Chapter 20: Glass Flower

The chaos years affected all religions, either weakening them or making them stronger. For the Mormons, they had to go underground to survive the reborn Wild West. Old mines in Utah were converted into homes and churches, where people could escape the roving marauders. They reinforced their beliefs, galvanized by both the threat of enemies and the privacy they clung to.

When the reconstruction movement began, they continued to hide, now from the government, out of fear of persecution for their religious practices like polygamy. The dominance of the Mormon religion over Utah was still blatantly obvious to everyone, but many Mormons still did everything they could to hide from the world and worship in secret. However, when pursued by Dominion’s forces, they could only hide for so long.

Out in the Utah wilderness, inside a convent carved into the side of a mountain, women and children prayed frantically, trying to use their own voices to block out the sounds of the monsters outside while the men prepared a desperate defense. They had abandoned their nearby town several days ago and been living in the church. Hiding within the mountain had kept them safe from the vultures flying overhead, but some children made the mistake of sneaking outside to play and were spotted, inviting the wrath of the dark legion. Now, after a member warned of sphinxes on the horizon, they had all begun praying with every ounce of faith they had, begging God for protection.

The few windows carved into the rock went dark, the mountainside enveloped by the shadow of the flying crafts, and outside, they could hear the hulks landing with great force. They were given no warning, no chance to surrender, the doors of the church were simply blasted open and the spawn burst in. There was an entryway where the men had set up a barricade and awaited their doom, while their families prayed for their safety deeper in the convent. The men raised their guns and opened fire, but they might as well have been shooting airsoft pellets. Gunfire and screams, the women and children tried not to cry as the sounds bounced off the stone walls and reached their chapel. The defense hadn’t even lasted a single minute.

The spawn continued further in through the tunnels, unchallenged, and finally arrived at the inner sanctum where the women and children faced the crucifix on the wall and begged for protection. And in strolled the Devil himself. Dominion, flanked by his monsters, looked around, impressed by the effort put in when carving this place. The tunnels were quite extensive and didn’t skimp out on appearances. These people should be proud of themselves.

As for why he was bothering with such small fry, it was mainly out of boredom. He spent most of his time reading, overseeing his empire, and fucking his concubines. Said concubines, while fully prepared and eager to service him in every way possible, didn’t quite provide the challenge and thrill of a proper victim, so he was searching for his next girl to enslave. Unfortunately, once they had been processed and put in concentration camps, they lost most of their appeal, so he was searching for something wild to break in.

Hmm, these Mormon women weren’t really much to look at. Maybe it was just the lighting, maybe it was how they were dressed, or maybe he had simply been spoiled by his concubines.

Oh, wait a second.

He strolled through the crowd of screaming people and grabbed the wrist of a young woman. Eighteen, nineteen, probably the former. She was quite skinny and her bones felt unusually fragile. Just by touching her, he could gauge her physical status. She had long-standing issues with anemia and a weak constitution. Her skin was rather pale for someone who had grown up in Utah. But there was beauty, a sweet face with platinum-blonde hair, and wide, innocent eyes that looked up at him in terror. She had been screaming when he arrived, but as soon as he grabbed her, she became quiet, rather submissive. She didn’t even try to swing at him with the crutches on her arms, knowing that there was nothing she could do to fight him off.

Normally, he preferred healthy, full-bodied women to be his slaves, but she was so fragile, he just wanted to smash her like a wine glass. He wanted to see her slender body writhe and bend to his will.

“You’re coming with me.” Then, looking into his eyes, she was afflicted with a sleeping hex and lost consciousness.

It had been a week since North America had fallen to Dominion, and the landscape had certainly changed. Every town had been stripped of supplies and resources, wiped off the map brick by brick and used to build the concentration camps. Currently, only the northeastern states had human guards and collaborators, with the rest of the kingdom’s prisons being operated solely by spawn. However, that would change. Already, the men and women were being used as slave labor for collecting food and resources or construction work.

