On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Side Twenty-Five – The Widow Of Nails – End Of Arc 4

“No… please stop… have… aaagh… mercy, forgive meeeeeeeeeeeee!” the pitiful cries coming from the next room, punctuated by pained, damp gasps and the sounds of heavy blows striking soft flesh, were quite off-putting, yet the woman sitting placidly in the comfortable chair paid it little mind, merely playing with a four-inch-long rusted nail in her long and pallid hands, flipping it between her pale fingers idly. She was wearing a kimono, a faded grey that might once have been white, and the ragged hems and sleeves were covered in some sort of dark dirt, as were her fingernails, looking as if she had been digging through soil with her bare hands.

An outside observer would wonder what a woman wearing such poor clothes was doing sitting in quite the opulent room, but on closer inspection one would see other things somehow… off… about her. She had floor-length long black hair, but it too smelt of grave-soil. Her skin was white, but not healthy, instead waxy and untouched by the sun.

“Uhh, ahh… please… I… stop hitting… aaagh!” the cries were getting weaker, the sounds of struck flesh and bone growing ever louder, matching the rapidly increasing sounds of obscene grunts from another throat. Hideous slapping and squelching noises could be heard, as well as pained gasps from both a male voice, and a weakly fading female one.

Ignoring the spectacle, the pale woman continued playing with the nail, careful to avoid clinking it against the pale gold band around her ring-finger. As the ring entered her gaze, she reflexively cast her black, lifeless eyes to the entrance of the room beyond. Such a brute. All men are. To think I am forced to yield to such a monster. The world would be better when all men disappear…

As if to support her words a throaty yet languid roar came from the male in the room, drowning out the weeping cries of the woman. There was one final, awful sound of snapping bone, cutting off the cries of the woman, then a heavy thump, as though something… weighty… had hit the ground hard.

Moments later a man came out of the room, naked and reeking, covered in sweat and other secretions. He was tall and well built, his closely cropped black hair, well-defined features and muscular arms gave him the image of a Yakuza, or perhaps more charitably a soldier. On seeing the pale woman his eyes narrowed, and his grin was disgusting, provoking a wave of revulsion to run through her. “Ahh, Kiku. Perfect timing. There’s another one. Can you… handle disposal and convert her to a servant? I need to have a shower.” He ran one hand through his hair, and she noticed that his knuckles were starting to swell, and were stained with the dark red of blood.

Again? The vile animal. He cannot restrain his appetites, spreading ruin wherever he goes like a filthy wild boar, rutting and ravaging the landscape and innocent girls… Still, she was unable to say this out loud, bound as she was to his service. And he casually calls me by my given name. Only my husband did that… still… the nail she was twirling clinked against the old gold band on her finger, snapping her out of her thoughts. Putting on the best smile she could manage, her expressionless, placid mask of a face twisting into an approximation of a smile, she bowed, her hair falling in front of her face like a funeral shroud. “As you wish, Kondou-dono. It shall be done.”

Not wishing to speak to him any further she swept into the room behind him, her nose wrinkling at the mixed smell of blood and bodily fluids. The hem of her ragged kimono dragged through the spreading blood, crimson mixing with black. Her bare feet left red footprints on the tiled floor, a trail all the way to the corpse of the victim.

She was lying on the ground, her skin still warm and slicked with sweat. She was of Eastern descent, certainly, though not Japanese, the colouring and facial structure foreign to these lands. She was also naked, her clothes lying torn and discarded in one corner. How many is this now… seven, or eight? His appetites are growing more reckless. Surely he will bring unwanted attention to himself if this continues. The Doushin and Yoriki, the samurai who are tasked with keeping the peace, they are always watching. They may not pay too much attention to these foreigners that go missing, such happens all the time in the brothels and bordellos of Edo, yet I do not believe he will be able to restrain his appetites. I have seen him look with disgusting eyes at beautiful girls, and as he continues to sate his lusts… the nail that she was twirling bounced off her ring again, scoring a tiny line in the gold. This snapped her back to the present. It is not my concern. I may wish him ill, but he is the master, much as my husband was…

Reaching down, her cold fingers brushed aside the brown hair of the victim, seeing her face more clearly. Her head was lolling at an angle, her neck broken, and her face was covered in bruises and abrasions, several teeth missing. Oh you poor thing. Just one more in a line of girls to end this way. Oh Kami of this land, why have you forsaken us, the fairer sex? How long will we be subservient to the whims of such lustful beasts?

Taking the nail in her hand she slowly pushed it down, until it was touching the victims’ skull. Flexing her arm, the nail pierced flesh and bone, disappearing into the cavity below, foul matter gushing free. As it entered the corpse the pale woman coughed, dark blood leaking from the corners of her mouth, shockingly bright on the bone-white of her skin. Some of this fell from her lips, staining the face of the dead girl. As it did she felt a burning warmth within her, and her vision blurred, seeing into the higher realm, the Boundary. A pale, almost transparent shape was rising, pulling free from the corpse.

