Tetsuno watched in horror, his katana lying on the ground beside him, as a spectral image of pure black shadow emerged from the trees into the moonlight, but even under the casted light of the moon, the figure was pitch black.
It was like a literal walking void, a black hole made into a physical being. Tetsuno felt as though gravity had increased tenfold, his body being crushed from all directions as a strange vibration ran through his skeleton. What was this? This cold, crushing presence? Was it fear? Or was it something else?
The figure crept closer and closer to Tetsuno, stopping above him. Pale white, gleaming eyes glowered down on him through the shadows that engulfed its body. From the figure then stretched out what seemed to be ghostly talons, shifting about like smoke as they reached for Tetsuno's throat.
Tetsuno felt an extreme sense of horror and dread as the talons grew ever closer, drawing nearer and nearer to his throat, threatening to slice it open. Tetsuno willed with all his strength for his body to move, he screamed at himself internally to get to his feet and run, to pick up his sword and fight, anything, anything other than sitting helplessly as death drew near to him. But it seemed pointless, his body refused to move, it denied his will and sat, frozen and shivering with fear.
A soft hiss sound emitted from the shadowy figure, the first talon softly making contact with Tetsuno's throat, the tip of the knife-like claw sending waves of cold through his body.
Then the second talon made contact.
'Move, damnit!!' Tetsuno screamed at himself in his mind. 'FUCKING MOVE!!!'
The third talon alighted upon his neck, further adding to the cold sense of dread he felt. Then the fourth.
'DAMNIT!!' The memory of his wife ran through his mind, her smile, her hair, her laugh, her eyes, her lush skin.. her corpse.. the flames.. that demon.
The shadowy thumb then came into contact with his throat and as the talons began to sink in, blood spilling down his neck, Tetsuno fell back, rolling backwards and onto his back then onto his feet. His legs bent all the way like a spring which then launched him forward as he grabbed his katana, the blade striking the ground and flames enveloping the rich metal as he swung it through the air at an impossible speed. A wave of flames exploded outwards, blasting into the trees and setting them alight in scarlet light as the katana made a full swing. Then it stopped. The shadowy figure stood still now, the blade's edge struggling against the side of its neck, unable to cut through. It was as though the being were covered head to toe in impenetrable armor.
Tetsuno leapt away, creating distance between him and the being. Even though he now stood and was moving, holding his sword in his sweating palms, he didn't feel it. He still felt numb, cold and frozen, as if he were still entranced in fear on the ground, at the mercy of the thing before him. He could feel, with dread, droplets of blood running down his throat and into his clothes. He needed to snap out of it. He bit his lip, puncturing it and causing blood to spill onto his tongue, the pain waking him up. He could slowly feel his body once more as he began to lose that numb feeling. But the fear stayed. He couldn't shake this sense of terror that gripped at his heart.
"You stand before me, sword drawn, yet you shiver with dread." The being hissed. "I commend you for your bravery, but is bravery really enough to get you to your goals?"
"W-what?" Tetsuno stuttered. "Who the hell are you..? What do you want.."
"My name is not of your concern. Not yet." The being spoke. "Just know you are of the selected. This is your test."
"S-selected? What?"
"It does not matter, not now." The being suddenly faded away into the shadows. Then Tetsuno felt a soft hiss behind him and he spun, but not fast enough, as he felt his ribs shatter when something crashed into his body and sent him flying, his lower body slamming into a tree and sending him spinning to the dirt.
Tetsuno, his arms shaking from the pain mixed with the adrenaline of fear, struggled to get up. He lifted himself off the ground and hunched over as he coughed spurts of blood from his mouth.
"I pitty you." The being said. "Your potential is undeniable, seeing as you were able to move even under my pressure. But your mortality is holding you down, it keeps you away from the power you seek. No matter how far you go, how long you chase it, even if you spent your entire moral life chasing the power you seek, you will never achieve it. Simply because you are a mortal."
"My… mortality.?" Tetsuno echoed, staring at his own blood as it soaked into the dirt he lay on. He realized then that the sense of fear he had.. it was not the fear of some being or demon. It was simply the fear of death, the knowledge that he could die at any time. That fear was what drove him to freeze, what stopped him in his tracks, what kept him from realizing his vision.
"You desire power, do you not? You desire vengeance?" The being hissed as it approached him.
Tetsuno imagined what it would be like if he were immortal, if every wound he received healed instantly.. he would fear nothing.. blood would pool around him, he'd be swimming in the crimson sea of corpses laid out by his blade.
