The sudden thrashing sends waves towering over me, pulling me under, deeper into the sea of viscera. I’m thrown into darkness, every sense is overwhelmed by the thick, putrid sludge. Then the movements stop. The wall of flesh seems to notice my struggle, pausing to let me resurface, gasping for air. It’s disturbingly intelligent for a writhing mass of meat.

  “Oh, so you want a fair duel? How noble of you, thanks,” I shout once I manage to cw my way back up, spitting out a mouthful of gore. Or maybe you just want the pleasure of tearing me apart limb by limb. That’s the more likely scenario, but I’ll keep that thought to myself.

  Then, without warning, something massive begins to rise from the depths right beside me. There’s no malice in its presence, so I stay put.

  “Woah… thanks?” I mutter, watching in disbelief as a ptform emerges from the churning sea of flesh, complete with oozing, sinewy stairs that glisten in the dim light. It’s grotesque but strangely… accommodating. The ptform seems built specifically for me. And you guessed it—said ptform is all made from masses of flesh.

  The flesh beneath my feet squelches as I step onto it, the surface warm and pulsating like a living heart. “Guess we’re really doing this, huh?” I mutter, gripping my dagger tighter. “Y’know, if I had known you were this intelligent, I might’ve just asked to pass through. Is it too te to negotiate?” I call out, my voice echoing across the grotesque ndscape. I’m not expecting a response, but hell, it’s worth a shot.

  A deep, guttural rumble shakes the air, like a low growl from something far too ancient and hungry.

  “Is that a yes or…?” I barely finish the question before dozens of grotesque hands lunge at me with terrifying speed. “Hah, so that’s a no!” I bark out a ugh, grinning despite the dread gnawing at my insides. I half-regret every insane decision that led me here, but fuck it, I made these decisions and I’ll make them right.

  I yank the hood of my robe over my head, bracing myself to face the Wall of Flesh head-on.

  “Bring it on!” I shout, flipping the dagger into a reverse grip. The cold touch of the Void seeps into my palm, a welcome chill amidst the nightmare. The runes etched into its surface bze to life, casting an eerie glow that cuts through the red mist.

  I have no clue what I’m doing, but the dagger feels right in my grip—like it’s an extension of my will. I steady my breath, eyes locked on the monstrous wall surging toward me. There’s no time for doubt now. If this is where I make my stand, I’m damn well going to give it everything I’ve got.

  The hands close in, faster now, a storm of limbs reaching to crush me. My grin only widens, adrenaline surging like fire through my veins. “Let’s dance!” One grotesque hand gets too close for comfort, and I leap backward, sshing out with a wild swing of my left arm. The dagger carves through the fleshy mass, severing a finger with a wet snap and leaving a deep gash in its palm.

  The Wall of Flesh recoils, rumbling in what I can only guess is pain, withdrawing the injured hand. “Holy fuck—this thing is awesome!” I ugh, stumbling as I regain my footing. I flick the gore off the dagger, droplets of bck ichor sizzling where they nd. More hands dive and crush the area around me, I’m not sure if it means to make more chaos or to make it harder for me to navigate the ptform.

  This time, two massive hands rush toward me in tandem. I barely dodge the first, the wind of its passing nearly knocking me off my feet. But the second is too fast, too close. “Aha—” I choke on the word, instincts kicking in as I decide it’s my turn to go on the offensive.

  Rushing forward and jumping off the arena—I twist in mid-air, driving the dagger down with all my weight. The bde sinks deep into its fleshy palm, all the way to the hilt. It stops for a moment, realizes what’s happening, and attempts to squish me like an insect.

  “No using size to your advantage! That’s cheating!” I shout, half-ughing, half-panicked, as I dig the dagger deeper into its flesh. The bde slices through with a sickening squelch, but the massive hand doesn’t relent. “Stubborn, aren’t you?” I growl, yanking the bde free. A geyser of dark ichor erupts, spttering my face and hood.

  The instant I’m free, I let gravity take over, dropping down with all my weight. I plunge the dagger deep into the wrist. The flesh parts like rotten fruit, letting me slide down as I carve a gruesome path. Blood and gore rain down, drenching me in a sticky mess, but I don’t stop. I carve my way through, slicing tendons and muscle. Until I stop—I’d say halfway through.

  The Wall of Flesh lets out an ear-splitting howl, the kind that shakes the bones and rattles the soul. I wipe off the blood with my elbow, grinning and holding on for dear life. “Yikes, you’re getting your ass beaten by a disabled girl—with zero fighting experience, mind you!” I taunt, barely recognizing my own voice, high on adrenaline.

