"When heroes aren't killed...they become slaves..."
"Or worse…death is nothing in comparison…"
The words echoed through his head as the memories of his past life played like a movie. His hands shook slightly as he tried to steady himself as he stood in the middle of the abandoned, abandoned field. He was alone now. The others had been taken to their final resting places and he was now here.
Shiro wore a blue and white samurai suit holding an icy cold blade in hand with a deep red cape that flowed behind him. On his chest he wore the symbol for his clan. A black, swirling sword surrounded by stars with two crescent moons at each side.
He turned around only to be met with a woman's gaze. He didn't know who it was at first but soon his eyes fell upon her.
in the midst of war her blade smeared with blood. Her eyes stared directly ahead without seeing anything but a blank screen, completely devoid of all emotion. Her face was covered with so much blood it looked like she'd been attacked several times by multiple attackers all at once. One eye was half open and a small trickle of blood ran down her temple and dripped from her chin.
She looked dead...she is known as Aleen the conqueror.
They stood in a graveyard of bodies and sword that stood up right in the dirt below them with the smell of iron blood clinging on to Shiro's hair. It stung his nose and clogged his throat making him cough slightly.
Tears filled his eyes as he reached out his hand to grab the limp body, feeling how cold she was. Her clothes were ripped and stained in a variety of colors making it difficult to tell what they were originally made of.
It seemed that even the strongest armor has its limits as one could still feel the chill radiating off of her body.
"Did you kill these people?" Shiro asked. "Why are they here?"
The woman said nothing as she continued staring ahead motionless.
His eyes flickered over to her arm only to see a huge gash running across the surface, blood seeping through the fabric and staining the ground beneath.
"Please answer me," he pleaded, "Do you not understand me?!"
His voice wavered with grief, desperation, fear, anger, and a whole host of other emotions all mixed into one.
The woman finally spoke her eyes locking onto his. She opened her mouth then closed it again, trying to form a coherent sentence.
"And what if I did?" She smiled.
Shiro froze.
She was proud of what she had done! Of course she was! How many people in this world would have been able to stand tall while facing death with pride?
Shiro felt his heart drop as he saw the gleam of victory shining in her golden irises.
The woman knew he was asking about why they were here! She knew he wasn't going to get any more answers until she gave them! She wanted him to beg! To plead! To cry! Anything to make it stop! She had already won!
"What does it matter?" She continued. "This is just another game!"
Her grip tightened on her weapon causing the edge to bite deeper into her palms. The blade began to tremble.
She charged at Shiro with rage in her eyes and a smile on her lips.
He didn't know what possessed him at first, maybe the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Maybe the shock. Whatever it was, his instincts took over and without thinking he raised the tip of his blade to block the strike of hers.
There was a brief moment where their weapons crossed before the blade snapped apart. The sound of metal hitting stone echoed throughout the silent graveyard as the blade shattered into pieces.
Blood flew out from the wound on her hand as both their arms hung limply at their sides. Silence blanketed the space between them as they both stared at the broken blade in horror. Blood spilled from the wound and stained the ground around them red.
Shiro couldn't remember ever having seen such an intense expression on someone else's face before but as he held the woman's gaze, he couldn't help but notice that she looked exactly like him.
She looked just as terrified as he did at that exact moment.She slowly lowered her left hand to the ground as the blood continued to pour from the wound on her palm. She winced in pain as she clenched her teeth tightly.
Aleen took a step forward but stumbled forward before falling back onto her knees. With her hand pressed against the earth, she let out a scream that shook the air around them causing the leaves on the trees above to rustle.
Shiro jumped back in surprise.
The sound startled him so bad that he dropped his sword in the process. He immediately picked it back up only to see it lying face down in the grass.
A look of disappointment washed over his face as he placed the hilt of his sword on the ground. Suddenly, her head snapped up and her golden eyes locked onto Shiro. There was something different about her eyes this time.
They no longer glowed with a fiery light like they usually did, instead they looked dull, empty.
A chill ran through Shiro as he heard her growl.
Her eyes hypnotized Shiro dragging him into her depths.
'I don't want to kill you,' she muttered. 'But you're blocking my path.'
Her words caused Shiro's heart to skip a beat. He could feel the familiar sensation of dread creeping up inside him as he watched the woman take another step towards him.
Without warning she launched herself at him.
The force of her attack sent them flying back several feet. Shiro's back slammed into a tree trunk sending a jolt through his body. He groaned in pain.
As he struggled to regain his breath he felt a weight shift next to him. Looking down he saw a massive pair of glowing red eyes staring straight back at him.
In an instant she had crawled on top of him pinning him to the ground as she raised her left hand above her head.
Shiro tried desperately to get free, but his attempts only served to increase her strength.
"You will forever be mine..." She whispered.
Before he could process what had happened, she had plunged her hand into his chest.
'No...NO!'
Pain overwhelmed him, tearing through his entire being as the knife embedded itself further into his body. He felt the cold steel press against his flesh forcing him to gasp for air. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably and his body started shaking violently.
The pain was unbearable. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he desperately fought to keep his consciousness as she dug deeper.