I still remember the scenery, for it never left, never changed, and always serene as ever. And fated to be as written.

Amid the desolation of a lost world, swallowed by the unending wrath of the old ones. As far as the eye could see and heed, the landscape was a canvas of frigid white, broken only by the jagged remains of once-thriving cities.

Walking alone through this frozen wasteland was none other than me, a solitary figure wrapped in tattered clothes. Each step I took was muffled by the thick layer of snow that had claimed the streets, leaving behind a ghostly silence, devoid of life.

The skeletal frames of buildings jutted out from the frozen earth like the remnants of a forgotten civilization. Billboards and neon signs, now faded and crumbling, loomed overhead like faded memories. My breath formed a steady stream of mist in the biting cold air, a testament to the harshness of this new world.

The oppressive weight of solitude pressed upon me as I continued this solitary journey. There was no sign of life, no chirping birds, no distant laughter, just the cold and the silence. The snow-covered ground was my only companion, the only constant in this ever-changing world, all while wondering, pondering, and questioning everything until now.

Yet the wind howled through the empty streets, sending tendrils of snow swirling into the air. Barking the same message to turn back, with only my footprints leaving a trail behind, a fragile mark on a world that seemed determined to erase all traces of its past. Each step was a struggle, as the weight of the snow threatened to pull me into an endless abyss of desolation.

In the distance, the shattered hulk of a car, frozen in place, served as a reminder of a world that had come to a screeching halt. Its tires were encased in ice, and its shattered windows were frosted over. The car stood as a monument to the futility of human progress and the relentless power of nature.

I knew ever since the fall that there was no turning back, no escape from this bleak reality.

Amidst this cold storm, in the middle of this concentrated snowfield, I saw a lone child kneeling down the glacier in despair and agony as he mourned and teared up for the loss of someone who I can only guess a loved one, much like any other else I met on the way.

The child cried on and on while tented between the cold corpses' tattered clothes.

As I approached closer, I could hear the words ever so clearly, lamenting and grieving as he called his mother;

“Okāsan… okāsan… okāsan..."

I stood there, watching the dreadful scene play before me, engulfing myself in the same damn question;

(In a world filled with contentment and misery, life and death, light and darkness, despair and hope... I have always wondered if all of this is a kind of punishment or a gift. I often ponder if we will ever encounter a figure behind this philosophy and ask... why? To what end do you want us to seek?)

I never understood why this world lusts over this cursed doctrine; good things happen, and bad things happen because it's simply how the world works. There is no rule; it's simply an unfair and unjust game bestowed upon helpless creatures to play a part in without even asking them for consent.

Why should we? After all, we are its pawns. We are forced to follow this path without ever daring to question the principles of this cruel monarchy. If we were to defy this rule, there wouldn't be any meaning to life itself. It would be defiance of what makes us humans. You cannot create a perfect world, nor doom a world. There must be balance, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

They are not doing all this out of a reprehensible need to satisfy their rules which they enforce and enroll as just. They certainly don’t care for innocent lives who are tossed into a game of disarray which they know too well they can't resist or fight back, except, watch as the eventful justice conducts their lives as a means of living.

They are doing this because they don’t have a choice. Either this, suffer a million years of living and dying, or face the horrible truth, the void which governs no principles, nor any meanings which any human, God can understand or grasp.

To live is to suffer; to struggle is to live once again. From the ashes of the fallen kingdom, another one rises in its stead. And so, the cycle is repeated.

The unenlightened masses cannot make the judgment call, giving up their free will as a means to display obedience, all the while never questioning why, in fear of their gift of life being swiped away. But the truth is, they fear something far worse; they fear the eternal ocean of hollowness and sorrow of loneliness.

In my view, it's worse to suffer a millennium with no mouth to scream than a millennium with a mouth to scream. That I can understand.

Living in ignorance of a fated end, without care for happiness or sorrow to purchase, even when blood and sweat are the real cost. This, unfortunately, makes the fabric of society the collective consciousness that is solely sustained on reverence.

What's worse, false beings choose this pillar to excuse their rules and injustice on others as a means of a system, be it an excuse for a genocidal one, plagiarism, thievery, or inequity. It doesn’t matter whether good intentions are served or not. And certainly, it doesn’t matter if it's wrong and goes against everything humanity has stood for. As long as it has a meaning and purpose for us to live, it's okay.

Even if you kill a million lives, so long it has a meaning for you to live and avoid the terrible void. It's okay.

But still, for some reason, my mind can't shake this simple principle. My mind can never accept this fabric of existence. If we are truly ordained to follow this kind of life as a means of living, then when truly we have free will to begin with.

To further prove that with what happened here when the Elder ones took everything from us as a means to suit their principles.

They function the same way we humans do, but on a scale that cannot be fathomed, on a level our feeble minds can't possibly comprehend to fight back, and all we can do is watch. Watch as they expand their lives over ours as a means for their existence.

For the longest humanity could ever exist and remember, in the end, they are mere pawns in an otherwise unavoidable game of fate.

So, in the end, it doesn’t matter what choice you make in this world. Bad things happen because this is how life works.

I stood there, watching the child scream in fear against the incoming raging group of Bat-Winged Devils as they charged against him with appetency.

They held him down as they began to feast against his petite flesh, all the while the child screamed for mercy. Limb by limb, each bloodstain marked the cold snow with the now barely recognizable corpse as the bats feasted in pleasure.

My heart grew numb at this point...

Once a noble battle, I screamed the impurity of this world, standing as light against the darkness. But now, I serve a new master.... the void.

The moment the world ended, the moment the old ones arrived, I saw the stars that loomed like a thousand suns.

Blinded by this enigmatic chaos of elegance, I knew I gazed into something profound and inadequate.

I wondered just then, am I the abyss? Or did I gaze into it...

Humanity is nothing but a mockery of its meanings. Born into the cruel betrayal of noble ideas they blindly served, where we thought we excelled, we were deformed, recast into this crude, useless flesh that knows only boundaries.

Tricked into this existence, and willingly submitted into a slave entrapped by endless life. We worship and sing of love, hate, hope, and despair. All that makes us want to live.

I hate it all....

When I gazed into the abyss, I saw not beauty but something far more brilliant.

An infinite sea of stars, a cosmos wrapped in the most obscure and nonsensical way for anyone to understand. When the immaterial surges into reality, the results are inevitably mind-twisting and violent. Madness reigns over the eyes of folly as the laws of physics cease to exist, replaced by the fickle whims of the endless void. Devoid of all life, meanings, and purpose. Nihility. Thoughts become ceaseless as they had always been.

