Daily Wednesday Short: Kyo 01

Money does not make devils grind the millstone.

Greed does.

-Teaching of Liber Omnia

Kyo stared pitifully at Sene, Lion’s wife, with a look that could make rocks cry.

“He didn’t feed you at all?” Sene said with a suspicious tone.

“Not enough. I’m starving! Look at me! Skin! Bones!” Kyo said, emphasizing her meager body utilizing the oversized shirt that covered her down to her knees. It paid dividends now that she’d always been shorter than other kids. It was one of the reasons she had taken to learning throwing needles. Throwing needles meant she didn’t need to be as tall as a bigger kid to stick them where they hurt. She might have a great deal of respect for the Lion and, by extension, his fluffy wife, but every child on the street knew a meal took priority!

Talking business must be done over food! Kyo thought of ingraining the concept into her principles of justice. No food, no deals!

“No food, no deals. Empty stomachs distract alchemists.” Kyo stated firmly.

Sene rolled her eyes before placing one hand on her hip and saying, “Are you sure? Do you know what happens if you eat too much?”

“W-What h-happens?” Kyo said nervously as she glanced about the room, looking for anything dangerous.

“The tickle monster gets you!” Sene said, leaping forward and proceeding to tickle Kyo mercilessly.

“Still hungry now?” Sene said, arching a single eyebrow at her green-faced victim after only a few minutes.

Kyo shivered before shaking her head negative. Her head felt woozy, and her stomach attempted to rebel and let food escape!

“Good. Now drink this, and take a nap. You’ll be safe here.” Sene said, handing Kyo a small glass bottle before taking a comfortable-looking chair out by the bedside from her storage ring.

Kyo was going to argue, but she felt the sluggishness of sleep encapsulate her once her exhaustion caught up with her. She gulped down the potion without fear. If they had wanted to harm her, they didn’t need to waste any effort doing so. As for feeding her addictive substances, her Patron would look poorly on that, and they wouldn’t be hard to purify. Food, potion, and bed combined to send her straight to dreamland.

Kyo found herself standing on a strange crystal-filled landscape. Before she could focus, the world around her rippled, showing images of incredible detail. Her vision shifted like the desert sand granting vistas that made no sense initially.

Her first vision was of a towering world encased in the grip of a green entity that devoured the sun and moon with enormous vines. Kyo shivered at the clear similarity to her Patron.

The second vision showed her a world held in crystal filled with fantastical creatures. Deep in the blue crystal-locked world, countless people fought with monsters she had never seen. They celebrated with delight over magical items that appeared in chests or from defeated monsters.

Kyo’s third vision was of a library filled with priceless books containing all the secrets of the world. The small kitten knew that incredible power awaited if she could only open one. She got a single book open with a green tree on the spine. A massive headache struck her mind as she looked at the open pages. She saw the squiggly scribbles that looked more like chopped intestines than words and made a deep sadness. No one had taught her how to read this stuff!

Her fourth vision was of a vast thatched hut that shuttled through the deepest darkness with casual ease like a ship in the moonless night. Great creatures with enormous tentacles sought to stop the strange wooden hut. It didn’t end well for the tentacles. A soft blue light slashed out, disintegrating tentacles with casual ease. Kyo had a sudden desire for calamari at the incredible sight.

It was the final dream, though, that awed Kyo. She saw the woman surrounded by silver liquid once more, but she wasn’t sleeping this time. Silver eyes peered at her from out of a face that a master sculptor carved. Elven features were draped with sparkling silver hair that seemed to glow softly. Even as Kyo recovered her senses, the silver woman turned to face the darkness that stood before Kyo. She instinctively knew this was the [Silver Empress], the one who had turned their world from a barbaric fight for survival to the greatest civilization in history. The woman raised her right hand as silver light brighter than the sun took form around her palm.

