Chapter 74: Mother
The darkness was absolute, it pressed in on them, and it felt heavy, suffocating. Yenna blinked, she tried to clear her vision, but there was nothing to see, just a void that swallowed all light. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, it was a frantic drumbeat against the silence.
"Vell?" she called out, her voice was trembling. "Wren, Mia, Sia? Are you there?"
Her voice was met with silence. She reached out, her fingers brushed against cold stone, and then, something soft. She gasped and grabbed it.
"Yenna?" Wren’s voice was faint, but Yenna felt relief wash over her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so, but where is Vell?" Yenna asked, her voice was laced with fear. She clutched Wren, she tried to hold herself together while looking through the dark. "Mia? Sia?"
"We’re here, Big Sis!" Mia said, her voice was surprisingly steady.
"Yeah! But everything is so dark," Sia added, her voice was a little shaky.
Yenna felt a bit more relief, at least everyone was alright. She was now worried about Vell, she was sure his consciousness had faded away again. ’He is always hurting himself so much, why does he do that.’ She gritted her teeth, if he got hurt again, she did not know what she would do.
"What about Vell?" she asked again, her voice was louder now, but she did not get any response.
A chilling laugh echoed from the darkness, it sent shivers down their spines. It was a cold, cruel sound that seemed to wrap around them, squeezing the air from their lungs. The voice sounded far away, but also right next to them.
"Looking for someone, little mouse?" the voice purred, it was dripping with malice. "He is right here, look around, you might find something you like."
A red light flickered into existence, it revealed a monstrous figure standing in the center of the room. It was tall, its body was contorted and twisted into a grotesque shape, it resembled a dark angel. Its skin was a patchwork of different textures and colors, its limbs ended in sharp claws, and its head was crowned with a set of menacing horns. Its eyes glowed with a red light that seemed to burn into their souls.
"Who... who are you?" Yenna whispered, her voice was trembling, her body was not responding to her commands. She could feel the blood draining from her face.
The figure laughed again, it was a cruel, mocking sound. "I am... what you call me. I am the end of this dungeon, the one you seek... I am Mother." Its voice was like a chorus of whispers, each voice filled with a distinct note of cruelty and contempt.
"You... you are the boss?" Yenna said, her mind was reeling. ’This is the boss, the one he was worried about, this is not the monster we were fighting, this is someone else... what the hell is going on.’
"Boss? Such a boring title." It stepped closer, and they could see that in one of its hands, it was carrying something. It brought it closer and with a sick smile, it revealed it.
It was Vell. His body was twisted and deformed, his limbs were at unnatural angles, and his face was a mask of pain. His vibrant eyes were dull, and his skin was covered in dark veins that pulsed with corrupted mana. It looked like he was going through some kind of transformation, and it was not pretty.
"What... what have you done to him?" Yenna screamed, her eyes were filling with tears.
"This was your fault, did you know that? Your feelings for him, that is why he is like that." Mother’s voice was full of smugness, "He has always been special, you know? Ever since he entered this place, I have had my eyes on him. He was always meant to be mine. Now I will make him into my perfect creation, he will be my perfect puppet, I will make him into the perfect little tool."
Yenna did not respond, she was too busy processing what she was seeing. ’Vell was meant to be with someone like this? Was it always meant to be? No... no, that can’t be right, if there is a future where he is with someone like that, I will simply change that future. He belongs to us, not that thing.’
Her body moved on its own, and she ran towards Mother, she wanted to free him from her grasp. But Mother waved her hand, sending her flying across the room, she crashed into the wall with a loud thud.
"Yenna!" Wren screamed and ran to help her, but she was met with the same result.
"How disappointing, and here I thought you would try to fight harder." Mother looked at her with disgust. She then looked down at Vell, "Now, my little toy, let us continue with your transformation."
Vell’s body started to convulse, the dark mana flowing through him, it caused his body to contort even more. He let out a pained groan, a sound that seemed to tear at their hearts, they felt helpless, they could do nothing while the person they loved was slowly getting twisted in front of their eyes.
Yenna struggled to her feet, her eyes were burning with a mix of fury and despair. She was going to save him, she had to.
But the power of Mother was far beyond anything they had ever faced, and they were about to witness its true horror. She raised Vell up, a sick and twisted smile on her face, as the mana around her intensified. She then ripped his heart out, leaving a gaping hole in his body while she crushed it in her hand.
"Hehe, so satisfying," Mother said as the mana started swirling around them, covering the whole room, "You are next, you will all join him."
The darkness was gone, everything was covered in red, and they were ready to fight.
Or were they?
The smile on Mother’s face made it clear that she held all the cards, and that they would all die in this place.