There I learned the truth.

I am an unholy copy of life. I am no king, no soldier, no god. I am the nemesis of life. Oblivion itself.

That’s who we are;

Humanity is the children of God for we are his unholy creation, his product of thoughtlessness becomes a thought. We are a testament to the void.

Yes... this is our purpose. For it’s a dream, a candle must be snuffed out.

The heavens, hell, and what lies beyond. The endless skies folding into each other...... where were they before...

This was the only moment when life was truly fair......

The beast roared as they finished feasting on the child into mere condensed flesh and turned their gaze back to me.

“Ha...Hahahahaha...Hahahahahaha...HAHAAHAAHAHAHAAH”

I let out a maniacal laugh as I looked up to the skies, where I only saw the menacing storm cloaking the stars and cosmos away from me.

“I see now...... I understand it all.”

Suddenly, my whole body shivered as an aura of void energy, reeking of purple, orange, blue, and flickers of sparking stars, the same as the mystic mountains that roamed the skies not long ago, the scenery that enthralled my soul into an endless cataclysm.

“I can feel it.... the power of the cosmos... the void itself...”

I held my breath as I felt an overwhelming flow of energy pass through my once-dying soul. Like the flames that once kindled and dwindled the soul of man, I was reborn, and for the first time. I have felt something...

Looking as far as one can imagine, my vision became twisted and molded into something, a thought that never crossed my mind.

In the dimly lit chamber, the air seemed to thicken as I, driven by insatiable curiosity, delved into the forbidden realms of the warp. As ancient incantations and whispers echoed through the chamber, the veil between the material universe and the chaotic abyss began to tremble. My eyes widened in horror as I witnessed the swirling maelstrom of the truth, a kaleidoscope of nightmarish visions that transcended mortal comprehension. In that moment of forbidden revelation, the very fabric of reality unraveled before my eyes, exposing the eldritch horrors that lurked within the warp's depths. The forbidden knowledge seeped into my mind like a corrosive poison, and sanity crumbled in the face of incomprehensible truths. Whispers of malevolent entities echoed within my consciousness, driving me to the precipice of madness. The once inquisitive mind was now a fractured vessel, forever haunted by the unspeakable horrors glimpsed in the accursed embrace of the warp. Only then, I learned the ultimate truth of existence.

“I once begged for death; now I am its bringer....” I looked down, in contentment as my hands grew ever brighter and ever cosmogenic. “I stood in the void and witnessed what colors this vast space contorted. From beauty and horror, so much is compared to the horror of mankind and all that is alive. Therefore....”

I marched toward the Bat-Winged Devil, alongside the incoming ancient ones hatching from the spacious building that was so quiet. And now, so emphatic that the whole world resonated with their presence, like a marching army driven by their ravenous goal.

I held a broken pipe from the ground and said coldly:

“I will exterminate meanings itself until no one, no human, nor beast, or animal, not even the old ones, may ever think again... starting with you all.”

The Eldritch horror roared as they all quivered against me, starting with the Bat-devils who charged with their ferocious fangs ready to feast and the unholy stench of their gasping cavity.

Instinctively, I swung the pipe towards them, bashing their heads with the now-infused void pipe, striking the three and pushing them back where they first emerged.

My blade, my clothes, and my face were now stained with the blood of the fallen. It was red, as clear as human blood.

At first, I didn’t believe that such a benign tool could inflict such power. But alas, I care not to question why and how. For I simply harbored and welcomed this newfound strength.

“Let me carve your flesh... LET ME DROWN YOU IN AN UNENDING POOL OF BLOOD!”

Just then, the dweller in the depth unleashed its grotesque appendages towards me.

I quickly evaded one by one as I neared the beast. My newfound strength was enough to enhance my speed and deceive the beast's limbs. Each hedge released a cosmic wasp that for a mere second concealed my presence. Thus, confusing the creature even more. Such power is named; shades of Void.

Eventually, I was at the giant beast pole. I quickly made a glorious jump all the way to its ludicrous obscure head where my left arm suddenly twisted and dwindled into a large demonic arm with tentacles spurned around like roots, God’s Rim... And thrust deep into the monster’s face, gouging a fountain of blood off him as it spilled against me.

I quickly evaded back to foot where I watched the beast fall down on its knees defeated but not dead.

“I will tear their consciousness.... take their limbs, and their will to live as they have taken many...”

Behind me, an army of crawling ones spurned from the depth of the earth as unholy masses of maggots conformed into what looked like a taller version of human forms with their hands mainly misshapen into a blade that barely looked refined.

“I must be your enemy... good....” I smirked. “It's unnatural for you to be scared. But alas, I welcome you all!”

As I began to attack these maggots, each evade I followed with an unspecified attack. All I knew was to hit them directly, proof enough to take them down.

It wasn’t the pipe that dealt damage; it was the infusion with the ambiguous void power that each strike felt like the earth shattered. Let alone dismantling the worms into their original form. Their fragile, weakened selves. Mere worms and leeches that posed no strength, and no meaning.

I was certainly not a skilled warrior, nor a master of a hundred years of such power. All of it went rather smoothly, like any human instinct to eat, walk, and think. Such pristine Eldritch powers linked with me as if I had it all along.

This power was unlike anything I have witnessed. It wasn’t the strength that exhilarated my mind, but the true strength that we, as a species, prohibited from using.

This was one form of this power that the gods had forbidden us from using. Powers that they, and no one else, were allowed to use.

Perhaps we had this power all along and were simply unaware of its nature or existence. All the more reason to loathe such a pitiful existence.

After I finished taking down the crawling ones, Mother Hydra screamed and echoed a warcry across the dystopian world as the infamous spawns of Dagon emerged from the demolished hollowed building and the rotten abandoned subterranean sewers.

With their mighty trident blades, their human hybrid with deep ones, distinguished by their ugly fish-like appearance. The fins, the scales, the gills. Their arcane forms of Waterlife mashed and torn into the most hideous forms one can imagine. All stained with the blood of the fallen species.

They all hurried around me in terror. I can tell easily via Soul gaze, emitting an aura of apprehensiveness.

I ignited my hands with void flames and quickly slammed into the ground mere moments before they could strike me. Unleashing a corps of spears that pierced their meager forms and lifted up as if it was weightless to begin with. But it wasn't enough to take them all down as more trident soldiers crawled from the old sewer tunnels and began to attack me.

