"I gave myself to insanity; I am the void, The Master of the Void," Asher exclaimed those words while ignoring the pain tearing him apart from within.
The flame inside him, to spite everyone, had engulfed everything, boiling up within. His eyes turned bloodshot; a burst of blood started to flow from his nose.
'Pain.... How funny.' Asher thought with a grin. His whole life, he had been enduring pain; when did a day pass by he wasn't reminded of this cruel world? None.
The eye stared at Asher with intense murderous intent. The red-eyed man was advancing towards Asher with an alerting speed. A burst of flames engulfed the world once more as the red-eyed man's speed increased.
Just falling into Asher's trap.
Just as the red-eyed man appeared before Asher, he suddenly stood stunned.
'He's smiling?' He thought before his eyes widened. Immediately, his movements became ragged.
'Why can't I move?' He grimaced once more before a pain flared up from his abdomen.
Asher had stabbed the red-eyed man with his tachi, holding him from going anywhere. Stained with blood and torn clothes, he looked like a demon from hell. The red-eyed man opened his mouth to shout.
Immediately, Asher twisted his blade; a splatter of blood started to flow from the red-eyed man, stopping him from letting his words out of his mouth.
The red-eyed man gritted his teeth before staring at Asher with murderous intent. Bringing his trembling hands forward, he gripped Asher's shoulders.
Asher, however, remained unfazed by the fact his shoulder bones were about to shatter. His goal right now was to kill the man in front of him, and he'd do it under the black sky of this destroyed world.
"Just what are you?" The red-eyed man exclaimed, his eyes filled with visible fear.
Asher let out a small chuckle before bringing his sword upwards, tearing the man up to his chest. The red-eyed man let out a horrifying screech; blood flowed from his mouth as he did so, staining the ground beneath.
Soaked in blood, Asher screamed once again; the black-void flames burst out, engulfing the entire area in it. The red-eyed man's screams increased, echoing through the entire world.
Astraeus stood still, his eyebrows bulged as if not believing what was happening. Suddenly, he let out a sigh before reverting his expression back to its original.
Soon, the flames distinguished; what remained was Asher standing with a burnt corpse falling to the ground with lifeless eyes, reduced to a skeleton.
[You have killed...] Asher couldn't hear the rest of the voice. Staring at the abomination in the sky, he flapped his bloodied wings. However, as he did so, black feathers started to fall from it, brushing against his hair.
Suddenly, Asher bent to his knees, coughing out a load of blood; his face became pale, blood draining from it.
"What? Why?" Asher tried to mutter, but the voice that came was mushed. Touching his face, he felt blood on it. Immediately, his vision started to become blurry. Fatigue, hunger, thirst. All of them came crashing on him like a boulder.
Drifting in the sky, Asher tried to steady himself.
'Not now, not now.' He thought repeatedly. His energy in his arms was siphoned; his legs felt like they were bent, not being able to hold him. His wings started to break down.
"Why now, you damn body." Asher cursed his body. If only he could bear the fatigue for a little more...
'I can't.' Asher thought before his transformation and wings dissolved. The void flames that had covered the world vanished, and the runes from his forehead did so as well.
Soon, he started to fall. The world became even less visible as that happened. A warm feeling rose from within his chest. Soon, the warmth became warmer until it became scorching hot.
'My heart-' Before he could complete his thought, a burst of blood started to flow from his ears. A screeching pain terrorized his body; it was as if each fiber was being torn apart, ripped into shreds, and then burned to ashes.
Despair came crashing onto him. The world felt oddly bent for him; the sky was unusually curved, the sky lost its black hue, replaced by its original crimson hue. The sun was hidden by a veil of clouds that shone like gems; the sky was unusually...
Beautiful.
A small chuckle found itself out of Asher's mouth.
'Is this death?' He thought with a calm mind. The air felt delicious to breathe, reeking with a rose smell. The winds became calm, brushing off his skin lightly.
The eye remained in the sky, staring at Asher with complex emotions that were unreadable. Its murderous intent vanished entirely as if it was not even there.
Letting out a small sigh, Asher closed his eyes. Waiting for his eventual demise. Just as he thought he was about to die, he felt two hands on his back, catching him.
"What?" Asher muttered; the dark circle beneath his eyes had become visibly much deeper. Sleep was slowly overwhelming his senses.
The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was a green-eyed man with raven-black hair smiling at him with joy.
"Weird," Asher muttered once more before falling asleep; his breathing became calm, and the pain in his chest had relieved itself.
Peace was finally attained.
--------
An unknown period had passed; Asher yawned, stretching his arms. As he did so, his hand hit something.
"What?" Asher exclaimed before opening his eyes. His eyes widened, staring at the ablaze flame before him. A huge chunk of meat lay on it, getting roasted. Bringing his arms out from the back of his face, he stared at the leaves beneath that littered the ground and the roof made of tree branches.
He was back in the shack he had been in a day before the incident occurred just a couple miles away from the Blood Citadel.