Post by Donzig on Jul 20, 2022 22:52:17 GMT -5
'You follow what you feel inside
It's intuitive, you don't have to try
It comes naturally, mm, it comes naturally
And it takes my breath away
What you do so naturally...'
Zolothatch hung in darkness, floated in nothingness. All she saw was darkness, as far as she could reach she felt nothing. She knew there was water somewhere, but she was numb to it. And of course, the only thing she heard was Selena Gomez. It blasted day and night, it never stopped.
'You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be...'
Suddenly she blinked, twisting her head away as light stabbed at her eyes. She was ripped from the tank and thrown to the floor, and as her eyes adjusted she saw Armand was being dragged to his knees beside her. He was bond and dripping much as she was, except he was gagged. And then as her eyes adjusted she saw him staring at them from what seemed to be a throne, a chesspiece rolled between his fingers. His eyes blazed with terrible life behind his mask as he leaned forward.
Sinclair Godfrey stood beside him, her face impassive.
'I am sad to say that your stay with us will be coming to an end soon. You see I don't care what happens to either one of you, I wanted Esmeralda distracted. I wanted her to suffer, to know what it is like to have something stolen from her.'
Donzig extended a hand, and Sinclair dropped a leather belt studded with plates into his hand. He held it out, waving it before Armand and Zolo as he rose to his feet.
'These are nothing, these are a testament to nothing but pride, to arrogance. They merely tell you what you should already know! That I am supreme, that I am the greatest wrestler who walks this plane! That I am everything I say I am! That I am the New God of Extreme!'
'No one will call you that.' muttered Zolo, shaking in the chill.
Donzig whirled on her, and he stomped forward as his hand balled into a fist.
'They will, for I shall command it! I am the Wonder and Terror of this age, the Scourge! I punish the wicked, I give fear to the righteous! And your mother will soon know that, because Esmeralda Von Krauss has much wickedness to answer for! So much depravity, so much sin that it's reek touches the very vault of the heavens! And I will make her suffer for all of it! And then I will take these plates from her! Because they do not mean so much to me? But clearly they mean alot to her! Because what she stole from me was my destiny! Was immortality itself!'
Zolo swallowed, and she saw even Sinclair wince as Donzig's voice had risen to a shriek. He threw the plates on the floor before Armand, and he started to pace again as he took a deep breath. Then another as he glared at them.
'Esmeralda doesn't care about me! She hates me!'
A snort.
'Let me explain something to you, Zolo. People like your mother, people like me? We collect enemies, and those enemies become like our families. We hold them close to our hearts, and at night we think of them! And so when someone, anyone lays a hand on one of my enemies? If they dare to put their hands on what I claim as my own? It makes me want to hurt them do you understand?'
Zolo did not. 'You're insane.'
'We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' Donzig hissed, and he dropped into his throne.
Armand said something, but he was garbled by the gag in his mouth. Donzig stared at him, and then he gestured with a wave of his hand.
'No, no, no. Old friend, you have said enough. I don't want to hear anything else from you.'
'Do you fear his words?'
'Words have power, Little Zolo. Especially to a being like myself.'
Donzig stared at them, and he pulled out the chess piece again to dangle it on it's chain. It spun in a slow circle, and he stared at it before he leaned back again with a shrug. Sinclair watched him, and a hand lifted to brush across her chin. And Armand looked at her, shaking his head before jerking it towards Donzig. The Scourge was already getting bored, she knew suddenly. He was going to send them back into the nothing, and she stammered.
'Why the sensory depravation, why the music?'
He looked up, almost seeming to remember they were there.
'What?'
'Why not torture? Pain?'
A snort of laughter, and Donzig's hand closed on the white king.
'Pain? I know a million ways to cause pain, just sitting here I can think of at least ten ways to hurt without breaking a sweat. I could make you beg for death, I could leave you a ruin! But that isn't want I want, that will not serve the Great Dark.'
Donzig rose again, and he swept forward as he he swept his wrist across the mask. The chain of that dangling chess piece wrapped around his fingers as he looked between them before he shrugged.
'I want you to feel what I feel. I want you to drink deep of the cup of my own Hell, and that is this! An eternity of nothing, an endless fucking gulf of it! Where time has no meaning, where there is just more blackness! More emptiness! Every second, every minute, every fucking hour the same! Always the same! Over and over and over again! Trapped in it! No escape, no reprieve! Just the empty dark waiting for you! And worst, worst of all? You are buried inside yourself, you are alone with yourself, and your thoughts! Your own shadows, yeah?'
