Outsider's Honor

“Ugh…”

“Did I not advise you to hold still?”

“…”

“Oh…what a pretty shade of red”

“Ngh!”

“Does it hurt?”

Corvo gazed up at his deity with heated, desperate eyes, the cloth that had been stuffed into his mouth preventing him from actually responding to what was an undeniably smug question from the Outsider. Arching in his bonds, his chest heaved with panted breaths, pale globs and spatters of wax decorating his skin in arcane patterns. The skin beneath the wax swiftly reddened and puffed slightly in response to the heat of the mild burns that were being inflicted on his flesh.

So much for not being able to be injured while in the Void…though he wondered if that only meant life-threatening injuries, or if the deity himself had control over that particular aspect of life in the Void, and Corvo could be injured, but only at the Outsider’s will. He’d have to think on it when he wasn’t currently writhing under this onslaught.

The newest drip had caught Corvo squarely over one nipple, the nub peaked and hard beneath the shell of cooling wax, and throbbing in time with the beat of his heart. Another candle, seemingly floating in mid-air near the Outsider tilted without being touched, splashing hot wax down over tense, taut abs to puddle in his navel. Corvo’s eyes didn’t quite close, but his brow furrowed, and a low, rasped groan worked its way up his throat.

Shadow given form pulsed against his thigh, nudged a slick, blunt head against his entrance, and he knew by now what to expect as it pressed and twisted, entering his body easily now. He’d grown somewhat accustomed to the Outsider’s infatuation with molesting him like this, but that didn’t mean that he was immune to the sensations they caused. Even now, he grunted, sweat rolling down his brow as a second pressed up against its twin and slowly, inexorably forced its way inside as well. Somehow it was more…intense…when there was more than one of those things in him, rather than a singular tentacle simply increasing in girth over time.

Like now, for instance, the two tentacles began to thrust into him, first one, and then the other, fucking in opposite directions. Corvo’s cock twitched and throbbed, drooling a long, shiny trail of precome onto his belly, making a rather sizeable puddle after only moments of the delicious torture. He gazed up at the Outsider, eyes pleading and heated, even as the two shadow-cocks stuffed up his hole sped up, their heads plumping and filling him even more, forcing him to feel every damned inch as they lined his insides with more of the slick, oily substance they secreted.

Then a third pressed up against him, nudging and pressing and forcing its way inside him as well, and Corvo’s head rocked back, eyes squeezing shut as a wretched, overwhelmed groan rasped from his throat. His balls pulsed in time with his heartbeat, wound tight and pulled up against his body. A final tentacle – this one with a slim, supple tip – wrapped around the base of his organ and began to stroke him better than any hand possibly could. Crap! He was going to cum! Air huffed in and out of his nostrils quickly, unevenly as Corvo tried to maintain his grip on sanity and his impending orgasm.

Dark eyes trailed over him, and he swore his skin prickled like the Outsider had run a finger over his flesh. An elegant, long-fingered hand grabbed one of the floating candles, and held it just over his member. Corvo’s heartbeat sped up to double-time, and he was made triply aware of the three - three!-  phallic shadows thrusting in and out of him, fucking him into oblivion, and GOD! One of them had sprouted a little knob that was massaging his prostate mercilessly, and his nipples felt raw and tormented and throbbed, and slickness stroked over his cock and, and…

And then the candle tipped.

As wax splashed hot and painful against his cock and balls, Corvo couldn’t help but to clamp down on the things inside him, thighs tense and abs taut, as hips rocked upwards, and seed began to spew from his length. A wrecked, raw sound ripping from his throat as he keened through the pulses, cum streaking his torso as the waves kept shoving more and more of the fluid out of his body, until his balls nearly ached from the force of his orgasm.

Finally, his hips dropped back down as his body went slack. Dazed and groaning, it only took him a moment to realize that the shadow-tentacles were still fucking him, if much more slowly than they had been before. He blinked muzzily, a thin whine rising in his chest as his eyes sought out his Lord. Where…?

Head lolling on his neck, he looked around feverishly, a shiver rolling through him as that thing started stroking over his prostate once more, and an over-stimulated groan rumbled up from his throat. The Outsider was nowhere to be seen, and Corvo felt his loss as keenly as if he’d lost his own hand.

“Master….” He pleaded mentally, reaching out, seeking that familiar violet-darkness that kept him warm at night.

Reality shifted and distorted, and suddenly Corvo was sinking into soft bedding, and strong arms were wrapping around his shuddering form. “You had but to call for me, my blade, my dear Corvo.” Corvo was lost and gathered up, rent and made whole in the arms of the Outsider, and gilt with the shaded tones of his voice. Whales sang, oceans raged, and in the rocking, caressing arms of the Outsider, Corvo found the deepest of sleep.

