The Trickster

With a snap of my new fingers, a universe of black exploded into being. For an eternity I lived in oblivion- but it was this that allowed me the patience of another as I awaited the final stages of preparation. The process was painstaking to say the least, but with every passing second, giddiness finally began to swell in my new abdomen. Radiating with the energy of new life, my skin emanated a soft glow- elucidating the swaying flora blanketing the ground below; its light bringing order yet finality to the first eternity I’d been trapped in for too long.  

Beyond the penumbra of light, a new type of darkness pressed in from all sides.  But not like before, no, this darkness was merely shadows, a lack of available light; so unlike the  nothingness I’d grown long to resent. In the distance a mountain range formed from the purple haze spreading outward, molding matter and substance, its nascent horizon stretching beyond view. Yet even from my perch in the sky above, the churning sounds of collisions between rocks  could be heard as they left life and earth in their wake. Through the veil of shadows, it was difficult to discern far away colors, yet from my vantage point, I could spot barely ambient violets poking through.   Despite the sea of flickering purples, the darkness in between had depth despite its absence of light; as if everything was yet still a shadow of what I had wanted to create.  

I lowered myself to the ground, running my hand through the blades of black grass that seemed all too far away.   It was a peculiar illusion that betrayed my senses when I focused, but no matter how formless it looked, it had substance, and it felt soft.  

The irony of a world full of these contradictions earned a chuckle after considering who I used to be.  While they were content with the status quo, I had made something- I had become a god. The dying light of The Figure flashed through my memories, causing the giddiness to fade for a moment- replacing the feeling with something unpleasant.  A quick shake of the head brought me back to the present, yet the feeling remained steadfast in the back of my thoughts.   

 An attempt to step towards the mountains was met with vicious pain erupting upon placing my foot do- as if something inside was clawing its way out.  Collapsing, I tried to stay still- my instincts screaming at me to grab at my leg, but no matter what movements I made, nothing abated the pain. Veins of black reached up the length of my leg, tearing their way through my muscles, higher, and trying to claim more of my body. 

I inhaled sharply, too many thoughts clouded my mind for coherence. But through the chaos of the moment a single word flashed through every other idea; fear.  My breathing increased as the thought turned into reality- matching my heart rate I laid back in loud silence, panicking, whilst willing the pain to subside.  

Why?  My back arched as the throbbing returned.    Why is this happening? Is it because of-  

As if responding to my thoughts, the black veins halted their advance.

-The Demon…  

Never once did I think the backlash of using their powers would be so intense. Within the several moments of pain, the aura of divinity surrounding my body diminished to nothing more than a flicker.  Like the world around me, it too was reduced to a shadow of itself.  A black sheen of glossy scales ran down the length of my legs- following the path set by darkened veins which started the transformation.  Much like the world around me, the scales functioned without reason- devouring all light near them, yet somehow shining bright enough to mimic the flicker of divinity I had until moments ago.  A hornlike protrusion had erupted from my knee, and thankfully, only the veins managed to make their way to my torso, leaving behind the mutations that came with them.  

 A sigh of relief escaped as the pain subsided. The worst of the Demon’s corruption appeared to be over. 

What was that?   I clenched my jaw.  The damned imbecile was so powerful he could do that after death?  I gripped the grass, pulling the roots out and throwing it behind me.   

“My body was never a part of the deal!” I yelled.  It was only for a moment, but the deep vibrations made in my throat caused me to jump- never once did I think my voice would be that deep.   

I attempted to stand, careful not to aggravate my leg, but it buckled, and I fell back to the ground. An uncannily deep shout escaped my mouth as I slammed a fist at the ground- the dirt buckling from the force of the blow.  I was a god;  a creator- wobbling, as I struggled to prop myself up to make another attempt at standing.  Two more failed attempts to stand were met with more shouts and strikes, until I managed to wedge my normal leg under my center of mass.  From there it was a balancing act until I could shimmy my other leg beside it.  Thankfully, whatever pain caused from The Demon’s powers had all but subsided, allowing me the confidence to place more weight on my corrupted legs.  

Gingerly, I stepped forward, the black blades of grass tickling the sides of my feet as my body weight pushed them through the surface of the dirt.  