He grit his teeth and rose to his feet, turning his eyes to the being before him. He stood, his body in pain and broken. He stood at an awkward angle, his legs bent while he leaned to one side and his head hung limp to the other side. His cold dead eyes glared at the shadowy figure, the fear in them now gone, replaced by rage and desire, a desire for vengeance, a hunger for power.
A ghastly laugh emitted from the being. As it watch Tetsuno stand.
"That hatred in your eyes… that thirst.. that's what I've been looking for. You will do perfectly… my Incarnation of War." The being spoke.
Tetsuno's eyes were cold and calculating. He shifted his foot forward, his movements completely silent now. Then he exploded forward, his flaming sword swinging a wide arc for the shadowy figure, who simply rose his arm to block. To the being's surprise, the blade's trajectory instantly shifted, as if it had vanished and teleported to another place, a new direction. He watch Tetsuno move and saw that the movement had been in his wrist, he'd shifted the blade at an almost impossible speed and instantly changed its path of swing while still keeping its force. The sword of scarlet flames cut cleanly down the figure's middle, splitting the shadows and revealing what hid beneath. Tetsuno's eyes widened when he saw the being beneath the darkness and he backed away, weary now, as he realized just who he was facing.
"You…are.." Tetsuno spoke, a loss for words.
The being laughed. "Yes. My name… is Azazel, and I have selected…" the demon vanished suddenly and then the shadows behind Tetsuno shifted as a cold talon touched Tetsuno's forehead.
"You."
A sharp pain ran through Tetsuno's mind as a cold feeling like shards of ice cutting across his skin ran through his frame. The next moment he collapsed to his knees, unconscious as everything went dark.
•
•
•
"Abeza!" Came a voice, distant, yet close. It was like an echo inside a long, dark cave. "Abeza! Wake up!"
Slowly, groggy and tired, Tetsuno's eyes opened and he was blinded by the light of the sun as it rose into the sky. It was early morning and his clothes were soaked with precipitation. He lifted his head and looked to see the path carved out by… Azazel.. he felt his ribs. A sharp pain ran through his side. It was real. It had really happened. He had actually met the Demon Lord.. what did he mean by selected..? Tetsuno remembered the last thing that happened before he passed out. Azazel spoken about Tetsuno being a "selected" and then touched a talon to his forehead. Did the demon mark him or something?
"There you are. You alright? I was worried." Tetsuno turned to see Kedo kneeling down beside him.
"I.. I'm fine." Tetsuno spoke, trying to lean up, but a stinging pain shot through his body, causing him to drop back to the ground.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Kedo asked.
"My ribs are shattered.. other than that I am just fine." Tetsuno groaned. "As for what happened…" he debated actually telling the boy what had happened, but decided otherwise, as he himself wasn't really certain. "The Golden Sin jumped me and had more strength than I realized. I don't know how but they had the ability to use magic, I imagine it was a blessing from their demon leader." It was a far fetched lie, he'd never heard of demons giving humans power, but it was also not something that could be proven or disproven.
"Really? They had enough power to do THAT?" Kedo looked at the path of destroyed trees in awe.
"Yes.." Tetsuno didn't enjoy lying, but at the moment he felt it was the best thing to do.
A rustling came from the side of them and Kedo turned, Tetsuno following his gaze, as Birgin emerged from behind a tree. "Golden Sin, hmm? I never imagined they had the capability to do this." The old man turned knowing eyes to Tetsuno.
The geezer knew Tetsuno was lying. He was certain of it, but he appreciated that Birgin didn't push he subject.
"The corpses I passed earlier we're your work then?" He asked.
"Yeah." Tetsuno answered. "In realized that if I don't kill them they will just keep coming. I also believe we should kill Zelden and his men as well, after we get any information that we can out of them."
"Kill them huh…" Kedo echoed, glancing at Tetsuno's sword which sat, unsheathed, on the ground a couple feet away. "You really think that's what we should do?"
"To kill an animal needlessly is a sin, to kill an animal for food is survival." Birgin spoke.
"Exactly. If we don't kill them, they will just come back and they will kill you." Tetsuno agreed with Birgin's analogy. "We shall do as we must." He rose to his feet, a slight limp and a grimace of pain. He was about to collapse but Kedo came and held him up.
"Alright. If we must, then we will kill them all." The boy said, a determination in his eyes. The fire that Tetsuno saw in the boy's spirit inspired him that day. He'd almost forgotten what it meant to strive for something, what it meant to have a purpose.