I quickly evaded and began to fight back, using their blades against them one by one.

Eventually, Mother Hydra finally landed on the snowy ground. Swinging her immense fearsome claws towards me.

I evaded back using shades of Void, knowing well evading between would result in defeat.

Suddenly, I felt immense pain coming from my back as I screamed to withstand such strain. Only for it to take over me as a lump of tentacles emerged from my back. Appendages that were way preponderant for a mere human to withstand and carry. But alas, I resisted and withstood such pain.

Such power was mine to control and only mine for such limbs were my limbs! They were my own to deceive. I directed them to strike Mother Hydra who was easily overwhelmed by the legion of Eldritch hands. So far to go and crush this lesser deep one to mere remnants of its former self.

“I WILL HACK AND CHOP AND CLEAVE AND SUNDER THE FILTH OF YOUR FORMS!” I spoke with a defiant tone as I crushed the beast into mere fragments of bones and flesh.

The moon's beasts howled from the summit of the edifice, calling on their elder gods to strike me down.

“You think you can kill me?” I spoke sarcastically and chuckled. “NOTHING CAN KILL ME! FOR I AM NOT A MORTAL! I DO NOT DIE! I AM WHAT YOUR GODS FEAR! I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY! I AM THE ONE ENEMY!”

They charged towards me. I quickly carried the remains of Mother Hydra and threw them at the vaulting worms.

The appendages finally retracted back to where they came from, while I struggled to resist the exhaustion, but I quickly took back my pace and grappled with two of the incoming moon beasts with the same grotesque hand.

“I WILL SEVER YOUR LIMBS AND CARVE YOUR SOUL UNTIL NOTHING REMAINS!”

More and more Eldritch horror began to gather around, finally taking note of my presence. I simply stood there and watched as a large nigh-gaunt emerged from the skies alongside its two brothers.

Their smooth whale-like skin, long slender humanoid bodies, curving horns, leather bat-like wings, and a blank expanse of flesh where one would expect a face to fly steadily down where I was.

“No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity... but I know none and therefore, I am no beast. “I smiled ruthlessly. “But I am in a cage within a prison and this foul body reminds me of my true purpose. I WILL BE THE ENDER OF ALL THINGS! OF ALL LIFE! OF ALL EXISTENCE! I WILL BE ALL AS ONE!”

The Night gaunt finally landed, I grinned as I took my stance and prepared for another battle.

“COME!”

I quickly rushed to strike one of the landed Night Gaunts with the God’s Rim as my arm transformed into the Ghoulish demonic hand. Unfortunately, the night gaunt retracted to safety using his wings.

Meanwhile, another night gaunt struck from behind, I quickly rolled backward, evading in the last second the Night Gaunt trident from taking me down.

However, Mid-jump, I was suddenly caught by a charging Night Gaunt who pushed me through his head like a boar to one of the broken dystopian towers, crashing through the building interior.

I quickly recovered and screamed in anguish and anger.

“NO NUMBERS OR GODS CAN HELP YOU TO KILL ME!”

I quickly jumped back and mid-while, I summoned the demonic appendages from my back to strike all the present Night Gaunts who as soon as they saw them, retracted back to safety.

Their efforts were in vain as I managed to grab one of them by the tail and quickly brought them back to me.

Using God’s rim, I ribbed the Night Gaunts' wings, rendering it incapable of flying again and then threw it at one of the Night Gaunts who were still managing to evade my limbs.

They were easily taken down as soon as the two Night Gaunts collided together with the final one charging once to strike me with a thrust attack using his trident.

I quickly retracted the appendages back to me and used Void step to dash through the Night Gaunt behind him.

The beast rotated and we dueled with each other as it gained the upper hand.

With each attack I retracted further, trying to gain my momentum back. Its size was double mine and quicker in nature, allowing him to cover much of the space around him. At the moment, I had no chance to kill him. This wouldn't be simple as more creatures began to spawn from nowhere.

The battlefield suddenly burned with Eldritch horror, like that fateful day when humanity stood helplessly against the might of the nameless.

But I did not, I would fight them all. Regardless of size, number, power, and form.

“I WILL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM UNTIL ALL LIFE CEASES TO EXIST.”

Out of rage, I spawned the appendages once again and hurried them together around me like an orb. Protecting temporality as I coalesced my hands to create a magnificent orb of void that slowly began to lose control and suction everything.

The beasts began to tremble against the limbs, nearing closer to breaking down the barrier.

“I won't die here... I will only die when I ALLOW IT! WHEN IT EARNS ME!”

Finally, I released the orb and myself as a supernova of void fire unleashed, a blinding light that ever so brightly. Enough to make the sun look pathetic. And so powerful enough to make a nuclear bomb seem mere meniscal in comparison. Destroying everything in vicinity, every building, every form of life. Every shard of existence to mere rubble and dust.

The air crackled with an eerie tension before succumbing to an unfathomable force, heralding the cataclysmic arrival of a colossal explosion. A blinding burst of light enveloped the surroundings, a searing inferno that devoured everything in its voracious path. The shockwave, a monstrous symphony of destruction, roared outward, reducing structures to rubble and shattering the tranquility of the once-serene landscape. Debris danced through the air like malevolent spirits, propelled by the sheer force of the detonation. The earth trembled beneath the weight of the explosion's unleashed fury, and in its aftermath, a surreal silence settled—a haunting testament to the annihilation that had transpired, leaving only echoes of devastation in its wake.

This fire, this destruction, is the same that was unleashed upon this world. And the many before it. It was the same fire that corroded existence itself. From the ocean of the void, a fire was born, and in return came disparity; life was sprouted, and death shriveled. Light loomed and darkness gloomed.

Therefore, this fire, I will unleash it everywhere. No matter where, when, starting with that demon in red garb.

[https://yourimageshare.com/ib/fgcSxZhIFZ.webp]

----------------------------------------

In the eerie aftermath of the monumental explosion, a thick pall of dust and smoke hung heavily in the air, cloaking the landscape in a spectral haze. The once bustling cityscape now lay in ruins, an attestation to the unrestrained power that had torn through its heart. There were no sounds, no signs of life, no birds to hum. No cries to tears. Only the vast endless sea of sand and shale of the former world used to be.

I surveyed the apocalyptic tableau that unfolded before me.

The explosion's impact resonated far beyond the physical devastation, casting a long, somber shadow over the collective psyche of those who had borne witness to the destructive force unleashed upon their world. Though I doubt anyone survived this cacophony.