“̵̡̄Y̵̡͇͕̭̟͋̽͋̇̍̈̓̽̄̂̕͘͝ơ̶̭̯̪u̷͈̬̭̥̗͓͖̺̗̰̰̤͎͇͐͐͌͋̀͂̓̄̚ͅ ̶̡͖̟̲̺̜̖̌͆͠a̷͔̻̯̺̖͒͐̽̅͐̂̌́̉̃̂͗̚͜͠r̷̨̛̯̘͍͍̩͚̫̋̋̓̈́͑̉́͂̕͝e̷̛̞̯͐͛͆̽̊͛̈́́̾̈́͋̎̕ ̴̡̨̠͙͈͉̯̼̮̖̪̲̿̓̚̕ṇ̸̯̲̟͇͉̬͍̖̈́̓̈͌͊̒͠͝o̸̞͒̔̾̎́̈́͘̚͠t̵̨̧̳̬̘̼̩̬̣͛̏͆̅͑̂͑̑͘̕͜͠ ̶̢͈̥̮̻̪̖̅̒͌w̵̛͇̠̍͒͂̋̽̈́̑ě̸̢̖͇͔̭̙͈̤͑̋̑̊̊͗͜ͅl̸̢͚̞̖̲̖̟̪̈͒̉̏̾͛̚͜c̴͇̾̈́̈́̊̓̈̒ō̸̞͚̝̹̄̈̃͊͘͜͜m̵̛̤̦̬͙͕͎̭̬̙͙̥̌̀̊̿͜͠ͅè̶͔̯̱͗̓̎ ̶̨̨̨̨͈̬̯̲͇̯̦̯͔̥͋̀͆̓͂́̇͊͝h̸̨̨̞̙̝̞̥͖̬͓̼̘͇̏̎̀̂̓͌̽́͘̚͝͠é̷̟͙̪̱͎͆̈́̿̏̏͌̕r̵͕̋̌͒͘ė̸̛͙̗͖͉̀̍͊͂̈́͗̋͑̊̈̅̈.̶̛̼̟͉̙̰͚̘̯̱͔̃̑́͌̏͋͆̾͒͒̕ ̵̡̧̛̗̮̘̮͇̤͓̭͔̫̖͖̃̀̋̆̒̓̃̿̎͋͝͝͝ͅḐ̵̢̞͇͚̝͙̰͔̼̙͊́̅̋͘͘͜͝͝e̶̡̹̱͓̺͆̓̂́̈̃̊͒̿͑̚ͅp̸̡̛̗̱̎͂̊̈́̽̕͠a̸͔͚͖̬͙̝̫̭̦͛ͅr̴̨͓̰̱̒̀̐̆̑̓̈̉t̴̝̃̑̿̏̋͑͜͠ ̴͖̳̰̩̻̖̼͎̱̜̜̺̩͌̔́͝ẉ̸̼̖̜͔͙͓̞͈͕̦̏̑̽͑͜r̷͖̼͔̮̓ȩ̶̨͖̞̲̜̓̎̅͂̏̚ţ̵̧̢̰͓̟̩̼̞͕͙͂͌̽̓͜ͅc̸̪͇̰̳̗͉̘̒̅h̷̡̧̬̘̝͙̰̬̖̍́͐̊̔̔̓̅̄̋̕͠͠͠e̵̡̱̱̩͎͍̺̐͗̓̒̑͐̄͌̊̌̚̕͝ͅd̷̤̞̰̗̤̜̻͓͍͙̐͗̾͗̾̑͝͝ ̶̢̛͔̣̜͈̣͔̟̮̤͉͖̐̃̓͂̔͝ͅc̶͉̀̾̃̔͊̂̑̐̀ơ̴̮̹͎̱̱̫̑̉͊́͐̇̎̔͊͠ç̴̝͓͑́̒͊̀̈́̋͠k̶̤̐̂͆̒͝ŕ̸͉ơ̵̙͎̖̮̫̰̣̒̆͘a̶̡͈͍̰̰̜͗͛̂̑̔͠͝ć̶̛͚͉̾̔̿́̋̀́͊̓̒ͅḩ̵̩̱̭̱͖̀̄̎͌̀̇̒̆̔͐͐̕͘͠ ̵̧͚̬̟͎̯̟̩̻͈̍̎͘t̴̪͉͙̀͑̓̄̒͛̈́͑̉͝r̷̮̜͚̝̘̲̯̥̦̲̝̉̆́͊́̀̒̓͐͜ͅÿ̵̧̧̡͙͕̞̪̩͈͍́̏̿̔͂̈͌̏̕͜i̵̖̒̾̇̿́̄̀̿͒͗̓͐ń̸͖͉͕͇̐̎̈́̃g̷̢̧̨̢̲͓͖̞͔̰̘̹̳̿̇̂̋̅̓͂̐̈́̉ͅ ̸̢̹̝͎̩͇̰͙̦̻̤̬̗̎̎͑͠͠ͅt̷̨͎͖͚̩̞͇̼̜̰̆͋̉͛̈́͆̏ơ̸͎̯͑̈̾͐̒̈̄͑͋̍̀̓̃͝ ̷̼̊̇͑̚ẅ̸̧̟̭̱̺̤̗̪̼͓̣̻̾̈͗͆̔́̊͑̽̎̚͘͝ͅè̷̹̜̬̣̲͍̃͋̂̋͐͒̍͛̇͊̀̄̕͜͠å̷̛̦̼̲̞̪͎̖̐̀́͒͆͜r̴̹͆͂̄̒̅̓̓̽̈́̂́̚ ̸̢̗͈̹͝m̴̧̬̺̗̍͊̿̉͐͘̚͝ŷ̶͈̊̐͋̐̆̈́͌̈̄̆̈́̕ ̵̳̼̙̱̃̑͋́͛̇̆̍̍̓́̂̚b̵̢̢̞̻͇̜͎̮͖̲̞̝̩͈̼͑̏͗͌͗̏̉̏̃̚͘͘͠r̷̡̡̝̭̙̦̩̮̤̮̜̂̒͒̐́̿̽̾ͅo̴̢̡̟͈̣̜͈͈̞̭̜͔̣̠̐͒̊͗̇͊̍̓͆͜͝t̸̢͚̫̥̘͉͙̪̘͍̙̫͓͐̉̕͜h̷̪̊̅̓̅̕͝ẽ̴̛̟͍̤̘̅̌̍̈́̈́͐͛̔̀͂r̵̥̱̤̟̲̯͉͖͛͗͑̈́̾́̊̾̈͐́̈́̕̚͘’̶̜̞̻̦̬͈̜̞͇̦̱̗͂̐̌͋͆͐͐͊̔͜ş̶̨͚͈̗̮̝̙̲̳̪͚̫̅̌̿̅̃̔ ̶͔̺͎͇́͒̐̆̂̐̈́̍̐̓̚m̶̧̢̨̨̡̘̘͎̖̻͖̰̘̂͒́̌̽́͗̔̊ā̶̡͍̣̳̳̮̲͖̫͔̫̰͙̏͐͑̎̂̚̚͜͝n̶̻̖̗̳̞̤̜̭̙͙͙̯̝̮͖͊͆͗̅͊̽̊ţ̷̧̜͎̫͙̗̜̮͒̓͌̐̈̀͂́̊͊̕̕͝͠ĺ̶̲͎͖͈̪͕̦͓̗̗̬̳̄̅͗̾́̉͌̉͝é̷̛͎̺̮̞͈͚̫̜͊̓̽̽̆̒̀̍͂̕͝!̵̜̈́̌̌̉ ̷̧̢̧̛̛̪̤͕̩͈̠̫̖͓͔̓̽͌̎͝ͅ[̴͔͛͆̈́͌̈́͛͐̚̕Ä̸̞̱̍̈́s̶̡̡͈̥̏͑̏́́̄̃̇h̸͕̝͕̜̣͕̲̭̅͠ȩ̶̡̢̖̮̫͎͉̮̰̠̦̭̞̾̈́́̋̃̏̐̿̂̒̌̕͘s̴̢̛͙͙̠̳̘̜̩̩̯̆͗͆͋̓̍̇̒̋̚͝ͅ ̴̨͇̤̝̮͇̺͔͓͖̳̫̲̳̙̈́͊͑̃̽̏́̐̎͆͋͒͑̕͠t̴̼̯̑̏o̴̧̥̯̥̪̟̘͔͇̮̘͠ ̴̢̨̝̮͈̱̗̥͎͑͗̉̐͒̊̿̊̋̂̇͝͠ą̶̡͖̬͔̰̺̪̥̣̤͖͕̟̺͆s̸̛̝̗͚͇̫̯̏͠h̶̥́͂̆̆̃͆͋ę̴̧͉͚̭́͐̏͊̊̍̂s̷̛̩͚̲̮̙̙̦̻̘̝̜̙̱̆̓͐̐͌͛̉̈́̇̕͜,̶̨̢̼̤̬̞͙̲͚̗͍͈͐̇͐̏̾̈́̐́͜͝͝ ̸̛̞͓͉̤͍͇̮̹̓̇̓̿̈́ͅD̴̢̧͔̠̣̻͚͕̪͖̭̮͔̋̆̊̀́͋̎͝͝ͅȗ̸̡̙͎͗͑̆̓̆̾͆̑͋̉s̷̨̖̣̪͎̬̭̼̳̼͙͉̮̈́͐͐́͆̎̈́̿̄͂̔̐͜͜͝͠t̵̡̺͖̹͕̻̥̮̟̖̥̒̈́̑̎͆̒́͋͂͐͒͜ ̸̡̛̮̬̥̥͕̯͓̄̅̌̎̒̈́̂͐̇̀̀̚͠t̷͙̳̣̹̑̐͐͊ỏ̸̡̯̯͎̗̺̩̱͔͓̝̈́̒̄̅̈̾͒̉͊͘̚͝ͅ ̴̛̦̤̦̙͐̄̔̌̍̓̀̎͝͝͝d̶̝̮̤̪̟͐͛̍̾̍̋̏͌̕u̸̳̭̯̭͙̹̳̹̩͉͍͗̈́́ṡ̷̢̧͇͍͇͍͓͍͙̳͔̠̫̈́̽̂͐̊͒͒̅́̏̚͝͝t̴̡̯̲̩͓͇͚͕̪͛͂̄͗!̸̤̋͛̀̌̈͂̒̈́]̴͙͇̰̦̟̬͎̮̍̑̀̉”̷̛͍̭͚̹̤̤͌͑̓̉͜͜͠

The living darkness recoiled from the light and the terrible words, and Kyo could hear a scream somewhere in the distance.  The very sound forced her to close her eyes. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the words the silver woman spoke as they echoed in her mind without sound. The words weighed as much as a large ham sandwich filled with meaning and might!

When she opened her eyes after the bright flash of light, Kyo saw nothing but a world entirely formed of salt, slowly disintegrating into pieces around her. Even the ground had turned into white crystals. The [Silver Empress] collapsed slowly to the ground before the dream ended with an abrupt awakening.

Kyo saw Sene’s face looking at her with worry. “Are you ok, kid? You started screaming after a few hours.”

Screaming? Me? Kyo thought, confused. I would never scream; predators are attracted to such noises!

“Bad dream,” Kyo mumbled before she was lifted into Sene’s arms and hugged. It felt very comfortable, so she drifted off into slumberland once more. This time there were no strange dreams other than the normal one of sitting at a table filled with milk and food that she could gobble to her heart's content.