A Village in Ruin
The sun was setting, casting an eerie red glow over the devastated landscape. Rodrick, now known as the Silent Knight, approached a village that had been reported as the latest target of a brutal rebel faction. The sight that greeted him was one of unspeakable horror. Houses were reduced to smouldering ruins, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of burning wood and flesh.
As he walked through the carnage, his heart sank. Bodies were strewn everywhere—men, women, and children, all slaughtered mercilessly. He moved with a heavy heart, his eyes scanning for any signs of life. It was then he heard the faintest sound of crying. Following the sound, Rodrick reached a heap of bodies piled high. With great effort, he began to move the corpses, his hands shaking with a mixture of rage and sorrow.
The Children
Beneath the mound of death, Rodrick found five children, huddled together, their faces streaked with tears and dirt. They were crying over the lifeless bodies of their parents and siblings, their small frames shivering with fear and grief. The sight of these young lives shattered by such brutality caused the ground to slip from under Rodrick's feet.
The children, in their despair, looked up at Rodrick with hollow eyes. They were terrified, their minds unable to process the horror they had witnessed. The oldest, a boy no more than ten, clutched a blood-stained toy, his knuckles white with the grip of desperation.
Rodrick's heart ached, but he knew he had to act quickly. "You're safe now," he whispered, though he knew the words were hollow in the face of such loss. He carefully lifted each child from the carnage, carrying them away from the scene of death and destruction.
The Decision
For days, Rodrick cared for the children, providing them with food, shelter, and comfort. But their trauma ran deep. Night after night, they awoke screaming, reliving the massacre in their nightmares. During the day, they were silent and withdrawn, their eyes reflecting a pain that no child should ever endure.
The eldest boy, who had introduced himself as Akasha, was the most affected. He rarely spoke, and when he did, it was only to express a desire to join his family in death. The other children followed suit, each attempting to harm themselves in their despair. Rodrick was at his wit's end, his heart breaking a little more each time he had to stop them from ending their lives.
One night, as he sat by the fire, watching over the children, a thought struck him. It was a dark and desperate thought, born of a man who had seen too much suffering and was willing to do anything to save these children from themselves. He remembered the ancient and forbidden art of Eurothis, a technique that could strip a person of their emotions, turning them into living ghosts.
The Art of Eurothis
Rodrick hesitated, knowing the irreversible consequences of such an action. But seeing the children's continued suffering, he steeled himself. If their emotions were causing them such unbearable pain, then perhaps, cruel as it seemed, taking those emotions away was the only way to save them.
That night, Rodrick performed the ritual. The art of Erothis was an ancient practice, lost to time and known only to a few. It required great precision and a strong will. As he invoked the ancient incantations, a pale, ethereal light surrounded the children. They remained still, their eyes vacant as if in a trance.
When the ritual was complete, the transformation was immediate. The children, now devoid of their pain, looked at Rodrick with calm, emotionless eyes. They were no longer driven by despair but by a new sense of purpose that Rodrick had implanted within them. They were now his Ghosts, perfect agents of stealth and intelligence.
The Training
The children, now the Dead Squad, underwent rigorous training under Rodrick's watchful eye. They were taught the arts of stealth, intelligence gathering, and silent assassination. Their movements became fluid and precise, their minds sharp and focused. The absence of emotion made them unparalleled in their efficiency, able to carry out the most dangerous missions without hesitation or fear.
Akasha, His once desperate eyes were now cold and calculating. He mastered the stealth techniques with an uncanny ease, becoming Rodrick's most trusted agent. The other children followed his lead, forming a bond that went beyond mere companionship; they were a unit, perfectly synchronized and deadly.
The First Mission
Their first mission came swiftly. A group of rebel leaders, responsible for the massacre of the children's village, had taken refuge in a fortified camp deep in the mountains. Rodrick sent the Ghosts to eliminate them. The journey was long and perilous, but the dead squad moved with a silent efficiency that made them undetectable.
As they approached the camp under the cover of darkness, Akasha signalled the others to spread out. They moved like shadows, slipping past guards and avoiding traps with ease. One by one, they infiltrated the enemy stronghold, their targets unaware of the danger lurking within their midst.
Akasha reached the main tent, where the leaders were gathered, discussing their next attack. He slipped inside, his presence unnoticed. With a swift and silent motion, he dispatched the first rebel, his blade cutting through the air with lethal precision. The others followed suit, their movements synchronized and deadly. Within minutes, the camp was silent, the leaders of the massacre lying lifeless on the ground.
The Ghosts' Purpose
The success of their first mission solidified the dead squad's purpose. They became Rodrick's elite intelligence unit, carrying out missions that required absolute discretion and precision. They gathered information, eliminated key targets, and disrupted enemy operations with a cold, calculated efficiency.
But beneath their emotionless exterior, a faint memory of their past remained, a ghost of the lives they once had. Akasha, in particular, felt a deep, unspoken bond with Rodrick. Despite his transformation, he saw Rodrick not just as a master but as a father figure, the only one who had given him and the others a reason to live.
The Cost of Survival
The transformation had saved the children from their despair, but it had come at a great cost. They were no longer the innocent children Rodrick had found in the village; they were now tools of war, their emotions stripped away to make them efficient killers. Rodrick often wondered if he had done the right thing and if saving their lives had been worth the price of their humanity.
As the years passed, the Ghosts continued to serve Rodrick with unwavering loyalty. Their reputation grew, and they became known as the Dead Squad, unknown to the world.
Akasha's Pain
Despite their success, a part of Akasha yearned for something more. The faint memories of his past haunted him, a ghost of the life he had lost. He often found himself gazing at the stars, wondering what his life would have been like if the massacre had never happened. But those thoughts were fleeting, quickly replaced by the cold logic that had become his new reality.
Rodrick noticed the change in Akasha, the flicker of humanity that still lingered within him. He knew that the boy he had saved was still there, buried beneath the layers of emotionless detachment. But he also knew that there was no going back. The art of Eurothis was irreversible, and the children he had saved could never return to the lives they once had.