As Carn eagerly awaited the arrival of Fen Tuolong, his excitement quickly dissipated the moment the man stepped into the room. As the door closed, an icy chill seemed to settle over the room, causing the temperature to drop by at least 30 degrees. Fen's piercing gaze was like sharp, cold daggers as he locked eyes with Carn, sending a shiver down his spine.
In the blink of an eye, Fen was gone. Suddenly, he felt a crushing pressure around his neck, as if an invisible hand was squeezing the life out of him. Gasping for air, he frantically looked down to see a shimmering, watery figure with a menacing expression holding him by the throat. With a violent jerk, the figure lifted him off the bed and hurled him across the room, slamming him against the wall with bone-rattling force.
As Carn struggled to gasp for air, he felt like the weight of the world was crushing his chest, suffocating him. He tried to scream, but his voice was silenced by the vice-like grip around his throat. Suddenly, the figure of the watery creature shifted, and in its place stood Fen, his eyes blazing with an intensity that sent shivers down Carn's spine. The man's sword glinted menacingly in the dimly lit hospital room, and Carn could feel the cold metal tip pressing against his chest, staining his hospital gown with blood. He knew, at that moment, that he was staring death in the face, and he had no idea why.
Carn's eyes widened with shock and disbelief as he felt the cold metal of Fen's sword puncture his flesh, a searing pain coursing through his body. He gasped for breath, feeling the blood gush out of the wound and soak his hospital gown.
"Why?" he managed to croak, his voice barely audible.
Fen's face remained impassive as he gazed down at him, the tip of his sword slowly sinking deeper into his chest. "You are too dangerous," he said, his voice cold and detached.
Carn struggled to comprehend, his mind racing with confusion and fear. "What have I done wrong?" he rasped, his voice barely audible.
Fen hesitated for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Existing," he said, his voice laced with a chilling finality. With one swift movement, he plunged the sword deeper, piercing Carn's heart, “I will not allow tragedy to strike again.”
Carn's body convulsed, writhing in agony as the life drained out of him. He felt his vision dimming, his breaths growing shallower and more labored. In his final moments, he couldn't help but wonder: how could existing be a crime worthy of death?
“I will stay here until you are dead,” Fen declared, his presence freezing the machines in the room and silencing their beeping. He sat on the edge of the bed, his sword in hand as he cleaned it with the white bedsheets, now stained with Carn's blood.
Carn's breathing became shallow and labored as he felt his life slipping away. But then, a strange sensation overcame him, a freezing coldness that spread from his chest throughout his body. He looked down and saw his wound had been frozen over, a layer of ice sealing the gash shut.
Fen's expression was complicated as if he was wrestling with conflicting emotions. He had just taken a life, but he had also just saved one. The silence in the room was deafening, as Fen continued to sit there, watching over Carn.
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Fen's mind raced as he stood over Carn's frozen body. He had accomplished what he had come to do, but taking a life was never easy. He couldn't help but second-guess himself, wondering if he had made the right decision. This wasn't the first time he had encountered mixed bloods like Carn. The first was over 120 years ago when Fen was just 10 years old. The government had sent over a half high-elemental and half goliath woman, as part of their program to connect rare species.
Fen had become close to the woman and her kind half-orc husband. They had been like parents to him, as his own father was always too busy with work to spend time with him. But one day, when Fen came home, he found the woman crying. Her husband had been killed, and she was there to say her goodbyes. The memory of her leaving his house, her back shaking with sobs and her eyes filled with rage, still haunted him to this day.
5 days later Fen turned on the news. The once vibrant and bustling streets of the Middle East were now a scene of complete devastation. Buildings that had stood for centuries had been reduced to nothing but piles of rubble, and the ancient pyramids, once a symbol of civilization's greatness, were now nothing but a heap of broken stones.
The world held its breath as the devastation unfolded. The once-mighty pyramids, symbols of a civilization that had stood the test of time, now lay in ruins, reduced to piles of rubble and dust. The once-bustling cities of the Middle East had been reduced to ghost towns, their streets empty and silent save for the occasional wail of a siren or the distant roar of a collapsing building.
The footage was horrific, the once vibrant city was now reduced to nothing more than smoldering ruins. Fires raged out of control, billowing smoke into the sky, and the stench of death hung in the air. It was as if the very fabric of society had been torn apart, leaving nothing but chaos and despair in its wake.
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But then, amidst the devastation, he saw her. The woman had lost everything and turned to violence as a means of coping. Her body was battered and bruised, covered in wounds and burns that spoke of the unimaginable horrors she had endured. As the camera zoomed in on her face, Fen saw the pain and desperation etched in her features, and the words ‘Mass Murderer’ appeared on the screen.
For a moment, Fen felt a surge of anger and hatred toward the woman, who had unleashed such destruction and devastation upon innocent people. But then, he thought about the tragedy that had led her to this point, the loss, and pain that had driven her to such extreme measures.
