IGS #4, Chapter 51

The Nightmare Lady

The tenebrite gave them no more problems.

Instead, it coursed ahead like an eager hound, surprisingly agile on its tentacles, hauling itself across the ground and maneuvering over rocks and outcroppings with liquid ease. Its crown of golden eyes took in everything at once, but the Nightmare Lady felt their focus upon her especially.

It didn’t deign to talk to her, though.

Simply led her and Nox deeper, ever deeper into the strange land.

And the Nightmare Lady felt… good. Answers. Resolution. An end, of sorts, was at hand. But more than that. It was the emotion she derived from the tenebrite that surprised her: respect. With an undercurrent of fear and excitement.

She could get used to that.

Nox followed silently, but that was fine. He no longer needed to play an active role. And the rest of the Lustrous Maria’s fiends gave them wide berth, as if they could sense that this trio were too dangerous, on some instinctive level, to draw close to.

Night fell away. The somber hues lightened as the Maria grew golden and bright once more. The coral bushes blazed with color, and the waters turned from ink to azure. The tenebrite’s excitement grew more apparent, until at last they reached a great sunken pit.

It was clearly a place of power. Though relatively shallow—the flat floor was only some seven yards down—it exuded some primal, dangerous aura that caused the Nightmare Lady to thrill. The pit’s edge was ringed by great crimson crystal talons, each perhaps four or so yards in height that curved inward, so that in all they seemed to form some malevolent crown. And the floor of the pit—it was mostly stone, yes, but everywhere were inlaid more of that crystal substance, like irregular paving stones of glassy blood.

And in the center? A single crystal spike, angular and cruel, with black gems clustered thickly at the base.

Into this pit slithered the tenebrite. The Nightmare Lady couldn’t see anything else within it—the macabre pit was large, perhaps some fifty yards across—but otherwise empty.

For a moment she hesitated. Yet she felt the strangest sensation. As if Naomi were falling away from her, the longer she lingered here between the red talons, leaving her alone for the very first time.

Lucid, purposeful, and focused. The doubts and insecurities fell away, the pathetic self-recriminations and inability to seize power. This place. It was here that she’d finally be able to confront the truth.

Feeling a sense of savage satisfaction, the Nightmare Lady leaped down to land lightly, tail slashing at the air, and prowled after the octopoidal fiend to the central spire.

Here we wait, it hissed deep inside her mind. Soon. Soon.

“What is this place?” she demanded.

Holy place, whispered the tenebrite. Wondrous place. This is… home.

Time passed. Nox remained perched high at the pit’s edge, settling in for one of his naps, but the Nightmare Lady wasn’t fooled. He was alert, on edge, waiting.

She prowled back and forth, unable to settle. Just as her patience was fraying, fresh movement drew her gaze to the pit’s far side.

A new tenebrite, a human male as its host, the man’s musculature developed, athletic, powerful. He stood with shoulders thrust back, dominant, his tan skin at odds with the purplish pink tenebrite symbiote that encased his handsome face like an alien crown.

But this tenebrite was far more developed and complex than the one she’d defeated. Its oval yellow eyes burned just the same, each with its elongated black pupil, but the tentacles were a riot of thick textured ropes that rose and fell back to run down his back like a glorious mane. Ridged, their tops scaled, their undersides muscular, they appeared more draconic than squidlike. Horns rose from where the symbiote clasped the man’s shoulders, ran down his forearms, wrapped around his hips, thighs, shins.

And authority. A regal might radiated off this tenebrite unlike anything she’d felt before. The Great Soul’s gift? The tenebrite’s natural state? The Nightmare Lady rose slowly from her crouch, eyes narrowed, ready to react with violence the moment the tenebrite gave her cause.

“I heard the messages whispered by the wind,” smiled the man, “But couldn’t believe them. Our once and former queen? Returned to us? And look at you now. I have never seen so complete a merging.”

“Who are you?”