____

The yellow glow of a gas-lamp burned dimly along an abandoned street. Frost and ice edged the window-darkened houses, hard-packed snow filled in the cracks and crevasses of cobblestone walks, and lent a slick, icy sheen to dull gray stone.

The only trace of humanity evident in the town burned all the brighter in contrast, or perhaps in competition, with the isolate, snow-riddled city shrouded in midnight gloom. A single tavern spilled out golden light from thick, pressed-glass windows, voices and music muffled from the outside world by an ironwood door. From the streets, perhaps the place sounded like any other tavern on a chill winter’s night – filled with jollity and raucous laughter, underscored by the thin, reedy tunes of a pipe.

The flapping of wings, and a jarring ‘caw!’ broke the relative silence of the night, as a crow landed on the gaslight pole overhanging the street. Sharp, black eyes stared down into the streets, tracking a single shadow that moved on the outskirts of the pools of light. The shadow paused briefly on hearing the crow’s call, then pressed forward with renewed confidence, making its way steadily towards the tavern.

The front door was not the destination of this shadow though, and instead it slipped into a side-alley, and approached the tavern’s cellar-doors, taking a moment to smear fish-oil on creaky hinges to silence them before one door was lifted just enough for the shadow to slip inside and the door was eased shut,  the streets were empty once more.

But not for long.

The first indication that something was wrong, was the change in the noise coming from the tavern. Bellowed calls for ale dimmed, and the piping of a flute died with an unmusical squeal as silence spread throughout the building like a plague – first only from one corner, then spreading quickly through the assembled crowd. As shining black eyes watched the building with interest, the sudden silence was broken by a scream of terror, shrill and wracked with the sort of fear that only rears its head in the face of a gruesome death. In the face of a demon itself.

And as though that first scream was some sort of signal, dozens of voices rose up to meet it crying out in dread and horror. Something dark splashed across a pressed-glass window, blocking out the warm glow of yellow flame that had previously shone through, tinting it a deep crimson.

The door of the tavern burst open, bodies spilling out into the once-desolate street as people frantically scrabbled over one another like rats, leaving the slow and weak behind to fend for themselves. Above the masculine shouts of abhorrence, came an eerie laughter, half-mad and triumphant with sick glee. Lamps reflected off spilled blood, casting a crimson glow on the light that illuminated the exodus, lending credence to the illustrations found in Overseer texts on damnation.

Like waters parting before the prow of a ship, the mass of bodies split in twain, giving way to a blood-splattered blonde boy, his blue eyes wide with exultant mania, and smears of blood matting his pale locks. Swirls of snow and jagged teeth of ice erupted from the ground around him, impaling a few unfortunates who weren’t swift enough to escape. The boy held a bloody heart in one hand, the organ still warm enough to steam in the frigid air, and his left burned with the Outsider’s mark.

The air directly around the boy was clear as day, though where any of the tavern-goers lingered, a raging blizzard blew and bogged them down in sticky snow, clumping heavy on them as they tried to flee and dragging them down until they stopped moving.

::Much like the witches of Brigmore held control over the plants of the earth, this boy holds dominion over the snow and ice of his homeland:: The Outsider’s voice murmured inside Corvo’s head.

“He’s killing them. Even the innocent.” Corvo replied, no small amount of frustration in his mind’s voice. This was not what he’d intended for the boy to use his powers for when he counseled him in the burnt-out husk of his home.

::He has made a weapon of himself, and strikes without prejudice. It is how he chose to interpret your advice::

The crow cawed, hopping up and down atop the light-pole in agitation. “This is a slaughter. It is unjust at best. He has given over vengeance for utter annihilation.”

::This is the price of your interference.::

The crow shrieked, beating its wings. “Then I will set things aright.”

::CORVO, NO!::

The Outsider’s demand came too late, as the crow had abandoned his perch, gliding down into the maelstrom, taking a form that the boy would recognize. Corvo, in his assassin gear, the mask made for him by Piero shrouding his features.

He moved through the storm, untouched by its fury, and approached the boy…the young man who’d had such potential in him. Triumphant blue eyes pinned on him, and the blizzard died down as the boy fell to one knee, the bloody heart of his target held up over his head as if in offering.

::CORVO, STOP! I DEMAND IT!::

Corvo ignored the heart, crouching before the boy, one gloved hand reaching to tilt his chin up. He gazed into eyes bluer than clear skies, and saw only madness in their depths. No trace of sanity remained in this youth – the price of the Outsider’s gift.

“I killed him! Took his heart! Ripped it right out of his chest like he did to me!”