Looking at the expense. I can only describe it as lackluster, disappointing, betraying, and uninspired, but also thematic, insightful, true-to-the-series. And it’s honestly all of those things.

Eventually, all life ceases to exist, and we shall return to what we originally came from, Ashes and dust. A mere particle like the void is.

“Huh.... how cliché....” I said softly, sudden hints of sorrow can be heard from my tone.

It was soon interrupted by a sudden earthquake coming from beneath my feet. I stood back slightly only to witness from the pile of ashes a being shaped like an octopi and probably corresponding to the fabulous pre-human spawn of Cthulhu.

It roared in fury, echoing what's left of this feeble world.

Nobody is yet someone who has the will and the drive to push forward and complete the task they set out to do in a world of mindless hollows. We have both seen the world crumble and gotten stronger. We have both made it to this last meeting, where no one else stands. Maybe this is the future and truly all have died or been eaten by the old ones. leaving only us two as the final living beings.

But like all things in this life, death eventually comes. Without even a hint of warning to press by, the star beast's head was quickly destroyed but some sort of red furious lightning spark. Destroying the beast to mere dust and ashes.

“I heard once, that the fire will fade and only dark will remain.”

A voice, rather sharp as any human emerged from behind me.

I looked back only to see some kind of demonic figure yet harboring humanoid features, like two arms, and legs, wearing scaled ebony armor gleamed with red blood, possessing an incredibly dark and sinister design that seemed to have a more gothic and mythological inspiration than its predecessors. Spikes protruding from various parts of the body as well as six large horn-like spikes on the very top of the helmet to accompany the large eye-like sockets in the front.

(Another fleeting form? Like the one earlier?)

“Do you think this is what they meant?” he asked curiously as he looked around the barren wasteland.

“Quite the drama, aren't you?” The mysterious demon said mischievously. “I suppose it's fair given how enlightened you were earlier.”

“You.....” I said coldly.

The Demon looked back; because of the helmet, I couldn’t see his reaction. But I can tell he isn't impressed or rather not surprised.

“Right!!!” He chuckled. “Forgive me, but I am sure you got confused by the earlier demon you saw a couple of days ago; you know? The one who caused this mess?”

I remained conflicted as I kept listening to him. Yet, I remained on guard.

“That one we call him in my world the Emperor in red. Or the Red Emperor; he is one behind this mess.... or at least what our eyes want us to see.” He began to take a stroll among the ruined burgs.

“Give me a reason....”

“Reason?” He said with a confused tone.

“A reason why I shouldn’t kill you... I can tell you and your pal up there on the hill weren't watching out for amusement. And going so far to save me from that last beast which I could have handled alone... I can only deduce you want something from me. I advise you to choose your words carefully...”

The demon began to chuckle then lost as he let out a sarcastic laugh that echoed throughout the urbs.

“My my... and here I thought you went mad as soon as you used your powers, making it all the more difficult to talk with the likes of you. “He finally toned down and spoke softly;” Perhaps I underestimated you.”

He stopped moving and looked back at me, as our eyes gazed into each other's soul.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“I am interested in you. But don’t take this kind gesture as a means of a favor. No, you can take it with a grain of salt. In fact, I could just leave you here and now and be on my way. Or in your style, we could start killing each other until the last man stands but I think we can do that as soon as you heed my request.”

“Enlighten me...”

He clapped his hands and began to continue to stroll nearby.

“You and I are pawns of a greater being. Or at least, I am. You, on the other hand, are not.”

“I have been many things; if you find me so ignorant. Impress me.”

“You stared into the abysmal void, yes?” He shook his head as he began to walk towards me. “And you saw what the endless ocean storm of the warp can do, or the infinite can draw.”

“You have mistaken my assumption, demon.”

“I know I know...” He chuckled. “The idea of meaninglessness is nihility itself. There is no thinking, no thought perceived or inserted. Nobody feels alive or dead. Which all in all, I find it too gloomy and yet beautiful.”

“Your point?”

“But don’t you wonder how meaninglessness came into meaning? How a collection of atoms and dust procure a world just like ours?” He shrugged. “Therefore, by that logic. There is a meaning behind the void. There is a purpose. There is something.”

“Stop playing with metaphors and answer my damn question.” My tone grew vexatious.

“My point is;” The demon's tone also suggested otherwise. “No matter how much you kill, destroy elder gods, humans, or whatever you desire. You will never achieve this nihility you are seeking after. After all, where are you going to start to begin with?”

I remained conflicted as I came to terms with the demon's words. They were not poison but truth.

Even in this wasteland, such ashes can be reformed and molded into something, meaning. The world, no. The universe functions on this very principle. The cycle of life and death, even in the vast space of the endless void. There is always at some point, a form condensed and molded into a new generation.”

“However....” My thoughts were interrupted by the demon. “I believe there is a way. If you toss the coin enough times, suppose one day. It lands on its edge.”

Just then, the demon summoned his hand, a red velvet crystal that illuminated the space between us.

“Do you have an idea what this is?”

“No....”

“In my world, they call it the shard of God. Others, Maiden’s offspring. But here, they call it Magnum opus. In short;”

“philosopher's stone...”

“Yes...” He chuckled. “The power to turn silver to gold. The bases of every material. The Prima Materia. The origin and the last. But a mere fragment of the endless void.”

“You can feel it. Don’t you?” He looked back at me and offered the stone. “It’s the same raw material the void consists of but in an infinite amount. This one, unfortunately, but a shard in its true form. But it’s a start, right?”

I looked closer into the stone, and my vision was quickly obscured by the same vast ocean of the void that I witnessed not long ago. Like drugs, I was seemingly moved by the stone's supernatural powers as it showed my darkest desire.

Yet, I knew too well this must be nothing more than an illusion. The stone is capable of not just turning metals into gold but also offers a vast expanse of power such as immortality, warp, and time travel. Powers that are strictly limited to the illusions of the wielder, the material this world governs.

Unfortunately, that is not what I seek.

“A starting point?” I asked.

“Precisely. “He said enthusiastically. “See, I know fairly you, and I may not share eye-to-eye on certain topics. I know certainly that the foolish emperor didn’t and, in the end, trapped himself there. But unlike him, you are less of a fool and more.... open to such subjects. And you far suitable options before me and therefore, extended my hand to you in the hope to find the true answer to our question.”