The tenebrite’s smile was arrogance and amusement personified. Hands on his hips, he gazed down at her as if it were she that approached his throne. “You don’t care who I am. You’ve come in search of answers. But you have all the wrong questions.”

The Nightmare Lady slashed her tail. “You may think you know me, but I am not your tenebrite queen. I am something else. I am the Nightmare Lady. Don’t presume.”

“You were taken from us a long time ago, my queen.” He leaped lightly down into the pit, the drop not appearing to even be an inconvenience. “Captured and smuggled out of the Lustrous Maria by Great Souls. This host of mine was one of them.” At this he ran his hand down over his defined pectorals, his ridged abdomen. “And it has served me well. We thought you forever gone. Yet you have returned. How strange. Ask your questions, then. Surprise me.”

More movement. Two more tenebrites had stepped into view between the crimson talons, but these remained low as they observed her, their movements predatory and slow.

The Nightmare Lady observed them, in no rush to answer. Was this a game? If so, she enjoyed playing. “My question is simple. Can the queen be separated from the Great Soul?”

“She can,” answered the man. “She would be malformed, weak, and we would kill her quickly. For her magnificence would be ruined. For you see, while I can discharge my host with ease, you?” His smile grew pitying. “You are currently far greater than the sum of your parts. Each component would be left weak and mewling, sickly and straining to even exist. Why? Because you have grown together. You have mingled your essence. And the result has been… remarkable.”

The Nightmare Lady turned slowly as the tenebrite lord circled her. More movement. More tenebrites. Some six were now crouched along the rim of the pit, none daring to come close to the watchful Nox.

The man continued. “Look at you. Beautiful. A partial expression of lethal might. I can sense how easily the mana flows through your body. Your host is remarkably, incredibly powerful. Her Heart is yours to command, her mind near enslaved. And yet.”

“And yet?” asked the Nightmare Lady.

“You could be so much more. You have received no guidance. How could you? You have struggled to grow alone. And… merged as you are, your natural instincts are weakened. You haven’t embraced your true might. Come even close to fulfilling your potential.”

“How so?” It wasn’t that she actually wanted to know, but since she was here, why not ask? What harm could it do?

“Your host is too active. Her mind, her will. I see she is diminished, which is a credit to your strength, but still she holds you back. With guidance, you could sublimate her and unleash your true potential. You have but a tenth of the power you could command.”

“You mean… become a Pyre Lady, advance through the ranks?”

The man laughed, the sound low and rich. “Hardly. Great Souls are fools. They needlessly divide the expression of their divinity, they split their powers into staggered ranks in a way that only holds them back. Why? Why pace yourself out so slowly? It is perverse bizarre. No. Forget that idiocy. With our guidance, you could break down the walls that they have erected. You could seize all your power at once, and with this Great Soul’s potential, it would be power indeed. Why limit yourself to walking when you could fly? But there’s more.”

Still he paced around her, his handsome lips pulled into that crooked smile, the golden eyes embedded in the tenebrite searing their gaze into her. “You haven’t awoken your tenebrite heritage. You are forced to speak with her mouth. You haven’t unfurled your authority. Did you know that even the lowest of our kind here in the Lustrous Maria are obeyed by the other fiends as if they were the greatest lords? Our minds are our most beautiful weapons, and with it we dominate the very land, the forest, the waters. Or, at the very least, you could, now that you have advanced so far.”

The Nightmare Lady didn’t know what to say. “Pretty tales. Why should I believe you?”

“You already do,” said the man simply. “You know you’ve been held back by her morals, her qualms. Her weakness, her self-loathing. Great Souls rarely embrace what they are without reservations. But you. You know what it means to be great. Do you not?”

The Nightmare Lady lashed her tail from side to side. Naomi was weak. Oh, she had her strengths, but she was so limited. The constant whining and crying, the need to be liked, to be accepted. That wasn’t strength. Her very existence was contingent. Even when she seized what she wanted, it weakened her. Yes, it was good that she had mated with that other Great Soul, his strength was worthy of her, but it had only cracked her foundation further, only driven her to madness. Madness where there should have been clarity, confusion where there should have been only delight.

