They slowly
walked towards a particularly big chunk of golem remains. The repugnant lump of
flesh was laying motionless on the cold cavern floor. The acid smell of decay
was nauseating. A dark cloud of putrid steam was heavily floating in the air.
Will waved his hand before him, feeling the cold and sticky moisture. A smooth
azure light spread from his hand, gently illuminating the rocky enclosure. The sticky
dollop of organic matter started to twitch. A gentle breeze passed through
Will’s hair, tickling his fin-like ears. Fragments of organic fibres and
leather scraps started to swirl around him and then converged abruptly towards
the meat lump. The organic pile started to grow and twitch suddenly. Will
instantly retracted in disgust trying not to puke.
“What the fish…ugh…This is too much!”.
“Ah stop it, party-pooper! It’s like building sandcastles… with flesh”.
Belzer was having a great time playing God. William moved his head on the side and stopped watching. He closed his eyes and raised his free hand to cover his nose. The stench was intolerable. He could still hear the screeching and slimy noise of the inhumane metamorphosis happening in front of him. And then the unbearable noise stopped. Will couldn’t find the courage to open his eyes. An abrupt and sharp yet joyous barking noise came right from his feet. He could feel something wet touching his leg. Belzer giggled happily.
“Oh! Look! Pudding is licking you!”
“…Pudding..!?”
Will impulsively looked at his feet and couldn’t stop a scream of terror. Big black eyes of a soft shape were blinking gently at him. A tiny body and tail were wiggling cheerfully. The creature’s mouth was open, corners turned up, in a big smile. Then, it quickly turned with back on the floor showing her belly and tongue. It was a very happy little dog made of meat.
Belzer’s voice was full of excitement.
“Ohhh.. She wants you to pet her! Come on! Do it!”
Will was speechless, he was looking with utter horror at the creature. The dog didn’t have any hair. Her skin was slimy and translucent. It was a wet, bumpy mass of skin. A blue dorsal fin was covering her entire back. She also had a collar made of straps covered in arcane and ancient emblems, the same cursed seals that were originally pinned to the golem’ skin.
“I don’t like this…” said Will
“What are you talking about! She’s adorable!”
“SHE… is horrifying!”
“You are hurting her feelings!”
“What is it! WHAT did you do?! And WHY did you give her that name?!”
Will was pointing at Pudding in utter disbelief.
“Because she absolutely sweet and delightful! I mean…look at her! I used the flesh of the construct we killed…Only a part of it. By making her smaller, I could retain a higher amount of her goodness. Not quite human, but better in my opinion.”
A blue talking mouth appeared on Will’s hand.
“Come on pudding! Let’s go!”
Pudding started to jump, wiggling her short tail faster than ever. She started running in circles, barking playfully.
“Good doooog! Go find Papa! Go find Papa!” Belzer’s mouth on Will’s hand started to gallantly whistle, giving commands to the dog and making her even cockier and excited. She started to bark at Will, while jumping on the spot. Her tiny tail was fiercely swiping the air. She bolted swiftly towards one of the smallest tunnels of the rocky junction, disappearing in the desolated darkness.”
They followed the barking and sighing coming from the implacable Pudding. She stopped only occasionally to see if they were close enough, just to start running again towards the tangle of humid passages. Belzer was humming a light-hearted and catchy tune from Will’s hand. Will didn’t even bother to complain. He preferred having a mouth on his hand than tentacles violating his throat and moving his vocal cords.
“What’s up with you Willy boy? You are so serious! I thought you’d be curious about our destination” Belzer’s voice was cheerfully annoying.
“It’s probably going to be even worse than all the stuff we have done so far. That’s enough info.”
“You are so blunt, boy. You need to enjoy life”.