“Rise, my poor child.” She said to the confused spectre, who was looking around, her facial features indistinct and misty, her lower body insubstantial, ending in a fog rather than legs. “Your old life is over, yet your sorrow lives on. I shall not forget you, nor your vengeance. I shall keep it in my heart, mixed with my own, and the voices of all those who cry out for mercy against the cruelty of the oppressors.” Though my words carry little weight, as she will still be serving the one who has so abused her, even to taking her very life…

Her eyes, which were radiating dark light, could see other similar wraiths flitting over, passing through walls and other physical barriers. As they gathered she smiled gently. “Please look after your new sister. I shall return to you soon, so rest. Your battles have been terrible, I know, I know.”

With that she cut her connection to the Boundary, the terrible toll it was taking on her spiritual reserves severed. Taking a long, shuddering breath which smelt of mould and rot, she opened her mouth wide, and then wider, and wider, until it was far removed from anything a human could do. Her maw was gaping so wide her entire arm could fit inside easily, and she rammed in her pale hand, reaching and scrabbling. Finding what she sought, she pulled, sounds of pain and strain leaving her. Something pulled free with a sickening crunch of breaking bone, and she retrieved a bloody tooth. Even as she watched the tooth changed, turning into a rusted nail, which she again started playing with idly. Looking down at the corpse below her, her bloody mouth gaping wide, her teeth now looking like sharp metal spikes, she spoke sorrowfully, the words mangled by her strange new visage. “Farewell, poor child. To end up forgotten, with not even a grave for your family to pay their respects… at least your pain and vengeance shall live on with me…” with that she bent down, and her jaws closed around one arm, ripping free dead flesh from the corpse…

********

Once her bloody deed was done, Kiku returned to the other room, to find her master Kondou Kazuo-dono, waiting for her. He was now freshly showered and changed, and was wearing a very expensive suit and some sort of cloying cologne. The strange device, the… television?... was showing those strange moving images that she could not understand, and he was drinking from a clear glass bottle, the likes of which only the lords of Edo should have had access to.  There is much that is strange here. But Kondou-dono must be fabulously wealthy, perhaps a merchant of some renown. She was limited to this building, as Kondou-dono did not deign to let her outside, and she had felt terribly weaker when she had tried initially, but when she looked out of the glass windows so clear they could have graced a palace, she could see sights she could never have believed, buildings reaching the sky, crowds of people in such numbers as to be impossible, plus many more things that shook her mind. Japan has changed so much while I slept. But what has not changed is…

“So, is it done?” he asked lazily, not even offering her any alcohol. Though perhaps he feels I might be satiated, after my… bitter feast…

“I have… cleaned up. She has joined her sisters in the higher realm, and merely awaits my… I mean your orders, master.”

“Indeed, and don’t forget it. How goes the war?” he said, eyeing her coldly. “We have not made progress these last days.”

“It is challenging, Kondou-dono. The enemy is not numerous, yet they have some powerful beasts. Your own… forces…” she hated calling them allies. They were but monstrous creatures, which looked at her and her daughters with foul, lustful eyes, even if it was simply by instinct, not intent… still, some of them were useful… if only in death…“… while unending in numbers are no match for them. However we push further in each time, so it is only a matter of when…”

Her master scowled, his somewhat handsome features twisting. Yes, that looks more like his true self. A mad beast…

“I do not need excuses. I am already wasting significant effort continually replenishing my army. Their defences are non-existent, we should be able to overrun then with ease. We should be crawling over them like army ants. Even the biggest prey will be devoured by the swarm. And as for your servants… why are they so weak in battle? You would think since they cannot be hurt, they’d be of more use…”

“They gather valuable knowledge for us, Kondou-dono. They have also managed to assassinate a few of our enemies. As they had little strength in life, in death…” Even in death, us women have no peace. Her face remained expressionless, but the fondling of her nail increased in intensity. “… we will do better.”

“See that you do.” He sighed, relaxing. “I shouldn’t be impatient. It is going my way. And this weekend there is a gathering of business leaders I have managed to get an invite to. Some of the new Nobility will likely be there.” he grinned, and she wished she could step back, as it was repulsive and full of envy, greed and lust. “All the daughters and wives are gorgeous. If only I could have one of those for my own…” he muttered to himself “… sadly, as our wealth only comes from my father’s generation, we were not considered… but then… none of them have the power I now wield… so maybe…”

“Excuse me, I shall now withdraw, my master.” Kiku bowed and left him to his vile machinations. Once the door was shut, she let out a bone-weary sigh, nail once more scarping a gouge in her gold ring. He is strong yes, to have bested me, yet if he lays his hand on any Noblewoman, he is sure to meet his end. Of that, I am sure nothing about Edo has changed… she broke out in a vicious grin, her mouth full of metal teeth. And if he falls, I shall be sure to show him tender mercy, as I did my husband, so long ago…