"Mother! Iris!" I called out desperately, but there was no reply.
The entire village lay in ruin; from the elderly to the children, no one had been spared. I traversed the sea of corpses, my heart heavy with dread. I checked each one, praying not to find the face of a loved one, but my hope was in vain.
Before me lay the lifeless form of someone I had cared for deeply, my first love.
"Cecilia, no..." I knelt beside her, gazing into her unseeing eyes.
Gently, I closed her eyelids as a single tear fell on her once rosy cheeks.
"You deserved better than this... I'm sorry..." I murmured as the weight of guilt overwhelmed me.
What had I been thinking? That I could lead a happy life? That I could protect everyone? If only I never existed, this would never have happened, and you would be alive.
"Rest now. I'll join you soon." I whispered, running my fingers through her lush red hair one last time.
As I walked away from her, hatred consumed me even more and the smoke grew darker.
Avians soared above, their eyes preying upon me. They circled like vultures closing in on their prey, yet little did they realize that the roles had reversed – I was the hunter, and they were the hunted. Swiftly, I ascended and seized the nearest avian by the throat, pinning him to the ground with my knee pressed against his chest.
"Where is my family?" I inquired calmly.
"What family? You have no such thing," the avian sneered with a wicked grin.
"I'll ask once more, with courtesy. Where are they?" I pressed.
"Like I said, you have no family. An abomination such as yourself doesn't deserve such things! You are a child of dark, and darkness you will bring upon us!" he spat in my face and then continued to boast.
"On a closer look, you don't look that..." Before he could finish the sentence, I snapped his neck, rendering him incapable of uttering another word.
"Now then, does anyone else have anything to add?" I gazed up at the remaining avians, their faces etched with fury as they shifted into battle formation.
Many more descended; summoners took positions at the rear, archers in the middle, and melee soldiers at the front.
"Archers! Prepare your bows! Aim! Release!" one of the commanders issued orders, and the archers followed. A barrage of arrows, infused with light magic, began coming my way.
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I knelt, my wings infused with a cloak of darkness acting as a shield. Every single arrow passed right through the dark energy as the cloak consumed them.
"Summoners! Unleash the drakes!" once more, one of the commanders issued the orders, though this time, his voice quivered slightly.
"O grand creatures from distant realms, listen to my plea and obey my reign! Arise, drakes molded from the pits of fire! Burn all those who stand against your sire!" The summoners chanted in harmony, and dozens of arcane circles materialized on the ground, from which emerged a dozen drakes.
They closed in from every direction, formidable creatures resembling dragons with their crimson scales and razor-sharp claws. These beings were huge, yet not quite as massive as true dragons or wyverns. They were about six feet tall, and their bodies extended roughly twelve feet in length. Instead of the typical scaly armor, their chest pulsed with an inner fire, a fiery core that seemed more akin to molten lava, which I assumed was their weak point.
"Alright, you ugly lizards! Come and get me!" I said with my arms wide open, which seemed to agitate the drakes.
They all snarled and launched their assault, a fight that might have been manageable if their numbers weren't so overwhelming. Fortunately, their lack of wings leveled the playing field somewhat. But I couldn't let my guard down, not with those avians still circling above.
The drakes were incredibly swift, catching me off guard. One of them leaped at me, crashing into my chest and sending me sprawling onto my back. The creature's fury was relentless, its fiery breath scalding as bits of lava sizzled from its gaping maw. The only thing standing between me and a gruesome fate was my arms, strained to their limits as they held the drake at bay.
"Get... off me..." I struggled, then loosened one of my arms and channeled dark energy into my clenched fist, thrusting it through the drake's chest and ripping out its heart.
One thing was clear: I couldn't afford to battle these drakes one by one. I was trapped, surrounded by avians controlling the sky and drakes on the ground. I needed an attack that could clear the field in one fell swoop.
Once more, I looked up at the sphere of darkness in the sky. It had saved me once, and it could do so again. When demons swarmed me, I had absorbed only a tiny fraction of that power, and that was enough to obliterate every single one of them. This time would be no different. My arm was raised, channeling a dark orb that served as a magnet between myself and the sphere. Massive amounts of dark energy started pouring into me, making me more powerful by the minute.
"Stop him now! Don't let him consume any more of that thing!" one of the commanders cried out, his face etched with dread.
The entire army attacked at once. Arrows rained upon me, and soldiers closed in with blades drawn, but it was all in vain. I was untouchable. The likes of them could never harm me, as long as I had the power of darkness, it would take a god to defeat me.
"Enough, already," I severed the connection with the sphere, my body now coated in even more darkness than before.
My clenched fists generated another dark orb. But this one felt different, more potent than the previous one. It seemed capable of devouring an entire mountain. All that was left was to test it. I released the orb, watching it hover, growing, awaiting my command.
I snapped my fingers, and the orb exploded, releasing a thick veil of darkness that spread in all directions, consuming all life in its path. The avians were frozen in place, struck by fear as their eyes looked death right in the face. In but a moment, my foes vanished, the entire avian army erased as if they had never existed.