Vex thought, We were told we were unworthy. Not chosen. Not needed. And for a while... We believed them. That was before they burned our cities for sport. Before they took my brother. Now I don't want the blessings of those useless gods. I want the Blessed's blood.
"Where is Dax at? He should've been here by now" Me and Dax usually meet up at this spot to discuss how to stop this segregation shit. My group had already heard the details from me about the plan to take them over, their gang. Oh I think I see him now, what's in his hand?
Dax spoke in a quiet voice.
"They might be onto me… sneaking out in the middle of the night to a place they think is nowhere? Oh, these are for the fight."
He revealed a pair of daggers, offering them to Vex for the upcoming battle against Dax's own gang. Vex took both without a word.
"I still feel like I'm blowing this out of proportion," Dax said. "I mean, they made me co-leader of the gang. They must trust me at least a little… right?"
"Yeah, don't stress about it. All that matters is the death of the blessed."
When did I start saying that kind of thing out loud so casually?
Being a slave has changed me. My entire life now is about surviving—waiting for the next time the blessed come and bleed us dry with tools that aren't even trying to be dull. They use that blood to grow stronger. Then I get maybe a bite of food, try to sleep—usually fail—and wake up just to repeat it all.
My life... is miserable.
"If fighting the blessed is what's on your mind, you'll be fine," Dax said. "I promise—we'll be the ones who ended all this. Our names will go down in history!"
They won't. Not a chance. The gang I'm in is small, and I don't think Vex realizes there are others out there—stronger, crueler, and worse in every way.
"Alright," I said. "Let's give it our best, Vex."
"Alright, Dax."
Dax turned and slipped away, moving silently, careful not to draw attention.
Every day I hope he makes it back safely. Every day I wish for something better—for him. But he stands with those who torture me. Why? Why?!
I guess… When we were born, I remember seeing a face like his right next to mine. Everything I did, he did too. That was the only moment in my life I've ever felt joy.
Now that I think about it, I barely remember my parents. I think I once asked my mother if I had any godly power. I remember her saying "no," then whispering something to a man I assume was my father. But I couldn't tell you what he looked like.
I'm 17 now. That must've been when I was 9.
When I was 14, the blessed came and asked me if I had any powers. I told the truth: I didn't. So they cast me out. But Dax… they kept him.
He has powers from the goddess Vessun—goddess of foresight. I won't lie—I'm jealous. But even he hasn't unlocked the full potential of his gift. Right now, he can only glimpse milliseconds into the future. Still… I have a feeling he'll find a way to make it stronger.
If we make it out.
No—when we make it out.
The Next Morning…
The sun hadn't even fully risen yet, but the pale light was already spilling over the rooftops and the broken concrete like it was proud of the wreckage. I sat with my back against a rusted pipe, knees pulled up, the cold biting through my coat like it had a grudge. I didn't sleep last night. None of us really did.
The fight's tonight.
My group—four of us total, all unblessed—were scattered around the alley like tired ghosts. Too quiet to be called a gang. Too angry to be anything else. Tellen sat closest to me, her eyes half-lidded, scarf pulled tight around the burns that still hadn't healed right. She never talks about how she got them. None of us do.
"Vex." That was Marren. He stood tall like it mattered, leaning against the crumbling wall with a confidence he probably didn't feel. "Did Dax leave you anything else?"
I didn't even bother looking at him. "Just the daggers."
"You sure he's not setting us up?" he asked. "I mean… powers or not, he's still one of them."
"He's not," I snapped. It came out faster than I meant it to. "He wouldn't."
Marren didn't say anything else, just raised an eyebrow like he didn't believe me. Like he was too tired to argue, but not tired enough to let it go completely. I hated that look. Because somewhere deep down, I wasn't sure either.
Still, I owe Dax everything. The food he snuck out when I was starving. The way he never looked at me like I was less, even after his power awakened. But the longer he plays loyal to the blessed, the more I wonder if he even remembers who he really is.
"You're thinking too much again," Tellen mumbled, voice muffled by the scarf. "We either die tonight… or we don't. Doesn't matter what Dax's heart looks like. Just what he does."
I wanted to say she was wrong.
But she wasn't.
Still, it matters to me. Because if I lose Dax—if I lose the only person who made me feel like I was something more than a body to be used and thrown away—I don't know what I'll become.
Then, Vex saw Dax walking over.
"Hey Vex! Are you ready yet?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"What about everyone else?"
"Yeah, they're ready as well."
Dax then looked at Vex's daggers.
"Wait, why do those look different? Did you lose them and that's the replacement or something?"
"No, just added chains to them so it's more practical. For example if I throw one at a random person I can just pull my arm back fast and get it back whereas if I didn't have the chains I would have to go up to the enemy and I would be defenseless."
"Hm, smart," Dax says nonchalantly.
"Ok, we go in stealthily. There's a total of 50 blessed according to Dax. If each one of us.. Dang a lot more than I expected.. Umm.. so we all have to kill 10 each including Dax. If one of you can't i'll be more than happy to kill one of them, or even more"
He put on a menacing smile
Ok.. here we go.
At the Base
Dax spoke "Hmm.. ok, I'll go here, you go there-"
He told everyone where to go and where everyone will be located at
My heart… It's pounding like crazy. This… Is surreal
There, it's one of them.
I sneak up behind him. I cover his mouth.
Sh! Rah!
I cut his throat and he fell down in an instant.
I actually… killed a blessed… no, I'll get his power once we're done with this rebellion
"Ah, another one."
I throw my daggers at his legs and pull back quickly not only getting them back but making him fall to the ground. I grab the daggers and stab the back of his head in quick succession.