“You have a choice before you,” said the tenebrite. “Allow her weakness to sever your partnership, resulting in your being destroyed. Or consume her at last, and become the ultimate expression of what you could be. Think on it, my queen: how right it would feel to come into your own. I would help you consume our other queen, for as powerful as she might be, she is nothing compared to what you could become. Then, darkly blossoming, you could decide whatever it was you wished to accomplish. For there is a simplicity to being at peace. When your mind and that of your host are aligned, are one, there is no longer this existential despair, this wringing of hands, this need for ‘purpose’. Your very existence becomes sufficient. You simply are. Unstoppable. Undeniable. A queen. All you would then need is be worshipped.”

His words resonated powerfully within her. She’d never had this lucidity. Always she’d influenced Naomi, worked at her from the outskirts of her mind, but something… how? Only now did she realize the primacy she felt within her own skull.

She gazed at her own black-clawed hands, flexed her fingers in wonder. Naomi was there, but for once their roles were reversed: the girl was a frightened mass at the back of her mind, frozen by horror and uncertainty.

The Nightmare Lady had control.

“We can do this here and now,” said the tenebrite. “This pit is a place of our power. Deep below the rock lies one of our nodes. Here is where we bring new hosts to consolidate our absorption of their minds, the dissolution of their egos. You can do the same. I will guide you. Become your truest self. And with the power you shall wield, none in Hell shall gainsay you.”

Naomi’s presence at the back of her mind tried to struggle, but her heart wasn’t in it. The girl was defeated. So had it always been. Every step of her path, every decision. Fraught with panic and grief, pity and woe. How different their life would have been if the Nightmare Lady had been in control!

And yet.

Over the years, Naomi had grown to be… what? A source of… amusement? No. Not quite. A lens through which she’d experienced alien emotions, unnecessary weaknesses that had been… pleasing, in turn.

The Nightmare Lady thought of Scorio. Thought of Leonis and Lianshi. Of the happiness she’d experienced through Naomi in those fleeting moments. Emotions she’d never quite understood, but had hankered for after.

Weakness. But… at times it had felt good to be… weak. Was that even the right word?

She snarled, trying to thrust the confusing thoughts away. What was she even saying?

“Yes,” whispered the tenebrite, coming to stop before her, his huge mass of tentacles writhing subtly. “I see your desire. Your hunger. Embrace it. Give me the word, and a new age shall dawn.”

“Best friend Naomi not want this,” croaked Nox sternly from the edge of the pit, and with a great flexion of his muscles he leaped to land heavily by her side. “Best friend Naomi say no.”

“You don’t speak for me,” snarled the Nightmare Lady.

“Correct. Nightmare Lady freak. Nox speak for Naomi. Release her.”

A dozen tenebrites had gathered at the edge of the pit. They watched with eager anticipation.

The Nightmare Lady rounded on Nox, feeling furious and conflicted. “Naomi isn’t here. I am.”

“Not true.” Nox was utterly confident of this fact. “Naomi here. Noami hear Nox. Come out, Naomi. Nox call you.”

The presence at the back of her mind struggled fitfully, but failed to find purchase.

The Nightmare Lady forced down her own uncertainty and sneered. “You have served your purpose, toad. You brought me here. In light of your service, I shall allow you to depart. Go, now, and never return.”

“Nox not hear you,” said the toad with sublime obstinacy. “Nox only hear Naomi.”

“My queen,” said the tenebrite man. “Shall we remove this insult from your court?”

The dozen tenebrites moved closer to the edge of the pit, their tentacles writhing, their burning yellow eyes bright.

“One last chance, toad.” The Nightmare Lady glared at Nox. Why wasn’t she simply commanding the other tenebrites to act? Why reason with this stupid fiend? She didn’t want to see him butchered, she realized. Not because she was squeamish, but… “But my graciousness has its limits. Begone, or die.”

Nox settled a little deeper onto the rock, his belly spreading slightly. “Nox comfy. Nox take nappy nap. Wake Nox when Naomi come out.”

