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- 1,704
- Age
- 28
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- she/her
Hell was everything Vanessa expected it to be.
The depiction of unending flames was rather accurate, her stone cell glowing with red and orange light. It was so scorchingly hot that her skin felt like it was boiling off of her bones. Screams pierced the air, a loud cacophony of sounds that was never-ending. It smelled of burning flesh and hot, humid air. Every breath she drew felt like she was swallowing glass into her lungs. Each fluttering blink of her lashes felt like sand scraping against her eyeballs. There was nothing but agony with every movement of her muscles, the fire not only outside, but within. A heat that could not be stopped, as if her blood was replaced with molten lava, her bones scorched metal, her skin the foil trapping it all inside.
A shadow appeared in front of her cell, the first other being she'd encountered since arriving. It had no face, no real shape. It was simply darkness - a ball of mist and clouds that tumbled upon themselves as they moved. It did not speak while it unlocked her cell door, and it made no sound as it ripped her forward by her chains, dragging her down a stone hall.
"Where am I going?" she asked, her voice raspy.
"That, my dear, is completely up to you," the shape whispered directly into her brain, its voice grating against her senses like nails on chalkboard.
Vanessa had no idea how long she sat in a silent stone room, no windows or walls or doors. Nothing but silence. Nothing but the pain to keep her company, devouring her from the inside out. Time had no meaning here. There was no beginning, no end. Only the heat. Only the agony. It could have been hours or days in the places where time existed. Here, every second was an eternity in itself. A horrific promise of more to come.
The darkness appeared again.
"I have a proposition for you, sweet assassin," it purred, wrapping her in tendrils of itself. She screamed. Its touch was a brand new type of pain, so horrific it caused her to cry out.
"Yes. Anything," she agreed before even knowing what the darkness had to say.
"What? You don't like the heat?"
"No," she rasped, her teeth clenched. Vanessa had always hated the heat. Perhaps her body knew she would always end up here, in this place. Perhaps her soul had warned her long ago not to damn itself. Too bad she didn't listen.
"You are one of the best killers I've come across in a long time, Vanessa. What is it they call you up there? The Princess of Darkness?" She swore the darkness chuckled. "Lucky for you, I have a long list of enemies. Those who have evaded me for too long. And I want you to kill them and bring them to me, Princess," the voice said. She could not see its face, but she swore it was smiling. "You will end up back here, of course. You were born to end here, to sit by my side amongst the flames, amongst the damned. Your soul is the blackest of black, the blood on your hands so damning there is no washing it away. But while you kill for me, you'll be back up there," the darkness said, one tendril pointing up toward the ceiling.
Watery eyes looked up before closing. Perhaps Hell was not a horrible place at all. As it turned out, the darkness was giving her a gift. To kill again. To delay her torture by doing the thing she was the best at in the world. Despite the pain and agony, she smiled. She embraced it. "I graciously accept."
"Wonderful, Princess," the darkness purred, a dark tendril trailing down her cheek, blisters left in its wake.
All of a sudden, her body felt like it was being ripped into shreds, as if every piece of her body had been torn apart and placed back together again. Time and space groaned around her, struggling to place her. But when Vanessa opened her eyes, she was on a completely empty street, and she was naked. But all around her were shadows. Tendrils of darkness, balls of mist and clouds that tumbled over themselves when she moved. Her feet were planted in snow, the cold numbing her toes. And she couldn't help but smile.
Vanessa escaped the heat. For now.
But despite the new lack of lava in her veins, the coolness in her bones, she swore she heard a sizzle when the first snowflake that fell from the sky touched her skin.
The depiction of unending flames was rather accurate, her stone cell glowing with red and orange light. It was so scorchingly hot that her skin felt like it was boiling off of her bones. Screams pierced the air, a loud cacophony of sounds that was never-ending. It smelled of burning flesh and hot, humid air. Every breath she drew felt like she was swallowing glass into her lungs. Each fluttering blink of her lashes felt like sand scraping against her eyeballs. There was nothing but agony with every movement of her muscles, the fire not only outside, but within. A heat that could not be stopped, as if her blood was replaced with molten lava, her bones scorched metal, her skin the foil trapping it all inside.
A shadow appeared in front of her cell, the first other being she'd encountered since arriving. It had no face, no real shape. It was simply darkness - a ball of mist and clouds that tumbled upon themselves as they moved. It did not speak while it unlocked her cell door, and it made no sound as it ripped her forward by her chains, dragging her down a stone hall.
"Where am I going?" she asked, her voice raspy.
"That, my dear, is completely up to you," the shape whispered directly into her brain, its voice grating against her senses like nails on chalkboard.
Vanessa had no idea how long she sat in a silent stone room, no windows or walls or doors. Nothing but silence. Nothing but the pain to keep her company, devouring her from the inside out. Time had no meaning here. There was no beginning, no end. Only the heat. Only the agony. It could have been hours or days in the places where time existed. Here, every second was an eternity in itself. A horrific promise of more to come.
The darkness appeared again.
"I have a proposition for you, sweet assassin," it purred, wrapping her in tendrils of itself. She screamed. Its touch was a brand new type of pain, so horrific it caused her to cry out.
"Yes. Anything," she agreed before even knowing what the darkness had to say.
"What? You don't like the heat?"
"No," she rasped, her teeth clenched. Vanessa had always hated the heat. Perhaps her body knew she would always end up here, in this place. Perhaps her soul had warned her long ago not to damn itself. Too bad she didn't listen.
"You are one of the best killers I've come across in a long time, Vanessa. What is it they call you up there? The Princess of Darkness?" She swore the darkness chuckled. "Lucky for you, I have a long list of enemies. Those who have evaded me for too long. And I want you to kill them and bring them to me, Princess," the voice said. She could not see its face, but she swore it was smiling. "You will end up back here, of course. You were born to end here, to sit by my side amongst the flames, amongst the damned. Your soul is the blackest of black, the blood on your hands so damning there is no washing it away. But while you kill for me, you'll be back up there," the darkness said, one tendril pointing up toward the ceiling.
Watery eyes looked up before closing. Perhaps Hell was not a horrible place at all. As it turned out, the darkness was giving her a gift. To kill again. To delay her torture by doing the thing she was the best at in the world. Despite the pain and agony, she smiled. She embraced it. "I graciously accept."
"Wonderful, Princess," the darkness purred, a dark tendril trailing down her cheek, blisters left in its wake.
All of a sudden, her body felt like it was being ripped into shreds, as if every piece of her body had been torn apart and placed back together again. Time and space groaned around her, struggling to place her. But when Vanessa opened her eyes, she was on a completely empty street, and she was naked. But all around her were shadows. Tendrils of darkness, balls of mist and clouds that tumbled over themselves when she moved. Her feet were planted in snow, the cold numbing her toes. And she couldn't help but smile.
Vanessa escaped the heat. For now.
But despite the new lack of lava in her veins, the coolness in her bones, she swore she heard a sizzle when the first snowflake that fell from the sky touched her skin.