I've watched movies featuring Shaolin, Kung-fu, Taekwondo, and other martial arts that I don't know much about. They all look amazing. Despite the fact that they are not very realistic.
Oh! My father, on the other hand, practices kendo. It's a traditional Japanese sword-fighting art that requires discipline and skill.
Kazu, out.
◇
Epic history is often portrayed in a heroic style. Some even glorify it. Maybe because it sounds cool, but I doubt the person in the middle of an epic battle would see it that way.
Not all of us, at least.
I'm standing in the center of a colossal crater that spans for hundreds of kilometers. With a single attack, I wiped out all of my enemies around me. In a flash, the entire landscape was leveled. The smoke drifted in the wind, indicating that something had happened. The enemy's presence was gone; total annihilation.
That was what I intended to say, but reality was far from that.
My feet felt weak, forcing me to kneel slowly on the ground. The wind had brought smoke to my location, causing me to cough up dust. My hand reached for my tightening chest.
The smoke passed by and vanished, leaving me messed up. My face was filled with tears as a reaction to reaching for a little bit of fresh air. Raped? It's more than that, I was violated from the inside out. I can still feel the agony in my chest. I laid my hands on the floor, resembling the Orz posture.
I stared blankly at the ground, feeling hopeless and defeated. There was no reason for me to continue anymore.
"Please… could someone please put an end to this?" I screamed. "Kill me!!!"
I yelled, but only the wind responded, making a laugh-like sound when it's raging. I have been mocked.
The sun reached the horizon, creating a cold atmosphere and a sorrowful sensation.
Darkness enveloped me.
◇
I wasn't sure how many hours I had spent like that. I felt a chill run down my spine as I saw red blazing dots in the darkness; they were staring at me with a piercing gaze.
I had been surrounded. I considered using my phone to end it all. It could go nuclear, creating a massive explosion. But what was the point? I felt helpless and hopeless.
I slowly stood up and took a step forward. I spread my hands, urging them to come.
"What are you waiting for?" I shouted. "Come!"
As I yelled, one of them took the opportunity to bite my arm. I stumbled and fell, but my right hand was nowhere to be found. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, they pounced on me one by one.
They ripped my flesh apart, tearing my internal organs as if they were hungry for a feast. They devoured my liver, as if it was a delicacy.
I felt it all, all that pain. It was unbearable, but I couldn't die. I was immortal, cursed to live forever in this hell.
I didn't care what they did to me. Everything seemed to slow down, and my thoughts seemed to vanish. But every now and then, a memory would surface, usually a nasty one, but sometimes a happy one. I just let it pass by.
I was content with my life; I had lived it on Earth, and I had no regrets. I may not have finished most, but that was okay with me.
◇
I smelled something horrible and grasped and sought for something until I saw the sky. I had been buried behind a mountain of flesh. There were dead creatures around, and several fierce-looking birds were gnawing at them.
But I gasped in shock when I saw the enormous beasts looming over me. My resurrection did not cause their injuries. They preyed on each other, so I wasn't the only prey. It seemed that a battle royale had taken place in a single night. Very absurd.
I flicked my phone in my pocket, causing a big explosion that extinguished all the corpses and evidence that a monster's feast had taken place here.
I walked away, still feeling the heat of the fire on my back. I left behind a tremendous cloud of smoke that rose from the massive explosion.
If you looked into my eyes, you would see lifeless eyes staring at you blankly.
◇
I find myself in a vast forest, facing a tiger with strange markings on its fur. It glares at me with predatory eyes.
I have barely set foot in this place and I have already met a monster. What a stroke of luck.
It growls lowly and waits for a chance to strike. I do not flinch when it leaps at me.
Instead, I punch its neck with my fist as it is in midair. I force it to change its course and land clumsily, but its claw grazes my shoulder in the process.
I stand my ground, ready for its next move. It charges at me with a faster sprint after letting out an angry roar.
ROOOOAAAARRRR!!!
It is too fast to dodge. I let it sink its teeth into my shoulder as the tiger drags me down to the ground. I can feel its fangs digging into my bones as it clenches its jaw.
I try to punch it, but its paw pins my chest and I cannot reach it at all.
I grope for something. I feel a branch and stab it into the tiger. It snarls and bites harder. But as I keep stabbing it, I notice its grip loosening.
Even though the tiger is dead, I keep stabbing it. I grin from ear to ear. This is wonderful. This is wonderful. Hahahahha.
Killing is not half bad at all; I could do it all day. The tension, the sense of victory and dominance. I have never felt anything like this before.
I may not have a reason to live, but I have discovered something to enjoy.
I can't stop laughing. This is the first time I have laughed wholeheartedly since I arrived in this world.
Truly satisfying.
After I finish laughing, I still grip the branch and stab it into my chest. My face twitches, but then I feel refreshed. I don't even fall; it seems that the resurrection happens quickly after I die, maybe within a second or two.
I notice a change in myself. And I somehow like it.
If you look into my eyes, you will no longer see lifeless blank eyes. Instead, a piercing gaze, not to mention a wide grin on my face.
It's time to find my new prey.