Grim Impact-Chapter 1 “How did we not get word of this sooner?” Barbara asked as she tried to keep pace with her sister and the hired guild member. The water at her feet carried her quickly but she lagged behind and wondered if her question had fallen on deaf ears due to her distance behind them. Dozens of adventurers and guild members had gone missing due to a dangerous job posting, but once it was taken down, civilians had started going missing in close proximity to the area the job had asked to be investigated. “They’ve never been this discrete before, I never thought they would sink to subversive tactics. Fischl, the moment you see anything let us know.” her sister ordered as held back tears. She viewed this as a gross oversight on her part. How could she have known though, they had always been so stubbornly forward with their attacks and use of those monsters. No one could blame her sister for the Cult having finally obtained a sound strategy. “We are coming up on something, we need to slow down soon.” Fischl yelled. She disengaged the energy around her feet. She was the head of the pack so they both followed suit. Jean dispelled her gale and took to jogging forward to keep up with the girl and she dispelled the water beneath her feet and followed them until they all stopped at the edge of a seemingly man made passage. Large pillars and an arch that spoke of ancient times and was tainted by the grandiose tragedy of their world. There wasn’t a door, but the gate lead to what seemed like a cliff overlooking a great chasm littered with dark purple crystals that illuminated most of it. The most horrific thing about, was it went down deeper still. All of them looked down the chasm. Fischl seemed more determined than her sister, as she cast her bird down the great hole. Her face, barley lit, showed a clear grimace and the start of tears. She placed a hand on her shoulder and they locked eyes, either she was impatient or wished to get it off her chest. “My friend, he was one of the first to come down here,” she whimpered as she broke eye contact. "He…he’s been down here for three months.” That must have been painful for her. She perked up however as she started taking to herself. She asked if it was a straight drop to the bottom, the bird maybe? She looked to Jean and gave her the command and Jean didn’t seem to object. Green wind swirled like a tempest around them, Jean took their hands as they made the leap. She had to be honest, she was glad she had a light breakfast. As they landed the wind dispersed and the color with it, the residual wind blowing her hair all around her head. She had started to sweat and it stung her eyes. She wiped it away best she could, but her comrades had already started their further descent. Though maybe that was a misplaced thought? The path seemed straightforward and narrow from here on. Lit with regular flame and torches, Fischl’s bird stayed preached on an extinguished torch before taking flight once more. It wasn't long before Fischl dashed forward, her bow removed from her back. They followed suit and as they ran, the red of the torches started to be replaced with a different red. Still flame but…something wasn’t right. Barbara heard low howling sound started as they ran. It then became louder, more bellowing and then it became more audible and clear. It wasn’t a howl exactly, or an enemy behind them like her paranoid mind had thought up. The distant clang of swords rung out and loud blasts of magic howled as well. Was there a fight going on? “No!" Fischl almost pleaded. As they approached the end of the path, yet another overlook, but not to a drop off or a chasm. A great and horrible construction, a colosseum littered with corpses that decorated the steps and the more refined architecture such as statutes. It had to be twenty times the size of any from the pictures she had seen. In the main stage of it, there was a massive fight going on. The area held so many, it couldn’t be less than a thousand combatants. It looked like the civilians, heroes, guild members and many hilichurl from this distance. “We need to move,” Jean made the call this time and Fischl followed her order, sending out the raven once more. “Find cells, or anything that looks important.” “I’ve got both.” Fischl growled. She drew her bow back and her lightning danced once more. She let looses three shot in quick succession far to their left. She then moved in that direction, Jean close behind and she followed on her heels. They made a quick descent from the overlook, before landing on the structure proper. They ran around what was the old exterior of the colosseum, or something, she wasn’t an architect. They soon passed the three corpses the arrows had made and headed up a set of stairs. Past the threshold they found large vats of glowing blue water. The contrast with the red painted the room an eerie purple. They had slowed down to examine the oddity. Jean looked at it puzzled. Barbara approached a vat, she ran her hand along the glass and focused to see if it was indeed water. To her