Book Three – Interlude – Part Two – A Girl Reborn Within Fire and Blood.

Williana didn’t know how long the scream lasted. It could’ve been ten seconds. Fifteen seconds. A minute. A year. A decade. It could have even lasted an entire eternity.

And yet...she did nothing but watch. Williana's role as an inquisitor wasn’t over. Her sole job was to ask questions, and that was it. Anything else she may have done wasn't required of her.

“AAAAHHHH!! AAAHHHHHH!!” Vali finally collapsed in her seat. The tantrum accomplished nothing in terms of damage. Her strikes and kicks went through the two walls and chair, yet she couldn't waltz through. She hastily tried to jump out through the gap to her left, where the hallway she walked down used to be, but an invisible wall stopped her. It was there: the black void-like abyss that was Carrie's mind. It was so big and expansive, like a never-ending desert...

That was when it clicked. With nowhere to run and hide, Vali sighed and sat back down. The pink-haired Singi spoke and finished out the rest of her story with a soft voice barely above a mouse’s squeak.

“I bathed in the blood and waste mixture twice a week after that. After... After that, I was taken to a room where that deadbeat bastard, with his wrinkled hands and gross skin, poured water on me. On some days, I wouldn’t even move, and he dragged me by the arm and washed me himself.

“On the days where I was raped, I’m not calling it purification—it is what it is— by practically every other male in the village, he also dragged me to the washroom. If I didn’t open my mouth, that bastard kicked and punched me until I cried out. Then, depending on if I wanted to move, he left me soaking in the cold water for hours on end. And until him or one of the maids came and retrieved me, I was left alone...

"One day, after a few years of repeating that brutal cycle, I stopped reacting at all. I didn’t eat. I didn’t even bring myself to the bathroom when I had to go. When the village’s men thrusted themselves into me, I did nothing. I couldn’t give them any satis-fucking-faction. One of those bastards had the fucking audacity to complain to that bastard. That’s when he became fed up with me and my lack of reactions. After dinner that night, he threw my still-full plate into my face. When I didn’t move. He pushed me down and punched me. When that didn’t work, he ripped off the clothes he had dressed me with and crossed the final line.

“After he exhausted himself, he drank part of the medicine and forced it down my mouth when he stole my first kiss. I’m sure you can guess, but I didn’t react to that either. The next day, he held a town meeting and said he received a holy revelation. To summarize his false claims, he lied and said he had been ordered to reflect on the Goddess Verta for seven days and seven nights. To do so, he said he would spend a whole week locked in his study while praying.

“That was all a lie. Remember those secret tunnels I talked about earlier? One of those was located in his study. During those seven days, he snuck out down through the tunnel and went to some town. When the maids knocked on the door to give him his food, there wasn’t any reply. And they couldn’t open the door because there was only one key, and it was with that bastard.

“After seven days, he came back. His first order of business was to fire the maids and butlers. They protested, of course, but that bastard was the chief. They had to obey his rules. I still never reacted to anything, and I chose to spend my time as if I was in a coma. But just because he was gone for that week didn’t mean I was free of my priestly duties. That continued, but it was by the maids until he fired them. Oh, yes, the maids and butlers were in on it.  The whole fucking village knew what was taking place...

“The day after that, I stood alone in the center of my room. He placed me there and walked away for about fifteen minutes. He opened the door, walked in, and turned me around.  Do you know what I saw?” Vali asked. She stared at the picture frame. Glowing black, the image of a blasted tub, a horrendous reminder of every bit of trauma Vali endured and suffered through, disappeared in a pitiful plip. She half-expected a black light would introduce what came after that, but that never happened. Instead, and without any warning, the wall started to emit black smoke until fire spontaneously bellowed to life.

The frame was the first to go up in smoke, and it didn't take long for the wall it sat on to shimmer in a beautiful crimson glow. The flames were never-ending, and they continued to burn for what felt like an eternity.

The room started to rumble and shake. Rather than engulf the rest of the room in a blaze, the fire remained static. Then it began to morph, taking on a solid shade of orange that still burned with the intensity of a hundred volcanos.

Then a part turned into blue fire. And another turned blood red. Another changed section of flame changed to pink, and even another changed until it was a pale white. In uniformed chunks the frozen fire changed colors, and that continued for three minutes. Only when it was complete did time resume for the flames.

