A year ago, blood bathed this bridge, washed down the wood to the crashing waves beneath as the Monsters of Ina unleashed their attack from the black fog that touched the sky and concealed everything beyond it. Nisha could still hear their screams, see the women being snatched away into the fog, while the rest who dared to fight were ripped to shreds.
It all started ten years ago.
The Cursed of Ina used to be buried beneath them - banished to remain there forever for their grievous crimes, but then, one day, the fog erupted from the ground, bringing the monsters along with it, as it cut the village of Batura away from the rest of the Kingdom. The fog spat out monsters that attacked them that day and every year after. Nisha's father had been its first victim; she had watched him being ripped apart by nothing but an embodiment of darkness, leaving behind echoes of his screams of agony.
Even now, Nisha could still hear that heart-wrenching cry.
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as tears misted her sight, her face filled with rage as she took another step forward on this long, cursed bridge.
It had appeared with the fog on that day, and something about it had made the river evil.
The villagers of Batura would have escaped if they could, deserted Batura, found themselves another place to settle, and named their village. However, no matter how far they ran, they always ended up right in front of this fog, on this bridge, over this river.
Knowing their precarious situation, they had tried other means to avoid their unfortunate fates.
They had set the bridge ablaze to cut off their connection with the monsters, but it wouldn't burn; they had tried to demolish it, but those who had attempted it had been claimed by the river instead.
Nisha swore that she would put an end to this, and in her pursuit of justice, she had joined Batura's warriors to become one. But the Queen, terrified that her daughter would rush into the fog in vengeance and never be seen again, had forced her to become an apprentice for the Oracle instead. She had done that well; in fact, she had been so good at it that she became the Dowoga, next in line to the Oracle.
The exact thing the Cursed of Ina now requested.
'Give us the Dowoga and we will give you peace." Simple words carved on the floor of the bridge.
How desperate.
They wanted her terribly.
She wanted them too, for murderous reasons.
Nisha scoffed as she took another step towards the fog. Her blue dress moved with the wind, as the waves crashed into one another beneath her, the noise nothing compared to the loud pounding of her heart in her ears.
This was it, this was all she had wanted - to go into the fog to get vengeance for her people, and send the Cursed of Ina right back where they belonged. But the closer she got to the fog, the more the gravity of her situation dawned on her.
The silent funeral hum from her people at the other end of the bridge filled the air, and Nisha smiled.
It was certain she would never come back, it was certain that she would die, but would she be able to execute her plans before the monsters would kill her? Eat her? Or use her for whatever reasons they had requested for her?
By Ma'ku, this was the last time she would ever see her people, her family… her——
"No! Nisha!"
She stopped in her tracks immediately. "Mother?" She mumbled to herself, her blue eyes widening in shock.
"My daughter! Nisha!"
She wasn't supposed to be here, she wasn't supposed to see this, she had ordered against it.
"How dare you put your mother to sleep to sacrifice yourself?! How dare you use the powers that Ma'ku gave you against your own mother?!"
Nisha kept on moving; if she looked back, she wouldn't be able to move forward.
"Get off the bridge, come back! I order you! I am Queen, you obey my orders! By Ma'ku, you obey me, I am your mother!"
Her breaths became louder, her fists tighter as she tried not to listen to her mother. One life for the lives of many, one life for peace - she was the only one who could do it.
It had to be her; it must be her.
"You are the only one I have. I swore to your father that I would protect you. Please, don't do this to me, please don't leave me. Plea—— "
Her mother's begging went on and on, more desperate the closer she got to the fog, till it became nothing but an echo, and uncanny sounds from the fog began to take over.
Only then did she look back because she knew that at that point, it was too late.
From the nettings of the blue veil attached to the brim of her straw-woven hat, she could see her people at the other end of the bridge - each holding a lantern, crying and humming. Her mother was being held back, as she desperately tried to go to her. Her body quivered with tears, and they streamed down her cheeks, sipping into the mask that covered away the rest of her face.
She felt fog pull her, and the voices became nothing but an echo replaced by growls, snarls, and a kind of madness that suddenly possessed her mind.
Her tears stopped, and rage took over.
She would kill them all, every last single monster, every Cursed of Ina she would rip apart for the vengeance of her people.
As the fog recklessly claimed her, one thought filled her mind.
This would be their last trade, after all, dead monsters make no bargains.