  The hands twitch, hesitating as if my words have struck a nerve—or whatever this monstrosity has for nerves.I gnce down and spot a convenient path—a resting arm stretched out like a grotesque bridge, leading directly to a cluster of eyeballs. Two… no, six? Whatever, it’s a lot of eyes, and they’re all staring at me. “Hey now! Don’t let your guard down!” I taunt, ripping the dagger free from the flesh with a wet schlurp.

  But as I leap off the arm, I realize just how high up I am. Fuck, what’s that trick again? Tuck your knees and roll— Too te. I hit the ground hard, a sickening crunch reverberating through my left leg. Pain explodes in white-hot waves, but the adrenaline dulls the worst of it. “Ah… shit.” I look down to see the mess—my leg twisted, bone jutting out, skin hanging in fps. Lovely. But hey, I’ve seen worse in this hellscape.

  “Aha… fuck me, let’s just go all in!” With nothing left to lose, I let pure instinct take over and start to run. My left leg screams in protest, but I push through, my focus locked on those writhing eyeballs. Somehow, against all odds, I’m actually moving—limping, staggering, but moving forward.

  “Adrenaline is such an amazing evolutionary trait,” I mutter through gritted teeth, a crazed grin splitting my face. I stumble, almost face-pnting into the pulsing flesh beneath me, but I catch myself and keep going.

  Those eyes are getting closer, each one twitching and rolling in its socket, and I know I’ve got one shot at this. If I can just get there…

  The Wall of Flesh finally catches on to my pn, trying to retract its sprawling arms, but it’s too te. They’re too stretched out, too slow to reach me in time.

  “Eat this!” I roar, pushing off with every ounce of strength left in my legs. I leap high, dagger raised above my head.

  Stab. The bde sinks into the first eyeball with a sickening squelch, and it bursts, showering my face with thick, foul ichor. I quickly swipe the muck away, my eyes locked on the next target. The other eyes roll frantically in their sockets, bloodshot and panicked, unable to look away.

  “That hurts, doesn’t it?!” Another taunt, another eyeball. Then another, each one exploding in a spray of gore. The Wall shudders with each hit.

  Eventually, every single eyeball gets its share of stabbing. Some are already decomposing into a mushy mess, while others are still actively bleeding, flooding the sea below with more thick blood. “Did I… win?” I gasp, barely able to believe it. My frenzied assault has me so lost in the moment that I don’t notice the hand creeping up behind me—until it cmps around my waist in one swift motion.

  “Hey! No sneak attacks—okay, fine, I did that too. Fair enough,” I mutter with a breathless ugh. I try to stab it, but my arm feels like lead, drained of all strength. My attempts to stab are more like a pyful poke than a real attack. “Well, looks like you got me,” I admit, a wry smile spreading across my face.

  But instead of crushing me outright, the hand hoists me high into the air, as if to mock me. It wants me to see the truth—that even after all my efforts, after gouging out its eyes and mangling its limbs, I haven’t done nearly enough. Below me, the monstrous form is still very much alive, countless arms writhing like serpents, and dozens of eyes still intact, staring up at me with a bloodshot fury.

  I’m not even close to winning. It’s just getting started.

  “Yes, yes, you won. Just kill me already, won’t you?” I shout, half expecting a quick death. But the Wall of Flesh has other pns.

  Without warning, it grabs my right leg and twists. I hear the sickening snap before I feel it, pain ncing through my body as it tears my leg clean off like it’s nothing more than a twig. “Ah, you bitch! What the fuck was that for?!” I scream, the reality of it sinking in. Oh, I get it now—it’s pissed. This thing wants payback for every taunt, every stab.

  “Pfft, hah! Did a disabled girl hurt your fleshy ego? Aww, did the big scary abomination get its feelings hurt?” But the Wall of Flesh isn’t amused. If anything, my taunts only enrage it further.

  With a brutal tug, it goes for my other leg, making sure to use the jutted out bone and it pulls on it slowly, deliberately, making sure I feel every agonizing moment. I hiss through clenched teeth, barely holding back a scream. “Fuck, you could’ve just pulled it straight off, y’know?” I gasp, still grinning despite the agony. But that grin falters as I taste the metallic tang of blood filling my mouth, choking me.

  “Aha… guess I’m dying,” I manage to rasp between choked coughs. “Better make it quick if you’re pnning any st-minute torture.”

