Amidst the trembling howls of the midnight winter gale and the mournful weeping of the northern winds, I trudge along a frozen ashen field near the outskirts of the city gate, soaked in blood.
The once unperturbed frown of the cloud filled skies unwillingly cleared as I gaze into the starry heavens.
Moonlight shines down brilliantly on the frozen fields that I lifelessly stood on as it reflects the moon's perfect countenance. As I look back, the reflection of the crimson snow looked demonically beautiful as the frozen fields becomes dyed with moonlit blood.
On such a dreadful night, the shadow of the misty northern skies that I somehow feel the most tranquil in did not greet me as usual. Instead, only the deafening sound of the howling northern winds carrying the stench of death kept me company.
Haaa..
I couldn't help but sigh as I lament on the predicament that I find myself in.
If someone was to say that there was an assassin incompetent enough to run willingly in an open field while being chased by a pissed off bloodthirsty army, I'd hope to meet that person one day.
I would gladly become friends with such a humorous person for we can both laugh at how bad we were at our job. We would then sing merrily while lost in our own world telling stories amongst one another at all of the times we had almost died as we sit on the cool mossy rock while gazing at the moon drinking the night away.
While lost within my own fantasy, thinking about all the what if and the what could have been and look back bitterly into my memories, the brilliant shine of the moonlit sky shadowed countless arrows as it flies violently without any signs of stopping. Just when I was about to willingly succumb to the inevitable, I remembered the whole reason for my existence. The whole reason as to why I stayed alive for all these years.
As I look at the countless arrows raining down upon me, the withering flames within my lifeless eyes once again kindled and soared as if a dormant dragon had just awoken. The dying ember persisted on as it grew into a storm of flames.
The sharp whistling noise piercing the wind abruptly appeared right before my eyes only inches away from snuffing the life out of me. The long lashes on my frozen eyelids fluttered for a second before coming to a close and seek for tranquility. Within the sea of my consciousness, the once raging sea of flames has now halted to a complete tranquil state. As the fluctuation on the wind increasingly became rapid, I become one with the wind and earth. Like a leaf dancing in the autumn wind, I dodge all of the arrows with ease. Amidst the elegant dance under the moonlight, thousands of arrows which should have pierced my body violently didn't even so much as graze my clothes.
Before I could even rest, hundreds of spears flew in a dangerous arc following behind the arrows but I managed to dodge seamlessly with ease as well. A second volley of spears came flying at me. I dodged five of them in an instant and caught the sixth spear and tightly held it within my bloody hands. With a loud roar, I cut down every single spears that followed the first volley. Even though I didn't get hurt, my ragged breathing couldn't hide the amount of pain I'm suffering from my previous wounds. When all the spears have come to a halt, countless soldiers came rushing at me without and regards for their own lives. As they charge with bloodthirst oozing out of their armors, their scarlet bloodshot eyes looked incredibly demonic behind their steel plated helmets.
Looking at the horde of enemies, I slowly pull out two curved short swords sheathed inside my rugged boots. The crude, rusted iron blades looked seemingly as if it would shatter at any given moment yet as the moonlight shines down on the blade, it looked somewhat elegant and antique.
With a loud roar, two young men clad in silver armor rushed up to me. The one closest directly slashed downwards while the one behind ran up to my side to cut off my escape. With a swift kick, the young man flew away with an indented chest dying in a mere second before his slash could land on my chest. The other soldier attempted to pierce me from my side. I parried the attack seamlessly with the short sword in my left hand before piercing his throat accurately with the short sword in my right hand.
After piercing the neck of the unfortunate soldier severing his life, the crude blade on my right hand started to glow with a dark crimson hue. Disregarding the change in my sword, countless other soldiers rushed up to me. Some had swords while some carried axes and hammers but they all came to one conclusion. Only death awaited them.
Several minutes have passed by unnoticed like the fleeting memories of the dead, piles of corpses changed the frozen ashen field into that of a crimson wasteland. As more soldiers died from the blades held tightly within my bloody hands, the curved short swords started to change. The once crude looking blade that seemed as if it would break at any moment started to now change into that of a crimson obsidian. The sharpness of the sword increased by many folds as the blade fed on the blood of these unfortunate soldiers.
In a mere instant, hundreds upon hundreds of corpses littered the once frozen ashen field. Soon after, nearly half of the bloodthirsty soldiers in front of me amounted to nothing but as a filler for the earth. While covered in the baptism of blood under the crimson moonlit ashen field, I stand on top a mountain of corpses looking down on everyone.
BOOM!
Four large men clad in black armor with golden edges appeared from the sky and smashed the ground. After covering my eyes from the dirt and debris, I immediately realized who they were.
"You damn beast.. Today you shall die"
"Do you really think that after all that you've done, we could let you live?"
"I shall repay blood with blood"
"Die!"
These four were the generals under the rebellion faction. In fact, only four of them remained yet I have no way to defeat them this time around.
Dark red residue of threads revolved around their body. Rushing forth, their bodies stomped on the ground and appeared before me in an instant. Relying on my intuition and perception, I managed to defend up to ten slashes but the wounds on my body refrained me from moving for a mere second. Yet within that mere second, they took full advantage of it and sent me flying with one terrifying kick.
I cough out a mouthful of blood as I struggle to stand up. A huge swing of a large axe came down splitting the air into a tidal wave. I grit my teeth and use the two short swords in my hand to defend myself but it was useless. I was sent flying away once more while the two swords in my hand flew elsewhere.
Forcing my consciousness to remain, a soul shattering yet calm voice resounded within my head.
