Guilty x Creatures Ch. 03

The shoggoth let out a frustrated sigh as she hung both of her heads.

"They are both spoiled, lazy, terrible people and I lost all sympathy for them a long time ago!" she exclaimed without looking back at him.

"...I can understand that" nodded Anton as his face became thoughtful looking.

"...What would you like to know?" asked the shoggoth as she let out another sigh.

"Do they really live here alone?" questioned Anton.

"Yes" answered Salia "And they have the entire time I have been here"

"This is a pretty big house for only two people and a maid" mused Anton "There's nearly a dozen rooms with hardly anything in them. And do neither of them use the master bedroom? Because it's completely empty in there?"

"They have left it that way with the hope that their Mother will wish to use it again one day" explained Salia.

"I see..." mumbled Anton as he nodded again "So are they close with their Mother then?"

"No" declared Salia bluntly "They are not"

Anton tilted his head and smirked at the shoggoth.

Salia sighed again.

"I apologize for being blunt! But I do not wish for you to have any misplaced sympathies for them. They do not deserve any kindness!" she exclaimed as her puddles on the keyboards began to quiver furiously.

Anton glanced at the laptop screens as hidden passwords were quickly entered into the waiting boxes. As each one failed it was replaced almost instantaneously as Salia typed them in using her own mass.

"They will make efforts to contact their Mother fairly often. Aside from an occasional returning phone call she does not reciprocate" explained Salia as a pair of her strange eyes became focused on each of the two screens in front of her "She is technically the one who hired me but I have never met her personally. Nor have I ever been aware of any time that she has even seen her daughters while I have been here"

"Really?" questioned Anton as he shifted his gaze from the shoggoth to the screens and back "Not even at any of the holidays?"

"No" declared Salia as she shook both of her heads "She does not seem to regard her daughters as being worthy of any priority"

"Do you have any idea why she wouldn't want to see them?" asked Anton as he looked from one shoggoth to the other.

"...No, I don't know of any specific reason" answered Salia "Whenever they have asked to spend time with her she has always claimed that she is busy with her work"

Anton nodded as his face became thoughtful.

"...How old are they?" he asked.

"I'm not sure of their exact age?" replied Salia as her brow creased in thought "They are in their early twenties at the very least, but beyond that I can't be sure. They seem much younger than they really are"

"I got that same impression" nodded Anton "Their bedrooms are... sparse, its hard to even discern any individuality between them"

Salia stopped typing and turned to look at him.

"...What? Don't look at me like that!" exclaimed Anton with a smile "It's not like I'm in there rolling around in their panties! I'm just trying to find out more about the people that kidnapped me, that's all!"

Still smiling, Anton stared back at the shoggoth as she seemed to assess him. After a moment she turned back to the computers and continued typing.

"From what I understand, they've spent the majority of their lives living in boarding school settings" she said without looking at him "They have continued to live that same lifestyle here. They request the same menu items every week. They keep their bedrooms sparsely decorated, as you've apparently noticed. They rarely ever leave the house. And they spend nearly every waking hour together. At this point, I'm not sure that they even know how to live any other way"

"Wait? They never leave?" asked Anton as he creased his eyebrows "Ever?"

"It is very rare, and only for short periods" explained Salia "They often come back in very somber moods that can last for days"

"...So, they don't have careers then?" questioned Anton.

"No, their mother pays for their living expenses. She is quite successful and wealthy" explained Salia.

"Hm... What about their little hunting trips? I'm guessing those are pretty rare as well?" asked Anton as he glanced in the general direction of the dungeon "It really doesn't seem like that dungeon down there has seen very much use... Although I guess it could be the case that you're just amazing at cleaning it"

"I would be!" boasted Salia "But so far that has not been necessary. You are their first attempt at acquiring a victim. And I think its safe to say that this has been a complete failure for them!"

"Really!?" exclaimed Anton as he cocked his eyebrow at the shoggoth "I could tell they weren't very experienced but I'm surprised to hear that I'm their very first!"

