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The Captain’s blood hadn’t always been black. It dripped down their sleeve now, staining the white fabric like ink on a page. Blood dripped from their tear ducts, painting their face like a mourner at a funeral. They were, in a sense. The final three of their crew lay dead at their feet. The Monarch, a runaway princess that feared responsibility more than the Abyss, was cast to the side. There was a gaping wound in her chest, ruining her lovely gown. There was the Wireweaver, too, of course. No one would turn away a chance to meet the deity they worshiped. Their thin little wire, razor sharp, had been wrapped around their own throat and they had weeped betrayal. As if they were one to talk, because the Captain had a feeling they had been trying to convince the others to mutiny as soon as the air grew dark. They were an idiot, everyone knew a god could never love a coward.
The final one to die was clad in all black. His throat was slit, black blood pouring from the artery the Captain had expertly cut. Their First Mate was loyal, but not loyal enough. He had been the original Captain of the airship, only spared because he knew the ship inside and out. He thought he could block off their quarters, though, and he was sorely mistaken. The Captain would never be so easily defeated. He had gotten a pretty good wound on them, though. Their arm throbbed with pain from the puncture wound of his blade. He had always loved poison, so the numbness that spread up their arm wasn’t a surprise. They were fortunate, at least, that it seemed to be paralyzing and not fatal. Perhaps he wanted them to live… or maybe he wanted them to suffer.
They stepped over his still body, and began to head towards their quarters, using their spear as a walking stick. Their bed was waiting for them, with bandages tucked underneath, hidden from their crew. Their boots trudged against the old wood, which creaked at the pressure the Abyss was exerting on it. It pulsed outside, humming sweet nothings into their ears. The parlor was thrashed, knives and old slices of fish thrown upon the floor. Every one of them had been desperate to kill the other side. Paintings hung on single nails, and a bottle of wine was smashed onto the ground. It was more red than their own blood.
They cleared the entryway to their quarters, and instinctively looked up when they felt a world-stopping chill.
It seemed that while they were saving themselves from the crew, the Abyss had crept into their room.
It was a black mass, obscuring half of the room in its velvety presence. Two starlit eyes peered out of the fog, outlined by golden frames. A heaviness radiated from it, a thick coldness that dripped from every available surface.
It was still.
Relief flooded the Captain like a tidal wave. They leaned into their spear, putting more of their weight onto it as a tear dripped from their face.
“Finally,” they breathed, taking a step forward.
The Abyss pulled itself back, just the tiniest step.
They had found the Heart of the Abyss, the thing they had spent their entire life searching for.
They had been young when they first heard of it. When they were first chosen.
A small child had once eagerly accepted their father’s gift. An oblivion-black feather that was soft and sharp all at once. He had said it was just something he had happened across during his time to the west, but even then they had known it was fate that it landed in their hands. They had kept it close at hand for months, watching the way starlight spilled through its fibers and seeped into the shaft of the feather. When they grew older, that love for the feather had seeped into wanderlust. The source of the feather was waiting for them, somewhere. It lingered in every other glance, writing itself into the stars that shimmered above them. Eventually they found out the feather was from the Abyss, and when they did, they found their purpose.
The Abyss called them home, and so they answered.
“I’m here,” they said, voice cracking.
A song bloomed against their ears, accented by the plucking of strings and the whisper of something else. The eyes tilted, as if they belonged to a hound that was confused.
The Captain’s eyebrows pitched together at the sound, even as a shudder leapt across their spine, “What?”
The eyes pressed closed, before a voice screamed into their skull.
“WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?”
The Captain slammed a hand against their ear, as if it would stop the sound. Their spear clattered to the ground as a result.
The voice didn’t continue, so they cautiously moved their hand away from their ear.
“You called for me, so I came to find you.”
“I did no such thing.”
Their smile dropped.
This… couldn’t be the Heart of the Abyss, then.
It couldn’t.
It had to be an intruder. Maybe something that lived at the edge of the Abyss to prey upon unworthy souls. Whatever it was, it was a threat.
Luckily, the Captain was very good at dealing with threats.
Ignoring the pain in their arm, they lunged for their spear, holding it up to face the intruder.
“Get. Out. Of. My. Ship.” They hissed.
The eyes became lidded with disappointment, “Violence is truly your modus operandi, isn’t it, Captain?”
“Get out.”
“Don’t delude yourself, I was what you were looking for. You found me. Congratulations.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t leave.”
The eyes blinked, before a sound like laughter echoed in their chambers.
“You’ll have a very hard time accomplishing that, Captain.”
Pitch colored tears welled up in their eyes even as they refused to look away, “I had to come here.”
“Did you? Nothing here wants you.”
They couldn’t respond.
“Captain… you didn’t expect something that wanted you, did you? Did you expect me to accept you with open arms?”
Six clawed hands emerged from the darkness, each claw dipped in gold. Their eyes jumped from hand to hand as they felt their heart race.
“Come on then, Captain. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? I’m waiting.”
They blinked back the tears as a decision finalized in their mind.
“Don’t do it.”
They lunged forwards with the spear.
Unlike every time prior, it didn’t make contact.
There was no hiss of pain as metal bit into flesh.
There was no sort of feedback that told them they hit something.
Just their spear dipping into the void.
“I warned you.”
A clawed hand shot out and threw them against the wall. Another caught their spear as it tumbled, yanking it back into the shadows. The shadows spread, a fog that threatened to devour them. A hand grabbed them around the throat, lifting them upwards with ease. Breathing in the Abyssal air was already hard, but having otherworldly fingers press against their windpipe made it worse. The tears ran freely now, the ink mixed with blood dripping into their mouth and tasting of nothing at all.
“I gave you my life,” they tried to shout, but it came out as a wheeze.
The eyes crept close, peering directly into the Captain’s face. The eyes were beautiful, in the same way magic was beautiful, dangerous and intoxicating all at once. It was the same thing that had called them here, they were sure of it. It was the same thing as the six drops of ink that made up their banner. It was home in the sweetest sense of the word.
“What you gave me was death and destruction. You killed any that opposed you, for what? To die at the end of the world?”
Their tears dripped onto the scales of the Abyss’ hand. They slid off, leaving small trails of ink.
The eyes closed in contemplation, before opening once more, “Fine, Captain. Give me your life. I’ll take it as many times as I have to, perhaps then you’ll understand what you’ve done.”
As soon as they hit the ground, the Abyss swallowed their world whole.