Prometheus Bound

Blinding, painful Light. I could see nothing because the Light was so bright, so unrelenting.

Closing my eyes was no longer an option, thanks to the latest change to my damn body, I no longer had eyelids, only sockets filled with mysterious red orbs that allowed me to see in multiple light spectrums. So there was no relief to be found from the simple, human act of closing my eyes. Instead, I had to concentrate on filtering the Light, to limit the brightness somehow.

As I began working on that problem, I heard Zulu speak again, the bastard.

“Master, he is coming back around.”

The other voice, now more discernibly that of a very old man, responded. “Yes, so I see. We shall have to see how he will react to this new situation.”

Zulu asked, “How long do you think it will take for him to be released?”

The old man sighed, replied in low voice. “The only one who can determine that is him.”

I had enough of these two talking about me, so I croaked out, “You better plan on releasing right damn now!”

I heard a shuffling footstep and the rustle of heavy clothing as a dark figure (all I could see at this point) seemed to loom over me. “If you wish to be free, then you must get up.”

I groaned, and tried to lash out with one hand, but found that I couldn’t move it more than a couple of inches before it fell back down over my head...I was bound by chains of some sort. I tried my other arm, then each of my legs in succession but found that I was laid out with my back stretched out over some large rock. My feet were shackled to the floor, my arms elevated up over my arched back, also chained.

Grunting, I put more effort into pulling at least one arm free, but no avail.

“Oh, old man, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you are not going to leave me chained here!”

The shadow retreated just a little bit, but his voice sounded amused as he replied. “Sir, you are free to leave at any moment. The only one holding you here is yourself.”

“What? You chained my ass to this fucking rock, asshole! I can’t get up, or I’d be wiping that smirk I hear in your voice all over the damn floor!”

He sighed. His shadow receded, his reply came in almost a whisper. “I am afraid my son, that you will be here for quite some time. But rest assured, when you are ready, you will discover that you have been the one keeping yourself imprisoned here. You are the only one with the key to these chains. Find the key within yourself, and you shall be free to go.”

I heard his slippered feet shuffle away out of earshot.

I was not in much of a mood to reflect on the old man’s words at that point, I was too busy trying to filter out enough of the damnable light to be able to see clearly and in trying to pry an arm or a leg free from the chains that kept me bound to that rock.

Taking a chance that he was still nearby, I calmed down and tried another tactic with Zulu, “Zulu, why have you done this to me? Why have you led me into this trap?”

Just like I thought, he was still standing nearby, his voice was low, apologetic in its tone, “I’m sorry Rusty, but you left us with no choice.”

“What do you mean? What the Hell did I do?”

He sighed, “You took on too much, too soon. You tried to absorb the remnants of that...creature...before you were ready for that task. I am afraid that you have come terribly close to being consumed by it. We can’t allow that to happen.”

“What damn choice did I have Zulu? I didn’t ask to have the soul of some ancient demoness added to my own!”

“Rusty, no one is saying you did this intentionally, but all actions have consequences. When you used that Witchbane Blade on yourself, you set in motion a series of events that have rocked the foundations of more than one world. No one could have foreseen the consequences of that action. But here we are nonetheless, trying to contain the damage.”

My mind was reeling with what he said, and with the whole situation that I was now finding myself in. I was...tired...for the first time in nearly two years, I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep...but of course, that was not to be.

“Zulu, can you tell me something?”

“Yes?”

“Who is that old guy?”

“That was, is, Merlin. I told you I was taking you to see him.”

“Can you tell me something else?”

“Perhaps.”

“How the fuck do I get out of these chains?”

“You have to use the Key.”

“What damn key? And how the Hell can I find it if I am chained up this way?”

“Not all keys are physical, Rusty.” His shadowy form approached, he reached out a blurry hand and tapped my chest. “Some keys can only be found by looking within.”

“Can you tell me what I am looking for then? Is it some sort of magick?”

“You will know it when you find it, Rusty.”

“Somehow, I knew that you would say that.”

He chuckled. His shadow receded. “Rusty, I must leave you now. I hope that you find your key soon. There is much for you to learn here.” I heard his footsteps as he left the area.

“Bastard.” I whispered, but with a lot less force than I had felt before.

I laid my head back against the rock, gave up trying to pry my arms and legs free, and fully concentrated on filtering this damnable Light so that I could try and make sense of my surroundings.

Even as fatigued as I felt though, I could feel a smoldering rage deep inside me. It was beginning to build again, the voices began to whisper again....