Before long, I was running towards the black mountains on the horizon.  This feeling was the one I yearned for, this feeling of being, this feeling of- substance.  The need for air in my lungs as I ran, the burning in my muscles as they worked to keep me going forward.  After such a long time of being formless, all of these physical sensations, they were overwhelming.  

“Those old laws are wrong!”  I laughed in glee as the air of my world jostled my air, and blew against my bare body.  “All of them are wrong!”  

My euphoria was cut short when a strange glow caught my eye. Before the base of the mountain I’d run to, sat a black forest- in the middle of which existed a wooded glade. While I could see through the trees at the pond in the center of the clearing, its existence felt wrong- it felt out of place.  I glanced back at the edge of the woods as I approached the edge of the water.   Amethyst algae covered the trees surrounding the clearing,  illuminating the area with soft light that was pointed inward at the pond.  Yet for whatever reason unbeknownst to me,  there was no reflection on the surface of the water. If anything- it was so devoid of light, it drained color from the immediate surroundings.

The black wood of the surrounding treeline reminded me of the corruption adorned on my leg.  The way the light warped around it seemed like nothing I’d envisioned when I created this world.  

This pond… is unnatural.   

Kneeling at the water’s edge, I took a moment to study my reflection.  It was difficult to discern different colors, but I could say with certainty my hair was dark.  Glowing against my tan skin- beacons in the darkness of my world, my eyes glowed the same violet hue as the plant life around me. No marks on my face marred the seamless chisel of my jawline- I concluded that this was a face fit for divinity.

Cupping my hands and splashing my face, I opened my eyes to find the pond completely still.  

“Peculiar.”

I reached back into the water and stirred it with my hand.  Despite the frigid liquid enveloping my arm, the surface remained still.  Standing up, I tried kicking the surface of the water with my corrupted leg, satisfied at the resulting turmoil.  

The glade around me blew with a soft breeze, the new silence of my world growing as the sounds of its creation grew further away.  It was because of this new silence that allowed for me to hear the whispers I was unable to until now.  No coherent words were said- but one thing was certain, they were focused on me.

“Show yourself!”  My voice echoed through the forest, but did nothing to abate the whispers- if anything they continued out of spite.   Their numbers grew with every passing moment.  

“Your god orders you to reveal yourself!”  

For several breaths the voices continued until they all went silent.  As if they coalesced into a single voice, a million whispers said the same thing, at the same time.  

“Turn around.” 

A glance over my shoulder rewarded me with nothing but the pond I’d just left- however through the surface of the rippling water, something had appeared. I blinked a couple times.   

What…  

Below the surface of the water, a face had manifested.  Ghastly white skin was blinding against the dark backdrop, its black hair blended in with the pond’s depth. Its eyes were bigger than mine, and black- giving the white face the visage of a mask which stared through me with pinpoint crimson irises that shone with cunning and vicious intelligence.  Even from where I stood, I could see its lips curl back into something resembling a smile; its mouth stretching unnaturally from one ear to the other so as to reveal each fang-like tooth. .  

“Trickster,” The creature cooed, its voice unsettling, yet welcoming. There was a finality to its voice- removing any need for independent thought; subjugating any willpower to resist.     

It felt like I would be safe if I went into the pond with it.  

“Who are you?” I replied, my voice shaky, as I closed in.  

The creature’s voice began, trailing off to a whisper before anything could be heard. 

“What did you say?” I knelt down, my torso hanging over the edge of the water as I dipped my head closer to hear him.  

“Who gave you the power to do this?”  the echo of a whisper sounded out, its eyes glancing down, confirming its identity with a glance at the corruption of my leg.  

My eyes widened. 

 “You… What did you do? You should be dead- ”  I stammered. “Our law says you should be dead!”  

The Demon shushed me.  

“What exactly states that as an absolute?”  He asked. “Our law forbade us because nobody knew what came after-  the fear of the unknown is enough to make the wisest, irrational.”   He smiled once more, revealing fangs that bit into his lips.  “But unlike those cowardly scholars, I don’t fear the unknown- I embrace it.  What you call evil, is simply something you don’t understand.  I took a gamble when I gave you my life… If I died, I died… But if I didn’t?”  He chuckled, leaving his words hanging.  

