Chapter 68 Strings (5) A boy with white hair, carrying two heads stood before the shore of the Sylvan lakes, behind him was a trail of gore. The journey must have been more than ten miles, and he had bled through most of it. His blood he shed alternated between the vivid red of a human's blood and the muddy yellow of an Abomination. These two opposite natures dwelled inside his body, and instead of the invasive blood of the Abomination corrupting and taking over his body, it seemed to have been stalled. For every time, the foul blood of the Abomination rose to take over his body, an inhuman resolve from the boy pushed it back. It could be seen by the white hair on his head, coupled with the heavy wounds on his body, that this boy had suffered far beyond what any human should. Regolf had forgotten everything, except for two things. He was starving, and he had to protect Steisa and momma… It was all that occupied his mind. Pain went by in a haze, and in the depth of his madness he kept hearing the same voice. It came with the voice of Steisa… Big brother, you are finally here with us! It came in the voice of Rose, his mother… Come closer to me… My child… Now and then, the hunger pangs would get too much for him, and via the urging of the voices, he would bend and eat off the bundle he held in his hand. The blood of Abominations was powerful, but it could not be created out of nothing. The boy had been healed countless times, and that blood needed sustenance. Although there must have been something inside him that rebelled, making his healing wounds tear apart again and again. That resolve had gotten extremely twisted, for he slowly ate the last of the bundle in his hand. He let the bloodied cloth drop to the floor, and unexpectedly he began to wail, giving out a long-drawn-out howl like a hyena, and as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Regolf stood there by the shore, for what seemed like an eternity. As he stood, the water in front of him began to bubble, and massive shapes began to move within. In a short while, Giant Abominations began coming out of the lake, there were three… Four… A dozen, until finally fourteen Giants, stood before the lone figure of the boy. Some of them eyed him with various eyes scattered all over their bodies, but soon looked away in apparent disinterest. In the case of Regolf, if he could see them, he gave no indication, he just stood and stared at the lake as if he were waiting for something. A soft sigh came from the lake and the fourteen Giant Abominations that stood at its shores went still like statues, as one, they all turned towards the lake. A solemn voice came from the depth of the water. If any mortal had heard it, their bodies would have exploded on the spot, their souls would be crushed and their lineage cursed. A Dominator would be transfixed and would, shortly after, a grisly fate much worse than death would follow. "The time draws near. My wait is nearly over. A mother loves all. Even the least of her children." A drop of gray blood rose from the water. The water parted around it, and the air seemed to burn. "Poor children. Take of Mother's breast. You shall starve no more." The Giant Abominations went crazy and began to attack each other. The battle was not quick, even though they did not defend themselves. They tore each other apart and their nature worked against them as they healed quickly. But their perseverance to kill and devour the other was inhumane, and soon they began to consume each other. The saliva from their mouth seemed to restrict the healing capabilities of their bodies. It was a grisly affair, and the screams from the fallen Giants being devoured would send chills down the spine of anyone. Bone and flesh were chewed and torn apart, and the yellow blood flowed into the lake in a small flood. A single Giant was soon left, and this one was very nightmarish. It had devoured the thirteen other Abominations, and its body was shattering apart. It had become a creature of pure disorder. None of its features could serve any visibly sensible purpose. It screamed with numerous mouths at the pale sky. The last Giant Abomination had more than fifteen heads and an excessive number of limbs. Eyes grew under its feet and tongues grew from its chest. It stood more than seventy feet tall, and it began to grow other limbs that could support its weight, but they ended up exploding from the sheer weight of this creature. It screamed in fury, as it had yet to learn control over its new form that was proving too difficult for it to effectively control. Bones grew out of its skin and from its numerous opened mouths came out human hair, which flowed in long silken strands. The Giant cried out in the voice of a host of devils. For many souls dwelled within it, and it could not find an equilibrium with itself. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 It shambled and slowly crawled towards the gray blood that was burning in the air. The sounds from the dozens of mouths in its body screamed of desire. When it got to the blood. The biggest mouth in its body opened. The mouth was located on a random shoulder. Inside that mouth was another mouth, and that one also opened to reveal yet another mouth, like a haunted Matryoshka doll. A final mouth opened and a thick green tongue that had ears growing on it and intestines entangled around it, stretched out like a decaying worm and lapped at the blood, like a dog. The mouth began to slowly disintegrate, and it screamed and returned into the body. Another mouth came, and it opened and also lapped at the blood. It soon began to fall apart, and it returned and another mouth came. The creature used the mouths from all over its body to lick the blood, and the Giant Abomination gradually began to shrink. It used that method to slowly whittle away at the drop of blood until it consumed half of it. Anymore and it would destroy itself, for it was severely bleeding as the portion that disintegrated from touching that blood did not heal. When it appeared as if the Giant Abomination could no longer consume the blood, the remaining blood drop began to fall into the water. A sigh came from the depth. "Mychildrenhavefallenfartofrailty. Mymilklefttowaste." A single great eye opened in the body of the shrunken Abomination. The eyes were filled with lust, greed and other fell desires. The Abomination suddenly leaped forward and opened a jaw that was the size of half its body and swallowed the blood drop. It curled into itself on the shore of the Lake and it began to burn. Pieces of it liquefied and turned to black ooze, and it slowly shrank until it formed the shape of a placenta. A whispering voice that sounded like the chill of the abyss came from the placenta. "Mother. Your child comes." "You are not good enough, little one. My champion is here!"