Vali looked at it when it was finished. Standing up out of her chair and stepping back, Vali realized she was looking at a wall-sized painting of the woman who saved her life, the woman who gave meaning to her life.

It was the woman whose name Vali took for herself.

“I do, but keep talking,” Williana replied. She hopped off Vali’s head and took a nice seat on her shoulder.

“I saw her.” Vali raised a stiff hand and pointed a shaking finger at the girl on the wall. “It isn't—no, that’s not important. The woman I saw had the same cat-like ears as I did, only they were red. And the tail tied around her waist was a stunning match for my own, but it was red. She had red hair, and I had pink hair. It was like I was all pink, and she was all red..."

Williana noticed Vali’s odd repetition, but she stayed quiet and allowed the troubled girl to speak her mind.

“That bastard said she was my gift. At the time, I didn’t know a damn thing about slaves or property because I wasn’t taught any of that stuff. Nobody taught me anything except Carrie.”

“How did she feel about your duties as Verta’s Priestess? Did she support it?” Williana asked.

“She wasn’t privy to it. When that bastard fired everyone, he kept two men who were loyal to him. They always stood by and kept a close ear and eye on whatever we did. I was forbidden from talking about my duties. But because she was a secret, Carrie and I never left the house. I mean, I rarely left the house anyway, but I stopped leaving for good after that. If Carrie didn’t hear it from me, and she didn’t hear it from that bastard and his goons, then logically, it was impossible for her to know about it. She did eventually find out, but that can wait.”

“How did you and her get close?” Williana asked. She slowly touched the whimsical-like pink strands of hair that covered the side of Vali’s head. With a timid hand, she stroked it with care and love.

“She told me about her life a few days after we met. At first, she whispered it to me because she thought it was against the rules. But when that bastard found out, he relented and said it didn’t matter if I knew. I suppose we bonded over her adventures. You see, Carrie was a member of Warden, and she was strong. She reached Rank 4 during her time. I’ve never heard or knew anything about the outside world. I’m sure fathe-- that bastard man-- didn’t want me to know any of it because I might have developed a longing for that freedom I was denied, but I think he wanted me to regain the spark in my eyes. I overheard the people who…you know... I overheard them complaining to that bastard that they felt like the sins weren’t leaving their bodies because I didn’t fight back or react. That was before that bastard went on the seven-day trip.

“But more on Carrie. As I said, she used to be an adventurer. She even had her own party. They fought the monsters and bad guys and saved and helped the innocent. One day, after she told me a story of how she saved a mother and her daughter from a monster called a bear, I asked her why she was with me and not her daughter. I figured she had one, but now I realize it was a stupid and insensitive thing to ask. Her tail stopped moving.

“Carrie said she suffered from a disease that prevented her from having children. The same illness struck her with bouts of unbearable pain that radiated outward from between her legs. During her last quest for Warden, the disease flared up and rendered her immobilized. Out of all those in her party, Carrie was the strongest. But she couldn't fight...not while suffering. The bandits they were fighting were stronger than they were led to believe. Without Carrie as the cornerstone, it didn't take long for the enemies to overpower the rest of them. Carrie and her friends were captured, and she was separated from them when the bandits took them to a city and sold them as slaves.

“I don’t know how long ago it was because she never said it, but it must’ve been a while. Eventually, I suppose that bastard bought her, brought her to me, and the rest was history. She still suffered from the same disease, though. There were many times in which the pain was too much to bear... Carrie had to stay in bed on those days.”

When Vali finished speaking, Williana stood up, stretched, and asked another question. “And what happened next?”

“When I met Carrie, that bastard didn’t force me to do anything an entire month. And during that month, I learned to smile and laugh...just like I used to when I was younger. I played games and talked loudly with Carrie, but my duties never came up. But when that bastard barged into the room and grabbed me by the arm, I knew what was about to happen. Tears flowed from my eyes, and I screamed... I didn’t want to do it anymore. Carrie struggled and tried to fight off that bastard, but his men beat her down and tied her to the bed with rope. That bastard took me to the room with the wooden tub, and then I smelled it: the all-familiar stench of shit and puke and piss and semen. Why! Why did I have to bathe in it?! WHY THE FUCK DID HE FORCE HIS OWN DAUGHTER TO— AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Vali’s voice grew louder until it exploded like the ear-destroying boom of a pack of fireworks. Williana remained motionless because she knew it was hard. She knew it was vile, too. The things Vali endured as a child, and later on as a teenager, weren’t something she would wish on her worst enemy.

