LIMINALITY
Table of Contents
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 56 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 ENDChapter 23
The pair continued onward into the dark, lit cavern as Janus and Saomi walked together with purpose. The smell of damp earth permeated the air, along with the constant sound of water dripping from stalactites echoed in the distance.
Its no wonder they were alert if there was an impending ambush coming their way; sometimes, there was a presence of watching eyes lurking somewhere in the shadows. This unnerved the young woman, while Janus is unfazed by it all, not caring about whoever it is.
Unlike the invincible god, Saomi was the first-most human in flesh and blood,susceptible to whatever threat or danger might come her way. Feeling wary and nervous from the beginning, she grew more uneasy by every moment, grabbing his shoulder and asking, "I feel as if someone is watching us. Are we sure this is a good idea to continue this further?"
Janus could only turn his head with an unamused face and say, "This is the only path that leads deeper into the catacombs. Of course it's a good idea." Pointing out the obvious, "And I am not a fool to realize there is an ambush waiting ahead of us," this immediately caught her attention as a sudden shout announced its presence.
"For our beloved old one!" A crazed masked cultist with daggers in each hand charged at them in blinding speed, followed by the rest exiting their hiding spots to join the fray. "Come brothers and sisters!" Encouraging his fellow comrades to assist him with this.
Before Janus was readily armed to kill them right here and there, Saomi took a couple of steps forward while their enemies continued rushing towards the pair with the utmost intent of killing the intruders. With a mere show of her teeth, she gritted them hard enough to reveal her next moves.
The ground is hard as sandstone, rushing footsteps reverberating like thunder from her position, and then the temperature was dropping a degree by a second, the moisture of the cavern diminishing the chill to her bones. But none of that mattered, not when she drew her katana.
For someone like the Roman god of beginnings and ends, Janus had never witnessed firsthand the mere human using any form of sorcery or magic in his life aside from peering into countless realities prior to his removal of knowing and seeing everything.
He watched curiously as the young woman used a burst of speed by manipulating herself to accelerate time and then, at the next moment, disappeared and appeared as if she were teleporting to one place or another, while in truth, she herself is anything but an ordinary human.
She then mercilessly sliced the neck of the first charging cultist, his head instantly falling off his shoulders before being pushed to the side, dropping down with a thud. As his own corpse fell and crashed to the floor with blood spraying everywhere, the swordswoman wasted no time finishing off the rest.
Another tried to attack her from behind with a spiked mace, raising it high enough to crush her head with one blow. But before he could do such a thing, she turned her head and made eye contact with him, resulting in his mere perception of time being warped in chaotic time dilation where a single second felt as if it were a minute to him.
Without hesitation, Saomi quickly turned around before raising her sword up in the air, cleanly cutting him apart, starting from his torso downward. His body split in half as organs and intestines spilled all over the place; a trail of crimson liquid trickled across the cold, sandy ground.
Blood and guts flew everywhere, filling the air with the stench of iron as more bodies dropped dead onto the dirt when these madmen tried to rush her together with overwhelming numbers, not showing any hint of fear in their impending deaths.
The young woman sliced and diced every last one of them; each swing of her blade cut the very fabric of time itself, making sure not a single one would survive from her strikes. But even for her, it didn't take long until her movement started to slow down due to exhaustion.
Sweat ran down her forehead while her own breathing grew heavy from overexertion as more and more charged in with no strategy in their insane minds. There's no time to take a breath, much less catch it. Staying focused on the task at hand is her best friend for staying alive.
With clothes and a sword dripping wet with their blood, caking it to her skin, Saomi was forced to once again dodge their attacks before slicing them again with her sword, not taking any chance that might cause her death. And she would have continued had it not been for the fact that she was catching glimpses of Janus standing there in the background without even moving a muscle.
At that moment, the Roman god of doors, time, transitions, beginnings, and endings found the whole experience to be truly fascinating to witness such skill firsthand, despite having already known this since the time he was in his prime.
He watched and listened, enjoying this rather spectacle-like show unfolding before his own eyes; it almost reminded him of the gladiatorial games held in the Colosseum. Yet, deep down, he couldn't help feeling a little envious that someone like her was limited by human things.
How he wondered to be human, being limited by the little things even though his own family of gods would reject such things that would weaken them. But he himself does not mind it at all; Janus has grown exhaustive in being at the top of the food chain.
"She is probably one of the most talented swordswomen I have ever seen." Quirinus was even impressed by the woman of all places in handling a sword so well: "It seems humans aren't truly helpless, despite their lack of immortality and wisdom," giving out his opinion of her.
"That woman is dangerous," Saturn fearfully answered in his own words. "Can we trust someone who is powerful enough to even cut the fabric of time with her own blade?" Having such a threat around would make him incredibly paranoid about being in her presence.
Culsans scoffed at such a reaction from his oversuspicious sibling: "You need not worry about being beheaded, Saturn. Perhaps she will stab our backs, or maybe she will kill us all. But you shouldn't let it bother your little mind over," he chuckled at the idea, "because I wouldn't mind being dead if it meant not having to hear you complain all the time."
Janus eyes twitched from hearing these voices once again, loudly conversing with one another in heated talk, to the point that he couldn't properly observe this interesting fight. He honestly is beginning to think of ridding them for a while; it would make him have deserving peace.
Unbeknownst to him, a cultist in his early teens held a sharp dagger in one hand, cautiously sneaking up on the distracted Janus, aiming to plunge the metal deep within his back. The boy was sure he was going to finish this intruder off with one go.