“You are suggesting.... I play some kind of chess game where we both move our pawns until one of us succeeds. The one who wins will change the universe.”

“Indeed, that’s why I said earlier we are bound to face each other eventually. Destiny has a thousand faces and for some reason, chose this one.”

“You mean fate?” I asked.

“I know.... fate can be as dramatic and as beautiful while at the same time can be Terrible and sorrowful. Unfortunately, we are chained to this law, and there isn't much we can do for the time being.”

“Eventually....”

“Like I said... toss the coin enough times until it lands on its edge.”

“The odds are one in six thousand.”

“You would be surprised how patient I can be. But then again, we have this in our hands.... with it, even the tides of fate can be averted. Though I am not certain of our end.”

They say, making a devil bargain is like falling into a snake's trap. it doesn't take a genius to know this demon is simply tricking me for his benefit. But the fact he admitted it without hesitancy, showing his true colors without effort to hide them. I can tell whether this demon is a fool or an acting genius.

That said; I can't deny the truth of his words. I have not the slightest idea where to start and where should i go. more importantly; I still need more answers to my question if I were to truly commit myself to such a goal.

“So..... what will it be?” He shook his hands. "Are you in?”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Huh! Where are my manners? It's Germain. And you?”

“Huh....." I muttered and chuckled. "Call me the Executioner....”

----------------------------------------

I woke up to find myself lying face down on the snowy ground. I grunted in pain as I attempted to regain consciousness while surveying the surroundings.

Surrounded by piles of broken building blocks of varying sizes, mostly gigantic ones, I assumed they were the anchor stones of the high walls that had completely shattered. Fires blazed amidst the scattered debris of towers and buildings, obscuring the view of the land.

There was no sound besides the crackling of flames and the crumbling of edifices. The voices of the living were silenced, and no echoes or human sounds could be heard. Only the hush of the cold wind altered the collapsing field.

I stood up on my feet, agonizing over the injury on my head—a common, occurring fracture. After gathering my momentum, I surveyed the decaying atmosphere, recalling what had happened.

The last thing I remembered was Milwak trapping himself in an unwinnable battle with the black knight. He left me on the other side, covering my ears from the unbearable pain.

I couldn't discern the voices. As soon as the black knight and I gazed at each other, the voices cried out, and since then, I lost all sense of reality and grew unconscious. The closest thing I resonated with those voices was the screams of the old world, for some reason, on that fateful day.

(Is he.... somehow related?)

After he uttered his last words, everything went blank. I presumed I might have been struck by one of those hollowed boulders, knocking me out for good, but strangely, I survived the accident.

(A hit like this should end someone’s life in an instant.)

Then, a thought crossed my mind as I looked into my pocket, noticing none other than the elemental dragon crystal still nestled with me. It wasn't producing any flickering light, but for some reason, the first thought that crossed my mind was that I was saved by it, like the many times before.

But there was no confirmation for such suspicion. It could be coincidental that I managed to survive the bouldering ooze, but for the crystal to remain while losing my dagger is another.

I looked behind only to see the high walls of Gumtar, known for its impenetrable walls, disintegrated into piles of rubble and broken rocks with holes, cracks, and fissures as a result of the devastating assault of unending waves of hollowed, decaying boulders thrusting and precising the walls like thin paper.

Almost half of the wall was completely demolished, with some apertures left fixed from different ends. The only thing remaining visible in the world was the cold night sky and the fluorescent moonlight, with thick clouds sheltering midnight.

With questions unanswered and no destination in mind, I decided to walk around the open, shattered setting, hoping to find any living soul around.

----------------------------------------

As I began to walk around the crumbling ruins, questions popped up in my mind regarding the recent events.

Why would the hollowed ones seek to open the gate if they could simply destroy the walls with the boulders? Perhaps this was all just another setup?

If I were their general, like that black knight, I'd strategically hide without alerting my enemies to my tactics. I'd distract them with meaningless attempts until they fell right into the trap. The hollowed ones must have followed the same strategy, albeit with a different motive besides securing a victory, which I assumed must be coincidental.

The boulders ooze attack they used against us was a major disadvantage to our side. It was a completely unexpected strike that caught us unguarded. Aside from our militarily weakened state, the republicans should have been aware of these upcoming attacks.

Unless they couldn't see it... because of the fog! When I pulled the lever, in the distant battlefield, there was this ominous, sinister preceding fog that charged so suddenly, like a raging tornado.

The moment we opened the gate and the Nords stormed out was the same moment when the fort was covered by the thickened black fog. It was also the same time when the hollowed ones unleashed a barrage of black boulders ooze that destroyed the bastion.

The main aim of this attempt was to cover their tracks so that the enemy on the other side of the bastion wouldn't recognize the hollowed one's main maneuver or strategy. In short, keep them in the dark about their tactics and blind them from the battlefield.

This was also supported by the fact that the hollowed ones managed to fire only at the fort and what's before that. Anything beyond that line remained uninformed of the grave danger they unfolded.

But this shouldn't be the case if the opponent managed to send a messenger back to the bastion and notify them of the danger. Unless the hollowed ones managed to kill everyone in the battlefield.

Hit with the sudden realization of a possible outcome, I paused in shock and fear of the conclusion.

(Could they have killed all the Vikings?)

I started to walk faster to find my way out of this trapped place as soon as possible.

I promised myself to save as many Vikings as I could, redeeming myself from the unforgiving sin I committed.

If they are all dead... then I... I...

As I started to have a pre-nervous breakdown, I was brought back to reality by stepping on what looked like a dagger.

It was my dagger, Winfrey's dagger...

Without wasting a second, I picked up the blade and continued to find an exit. Instead of hesitating as I always have, I shoved the doubt away while focusing on one goal.

To ensure if they made it out alive.

Being kept in the dark has spawned thousands of apprehensive emotions, a mix of fear, anxiety, worry, and regret.

As I ran maniacally with one repetitive thought in my mind.

(Please, whoever is out there... anyone... please don't die!)

After running for quite some time, I managed to find a small narrow opening that surely led to the outside.

Without delay, I slipped my way through as I started to walk sideways to the exit.

I couldn't think properly at that time, much like how parents are desperate to find their child amidst war avenues. I was waiting to learn the undesirable, tense truth.

The rush of adrenaline through my blood, the unaffected bite of the cold, the drenching sweat sliding down my skin, the misplaced error of the heat out of my body, the unhinged mentality.

This was the determining moment...

Finally slipping my way out, I fell down impatiently. I stood up... and looked... a view I never wished to see... or to know...

