I sat beside Lyra as she pressed herself against the wall, her breathing slow and measured. She kept one eye shut, her real eye, but her left—if I could even call it that anymore—remained open, silver-tipped roots twitching, adjusting, watching me with their freaky alien physiology.
Goddammit, every Shadow Beast could just go and die.
My fists were as clenched as fists could be.
There was just nothing that could be said. We had no choice but to bend over and keep taking the raw end of the stick.
My stomach twisted as I began caring for her eye. I figured all these roots draping out would be no good. Using scraps of cloth, I made a makeshift bandage to cover the eye. Some roots still slipped out, but she was seeing through them, right? So, maybe that was good—
“Set, my left eye’s making me nauseous. Just cover it all up.”
“I’ll do you one better.”
Taking the knife, I severed the roots that slipped out, Lyra wincing after each cut. My stomach twisted, and I’m sure Lyra was no better.
I wiped my metal hand clean of the shadowy goo and exhaled, long and slow. We didn’t have time to break down.
I looked at Lyra.
She was still. Her chest rose and fell with slow, even breaths. If not for the occasional twitch of her fingers, she would have looked unconscious.
I steeled myself and cleared my throat as I stood up. “We need to keep moving,” I said.
She didn’t answer.
I gritted my teeth. “Lyra.”
Nothing.
I reached out, but then she exhaled, long and deep, and shifted slightly against the stone. “I know,” she whispered. “I know we do.”
With a grunt, Lyra stood up. “Let’s go then,” she said, stumbling past me.
I mouthed a “thank you” and followed her, ready for any miserable shit this place would throw at us.
We walked for a few more silent minutes. Lyra’s pace was significantly slower, but all that mattered was that she still had the strength to go on.
Then she stopped. Whimpers escaped her before I could ask. She slowly turned her head. “Set,” she said, her voice breaking. “There’s a note.”
Irritation filled me. I marched past her, saw the note hanging on a string, and ripped it down.
“You have to turn back. There is nothing good beyond here. Please, turn back.”
I crushed the note and shoved it in my pocket. “Lyra, it’s fine. We’ll keep going–”
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A scream came from behind me. I wished it were one that was terror-filled, not one that sounded so pathetic and broken.
I turned around.
Lyra had fallen to her knees, her hands gripping her hair, her body shaking.
“I don’t want to do this anymore!” she sobbed, voice shredded and breaking apart. “I don’t want to keep going on! Everything just keeps hurting me! I don’t wanna!”
Her bloody tears splashed onto the ground, vanishing into the cracks like they were being swallowed whole by the thirsty dirt.
“We can’t stay here, Lyra,” I said, my voice practically pleading for her to listen to reason.
She shook her head violently. “I don’t want to. It’s just going to keep hurting, and it already hurts so much!”
“Lyra–”
“I’d rather be dead!” she screamed, the word “dead” echoing repeatedly as if that was the word these caverns wanted to keep hearing.
“Lyra, come on–”
“It just hurts so much! My eye blew up! I was dragged around like a doll! Violated by a Shadow Beast! Eaten! I can still feel all of it–it keeps getting worse and worse! I want to die! I don’t want to hurt anymore–I don’t–”
The sound of something materializing reached her.
She went still.
Her breath caught in her throat.
She looked up at the barrel of the God Arm, staring down at her.
“S-Set?”
I tilted my head slightly. “Are you suffering? Is it too much?”
“Erm–ahh–I–it hurts,” she stammered.
“I can put an end to it.”
Her mouth opened, then closed.
“If you open your mouth…” I adjusted my grip on the God Arm. “I promise it’ll be fast–I’m sure it will be fast. You won’t feel a thing. I’m sure.”
“Set,” she repeated, looking at me with her one good eye as it welled with murky tears. They spilled, mixing with the blood staining her cheeks.
“It’ll be fast. You don’t have to keep suffering… I can put an end to it for you.”
She just stared at me, dumbstruck. Then, she gave me a weak, trembling smile.
Slowly, she opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the muzzle of the God Arm.
I let out a slow breath and closed my eyes.
“Very well.”
My finger rested on the trigger.
“Find peace, Lyra.”
For a moment, all was silent.
Then—
With a sudden gag, Lyra wrenched the barrel from her mouth, turning to the side as she coughed, gagging hard.
“Fuck you!” she coughed out.
She doubled over, shaking, then retched onto the stone.
I said nothing as she heaved, her body convulsing, her hands clutching at her stomach as if she could strangle the sickness out.
It took a minute before her stomach had nothing more to give. She wiped her mouth and glared at me, a vindictive smirk curling her lips. The laugh she let out was hoarse, ugly, and broken.
“Going to kill me while wearing that face, Set? How am I supposed to find peace when that is the last thing I see, huh?”
I looked away and dismissed the God Arm. “Sorry.”
She shook her head, stood up, and stumbled forward. “Whatever.”
Lyra walked past me as I turned to keep facing her. “You can keep going on?”
Lyra didn’t stop walking.
“I’m sheep-shit scared of dying, it turns out.” Her voice was hollow, but steady. “I don’t want to die. I definitely don’t want your face to be the last one I see.”
I nodded and followed. “Understood.”
I said nothing more.
I was relieved that she would continue on, but I knew that I couldn’t say that out loud.
I kept my eyes on her, watching her stumble, groan, and sometimes let a sniffle escape her. She was in serious pain. All the while, I felt something deep in my core loosen—something I hadn’t even realized had coiled tight.
This was better than the alternative.
[Broadcast Active:
100 Viewer Credits for emotional damage.
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“Hope for Lyra” Package – Gentle rays of healing light and maybe a therapist who doesn’t say “walk it off.”
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“Set Suffering Speedrun” – Give Set the gift of increasingly questionable decisions.
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“Shadow Beast Encore” – The viewers crave more monstrosities. Surely there must be another in these caves.
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Fortuitous Treasure--Set may gain another gun to jam into something's mouth
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Emergency Kindness Injection – Force one (1) sincere, heartwarming interaction into the narrative.
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Therapy (Unlicensed) – Those with anger issues might benefit.
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Darkness Reigns Supreme – Increase ambient despair. Reduce available light sources. Smother the hope.
- Fund Set and Lyra's Honeymoon – Love blooms in the dark. Surely, you would want to help them out, right?
non-refundable and morally dubious.