horror, the image of a silver haired maiden took shape. What the fuck was going on? “Bennett!” Fischl screamed. Jean and Barbara turned to follow her. That name, no, he couldn’t be down here. Tears stared to form in her eyes as she followed her team to the next room. A man was pinned to the floor by her sister. Her sword placed close to his neck. Fischl went to search the man for something, probably a key. She could see what they had seen now. A beautiful, bloody, beaten boy leaned up against the wall of a cell. She wasn’t sure if he was alive or not, she tried to focus so she could hear his breathing. It was shallow, strained and stressed. His hair, once platinum with only a streak left was red with blood. His face looked fine for the most part, but the bags under his eyes were almost black. He was exhausted, the beautiful face she had once secretly adored…gods why? “Wake him up, splash water on him or something!" Fischl pushed on her should frantic. She listened and summoned a fair amount, made it cold. She ushered an apology to him before she flung it. He gasped as he was woken up to the world. He swore under his breathe and fury welled in his eyes. His ringed eyes came to focus on Barbara first and a smile formed as the anger left his eyes. He then looked slightly up and notice Fischl and laughed. “Guys, you came.” He seemed so happy he could have cried. “Of course you flaming idiot.” Fischl sobbed. “We weren’t going to let you die down here.” “Die? What are you guys talking about?” His eyes seemed genuinely confused. “The boy came of his own volition, you have not right to interfere!" A strained voice from behind them echoed. She turned to see her sister still on top of the man, his garb clear now, an Abyss Cultist. Fischl drew her bow and took aim at the man. “Start making sense or you die slowly.” An order she gave with cold determination. “The boy offered his help to us. He is meant to help us…save us from the Abyss, our godless curse, he carries a great flame with him. You’ve seen it yes? Tell me, how can a fire burn and heal?” He talked fast, hectic. He wasn’t right in the head. “It’s magic you idiot," Jean yelled. “So it would appear, but deeper still there are secrets. The boys parentage for example," his mad rambling tampered off with a blade hilt to his face from Jean. She motioned for two of them to get Bennett out. “Guys, they said they’d help me become a real hero! Get ride of my curse and everything!" He sounded normal but this was anything but… Metal started to grind around them. Loud clangs and stressed pillars moaned and wailed. The floor of Benett’s cell started to open and he fell through. Fischl screamed like bloody murder as he took the tumble. Barbara could only imagine him going to the arena. Dread filled them all at what had just transpired, all three women looked at the trapped man. “I can guarantee you his survival, that doesn’t mean much, I know, but trust me, the boy will not die.” The man was looking into Barbara’s eyes as he spoke, even through his mask she was certain. “All of you, you won’t make it to the ground floor in time and even if you did…you’d just be fighting hopeless odds.” He relaxed trying to let reason flood the room. “Go…to the viewing platform in the area with the blue vats.” Jean picked him up. In the process, she bent one of his arms until a wet snap echoed in her ears. She followed her team. They stood in front of the platform. Down in the arena Bennett was winning. He had jumped from one hilicurl to another, ripping its throat out with his blade or baking their heads to a soft “glewp” as he had called it once. There was hope…until his blade snapped. His blade was stuck in a hilichurl’s throat now and he was stuck with it. Another grabbed him by the leg and bit into it. Another took his arm. Fischl screamed as this happened. Her and Jean leaped into action, but in the darkest part of her heart she knew it was too late. She witnessed the largest beast pick up his limp body. He devoured him in one bite. Screams of her comrades echoed at this sight as she fell to her knees crying. Moments that seemed like hours past. Until a voice reached out to her. “I told you he wouldn’t die, he can still live, but you must finish my job.” The cultist looked at her pleading. Bennett didn’t deserve that. It was such an unbecoming death for a hero. More selfishly she had never gotten to talk to him. He always had a fire in his eyes around her. She was curious about that and wanted to fan the flame but now…snuffed out…no, she wouldn’t allow it. She looked at him waiting. “You are a water mage, I know it…activate the device and drain the reservoirs and flood the arena. That will save your friend and we can be rid of our godlessness." His voice was calm and reassuring to her. She moved robotically to the vats. She placed her hand on them once more and started to force her Magic into each vat. The silver haired women appeared again, eyes open and looking at her. She shook her head. She shook back and the vats emptied rapidly. The visage of the woman draining into