Years later, Fen received a government request to meet a 10-year-old girl with a unique heritage: half fire high-elemental and half-tiefling. He took it upon himself to ensure the girl had a good life, helping her father pay the bills and shielding her from the world's cruelty.
However, fate had other plans for the girl. When Fen was away, dangerous individuals discovered her lineage and snatched her away. Fen and her father searched relentlessly for her, but their efforts were in vain. It wasn't until 7 years later that Fen finally found her.
But it was too late. The girl was now a shell of her former self, a war machine driven by her captors' brainwashing. She left a trail of destruction in her wake as she journeyed from Florida to Central America. Fen desperately tried to stop her and restore her sanity, but his attempts were fruitless. In the end, he was forced to take up his sword and cut her down.
This happened 3 more times in Fen’s lifetime, each time he tried to give them the life they deserved, and each time they snapped for one reason or another. The allure of a half high-elemental made many countries and other groups lose reason and attempt to use these children for their means. On each occasion, irreparable damage was done to the world. The most recent of these Fen had barely managed to stop with some of the strongest beings on the planet assisting him.
Fen couldn't shake the haunting image of the girl's face from his mind, superimposed over that of Carn. He didn't know if he could risk the possibility of history repeating itself, but the uncertainty of Carn's origins only added to his apprehension. If Carn was born from one of the more powerful high-elementals, would Fen be able to stop him if he were to go on a destructive rampage? The weight of this responsibility felt heavy on his shoulders as he grappled with the potential consequences of his actions.
Fen stood with his heart pounding in his chest, his hand shaking as he held his sword against Carn's neck. The memory of the girl's face, pleading for mercy, flooded his mind, and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of history repeating itself, of more innocent lives lost because of his hesitation.
Carn looked up at him, his eyes full of confusion and fear. Fen could see the same desperation in Carn's gaze that he had seen in the girl's. He wanted to believe that Carn was different, that he wasn't a threat, but he couldn't take that chance.
Tears rolled down Fen’s face as he tightened his grip on his sword, “I can’t let disaster strike again. You have done nothing wrong but… but I am scared. I am sorry. I hope the afterlife treats you well.”
As Fen brought up his sword the door opened, “Sorry for intruding but I wasn’t getting any response from Carn’s machi-” Alicia stopped mid-sentence when she saw the scene in front of her, Carn lay against the wall with a frozen hole in his chest and the great hero Fen Tuolong held up a sword above him. "Fen, what the hell are you doing?" she exclaimed.
Fen's voice was heavy with emotion as he spoke, “Alicia don’t stop me, I don’t want to do this but I have to, but I have to do this. You don't understand what's at stake here.” Before Alicia could respond, Fen's sword came down with incredible speed, piercing Carn's skin. Suddenly, a blinding beam of white light hit Fen, throwing him back and shattering the wall behind him. However, to Alicia's amazement, Fen emerged unscathed, his body transforming into water.
“I understand your anger, just know this is a personal matter and has nothing to do with our guilds,” Fen implored.
As Alicia began healing Carn she said, “Well now this is a personal matter for me as well.”
Alicia’s angelic wings burst forth from her nurse's uniform as she launched an enormous beam of light at Fen, again he let it hit him. When water reformed him he spit out some blood and shouted, “So you are protecting the boy! It isn’t possible! I have tried to do the same but it only ever ends painfully.”
Alicia formed two giant sawblades of light and launched them and herself at Fen. When she was going to make contact with him he disappeared before reappearing at the roof of another building, “Maybe you will succeed where I failed,” Fen said with resignation in his voice, “I won’t try to kill the boy just know it will be your fault if there is another disaster.” Fen’s body turned to mist and he disappeared for good.
Alicia felt a chill run down her spine as she watched Fen disappear. She knew that he was not someone to take lightly and she couldn't let her guard down but she felt that this time he wasn’t coming back.
Turning her attention back to Carn, she continued to heal him with her magic. She could feel the warmth of her energy spreading through his body, mending his wounds and revitalizing his spirit.
As Carn slowly opened his eyes, Alicia smiled at him reassuringly. "You're going to be okay," she said softly.
Carn sat up slowly and looked around, taking in the destruction that surrounded them. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He knew that Fen had wanted to kill him, but he couldn’t understand why.
"I'm sorry," Carn said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
Alicia placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault," she said. "You didn't ask for any of this. It sounds like he is going to leave you alone so I think you will be alright.”
Carn nodded, but his mind was still reeling. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow responsible for the destruction around them. "But what about Fen?" he asked, his voice trembling. "What if he comes back?"
Alicia sighed. "We'll deal with that if it happens but for some reason I really doubt it,” she said remembering the tears falling down Fen’s face.
Carn leaned back and replayed what had happened in his mind. The memory of his helplessness during the attack was still fresh in his mind, he was determined to never let it happen again.
"I'm gonna get stronger," he said firmly, his eyes blazing with fierce determination. "I promise I won't be a burden and I won't be helpless in case this happens again."
Alicia smiled at him and gave him a sideways hug as the sun dipped below the horizon.