A sudden frantic scratching sound filled the kitchen and the Salia at the stove raised a long tentacle from the stalk that her body rested on and reached across the kitchen to the door that led to the backyard. A tiny happy looking Pomeranian zipped into the house and raced across the room to Anton. The little dog wore a pink collar with the name Molly etched onto a brass tag. She jumped up and down at Anton's chair and yipped for his attention. Grinning, he reached down and rubbed her ears as well as the side of her face and little dog grunted happily at his touch.

"Molly!" called the Salia at the stove as her long tentacle glided across the room while carrying a bowl of food.

Molly instantly turned her head as her name was called. She took off at a run and chased the floating food bowl while barking in excitement. Salia set the food down on a pink plastic mat that was shaped like a dog bone and Molly began to devour it immediately.

Anton was grinning as he turned back to the smaller Salia on the table.

"Do you think that might be why they put you in the freezer?" he asked "So that you wouldn't know that anything was happening?"

"I had the same theory and I wouldn't doubt that it was the truth" mumbled the shoggoth "It would certainly be within their scope of planning"

"Have they ever put you in the freezer before?" asked Anton.

Salia narrowed all of her eyes and nodded both of her heads.

"Oh yes, I have been frozen many times..." she mumbled through her clenched teeth.

"But you don't think they would have done something during any of those times?" asked Anton.

The shoggoth shook both of her heads again.

"It's very unlikely as they have never left me frozen for very long. And even if I wasn't ordered to clean up the mess, there is no way that I could believe they would be able to clean it well enough that I wouldn't be able to detect something" she explained "And besides that, this was the first time that I was frozen since I completed the dungeon for them"

"So then that dungeon is new?" questioned Anton "And you're the one that put it together!?"

"Yes, they designed it, ordered all the pieces for it and had me build it for them. The whole thing was completed only a few weeks ago" explained Salia as she smiled broadly "And I find it very poetic that they would be the first victims to fully experience it!"

Anton couldn't help but to chuckle at her glee.

"...There's actually something else that I've noticed and want to ask you about. At first I thought that maybe it was some kind of trick, or a game they were trying to play. And, I guess that could still be the case though at this point I can't imagine that it is... These two are Dark Elves, adult Dark Elves, but not only do they not use magic in any way, they don't even seem to be familiar with it!?" he stated as he raised his eyebrows at the shoggoth "At all!?"

"No they don't!" exclaimed Salia as she turned to him with a perplexed look on her own face "It's very odd but aside from fleeting glimpses of minute usage, I've never seen either of them utilize any form of magic! And even the small amounts of power that I have seen have been completely unrefined and seem to be done on a subliminal level! I don't think they actually know how to manifest their own magic! And honestly I've begun to think it's possible that they may not even realize that they can!"

"Hm..." mused Anton as he thoughtfully cradled his chin in his hand "They have shown that they can use it though, right? You don't think there's anything actually wrong with them, do you?"

"No, from what I've seen I would say they certainly can use magic" reassured the shoggoth "They just simply don't?"

"Hm..." pondered Anton "Interesting..."

"Master North, your meal is ready!" exclaimed the fully formed Salia as she glided up to Anton's seat with a dinner tray in her hands.

"Oh wonderful! Thank you so much!" cried Anton she set the tray down in front of him.

The meal laid out across the tray consisted of a large toasted sandwich with fried tomatoes, onions and melted cheese over sliced beef. And a bowl of vegetable soup with a bullion broth.

"This looks delicious!" praised Anton as he turned to look up at the standing Salia "Thank you again!"

"You're very welcome!" she exclaimed as she folded her hands in front of herself and gave him a closed eyed smile.

Tension suddenly seemed to fill the air as Anton stared at the waiting shoggoth. Slowly she opened her strange eyes and looked down at him. Her smile never faltered as dozens and dozens of new eyes began to open all over her body and then slowly turn to stare directly at him.

Molly let out a low growl from across the room.

"...Hm, alright then. Come on now, let's get this over with!" sighed Anton as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest "I don't have all day!"

Without a word the shoggoth exploded into a wave of withering tentacles that instantly engulfed Anton in darkness.

Blackness. Formless. Empty and suffocating. This was the Void.

Considered to be the cushion on which all of Reality sits. The Void is the expanse of nothingness that separates Terra from both Heaven and Hell, or the celestial and chaotic planes, as well as the artificial realms. And beyond all that, the Life Stream where the souls of the living ebb and flow through birth and death.