the arena, flooding it. She moved back to get a better look at what had transpired. She had knocked both her comrades over. All the monsters except the one who had killed Bennett were knocked out. The beast stood there, head in the air and wobbling back and forth. It looked…drunk almost. The beast bent over and stared to drink the water and sand at its feet. The surrounding water she had release started to move towards the monster's gaping mouth and forced its way in. The monster swelled in size and fell over. It’s stomach an sick mockery. As she watched she was about to go back and kill the cultist. However something was happening, the beast was starting to expel steam and soon it caught fire. Jean and Fischl had gotten back on their feet and then… …their world was bathed in flame. As Fire danced around her Barbara wondered why she didn’t burn? Why it didn’t hurt? Why had any of this happened? Soon the flames died and the entire arena was vacant of all life minus her, Jean and Fischl. She made her way down to them, hoping to end this nightmare. She had a hopeful and naive thought. Bennett’s flame had protected them. It was the only thing she could think of to explain such an event. Burning away in the belly of a beast didn’t suit him. He died the brightest flame Mondstadt had ever known. She'd make sure her sister would organize a city wide funeral and the largest statue the city had ever seen would be built even if she had to rasie the money herself. She approached her allies. Both their gazes locked upon the source of the flame. Both quiet and at least one grieving. She looked at his final resting place, the black pile wasn’t worthy of him, but it was the reality of the situation and they needed to return to the surface. Inexplicably and to their horror, the black mass moved. Fischl was the first to move towards it before Jean stopped her. The mass started to grow larger. It flipped, shook and convulsed as much as a pile could, until an armed popped out. Then another and then both ripped at the fleshy residue that coated the mass. From what was thought to be a pile of burnt hilichurl, a monstrosity emerged. It was smaller than the greatest creatures they had fought before, it stood at about 7 and a half feet. Its horns, Benntt’s platinum hair, they looked indistinguishable by color now. Its mane was a deep burgundy, its face was masked as all hilichurl's were. It’s arms covered in protrusions of what could only be bone and he sported a tail that seemed to move on its own. Jean didn’t waste any opportunity despite the cries from Fischl. She blasted the creature with a gale that cracked the stone wall meters behind him. All she did was clean off the residue from the flesh pod he had emerged from. Undeterred she then jumped to him, her sword over head. She brought it down with a gale storm around the blade. The mockery of their friend then raised its hand in response. His palm on fire. The storm and the flame meet and an eruption took place. The exchange had an unfathomable result. Jean sword, the captains sword, her sisters sword was gone minus the hilt…he had burnt the wind and the blade away? It wasn’t possible was it? Jean looked at her bladeless weapon in absolute shock. She was stunned. She didn’t even register the beast’s momentum towards her. Fischl had her though as she let loose two arrows at the monster, charged with more power than anything she’d seen her use today. Again the beast intercepted the attack and an arm and the tail caught the arrows mid flight and launched them back at Fischl, hitting her legs. She screamed as her calves were pieced and she fell to the ground. In that moment the creature had made its way right before Barbara. Looking down at her with a hollow expression due to the mask. Then the mask disappeared with a magical flash never before seen. The face, it was Benntt’s but more defined, more…grown? Her train of thought was lost when she heard Jean’s scream as she jumped at the beast. Without even breaking eye contact, Benntt’s imposter caught Jean by the throat. This shook her out of her stupor and she attempted to attack him but, his free hand found her stomach first. The wind was knocked out of her so fast she didn’t know what to do. She was going to beg him to stop. Bennett had to be in their. He took one of his horns and broke it off in his hand. He then threw it to catch the bird Fischl had flying around, its wing pinned to the wall. His attention then turned to her sister. Jean had been kicking him and doing close range gale blasts to no avail. The fake took his other horn in his hand, he made it glow, he then crushed it to dust and he rubbed it in Jean’s face. This action having taken her unaware, she caught a good amount of it in her nostrils and lungs. “Of fucking gods,” she cried, the powder causing her eyes to water and her breathing to labor. “Sis, run, oh god run!" “No.” The monster spoke. It sounded like Bennett too. What hell had they delved into? The look the monster gave her told her not to move. She sat there waiting. The beast turned its