“I’ve never had the luxury of enjoying life. You should know better than anyone what it means to be a Freshok in Sea Snake City. But you don’t. You and your Keepers didn’t set foot in our District for centuries. You were busy filling up your pockets and looking down on us from the Spiralling Tower. You and the Freshok Keepers abandoned us and left us at the bottom of the food chain. In the eyes of everyone else, we are the scum that reeks of fish, liars and criminals. And guess what… that is exactly what we became. Freshoks can’t set foot in any other part of the island without being chased by Crabs or being mocked by the crowds. I only got my job as a waiter at the Coral Reef, to cover my smuggling business with the chef”.
“I was inside an egg…you know… Not much freedom of movement either…” Belzer felt sorry for him.
“That is convenient. What about your Keeper… I have never seen Adrian Lingerfin in Freshok Town, not even from a distance. And now, he is probably at the bottom of Sea Snake Bay feeding the fish. Do you realize what this mean for our District? Everyone will blame our breed for losing the Egg and shifting the balance. You see, I never cared. I learned to be alone, to look forward and walk among the corruption of this fish-hole place since I was a kid. I was raised by a drunk and lured by the worse people you could ever meet. I survived by getting ink on my skin. And you know what? When I got on that cart the other day, I was hopeful for the first time in my life. I played the game and finally won by following the rules. I thought I got out. That was so naïve.”
The air became colder and lighter. The passage walls were higher and smoother. A dim warm light permeated from the intricate cracks between the opal surfaces around them. The glossy façade was reflecting the warm light coming from the irregular enclosures. Onyx columns appeared on the side of the gleaming and polished marmorean passage. They glanced at the covered walk wheeping with moisture and crystalline droplets. Archaic symbols and unreadable ideograms started to cover every inanimate object in the surroundings. A loud bark echoed in the distance. The sound waves bounced on the smooth surface of a vaster area, just a few feet ahead. They reached the antechamber and Will covered his eyes as he was hit by the brightest light he had seen in days. The opalescent underground dome was entirely drilled with cavities and enclosures of different sizes and shapes. The luminous cracks were bursting with amber rays of light, pointing towards the middle of the vestibule. At the farthest end of the room, a massive wooden gate was sealing the passage, blocked between two dark inlaid columns. Glasslike tentacles were sculpted in obsidian and onyx. The abyssal sculptures were emerging from the ground all around the round enclosure, menacingly towering towards the lustrous ceiling. Pudding was sitting right in front of them, breathing heavily with her tongue dangling out of her smiling mouth. Belzer let out a loud wolf-whistle.
“Good girl! You made it!”
Pudding started circling on the spot, in utter delight.
“What is this place…?” Will was looking in disbelief at the gleaming ceiling and ancient towering structures with his eyes wide open.
“I only heard of this place in a few stories. My brother Mollurk is not exactly the conversational type. This is the Antechamber Entity, Sacred Underground Entrance to the Mollurk Cathedral. But I thought it was buried centuries ago. It is not clear, but something went wrong down here and the Mollurk sealed the entire area”.
“Well, that gate looks sealed enough to me…” Will was now looking at the central area of the passageway. The surge of light streams converged from the walls and ceiling in the exact middle of the dome. The gleaming floor was resplendent with amber flares. The central spot was so luminous that it was impossible to see through it. They proceeded towards the open area, wearily walking around the sculptured tentacles. They looked even more imposing from below, twisted in their desperate twirl towards the surface.
“Showoffs” Belzer grunted in disapproval. His mouth on Will’s hand was conveyed in a grimace of disapproval “The Mullork always strived for light and opportunity, but their creed forbids desire and ambition. They are repressed lunatics.” A constant vibrating sound radiated from the centre of the room. The blare became stronger as they got closer. Will squinted as the light absorbed his whole body “Keep walking, boy. That’s the right way…” Belzer’s voice was confident and strangely excited. He could hear Pudding scurrying and panting carelessly right next to him. The glow became so bright that Will had to close his eyes. He stepped blindly into the new uncharted space, striving for light and opportunity.
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