The foam of a billion seas claws ashore—bubbles frothing at the boundary where the land sinks into unholy depths.
Few would brave the Banks of Uncertainty at night. But Eve isn't just anyone.
Or rather, she has nothing left to fear.
"Hilarious, isn't it?"
"What is?" Eve tilted her head, her impassive eyes daring a reply.
"Oh, nothing much," a grating litany echoed—voiceless, yet resonant, as if spoken through stone.
"Ten nights ago, you were curled in your sheets—rotting in what you called a bed. Shivering—not from the encroaching cold or frost, but from the sheer incapacity to face fears that ordinary people confront every day: life, living, the mundane."
The clouds tore apart, shattering the illusion of the heavens—a mirror of the churning dark before her bare feet. A silver beam split the sky, illuminating her face—unreadable, pale as bone.
"To wake up. To brush your teeth. These were feats of myth. Shovelling dirt. Digging ditches. Upholding your city? A nightmare beyond imagining. You feared being a burden—while being the very burden you despised."
The echoes coalesced into a crescendo, staving off the whistling winds with a force unknown—silencing nature itself. In its place: a whisper, coiled into her ears.
"But now? Now you're out here. Sitting on the precipice of Uncertainty and Taint. Now, you'll help Me. You will face true Rot and tame true Fear. In other words, you will do My bidding. You won't rest when tired—only when I permit it. If I permit it. And in doing so, you will help Me help yourself."
A silent laugh twisted Eve's lips. "What a ridiculous notion. Is that what you want? To help me?"
The entity smiled. Her lips split—wide enough to span oceans.
"Help you? No, not quite. You will help everyone—from those who came before you to those who will follow after."
The voice coiled tighter. Tremors ran down its spine, fraying into something sharp.
"Those who once shared cups with your distant ancestors have already drunk and cheered—in your name. There will be those who do the same with your descendants."
Its whispers reeked of fanatic joy.
"Yes, long after you've passed, your body might fade to ash, but you… you will not."
"They will drink, too. They will drink longer, cheer louder. Their taverns will be adorned with unfading reverence to your name. You, who are blessed with My curse… you will help Me save the world."
The enormity of the concept could evoke only frivolity. Eve laughed—bitter, hollow.
"Save the world? Me?", she hissed.
"I can't even save myself, foul creature. I've toiled decades slinging earth below harrowing trenches—in company of beasts dressed in the shape of men. Ten years—no, the ten best years of my life—I've wasted. And all for what? For a silly ambition to enact revenge?"
The winds bellowed, singing salt on to her cracked lips. Still, her throat surged with fervour, chewing the words like gristle.
"I've dreamed of a righteous war—a just war—against the forces that robbed me of my dignity. They killed my kin—friends and family alike—naked corpses strewn like common litter in the mud. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing. Less than nothing."
Shame and rage flushed her face.
"I started my journey with loss, and in my search for justice, I've lost myself. There is no flame, no kindling of desire for you to weaponise. Yet you ask this of me, of all people? Someone who is a hollow shell possessed by a sincere monster. Someone who would fit better in a cemetery, not a home. And one… who is condemned either way."
As the words wrung from her chest, Eve's irises bloomed with an inkling of understanding.
"You...you are aware, aren't you? That I'm not long for the grave?"
The entity looked on—Her gaze pierced through layers unseen—Her smile widening further.
The rant stirred a flicker of resistance. "You know," she said, her eyes reflecting a dangerous glint, "you're the kind of person I hate most."
The discordant voice suddenly broke into melodious laughter.
"I do. I know well, child. I know better than anyone."
"The thing you detest most," the entity whispered, "has always been yourself."