The construction work was for citadels and statues to indulge Dominion’s ego, as well as to satiate his curiosity and keep him entertained. He was using them to build replicas of ancient monuments and buildings with the same methods as the original designers. The Pyramids of Giza, the Parthenon, the Coliseum, El Castillo, Machu Pichu, the Great Wall of China, and many others.

He’d pick a location with as close a climate and landscape to original as possible, and then put the people to work. Just like ancient builders, they had to clear land and quarry and haul stone with hand tools and wooden technology, all while the sentinels whipped them to work faster. True, he could easily do it all himself with a snap of his fingers, but Dominion enjoyed watching them be built the natural way.

In a month, he planned on offering the position of prison guard to specific male prisoners. No more working on his monuments, better food, private housing, and of course, breeding privileges and slave ownership.

The farming process was different, though. There, he and his minions used their powers to speed up crop production. It had been less than a year since Dominion began farming humans, and already, the population was shooting up. In prisons with human guards, almost every fertile woman that had been imprisoned for more than a month was already pregnant, with a combination of fertility drugs and spiritual energy infusions both causing multiple children to be born to individual women, as well as hastening fetal development. It was now possible for one woman to give birth to up to five healthy children after only four months of pregnancy, without adverse side effects or health dangers. Then, right after they gave birth, their bodies would be mended with spirit energt, and as soon as they began ovulating, they’d be taken back to the breeding chamber for impregnation.

Right now, food had to be harvested and preserved to feed the growing population. The breeders’ feeding tubes were constantly pumping them full of nutrients, not just to keep up with the physical demands of pregnancy, but to aid in the production of breast milk for when the children were born. As usual, despite the vast amount of food being gathered, the slaves were only given enough to live and get their work done. A slave hungry from barely any food and tired from brutal labor would be too weak to rebel.

Outside of Dominion’s kingdom, the world was crumbling. The inevitability of his global takeover was apparent to everyone. Heads of state and their governments struggled to hold everything together, if only to keep the lights on and the power running, but anarchy was flourishing. It was the end of days; what point was there in continuing to live by the rules? People were taking whatever they could find and searching for the most isolated place to live out their lives.

Various nations tried diplomacy, hoping there was something they could provide in order to keep Dominion satiated and contained to North America. Every nation was now considering taking the same deal that President Collins had agreed to. The problem was that Dominion wasn’t offering it. Every attempt to establish contact with Dominion with requests to open a dialogue or negotiation was, at best, ignored. Any actual people sent to North America never came back. He had no intention of engaging in peace talks, that was made clear when the mutilated corpse of a Chinese emissary was dropped in Beijing by one of Dominion’s vultures.

The nations of the world were still searching for means to stop him, any conceptual technology or snake oil magic that might offer them a solution. None were found.

The obsidian floor was freezing cold, stirring the young woman from her sleep. Her skinny body was chilled, and the clothes she was wearing weren’t helping. She opened her eyes and looked around, gasping in awe at the sight of Dominion’s throne room. This room, this structure, went beyond her wildest dreams. It was like some kind of ominous cathedral, both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She sat up, all she could do without her crutches, then covered herself, realizing she was wearing just a thin, white negligee, the kind of garment that neither she nor anyone in her hometown would have ever worn, even in a most private moment. A stinging in her cheek made her wince.

S005

It had been branded into her skin when she was unconscious.

“What is your name?”

She jerked and looked behind her, seeing Dominion on his black throne. He was like no man she had ever seen before. The farming physique the men of her town possessed were nothing like the muscles that tightened his clothes, and his long black hair and devilish looks were certainly nothing she was used to. He towered over her, even while sitting down, looking like he could break her bones with just his little finger. And she could feel it, the dark aura that shrouded him. It was like not the spiritual sense gained through an awakened soul; she could simply feel that he wasn’t human, that behind his eyes and under his skin was a maelstrom of unholy power.

“Well, what is it?” he asked again.

“D-Daisy!” she squeaked, scared out of her mind.

