Into the Joyous Abyss
Continued from here with @esme-erynn
She did not cross the cathedral’s threshold in a dress and shoes.
No, she entered clad in armour, burdened with weapons, a shield slung at her back for any soul who needed her. She was mighty, not like the lords and heroes of fables, but like the quiet legends whispered from grateful lips, carried by the memory of kindness that changed lives.
Eyes lifted when she appeared. Smiles brightened. Joy crashed over her in waves as goblets brimming with wine were raised in her honour. The innocent reached for her with tear-streaked cheeks and trembling hands. Whores. Commoners. Nobles. She had aided each of them in her own way, and the recollection unfurled in her mind as each face, each moment replayed as to how she had “saved” them.
A simple conversation with a weary commoner.
A lonely whore under the Madam’s watch who needed a friend.
A Lord desperate for a shoulder to weep upon.
All safe now. All grateful. All lifted toward a better life by her hand, by her shield.
A small hand tugged her from the tide of memory. A little girl, barely more than a child, with violet-kissed eyes gleaming beneath a sun-bright smile. The girl giggled and tugged insistently, guiding Esme down the aisle. The revelry parted for them as if for royalty, wine and laughter rippling away from their path.
At the aisle’s end stood a raised platform... an altar, a stage, a destiny waiting.
Upon it stood a figure robed in designs of some forgotten empire, its gaze fixed on her. Darkness pooled around it, but not the threatening kind. No, it was something veiled, restrained, almost comforting. Shadows curled about its form, tendrils drifting like beckoning fingers. Twin violet eyes regarded her with ominous intensity; behind them, she would feel a scraping, a thousand unseen hands clawing gently through her mind, unearthing buried memories.
Behind this figure loomed a throne overgrown with flowers and vines that climbed toward the cathedral’s vaulted heights. Marble, glass, and impossible craftsmanship made it look forged for a god. Reclining across it—one arm draped over the throne’s side, legs lazily thrown across the other—was a woman in black silk. An ashen cigarillo smouldered between her fingers, champagne in the other hand. Her form flickered as though touched by the cosmic while she regarded Esme with a wry, amused smirk.
Beside her throne rose a comically enormous mound of cheese and fruit. It was so tall that a normal-sized person would need to crane their neck to see its peak. Atop it lounged a massive Rat, its fur rippling with voidlight. It paused mid-feast to glance at Esme, tilting its head before tossing her a cheeky wink.
Then the robed figure stepped forward. Shadows peeled away, revealing sharply elven features. Blonde hair framed a refined face carrying a welcome both sincere and beneath his station.
“I want to be strong enough to protect others.”
His voice rang through the cathedral, silencing the revelers as they turned toward him.
“Those were your words. Protection. Strength. P̷̡̛̙̤̭̜̟̩̯͙͌̓̓̃͋̐͘͜ó̵̡͚̦͘w̵̡̧̨̨̢͕͓̠̻͇̑͠e̵̥͇̮̞̍͘ṟ̶̿͌̀͑̈́͛͝… These are what you seek, and yet...” He leaned in, narrowing his gaze. “I see them already within you. Hidden. Buried. Screaming to be freed.”
He straightened and looked past her to the gathered crowd. “Many here crave protection... seek a purity of kindness that has always eluded them.”
His eyes returned to her. “A kindness that lives in you, Esme Erynn..."
The child’s hand squeezed hers, innocence crashing into her like a breaking wave.
In the next breath, the robed man drifted closer, his garments moving like water caught in a dream. “You offer much,” he murmured, “and here, you will receive it in return. But to step into what awaits you, you must give all that you are... here, in this moment.”
The child released her hand.
His palm extended.
“You have taken the first step toward your purpose,” he said softly. “W̴̢̗͍̥̑͜i̷̡̨͓̞̪̰̿̈́̚͠l̵͈̍͒l̸̡̛͔̠͂̔́̋ ̴̼̪̞̻͍̣̭̘̫͚͑ỷ̷̨͍o̶̢̬͚̦̳̱̼̤͓͛͂̾̀̆̌͐͝͝ͅư̴̧͙̭̙̰̰̯͚̾̂̉͘̚ ̶̮̖̰̹͆̈́̏̂̿͐̽͋ͅt̸̰̣̲̥̯͔̳̀̐́̂̓a̴͎̟̖͙̐͘ķ̴̗̰̏̌̄̈ȩ̷̬͕̤͝ ̵͔̟̜̚ṭ̴͐̑̾̂̾h̵̢̩͔͍̳̻͉̗̱̐̋̋͂̆͜e̵̘͒̒̃̚ ̵͎̦͍͓̘̱̘͙̣̥̓̊͛͒̋̿̈́̐͆n̶̦͊̃̂̐̐̍͠e̶̛̳͕͌̂͒̐̆̓̄͠x̷̨͈̰̮͉̬̝͕̳̐̈́̉̈́͂t̷͈̮͇̺̙̠͇̩̠͋̂̌̕?̵̡̜͉̜̺̓̐͂̈́” ------- Mentions of @lillandyrshadowglade and @voidplaguedrat