attention back to her sister. He started to lick his own powdered horn off her face as she moaned in protest. His tongue danced across her face, getting every crevice and wetting her sisters golden locks. He then twisted her around, upside down, holding her legs apart. His mouth descended upon her, his tongue she had noticed after the spectacle had worn off, was huge. His tongue invaded her sisters snatch probing her deep and Jean wailed and cried. His large finger pushed itself into her ass and her cries seemed to get louder. Soon she was pelted by her sister own juices. As she was now spraying like a fountain. The noises she made sounded like she was being electrocuted. Her teeth chattering and calling out to any gods who’d answer. While this had been going on, she had been blind to the creatures growing arousal. The cock on the thing. She couldn’t describe it fully as she only got a corner view. It was massive. The creature then whiped Jean back around and held her sides. He gave her another lick from pussy to chin before he turned her around and lined up his cock. She was facing her sister now. Her sister's maidenhood and wild bush now faced her. The snake on the creature back came around to greet them, the creature bit the monster it was attached to, on its own cock none the less and the monster extended even more. Hell. This was hell. This was hell. This was hell. That’s what rang through her head. The cunt of her sister descended upon the monolith and her cries were once again heard through the whole arena. They didn’t stop this time though. The cries and wails were accompanied by wet flesh meeting in a violent display. “Barbara, don’t look at me, please don’t look at me!” Her sister pleaded as her pussy was pummeled. Tears joined her juices in the sand below. The snake tail of the monster hissed loud and retreated behind the beast…or was so apparent. Her sisters face convulsed oddly. She blinked rapidly as…she didn’t know what was going on. She kept grinding her teeth and eventually she started to cough. Before she knew it the snake tail of Bennett’s new form had worked it’s way through her mouth form the other side. Her sister made hollow attempts to speak. To beg more than likely. She gargled her words due to the intruison in her throat and the build up of spittle. Her eyes were bloodshot and her body soaked in sweat. Nothing could save her. Barbara cried out to no avail. Tears flowing down her eyes to match her sister. She was gagging now, spittle coating the tail and her sisters face. The snake slowly made its way around her neck and the monster removed its hands from her sister. Supported only by the snake that coiled her neck and guts, as well as the monstrous cock that feed her feeble, beaten cunt. She closed her eyes to honor her sisters last wish. She heard gasping and then whimpering and then…nothing…and finally a wet, sick snap echoed in her ears. She didn’t dare look up. She heard something fly through the air and land with a thud. She opened her eyes to search for her discarded form, but she saw a new horror taking form before her. The monster made its way to Fischl, who had crawled away during her sister’s execution. He kicked her over on her back and grabbed her foot and dragged her towards the bird pinned to the wall. He shook her down like he was looking for money. He then shook her more violently and the contents of her satchel fell out around her. The monster kicked around her contents, it’s foot landing on a book. He picked it up and showed it to the girl. “That’s mine, put it down!" She screamed hoarse. “Your…favorite.” The devil exclaimed and her eyes shot open. “Bennett, I know you are in there please,” her begging was cut off with a smack to the right side of her face with the book. Then another and another and another and another and another and another… The spine of the book was red now. Fischl whimpered as her eye had swollen shut from the beating. He waved the book in front of the raven. He then checked back at the now blind Fischl and attemtped contemplation. He yanked the arrows from her legs and attempted to see if she could stand up. She immediately fell back down. The monster shrugged it's shoulders and went to grab Fischl's bow. He lined himself up for her crotch and jammed it in with no warning. Fischl's scream was to be expected, but the action following it wasn't. He took her bow and placed the string on her neck and pulled back on it while he fucked her. The bird attached to the wall cawed and crowed the whole time. Fischl attempted to make any sort of noise but her hollow little throat was being crushed. Unable to look away from the scene before her, Barbara saw her face turn red, then purple and slowly to blue. A snapped bow string released her from that fate however, though she had her doubts about it being anything good. Especially since her head had bounced of the sand from the release of tension. “Good friend.” he said as he finished pumping into her. The lack of oxeygen or the blunt force to her skull must have knocked her out as she