The Fated Three

Familiar Faces

Freya Pov

    Feeling pulled towards the left tunnel, Freya turns to Rose. "Let's try not to die" she jokes lightly. Rose slightly chuckles in response. "Be careful" Freya quickly adds before turning back to the tunnel in front of her and entering the cold dark path. Cobwebs and bats hung from above. The lanterns on the wall barely lit up the tunnel causing Freya to squint trying to focus on what was in front of her. The deeper she went into the tunnel, the stronger the pull got. It was like she was in a trance. Continuing down the tunnel she saw splotches of blood splattered on the walls and ground. Her eyes followed the bloodstains leading to an old rusted steel door with big locks on the side. "Trying to keep others from getting in?...or maybe trying to keep something from getting out?" Freya whispers to herself moving towards the door. She leaned against it placing her ear on the door trying to see if she could hear anything. "Sylvie? Are you in there?" Freya questioned. 'Freya is that you? A weak voice from behind the steel door quietly answered. "Syl... god...are you okay? Hold on I'll get you out I promise" Freya quickly responded pulling at the steel door, her nails digging into the dirt around it trying to pry the door open. "Freya it's so cold and dark in here...I'm so scared" the voice croaked. Freya could hear the movement behind the door "I'm coming, don't worry I'm right here" Freya pleaded. Getting on her knees, she lays her head on the ground trying to see if she could see under the door. But she could only see shadows. "Freya help me!" the voice screamed from behind the door. "Sylvie...SYLVIE!" Freya shouted back. She got to her feet and called upon her earth magic. Roots and vines tore from the room leading up to the rusted steel door. It wrapped around it tightly and ripped the door from its hinges slinging it to the ground. Freya ran into the darkroom trying to push away the worried thoughts of what she might find. "Syl? Where are you?" Freya begged the darkness. She searched for her sister, bumping and staggering about the darkroom trying to find a light. She moved across the room before slipping and falling to the ground. "Fuck" Freya hissed. Moving her hand to push herself up, she could feel on the ground that there was something wet and slick under her hands. Since she couldn't see, she wiped her hands on her clothes before getting up. She stumbled some more until finally reaching a table. Finding a lantern and turning the knob, the light shines brightly blinding her. Trying to adjust to the light, Freya's vision becomes clear. "That's a lot better," Freya said happily before looking down to see what she had wiped on her clothes.

      "WHAT THE FUCK?" Freya shouts disgusted trying to wipe the deep dark blood away. As she looked up to study the room, her breath caught in her throat. She held her nose as she tried not to retch in the sight of dozens of slaughtered rotten bodies that lay in front of a bloody beaten-down shrine of a woman that resembled Sylvie. "Oh, goddess" Freya cried out loud. Walking towards the sculpture, she could barely make out the ancient symbols carved into the shrine. It looked as if someone had taken a blade and deliberately tried to hide what was once there. "What did they do to you Sylvie?" Freya somberly whispered reaching out to touch the stone model but hesitates. "Freya.." the voice called out to her again. Freya looked around to see where it was coming from. "Freya, help me" it whispered out from within the sculpture. Freya slowly leaned into the shrine. "Sylvie?" Freya questioned again. The voice grew even quieter "release me" it muttered too low for Freya to hear. She took a step back feeling a bit uneasy. "What?" Freya's brow frowned. She tensed and reached for her battle axe. The voice went silent.