A father is supposed to protect his child, not whore her out for some sick pleasure. Williana thought.

“And then the shit-stain who took my first time wobbled through the door. Stark naked. He tossed a small bag to that bastard, and he nodded. He actually gave permission—his blessing—to have his daughter abused for whatever was in the bag. I don’t know what it was. I still don’t know what it was. It couldn't have been dupla because our village didn't have a concept of money... Everyone worked together to survive because it was supposed to be impossible to leave... What was in the bag... I...

"No, the bag doesn't matter...not anymore... But he sat there...on a small chair. Watching me. He watched while I performed my ‘cleansing’-- while his daughter was being raped in front of him... And after the shit-stain released his sins into me—after I cried and begged and attempted to fight back... That bastard stood up, grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me up the steps to the ground floor. I tried to get up, but I was weak. The waste mixture I was forced to bathe in disgustingly clung to my body. It was slick and thick, and I couldn’t get a grip on the wooden floors. My feet kept sliding, my ankles kept slipping, and when I tried to grab onto the wall, my hands fumbled.

“He continued to drag me until he had his men kick down the door to Carrie's room. Without even saying a word, he threw me in there and locked the door behind. Carrie was having one of her attacks, and she had trouble even walking. But that didn’t stop her from jumping out of bed and crawling over to me. The pain I felt didn’t compare to her, but she still withstood the sheer agony to comfort me. You know, we’d only met and known each other for a month, but I wanted her to be my mom. If she was my Mama, then maybe…

“She ripped the cover off the bed and did her best to wipe the disgust from my body. Weird sounds erupted from my mouth and throat. I cried, I screamed, I shouted, I did everything. Carrie covered me and hugged me close to her chest. I held my arms around her and cried into her. I cried, and I cried, and I cried. That’s when Carrie looked down and saw a little bit of white leaking down my legs. I guess the gears finally clicked.

“She grabbed my shoulders and asked if I wanted to leave. I said yes. She asked me if I wanted to stay here. I said no. That’s when it happened.”

“What exactly happened?” Williana asked. She stood up and flew back up to Vali’s pink hair.

“That’s when I passed the point of no return. The two men standing at the door must’ve heard her, and I do admit we weren’t quiet, and they started kicking the door down. Carrie pointed at the door and shouted for Earth Wall. The ground trembled, and a massive wall of solid dirt appeared up from the ground. It tore through the foundation, the floor... It even appeared up and crashed through the ceiling. Carrie coughed, spitting blood on my stained body, and said she will give me the chance to escape. And what followed was a hasty explanation of things commonplace to everywhere else but my village.

“She taught me how to summon my ID, explained the skills my God blessed me with, she told me my real name. She said she knew Verta’s Priestess couldn’t have been my name, but I swore it was because I didn’t know anything else. But when she read off ‘Vali,’ my heart skipped a beat. I had a name. A real name! I kept repeating it over and over and over again in my mind while Carrie continued. Tears still flowed from my eyes, but it was like a new determination started growing deep inside of me.

“I finally realized that everything was a lie. It was all fake. But like I said, Carrie told me everything she possibly could within the few minutes her Earth Wall stood. It was things children were supposed to learn from family and friends... But for me, it was a crash course on everything I was forbidden to know.

When the kicks and punches started to carve away at the wall of dirt, Carrie used Dimensional Storage and pulled out everything she had stowed away. Blood poured from her mouth and crotch, but she fought through the pain. I shouted for her to stop. I said I could bear through the pain of purifying and cleansing, but Carrie said no girl should have to live that way. She said if she knew about it, then she would have done something sooner.

“That’s when she explained to me about Instant Retrieval. I know you know about it, but Carrie took a spear she had retrieved from Dimensional Storage and lightly pierced the tip of my finger. She then held it against its smooth, black shaft and rubbed it down and up. ‘This is yours, now. I want you to have it,’ she said to me.  The blood no longer only fell from her mouth and crotch, but it dripped down her eyes and started to pour from her nose. Even someone as stupid as me figured out that pulling out those items took a lot of her strength.  She begged me to fight for my freedom like she was unable to do. With shaking hands, I took the spear... My crimson-- my blood-- continued to trail down the weapon, but my eyes weren't on that.  I immediately dropped it and tried to catch Carrie as she collapsed to the ground. She screamed when I failed to do so, and I shouted because I didn’t make it. It was then the wall of dirt blocking that bastard and his men from intruding broke down.