He chuckled and she felt his eyes licking her modest body. Despite every sexual act he had engaged in, every woman he had violated, he could still relish the small things, such as the ridges of her exposed collar bone, her slender neck and supple flesh, and the shape of her body through the thin lingerie. He wanted to balance her on his tongue like a cherry stem tied into a knot. However, he had decided to take a different route with her. All of his other slaves, he had used torture and suffering to break their wills, but this weak little God-fearing girl, it might be fun to try and entice her instead, to gently corrupt her as the devil on her shoulder.

“What a lovely name. Tell me, what do you think of my palace?”

“It’s amazing!” It was the only word she could come up with on the spot, anything that might please him. Hopefully, such a bland compliment wouldn’t instead earn his fury.

“I’m glad you like it. You’ll enjoy staying here.” She didn’t respond, only shivered in confusion from his words. “Such a quiet girl. No questions? No pleading? You haven’t even asked about your family.” He saw her tense up, remembering she wasn’t the only one to worry about. However, she still didn’t say anything. His questions were rhetorical, he hadn’t actually given her permission to speak. “They’re fine, in case you were wondering. Alive, at least. But push them from your mind. That part of your life is over.” Still, she didn’t say anything, and he could see her shoulders trembling with tears budding in her eyes. “Why don’t you respond?”

“C-can I?”

“You may. Say what you wish to.” She opened her mouth, trying to speak, but no words would come out. “Ah, I see, you don’t know what you’re allowed to ask or say. Tell me this: is it because that’s how you were raised, or because I am here?”

“I ... I ... don’t know.”

“Well, I can understand why you would be afraid of me. I’m sure you’ve seen or at least heard of what I’m capable of. I’m sure you understand that it would be in your best interests not to enrage me, so that I won’t unleash my wrath upon you. But I have a feeling that silence is your natural state. You are Mormon, correct? Your people engage in polygamy, meaning that yours is a strongly patriarchal society. You’re raised not to speak out of turn, not to question the orders or doctrines of the men in your community, especially your father or husband.”

He got up out of his throne and approached her. She tried to make herself as small as possible, subconsciously wanting to stay out of his reach. He stood over her, and with a flick of his finger, used telekinesis to lift her up just high enough to be able to cup her cheek with his powerful hand.

“When you are in the presence of a man, you know to submit. I like that about you.” His words, and his thumb brushing across her lips, they made her blush. “Your father isn’t here, and at the moment, I’m the closest thing to a husband you have. So, I expect your submission and obedience.”

He then released her and began pacing. “You look to be of adequate breeding age. Are you married?”

“No, sir,” she murmured.

“Why not?”

“No man wanted me. My body is weak and I often get sick and can’t take care of myself. I am a burden, and our town doctor doesn’t expect me to be able to bear children.”

“Well then, what if I offered to make you healthy? What would you be willing to do to finally live your life without being bedridden?”

Daisy opened and closed her mouth. She wanted to rebuke him, to maintain her dignity as a God-fearing woman, fearful of what horrible act he might demand of her. She also didn’t want to anger him. It wasn’t ladylike to talk back and refuse such a generous offer, her mother drilled that into her. Her silence seemed to be enough of an answer for Dominion.

“I see. Afraid to make a ‘deal with the Devil’? I can understand that. After all, what would God think of you if he were to see you right now? Tell me, do you feel God’s eyes on you? Do you feel his presence in this room?”

“God is always watching over us.”

“Wrong. There is no one here with you but me.” He crouched down and looked into her eyes. “Only I am watching, and my gaze is full of lust. Have you ever felt that before? No man ever wanted you, so you never got to know what it felt like to have lascivious eyes move up and down your slender body, to sense someone’s desire to explore your soft flesh?” He glanced at her chest, her breathing becoming rapid. “What were you allowed to feel in that little Mormon village? What cravings were you allowed to indulge? What you couldn’t do there, you’re free to do here. God isn’t watching. Your desires are not sinful, they are as natural and a part of you as the blood in your veins. If you want something, take it.

