So I’m basically writing a bookamadoo, and the main, main villain is a godlike being named Grin. Now I’m going to write a one off story about him. That is all the introduction you need.
Markus Willington was only the second person to ever open the rift. The gate to Hell? Broken many, many times. The doors to heaven? Only a select handful had breached those, just to be executed by Angels on sight. But the Grin Rift had only been opened once before, and that was by a god, making the thirty-three year old Markus the very first mortal to ever successfully open the doors between our dimension and His. He had heard the legends many times before, of course. Everyone in his village had. A mysterious man within the mouth shaped rift could grant any wish, provided, you could beat him in a duel. With his village’s crops failing, and no sign of support from the government, Mark had obsessed over the rift, hoping to save his village with the help of whoever dwelled within it. After three months of nonstop research, Mark suited up for the great trek to Teardrop Falls. His cause was just, his mind was clear, and his family needed him. Mark could not fail.
The feeling that overwhelmed Markus as he stepped into that open maw was not one of dread, despair or terror. No, this was… happiness? Contrary to all the legends the adventurer had heard, the aura that met him was not one of pure malice and disgust. It was a warm, pleasant feeling, the kind you’d get if you watched a mother hold her crying son, telling him that the window he had sent his baseball flying through could be replaced. Forgiveness, hope, love, all these emotions cascaded through Markus, making him crack just the slightest of smiles. Vivid images of baby farm animals chasing one another playfully, a father returning home from war for his son’s birthday, his wife back at his small toy shop played in his mind, making that little hint of a smile expand and broaden, until it stretched from ear to ear. This time, he lost his composure. Markus laughed out loud, the gleeful sound bouncing off the walls of the dark room. The terror and anticipation that had once clutched his mind was long gone, replaced only with joy, love and positivity. And then he saw it. That smile. The teeth were perfectly white and straight, the lips a bright shade of red, but this was not a smile of happiness. It was the smile of a hunter who approached his caught prey, laughing at their feeble struggling against his trap. This was the smile of a madman. The image of it only crossed his mind for a second, but that alone was enough to snap him out of his happy fantasies. Yet, as soon as he had dismissed them, the baby animals seemingly forced their way back into his head. Again, Markus dismissed them but these thoughts would not leave. Their presence no longer joyous and uplifting.
“You’re in my world now Marky… And you’re gonna say, think and do… whatever I want! Now isn’t that so kind of me?” A jeering voice screeched, its origin seemingly from… one of the baby pigs Markus was imagining? These vivid little scenarios the adventurer had created were much more than that now. They had become full-on hallucinations. Wasting no time, Markus scrambled around the dark room, clawing at its walls, hoping, praying he could find an exit. But to no avail.
“Maybe you didn’t hear the part about his being my world you brain-dead, useless, greedy, disgusting ape.” The voice paused a moment before continuing in a much calmer tone. “You see how small this place is? I’ve been trapped in here for millennia, my body has deteriorated into pure nothingness within this room, setting my soul free. What good is a freed soul if it’s still caged in this blasted room though? I’m a god Mark. My spirit needed a body. And so…”
A disgusting churning echoed from above, not unlike the sound of smashing a slug underfoot. Moist breath hit Mark’s exposed neck, sending a jolt of panic through his body. He grabbed his hunting knife from its sheath in his boot, spun around, and prepared to slash anything that faced him to pieces. Wildly, he struck out, hoping to at least scare whatever else was in here. His blade found its mark… on thin air. Before Markus could react, those baby animals clawed their way back into his thoughts, the once lush and grassy fields they ran through were now… flesh. There was no doubt about it, these adorable little farm animals were prancing about in hairy, human flesh. And not just a solid layer of it either. It was mangled and rended, like ground beef, but hairier and doused in blood. Upon seeing the baby duck’s face however, Markus completely forgot about the bloody landscape. Its beak, eyes, face… all of it was gone, replaced with nothing but a smooth white surface with that same insane smile he had seen earlier spanning the width of it. The piglet, the calf and the mouse all turned to face Markus as well. Each one had lost its face, leaving only the unnerving, human smile stretched across each. The image became even more vivid as Markus’s terror grew. Giant hands clawed their way through the ground and grabbed the baby animals, smashing them into nothing but blood without any effort. But even as the life was squeezed out of the faceless beasts, those smiles never wavered. The hallucinations had become so vivid, that Mark almost felt the blood hit his face. Finally, he screamed. Dropping to his knees, covering his ears and forcing his eyes closed, Mark let out a deafening scream of absolute, unbridled terror. Even though its volume, he could still hear the faint laughter of whatever was doing this to him echo throughout his thoughts. The sensory overload was too much. Mark passed out on the bloody floor, that insane smile was the last thing he saw before it all went black.
“I’m alive…” Mark muttered in a hoarse voice as his eyes fluttered open. He found himself lying in his comfortable bed, sunlight gently seeping in through the windows of his room, to the smell of his wife Alana cooking him eggs and ham… his favorite. That experience in the rift… it was just a dream. A terrible dream, sure, but it was still only a dream. He was back in his world.
“Morning honey!” A familiar, cheerful voice called from the kitchen. The love of his life knocked on his door, before slowly opening it, carrying the most delicious breakfast he had ever seen in his life.
“You know me too well!” He exclaimed happily. “Say dear, did I make any… unusual noises in my sleep? My voice is quite hoarse and I can’t seem to figure out why.”
“Well, I’d imagine it would be! My voice would be all but gone if I screamed as loud as you did. But… I wouldn’t say that’s unusual.”
“What do you mean?” Markus asked, looking up to meet his wife’s eyes. Or lack thereof. That smile. It was back, blood dripping from the gaps in the teeth. A wave of horror crashed into Markus, sending him reeling back. As soon as his back hit the wooden floor, he felt it. The illusion shattered. His house broke into shards, like a stone through glass, revealing a room entirely made of black crystal. The breakfast became the faces of those animals, blood still oozing from where they used to connect to their bodies. But worst of all, was what took his wife’s place. A smiling, gaping mouth stretched across one of the crystal walls, almost ten feet long, with various ones and zeroes scrolling across its interior. It wasn’t the mouth that scared Markus however. No, it was what came out of it. The upper half of a human body stretched out from the mouth’s inside, the lower half covered by the scrolling binary. A mouth lay gaping where the creature’s breast should be, vines jutting from the maw, wrapping around the torso. Each one of those dull green tentacles littered with snapping, smiling mouths. The same vines wrapped around the being’s arms, only stopping at its massive, razor sharp claws. Atop a neck at least eight inches long was a completely faceless head. Faceless, except that blasted mouth, and a single eye. A single, soulless, empty eye.
Well I’m too tired to write any more so maybe I’ll finish this tomorrow. I dunno
Anyway, enjoy!