The room seemed to grow darker, colder as he reached down to grab her chin. And he forced her head up, making her gaze meet the empty black gaze of his eyes behind that mask. And she saw her own reflection distorted across the dull metal, and he hissed as he leaned closer.
'And above it all, above and below, all around you! The screams of the Void, the endless fucking shriek of Oblivion as it devours our dying world! And I promise you, I promise you both that she doesn't sound nearly as pleasant as Selena Gomez.'
Donzig shoved her back, and she felt huge hands grab her shoulders. The Death Squad, every present as Donzig walked back towards that plain throne as he flung himself down on it. And he shrugged, staring at Armand before he waved his fingers.
'Armand was right, you see Esmeralda? She did what no one else has done, what has not been done for a long time. She hurt me, you see I thought she and I? We were creatures of a kind, that we understood each other! And the moment I put all of my faith, all of my trust into her? She showed me that I was wrong, that I was wrong to trust her! That I was wrong to believe in her! And so--'
Donzig fell silent, tapping his fingers against the arm of his chair.
'I will break her. I will teach her about my pain. And I will take the plates that she valued over destroying those accursed Pillars from her! I will diminish myself by wearing those plates of gold like some fucking commoner as a penance for my failure! You see, Armand, above all things on heaven or on earth? Great Donzig can not abide being wrong! I can not stand it! And as I strike down your precious wife?'
Donzig sniffed, and he stared down at that chess piece before his fingers coiled around it.
'That will be a penance too, as every blow! Every ounce of blood, every pound of flesh, every fucking moment of pain I cause her! It will be as an agony I inflict upon myself, and that will be a reminder to me what comes of trusting those who are not the Children of the Fall! Those who have not heard the call of the Void, eh? And that is why both of you, and all of REIGN, and everyone in the XHF should be afraid! Because I hate nothing, I hate nothing so much as what I love! And in my way? I loved Esmeralda!'
Donzig leaned back again, and he stared at them before his hand lifted.
'Release them. Let them go tell Esmeralda what they have learned, let them tell her that I am coming. That I am already here. That the Scourge is waiting, always waiting!'
Sinclair nodded slowly, and the Death Squad pulled them to their feet.
'Tell her I will see her soon.'
It's intuitive, you don't have to try
It comes naturally, mm, it comes naturally
And it takes my breath away
What you do so naturally...'
Zolothatch hung in darkness, floated in nothingness. All she saw was darkness, as far as she could reach she felt nothing. She knew there was water somewhere, but she was numb to it. And of course, the only thing she heard was Selena Gomez. It blasted day and night, it never stopped.
'You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be...'
Suddenly she blinked, twisting her head away as light stabbed at her eyes. She was ripped from the tank and thrown to the floor, and as her eyes adjusted she saw Armand was being dragged to his knees beside her. He was bond and dripping much as she was, except he was gagged. And then as her eyes adjusted she saw him staring at them from what seemed to be a throne, a chesspiece rolled between his fingers. His eyes blazed with terrible life behind his mask as he leaned forward.
Sinclair Godfrey stood beside him, her face impassive.
'I am sad to say that your stay with us will be coming to an end soon. You see I don't care what happens to either one of you, I wanted Esmeralda distracted. I wanted her to suffer, to know what it is like to have something stolen from her.'
Donzig extended a hand, and Sinclair dropped a leather belt studded with plates into his hand. He held it out, waving it before Armand and Zolo as he rose to his feet.
'These are nothing, these are a testament to nothing but pride, to arrogance. They merely tell you what you should already know! That I am supreme, that I am the greatest wrestler who walks this plane! That I am everything I say I am! That I am the New God of Extreme!'
'No one will call you that.' muttered Zolo, shaking in the chill.
Donzig whirled on her, and he stomped forward as his hand balled into a fist.
'They will, for I shall command it! I am the Wonder and Terror of this age, the Scourge! I punish the wicked, I give fear to the righteous! And your mother will soon know that, because Esmeralda Von Krauss has much wickedness to answer for! So much depravity, so much sin that it's reek touches the very vault of the heavens! And I will make her suffer for all of it! And then I will take these plates from her! Because they do not mean so much to me? But clearly they mean alot to her! Because what she stole from me was my destiny! Was immortality itself!'
Zolo swallowed, and she saw even Sinclair wince as Donzig's voice had risen to a shriek. He threw the plates on the floor before Armand, and he started to pace again as he took a deep breath. Then another as he glared at them.
