the void [COMPLETED]

Lokheil : 03

This day was different. Lokheil felt her companion's grip tighten against hers as they stood amidst the crowd, watching the execution ceremony of a whole family. The entire family was sobbing, the father screaming for mercy while the mother called her children's names. They wore ragged clothes, dirtied by grime and blood.

"The sin your child committed is worse than that of a murder!" the executioner announced, his voice raised for the whole crowd to hear. "This city shall be purified of evildoers and Satan's pawns! So, let this be a lesson to those sinners... that impurity and sin have no place in this Land of Divinity!"

The crowd cheered and clapped at the executioner's speech. Lokheil knew better who the real sinner was.

"My child is no thief! All those are mere accusations against us, for we have no power to defend ourselves!" the mother cried, silencing the crowd. "You all know who the real sinner is! You accuse destitute people of the nobles' sins, to cleanse this land of people like us! To sweep the sin you caused under the rug and remain on your throne with people's corpses piling up beneath your luxury-clad feet!"

"Look at this filthy whore speaking. A witch whore like you has no right to speak!" A slap reverberated through the air, causing the kids and the father to cry out for the woman.

"However, you are partially right... we are cleansing this land -- annihilating and eradicating the bad! Since you dare to scream and talk against me, you will be the last to be executed." Lokheil gasped at the merciless punishment-- torture--while the whole crowd cheered.

She felt her companion trembling and sniffling beside her. Even she started to tear up too.

"Pull the lever! But make sure this witch whore witnesses her children and man's death." The mother's guttural scream was drowned out by the crowd's unified chanting of "Pull the lever!"

She closed her eyes just as her companion hugged her side. Although the horde of people was rowdy, she heard it, felt it: the heavy thud of something falling in sequence. Then, the mother's screams were cut off, followed by another thud.

The crowd went wild, celebrating their victory. The two left that day, trembling like a leaf.