  I gnce around, my vision starting to blur, but I notice it—the section where I go in a frenzy made the flesh rot, defting like a balloon losing air. The eyes and hands there are going limp, shutting down. I must’ve hit something vital. “You gotta admit,” I wheeze, blood trickling from the corners of my mouth, “I put up one hell of a fight, didn’t I?”

  I can’t help but feel a flicker of satisfaction. Even in this twisted nightmare, I made it bleed.

  Another hand wraps around my head, fingers tightening like a vise. Fancy—looks like it’s pnning to twist my head clean off. “This is… disgusting… just make it quick, will you?” I mutter, each word garbled through the blood pooling in my throat. “It’s… been fun…” I close my eyes, bracing for the end.

  But just as I feel the grip tighten—

  Come back to me… Your battle has only begun.

  What the—? The voice sshes through my mind, clear as a bell yet alien, like it’s coming from somewhere deep inside me. The Wall of Flesh hesitates too, its grip loosening. “Did you… hear that?” I gasp, half delirious. It’s as if whatever spoke to me spoke to it as well.

  This city has risen from the pits of hell.

  Another voice, sharper this time, almost… familiar. Images flicker in and out of my vision—a face, blurred and fragmented, someone I should recognize but don’t. The words pound against my skull like hammers, forcing a scream from my lips, only for it to drown in blood. The Wall of Flesh trembles, releasing a guttural, agonized roar as if it’s feeling the same pain.

  This pce isn’t worth her life.

  The voice sharpens, cutting through the chaos, clearer now—a girl’s voice. The Wall convulses, arms filing wildly, its form unraveling as if it’s being torn apart from within. I can’t help but ugh weakly through the pain. “Hey… don’t drop me now…”

  You will save me, won’t you?

  The flickering images intensify, a kaleidoscope of fractured memories I can’t piece together. Faces, pces—none of it makes sense. Each one feels like a knife to the brain, and I can’t tell if they’re real or some twisted hallucination.

  We are simir to one another.

  The Wall of Flesh thrashes violently, as if in denial. “Stop… you’re making me sick…” I gasp, watching as the very sky above us begins to stretch, tearing open like old fabric, revealing deep gashes of the Void beyond. Seeing that familiar darkness brings a sense of calm, a fleeting peace amidst the chaos, letting my mind focus even as everything else falls apart.

  Is life a precious thing in this r???????????e????????????a????????l???????????m????????????????

  The Wall lets out another guttural scream, and the sky rips further, fracturing like shattered gss. The sea convulses, transforming into serpentine tendrils that coil around the Wall, tightening like a constrictor around its prey. Is it possible? Is the voice—this girl, this presence—actually helping me?

  Remember me. P????????????????r????????????????????????o????????????????????????m?????????????????i??????????????????????s???????????????????e???????????????????????????????? ??????m????????????e????????????????????????????????.???????????? O????????????????????????????????????u??????????????????r?????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????p??????????????????r????????????????????o?????????????????????????m?????????????????????i??????????????????????????s????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????????.????????????????????

  The sound of tearing flesh fills the air, a low, wet noise that builds and builds until—

  Save me.

  —it crescendos into a symphony of carnage. The sky and sea become one, birthing thousands of crystalline spikes that erupt from the heavens and the depths below. They pierce the Wall of Flesh in a chaotic, yet strangely beautiful dispy—some spikes as massive as the hands that once gripped me, others thin and needle-like. They explode outward, their jagged forms glimmering, catching the dim light as they shred the abomination to pieces.

  In an instant, the Wall stops thrashing, pinned and broken, its death almost graceful. “Heh… it was nice… meeting you…” I whisper, half-ughing, a part of me annoyed it didn’t suffer longer. But I can’t deny the twisted beauty of the scene—the way the spikes glisten like jewels against the backdrop of this unending nightmare.

  The hand gripping me loses its strength, and I’m falling, plummeting into the abyss once more.

  Droplets of my blood scatter above me like crimson stars as I descend at a dizzying speed, the wind screaming past. But I’m not afraid. I’ve been here before, countless times.

  “Fine. I’ll save you,” I whisper to the fading voice, the promise hanging in the air like a vow.

  ***

  Notes: Told ya it'll be a longer chapter! xD

  Holy hell this chapter was sooo fun to write. First time making an action ish scene too and so, please if you have any advice do tell me in the comments alright? Hehe, enjoy! (Unsure if there'll be another chappie this week, but we'll see!)