Brutalis: The crucible of life

Fear, cold dark fear. The kind of fear that paralyzes you, while waiting for your death, unable to do anything. The fear a young child feels as he is led down a dark path to an unknowable fate.

Ethan walked down a dimly lit hallway, the only light was torches set into the wall that did not do much to dispel the darkness, as the pathway descended down further into darkness. Giving the hallway a deep foreboding vibe that made it seem like you were descending deeper and deeper into hell.

Ethan was 13 at the time and a smaller boy, dark black hair and gray eyes. He was not alone, surrounding him was a group of 12 robed figures that moved him at a quickened pace. If anyone was there besides Ethan and these figures they would see that each robed figure carried a spiked chain that led to an iron collar around Ethan's neck.

As they marched further and further into the tunnel it got warmer and warmer and there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel?... no not "that light" this light was accompanied by drums... and chanting and every so often... a scream that is cut short shortly followed by another.

When they finally reached the light.. It was blinding. Ethan would have tried to shield his eyes if he could, but that was impossible since his arms were bound to a thick slab of metal going vertically up his back and leading to the collar effectively preventing from moving on his own at all.

Even though he was unable to see he was pushed and pulled into the room and the heat continued to rise, once his sight slowly returned he could see a dark room with torches in random patterns around the room, the torches were made of wood with a red fleshy substance running up the torch leading to a human skull that was partially still covered in flesh. Ethan looked closer and could see that the fleshy substance was actually the skin from what used to be the skull's face, the side of the skull that had flesh still had his eye and when Ethan met its gaze the pupil contracted and the skull's jaw moved and seemed to be trying to talk!

" k...ill m...eee " the skull groaned out in a heart wrenching plea.

As Ethan looked around the room, he could see that each of the other 12 torches were much the same, each asking for release around the room to anyone that would listen.

"plleeaase... kill me..." " I just want my Family"

I am going to be sick. Ethan thought "what the hell is all of this?! ... where are my parents?! How did I get here??!"

The last thing Ethan remembered was being asleep in his bed on the "farm" which is the compound where his family and the other members of his family as he knew them lived, all 10,000 members of them, that's right Ethan lives in a cult.

You would think Ethan would see this coming... well I guess not considering he was born and raised here. Raised to believe living in a massive compound in the arklay mountains was a perfectly normal way to grow up, everyone he knew was doing it? I guess that kind of throws the whole metaphor about friends and bridges out the window I suppose. Back to the room Ethan now found himself in, there was an absolutely massive pit in the middle of it. It was easily 100 ft across, it was filled with murky black water that seemed to have chunks, of what used to be human.

Ethan was dragged before the pit, above him on a platform that was suspended above the pit by chains was an altar where a man and woman were dangling above a massive pit, it seemed like light never escaped from it and every so often a stench of rot would draft up from it.

Ethan gasped eyes wide and exclaimed, once he recognized who the man and the woman were. " Mom! Dad!... What is happening? Why are they doing this?! Ethan yelled, voice cracking as he was forced to kneel.

" I will tell you what is happening...child. " A dark deep voice stated.

It was a voice that was normally soothing and comforting to him but now it was devoid of all feeling, devoid of hope.

The voice belonged to Ethan's grandfather. " You are to be the vessel for our god, an incredible honor.. If you survive... that is, it is known that looking upon an old god will drive the most rational person insane... a small price to pay to look upon our Lord Zaggoth"The man said as he looked down on Ethan from the platform next to his parents.

The fires of madness deep in the man's eyes, as he peered from under his deep black hood as spoke even louder " The only way you would be worthy of our lord is to feel true despair... you were bred for this, DO US PROUD."

The man pulled a lever that was next to the altar and the hooks carried Ethan's parents slowly out further over the pit until they were hanging directly over it.

"Ethan, don't look at this... don't give them what they want. '' his father said to him as they were hanging above the dark pit.

"I can't believe you would do this to us Viktor, you monster!" Ethan's mother yelled at the hooded man apparently named Viktor.

" Monster? I told you that I would make your lives mean something, other than a walking wallet for some corporation. I told you that you would be contributing to the greater good. Well this is your Moment! You sacrificial SOW!"

At this final word Viktor gestured to robed Minion who began pushing a long wooden bar that slowly began to turn , and with it came a grating noise, like stone on stone.

Ethan looked up from his parents and his reddened eyes saw the ceiling moving, and a series of holes in the ceiling aligning. One for each torch, that is when he realized something.. Each hole matched a star, each star fit into a constellation and he would know. He spent many hours looking at them due to his family always telling him that salvation would one day come from the stars....

The stars aligned with all of the torches and moonlight poured down from the stars into the torches causing each of the head torches to screech and howl with pain as they were liquefied slowly and dribbled into the pool as all of the cultists started chanting...