Eyes that bled grief part 18

The following is an original short story and I will upload parts of it as I write it. Enjoy!

(Warning for violence and adult themes. Material for readers over 18years old).

C.T.K.

Ch.18: The curse of Cheops

Mainda and Tori had been standing just outside the main entrance of the great pyramid of Giza, the pyramid of Cheops. The starry night spread above their heads and the chaos of modern Cairo sounded too far off. Mainda took deep breaths of the sandy dessert, realizing how much it resembled a sandy seaside. No tourists were left there, but only a few guards and caretakers of the archeological site. Nur had been discussing in Arabic with a guard who had brought the three apostles near the great pyramid. As soon as they were done, her black eyes turned to face the two other apostles and with a nod of her head they followed behind her and into the narrow hallway of the pyramid. As soon as they stepped through, the stuffy scent of the enclosed space brought the apostle slight discomfort, tight spaces wasn’t her forte. She pressed her lips on a firm line, as they followed Nur, almost in single file, deep into the pyramid.

‘’The manifestation lies in the queen’s chamber, in the lower part of the structure.’’, Nur commented and it just occurred to Mainda that they had been gradually descending. It was tough to tell, the way the pyramid was built. ‘’I hope you are ready. My mistress has been waiting for a pair to appear in order to destroy this manifestation.’’, she added and my eyes glanced back to face the blonde apostle, his face cracked in an ironic smile, that made the woman shake in her very core. She tried to focus, as the end of the hallway became visible and the sensation of the manifestation suddenly became evident.

When they walked in the tight space of the queen’s chamber, the darkness unveiled fully, as it would at the presence of followers. A dark mass covered the ruins of the tomb and whirled around threateningly, still not making an effort to attack.

‘’Odd.’’, Tori spoke and stood next to Mainda. ‘’It doesn’t feel aggressive.’’ Nur chuckled at his words.

‘’Because it isn’t.’’, she replied and took two steps near the mass, which was double the size of a person, but the amount of energy it produced was frightening to say the least. Yet, Mainda hadn’t felt it up till the last moment. ‘’This manifestation has been here for so many years and it isn’t aggressive at all. It just increases in size and threatens to affect the mentality of humans, as it develops. The mean reason for our inability to destroy it isn’t its power, but its lack of aggression. If it won’t attack, it won’t be attacked in the same way other manifestations did.’’, she added and in Mainda’s mind resurfaced a lesson her master had given her, concerning the different types of manifestations. This was similar to the manifestation that infiltrated people’s bodies to the point that they had to be killed in order to be destroyed. It explained why they wanted Tori to defeat it. The apostle focused her blue eyes on the male with a concerned expression. He was frowning, but as soon as he noticed her eyeing him, he smiled.

‘’Let’s do it.’’, he commented and took a few steps near the remnants of the tomb. Maida shivered, feeling hesitant of what was about to come. She immediately straightened up and prepared for battle. The male bit on the palm of his hand and she copied him. The crimson armor covered them both in no time. He turned his head to face her and upon witnessing the determination in his grey eyes she nodded. He turned up front and Mainda created the blades on each side of her forearms.

Tori stretched out his hand and the manifestation took a liking to him, immediately increasing in size and getting in contact with his crimson armor. Mainda heard a draw of breath beside her and turned her gaze for a split second on Nur, noticing her shocked expression at the sight. She understood her completely, since she had a similar reaction the first time this had happened. In a matter of seconds the entire mass of the manifestation, along with the disturbing energy it emitted, entered Tori’s body and took over his own energy, coating the outside of his body with a black cloud. The male grunted and took sharp breaths, obviously fighting to remain in control.

When he turned around to face his apostle pair, Tori’s grey eyes seemed dull and nearly dead. He remained stationary for a couple seconds and the female hesitated, expecting him to call onto her like the last time.

‘’What are you waiting for?’’, Nur spoke up, nervousness hinted in her voice. Mainda pursed her lips behind her mask and with a quick dash went in for the attack, aiming for his torso, trying to avoid any vital organs, while channeling her brain power through the blade she was about to use. She felt her entire body shake, when her blade was stopped by a great force. Her eyes widened at the sight of Tori, with his own blades now out, taking a fighting stance and deflecting her. He pushed her back, making her feel the extent of his power, as she flew a few meters in the air and crashed against one of the walls behind. Mainda felt the air escape her lungs, mostly because of the unexpected manner of the attack. She fell on the floor, landing on her feet and immediately stood up, searching for the male with her eyes.

‘’Tori?’’, she spoke up and his grey eyes focused on her, but with a thirst and maliciousness she had never seen before. It made her wonder what kind of expression he hid beneath the mask.

Before she could even process the situation, the male apostle charged in to attack her, clearly ignoring the other female in the room. Mainda braced herself and parried his attacks, her mind getting foggy from the way the situation had unfolded. One thing was clear: Tori had lost control of the manifestation and it now moved his body like a puppet.

‘’Fight back! He is still in there! You still have to land an attack!’’, Nur shouted from the back of the room, frustrated with the situation herself. Mainda cursed under her breath and tried to recall all the fighting lessons she had with her master. Tori might be a very strong apostle, but the manifestation that took over him had no idea how the human body worked, and that showed in the delayed moves he made. She had to attack him before it got comfortable.

The female apostle took the chance and as soon as another hit aimed at her she ducked to avoid it and made a turn to find herself behind Tori. She focused her energy on that one shot and pierced through the right side of his back with her blade, putting her raw force on the hit and standing onto the male’s body. Time seemed to freeze for a few moments, the only thing sounding was Tori’s ragged breathing. He was face down on the ground, the female on top of him with the crimson blade still through his flesh.

‘’M..more..’’, his voice sounded weakly, making Mainda widen her eyes in shock. ‘’Again… Confine me and attack again…’’, he managed under his breath and the female gritted her teeth.

‘’I am sorry…’’, she said firmly, knowing well that they had to see this mission through, but still feeling guilty for having to attack him again and again.

‘’I can assist you.’’, Nur spoke and just then Mainda realized that she had approached them.

‘’I can’t…hold on.’’, Tori grunted and the female apostle pair felt a force built up from inside of him. He began squirming, as if ready to get up.

‘’Get back!’’, Nur yelled and Mainda trusted her order, jumping from his back. The next second, a mass of crimson chains tied him up, keeping him in place even through his squirms and aggressive grunts. Nur had drawn blood and her choice of weapon seemed to be these odd chains that were able to hold Tori down, along with the manifestation.

The females’ eyes met, blue mirroring black and they both nodded. Mainda walked up to the male and began piercing though his body with her blade, every attack intensified his grunts and screams of pain as the manifestation erupted again and again, releasing energy, getting destroyed. She felt her very soul shiver in embarrassment and self-hate for doing that to him.

When the black fog had been lifted, all remnants of the energy gone, what was left behind was a man, still strong enough to remain conscious. Nur retracted her chains and the crimson armors disappeared. When Mainda approached Tori, his grey eyes looked up at her with their usual liveliness. He smiled tiredly and nodded, forcing Mainda to hold her tears back, tears that had built up from the intensity of her actions.

‘’Good job, partner.’’, he mumbled and she chuckled.

‘’Yeah. Good job.’’