"Maybe this was the only way out of this miserable life… To be beaten to death by the man I exchanged vows with. My husband."
His fist slammed into her already bloodied face.
"I understand why you do this to me. It's the only way you know how to release your anger and sadness. As your wife, I failed you. I never gave you the children you deserved. You are a good man. Strong. Your blood carries success. And I…" she laughed weakly, "A woman you pulled out of nothing, wasted everything you could have passed on."
He kicked her hard in the stomach. She gasped for air as he shouted.
"You're worse than an animal. You deserve to die!"
"You're right, I am worse than an animal. A woman's worth is to bear a child, and I couldn't. I have no value."
He drew his fist back again. This time, she caught it before it could land.
"But you have no right to treat a woman like this."
With what little strength she had left, she shoved his hand away.
"If I die. I'll drag you to hell with me."
She lifted her shirt and revealed the knife strapped at her waist. Without hesitation, she drove it into his chest, right where the heart should be. Using what strength she had left, she dragged the blade downward. Blood burst free as he collapsed, clutching the deep, gaping wound.
"For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish. Until we are parted by death."
Those were her final words as her vision dimmed. Her body fell forward, resting against his chest.
"I always loved you. But this love hurts."
Her eyes closed. Her consciousness faded, but her heart refused to let go.
"If only I could have given birth. None of this would have happened. We wouldn't have killed each other, my love."
That pain cut deeper than every beating she endured when he came home drunk each night. Darkness swallowed her whole, thick like water, and images began to flash.
"So this is what they meant… Reliving your happiest memories."
She saw herself walking down the aisle, smiling as he cried at the sight of her in white. She saw their vows spoken before God. Their first year together; laughter, warmth, love before everything shattered with the truth she could not escape.
"I'm sorry I betrayed you, my husband. No… no. It's me. I betrayed me as a woman."
Her body began to slowly fade, breaking apart like scattered glitter.
"I know I don't deserve to say this but I want to live again. I want to bear children any way I can. I'll try harder. I'll take back what makes me a woman."
A heartbeat echoed through the dark water.
"Please… I'm begging you. I don't care if you're a god or a devil just give me another chance."
The sound grew louder, rippling through the darkness.
"W-what is that?"
It rose into something violent… a mix of slashing, and crashing waves shaking the dark water around her.
"Who's up there? Are you the God? The Devil? ANSWER ME!"
Then the sound stopped…. She went still, straining to hear, to feel that vibration again but nothing answered her.
"No. No, no, no. I have to answer that call. I'm not done yet. I—Maddy am not done yet."
The dark water pressing in on her from all sides. Her hands and feet began to fade, slipping away from her control. Panic set in, but she forced herself upward, toward where the sound had come from. She kicked and clawed until there was nothing left to kick with. When her arms and legs vanished, she twisted and slithered through the water, driven by desperation alone.
"I have to get out of here! My legs! My arms… no. I have to reach the surface!"
Just before the rest of her disappeared, her head broke through. She gasped for air, choking, as her body slammed hard onto the ground.
"Hah! Hah! Hah…"
She lay on the ground, gasping, her chest burning with every breath. The pain anchored her far too real for death.
"Did I just escape death? Am I alive again? Or did I end up in hell?"
The sound from earlier came back, louder this time. It made her flinch as the ground quaked, bouncing her slightly off the surface. She turned toward the source and froze at what she saw.
"What the hell… what is that? Is that a demon fighting a giant worm?!"
A massive, thick beige worm thrashed inside the mineral lit cave, its circular mouth lined with multiple rows of sharp teeth as it screamed. It lunged at a red, muscular man with two short horns on his forehead. He wielded a heavy club, raising it just in time to block the charge. The moment they collided, his body jolted, electricity crackling through him.
"Damn! This worm's putting up a fight. It even evolved after eating a thunder spider, huh."
He shoved the worm aside as spider like legs sprouted from its body and stabbed toward him from another angle. With a grunt, he swung his club with brutal force, smashing the worm's head and slamming it hard into the cavern wall.
"Now, surround it and finish it!"
The red man shouted, rallying the others. More of his kind appeared same as him they were tall, muscular figures. Their skin colored green, blue, violet, and more. They attacked at once, striking with spears, swords, and arrows. The giant worm didn't last long. It was cut down in moments. A brown skinned demon woman shouted in delight.
"Yeah! We've got ourselves a feast tonight! A good hunt for the chief's firstborn!"
The others cheered while Maddy shivered, frozen in place. She had just witnessed something gruesome, terrifying, and utterly otherworldly.
"This is clearly hell. It has to be. I need to get out of here before those demons kill me too."
She tried to move but something felt wrong.
"I have to get up. I have to go away from here. Huh?"
She braced herself and tried to push up with her arms then froze… panic rushing in as she struggled harder.
"W-wait. Wait. Where the hell are my arms?! Why can't I move them?! Come on, get up! Move while those demons are still carrying that damn worm!"
She tried again, moving them the way she always had. Nothing responded. Panic crept in, but she forced herself to breathe.
"First, breathe, Don't panic, Maddy dont cause a freaking sound right now. You still have your feet. Even without arms, you can move. Remember that old homeless man at the training station? Seventy seven years old, no arms, still alive still playing guitar with his feet. You can do this. You can."
She tried to move her feet… Nothing. No muscle. No weight. No sensation.
"No f*cking way. What is happening to me? What the hell is going on!? Oh lord, don't tell me?"
She kept trying to move, forcing herself to focus, to understand what her body was now.
"Oh no. No, no, no. I have no arms. No legs. And I'm… crawling?"
Her breath hitched as the truth settled in.
"The devil answered my call. And he brought me back as a freaking worm?!"