'Esmeralda doesn't care about me! She hates me!'
A snort.
'Let me explain something to you, Zolo. People like your mother, people like me? We collect enemies, and those enemies become like our families. We hold them close to our hearts, and at night we think of them! And so when someone, anyone lays a hand on one of my enemies? If they dare to put their hands on what I claim as my own? It makes me want to hurt them do you understand?'
Zolo did not. 'You're insane.'
'We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' Donzig hissed, and he dropped into his throne.
Armand said something, but he was garbled by the gag in his mouth. Donzig stared at him, and then he gestured with a wave of his hand.
'No, no, no. Old friend, you have said enough. I don't want to hear anything else from you.'
'Do you fear his words?'
'Words have power, Little Zolo. Especially to a being like myself.'
Donzig stared at them, and he pulled out the chess piece again to dangle it on it's chain. It spun in a slow circle, and he stared at it before he leaned back again with a shrug. Sinclair watched him, and a hand lifted to brush across her chin. And Armand looked at her, shaking his head before jerking it towards Donzig. The Scourge was already getting bored, she knew suddenly. He was going to send them back into the nothing, and she stammered.
'Why the sensory depravation, why the music?'
He looked up, almost seeming to remember they were there.
'What?'
'Why not torture? Pain?'
A snort of laughter, and Donzig's hand closed on the white king.
'Pain? I know a million ways to cause pain, just sitting here I can think of at least ten ways to hurt without breaking a sweat. I could make you beg for death, I could leave you a ruin! But that isn't want I want, that will not serve the Great Dark.'
Donzig rose again, and he swept forward as he he swept his wrist across the mask. The chain of that dangling chess piece wrapped around his fingers as he looked between them before he shrugged.
'I want you to feel what I feel. I want you to drink deep of the cup of my own Hell, and that is this! An eternity of nothing, an endless fucking gulf of it! Where time has no meaning, where there is just more blackness! More emptiness! Every second, every minute, every fucking hour the same! Always the same! Over and over and over again! Trapped in it! No escape, no reprieve! Just the empty dark waiting for you! And worst, worst of all? You are buried inside yourself, you are alone with yourself, and your thoughts! Your own shadows, yeah?'
The room seemed to grow darker, colder as he reached down to grab her chin. And he forced her head up, making her gaze meet the empty black gaze of his eyes behind that mask. And she saw her own reflection distorted across the dull metal, and he hissed as he leaned closer.
'And above it all, above and below, all around you! The screams of the Void, the endless fucking shriek of Oblivion as it devours our dying world! And I promise you, I promise you both that she doesn't sound nearly as pleasant as Selena Gomez.'
Donzig shoved her back, and she felt huge hands grab her shoulders. The Death Squad, every present as Donzig walked back towards that plain throne as he flung himself down on it. And he shrugged, staring at Armand before he waved his fingers.
'Armand was right, you see Esmeralda? She did what no one else has done, what has not been done for a long time. She hurt me, you see I thought she and I? We were creatures of a kind, that we understood each other! And the moment I put all of my faith, all of my trust into her? She showed me that I was wrong, that I was wrong to trust her! That I was wrong to believe in her! And so--'
Donzig fell silent, tapping his fingers against the arm of his chair.
'I will break her. I will teach her about my pain. And I will take the plates that she valued over destroying those accursed Pillars from her! I will diminish myself by wearing those plates of gold like some fucking commoner as a penance for my failure! You see, Armand, above all things on heaven or on earth? Great Donzig can not abide being wrong! I can not stand it! And as I strike down your precious wife?'
Donzig sniffed, and he stared down at that chess piece before his fingers coiled around it.
'That will be a penance too, as every blow! Every ounce of blood, every pound of flesh, every fucking moment of pain I cause her! It will be as an agony I inflict upon myself, and that will be a reminder to me what comes of trusting those who are not the Children of the Fall! Those who have not heard the call of the Void, eh? And that is why both of you, and all of REIGN, and everyone in the XHF should be afraid! Because I hate nothing, I hate nothing so much as what I love! And in my way? I loved Esmeralda!'
Donzig leaned back again, and he stared at them before his hand lifted.
'Release them. Let them go tell Esmeralda what they have learned, let them tell her that I am coming. That I am already here. That the Scourge is waiting, always waiting!'
Sinclair nodded slowly, and the Death Squad pulled them to their feet.
'Tell her I will see her soon.'