It is from the Life Stream that the beings populating the Void are believed to have originated. Souls that have somehow slipped out of the stream itself would have found their way into the Void and become it's myriad of twisted denizens known collectively as voidlings.

Whether this was true or not Salia couldn't say, nor did she care, she like all the other voidlings was essentially unconcerned with her own origin. The voidlings existed, and they were each capable of producing more of their own kind and thus promoting their own species. This was all that mattered.

Whether they were an intentional creation of the Gods or a mistake generated out of a flaw in Reality would not change anything for them either way, and as such this question was considered irrelevant to the voidlings as a whole.

Salia's consciousness flexed outward as it expanded in the empty, openness of the Void. The tight constraints of existing on Terra were such a bother that she couldn't help but reel in elation at the freedom of non-existence. To swim through a mar of chaos, to be one with both bliss and oblivion. To visit ones own true home.

And such joy to have found a morsel worth bringing with her.

To say why she acted how and when she did would be beyond even her own understanding. A call from so deep within her that she could not separate its voice from her own had made itself known in an instant.

Take it. Feel it. Own it. Must have it all.

What triggers were strong enough to cause her to break her own subservient nature? To pluck away this mind and steal it away to the Void? She could not say. She did not care. Here she would hold it. Know it. Feel every corner of this being. Mold it and strip it down until all that was worth having would be hers. And everything that wasn't worth having, could simply be discarded.

Guilt and pity were but meaningless ideas now. What is one mortal mind stolen from a world of billions. Nothing lost. So much to gain.

Now, to find it. So quickly will a mortal mind break in the freedom of the Void.

Ah. There. Good. Still whole.

Floating among the nothingness was a single tiny sphere of consciousness.

Life and thought. Memories and hopes. Dreams and fears. All free for her to know and taste. To touch and to take. One tiny mind. A single point of light. All alone in the darkness.

Salia spread wide in the great expanse and wrapped herself around the tiny ball of light.

Hunger and pleasure. Knowledge and power. All that this mind had to offer would now belong to her, forever.

Wait.

What. Laughing. No. How. Stop. Stop. Its wrong. It hurts.

This mind. Not afraid. Opportunity.

Salia couldn't move as the presence she thought was trapped within her began to swell in size.

No. It burns. Stop. Stop this now.

"No"

It spoke. How. Its wrong. No. Control. I will have it.

"No"

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Salia's formless conscious reeled in agony as the tiny ball of light erupted and grew into a blazing sun.

It burns. It burns. Stop.

Salia withered in her agony as the light began to slice her darkness into ribbons.

No. Please. Do not burn me away. Please.

Wrapping her torn being in on itself, the shoggoth cringed away from the massive sun that now blazed in front of her. The weight of its gravity condensed around her being, crushing her until she was nothing more but a tiny drop of shadow.

Please. No more. Surrender. Forgive me.

She quivered in horror as the sun dimmed and reformed itself, becoming a giant, burning eye that loomed above her as it focused on and then stared down at her tiny being.

Please. Wait.

"No"

The great eye blinked and exploded into a massive inferno of blazing heat, light and color.

Reeling in agony, Salia desperately tried to hold herself together and preserve as much of her existence as possible. As she was burned and engulfed by the exploding eye she could feel small pieces of her splintered mind and body being ripped away and then pulled into the heat around her. These pieces of her would then be absorbed into the heat itself, or burnt away into nothing.

Before losing herself completely she heard the voice speak once more.

"Horizon... Break..."

Salia collapsed into two puddles as the world snapped back into place around her. For a few moments she could feel nothing. Slowly her heavy dread eased away and she opened a single tiny eye.

Anton was looking down at her from his seat. He wore a closed mouth smile as he chewed away at a mouthful of sandwich. He closed his eyes and made sounds of satisfaction as he swallowed.

"Now this is an amazing sandwich!" he exclaimed "You've really done a great job with this!"

Salia stared at him as confusion marred her mind.

