The Eternal in Abyss

Chapter 53: Breaking Out

KASDEYA ARGYROS' Point of View

"Katharsis truly are fools, aren't they?" A voice asks, but I'm not entirely sure that I should answer.

"They claim to carry the will I have failed and abandoned, but they'll never understand the woes of a mother." The voice is ringing, and it's unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. Kinilabutan ako. "To see their children dethroned, a despairing sight. I did whatever I could to salvage what they have lost, to give it back to them and avenge them, but alas...

"Heroes are worse enemies than those newer gods themselves."

There's no dream. Just a voice. Wala akong makita kundi kadiliman sa ilalim ng mga talukap ko. I know I'm sleeping, and someone is talking to me... blocking out my other dreams.

Hindi ito ang batang babae na laging kumakausap sa akin. This voice is different. It's much deeper, mature, the sound of an old woman buried deep beneath the earth.

As if the earth itself is her mouth. But there's no ground or dirt around me. Not even a sky or a sea. It's just dark.

"Olympian or not, those little gods are no different from each other. They are merely pawns who pretend they can rule the world, but they can never make the earth bow down to them."

A low laugh reverberates around my head, as if it's an empty chamber where she's speaking in.

"Katharsis are fools," Ulit nito. "And I will not let them have their taste at power."

Another shiver. Something crawls at my skin, the same feeling of dirt touching me when I lie down on the ground.

"They think they can use my children for their own benefit?"

Nakakasulasok ang amoy ng lupa sa ilong ko.

"They will have to think again."

The back of my eyes hurt. My mind is ringing. My skull is one pound away from being cracked open. The smell of earth penetrates through my skin down to my flesh, as if seeking to swallow me whole.

"And you..."

Kahit na hindi ko maramdaman ang aking katawan, kinilabutan ako. This time, her voice isn't distant. Like she's speaking to me directly, and every rise and fall of her tone accompanies the pounding in my head.

"Demigods like you... will join them."

Who are you? Sinubukan kong ibuka ang aking bibig ngunit walang lumabas na tunog dito. I try to feel my tongue, my lips. Why does it feel so dry and grainy?

Naubo ako. Hindi ko pa rin maramdaman ang aking katawan, pero umubo ako nang umubo.

I vomit soil and rotten roots.

Without knowing, my consciousness is already covered by dirt. Sinubukan kong gisingin ang sarili ko. Mas lalo lang akong hinatak ng lupa.

The feminine voice laughs, as if it can see my struggle. "I will destroy every half-blood. Every god. Every single one of you."

Lumayo muli ang boses.

"The creation of man was the first flaw of the divine. The elder gods wouldn't have made that mistake... My children will rule the world again once I've killed those who came after them."

I won't let that happen. Saad ko sa aking isipan. I can't let a goddess dictate my life and my fate.

But the struggle remains silent. Can she even hear me?