{Heyo and welcome to my entry post for “TWB Halloween Writing Contest” held by @thewritersblock. Click here to see it... Also I am submitting posts for @jayna’s 50-word tasker and @marcoriccardi’s and @bananafish’s Mizu No Oto contest as well...Today’s music-aides: “Calliope” [1.] and “Madness Combat 5.5” [2.] (Madness Combat OST by Cheshyre).}

Image taken by @f3nix.]

Brown and fallen leaves,
the blankets of Autumn walks
through serene forests.
{This part of the post was for the Mizu No Oto contest by @marcoriccardi and @bananafish.}

- Bewitching personality -

“Hocus-pocus!”
“Ha-ha! What a cute flower, Ashuri~”
“You cut it you Goat~”
“Like days of past, when spells only worked half of the time.”
“Heh, that’s true Saddie~”
“Here let’s check the spell book again. Maybe your bewitching personality got in the way of doing the witching.”
“And maybe you’re the missing ingredient I seek.”
“Eep!”
{This part of the post was for the 50-word tasker contest by @jayna.}

Image source here

- The Void -

[1.]

I wiggled out of a black puddle, twitching first my limbs. Impossibly healed I was, for my movement wasn’t lamed whence I was slam-dragged unto the floor. Yet the wall bore witness to itself with spider veins stemming from a black blob. Hitherto now, the noise of friction declared its presence and I spun to see what hid behind me; another wall retracts up, revealing four carcasses in a similar puddle to mine. Taking a step forwards, they in sync twitched wild and sprang unto their feet. In that same second, I scanned for a weapon and yanked a pipe from the wall.

The forwardmost creature bent down and pounced, my gripping hands feeling the rustic surface hard. I reeled back and swung, soon the leaping creature was a mere ball to my bat as I made a homerun with it. The two middle ones soon charged, the leftmost tempted a strike while the rightmost a follow up. I stole their thunder and duck-dashed in front of the exposed spot and gave a good counter-strike to the leftmost belly while I perried the follow up of the right. The rightmost jumped back and I helped it cover more distance by the force of my foot. Resulting in with it sleeping slumped on another sidewall, yet the fourth one was wise to strike now and it gained a sight of scratched skin when reeling back.

As I almost ate concrete, I pulled myself back up and found out I closed the distance of the stunned rightmost cadaver. So trusting not its stance, my foot signed its death certificate and I readied for the remaining two. I found the leftmost creature clenching the floor and the fourth one ready to dance, so I raised the pipe to bludgeon the leftmost down yet redirected it against the tricked fourth one. Soon metal meeting meat, the fourth met a fate making farce of the first one’s tragic death. My body readied to fight the leftmost creature, yet I saw it low-crawl to where I woke up.

Readying my pipe for a final blow, I however began dancing as the ground rumbled and I stepped back - chains with spear-tips ruptured my waking spot. Soon they began reversing direction and yanked a part of the room with it, the leftmost creature falling into The Void with it. I about-faced and began running towards the opened section of the room, stumbling near the edge of the floating concrete island. Stepping away from an endless flight, a wall behind me was summoned and stopped my motion. I reeled back and swung at the wall, small spider veins becoming bigger with every swing. The final swing bursting the pipe to fragments while opening up a hop unto another floating concrete island.

Without hesitation, I crawled and dragged my way into the space and fell flat onto the surface of the next island. Pulling myself up again, my eyes picked up those dismembered voidists. I swung my hand back, expecting a weapon and my body shivered that I still had one. I wielded it tightly and took potshots at them whence they charged at me. They fell fast, but the last one took the last bullet from my gun. And that last one popping in and out of reality, yet the final form puffing into this realm with a spitting image of my head on its diseased body. I took a good look at myself and pierced I was, by a chain, for my obedience towards self-inquiry. My gun let go, I was dragged through the concrete of the island and ended up floating into The Void.

Moments later, the chain slammed me unto the floor of another island and released me as soon. Standing up, I heard more chains retracting and the ground shaking as structures slammed on this island. Doors opened and the cracks stopped growing, out poured armed vestiges - closing in without shooting. One getting seriously close, I paid their bravery through disarming them and making use of them as a meat shield. Rounds fired and I heard guns clicking real soon, I then popped my rounds as they retreated back for cover. Yet, each dead vestige phasing in and out of reality to ultimately convert themselves into corpses with familiar faces.

Yet the last one appeared the most familiar to me, so I approached the corpse and touched it. Yet my vision became shocked with images of my friends at the time of their death. With the last image shocking my mind, they all resurrected themselves and formed into a single row - saluting me before puffing into a black smoke. The timing coinciding with a chain flying towards me that I flung myself away from in time. However, the chain continued on even after bursting through the floor. Walking away from that scene, I entered into a building; nameless like the rest but appearing like an armory.