The remains of the theater of war... an ocean of Viking corpses lay wasted on the battlefield. The land is tainted by the blood of the fallen and the ooze of the undead with the stink of a gruesome decaying stench of the deceased melting away. The dreadful view of death and defeat.

The inevitable fate of those who resist the quietus of life. The silence of the dead.

I watched with an emotionless blank face as the endless mountain of corpses dispersed across the arena, just like the view of war aftermath.

There was no one alive... everyone was dead.

I started to walk slowly, looking all hopeless and impassive.

In the vast distance, the main republic bastion was under attack by the hollowed ones, helplessly trying to seal off the dead and repel the ugly fate.

While the fallen remained here, unburied and abandoned, only for them to join the many ranks of the hollowed...

As I walked, I swallowed myself in sorrow and dejection.

The constant wailing of the many failures I have made thus far has become uncountable.

The turbulence of finding a nameless goal or destination.

The dark, morbid recollection of haunting memories, the old ones, the end of the world, the loss of friends and family, the hollowed ones. The unknown end.

The failures.... the torture.

Everywhere I go.... I bring nothing but pain... to myself and others......

My mother...... Milwak and the Viking.

My existence itself is a cancer upon this world.

All those trainings were in vain.... they didn’t help me but only destroyed my mentality and in return, I cowered myself in fear and anxiousness..... until I manifested this fear into a reality.

(Am I a curse? A plague? Or a parasite that dwells in the heart of the innocent....)

I don’t know anymore...... in fact, I never knew...... ever.... in my whole existence.

But I know one thing...... I should have died long ago......

I shouldn’t have continued living...... I should have killed myself when I had the chance. But the other side of the door is holding me back from doing so. Scared of what lies beyond the void of the unknown.

Yes... I lacked the courage to do so.

I eventually paused only to see a rising corpse soaring from his slumbered death in the distance. Only to collapse on the floor.

It was Milwak hollowed corpse with half of his torso gone, alongside his right arm. Leaving very little of his remains ... he became one of them...

I fumbled down my hands on the floor, shaking and clutching in frenzy as madness had finally taken a toll on my consciousness.

After countless efforts to survive and struggle. The Vikings eventually met a fate worse than death, the hopeless extinction of their race from this world. The promise of their return was washed away and their only source of that shimmering hope, Milwak was now gone......

And I am the reason for their downfall......

A golden medallion fell down from me to the ground. A sparking necklace that once belonged to my mother. The mother that I indirectly ended her life. Life I cursed her from the moment I was brought into this world. And the false child love she assumed she had all this time...

I am her accursed child.

Wherever I go.... the hollowed ones follow me back...... wherever I settle down.... the hollowed ones destroy it all...whenever I am around.... life is extinguished and death consumes the innocence.....

A walking curse... I am.....

“I AM.......AN ABOMINATION TO THIS WORLD......”

Amidst all that. More hollowed corpse started to rise from their dormancy as they aimlessly started to stroll through the decaying fields.

Meanwhile, I felt a fulgurating presence coming from my pocket.

(The crystal......)

That’s right....... the crystal........

“Heh......Hehehe......Hahahahahhahaha....... HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAH!!”

My voice reached out to the world as I started to laugh frantically like a psychotic madman. Succumbing to finally to my inner insanity that I buried all this time.as I ranted;

“THAT RIGHT! HAHAHAHAH! EVER SINCE THE MOMENT I FOUND THIS YOU! EVERYTHING WENT TO HELL! THE VILLAGE! THE HOLLOWED ONES NONE-STOP CHASE! NOW THE FUCKING BASTION! WHEREVER I GO! AS LONG YOU ARE WITH ME! I BRING NOTHING BUT TORMENT!”

I rose my head up looking up at the endless sea of stars and planets, like I just witnessed a miracle.....

“HAHAHAHAHH! JUST LIKE THAT CAPTAIN IN THE NOTEBOOK! I BROUGHT MYSELF INTO THIS MESS! IF IT WERENT FOR MY FOOLHEARTED CURIOSITY! NOTHING OF THIS MESS WOULD HAPPEN!”

I looked forward with the sincerest sadistic smile I have ever upfront.

“But that doesn’t matter? Because I am just a curse!...... HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH! EVERYTHING I TOUCH! I CORRUPT! MY WHOLE EXSISETENCE IS....... IS.....”

Finally, canned back from my madness as I started to break down in tears...

...

“Is a... a fake one......(Sobbing)…...” I fell down on my hands again as I continued to lament my pitiful existence.

I never asked for this kind of treatment...... I fought so hard back then, to have a normal and sustainable life...... so why? Why is this happening to me?

Why did the world have to end in such a foul term? Why wain down on us with such misfortunate if we are going to have an even greater amount in the end? Why live and struggle if it's all pointless in the end?

Why is God so cruel? Why cover the truth of our existence behind a misleading lie? Why waste our lives for a meaningless end?

What is the truth? And what is the lie? What is everything anymore???

“Dame I never knew I was that Whinny brat.”

A familiar voice spurned out of nowhere. I looked up only to find an exact copy version of me. The younger version of me.... the old world me. It walked forward toward my position wearing the old school uniform, looking all audacious.

“How long you are going to cry like a child?” He asked. “Heh! I mean you are indeed still a child outside but down there lies a fucked up grown-up man, right? I am mean come on, grow up...”

“What the hell are you doing here,” I asked bitterly.

“What do you mean by that?” He said puzzlingly. “I mean, didn’t you call me out?”

“I..... I did?” I asked baffled by his answer.

“Of course, you did. Weren't you on the edge of losing your mind yet?”

I remained silent. Confused by the other me alternative presence.

“Makas, do you know what I am even?” he asked while smiling ironically.

“..... The... Other me?” I answered stutteringly.

“Aighta boy! Come on spit it out!” he said amusingly while clapping his hands. As if he was treating me like a dog.

“What the fuck you want?! Just leave me alone.” I shouted back.

“Huhhh man you are so stubborn.” He sighed in disappointment.

“Just leave me......” I said defeatedly as I looked away. “I must be losing my mind if I am seeing another version of myself.... the time when I used to be somebody...”

“Hahahahah!” the other me laughed lightly. “Buddy, I am the real deal! You can't just kick me out?”

I looked back at him bitterly, only to find his iris completely covered in yellow. Like a demon.

I opened my eyes in shock as I finally recognized the figure standing beside me.

