Well, that's just great...
Eros stood in the middle of a vast, brightly lit throne room, with 14 sets of golden pillars stretching into the open night sky. The walls were plastered with depictions of shining stars and planets and people emitting strange glows around their bodies. Underneath him, a round glass mural showed a nation of people bowing down as a priest raised a baby towards the sun.
The mysterious mask was no longer anywhere to be found, nor was there any sight of vomit. Eros studied his hands.
These are not my hands. They're far too clean and far too fair-skinned. Where did my birthmark go?
Every slave was born with a tattoo of a half moon on the back of their left hand. The Mark of the Moon sealed its bearer's fate to a life of obedience and suffering.
It's as if my body is someone else's...
"Kneel."
Eros' eyes widened in fear, sweat dripping down his face as an immense pressure forced him down to his knees. His mind flooded with memories of being continuously burned alive over centuries.
In front of him, there was a beautifully crafted crimson throne with the sigil of the sun on it. Sitting on that throne was an ethereal fair-skinned man with long white hair strands covering some of his face and a glowing sun-shaped halo floating above his head. His black eyeballs were covered with sun-shaped pupils, emitting a fire inside of his cold, distant, creepy eyes. He was dressed elegantly in long white robes with a sun surrounded by 12 stars embroidered onto them, a crimson ring glimmered on his right hand, and a calm demeanour masked his malice.
He's divine...
"Who are y—"
Eros was immediately set on fire, his flesh melting before his very eyes. The pain was incredibly excruciating; his brain felt like it was stuck in an oven at the maximum heat settings. It was like getting a third-degree burn over and over and over, only it was a thousand times more painful. As if his body were trapped in an incinerator and it were constantly regenerating only to burn alive once more. His raw, desperate screams echoed into the open night sky, though the stars did not listen to his song.
How many moments have passed? It's felt like an eternity of this... I want it to end!
"It took me a couple of centuries to shape you into a decent vessel," the man said dryly, yawning from pure boredom. He rested his face into his right palm, leaning back into his throne, his left leg crossed over his right leg. "It took a lot of destroying and rebuilding your anatomy to figure out the secret of the art they used on you."
Eros dared not to speak, afraid the man might set him on fire once more. His casual cruelty was on a level he had never once encountered before; he was infinitely worse than any of the Astrean soldiers in the settlement.
"Oh, that's right, I nearly forgot. I permit you to speak now."
Silence.
"Hm? You were quite vocal just now; perhaps you haven't warmed up to me yet. But don't worry, I can change that."
"NO! I-I mean, please... no. I'll speak..."
"Good. Eros, I have a task for you."
"A task? What do you want from me?"
"I want you to become strong, strong enough to become free."
"Why do you want that?" Eros considered his words for a moment, finding no sincerity in them. "I don't even know you."
"Oh, but I know you, Golden Star. Truthfully, I could care less whether or not you free your people; I just want to see him fail."
"Him? Who's him?"
"And where would the fun in that be?" A cruel laugh slipped from his lips, perhaps the most genuine expression he had shown since Eros arrived. "Don't misunderstand our relationship, I have no intention of helping you. Altering your fate was already more than enough."
"What do you mean by that? Did you change my fate?"
"Naturally, your fate interested me, which means it definitely interested him. The path that lied ahead no longer exists. From this point on, you are free of your fate."
"Really? That's amazi—"
"But know this, little Eldritch, just because I've altered your fate does not mean you'll be able to save everyone. I'm not on your side. You've simply inherited my will, nothing more."
"I inherited your—"
"Now you should go; they'll be arriving any moment, and that's when the game begins."
The giant circular glass mural turned into a giant flame, absorbing Eros' body. As his body sunk into it, he reached out to the divine man. "I have high hopes for you; don't disappoint me."
"WAIT! What game!? And I don't even know what your name is!"
The man grinned devilishly.
"I'm God. But I believe your people call me... Sepheros."