"Aw! Are you feeling small and broken?" asked Anton "Well take your time and put yourself back together whenever you're ready. No rush"

Salia blinked her single eye and reached out her awareness to check her condition. Her body that lay puddled against the kitchen floor didn't feel damaged in anyway but she was still too afraid to move. The smaller part of her on the table felt cold but was no less alive than the rest of her. She opened a few more tiny eyes and slowly began to shift her form until her head and neck took shape again.

"Feeling better?" asked Anton.

"What, happened?" questioned Salia as she blinked her four full sized eyes back into existence.

"You assaulted me and sucked my mind into the Void where you tried to absorb my consciousness" explained Anton as he nonchalantly dipped a corner of his sandwich into his soup "It didn't work out for you though"

"...I, I'm so sorry!" cried Salia as all of her eyes went wide "I don't know what came over me!"

"It happens" said Anton with a shrug "You weren't the first Voidling to try that and I'm sure you won't be the last"

"...You've been to the Void before!?" exclaimed Salia.

"Many times" said Anton as he nodded absently "First time was the worst, very annoying!"

"...Who, what are you?" asked Salia as she gathered herself together and began to lift herself partially up off the floor.

"Me?" said Anton as he shrugged with indifference "I'm just a man. A man who's enjoying a nice sandwich and having a conversation with a lifeform that probably shouldn't even exist"

Salia opened more and more new eyes as she stared at Anton.

"This is really hitting the spot!" exclaimed Anton with a smile "Again, thank you!"

"...Of course! It was my pleasure!" cried Salia as she rose up completely and retook her humanoid form "I should really see to tidying up the mess though!"

Anton nodded as Salia bowed and turned to head back to the stove area.

"Oh, Salia!" called Anton as he began to tear the last half of the sandwich into smaller bite sized pieces "Before I forget..."

"Yes?" said Salia as she turned back to face him. Her entire being was little more than eyes now.

"You wouldn't happen to be brave enough to try that again?" asked Anton as he gave her a playfully questioning look "Would you!?"

"...No! I would never!" cried Salia as all her eyes became focused on him.

"That's good to hear! Very good to hear... Because I would honestly just hate for you to have to spend the rest of your existence, crushed down and turned into a tiny living fuel-cell that was sealed inside a jar and then used as a sentient Mana battery. In fact, I think that if something as terrifying and as painful as that were to somehow happen to you, it really would be just so very, very horrible!" said Anton as he dipped a piece of the sandwich into his soup "...Don't you agree?"

The shoggoth went completely still for several moments as she silently stared back at Anton and digested all that he had just said.

"...Yes!" she chirped as all her eyes widened at once "That would be, very, horrible!"

"Good! I'm so glad that we agree!" said Anton as he popped the bite of sandwich into his mouth.

All of Salia's eyes disappeared from her body which left her to look as human-like as possible. She bowed again and gave Anton a warm smile before turning and quickly making her way back to the stove.

"So, how are we doing with those passwords?" asked Anton.

The smaller Salia on the table quickly reformed herself and continued to furiously type away at the laptops.

"I apologize for the delay! I'm afraid I have made no progress as of yet Master North! I'll be sure to redouble my efforts!" cried Salia "...I-in the meantime, was there perhaps anything else you would like to know about the Dark Elves!?"

"Well, some general info I suppose" mused Anton as he looked up at the ceiling "I know their names are Kianna and Fiona but beyond that I don't know anything about them. Not even their last name"

"Vale!" cried Salia "Their surname is Vale! And their Mothers name is Olivia Vale! I'm afraid I don't have any information on their Father! They have never said anything about him, at least not while I have been here!"

"Hm, interesting..." mused Anton "You said their Mother was well off. Do you know what she does?"

"She is the owner and CEO of an investment company known as the "Vale Investment Firm'" explained Salia "From what I understand she has been very successful with her endeavors!"

"'Vale Investment Firm'" repeated Anton "Interesting..."

"Oh, Master North! I have the passwords!" exclaimed Salia as both laptops suddenly booted to their desktops.

"Really? Excellent!" smiled Anton "You got them both at the same time!?"

"They were identical..." said Salia "I do believe this was probably a coincidence, and not intentional on their part though"

"What was the password?" asked Anton.

"'Olivia'" answered Salia "Their Mothers name"