My stomach fell as my mind worked to piece together what he possibly could have done.  For an eternity The Demon was ostracized because he was of lesser intellect, but was it all an act? Had he feigned stupidity all that time in wait of the opportunity to take over the body of an unsuspecting creator? Had he faked everything, to claim more power? Was the agony I suffered earlier the beginning of his new life? 

Did The Demon gamble his existence to steal mine?

“I had wanted The Creator,” The Demon continued.  “But you’ll just have to do for now.” As he finished speaking, the black veins ripped through my body once more- continuing their journey towards my torso, bringing with them the same excruciating deformities that bent my body out of shape- and into a form of his liking.   

The Demon’s reflection was still visible in the pond, licking his lips and watching as my body turned the same black that made up both my leg, as well as the surrounding foliage.  A lump formed in my chest, a forceful cramp which made me think my heart had contracted so hard it imploded.  I tried to scream out yet no sound could be mustered, for the black corruption had made its way to my throat, reforming in a way that made it impossible for me to make noise. 

His face faded from the surface of the pond, turning into a hollow echo that sounded out in the deepest recesses of my mind. The divine aura that shrouded my body finally faded  completely, turning into the same darkness which robbed its surroundings of their light.  

I grabbed hold of the rocks at the edge of the pond to stop myself from falling in.  But the pain of the corruption finally reached my stomach- twisting it into a new shape after having been ravaged.  The water moved with me as I retched, black blood spewing from my mouth and into the water- producing the same disturbance in the water as the corrupted leg a few minutes prior.  In my reflection, I could see black veins stretch up the sides of my face, the black blood within breaking my jawbones and skull before darkening my eyes.

All of a sudden the corruption slowed, and while my body wasn’t changing nearly as fast, the pain refused to desist.  The Demon had purposefully slowed the corruption to cause as much pain as possible.   

I fell back from the edge of the water and rolled onto my stomach, scratching at my chest to stop the crushing agony enveloping my heart.  My nails dug into my arms as I scratched at the black veins, and with every beat of my heart, the black blood poured from me in unnatural amounts, slowly corrupting the world around me into something that became The Demon’s.   

Returning to the edge of the water, I sat expressionless for a minute, staring at the abomination The Demon turned me into.   My once chiseled facial features were uneven from being shattered, the constant shifting giving my face the likeness of liquid.  My hair had been bleached white along with my skin, but just like with the blood that transformed the world around me, that too was beginning to darken to suit the preference of my body’s new host.   The black veins had finally converged at my eyes, darkening them to the same color of The Demon’s, before leaking down my cheeks, giving me the appearance of crying tar.   

A shimmering blue light appeared behind my reflection in the water.  I refused to look out of shame and regret, but after only a minute passed, I gave in and turned my gaze upward.  

The light blue light was none other than my once good friend;  The Creator.  

Looking at his formless light I felt an overwhelming sense of regret build from my gut.  I opened my mouth to say something, but the only noise I could muster was the guttural sound of suffering.  

Creator- I understand now… I know why we forbade it- please forgive me….

I was going to die.   A being built through attrition and eternity was going to fade into nothing- that much The Demon had ensured.  For a split second, I pondered what it would be like.   Would there be others?  The ones who lost out to the power of my mind when I took over their bodies? Was it a paradise, or was it like the nothingness I once called home? 

My stomach fell.   I was going home- but the others… they were in danger.  The Demon would use his new physical body to overpower their incorporeal forms.   I opened my mouth, but only a moan of despair could be manifested.   My heart rate increased and a quick look at the pond below me revealed the worst.  

The black veins had broken my throat and restructured it.  

The Demon took the one thing I needed to do before I went.  He stole my ability to vocalize their danger; to vocalize my sorrow… to vocalize my regret and despair.  

No…. No No No! 

I punched the rocks- breaking my hand and leaking more blood- further corrupting the surroundings around me with every drop.  I looked back at The Creator, hoping my eyes would convey what I needed to say, but any proclivity he held for me had vanished with The Figure. 

I could sense the resentment he held for me- his words more poisonous than an entire world of The Demon’s black blood. 

“What have you done?”