The Crack In Heaven [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy] Chapter 25: Chapter 25: When Darkness Remembered Her

Read chapter 25 of The Crack In Heaven [A LitRPG Progression Fantasy] by Adamus_Auguste on NovelPedia.

Chapter 25: When Darkness Remembered Her Night had always been coldest on the last days of winter in the slums, cold enough to seep into bones and for steamy breath to match chimneys. But it was another kind of chill that made Els' arm tremble against her chest. Endless factory silhouettes bled into the night, their shadows devouring the lamplight until only a trembling glow remained. Today again, the same wet footsteps on snow behind her. The sensation of having her back seared by the scrutiny of predators. It all started after last week's harvest festival, when her father... She closed her eyes to stop a tear. Everything became so messed up since then. Survival over mercy—her father's teaching. Endure today's pain for a better tomorrow. Nessa's words joined her father's. She endured, endured, and endured again. But fear became the only constant she felt when she woke up, and what kept her crying to sleep. She couldn't live like this anymore. Her hands slid beneath the rag covering her basket. She gripped something firm and cold against her palm. Something she had never carried before. Something she never wanted to use. Yet, she approached her limits. Tonight. If they tried again tonight, she'd teach them she was no prey. Kael's face flashed in her mind. "Like you did. I hope you're safe..." A stench of ale and tobacco closed in with the steps. She tensed. "Look what I found." A broad hand clutched her shoulder, his voice amused. Els didn't think. She acted. Instinctively, like a beast pinned against a wall. She swung as she turned. The thin blade of her father's razor sliced a bloody line across the man's muscular forearm. He covered the wound with a yelp, his colleague's eyes widening. It was her eyes that widened most on the blood pattering down the razor's blade. What had she done? No, it was right. But she still stuttered, her weapon trembling in front of the two men. "I-I'm not letting you harass me to death! S-Step back. This is my last warning!" For a moment, one fragile moment, the colleague actually stepped back. Then the wounded thug's lips pursed. "Shut up, bitch!" Els barely saw him remove his hand from his forearm before it blurred to her right cheek. Knuckles dug into the layer of soot smearing her skin. Her nose crunched, blood bursting from the twisted bridge, and two teeth flew out in a scarlet spray. Factories, light, darkness—everything distorted into patterns that spun incomprehensibly. She dropped to her knees, pain clawing at her mind enough for the razor to slip from her fingers. But the thug wasn't done. Snarling, he dragged her by her auburn hair toward an alley. "Show me how tough you are now. Keep guard, Yannick." The other thug blocked off the alley, while the first pressed Els' face between two pipes against the wall. Red smeared stones darkened by steam, and her own tears wet her green dress. "S... stop." She tried to speak through the agonising haze of her mind, but only managed a broken word. Something clicked, a belt undone, then fabric cracked. The fabric of the back of her dress. Cold wind brushed her legs. Horror swallowed her pain. "No! Please, I beg you!" She struggled to free herself. The thug paused to grab her arm with his free hand. SNAP The only answer she got came with the sound of broken bones. She screamed. And the thug's laugh buried them. "How did you feel when you attacked me? Strong? Defiant as you were when you refused to pay what you owed? We followed the rules. We gave you time. But now, you owe me. And I always get what's mine. In one form or another." The sound of pants dropping to the ground echoed louder than a factory explosion. Els cried out, but the thug's hand gagged her mouth. And he began to approach, slowly, like a torturer playing with a broken toy. He would defile her any second now. No! She didn't want to. But what could she do? She touched the bloody gaps of her missing teeth with her tongue. Then she began to bite down with those that remained. She was trap