A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 34: The Rictus

Footsteps echoed toward the kitchen. A man around his late 30s, his eyes blinking with the footsteps’ rhythm. Brother Shen Zhu. Someone unremarkable.

He quietly opened the door of the kitchen, and saw no one inside. He went toward the water pot and picked up a bowl to drink. His eyes dropped on the ground. A bowl lay on the floor.

”Ehh? They are really forgetting manners.” Shen Zhu knelt down and picked up the bowl. It had a small crack, noticeable enough. He quietly put it back.

Then he turned to leave, but his feet got soaked by something.

”Ahh, why do I have to clean the mes–” His breath caught in his throat; what spilled on the ground wasn’t water... It couldn’t be water. It was crimson, but not thick like blood. The spilled water of that ’Someone’ was mixed with the blood.

Shen Zhu stumbled backward; his feet slipped. His hand shot out to catch anything for balance, but it went in vain. He fell. His head struck the hard surface of a wall. Shen Zhu clasped the back of his head.

His gaze landed on the blood, the pale light of the moon brightening the contrast. In the blood, he saw a reflection. A woman with horns. He jolted and looked up... nothing. He looked around and nobody was there.

A dry, hollow laugh left his mouth. ”I... I think I need to sleep. Too much death today, now seeing things, hah.” Then someone put a hand on his shoulder. He shouted. ”WARGH!”

”What happened? Brother Shen Zhu.” A calm, comfortable voice. When he turned toward it. Lovenia stood beside him, completely normal.

”Heh... Oh... Oh, it was you. You scared me there.” He exhaled in relief. Lovenia smiled back with her usual sweetness. Then, a drop of something fell on the ground from her temple.

Shen Zhu looked at the ground... He couldn’t breathe anymore. Blood... Panic widened his eyes; they darted between her face and the blood on the ground.

”Wh... wh–” He couldn’t speak as he saw the holes on her temple, pouring the blood out. She tilted her head and closed her eyes. Then... she smiled again.

No scream followed afterward; only footsteps came, leaving the kitchen. She wore a cloth on her head, the fabric glued to her skin. On the surface, she left footprints of blood.

Behind her, from the kitchen. A heavy river of someone’s blood flowed like a never-ending ocean. The kitchen spread a pungent, coppery smell. Inside a man, unrecognizable now, lay without a head.

Lovenia entered the room, her smile now sick. She licked the drops of blood from her lips; her cheeks moved like chewing something. As the door opened, Alisa’s attention shifted from the ceiling to the door.

”You’re back. What took you so long?” She complained, though her mind already noticed the clothe glued on her head. ”Why are you wearing that? Did you fall? Hurt?”

”I just got bumped somewhere. My head was hurting, so I put on... the wet cloth.”

Alisa took a brief glance from top to bottom, she sighed and thumped the blanket. ”You need to sleep; I have a few things to tell you tomorrow about what happened between you and him.” Alisa scratched her head before rolling back to sleep.

Lovenia stood at the door a few more moments, illogically. Afterward, she stepped forward and lay beside her.

Her eyes fixed on Alisa’s blade resting near them, and her eyes squinted with a glint of something. We could say, ’Patience?’

Alisa’s back on her side. She sniffed it clearly... The bloodlust Lovenia carried now. It wasn’t familiar; Alisa couldn’t close her eyes. Her eyes were alert, but they were squinting so much as if holding back her emotions. She bit her lips and curled them until she realized what had happened to Lovenia, her shoulders shaking, her lips twitching.

”You already know, huh?” Lovenia’s voice broke the silence.

Alisa’s eyes widened, yet she still moved with swift and agile movement. Before Lovenia could stand, Alisa was already a few meters away from her.

”Who’re you?” She shouted, her voice breaking halfway through. Her hand moved to her waist for a weapon, but she had none. She was defenseless.

Lovenia moved and picked up Alisa’s blade. ”Who am I?” Horns came out of the cloth she wore. ”A Rictus.”

Alisa’s eyes narrowed at her horns, a Rictus Alisa knew this name. The things that wander for a smile... A dead trying to get a grin, who hunted until they find a fitting grin.

”What did you do to her? What did you do to Lovenia!?! ” No answer, just the sick smile that made Alisa’s stomach churn.

***

The temple shimmered with cold.

Lin’s eyes jolted in that direction. ”This... it’s the same as the backyard.”

She quickly stood up, but someone caught her wrist. Mo Fei held her wrist and pulled to stop her. He looked at her confused.

”Where are you going?” Mo Fei questioned; the gesture hitched her breathing. She inhaled and looked at her wrist, and she quickly pulled away.

”Don’t grab people like that!” She tucked it into her sleeve, trying to hide the warmth. ”There is someone; it’s the same presence I felt in the backyard.” She said without looking.

Mo Fei pulled away his hand, embarrassed by the realization. ”Uh...” Though his expression quickly turned serious. ”What?” He tapped his temple. His good eye saw spirit threads, one of which was dull and completely inactive. Mo Fei’s eyes widened. ”Someone died!” He quickly stood up, then saw another dull thread... But it was different than usual dull threads it was actively moving.

”I can see it.”

”Don’t wait longer then.”

Mo Fei grabbed his Glaive, and Lin looked back at others’ faces sleeping in peace before she rushed forward. They passed through the corridors hurriedly.

