Dance of the Gods

The gunshot echoed in the room for a few seconds, but ever so slowly it became quieter and in the end, silent.

Veronica was still petrified, she watched as Madam Stout or whatever she was, fell out of her chair and onto the floor. Those eyes hadn't disappeared, but the dread they caused was already passing.

On the dead corpse's head was a large hole, and below it a puddle of blood was gradually spreading. With a trembling body she stood up from the chair, than walked a couple of steps away into a corner and started vomiting.

This wasn't her first dead body, but it was definitely the most disgusted she ever felt.

After a good ten minutes of throwing up everything inside her stomach, she just sat down where she was and held her head in both hands.

Veronica didn't care about the puke she was currently sitting in or that others probably heard the gunshot as well and the cops could arrive at any minute. What she saw had deeper effect on her psyche than she initially thought.

'I... I'm going insane... What... What did I see?... That wasn't real... I'm going insane... No... I'm not going insane... I'm already mad... That explains it!... That is what happened... I'm already insane... Maybe I'm not even Veronica Navarro... Maybe all of this is just a dream...'

These thoughts went on repeat inside her head. Time itself lost its meaning and her whole world broke down into those couple of scenes before Madam Stout's death. At some point she even began reciting that weird prayer they always said before dinner.

Her mind was in shambles and she didn't even see Alex slowly approaching her.

Only when he touched her trembling arm did she notice and jump away. With a very scared expression she began running faster than ever. In the next second she was out the door, Alex shouted something behind her, but she didn't hear it...

Inside her head only the sound of the gunshot echoed on and on.

...

A woman was walking down the edge of the Dirt District. Her once nice dress had blood, dirt and vomit all over it.

Her once enviable light brown hair was in a similar state as her dress, but it also stuck to her face, like she sprinted for kilometers. What was a bit more disturbing is her feet, she had no footwear and the roads on this part of the city were badly maintained. With every step she left bloody footprints.

People didn't stop her or asked what was wrong. It's not that nobody wanted to –– most of them with bad intentions, but her eyes made even the worst criminal turn and run.

On the outside it looked normal, or as normal as a person with pink, orange and rainbow eye color could be. The terrifying part was what was behind it... Nothing...

She just walked, but it seemed like she was already dead. From the outside she looked more like a ghost, than an actual human being. And even the dumbest of criminals knew that ghost are deadly.

As the citizens saw the expressionless face and unfocused eyes, they quickly turned their heads and ignored her. From folklore they knew that if you don't acknowledge ghosts, they will leave you alone.

When someone was in a hurry and accidentally bumped into her, he quickly began running not daring to look back.

Veronica's mind was completely empty, after all the previous trauma this last one finally broke her. All her talk about finding a way home and not giving up went out the window when Madam Stout began changing into an abomination.

That little spark of hope burning inside her got snuffed out when she heard the gunshot.

There was nothing left, she was just walking because that was something she could do. Without destination she put one bleeding feet after the other, her body was at pain first, but eventually that feeling passed as well... She was truly numb to everything at this point.

She walked and passed house after house, brothel after brothel, tavern after tavern...

When she reached a crossroad she wouldn't even look if there was a carriage coming or not. Every time when they nearly hit her they started shouting, but seeing her state they quickly shut their mouths and moved on.

She passed crossroad after crossroad constantly keeping straight...

But something weird happened, when reaching the next one instead of keeping straight as before... She turned right.

Since her mind was properly broken, she didn't notice this strange behavior of her body.

What was even weirder is that at the next crossroad, she turned again, this time left. Then at the next one she went right, after that she went straight.

It seemed like something deep within her consciousness was leading her somewhere, with her lack of control she would've let anything happen to her. Which meant whatever was leading her didn't came from inside her, but someone or something was influencing her body.

Step after step she took. The blood flow already stopped so she didn't leave any more footprints.

After walking for hours she finally stopped in front of a large building. Around it was a large garden, but it was wild, like they planted a lot of things then just let time take care of everything else. Veronica stood on a stone path leading through the garden and to the building's huge double doors.

Her mind was still empty of thought, but she still looked up at the building because something wanted her to know where she was.

In front of her was an old structure, not because it was run down or anything. She just knew that this was an eternal building, like it never aged.

The building's roof was about 50 meters tall, but it had two towers that greatly extended its height. Both towers had clocks on them, but they were weird. A clock should show the exact time, but these ones clearly moved faster than they were supposed to.

Suddenly the bells in both of the clocktowers sounded 4 in the afternoon.

Above the door was a large circular window with colorful glass. It depicted a faceless woman. She wore a purple robe hiding everything about her. On the painted window she led a lot of people that seemed lost onto a path that gave them purpose, and behind all of this was a large clock face.

Veronica didn't care about any of this, she knew what this place was, but her mental power just couldn't form any thought.

The invisible power gave direction to her steps again and she started walking into the only Cathedral of Time in all of Hammon.

The inside was a bit dark, but the windows were placed by a very talented architect. They shone a path towards the altar at the other side and illuminated the pedestal where people would preach from.

There were more colored glass windows depicting the same woman in her purple robe. She never shown her face or even any body parts, like her identity was a big secret she was keeping.

On all of the picturesque windows there was that strange clock in the background, but always at different times.

The Goddess of Secrets... Leader of the lost... God of time... Keeper of secrets...

As Veronica walked in the light to the front row, her mind seemed to be getting better, but it was still far from being in working condition.

She walked to the front row of seats, then sat down and stared at the large depiction of a clock's face with all of its hands pointing at different numbers. The second hand was on twelve, the minute hand was on four and the hour hand was on eight. It was the main symbol of the Church of Time.

Time passed fast or at least she felt like it was fast. Sometimes people entered the church, then said a prayer and quickly left. None dared to approach her, it seemed like even religious people believed in ghosts.

The Sun was going down and the church got darker. At some point someone began to light candles around the place, giving it a more holy aura.

An older man in a purple robe, with the same clock seamed onto where his heart is, sat down next to her. He didn't say anything just watched the large metal clock above the altar.

He was content with the silence and peace, but also worried about the young woman. Her clothes were bloody and dirty, but the worst was her eyes...

Empty... Without purpose...

No wonder she came here, this was the place where lost people go to find new purpose.

After about ten minutes he looked at the young woman, in his kindest and least threatening voice he began speaking.

"Child, what do you wish to find? If I can help you with anything please just ask. You can stay here however long you want, but if you would like I can find some change of clothes and brew some tea..."

He's voice stuck in his throat as the young woman finally moved. She pulled her knees up and while holding them close, she hid her face behind them...

Then came the sound of crying.