Her heart was pounding. Naomi’s heart? She couldn’t tell the difference. Panic and uncertainty seized her, but she thrust them away. Stupidity! Rank stupidity.

“Very well,” the Nightmare Lady sneered. “You had your chance.”

The tenebrites leaped down into the pit. There were fourteen or more of them, a great circle that quickly began to close around the three of them.

Nox let out a contented sigh.

The tenebrites prowled closer. Their Great Soul techniques began to manifest; one caused a blue sword of glowing light to emerge from their fist, its edge sparking, while another began to rise into a brutish form, easily some three yards tall. Another caused discs of gold to appear in the air above it, each spinning so quickly that a high-pitched whining sound to fill the air.

“Nox very wise,” said the toad. “Nox recognize greatness. First in greatness, Nox. This clear. But Scorio and Naomi also very great. Good friends. Best friends. Nox know Naomi not let Nightmare Lady make mistake. Nox not worried.”

But the Nightmare Lady knew the toad well enough to hear an undercurrent of tension. The toad knew death was in the pit with him.

Yet still he didn’t stir. Why didn’t he just leap away? Her tail lashed furiously. Was he bluffing? But as the tenebrites drew ever closer, she knew his chance of escape was vanishing.

She wanted to scream at him, to somehow force him to flee.

But was that Naomi’s wish, or her own?

She couldn’t tell.

Naomi was struggling mightily now at the back of her mind. Far more than she’d thought possible. The girl had been so broken by her own life that she’d only ever shown strength as weakness, had learned to distrust herself, to hate herself—yet now she struggled?

The Nightmare Lady pushed Naomi down.

Please, Naomi said. Please don’t do this.

The Nightmare Lady hesitated. Since when could—? Never mind. Be quiet.

You know this isn’t right. You know we can’t let this happen.

I know nothing of the kind. It’s his decision.

No, it’s ours. He’s doing this for me. You can’t let them hurt him.

Can’t I?

You—you changed me. By being inside me. You changed who I grew up to be. You made me… you made me crueler, more suspicious, more violent. I—I see that now, but—

The Nightmare Lady wanted to silence the girl, to crush her mind completely. Soon. Soon she would consume all that was Naomi and never have to hear this humiliating nonsense again, but—for now—she couldn’t help but listen.

But I know that I changed you, too. You’re not a tenebrite. Not like them. You’re—you’re part of me.

Nox shifted around slightly, and a pulse of Coal mana flared into the air. A slight fluctuation, akin to a warning. The tenebrites were grinning, their human mouths distended impossibly wide, but while the pulse caused them to slow slightly, it in no way dissuaded them.

The Nightmare Lady stared at Nox. As she’d done for so many weeks as she’d followed him across Hell. The stupid, bloated, arrogant, self-aggrandizing fiend.

But.

She couldn’t deny it. To her chagrin, she also didn’t want the toad to be cut down.

Weakness!

No, it was mercy. The mercy of a queen.

“Go!” She spat the word. “Get out of here, idiot! Or the rocks will drink your blood and you’ll never spawn tadpoles again!”

Nox made no answer.

“Go, stupid toad!” The Nightmare Lady felt herself growing febrile, desperate. “Go now! Please!”

I can feel it, inside you, said Naomi. You don’t want this.

You may be right. But—if it’s the cost I must pay to acquire the power I desire, then so be it.

The force of Naomi’s will grew quiet, withdrew. Had the girl finally and truly given up? But then it returned, pressing outward like an expanding bubble, resolute, fierce, undeniable.

I won’t let you. I’m… I’m not helpless. The words were spoken as if they were a revelation to Naomi herself. I never have been. I… I just allowed others to make me feel that way. But no longer.

“Kill it slowly,” called the tenebrite lord. “It is rare that so mana-rich a treat delivers itself to us in this fashion.”

The Nightmare Lady grimaced as she felt her control begin to slip. Naomi was rising within her, usurping her authority. This is my kind’s place of power! You can’t dominate me here!

