The Empty Valley
A biting silence gripped the empty valley, broken only by the mournful whisper of the wind. A deep, resonant voice, imbued with an almost unnatural authority, cut through the silence.
“COME OUT!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR IDIOTIC GAMES!!” From the desolate expanse of an open cliff, a towering figure with a mane of wild orange hair and sharp brown eyes bellowed, his voice echoing with a power that seemed to ripple the very air around him. Scattered rocks, ancient and jagged, lay at the feet of, 'The God of Creation,' who stood like a beacon of arrogance.
“…Ngngh.” This made him roll his eyes. Zombie-like creatures with unhooked jaws and eyes hanging from their sockets crawl from the ground and slowly limp towards him.
A scoff ripped from his lips as the grotesque forms shambled forth. “Underlings? Is this the extent of the respect due to 'The Great Theseus, God of Creation,' Yin Xingjuan? A truly pathetic display, even for you.”
With an outstretched hand, Theseus commanded the very earth. Rocks, jagged and ancient, tore themselves from the ground, swirling with unnatural speed before coalescing into a colossal hammer, its surface glinting wickedly. He gripped its handle, a blur of motion as he lunged, launching himself skyward before descending in a devastating arc.
'BOOM!'
The impact was cataclysmic, the cliff face groaning and splitting as a crater erupted beneath his strike, nearly bisecting the land. The zombie-like creatures, caught in the blast, were obliterated, their forms exploding into foul black goop that splattered against the newly formed chasm walls. The man stands at the edge of his destruction and looks down with disdain.
“Is this really all you’ve got Yin Xingjuan? Tch just proves how worthless my siblings are to have lost to you,” Theseus’s voice dripped with disdain as he shook his head. “Well, I suppose you’ll at least die in honor at the hands of ‘The Great Theseus, God of Creation’” he laughs as he hears commotion at the bottom of the hole.
Theseus looks down and watches as the goop starts to move wrapping with each other. Slowly a large beast is formed and stares down at Theseus, its eyes glowing with malevolent intelligence.
“HAHAHAHAHA Finally something more interesting. But no matter,” Theseus dashes toward the beast swinging his hammer down. The beast grabs the hammer throwing Theseus back.
Theseus lands with ease and slams down into the ground lifting large boulders and sending them toward the beast.
“RAAAAAAAAH,” the beast says as it runs toward Theseus swinging its arms. The boulders hit one of his legs knocking it down as it screams again. Theseus runs towards it grabbing a small rock from the ground. He jumps on the beast throwing the rock on it before jumping away.
Theseus puts his hands together as a bright aura surrounds him. The rock on the beast suddenly gets larger as it begins to crush the beast.
“AAARGH” the beast screams.
“You’re finished. Just give up already.” Theseus says as he stands on a rock and floats in the air. Theseus raised his hand, his aura blazing as he shouted, “Face divine punishment!”
A large meteorite begins to form as Theseus waves his arm. The meteorite slowly falls as the beast struggles to move under the large rock. There’s a loud boom as the beast screams one last time. Theseus lands on the ground silently.
“Are we done with these games now?” he says as he hears small footsteps behind him.
“Always. So. Aggressive…” a small and slightly childish voice spoke. Theseus swiftly turned around as he glared at the person.
They have long silver hair with pink tips with pink and purple heterochromia eyes, small cracks replaced their pupils, giving their gaze a fragile, almost crystalline intensity that threatened to shatter with any sudden movement, and a distinct mole on their chin.
Suddenly the cliff shakes as the black goop from the beast rises and dashes toward them. Theseus gets ready to fight but it goes past him and towards the mysterious person. They collect it in their veins causing them to shine black for a bit. They lean their head back and laugh.
“Look at you, so eager to fight,” Xingjuan said with a wicked grin. “You’ll end up just like the other gods.”
Xingjuan raises their arm, the black goo rising from their veins to form sharp black claws, as they dash at Theseus. He scoffs.
“Let’s finish this,” he raises his hand again, his aura shining brighter than ever as another meteor comes down. Xingjuan stops their attack and looks up. The meteor descended, a burning herald of divine retribution, and crashed down upon Xingjuan. Theseus allowed a triumphant smile to spread across his face, confident in his victory... until, inexplicably, that smile withered, his expression turning to a mask of bewildered shock.
Suddenly the meteor gets cut in half as Xingjuan flies at him. Their sharp claws slash at him as he blocks. He then kicks them back knocking them to the ground and lands. The goo, a dark, viscous residue from the beast, began to seep unnoticed into his skin where he landed
“Is that all you-” Theseus starts to talk before gasping and clutching his chest as blood pours from his mouth. “h-huh?” His gaze drifted downward, a chilling realization dawning as he saw the gaping, black-goo-ringed void where his chest had been. Slowly, agonizingly, his eyes lifted to meet Xingjuan's, and there, clutched in their grasp, was his own heart—no longer sharp, but pulsing faintly. A childlike, yet utterly vicious smile spread across their face as they brought it to their lips, taking a deliberate bite.
"It’s ironic," Xingjuan purred, a dark chuckle escaping their throat as they savored the moment, "Your heart tastes sweeter than I expected." With a final, dismissive flick, they hurled the ruined organ over the cliff edge. "Buh-bye," they chirped, delivering a casual, final tap that sent Theseus plummeting into the abyss. Even as he fell, he grabbed onto their shirt.
"If I die then I’ll make sure you suffer for me and my siblings!" He glows. “Be crystalized.” His body slowly forms into rocks reverting him to his original form as they all land with small taps. Xingjuan looks down noticing that their arm is starting to crystallize. They stare in shock before smiling.
Xingjuan's laughter echoed across the ravaged landscape, a chilling promise of future chaos. “Oh, how lucky I am,” they breathed, watching the crystallizing effect spread up their arm with perverse delight. “This is going to be so much fun.” With a final, wicked grin, they vanished in a shimmer of distorted air.
All that remained on the desolate cliff was the whispering wind, a testament to the battle, and a silent, crystalline fragment where a God once stood—a haunting omen of the curse to come.