You scumbag… you deserved this you know…
Dax's POV
"Ah, hey Max! Check out this sick new blade I got."
He shows Max, (he's a part of the blessed,) his blade. But as soon as Max puts his guard down he stabs him in the chest.
Number one, dead.
He kills another
Number two.
Number three.
Number four.
Number five.
Number Six.
Number seven
Number eight.
Number nine.
"Ah… finally. Number 10…"
I felt a bit of pain killing 10 of my people only because I forged a bond with them as if they were family
[Vex's POV]
"Damn it! I've only killed 7 so far and I'm already worn out. After this though I'll train to improve my stamina. Tellen… damn it… could she really kill 10 people if I'm tired after killing 7!?"
I groan
"I'm… I'm gonna go check on her god damn it."
I walk towards where she was supposed to go and I find her with two bodies and her sitting right next to them breathing heavily. I sprint over to her and kneel down making sure she's okay
"Tellen! Are you ok? What happened? Are you injured?"
Tellen spoke, "I-I'm… I'm alright… I'm ok…
Vex responded in a sympathetic voice, "how about… how about we kill the rest together, yeah?
I extend my hand out to help her up as I stand up myself and I feel her warm soft hand touch mine and think, she's… she's in no shape to kill 8 damn blessed… it's, it's a good thing I came, huh. She stood up gathering herself back up and wiping away the blood on her knife
"No need, your knife will get bloody anyway. But… I have a question… if you don't mind me asking…"
Tellen responded quickly, "Y-yeah? I don't mind, at all."
Vex responded, "Do you really want to kill them… I… I don't want to force you to if you don't wanna… they've been torturing us for so long… they're the main root and source of our pain, yet you don't want to kill them… but I know it's deeper than that. You don't…"
He thought about it for a moment
"No, you do. Don't you? Please don't take offense to this but I believe you just aren't strong enough to kill 10 by yourself. I'll help you so don't worry."
Tellen's eyes darted away from mine, like my words had cut deeper than the knife in her hand.
"I'm strong enough," she whispered, but her voice cracked halfway through.
I didn't argue. There wasn't time. The shouts were getting louder—the blessed had noticed their numbers dropping. Heavy boots slammed against the floor above us.
"We move," I said, pulling her along.
We rounded the corner just as two blessed barreled down the hallway toward us. I tossed one chained dagger forward—it sank into the first man's shoulder. He screamed, but I yanked hard, pulling him off his feet and into my blade. Tellen didn't hesitate this time—she plunged her knife into the second man's gut, twisting until he stopped moving.
Her breathing was ragged, but her eyes… her eyes were different now.
That's eight for me.
The hall ahead splintered into chaos. Dax was there—blood slicked his coat, and his hands shook as he gripped his blade. Behind him, the bodies of the blessed littered the floor. Ten. Maybe more.
"Where's Marren?" I asked.
Dax didn't answer right away. His jaw tightened, and his gaze slid toward a collapsed figure slumped against the far wall.
No.
I pushed past him, every step heavier than the last, my breath caught somewhere between my chest and throat.
Marren was there, half-sitting against the stone, head tilted at an unnatural angle. His eyes were wide open, glassy, staring right through me. The deep gash across his chest had soaked his shirt in red, and the pool beneath him was still spreading, slow and dark. His dagger was still in his hand—gripped so tightly his knuckles had gone white—but the fight had left him long before we arrived.
For a second, I just… froze. We'd fought together in alleys, run together through the ruins, split our last scraps of food without a word. Now he was just another body in this endless war.
My hands shook—not from fear, but from something worse.
Tellen knelt beside him, trembling. She reached out like she might close his eyes, but stopped halfway, fingers curling into a fist instead. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Dax's voice finally broke the silence. "He bought me time… one of the higher blessed—someone I've never seen before—came out of nowhere. If Marren hadn't—" He stopped, swallowing hard.
I felt something deep in me snap, a taut thread that had been holding back everything I wanted to do to the blessed. My grip tightened on the daggers until the chains rattled.
"Where?" I asked, my voice low, almost unrecognizable—even to me.
"Where the fuck… is the last piece of Divine Shit at…" I said whilst my eyes became razor blades almost giving a cut to anyone who sees them.
Dax pointed toward the stairwell leading deeper into the base. "He's still here… but… but he's strong, so"
His sentence was cut off short by Vex
I couldn't care less… that makes me happy, he won't die right away. I'll make him fucking suffer.
"You still don't have godly power Vex, be cautious!"
Dax extended his arm out but Vex kept walking towards the stairwell leading down
The air felt heavier with each step down—like I was walking into the throat of some great beast. Faint blue light pulsed from the walls, runes etched into the stone glowing with divine energy. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn back.
At the bottom, he was waiting. Tall, robed in silver, eyes burning with a light that wasn't human. His smile was the kind that told you he'd already decided how you'd die.
"So," he said, voice smooth as glass, "you're the little rats killing my flock."
My grip tightened.
No gods. No mercy.
Just blood.
I heard footsteps, too light to be Dax. And he was still recovering after all. So it could only be Tellen.
"Tellen. I don't want you to get hurt. Not by this Godspawn. I'll take care of him myself. Tend to Dax, he's injured."
"I… I wanna help! I, I feel so… so useless, I… I only took down 3… that's the lowest out of everyone here! I. I-I want to help you!"
Vex responded by almost snapping at her but keeping his cool, "Tellen… trust me. Will you? I promise you, you've been enough help. I want to gut this godrat myself, anyway. So it works out."
Tellen responded wanting to argue further but then realizing there's no point, "I…" She runs back up the staircase and tries to help Dax recover, leaving Vex and the blessed alone.