As the boy got close enough, he swiftly stood and plunged the unsuspecting Janus deep within the back of his neck, striking the vital artery as if his life depended on it. The child gleefully smiled under his mask, feeling victorious in always seeing his victims die. A gasp echoed within the silent darkness.
However, there's only one problem for him: his target stood perfectly still as if the wound itself did nothing to him. Instead, the dagger had entered his skin, but he remained uninjured—not a sign of surprise from this action as he turned around to see his would-be attacker.
Looking down at the shocked boy with his brow raised, Janus never expected a child to be part of this mad cult. Although this isn't the first time he has seen the ancient world employing child soldiers against neighboring governments.
Vesta became soft in seeing such a person of his age be part of this madness. "His..." she was surprised but not shocked. It is rather common for this to happen within his homeland. "Should we—" The voice of reason was immediately interrupted by Quirinus himself.
"That damn brat!" Feeling humiliated at the idea of seeing a backstabber rather than fighting this enemy with honor, it seems someone was desperate enough to pull such a stunt out of the blue: "Kill this little ingrate!" Furious at anyone who would dare resort to cowardice tactics against him.
The boy hissed, almost monstrous for someone so young, "I will kill you like what I have done to the rest of those godless pigs in the village!" lunging toward him with his bare hands in an attempt to strangle the life out of him, "for our glorious God!"
Having grown tired in being assaulted every moment of his precious time, Janus immediately grabbed the boy's mask with his left hand before bringing the cultist onto the ground as hard as he could, instantly killing him from the sheer impact alone, which caused a crater beneath him. As a result of this action, a spatter of blood splattered across the floor.
He stood and looked down, not showing a hint of remorse or regret. Only irritation from being attacked out of nowhere: "What's with these cultists?" Finding no reason why to ever do so, all while not considering a simple greeting in a proper introduction.
His hand grasped his left shoulder. "Janus?" Saomi questioned in a tired voice, "It's over; I managed to get rid of them." She then went over to the side as her eyes widen in disbelief, "No it can't be.... is that a kid?" She felt her heart sorrow, knowing how twisted this whole situation is becoming.
Janus glanced at her, noticing the distress coming from her. To think someone was heartbroken over seeing the corpse of a stranger is beyond me. "Kid or not, there was no reasoning for these lunatics," he bluntly responded to her.
Saomi blinked in response, wondering why a child would be part of this nightmare, which is beyond her. However, knowing how cults run, this should be an obvious thing. "Lets go," her weary gaze shifted away. "I don't like to keep staying here," expressing discomfort from being around this place longer.
Nodding, Janus turned around and saw many mutilated corpses lying around; their bodies remain cold and lifeless as the crimson pools of blood scattered around. Looking around the area, he realized that she did all of this work by herself.
"Most impressive," he contemplated at the sight of her handy work, "you must've gone through a lot to accomplish this." Janus stood beside her as his gaze studied the work that had been laid out for them, despite how bloody it seemed.
However, she became more uncomfortable by the second, "I...I don't enjoy doing this," voicing out her honest opinion with a shiver of uncertainty while avoiding to look at the gruesome sights around her, "it doesn't feel good, Janus..." Saomi explained herself, trying her best not to dwell on the past too much.
Understanding what she was going through, he decided to give her some insightful words about it. "Its kill or be killed," he reasoned in a calm tone, "animals hunt for food, human wars ravage the land and sea, the universe is a cruel place that cannot be changed of what it is." He sighed as if it weren't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, "we kill because such concepts as life or death are bound to exist for purpose just as killing is necessary evil in the face of chaos and ignorance."
While she isn't comprehending any of it, Saomi nonetheless tried to understand what he meant by it. "Um, okay," she stuttered, trying to grasp what was happening, "if you say so," speaking honestly as she gave a small nod in agreement.
He sighed, feeling mentally drained from this. "But what we did here is not murder; it's self-defense," Janus assured her with a somewhat positive outlook on the situation. "If we spare any of them, either of these madmen would likely cause more deaths, which would also mean you or I will be responsible for innocent lives getting caught in the crossfire because of our own doing."
"So we couldn't reason with them?" She questioned, not sure if what he was saying was true, "Can't we talk our way out of this? Maybe negotiate so nobody would die or get hurt?" Trying to come up with other alternatives to the situation.
Janus shook his head in denial. "We didn't had the chance when they attacked us first," he replied coldly, having already experienced dealing with individuals that lack common sense. "In a world filled with disease and decay, it is easier to die than live. So we must take arms in protecting ourselves against the many dangers that lurk out there rather than trying to play made-up hero," he warned her, hoping that she could at least understand it.
She briefly turned over her shoulder where the dead boy is before returning to him. "I know what you're saying, but," the swordswoman paused, appearing to be torn on what to do. Then Saomi slowly exhaled deeply as her fists clenched in frustration: "I just...don't like it."
Nodding his head, he began to walk forward without her. "As I said before, the universe is always uncaring and cold as it is filled with uncertainty and despair that can last for eons and eons; it's nothing more than the cycle of life, death, and rebirth," Janus pointed out in a calm manner.
"What you do with the little power you have now is a choice that lies solely on you," he finished, leaving her in deep contemplation of how she can handle the situation. "However, in times like this, you must defend yourself and others from the malicious forces that will eventually come after us despite how they appear to be, as questionable as it is."
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