Hearing the voice jolted him into reality. He sat up, looking around, blurry vision slowly receding. Valcroy looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Somewhere in his mind, he was hoping his mother would be with him, but the other part was nervous about it.
Something bad might happen if she came here, and he didn't want to experience that feeling. Just the thought of that made him shudder. He shook his head, blade still clenched in his hand, as he stood up, using the blade as a cudgel.
After standing up properly, he looked around once more. His strained eyebrows slowly loosened as he heaved a sigh of relief and disappointment? He felt relieved that she was not here, just a voice in his mind, but disappointed over why she was not here.
But soon he suppressed those thoughts and started walking. The thing that was calling him, one that resonated with him from time to time, not letting him die, was near, he could feel it.
He walked slowly and vigilantly. His eyes narrowed, this Valcroy felt a little different from the Valcroy who ran away when he saw the 5-meter tall monster or the colossus monster in the sky.
Something was slowly influencing him, helping him remain calm and vigilant as he treaded the dangerous path in this world. It was like the body felt the soul a little incompetent and was slowly training it by dampening its senses, making him less sensitive to the visual-rich world around him. The only thing that was still in hyper mode was instincts.
Valcroy walked and walked, kept doing so for hours. Other than corpses that littered the ground and a blade that was sucking the world from its crimson, nothing was new. He checked what was going on with the blade and found…. nothing.
Other than being thirsty for blood and a less rust covered filled from before, it did nothing. He felt it was not a blade, but a bottomless well that showed no signs of being full. The language on it was a mystery as well, but then again, nothing. He couldn't read it and, other than symbols/alphabets/runes glowing, not a single thing.
The only thing that was weird was the feeling he would get the moment he decides or even think about letting go of the blade. His danger radar, instincts, acting violently like the world would end if he let go of the blade. He didn't want to get that dreaded feeling again, so he held on to it tightly.
After walking for hours, he could finally see it.
"It's small."
The light that was bigger from the distance started decreasing in size the closer he got to it. His eyebrows scrunched when he looked at it, trying to make sense of it, but alas, then he remembered the place he was in, nothing made sense here.
Clang*
As he walked toward it, focused on the source, a clanging sound, faint but it was there, sounded. At first, he didn't pay attention to it, showcasing that he was still getting easily distracted and dropping his guard, but soon he was brought out of his daze as the sound intensity increased.
Clang*
Clang*
The closer he got, the clearer the sound became until he could hear where that sound was coming from and that made his heart sink when he looked at the ongoing spectacle. He looked around for a hiding spot and found one, a pile, he hide behind and became a spectator.
The things or the humans, maybe not anymore, whatever they were, were engaged in a heated onslaught against each other. They resembled shriveled corpses, skin attached to the bones like any more stretch and it'll rip. Eye sockets were hollow, no eyeballs in them, same for the nose, only two holes were present, maybe they were not human. They had broken and tattered clothes/armors protected themselves from the adversary as the swords, broken too, cut them down.
It was battle royale, one versus the world, and this messy battle went on….
Ahh* Huu*
These sounds, apart from the clash of weapons and armor, came from the creatures. They howled in low voices, possibly involuntarily, as they fought.
Valcroy watched as these zombie-like creatures killed each other. After a while, he turned his attention back to the source of light.
It was bright, making him unable to discern what it was. The only thing he noticed about it was descending. The more people remaining here lessened, the lower it got.
He kept his eye on the source to see if that was true and found it was and finally…
Rippp* Thud*
A ripping voice, followed by a body falling, appeared, making Valcroy turn. Only one person was standing. He was missing an arm, the other dangling, with an axe embedded in the shoulder of the dangling arm. Everything about him was broken, he would die any moment now, but he didn't pay attention to it, his head was arched up, looking at the source of light that was in his arms reach, but he could raise it to reach it.
Humm*
Valcroy felt the resonance again, meaning the source of light was the one calling out to him. He looked at it with raised eyebrows, feeling an unexpected urge.
'I need to get that.'
He didn't know where this sudden desire came from. Just hours ago, he only wanted to survive and leave this forsaken place, but now he felt compelled to take the source, but he himself didn't know why he wanted to do that.
He surveyed the area for any signs of danger, especially the monster from before. Seeing that the light was almost within the other person's reach, he gripped the blade tightly and crouched, creeping closer to the person, slowly, to not spook him or himself.
The zombie-person didn't move one inch, oblivious of Valcroy, still looking, if one can do that without eyes, at the source that was getting closer.
Valcroy closed the distance until his instincts warned him he was too close. He stood up, gripping the blade with both hands over the hilt, though hiltless, had enough space for two hands, preparing for a decisive move. He took a deep breath, stabilizing himself and eliminating his nervousness, like he was trained for this very moment. Val raised the blade above and behind his right shoulder and lunged forward, striking diagonally.
Crrr* Grrr*
The blade cut diagonally from the shoulder to the left waist, but then it stopped. Valcroy was dazed, as his intended strike to the neck didn't flow as planned, his body didn't flow what he was thinking about doing.
The person let out a slow growl and attempted to turn, but couldn't. First, he was almost cleaved diagonally and both his body parts were still separate as Valcroy could see his shriveled heart and other organs from that slash, how the other person was still alive was a miracle, strange. Second, because the sword got stuck at the edge of his vertebrae, the daze affected the strength behind the strike. Valcroy was still clenching it, so the zombie-person couldn't turn around.
