The Purification Oblivion Novels & Stories

But near the Great Fountain, a different kind of stillness took root. The distillery ruins coughed up the ‘Failed.’ Dozens of them. Shifter hybrids with translucent skin and mercury-veined limbs crawled across the basalt. Violet sludge trailed behind them, staining the floor. Since the purification began—since I turned my marrow into a filter to provide clear water for the city—the air had become their poison. "Mommy, look at them. They’re... they’re stopping," Leo whispered.

"Maybe I’m tired of knowing." "I'm not." I turned on Miller. I didn't roar. I didn't have to. The air in the nave thickened. Two "Purifiers"—human fanatics in grey tactical gear—stepped out from the shadows of the confessionals. They leveled silver-loaded submachine guns at my chest. "Don't," Miller warned. "The timer is at two minutes. If the purification isn't completed, the switch triggers anyway. It’s a safety feature. We don't leave half-finished jobs."

“She’s burning it. She’s triggering a full data purification cycle on that server sector.” On the main screen, a progress bar appeared, cold and merciless. PURGE IN PROGRESS: 15% “No,” Anton breathed, crossing the room to stand behind Sabe. He watched the percentage tick upward, each point a piece of his future turning to digital ash. The proof. The meticulously gathered evidence that could clear his name and implicate his brother was being systematically erased in real-time. It was the server room fire all over again, but this was colder, quieter, and somehow more final.

"Mother, the record says the Counter-Weight doesn't just enter. It replaces. If you purge him, the silver will look for the next host. It will look for the strongest source of heat." "It will look for me," I finished. "Darlene, no," Eryx groaned, his eyes flashing violet as the clockwork reached his throat. "I... forbid... it..." "You don't get to forbid anything while you're turning into a music box, Eryx!" I shouted, the emerald fire on my arms now reaching my shoulders. I looked at the sphere. "The purge requires a catalyst of the Tenth Cycle. The King-Born must be the one to turn the gear.".

Echo asks. "Turn down the volume," I realize. "Not a shout. A whisper." "It would require a purge," Echo warns. "A massive discharge of energy. We would have to burn off the excess connection. It will be... intense." I look at Alex. I look at Echo. "One last time," I say. "Full power. Before we dial it down." The Purge. We go to the bedroom. It’s not a sex dungeon tonight. It’s a sanctuary. Candles flicker. The air is thick with the scent of lavender and ozone.

“It talks of a force known as the 'Purifier,' a being of light that was said to cleanse worlds of corruption.” Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. “That sounds like what the figure said, the light was going to cleanse our world.” Mariam continued reading, her brow furrowing as she deciphered the ancient words. “The Purifier is described as a force of renewal, but its methods are… ruthless. It sees all forms of corruption as something to be eradicated, no matter the cost.” “So it’s not just about destroying the abyss,” Clara said, realization dawning on her. “It’s about wiping out everything that it sees as tainted, everything and everyone.”

Permanent. "The Shadow Blight is gone everywhere else," she continued. "But this wound remains. Source of all corruption. If we don't heal it, the shadow will eventually return." "How do we heal it?" Kael asked. Already in Alpha protection mode. Sensing danger. "Permanent purification. Constant. Unending." She looked at us. Through us. "Someone must anchor themselves here. Become a living purification source. Forever." Silence. Heavy. Oppressive. "I'll do it," I said immediately.

"A demon king who has slaughtered thousands. Who tried to break through the Gate three thousand years ago and nearly destroyed the world. Who is trying to do it *again,* using you as his weapon. And I will not let that happen." She turned toward the door. "The purification begins at sunset," she said. "Pray to the Moon. Beg Her forgiveness for the demon taint you carry. Perhaps She will grant you mercy." She left. The cell door *slammed.* Locking. Sealing. Luna was alone. --- **Six hours later.** The purification chamber was underground. Deep. So deep Luna could feel the weight of the earth pressing down. Suffocating. They had dragged her here in chains.

He needed air,water, a new body, a new life—anything other than this crushing shame, this su#ocating weight of guilt threatening to drown him. He lurched into the tiny, grimy kitchen, the linoleum sticky beneath his bare feet. He grabbed a chipped glass from the drainboard and ran the tap, thewater sput-tering and coughing before !nally gushing out in a lukewarm stream. He poured a glass, his hand shaking so violently that most of it sloshedonto the counter, mixing with the dust and grime. He brought the glass to his lips, but the water tasted of nothing, o#ering no solace, no escape. It tasted like metal and misery, a perfect re"ection of the hollowness gnawing at his in-

Idamus then pointed over to the gateway sigil and a light arch moved across the room from the array to the gateway flaring in brightness before the light show went out and the array was etched into the floor under Scott’s chair with a bridging mark joining it to the gateway. Idamus gave Scott a hefty look. “Do not move from that chair, if you try to cross the sigil you will be burned.” Scott tried to speak, holding his throat and rasping at them. “No one cares, you made your bed now lie in it!” Ruben spat harshly, turning away from him and regarding Idamus. “Now for me…” Idamus nodded, giving Scott a sideways look of pity before starting to concentrate on the purification spells upon Ruben.