Naomi made no answer.

If you sever our bond, you shall die! You shall become even more pathetic and weak! Stop!

No, whispered Naomi. I shall merely become my self.

That self is weak! Pathetic!

Even so.

“Ah,” rumbled Nox, rousing himself and smacking his lips. “There you are.”

The Nightmare Lady’s lethal form shrank, receded. Her thick tentacles became a matted mane of dark hair, her talons broken fingernails, her legs straightening, her tail disappearing. In moments Naomi stood before the tenebrites, chin raised, hands clenched, jaw set. “Get away from him.”

The tenebrite lord glanced askance, then sighed. “How? You have no authority here. Is our queen so weak?”

“No, she’s actually really strong.” Naomi smiled a broken smile. “But in the end, she didn’t contest me. Perhaps I changed her as much as she changed me. But no matter. I will not be your queen.”

“Then you will be nothing.”

Naomi laughed huskily. “That’s fine. That’s how I’ve thought of myself for far too long. Separate us. Take your queen. Leave me be.”

The tenebrite lord’s smile was all teeth. “And why, pray tell, should I do that? What’s to stop me from doing what I wish with you, pathetic little Great Soul?”

“Because Nox release Total Magnificent Imperial Detonation,” rumbled the toad. “Nox very saturated. Nox prepared for long time to dominate spawning pools. But Nox can use all mana in Total Magnificent Imperial Detonation technique. Destroy tenebrites. Destroy pit. Destroy everything.” The toad’s broad mouth curved into a satisfied smile. “Not most glorious death for Nox, but also, not bad.”

The tenebrites hesitated.

“You’re bluffing,” said the tenebrite lord at last.

Nox didn’t answer.

Suddenly the tenebrite lord became more real, more present, more everything. The pit, the sky, the crimson talons, everything felt distant and insubstantial compared to his authority. Naomi’s mouth dried out and she took a step back, unable to understand what was happening, why her knees suddenly felt weak and her limbs were shaking.

“This Great Soul host possessed immense power,” said the tenebrite lord. “One of which was sublime command over the minds of others. Cower before me. Bow your head, and prepare yourself for death.”

Naomi felt his strength seize her by the nape of the neck. Unable to resist, she dropped to her knees, her breath coming in rapid pants.

Nox gave himself a little shake. “No.”

The tenebrite lord’s eyes widened. “No?”

“Nox have one purpose. Nox go to Radiant Pools of Gold. After Nox help best friend Naomi. No room for other urges. Mating urge supreme. So. No.”

One of the other tenebrites scowled. “I’ve been trying to usurp his mind all this time, my lord. I can find no purchase. He’s immune to my power.”

“Now,” said Nox, tone firm. “Release friend Naomi, or taste Total Magnificent Imperial Detonation. Nox not warn again.”

The tenebrite lord scowled. The others edged back, with one blinking away altogether.

“Oh, very well.” The lord laughed bitterly. “What do we care? We already have a queen, and this one has clearly been crippled by her host. I shall draw her forth. Perhaps in time she shall grow strong on her own. We shall see.”

The ambient authority faded away. Naomi found herself able to breathe once more. The tenebrite lord approached and placed his palm over her mouth and nose. His skin was dry and warm, so disconcertingly human. For a moment she could only stare at the exposed lower half of his face, and then a great surge of power flooded into her through the soles of her feet.

Pain. She screamed into the palm, but it was locked on tight. He was pulling her lungs out. Her throat swelled. Her vision blurred. She would have keeled over were it not for his other hand gripping her shoulder.

Steadily, inexorably, the tenebrite lord pulled his hand away from her, and with it came a great gelatinous mass, a column of tentacles and gleaming black flesh, glistening and alive.

Naomi briefly caught sight of burning yellow eyes lodged in the heart of the essence, eyes in which an all-too human emotion shone—pity? Longing? Loss? But then she couldn’t take the pain any longer. With her soul being torn in twain, she ceased to scream and collapsed into the darkness.