Once my feet touched the inside, the vestiges turned around to see me as an unholy priest. They formed for the defences and counteroffensive, yet my trigger finger and luck outpaced their reaction speed. I pressed on, taking on waves and waves of them, even dodging a few chains as they popped in here and there. Yet soon I saw a familiar insignia, compelling me to stride forwards and fight against the internal acidifying sensations. As my gun ran out of bullets, I took the weapons of the slain; when they ran out of guns, I stole their melee weapons; as they resorted to fist, I resorted to ensuring endless pains for them. Whence I saw no vestige, I finally appeared where I wanted to be; however, The Void gave up on throwing waves of vestiges and chains and tried ripping apart the island.

Time ticked fast, my body gave a resounding last flight. My body’s speed catching up to the tearing pace of The Void, yet it cheated by getting more to split the island and a definite chasm began to form. Left with no choice but risking a jump, I flew in elegance like a bird. Soon, my body met again the concrete floor but on the other side instead of a different island down below. Seeing soon massive spider limbs with huge spikes, they tried piercing me but got repulsed quickly. I soon saw why they had failed, for the newly formed island had a barrier in defiance to The Void.

Turning back and limping whence my adrenaline died off, my lips began inching into an ancient smile. I felt tranquil and moved steadily towards the centre, slumping onto the centre pillar and finally resting on it. My fight finally over, no more waking up to face another round for The Void’s sick vision of enjoyment in pain. The Void beckoned for my return, even if the endless stream of spider limbs striking down on the barrier was how they communicated. I humbled its pride, now I shall silence it and make it remember the loss in its sea of victories. I tapped four times on the centre pillar and a galaxy hopper formed - engulfing soon the entire island.

[2.]

The distance from The Void to wherever I was going to be taken was preoccupied by the helical stream of white light inside this dark funnel. I rested my head more and took in the pure sight of such, never closing my eyes in that long journey of mine. Now the endless assaults quieted into a mere cacophony of a past noise. Soon I saw a galaxy began engulfing my line of sight, so I closed my eyes so I could see the beauty in full force whence I finally was there. I began hearing songs the birds chirped, forest critters mucking about on old branches and the gushing and pounding of a waterstream elsewhere. Finally hearing the centre pillar plop itself, I opened my eyes to wide green meadows, the packed forests and a giant waterfall to the side.

Before knocking on the pillar and giving other like me a chance to escape, I inspected myself in the safety of nature. Puke came racing out of my stomach and throat, I’ve decayed and I’ve believed I had did. How much I knew I did was of another field and my unconsciousness finally linked up to a now fractured whole that was my consciousness. But soon I gave up on freaking out, as I accepted I never could reclaim what I lost. It’s poison had gotten into me, even after I lashed out and resisted strongly against it. Corrupted now I am, but the contradiction between me and The Void finally resolved into this present stage.

Laughing over a thing out of my control, I came to accept for the price of a tranquil mind was having my looks reflecting the pains to achieve such. As such, I gently tapped four times the centre pillar and sent the centre pillar back to where it came from. Walking away before reentering that dimension, I saw the same galaxy hopper form up again and consumed it before disappearing away. About-facing, I walked off and walked on; never stopping but to smell the roses and take the occasional apple to munch on my empty stomach.

Even with what I used to perceive negatively my decayed body, nature had silently ignored the ugliness as to continue about its functions. With such silent signaling, I took in the peaceful music and accepted the rot that once grew into me even after I had killed it off. However much The Void played on my past sins, I only stand on such and accepted them wholly without blaming myself as the root cause. For to know and to blame are of separate beasts, the latter a signifier of trembling guilt on the accused and the former a signifier of no guilt nor innocence.

Stopping in my tracks, now it is only a mere matter of time of when I find others like me and equally those of past me. Yet as truly threatening the people of past me can be, those like me are something unintelligible I cannot grasp. But that time shall come, if ever. But that time shall come when the right man in the wrong place shows up. But that time shall come, and without mercy make me live a farce of that entire tragedy. But that time shall come.

And I shall not know what shall truly happen, yet forever accept it as a middle finger The Void so graciously left me with.

Cited posts:

@bananafish - ”Mizu No Oto”

@jayna - "50-word tasker"

@thewritersblock - "TWB Halloween Writing Contest"

Cited images

@f3nix - “Sixth Mizu No Oto photo”

@swirekster - "Fast Zombie Sketch"