So, I ask again, do you want me to make you healthy?”

“What would I have to do?”

“I’ll simply give you a taste as to what a new life would be like. After that, you can decide the price you’re willing to pay. For now, all you have to do is take your medicine like a good girl.” He stood up and held his hand out to her. “My flesh, my blood, my entire body is as massive torrent of power, power great enough for me to rule over both life and death. Just the oil on my fingers can show you what true living feels like. Go ahead, taste them.”

“You ... want me to lick your fingers?” she asked nervously.

“No, you want to lick them. That is your desire.”

To be touched by a man in such a way, while having never been kissed, it was more than could be asked of Daisy. His hand, stained with so much blood, she didn’t want it in her mouth. She didn’t want to taste his sin. But as shivers of fear rippled through her flesh, it was like she could feel every pitiful muscle in her body, count every fragile bone. She had spent almost her entire life hidden away at home, for her skin struggled to withstand the intensity of the desert sun. Unable to play outside with the other children, she had never known friendship. What would life be like if she gave in? What would it feel like for her body to no longer be a prison?

She parted her pale lips, her tongue too nervous to leave its den, but coaxed out by her curiosity. She started licking the tip of his middle finger like a cat, just to get acquainted with the touch of a man. Immediately, she could feel a warmth seeping through her, starting from behind her eyes and moving down the back of her neck. It was miniscule, almost beyond her ability to detect, and it disappeared between each lick, but it was real.

She became more courageous, not pulling her tongue away and instead kissing the tip of Dominion’s finger. The heat was rising, and it was like pain was fading, pain she had long-since become numb to.

“Don’t be afraid, roll it around your mouth.”

She took the initiative, getting up on her knees and taking his middle finger farther into her mouth. She held his hand with both of hers, slurping on his finger like a popsicle. His hand was so big and warm, it was actually rather comforting, and the heat she felt, it was becoming so much stronger. She could actually feel her body changing, her muscles expanding beneath her papery skin, her blood saturated with nourishment.

Dominion then pulled his hand free and raised above her face, his finger connected to hers by a string of saliva. He looked down at her now rosy cheeks with a smile. She instinctively opened her mouth and extended her tongue, her body addicted to the heat like a drug. He indulged her, now inserted his middle and index finger. She sucked on them greedily, her tongue lapping up the sweat and oils hidden in every groove of his fingerprints.

“That’s right, that’s a good girl,” he said as tried to fit his fingers deeper into her mouth, with her tongue swirling between them.

She was becoming flushed, as if stricken with a fever. Her skin, while still pale, appeared much healthier, no longer so ghastly as when he first saw her. Her eyes were growing hazy, her body flushed with serotonin and endorphins, and she was becoming more desperate in her oral play. Saliva was foaming on Dominion’s hand and running down her chin, several drops already dampening her satin gown.

He reciprocated her efforts, playing with her tongue like a writhing serpent. He explored her mouth, touching every spot and even making her gag as he reached down her throat. Repeatedly, Dominion pulled his fingers free, holding them out of her reach and letting her saliva make a mess on her face. She’d keep her mouth open, awaiting their return like a baby bird expecting to be fed.

Up on her knees, almost standing, Daisy moved on to his other fingers, making love to them with her tongue. It wasn’t just the rejuvenation of her body that propelled her, not anymore. A man’s sensual touch, her womanhood craved it, demanded it. Being in the presence of Dominion, a king with a voice like thunder, it was stirring her deepest instincts, her womanly desires waking from their lifelong slumber and crying from the pain of their empty stomachs. To be touched in this way by the opposite sex, when all she had to compare it to was being hugged by her family in her puritanical village, it was like a delicious narcotic.

His other hand, it also made her shiver, not with lewd touching or anything of the sort, but with how he’d caress her cheek, stroke her hair, pat her head, and lift her chin so that he could look into her eyes. He was a monster in every sense of the word; she had been told stories of his atrocities, she had tried to brace herself, to steel her heart against whatever tortures he might inflict on her. She had prepared herself for a hurricane, yet instead, she was kissed by a gentle breeze, and somehow it still swept her off her feet.

