A lone figure lay, kneeling In the midst of a sea of bodies. The figure seemed to snap out of his daze and scanned his surroundings. After a minute, the figure stood up, swaying to the side, unbothered by the mountains of corpses. A broken sword was held in his hand, which he promptly threw aside. The figure gazed at the stars, his figure illuminated by the night sky.
Upon closer inspection, one could tell the figure was a man. He merely wore rags for pants, and the rest of his suit was tattered, revealing his toned body.
The figure's face was concealed by an onyx mask, with its eyes resembling an endless abyss which could swallow one whole. Intricate carvings covered the mask, constantly moving along, resembling a river.
"No, no, no, no, not yet. I-I still have too much to do," he uttered beneath his mask
An utter sense of dread overcame him. He had failed.
He was the last one alive, his comrades and enemies now lifeless corpses. The people he had grown so close to, shared so many memories with and even trusted now lay dead, making him wonder if they had ever even been alive to begin with. All of his hard work had been wasted!
He began strolling the now silent battlefield. While scanning the area, his face grew somber. Such war and carnage for no reason!
The scent of metal hanging heavy in the air, along with the countless spears, swords, gauntlets and other weapons littered on the ground, reminded him of how many lives had to be lost without any good cause.
The damage had been done, and he could no longer undo it.
Soon, the figure halted. Before him lay a group of young men and women, revealed by the moonlight. Three of them caught his attention.
A man with auburn hair flowing down his neck to the ground beneath. His once lustrous eyes are now hollow and fading. His well-built body was riddled with cuts and bruises, and his right arm detached a couple of meters away.
A tall, muscular man with tanned skin and dark circles still visible underneath his eyes. His blond buzz cut made him look like an egg. He wasn't in any better condition compared to the previous corpse.
Finally, a woman with snow-white hair cascading down to her waist. She was slender, with no visible muscle, her eyes still holding a faint glimmer of radiance, a shell of its former glory.
"I'm sorry I have to do this. I want you to keep living in peace, but I must pass on the torch. Everyone, forgive me for what I'm about to unleash upon this god-forsaken world," the figure sighed, reminiscing about the times he spent in this world.
His face turned solemn, without a trace of ever being downcast. He sighed, bringing up two of his fingers to the right side of his chest.
After a deep breath, he muttered, "None of us wanted this because we couldn't see the path you would follow. We knew you would succeed, but we feared the cost may be too great for the strings to bear. I won't give you advice or tell you to remain on the right path. From what little I know about you, it would fall on deaf ears."
The figure pondered for the last moments of his life. He had failed miserably. His life had amounted to nothing, and what's worse, he would be forced to leave this world in the hands of a demon.
With those last thoughts, his lifeless body fell forward without any visible cause of death.
The battle was left with no victor.
***
I quietly creaked open the door, trying to avoid making any noise. I stepped through the doorframe, being careful not to trip in my drunken stupor.
The house was dead silent, and the lights were off. I gazed at the dark hallway before me; it felt unsettlingly foreign. I quickly shook off those thoughts and stumbled up the stairs, making sure to tip-toe. The occasional creaking of the floorboards made me flinch and nearly fall over, but I continued moving towards my room.
You must be wondering who's this drunken fool. Well, name's Edward Munton, and I am drunk at the moment. I just came from a party, and I'm trying not to wake up my parents. They were used to me coming home late, but I still didn't want to bother them.
Nobody likes being woken up in the middle of the night by their drunk, alcoholic son sneaking in after a party.
After climbing the rest of the stairs and crossing the hallway, I made it to my room while only almost knocking over three vases!
That was a new record.
I entered my room and carefully looked at the mess I had left everywhere. Cups and dishes were lying around. My bed was still undone, and all my clothes were scattered across the floor.
"Guess I should do something about this mess...Nah, future me problem."
It was late anyway, and since I would probably struggle sitting straight, I decided to leave it for tomorrow.
I collapsed onto the bed, letting the sweet embrace of sleep overtake my body. As my eyes slowly fell shut, I couldn't help but notice hazy, dark silhouettes moving around in my vision. I could hear muffled talking, sometimes shouting. The figures kept changing, along with the voices, until it was all one big cacophony of random sounds.
Soon, I fell into a slumber, and it all disappeared. My body started feeling light at some point, and all my senses started fading. I felt myself disconnect from my body. It was no longer there. In fact, nothing was.
I felt like I was floating, and at the same time, I felt absolutely nothing. Is this what it means to not exist?
I honestly wasn't really sure what to make of this. I'm probably dead right now. I can tell. I've never felt this at peace with everything, as if nothing matters. All of my problems are so insignificant. I could just let go of it all. It felt euphoric.
My life had always felt hollow, but now I could just forget it all.
I couldn't relish that feeling for too long, however. Of course, why would I be able to enjoy myself properly for once?
After a while, I felt some mysterious pull tugging at me. It felt like I had no choice but to oblige, so I let the pull drag my non-existent body.
I was pulled for an undeterminable amount of time. It felt like centuries passed, yet, at the same time, a couple of seconds. I had no sense of time wherever I was. I couldn't understand anything. Not to mention the lack of all of my other senses. I literally felt nothing.
At some point, I felt the mysterious pull disappear. My senses slowly started returning to me.
Soon, I could feel myself lying on a comfortable mattress. My eyes fluttered open slowly, and I looked around. I was in an unfamiliar room, with expensive furniture everywhere. Everything was lined in silver or gold, giving the room an over-the-top feel.
"Where the hell am I!?"
Still dazed and confused, I got up. I noticed I was much smaller than before. I looked down at my body and saw I was as skinny as a stick. My hands were small and I was a lot shorter than before. My skin was deathly pale, and my entire body felt heavy.
And I was hungry too. It felt like I hadn't eaten in days
Was my hangover that bad!? Okay, I'm only joking. Even I can tell wherever I am is real. I was very much awake, if not a little tired, but that was it.
I slowly climbed out of bed and scanned my room more thoroughly.
Among other extravagant pieces of furniture, I soon noticed a massive mirror. Its frame was made of gold, and carvings covered its surface.
"If nothing else screams rich here, that'll do the trick."
It stood out in the room for two reasons: when I say massive, I mean MASSIVE. It covered an entire chunk of the wall. The other reason was that it seemed to be the most expensive item in the entire room.
How did I know? Well uhh... I just did, okay? I have a good eye for these things for no particular reason.
I slowly wobbled my way towards the mirror, intending to take a look at myself. I was quite sure I was no longer in my own body.
It hadn't fully dawned upon me yet, but I still felt that was the case. It was the most logical conclusion I could reach, given the circumstances.
I stood in front of the mirror, staring into my reflection.
There stood a short boy with pale skin. He had neck-length, messy silver hair. The boy still looked handsome, even with undeveloped facial features and sunken cheeks. His golden eyes, which felt like they could pierce one's soul, shone with a bright radiance.
Yeah, that's definitely my new body. I should be panicking and all, but I don't feel it for some reason. Instead, all I can look at is how handsome I am! Like damn, look at me! I couldn't see anybody rivalling me in that department if I didn't look like a twig.
In the middle of my thoughts, a sudden pain pierced my entire being. A surge of memories flowed into my head, causing me to fall to my knees and grasp at my hair. The pain was unbearable.
The memories of this body's previous owner were flowing into my head. In a couple of moments, years worth of memories flooded my mind, so my reaction was natural. Taking in all the emotions, experiences, traumas, and memories of another person all at once is painful, surprisingly.
As the pain subsided, I was left with an out-of-place smirk and a single thought.
"I am Reko Starbreak!"