Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 13

I was back in that room, Juktha’s room.  Even in this dream state my body hurt.  The lighting, the pillows, even the warm, sweet sent of vanilla that filled my nostrils did little to calm me.

What had I just seen?  That thing was Juktha’s husband?  That monster?  Juktha, to me, had always seemed so warm, so kind.  How could she marry such a horrible creature?

“He was not always like that.” Juktha was standing towards the back of the room, her head bowed, her hands clasped.

I had never seen her look this way.  She was crushed, emotionally destroyed.  I could feel her fatigue as much as I felt my own.

“I just don’t understand.” Speaking hurt.  It felt like all my ribs were shattered.  “He’s such a monster.  You’re...”

“Time can corrupt.  It shattered him.  That’s why he can possess multiple hosts.  Whatever his journey was, it destroyed him, then rebuilt him as... as...”  She took a step towards me.  When she lifted her head to look me in the eye I was shocked to see tears running down her cheeks.  “We are not like you.  We are influenced not only by ourselves, but by our hosts.  As much as we leave our mark on our hosts, so they leave theirs on us.  Grath’s hosts have been... When a host is corrupt, they corrupt us.  They can turn a once loving god, and turn him into a vengful, violent monster.”

“What kind of host could have done that to him?”  I sat up, wincing as my body shouted it’s objection with a shock of burning pain.

“I do not know.”  Juktha sat down across from me.  “The civilization that birthed us was ancient, lost to your modern world.  We have changed, both in form and in name over the centuries.  Our myths and legends have been rewritten.  Unlike you, the life of a deity is not a linear path.  With each change to us, not only are our futures altered, but also our pasts.  Some time ago, possibly centuries ago, Grath and I were separated, our stories split.”

She took a deep breath. “Grath was once a shining warrior with a pure heart.  When our myths were joined... When we were married, he lived up to the name he was later given.  He was just.  He did not set out to punish, but to protect.”

It was hard to imagine the monster I had seen as anything just or kind.

I could not bare to see the sadness in Juktha’s eyes.  For me, I had only seen a monster.  She had once seen a beautiful being worthy of her love.  I couldn’t imagine the heartbreak to see something you once held so dear so perverted.

“Can he be saved?” I leaned forward, taking her hand in mine.

“I... I don’t know.” Her words seemed to catch in her throat.

I wrapped my arms around her, comforting her like she had done for me so many times.