Then, Dominion removed his hand and stepped away from her. Daisy collapsed, drenched in her own spit and panting like she had just run a marathon, but her body was stronger than ever before. She felt like she could finally walk without her crutches. Then, shame assailed her as she now realized how she had acted, how she had sucked on Dominion’s fingers like an eager whore. Her behavior was lewd and unforgivable, a sin that her whole family would have beaten her for.

“I have work that I must return to,” he said as he walked away. “Feel free to explore the palace. One of my subordinates will fetch you for dinner. By then, your strength will begin to wane and you’ll return to your old self.”

“T-thank you, sir!”

She didn’t know why she thanked him. This man had taken her away from her family and was doing God knows what to everyone in her town, but it was true that he had healed her body, at least temporarily. Watching him so coldly walk away, she feared his anger and disappointment. She had been nothing short of shameful, he was probably disgusted by her. Showing proper gratitude was hopefully the best way she could apologize for her behavior.

Dominion stopped and glanced back at her. “It’s not ‘sir’. You are my slave and I am your Master. You will address me as such. The number on your cheek marks you as my property.”

His words hit her like a cold wind. A slave, she didn’t like that word, and she didn’t like having to call this man her Master. A woman’s duty was to serve and obey her father and her husband, that was what she was raised to believe, but she didn’t want to be a lowly slave, a mere possession for him to use. Either way, Dominion didn’t seem to be anticipating a response, and she watched with wide eyes as he seemingly vanished into thin air, transporting himself to some other part of the castle.

Now left alone in this cavernous throne room, Daisy immediately began to pray, begging God to forgive her for her sinful actions, to save her from Dominion’s clutches, and to protect her family and fellow townsfolk. Even with a rejuvenated body, she had not forgotten where she was or who she had been taken by. Dominion was both the Devil and Antichrist, having arrived to end the world. There was no other answer to his ungodly powers and the destruction he had wrought.

He said he looked at her with lustful eyes, meaning he craved her body. What would happen if he decided to take her against her will? Even while healthy, her slender body would not be able to slip free from his powerful hands, hands that would explore her bare flesh no matter how much she begged him to stop. Her mother had never explained sex to her, not believing she’d ever get married, but she did know that rape was something horrible a man did to a woman by reading the bible. Was he planning on raping her? What pain would he make her endure? How might he humiliate her?

Perhaps now was her best chance to escape. She could finally walk freely. She might not get a better opportunity than this.

She got to her feet and tried to run for the nearest exit. She immediately fell back to the cold floor. Her legs were strong and healthy, but she hadn’t developed the coordination to use them like that. She tried again, this time at a steady walk. Her body, it felt brand new to her, like it was someone else’s that she had stolen. It took some time for her to learn how to move normally, without leaning on crutches that weren’t there. She figured out a pace and began exploring the castle. She didn’t know how long her body would last before reverting to his weakened state, so she tried to move fast.

Unfortunately, the castle was massive and purposefully built like a labyrinth. Its rooms were filled with whatever items caught Dominion’s eye when stripping towns and cities, from art and antiques to furniture and knickknacks, as well as millions of books, taken from libraries. Most of this place had been built without functional purpose, just serving as a vent for creativity and a way to kill time. Very little of it was probably ever supposed to be used, which was why it took Daisy so long just to find a bathroom.

Walking for so long on the hard floor was making her bare feet sore, but she continued on, even picking the pace when she finally saw sunlight streaming through windows. She didn’t even bother looking through, just followed them until she found an exit to the outside. She stepped out onto a terrace looking out over Dominion’s castle and lost all hope. The central palace sat in the center of a stone and concrete city, like ancient Rome. The entire structure was tiered, letting her look down upon each level of buildings and see what lay beyond. However, the landscape she expected to see was instead the open sky, with the surface of the earth so far below that no landmarks could be discerned. She realized that this city was floating, as evident by the clouds rolling by, just under the lowest tier of buildings.