didnt have a response to his load being injected into her. It leaked out of her like a broken fro-yo machine leaked melted yogurt. The monster looked tired now, but his gaze once again came back to Barbara. With her sister dead, their compatriat beaten and potentially crippled, nothing else really seemed to matter to her. She locked eyes with the beast, praying for a quick death or trying to think of ways to kill herself. It made its way slowly over to her. The monster faced her down. His stare more gentle then the others for some reason. He took a seat next to her. He seemed nervous...she wanted to laugh, what had she done to deserve this fate? He placed her inside the palm of his giant one and squeezed. "I always liked you. Your shows, your magic and singing." His voiced cracked as he declared this. It brought her to tears. Despite the hell he had inflicted, it was still Bennett. "I always liked your magic too," she whimpered through the tears. "I loved your eyes though, so bright." He pulled her into his lap. She could treat him like a couch if she needed. She leaned into his chest. They stayed like that for minutes. She didn't know what to do as her sister rotted and Fischl lay in a pool of cum, battered. The decision seemed to spring up between her legs as Bennett's cock sprung back to life. She relented. Defeated. Humiliated. Just kill her already she thought. He lifted her only to place her gingerly on the ground. Her knees in the sand, she awaited the inevitable. His revived cock was placed in front of her face. He ground it into her, the combine juices of her dead sistsr, Fischl and whatever his new scent was. As he humped her face, he tore at cloths. He wore Barbara's idol outfit as a cruse scarf and went dor her hair next. Using his claws, he cut each pigtail off and wrapped each one around his ring fingers. At least she had married before she died. A sick joke in her darkest hour. The snake that had mapped out her sisters guts then came to be around her neck. Bennett turned around and placed his hands on her knees as the snake guided her to his intentions. She had read on her fan forums about this, it was disgusting then and now, but she just wanted to get to her death as quick as possible. She was hit with a salty and sour stench. Bennett had spent three months down here, so of course he'd be so ripe after fighting for so long. She held back a gag from the smell, but once she was firmly between his ass cheeks she gagged and coughed. She was shocked she didn't vomit. Once she had gotten past the horrid smell, she shot her tongue out and scrapped it along his wrinkled pucker. The combined build up of his battles, her sister's climaxes and Fischl's own stained him and she swallowed it all. At one point or another her arms had wrapped around his legs. Then her hands had moved to his massive cock and balls. She grew impatient and used magic to further the chore along. His massive nuts, the size of apples, were her target. She massaged them to cox his seed out and it was a resounding success. He moved quickly to face her as he blasted her face with white hot fury. The seed dripped down tenderly on her broken and beaten body. The monstsr stood again, more ferocious looking than before. His cock erect from multiple snake bites. Whatever came next couldnt be good but she was happy. "Jean, I’ll be with you soon.” She prayed and smiled. "As a hero, I'll always protect you Barbara!" he proclaimed like his old, innocent self would. He started fo line himself up with her entrance. She focused her magic to her crotch to make accepting him easier. He slid into her in one go, Barbara shocked at the expansion of her cunt, was only caught off gaurd by the sudden stop and bulge in her stomach. He had smashed himself against in a few times, recklessly until he settled for grinding against her womb. This didn't last as he tried fo force himself deeper into her. With the last of her strength she focused on her cervix. She focused her blood and the water in her walls to loosen herself to accept him, a trick she had read about. He took the invitation, he slide in gently and then he bucked like before. The snug fit of her ruined life bed pleased him. He came again and she could feel every rope and twitch as her snatch flooded. He bent down to kiss her, confessing his love once more. What comedy was this? She just wanted to die. "If you love me, then kill me." she blurted out in a monotone voice. "A hero can't kill the woman he loves!" She wanted to laugh but was too weak. “No boy, not a hero, a god.” A familar voice shot out. Even with her spunk stained eyes, she took notice of the cultist they had beaten earlier. “I told you, you would be our hero, not a hero," he went on and on. “The answer to our civilization, the answer to our godlessness.” No. “The Archon of Dominance, I dub you, Raamulos" No. “You two, his only tether to his former life, will bear witness as he goes forth to make his brothers and sister. For what is greater than a single god?” The cultist proclaimed for his emerging flock. The end?