When they reached near the kitchen, the pungent scent reached their noses. Their gaze lay on the ground.

Lin moved forward, opening the door; on the side, they found a headless body. The neck was mutilated as if it got ripped out forcefully.

”What in the–” Mo Fei whispered. He scanned the kitchen, and there was no head to be seen. His hand raised toward his face but stopped. ”The head is gone.” He glanced at Lin, who turned.

”Must have been eaten. We have to hurry before it kills more.” Mo Fei and Lin followed the bloody footprints. They almost reached near a door where the dull thread was coming from.

Then suddenly.

They heard a loud thrust as if someone were fighting and throwing each other. Their eyes landed on the door and...

Smash!

The door broke and two women launched outside, hitting the wall.

Alisa hit the wall hard, followed by another blurry movement of Lovenia, who lunged with the blade ready to stab her.

Alisa rolled to the side, avoiding the attack just in time, but the fabric of her shoulder ripped from the slash, and blood dropped from her shoulder.

Lovenia didn’t wait as she followed her without looking back at Mo Fei and Lin. They both exchanged a look and rushed forward to help Alisa.

They reached the training room. Alisa burst inside, and the Rictus quickly followed, holding the blade to stab.

Alisa reached for the weapon, and grabbed a sword. She turned, blocking the attack. Both blades clashed together; the sound echoed in the empty room like a battle alarm.

Blades clattered. ”Answer me!” She gritted her teeth, but no answer came from the Rictus.

Now, Lovenia had more raw power than she had before. Alisa’s body gotten pushed back, she slid down and kicked Lovenia’s face, twisting the neck upward.

Alisa’s kick landed, but the impact did nothing to stop the Rictus.

Lovenia looked down, and lunged again. Alisa was struggling; her blade moved but always slowed down when it got close to Lovenia. ”Tsk, I don’t enjoy killing someone as important as my heart.”

Mo Fei and Lin reached the training room and saw her shoulder bleeding. Mo Fei called out. ”Alisa!”

Both of them saw the horns on Lovenia’s head.

Alisa’s focus briefly shifted on them, her heart pounding hard. The Rictus took advantage of the brief distraction, and drove her shoulder into Alisa’s chest. The force was sickening, the sound of air being forced out.

Alisa’s back slammed into a wooden weapon rack against the far wall. Steel clattered on the ground. Before she could recover from the hit, the Rictus was there, and the stolen blade in her hand pinned Alisa’s sleeve into the rack’s frame, inches from her throat.

The Rictus couldn’t see before Lin burst through the doorway behind, Mo Fei followed.

Lin launched her blade to chop off Lovenia’s neck. But the neck twisted, bone cracking audibly, and her head twisted backward. The teeth closed around the blade’s edge, stopping it.

Lin, surprised by this, tried to yank the blade free. ”Tch,” Lin held the handle tightly, and drove her free fist into Lovenia’s cheek. The crushing hit broke her jaws, and the Rictus stumbled back, hand clenching. She twisted her neck back to normal.

Alisa wrenched the blade from her sleeve and left it embedded in the rack. She scrambled to her feet and circled behind Lovenia while Lin held her attention. Then Alisa surged, her arms locked on her throat, her muscles screaming against the thing wearing her friend’s face.

Alisa’s gaze landed on Mo Fei and Lin, who watched her. Mo Fei took a few steps forward, but Lin stopped him.

Alisa pushed Lovenia to the ground where weapons were scattered with a loud thud. She grabbed the nearest weapon, a katana. Her hand trembled around the hilt.

Slash!

She slashed Lovenia’s throat open; the blood sprinkled on her face was the very blood she never wished to see.

The moment she did that, Alisa’s eyes snapped shut.

Lin’s eyes dropped, but she didn’t say anything before Mo Fei’s voice shouted. ”Get away, Alisa!!” Alisa’s throat dried out; she looked at Lovenia and saw a sharp edge of ribs. She quickly jumped back, but bones came out free.

She pushed herself back and managed to avoid that in time, but her leg’s skin split open from the sharp bones, and the white flesh quickly turned red from the blood. Alisa gritted her teeth, stepping away.

Lin raised her hand on the side, a gesture to warn Mo Fei to not move forward. Mo Fei held the Glaive. ”It’s escaping.”He grabbed Lin backward and pushed past her; the Glaive moved faster with precision; each stroke severed a strand of the dull thread. The bones slowed as it tried to lunge toward him. He drove the blade into Lovenia’s body.

The bones stopped growing an inch away from reaching his neck. A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. ”Close call...” He wiped it off.

The training room was silent. Weapons scattered everywhere in the room. Mo Fei stood over them, breathing hard, the Glaive trembling in his grip.

Alisa crawled toward Lovenia and held her. Her face reflected the pale blue light of the moon. She narrowed her eyes.

”Lovenia. Lovenia, can you hear me?” Her voice cracked on the name. She stopped talking. She held her tighter. ”Darn it...”

She stood up, her lips squeezed. ”Terrible...” With that she walked away holding Lovenia. Staying quite, they both followed.

They reached toward the graveyard of the temple. Alisa gently put down Lovenia’s body that was not recognizable anymore; skin covered in blood and the ribs mutilated her body.

She dug a grave close enough to remember her but deep enough to leave in peace. Above, the night remained dark, the moon still giving off the cold light.

The terrible grin of a Rictus, how far did the Curator of Flesh go to control that force...