Eros woke back up in his settlement, sweat dripping down his face. He examined his hands; his birthmark was back where it belonged. And there was no sight of Shadow Worms anywhere.
How had he gotten back home? When last he checked, he was standing in the middle of darkness with a dying flashlight and a mysterious mask at Sector S. Now, suddenly, he was back home as if it had all been a fever dream.
Maybe it had been a fever dream; no, it was definitely a nightmare he had finally woken up from. Soon, his father would walk in and tell him it's time for their shift. Elise would come in and lecture him about being safe even though she has never worked a day in the mines. And after all that, he would come home to his mother, who would teach him about the world above theirs and sing to him until he fell asleep.
Yes, it was just a horrible nightmare, and everything really was fine. Eros ran outside of his home, finding his mother and Elise working at the well. He squeezed Elise so hard her violet eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"Get off of me, you idiot!"
It's them; it's really them. It's not an illusion afterall.
"I can't... breathe..."
Eros let go of her, apologizing as her face began to match her eye colour.
"I'm sorry, I was just so happy to see you!"
"Yeah, well that's nice, I guess."
Their mother gently placed her hand on Eros' shoulder, kneeling down to look him in his eyes, faking a soft smile. There was panic behind her gentle violet eyes.
"Honey, why are you back so early? We didn't expect you or your father back for a few more hours.
Not that we're not glad that you're back, especially after that huge earthquake had us worried for the both of you. But where is your father?"
"Wha-what do you mean?"
They didn't expect me back for a few more hours. An earthquake? Was that real then? Eros' eyes widened at the realization of the truth. That means Father is still back there! I left him behind!
"I HAVE TO GO BACK!"
Eros began sprinting in the direction of Tunnel 6, but before he could gain any distance, his mother wrapped her arm around him and stopped him.
"LET GO, MOTHER! I HAVE TO SAVE FATHER! PLEASE!"
"Take a deep breath, sweetie; I can't help if I don't know what's going on."
Eros took a deep breath, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Tunnel 7 collapsed, and Father and I managed to climb our way up before the lava fully poured in, but then we encountere—"
BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! A loud siren began blaring throughout the settlement; miners and soldiers ran around in panic, not knowing what to do.
Their mother's face froze with fear. Elise covered her ears to protect them from the annoying alarm, screaming out:
"Ugh! What's going on?"
An older woman, maybe in her 50's, walked towards them. Her eyes devoid of hope, she muttered to their mother:
"It's a shame, Aphrodite... I was unfortunate enough to experience this once before, and I was unfortunate enough to survive when my children did not." Her old fragile hands grabbed a rope meant to be tied to a bucket for the well, wrapping it around her neck and tying the other end to a wooden beam for support. She stepped over the well's edge, turning back to the three of them and gently letting loose a wrinkly smile. "I will not experience it once more."
Their mother snapped out of her paralysis.
"WAIT! ELEANOR, WE CAN STILL ESCA—"
She was too late. Eleanor had already jumped without a second thought. Elise shrieked in pure terror, tears streaming down her face.
"MOTHER, WHY'D SHE DO THAT? WHY'D SHE HANG HERSELF? "
Eros remained silent, too stunned to speak. It was just like when he had witnessed the miners kill themselves rather than be swallowed by lava. Except this time, there were no screams or cries for help; rather, there was a gentle calmness to her in her final moments, followed by a loud snap. No pleading or begging for her life, she simply accepted her fate.
Sepheros' words crept their way back into his mind: "But know this little Eldritch, just because I've altered your fate does not mean you'll be able to saveeveryone."
Is this what he meant? Is everyone around him meant to simply die?
"Mother... what does that alarm mean?"
Eros' heart skipped a beat.
His mother turned to him, no longer able to offer him a reassuring smile.
"It... it means that the royal family, the Volarions... are on their way here. And they're bringing one of the 7 Heavenly Saints with them. All of Sunrock Settlement... has just been sentenced to death..."