     After a moment of nothing, Freya relaxed and turned to walk away. But as she did, a dark spiritual fog stood before her startling her. "What the-" was all Freya could say before the spirit grabbed hold of her and pulled her into darkness. Instantly feeling pain spread throughout her body "fuck" Freya huffs trying to fight it. It was pitch black. The voice spoke louder, surrounding her. "Hehehe, you foolish little girl" the voice taunted. It was melodic, yet bone-chilling. "Sylvie?" Freya called out, even though she knew it wasn't her sister. This magic was much darker. The voice chuckled again. "Hehe oh please, she is nothing compared to me" the voice mocked. Freya's voice went stern "Well are you going to show yourself and tell me who you are? Or are you just going to keep hiding in the shadows?' Freya challenged. The voice grunted in frustration. "Oh, I'd love to come out and play with you Freya. We already had so much fun playing tug of war earlier. It's too bad I'm stuck in here, well for now at least... Anyway, did you enjoy the little show I gave you?" it said in a sing-song voice. Freya tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked. The voice sighed again. "Have you forgotten me already... Oh poo. I was hoping we could be besties, or like sisters, I know how much you love sisters..." the voice teased. Freya's jaw clenched. " I love MY sister, I don't know who the hell you are and I don't care to find out. Where is Sylvie" Freya demanded. The voice groaned "ugh Sylvie Sylvie Sylvie... that's all I hear anymore. Gods I'm so SICK of that name, she is just some pathetic kid, the only thing she has going for her is that pretty little face... But I guess I'm a little biased in that area" the voice chuckled. Freya could feel her agitation grow along with her confusion. "What are you even talking about? Quit wasting my time, take me to my sister or I'll cut you down like I've done everyone else who got in my way, and find her myself." Freya demanded. The voice giggled. "Ooo, feisty little thing. That's cute that you think you could actually stand a chance against me. You don't even know who I am" the voice mused. It chuckled at Freya's frustration. "As I said, Sylvie is nothing compared to me. I am Lilith, practically the goddess of death. As for Sylvie..." Lilith's voice trailed off. In the darkness, a small fuzzy image of a beaten-up Sylvie began to form. Freya instantly reached out for it. "Sylvie" Freya called out. Lilith giggled again. "This, is your pathetic little sister.... Such a waste" Lilith tisked. Freya swung her axe at the darkness hitting nothing. "Ugh, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" Freya yelled. Lilith only laughed. "Not me little thing.." she mused again. Freya grunted in annoyance. "Would you like to see what happened? I myself would hate to see that face all messed up... but if you're so desperate..." She sighed. Freya gritted her teeth. Not sure what Lilith's angle was. After a moment she answered. "Show me" Freya muttered. Lilith chuckled again. "As you wish... catch you later Freya.. Oh, and just so you know, our games not over." She giggled in her sing-song voice. Freya felt the darkness fade away as the image grew brighter. The vision was blurry and came in flashes. "Calm down... relax you can do this" Freya huffs again trying to focus her mind.

      As the vision clears, she sees Sylvie sitting in the same room Freya found the shrine. In the vision, Freya could see clearly the room was where the sacrifices took place. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop resisting!" a man roars angrily slapping Sylvie across her face and kicking her to the ground. "No, I won't do it! You can't make me" Sylvie grunts through her teeth, the man grabs Sylvie by her hair and drags her across the room. "Oh you'll do it, or your friend here dies" the man offered. A beaten and tied up soldier comes into view. His bright green eyes were swollen and bloodshot. And dried blood dripped from his nose as if he had also taken a beating. 'Why does he look so familiar?' Freya thinks to herself. "Don't hurt him" Sylvie pleads. The man walks over to the soldier, yanks his hair to raise his chin, and puts a dagger to his throat. "Make your choice!" the man yells again. "Don't listen to him Vie!" The soldier yells. Angrily, the man punches the soldier in the face. The soldier's head bobs to the side from the blow, but he turns back with an amused look on his busted face. "You hit like a bitch" the soldier laughs spitting blood in the man's face. "Enough of this" the man grunts. He takes the dagger and slices the soldier's neck. "Noooo!" Sylvie screams running towards the soldier. "Do it and I'll save him" the man offered, gesturing to the soldier bleeding out on the floor. The soldier's eyes pleaded with Sylvie's to be strong and not give in. But as he choked and fought for air, she couldn't. "Okay...fine...just please...save him" Sylvie begs, tears streaming down her face.

       The man maliciously grins and reaches down to touch the soldier's wound, healing it. The soldier's throat patched itself together leaving an ugly, yet familiar scar. Finally healed, he gulped lung fulls of air. He coughed and tried to slow his breathing back to normal before looking at the man. "That's all you got? You even killed me like a bitch" the soldier coughed between chuckles. The man grits his teeth and took a threatening step towards the soldier, but Sylvie blocked him. The man looked down at Sylvie with a grin. "Now it's time for you to help me," the man says evilly. With a smirk on his face, the vision fades out almost instantly. "Sylvie, I promise I'll find you" Freya pledged silently to the darkness. Coming out of her vision, she found herself back in the room she was in before Lilith pulled her into the darkness. "I'm going to shred that bitch into pieces" Freya promised. Feeling the pull she felt from earlier, she moved towards the door. "Sure Freya, why not follow the mysterious pull you know nothing about" she whispered. "Goddess, please don't let me regret this" she added before leaving the room and turning down an unknown path. A sudden movement up ahead sends her on alert. This one wasn't just a shadow. "Shit" Freya whispered as she readies herself for combat.