Within the Void
In the months that followed the fall of Murdermachines, there was no silence within the void; the rage of my brethren was too great. Without that fortress, and more importantly, the beacon within, we could not return to the world and take fresh bodies. None of us, except for AnimaRytak, had been powerful enough to cross the veil without that beacon.
And unfortunately, AnimaRytak had never returned after Murdermachines fell. The Mad Fool returned and spoke of our leader’s death. Yet Anima never returned to us.
“Well that didn’t fucking work,” the voice of Baelor roared through the empty void. “Kobolds. Kobolds! The most worthless of creatures known to our people and our fortress was wiped out by them!”
“Don’t look at me, I at least died against goblins.” Derm replied.
Prosnorkulus’ spoke next, “The voidspawn were the real threat. We ignored them and it cost us dearly.”
“Let’s not forget about the Ambassador.” Bulborish added absently, “We never did slay him.”
The squabbling had never ceased. Each dwarf blamed another for the fall. The most blame fell on our absent leader. Perhaps this was out of shame. We, the dwarves, had once conquered hell itself. Now we had fallen to kobolds and goblins, enemies we had conquered a thousand times.
“And where is AnimaRytak?! Was he not our leader? Is this failure not his!” Saint screamed.
The cackling sound of Him came, “What’s the matter little dwarf, do you hate the void so?”
“Quite! You could’ve helped us. Taken a vessel and fought against our enemies,” Saint shouted back.
“Alas little one, I am not a dwarf. Your kind cannot serve as my vessel.”
“None of this wouldn’t have happened if we had strengthened our military instead of gorging ourselves in an orgy of hedonism!” Blade shouted at Saint.
Little by little, more and more voices joined into the chaos until individual voices were no longer audible. I said nothing. There was nothing for me to add that would’ve helped us. With a depressed sigh, I turned my attention from my brothers.
That is until an intense pain wracked my spirit to the very core.
“Silence.” Like a thousand mouths screaming into my ears, a deep, ethereal voice boomed and overwhelmed the noise of my brethren. Despite the crippling presence of the voice, it was not a scream or a shout, it was a single utterance that carried with it incredible power.
We abided the voice’s command.
“There will be no more squabble amongst you. I have returned.” Once again the voice boomed; this time the essence of the abyss changed with it. Like birds caught in a hurricane, we were helpless but submit to his will. Even Him, the most powerful being we knew, was a whisper compared to this.
“I have failed you once my brothers. But hear me now, Murdermachines shall be ours once more.”
“Lord Anima, you have returned to us…” The Mad Fool spoke first, “Excellent! Most excellent!”
The crowd sung praises onto the new presence of our leader. Something had happened to him to make him something stronger than he had been. While he had been the most skilled in manipulating the void and the veil, he had never been able to bend the abyss to his will so readily.
But soon I knew why. Buried deep within his spirit, I could sense a familiar essence; a chaotic, primordial force.
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Topic: Murdermachines - Return of the VoidGod (Deathgate II) (Read 827551 times)