A pained expression crossed Corvo’s face, his hand shifting to cup the boy’s cheek. “And the others? Why did you kill them?”

A hint of confusion drifted over the boy’s features, a smile twitching one corner of his lips. “Others? Those vermin? Those swine!! They drank with him, ate with him, treated him like he hadn’t done what he did! They didn’t know what he did! They should have known, but they didn’t, and the treated him like a friend! LIKE A BROTHER!”

The last was shrieked, and tears ran down the boy’s face, though they didn’t seem to ease the madness one jot. So. That was going to be how it was, hm?

::CORVO!!:: Panic, he could hear perfectly human panic in the Outsider’s voice, could feel the darkness gathering behind him as the Outsider made a space between Here and There.

“Did vengeance solve your pain?”

The confusion was back on the boy’s features but he didn’t respond. Too far gone. Worse than Granny Rags, but much, much faster. With a sigh, a hand lifted and shifted his mask to rest atop his head. The boy’s eyes drifted over his face, as though looking on the face of some benevolent Deity. Drawing the young man close with the hand that rested still on his cheek, Corvo placed a soft kiss on the young man’s lips, chaste and sweet, even as a blade pierced his belly. Familiar. That sensation was so familiar, but the sheer relief in the youth’s eyes was not.

“Will…I see you there?” the boy asked, tears streaking more heavily down his cheeks now, as Corvo withdrew the knife to the tune of a wet sound. “Perhaps” he would not. “Rest now. You have your vengeance.”

There was a tugging behind Corvo’s navel, and he felt the Outsider in the instant before arms wrapped around his waist, yanking him backwards through the portal of darkness. His hold was not warm and comforting, but rigid, and the voice that hissed in his ear “Fool” was as sharp as jagged cliff-faces, and twice as chill as this desolate landscape.

There was a sickening lurch as they popped back into the Void, and Corvo found himself being flung to the ground, catching himself on one knee, bloody dagger still clutched in one hand as he ducked his head, feeling the waves of anger that roiled off the Outsider. Even the Void had changed to match his mood, cobblestone pathways crumbling beneath him, the skies black as pitch, and a chill wind howled, cutting through his clothes to chill him to the bone. Fear wormed its way through the former bodyguard-turned-assassin, but he held steady in the face of his Deity’s shadow-wreathed fury, meeting his black gaze with outward calm.

“HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!”

The question was snarled, and seemed a touch rhetorical, but Corvo blinked mildly and answered regardless. “He was out of control because of my influence. I merely rectified the situation” Oh, it was a cold, callous way of describing a mercy-killing, but it was also the most succinct. He had a feeling the Outsider wasn’t interested in hearing the ethics behind it.

“You’ve ruined everything! Your interference threw all the paths of possibility off-kilter!” he accused, teeth bared threateningly. The Outsider raised one hand to his temple, and for the barest moment, Corvo thought he saw a flicker of pain in the Deity’s features. Could…had his actions endangered the Outsider? The thought was somehow more terrifying than the angrily lashing shadows that swallowed the light around them.

Then everything stilled, paused, and only the Outsider moved, one hand stretching out towards Corvo, the silver rings on his fingers glinting dully in the dim light.

“Out of my sight”

Corvo only had enough time to widen his eyes in pure, unmitigated shock before the world warped once more, and breath was stolen in the span of a Blink.

___

When reality returned to Corvo, he groaned at the ache in his skull, levering himself upright as he cast an eye around himself, finding that the Outsider had merely sent him to his room. To his room! Like a misbehaving child! With a growl, he whirled to face the door, and found that it was only blank wall. What the hell? His anger drained from him almost instantly as he took one step, and then another, his hand reaching out to trail fingers over what was unmistakably rough stone, solid and far too real beneath his fingertips.

“Bastard!” he snarled, hand curling into a fist to slam against the blank wall. Clenching his hand, he thought of the deity, tried to Blink back to him so that they could resolve this properly, and felt only a burn where the mark stained his skin. He tried again, and got a headache for his troubles. Again. And again. He kept trying, like a moth battering itself against a window to get at the light on the other side, until he felt warmth trickle down over his lips and chin, and tasted something ferric at the back of his throat.

Dabbing fingers to his lips, Corvo stared at them blankly when they came away not crimson, but black. Black. As black as the Outsider’s eyes, but thick and rich like blood. That’s right…he wasn’t human anymore, was he? He’d not taken the time to think on such things.

Sighing his defeat, he moved to his bed and flopped down on it. What had the Outsider meant when he’d said that the paths of possibility had been thrown off? Could he really affect the world in such a way? With the death of one…power-mad young man?

“For all my age and power, I’ve never been able to predict your actions, Corvo.”