Huuu*
The low howl of the person jolted Valcroy out of his dreamland and he gripped the blade even harder, bleeding himself because of the blade being without a cover for the hilt. He pushed with every ounce of strength he could muster, his eyebrows scrunched tightly, muscles tense as he let out a cry…
Awww*
Swish*
With it, the sword moved and cut the zombie-person down.
Thud* Thud*
Two body parts hit the ground, making the blood puddle on the splashing a little.
Thud*
Valcroy also fell on the ground as he let out loud gasps, looking at the person whose head was now toward him, like he was staring at him, at his very own soul, asking a question, why?
"S…sorry."
Valcroy uttered as he looked at the person and kept repeating for a while, a nauseating feeling emerged from within, he hurriedly turned around and emptied whatever remained in his stomach.
Cough* Cough*
He coughed vehemently, hands on the ground, one still clinging to the blade while the other was over his bursting chest. These violent coughs were affecting his every organ.
Huuu*
After coughing until his throat felt sore, almost on the brink of coughing out blood, he stopped and took long breaths, eyes closed, trying to regain control.
Huu*
Taking one last deep breath, he opened his eyes, still tense, and looked around for any signs of danger. Seeing none, his shoulders relaxed slightly, though he remained on guard. The person he killed also let down his guard, and he was looking at the result.
"Sorry."
He walked over to the fallen figure and apologized one last time. This was the first time he killed someone. He trembled, as if a severe cold had taken hold. If not for the body tanking most of the damage, His innocent mind would have been paralyzed.
He opened his mouth, then closed again. No matter how much he apologized to him, it wouldn't change the fact that he killed him.
The trembling increased as the shock began affecting his soul. He fell to his knees, feeling helpless, just as the impact of it all was about to overwhelm him.
Humm*
The source resonated with him, drawing his attention. It approached him slowly. It was just a little away from his chest. For the first time since he had held the blade, he let it go. Strangely, the blade floated beside him, as if observing a spectator who was devouring everything, while watching everything.
Valcroy brought both hands forward and cupped the source in his hands, and for the first time, he saw what it was, a warmth he was looking for. He closed his hands around the ember and brought it close to his chest. Everything got blurry as he lost consciousness, his hand on his chest, the ember in his grasp, and the sword floating nearby, forming a vortex around itself as it devoured the blood from the battlefield. He sat there in that strange pose, hands on chest, head down, knees touching the ground.
Good thing he was unconscious because the gargantuan monster from before appeared in the sky once more, as well as the 5-meter tall monster, who was now standing at the distance, looking at Valcroy, growling.
This was just the beginning as a strange being, fully covered with black clothes, from head to toe appeared in and out, like staying in this plane was too much, for the plane.
The ground started trembling, more and more monsters appeared, each one more unique, some more grotesque than others.
They had Valcroy surrounded. As more monsters appeared, the space trembled.
Screech*
The veil of reality screamed as a rift appeared, welcoming the pitch-black darkness from the other side. All the monsters stepped back, except those who remained focused solely on Valcroy. They didn't even bat it an eye as their focus was wholly on Valcroy.
Figures emerged, covered in cloaks from head to toe, obscuring everything about them, from the darkness, one after another, surrounding Valcroy as if he were a unique artifact in a museum. After the last figure walked out, the rift in reality closed, leaving the world in silence—at least for a moment.
Blood rain poured over the area, drenching everything in red, as if the world itself wept tears of blood. But there was someone who welcomed such a boon.
"Thou who hath survived death fourfold, the presence of a Werekin, the gaze of the Sky Watcher, the blow of the hearteater, and the guilt of Ambra."
A hooded figure spoke, and their voice echoed, silencing everything as if telling a tale the universe itself didn't want to miss. The other figures followed suit:
"Thou who hath defied the mortal coils, followeth the path of the VoidWarden."
Grrr* Grr* ....
The name voidwarden triggered even the indifferent monster as they growled, but the hooded figure didn't bat an eye as they continued their ceremony as another one uttered.
"Thou who art wander the planes of death and life for eternity, followeth the path of the Duskborne."
GRrrrROarrrrrr*
The gargantuan monster let out a roar.
Certainly! Here's a more ancient-sounding version:
"Thou who art both cursed and blessed by the hands of time, dost tread the path of the Gravetender."
Awooo*
"Thou whom fate doth count as sworn enemy, followeth the path of the Veilbound."
Roarrr*
"Thou who seeketh to be unshackled from the abyss's chains, followeth the path of the Maddened Abyssborne."
Hisss*
"Thou who lurkest in the shadows, followeth the path of the Umbraseer."
.
.
.
This went on for a while before one last time, that settled the world.
"Thou who art the host of all. The Starborne, the Broken Ember."
Booommmm* Crack* Rumble* Rumble*
This time, the world rumbled as the clouds thundered. Announcing something that only the inhabitants of the world knew about.
Silence*
Everyone was silent. Even the greedy blade stopped devouring blood.
A hooded figure from among them walked toward Valcroy and stopped before him. The figure lifted its hand and a hand, skin cracked like a fractured sand wall that had cracks all over it, appeared before the world. The hand moved toward Valcroy and rested on his head as an ancient voice came from under the hood.
"The First Ember hath been lit, and the wanderer hath returned unto home."
Silence*
"The path of Salvation hath emerged."
Silence*
"The lords who brought the Great Strife..."
Grrr*
"The hunter cometh."
Awoo* Grr* GRrrrRoooaaaRrrrr*
"The Deception hath begun, the Lie hath been spoken."
Awoooo*