“Everyone carries a shadow, Jung wrote, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” the other me said boastfully as he shrugged.

“You.... you are my shadow......”

“Finally! You caught on.” The shadow sighed in relief. "And if I am here, that means you want the light to shine brightest when it illuminates the dark you are trapped in.

“There is no point......” I said dejectedly. “There is no point...... everything is meaningless.... even your existence is a fake one.”

“But your emotions aren't.” the shadow knelt down and looked directly at me. “And I am born from you. Therefore, I am real.”

“Leave me be...... I want to-”

“But that hardly matters right? Because I am not here to heal you Makas,” he said sinisterly. “I am here simply to show the truth, the answer you have been seeking after all along.”

“The truth?” I asked in aghast.

“Let's recap from the beginning, shall we? It all started when your very sweet world was destroyed by the old ones. And unlucky you were restored back to life into this one... and started to hate everything, including yourself. Yes?..... fair enough, guess I can't blame you there.”

The shadow started to move around me as he continued to speak.

“But things went sideways ever since you found that crystal in that cave and read that psychotic letter...... the hollowed ones attacking your village and killing everyone...... the worthless sacrifice your mother made...... and now the fall of Vikings and that because nobody listened to you.... the one share element of all that you were involved in every single one of them. Kinda like.... the main protagonist of this story.”

“Story? Do you think my tale as a story?! Some kind of amusement for the viewer to read?!” I retaliated.

“Isn't it though? Come on it's too obvious at this point.” the shadow smiled maliciously.

This whole ordeal.... is a tale? The backstory? A theatre played out for these gods to watch and entertain at?

Rolling dice like how fate sole dependent on them. A stroke of luck...... and whatever happens next happens......

Like the rats we are, we are trapped in a cage.... only to be fed with lies to live on forward...

“You recently concluded that the Dragon crystal is responsible for all the misfortune around you...... but I don’t think that’s the reason.”

“I am the fault. Everything I touch, kill and corrupt. I am a plague, a-?”

“Will you shut up for a moment and listen to what I have to say?!” The shadow spoke furiously.

“What I am saying...... the main reason for every shitty event that was unfolded upon you....” The shadow knelt and held my face by my chin. Looking sadistically while smiling. “Is your weakness....”

I opened my eyes as wide as I could at the banal truth...

The shadow lifted my head and started to rotate around while blurting out the answer I had been seeking.

“Think about it...... If you were a little stronger enough or had more courage back then when you were with your mother. Then maybe she didn’t have to cast that healing magic and you both would have survived....... think about this one...... if you had little more courage back then when you were interrogated by the republic and convinced them about the upcoming war.... then maybe none of the Viking and Milwak wouldn't have died...... Maybe.... if you just didn’t cower yourself in guilt and fear like you are doing now.... then maybe you would have got a better ending than this...... See what I am hinting at Makas?”

That’s right.... everything so far, I did was nothing but run.... run away from the truth.... run away from the guilt...... and swallowed myself in a nihilistic ideology and foolishly wishing for a bitter end that I have failed to achieve so many times. Yet remain blind to the cause....

Instead of making an attempt.... or finding a reason.... I hide...... like a coward...

“And this isn't the first time.... this has been an occurring theme from the old world,” he said sinisterly.

“You never had a strength of your own.... something that dedicates your identity with...... like that time you Tricked the whole school... or that time you managed to arrest that attention slut Sensei...... and recently... Dragotin...... in all of these themes... you used your intelligence prowess as an excise to demonstrate power...... which you know, and I both know very well is bullshit.”

That’s right.... I never had a strength of my own to fight with... I was fragile and weak.... therefore, I used my intelligence as an excuse to illustrate strength.... which focused primally on dirty exploits and strategies that would call it as cowardice...

“Intelligence is just a fancy word to validate superiority for those who lack in confidence to think or act on their own hands. Cheesing their way to hierarchy by using tools as the means of success... Don’t get me wrong! Its powerful and I vouch for that but only momentarily.” the shadow quickly dashed towards my face and asked heinously. “But you know that already, don’t you? After all, this is happening all over again.”

I never dared to confront my enemies face to face...... I always sought to excel them through schemes and means to win. Cowering myself in the shadows I watch them blindly fall into my traps...... a method I crafted so much to earn a living......

“Besides. Your reason for being involved in such a shady business is not for financial issues... Oh no... that’s just another excuse. In reality... you enjoyed doing all of that......” The Shadow gave the most gruesome evil smile. The yellow eyes made it all worse.

“Please stop.....” I started to beg.

“You were so hooked up on your view of pain. You welcomed it like it's your best friend. I'd say you were more addicted to it, like drugs. You enjoyed doing risky deals, and being punched to death because that’s how you viewed your life. A world of non-stop rain.”

“Stop... I beg of you!”

“What's worse, you loved to inflict pain upon others. Especially those who are unjust...... because they inflict pain and fear upon others. You wanted to teach them a lesson in return.”

“No! No!” I covered my eyes instinctively, knowing well that won't stop the inner voice.

“You wanted a world filled with pain.... and you got your wish......”

“THATS NOT TRUE! I DIDN'T WANT ANY OF THIS!”

“Is that so? Then why did you curse your mother?”

“I....!”

“Yet again you used her as your comfort pillow while she was unaware you were in reality inflicting an unimaginative ocean of pain on her.... and in return.... you kill-”

“I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!” I shouted as I stood up and held him by the collar.

“IT JUST FUCKING HAPPENED ALRIGHT! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE BORN WITH SUCH PERSONALITY! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE A MASOCHIST OR SADIST FREAK! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE ALIVE! AND MOST CERTAINLY I DIDN'T ASK TO BE BORN INTO THIS ACCURSED WORLD! I DIDN'T ASK TO LEARN THE TRUTH! I DID FUCKING ASK ANY OF THIS! I ALWAYS! ALWAYS WANTED TO DIE!”

After releasing my inner rage... I broke down as I let go of my shadow and fell back on my knees in defeat and abjection...

“So, you admit... you are a Cancer?” the shadow asked.

“.................................................. I am..............” I admitted as I tore out. “I always wanted to find my place anywhere.... but I was too abnormal to be even considered to be alive...... therefore.... I wanted to die....”

“Even when you had good people in your life. You shattered them away because you were afraid to inflict pain on those who you care, right?”

“...........................................Yes..........................”

“Huh! What a pathetic man, aren't we?” he said ironically.