The Outsider had said as much, hadn’t he? Before Corvo had died and been brought here. Perhaps…he wasn’t certain, but did that have something to do with it? Frowning, Corvo let his eyes drift shut as he mused on the thought, and eventually, sleep dragged him under, into a deep, restorative sleep.

___

He couldn’t tell how long his isolation lasted. It was long enough for him to tear through half his library, though with nothing to do but sleep and read, it could have been a matter of days or weeks. It didn’t matter, ultimately. Time moved differently in the Void…what felt like a day here could be mere hours in the lower world, or it could be a decade. Besides, he couldn’t starve, or age, so it was a moot point anyways.

His first indication that the Outsider was no longer infuriated with him, was when he awoke to the scent of food, and found a tray of some of his favorite meals resting on the nightstand. Stuffed pastries bursting with meat, fruit tarts drizzled with honey, roasted potatoes and a cabbage and beef dish that he’d been fond of as a child. He couldn’t starve…but that didn’t mean he no longer enjoyed food. Smiling faintly, he bowed his head over the meal and sent a quiet thanks to his Deity.

The next time he woke, the books he’d read had been replaced with new ones.

Corvo might have been annoyed at the upgrade to his reading material – he felt like a prisoner, and he itched to get out, to see the sun (or what passed for a sun in the Void), and he…he missed the Outsider. More keenly than he had when it had been years between their visits in his human life – but…he could tell that these were gifts of appeasement, and he hoped…he hoped that they meant he’d be allowed his freedom once more.

One hand rested on the spines of the new books, Corvo shutting his eyes as he stretched his mind towards his God. “Please…Master. These gifts are nothing without your presence. Let me see you…let me speak with you.”

He didn’t actually think that his plea would be heard, much less heeded, but the Deity was fond of surprises, it seemed.

“Corvo”

He might have jerked in shock at the rich timbre of the voice that came from behind, but instead it caused tense muscles to relax instinctively. “My lord” he said, a smile touching the corners of his lips as he turned, one hand moving to rest over his heart as he kneeled. He wasn’t fond of kneeling, but for the deity….he would make an exception. He had kneeled for Jessamine. He had kneeled for Emily.

But only did he feel true subservience when he knelt before the Outsider.

“Thank you” he said simply, the words a shadow of his true feelings as he gazed up at his Lord, eyes drinking in the sight of him. Arms uncrossed from where they’d rested against the deity’s chest, and he watched with unveiled appreciation as the Outsider moved to sit on his bed.

An uncertain silence lingered between them for a moment as Corvo looked for any sign of weakness or injury or ailment that may have resulted from his actions. The Outsider, for his part looked…well he rather looked somewhat sheepish, if such a thing could be said of the man.

“Come” the order was said in tandem with a crooked finger beckoning him close. In a rare move, Corvo crawled the distance between them, sitting between the other’s legs and resting his head on one knee. This…he felt at home here. At ease. He smiled when he felt the gentle weight of a hand on his head, as fingers began to stroke through his hair.

“The paths have changed greatly, because of your actions.”

Corvo tensed slightly, but didn’t move beneath the hand that continued to pet him as though he were a faithful hound. “Do these changes…fascinate…you?” he dared to prompt, shifting his head just enough that he could gaze up at his Master. He managed to catch a faint look of surprise on the Outsider’s face, which shifted into soft amusement.

“Brat” the deity accused with a fond glance, flicking him lightly before resuming running fingers through his hair “They do though, lucky for you.”

Corvo snorted, then nuzzled into the Outsider’s knee. “It was not my intent to cause you distress” he said softly, apologizing for that, though not for his actions. The distinction was one he didn’t suspect the deity would miss, but he wasn’t going to back down.

“No, I suppose you did not intend that.” Fingers clutched into his hair, dragging his head back so that he was forced to meet fathomless black eyes. “It would be in your best interest to avoid interfering any further though…” the God said darkly, his grip firm and gaze uncompromising. “It gave me an excruciating headache when futures shifted. You can’t see everything and everywhen, so I don’t expect you to understand. I do however expect your compliance. Is that clear?”

Corvo would have nodded, but the grip on his scalp prevented him from moving, and it was a little distracting in entirely erotic ways. “Yes…my lord. I understand. No interference unless you’re bored.” He said the last with a grin, interjecting a bit of playfulness to the moment. The Outsider’s lips quirked in amusement and he shook Corvo very slightly, growling lightly. “You forget your place, boy.”

Corvo laughed, hands moving to stroke up the Outsider’s thighs as he strained against the grip in his hair to lean closer. “Then you should remind me, milord”

The Outsider blinked, a slow smile spreading over his face. “Gladly, dear Corvo. Gladly.”