“I met his reddish-brown eyes, and I screamed at him for killing Carrie. He called me by the fake title he gave me, and I angrily picked up the weapon. ‘My name is Vali,’ I shouted. I held it in front of me and ran as fast as my tired and desecrated body could go. He held a hand up and screamed. A large white ball of light barreled towards me, but I kept running as my body passed right through it. Maybe he thought it would scare me, but I wasn’t left in the dark. Carrie told me about skills in the short time we had. I knew it wasn’t something only limited to him. I could do it too.

“The anger and hated I had for him bloomed like a bloody flower. When the tip of the spear pierced his black shirt and drew blood, the screams he produced reminded me of the terror I felt when I had my first time stolen away from me.

“And I did what that bastard did to me. I ignored it and pretended it didn’t exist. His screams meant nothing to me. Nothing!! Nothing!! IT ALL MEANT FUCKING NOTHING!!! I stabbed him. I pierced him. The two goons at his side froze from fear, but I didn’t see them. I only saw a monster who held the form of that bastard who fathered me. I saw him collapse to the floor while I angled my weapon. I pushed deeper and harder until I felt it scrape against the bloody floor. But it wasn't enough!” Vali’s breathing rate increased tenfold. Her nostrils flared, and her hands couldn’t remain motionless because she performed the motions of strangling someone.

“I wasn’t satisfied with stabbing him. I wanted something more…primal and painful. I sliced at him with my nails, I beat on him with my balled fists, I wrapped my shaky hands around his fucking throat... And as I stared at a man begging for help, I smiled. I still had my teeth left, after all. And so I bit him. I chewed, I gnawed, I tore his flesh from his neck, filling my mouth and wetting my tongue and cheeks with his hot blood. He screamed, yelled, shouted, begged, and cursed me all at once, but I never stopped. The strength left his body, and he couldn’t support himself anymore. When his screams quieted, I knew he was dead. The monster who never loved me, the shitty man who willingly loaned out his daughter in the name of a fake fucking Goddess just have a sense of control, died. And I killed him.

“But don’t think for a minute I was done. I wasn’t. I gripped the bloody spear hard enough to crack my knuckles, and I turned its bloody point to the two men still frozen. I was an amateur, sure. I never held a weapon before. I’ve never even held something sharper than a spoon, but the two goons were the same. But like them, I knew what it was like to kill in cold blood, so I slaughtered them, stabbing them right through the heart. But like when I killed that bastard, I wanted to do more. I clawed and bit at their corpses, but one of them was alive. He used the last of his strength to raise his hand and shoot a ball of fire. It missed me, but it crashed into the wall and set the house on fire... But the smoke and heat didn’t bother me.

“I stomped my way out of the house and walked outside. The village was small, and smoke coming from the chief's home was impossible to ignore. I saw the women who I met once long before I started my duties, I saw the children who were born after I had been barred from leaving, but most importantly, I saw every man who raped me under the guise of releasing their sins into me. And it didn’t take long for the crowd to notice me. I was still naked, covered in a disgusting mix of Human waste and blood. The weapon I carried drew their eyes more than my horrendous state and horrific smell. The hot sun only made the putrid aroma worse, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I was practically born in the waste produced by Humans. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if that fucking bastard forced my mother to give birth to me in it... Was that the fate waiting for me?

“The man who took my first time approached me. His back was towards the ever-growing crowd, so only I saw the look on his face. Was it fear? Excitement? Hatred? Worry? I don’t know. I still don’t know. But the second he reached out with a hand covered by a white cloth, I killed him. I stabbed my weapon in his mouth and twisted. I was like a beast submitting to my buried desires of revenge. The whole town had betrayed me. They never once tried to help me. They never thought it was wrong for me to cry while having two or three men slam their hips into me. THEY NEVER THOUGHT IT WAS WRONG! THEY NEVER THOUGHT IT WAS ABNORMAL!!!!!”