I knew all along I was born as a mistake into any world. My whole existence was a mistake in itself. And when I was finally met with the truth of our world, the Reality of how every living soul in this world is a mistake. I was met with horror beyond extinction.

When I chose to read as many books as could have. I aimed to bring pleasure and joy to the everlasting darkness I was accustomed to. That there is always light in the darkness.... the light I failed to see always... but always hoped for someday. But when I witnessed the end of the world. The elder ones... I loathed myself and everyone around me.

Therefore I lost sight of the light, I was looking for all this time. And lost hope in the whole species itself. Evident by the death of my mother, the Vikings.

This was my punishment.....

“You can't be Thomas in ever. But doesn’t mean you have to end it here and now. After all, you are still the main protagonist of this unfortunate tale.”

“What?!” I looked at him in Confusion.

“Makas! Let me ask you a question.” The shadow turned his face for a moment then gave a small glance from behind. “How do you feel all about this?”

“I don’t.... understand.”

“Ah! Allow me to rephrase it. How do you feel when I laugh at your pantheism as a source of irony and mockery? Nothing more than a joke.” The shadow said fool-heartedly.

I looked back at him. With a steering bitter cold eye, filled with a ravenous spirit of a raging wolf.

“Anger...... that’s right.” He smiled sadistically. “You have bottled up so much hate. So much grudge to everything around you...you hated the world so much that you always knew that by now it's impossible to heal back. And worse...... the whole existence is blinded to the truth. Living happily ever after in their dream world they fantasized. A fate crueler than death!”

That’s right.... I hated everything... I hated the world... I hated the gods... I hated the people...... I hated the demons...... I hated the unjust Fred upon us all... I hated how the innocents were subjected to such treatment... I hated this dream I could never escape from......

I hated it all......

“So, let me ask you this...... why not use this anger of yours?” he said with a daredevil face.

“Use it?” I asked confusedly.

“Recall Milwak words?”

“Huh!” I paused in recollection.

(I acknowledged those dark memories that surmised guilt, regret, nightmares, failures, everything! And used them as a weapon of destiny, as an excuse to fill back myself with a new goal to purist. A new reason to follow after. All these experiences I learned did not go to waste. They happened for a reason, and I aim to seek after that reason. And continue on this cycle until I achieve my goal, or when death knocks on the door. Either way, I found my reason

“Use.... my anger...... as a weapon?.” I asked stutteringly.

“Yes...... Use your hate Makas...... your anger...... your guilt...... your worthlessness.…. And make wroth out of them...... BY HUNTING THEM DOWN!”

The shadow held me up to my collar. I reacted with fear as I saw his yellowish ghastly demonic eyes.

“Those Gods took everything from you... your friends… Your family...... Who took away the beauty of life...... and the satisfying sweet end of death...... who took away your freedom by turning you into this mess...... by bringing you back to life!”

Is this a proper reason to live? To become a murderous lunatic? Is this a way of living? A vengeful life?

“Don't doubt yourself Makas.......” For a moment the shadow took the appearance of a caring figure. They quickly restored back into the viscous demon's face. “THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM YOU! SO, TAKE EVERYTHING FROM THEM! HAVE YOUR REVEGNAE KNIGHT!”

After that monologue, the shadow dropped me down as he reacted back as I continued to question myself.

“Is it okay to have a wish?” I asked shockingly.

“Does it matter?” The shadow shrugged. “There is no heaven or hell.... there is a happy or a bad ending... everything you do here is pointless for the end....... but it's sure hell lot better than constantly crying right? I mean...... this whole world is a dream after. Right?”

“What?!”

“You will understand that soon enough.” He chuckled. “But from my perspective. This world is short nothing more than a dream.”

“What... what are you saying?!”

“Dreams can be sometimes beautiful and serene while awful as it might be... I wonder why that...” He spoke curiously while I recalled flashbacks from the alluring times I spent with my mother and times that my life bleached from hope, coveted in shadows.

I gasped as I looked back at what he meant.

“In the dream, nobody is there to judge you.... not even the gods...... they aren't real as much as you are!” the shadow laughed off wickedly. “So, you can become a hero.... a saint.... a cleric... a killer... an animal... a demon...... but I'd say why not a vengeful man? Sounds poetic with your backstory.”

Yes.... if I live in such a non-judgmental world.... who cares what I do? I can do anything.... even if I am bound to an inevitable end... I am free here and now...... I could have a reason to live...... to kill.... to revenge......

“So.... what do you think........ partner?” The shadow said atrociously as he spread his arm wide open.

“I................ want................. to hunt them................ all.........” I said coldly as I narrowed my eyes and tensed my fist in rage.

“Hahahaha! Sounds like we have a deal......” the shadow approached me as he asked one final question while extending his hand. “Then you are ready to perform the contract?”

“.................................. Yes............... I am.........” I answered instinctively as madness took the better of me at that moment. Controlling consciousness completely.

“Stab yourself to heart and then repeat after me......”

I stood up, looking all dead pale face at him. Emotionless and boundless.

I took Winfrey's dagger and without hesitation stabbed myself.

I grunted and fell out of pain, but what was left of my vital life source kept enough for a little longer to utter those last words.

I am a man who vows to burn all its unlightened ideals in search of enlightenment.

Thou hast performed a new contract.

It shall become my guiding moonlight of the night and the glimmer of incandesce of the day that thy chained me down to a new destiny.

But in breaking free of doubt, the chain that impedes thee is thy strength of heart made manifest.

With the birth of a new Persona and by the will of the shadow

I have obtained the blessed wings of infinite hood that shall lead to freedom and new power...

Thus, the vow stands renewed in pursuit of the truth.

After repeating these words in my head. I could a strange ominous yet refreshing strings of emotions crawling down my body. Like the cold numbing down one’s skin.

Only... I didn’t feel cold.... no cheeriness.... or sadness.... not anymore.

I felt nothing......

“Rise Infinity slayer, for that is our curse and only yours to control...”

I opened my eyes finally, looking around only to see the shadow was gone and the hollowed ones finally took notice of me as they invited themselves to feast me down....

I knew then...... my destiny...... my new persona......

I strained my body with a tedious unwary strength as my Veins glowed red the scarlet color of blood with my eyes narrowed shimmers of bloodlust red, like a ruthless predator ready to hunt

I pulled my knife.... ready as ever as I whispered those words....

“I am going to find them all...... and I am going to kill them all...... every.... last.... one of them......”

[https://yourimageshare.com/ib/4GswCTVJli.webp]