"You have five minutes"
The sound of the voice was both ethereal and mysterious yet I couldn't be more familiar with it. Each word felt as if I was standing in the midst of a blizzard with only my skin as protection.
"I won't thank you"
"I don't seek for your gratitude"
"Then why"
"I have stated this before. I shall forever stay by your side, even in death. The last remaining soul essence I have will grant you five minutes to regain your flana back"
…
I won't feel gratitude. I shall never feel gratitude. After what these four demons did to me, I will never allow myself to feel even a shred of gratitude. I paid the price by selling my soul to the devil but I won't regret it, even in death as I dance in the palm of the devil.
Deep within the sea of my consciousness, the sea of flames turned midnight black. A raging sea of black fire surged forth without any restraint.
BOOOOOOOM!
As one of the generals rushed forth aiming to kill me, the crippled flana once again rushed forth and blazed brilliantly with unrestrained fury. The terrifying demonic black flames surrounded by the blood essence of all of those that I have slain immediately engulfed him and myself. The general did not even have the chance to scream in pain. Instead, he was instantly reduced into nothingness. Not even the filthy ashes of his bones remained.
The rest of the three remaining generals rushed forth as well but once they saw that I have regained my flana, they instantly ran away and fled at full speed.
Crack
Deep within me, my bones started to shatter and restructure itself. My body turned completely pale white while the red mark of the demon curse appeared once more. Jet black scales started to sprout from my limbs and two demonic horns appeared on my head. After changing completely, two large midnight scaled wings sprouted from my back. I flew into the air in an instant and look down on the hordes of army like a tyrannical demon emperor.
BOOOM!
With one casual swipe of my hand, the once crimson ashen field completely vanished. The once heaping pile of corpses disappeared for not even their ash remained. Everything disappeared. The terrain, the ashen field, and even the remaining soldiers all vanished.
I flew to the direction of the rest of the armies and laid waste on all who stood before me. One by one, the countless armies dispersed into a million particles and ceased to exist into nothingness.
After five minutes have passed, the once fog filled grounds of the northern kingdoms of Sayfa has now completely disappeared without any trace as to what it was before. When the five minute mark ended, my body changed back to what it was before while covered in burn marks and crashed down to the ground followed by loud thundering boom. The last remaining soldiers as well as the person who instigated this whole thing came rushing forth.
This is it huh.. End of the road. I stare into the starry skies and can't help but look back into my past yet again. It's finally come to an end. After all that i've been through, all the obstacles that i've forcefully destroyed, I can't help but feel sentimental. The memories I have of the long journey in this world will disappear into nothingness while my body will decompose into this ashen field. I no longer have any worries and regrets now that I'm leaving this world. I've already rendered their whole plans useless and as for the remaining powers within the faction, I'm sure he's more than capable of defeating them now.
I guess.. If there's one regret I have left, it's that I won't be able to say goodbye to him.
It's better this way. Now that his danger has lessened by a great deal, I can finally rest easy and achieve my long yearned for wish.
As I close my eyes, I heard the loud drums of the royal legion and the thunderous march of the golden army. I force myself to look to the side and see someone very dear to me. A young man donned with a golden armor proudly wearing the royal crest came rushing forth. He seemed as brilliant as the sun as he started to ferociously kill anyone who stood against his path. Like the dawn of the summer sun, nothing can stop it from rising. Behind him, the royal legion followed behind and killed the remaining resistance.
"Kazuo!!!"
He roared ferociously and with one swing of his greatsword, thousands of bodies flew everywhere. When he finally came close, he dropped to the ground and cradled me in his arms.
"Your majesty.."
"Don't speak. Your wounds are dire and I need to focus"
"It's pointless. You should know that my flana gates have been long crippled"
"You fool!"
Bang!
The young man smashed the ground in a fit of rage.
"How can you be so damn reckless?!"
"Why did you come your majesty.. It's dangerous here and you might get hurt"
"You've always been like this. Even when your in dire strait, you still disregard your own safety and instead worry about others. Kazuo.. I know everything. The disturbances and turmoil in the upper echelons of the rebellion faction, I know that it was all thanks to you. And now, you even managed to single handedly annihilate their immense power. And all of this is because of me. I know that deep down in your heart, you still blame yourself for what happened to my little sister.."
His face looked incredibly bitter yet his eyes still looked as tepid as the gentle river when his gaze landed on me.
"At the very least.. At your final moments, can we go back to how we used to be? Ever since she left us and I became the king, everything had changed. My once comrade and brother was nowhere to be found. Please Kazuo. Will you call me by name?"
His eyes didn't waver for a burning will looked at me straight in the eyes without faltering. It left me in awe.
"Your majesty Kormakh"
"..."
"..My dear brother James"
Under the star filled skies in the northern kingdoms of Sayfa, the roar of the trembling gale masked the anger, frustration, and grief of a young man who just lost his brother. The legend of the forbidden shadow has finally reached the heavens and the young man cradled in his arms had his consciousness drifted away into an eternal slumber for his life has come to an end. One year later, on the eve of the month when the history changing event took place, a new monumental statue will stand tall in front of the capital center. On this day, all of the citizens of that kingdom will forever remember and celebrate the legacy of this mysterious youth while those hiding in the dark will forever tremble with just the mention of the forbidden shadow that once terrorized the darkness.
Thank you for being the light that guided the way James. After all that you have done for me, I can finally achieve my long, yearned for wish. I can finally apologize to Isabella..
Isabella, I hope that your not mad at me for making you wait all these years.
I'll be there soon.