There was no way for her to escape. Even if she somehow could traverse through miles of the city to reach the edge, how in the world would she get down? Not to mention her unreliable health. She was trapped.

Once she accepted that fact, it was like her eyes reopened, and she could see the beauty in this place. While the castle itself featured some frightening architecture, there was no shortage of gardens and courtyards, decorated with countless plants she had never seen before and an army of statues from the realistic to the abstract.

This view of the city itself was heavenly, yet still paled to the sight of the ground so far below. She could hardly pull her eyes away. She had never flown before, she didn’t know anyone who had. She and her townsfolk were just barely beyond the Amish, technology-wise, so to see the clouds from above, rather than below, and see how the vast land stretched beyond her human imagination was overwhelming.

Strangely, she didn’t feel cold and the air was no thinner than it was on the surface. The breeze was warm and filled her lungs, yet another result of Dominion’s power over nature.

Wait, there was movement down below. In one of the courtyards, she saw a large man carving a statue. Daisy made her way over to him, down several flights of marble stairs and across numerous courtyards. She approached the man, realizing he was even larger than she first thought. He even outshone Dominion in the height and bulk department. He wore only a metal kilt, and his hair was long and wild. As for his face, he was gorgeous, so much so that Daisy blushed just looking him.

Then she noticed the statue he was carving; he wasn’t using tools, only his fingernails. Upon her arrival, he turned and smiled.

“You must be the Master’s new slave. I am Adam. I bid you welcome to paradise.”

“I...” ‘I’m not a slave.’ She wanted to say it, but she wasn’t sure she was allowed to. After all, in this situation, her only rights were what Dominion allowed her. She wasn’t in any position to protest or deny him anything. Whether she liked it not, she realized that she really was a slave. “I’m Daisy.” She looked at Adam’s face. “You don’t have a number like me.”

“Ah, that is because, unlike you, I am not human. Lord Dominion, in his infinite wisdom, saw fit to craft me from the spirits of mortals. Only a god such as him could take a handful of soil and craft it into the image of perfection standing before you. I was born loyal to the Almighty.”

“But Dominion isn’t a God, he’s a monster! The one true God is the god of the Israelites!”

Adam just gave a hearty laugh. “I truly envy you mortals. You all have the chance to experience the Lord’s greatness for the first time, to be awakened and realize the truth. I was born already knowing the truth, so I don’t know what it feels like to believe anything else. Lord Dominion truly is a supreme being, for he created me. I am the definition of perfection, so how could my creator be anything other than an existence even greater than perfection?”

“If Dominion—”

“LORD Dominion. Please, be respectful.”

“If ... Lord Dominion ... were to tell you that the sky was green and purple, what would you do?”

Adam rubbed his chin. “Oh, that is a very interesting question, a true test of the faithful. Striped or polka dot?”

“Striped.”

“Well, my first thought would be that my eyes weren’t working correctly, but that couldn’t be possible, as he made them perfect. I suppose I would have to find a way to punish the sky for not obeying the Lord’s decree. If my Lord says something contrary to what the world deems true, then obviously, the world itself is mistaken.”

Daisy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Even for a devout Christian such as herself, loyalty to this level frightened her. There was no way he’d believe anything else, nor would he likely assist her in escaping. She gazed at the piece he was working on, depicting a griffin rearing back on its hind legs. “That’s a lovely statue.”

“Why thank you! Normally, I would be in charge of leading our armies in glorious combat to expand Lord Dominion’s kingdom. However, as we are currently on hiatus, he has reassigned me the wonderful task of decorating this holy sanctuary. It is surprisingly frustrating. This stone is so flawed, it is a struggle to make it take an appearance worthy of adorning this palace. It does not obey my commands. Like a petulant child, it refuses to meet my expectations, fleeing from the concept of perfection.