Awaken September's Gods: XIV

XIV

The air was tinged with the scent of fear. The silence was lightly punctuated with heavy breathing. The monitors had exploded in an impressive display of pyrotechnics. The wires within had plunged through the casing and lunged, their ends sparked electric arcs across vulnerable skin. The Archivist had run then, hiding behind anything available.

There would be no escape this time. They had ignored the power lying dormant within Kean for too long and it would not be contained now. She was awaking the construct around them, the beast that housed them was coming alive and there would be no time to escape. How long until they were massacred? A few moments? An hour?

Kean exploded into the central Tower room, surrounded by mangled robots and snaking wires. Her black hair had come alive with fire, the tips burning bright red against her glowing skin. Her voice rose in a triumphant howl when she saw the Archivist, cowering against a crumbling shelf.

“Long have I hoped that we would meet, Archivist.” She said, her words measured, but her eyes were wild.

“Yes, I suppose you have.” Replied the Archivist, straightening to meet her gaze.

“You destroyed the Septemberists, my people, and now I shall return the favour.”
With a sweep of her hand, Kean struck the remnants of the shelf, sending shards of wood in all directions. The Archivist ducked, the flying refuse barely missing.

“You are a construct! You are not some long forgotten goddess! You are not some legend walking!” The Archivist dodged another striking blow, screaming at Kean.

“I am more than mere synthetic. I am less than a goddess, but I am more than human. I am more than a construct. I can awaken this being you have forced into submission. You dare to tell me what I am?” Kean’s hair flamed around her head, the sparks of electrical energy shooting from fingertip to fingertip.

“You are nothing! We created you! We built this place, we put the constructs to sleep and we awaken them! You have no powers here!”

The Howlers lunged toward the Archivist, grabbing limbs and twisting them. The smell of blood and urine filled Kean’s nose, her eyes widening with ever increasing fury. As they began to overwhelm and devour, Kean smiled, viciously.

“No, Archivist, I seem to have all the power here.” Raising her hands, Kean flung her head back and a mighty roar could be heard rumbling from beneath their feet.