon.

Slice. Thud.

A large head plopped onto the ground, and a moment later the body of the Imbecilic One followed. The Great One had the red moon spear in the air, blood now tainting one of the sharp ends that was so refined it could cut through bone like it were a leaf. The Chameleon didn’t move, even as the now dead body was quickly and savagely snatched up by the other False Ones and devoured. All of them hungrily chomping through his flesh in search of his source of power to claim for themself. The only one who didn’t seem hungry for more power was the Great One, for he held more might in the palm of his hand than the rest of them combined.

“Adequate craftsmanship.” The Great One flicked the excess blood onto the ground. “I will use this to kill humanity’s God. If this were merely a flashy stick, I would have gone for your head instead.”

“Slay God and prove your strength. Let the world know how powerful you truly are, so that they tremble in fear at the sight of you, and cry out in terror at your name,” the Chameleon said.

The Great One let out a wheezy laugh, believing that the Chameleon cheered for him, but the blacksmith only wanted success for himself. Those that are blighted by the Malediction crave power, and most prove that by killing others. But to the Chameleon, if his weapon was used as a means to kill humanity’s God, then it was just as good as doing the job himself.

“So it shall be,” the Great One muttered.

The Great One turned towards the city of Eden, glaring at the last paradise of humanity. The Effervesce was a holy and beautiful sight to the humans, but to him it was vile. It was something that needed to be disposed of, and he would be the one to do so.

“Today shall be the end of God. I will shatter this stain on our perfect world, and convert more to the glory of the red moon’s light. No longer will we stare longingly at the other side of this barrier, wishing to slay the innocents inside. No longer will we be taken so lightly by the feeble humans who hide from the glory of the red moon. Tonight, my brothers and sisters, we destroy the last hope humanity has of survival.”

After the last word of the Great One’s speech was uttered, there was a cheer from all the False Ones who heard, and the red moon spear was thrown through the air. It was as if the world was moving in slow motion, witnesses holding their breath as they watched the incredible weapon reach the edge of the Effervesce… and break through.

Eden was plunged into immediate doom.