I felt skin and muscle part underneath my blade. Blood rushed down my hands and the gurgle of a choking man mixed with the music that pounded into my ears. My heart pulsed, and something churned inside of me. It was like a muscle that I had long since forgotten, and the only time that I could ever seem to feel it was moments like this where my life was on the line.
My knife twisted, and the wall behind the man was painted in a brilliant arc of crimson. My mind flashed for a second, and I fell into a trance as my body moved of its own accord. Was it the desire to kill that fueled me? Or was it the desire to better myself my driving force? I stepped around a wild fist, and my knife flashed out and reaped another life in a crimson arc.
My thoughts became clearer as the bloodlust within me was sated ever so slightly. Maybe I really was running from something? But what? I felt my face contort as I dove forward and slammed a palm into another of the nameless bodyguard’s face. A bone crunched under the power of my blow, and my knife followed shortly after, easily cleaving through his throat.
No, I think it was a mixture of everything. I needed to be better; I needed to get stronger, yet there was something in the back of my mind that I felt. Shame, sadness, and loss clung to me and had their claws pressed deep into my soul. They told me I could have been better, I could have been stronger, yet I wasn’t good enough.
The thought of that drove me nuts, and I took the irritation out on another passing guard. I snuffed his life in a single sweep of my hand and another arc of blood painted the wall. Three lives taken in under two seconds. Three lives, which meant nothing to me in the grand scheme of things. I should have felt something, but I couldn’t. There was nothing there but emptiness. What was another life taken compared to how much blood was already on my hands?
I stepped through the large doors, and my focus shifted to the lobby in front of me. My heart thrummed like a wild horse as the scent of blood reached into my nose and yanked me forward. My vision blurred and the enormous expanse condensed down to the size of a pinprick. In the depths of my being, I could feel a deep roar that shook my bones and a strange energy circulating in my chest.
With a single step forward, my heartbeat quickened, and my muscles pulled back like a spring. In an instant, I stepped forward and covered the distance of the lobby in a few seconds. Many would consider these abilities unnatural, but I knew I was only scratching the surface. But progressing any further felt impossible, as if there was a barrier I couldn’t break through here.
My knife flashed, and I stole two more lives faster than I can blink. Screaming tore through the air around me, and fell into the beat of the song I was listening to. The music rolled, and my heart beat fell into tandem with it. I stepped to the side, and threw my knife at a guard that had just turned the corner.
My body moved of its own accord, and the sound of an alarm mixed with the music. A feral grin crossed my face as I pushed further into the building. Body after body fell, and it all became a blur. My vision shifted and the metal walls faded into another scene.
This was on a large plain, and in front of me stood thousands of shambling warriors. Zombies, skeletons, liches, wights, and everything in between. Their eyes are lifeless, and their motions are thoughtless. It filled me with such anger and heartbreak I couldn’t contain myself. I dove into the mass of shambling undead, and danced through their ranks. Heads fell, and bodies shattered under my relentless assault. Reality blended with my dreams as I pushed forward. My vision flickered back and forth as I wove between the dozens of faceless guards that had appeared. For a few fleeting seconds, they looked like zombies, other times they were human. Time slowed to a painful crawl as I dove into the mass of guards. My mind was caught between reality and what felt like another set of memories.
I cleanly snapped the wrist of the closest guard and swung his body out. The cough of a few pistols filled the air and slammed into the chest of the man I was holding. My vision blurred, and color faded into red. Anger, sadness, guilt, shame, and everything in between danced through my body. “Why Quintus? Why did you betray us?” I whispered as I threw the guard to the side and snapped his pistol out of the air. I rolled across the ground and fired four shots. Each slammed home into the legs of the various guards, dropping them to the ground.
Once more my vision changed, and I stood in a city captured by flames. The cries and screams reached my ears, and the acrid stench of burning bodies broke my heart. “Why? Why would you do this?” The pain in my heart exploded outwards as I felt tears flow down my face.
The scene in front of me shattered away and shifted back to the present. My body moved off of its own accord as I began my dance once again. Bodies fell and blood painted the wall in macabre scenes. But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered to me. All that was is the pain in my heart that filled every fiber of my being. Pain, I wanted to stop, Anger I couldn’t fix. I was falling into my own bloodlust and my eyes starting to opened once more. I felt alive, I felt like me again, if only just barely.
It felt like hours as I danced through all the guards. Yet I knew it only took less than seven minutes. Seven, to reap a bloody toll, and fight my way up to the fourth floor. There were countless above me, but going up that far was not needed. My target was close by.
This time, there was a full hallway of guards. Each was armed with rifles and submachine guns. Exhilaration tore through my body and a laugh ripped through my throat. Did they really think a bullet could hurt me? I rushed forward as time pulled to a standstill. Each round slowed to a snail’s pace in front of me and I easily stepped through the hail of fire.
In a flash, I got to the first person and jumped. I brought the pistol I had taken up, and fired off a single shot into his head, and cleanly stole the rifle he had, all before he could land. My body moved of its own accord as I rolled, and fired, dodging each bullet like I was nothing more than a phantom. Guard after guard fell to my movements quicker then I could blink. Each life taken as easily as I had breathed. Each second that passed, brought back more feelings that lived deep within the recesses of my mind. This was who I was, a warrior beyond reproach. A dragon with no master. I am death and I am the end, and no one will stand before me. Not ever again.
I felt skin and muscle part underneath my blade. Blood rushed down my hands and the gurgle of a choking man mixed with the music that pounded into my ears. My heart pulsed, and something churned inside of me. It was like a muscle that I had long since forgotten, and the only time that I could ever seem to feel it was moments like this where my life was on the line.
My knife twisted, and the wall behind the man was painted in a brilliant arc of crimson. My mind flashed for a second, and I fell into a trance as my body moved of its own accord. Was it the desire to kill that fueled me? Or was it the desire to better myself my driving force? I stepped around a wild fist, and my knife flashed out and reaped another life in a crimson arc.
My thoughts became clearer as the bloodlust within me was sated ever so slightly. Maybe I really was running from something? But what? I felt my face contort as I dove forward and slammed a palm into another of the nameless bodyguard’s face. A bone crunched under the power of my blow, and my knife followed shortly after, easily cleaving through his throat.
No, I think it was a mixture of everything. I needed to be better; I needed to get stronger, yet there was something in the back of my mind that I felt. Shame, sadness, and loss clung to me and had their claws pressed deep into my soul. They told me I could have been better, I could have been stronger, yet I wasn’t good enough.
The thought of that drove me nuts, and I took the irritation out on another passing guard. I snuffed his life in a single sweep of my hand and another arc of blood painted the wall. Three lives taken in under two seconds. Three lives, which meant nothing to me in the grand scheme of things. I should have felt something, but I couldn’t. There was nothing there but emptiness. What was another life taken compared to how much blood was already on my hands?
I stepped through the large doors, and my focus shifted to the lobby in front of me. My heart thrummed like a wild horse as the scent of blood reached into my nose and yanked me forward. My vision blurred and the enormous expanse condensed down to the size of a pinprick. In the depths of my being, I could feel a deep roar that shook my bones and a strange energy circulating in my chest.
With a single step forward, my heartbeat quickened, and my muscles pulled back like a spring. In an instant, I stepped forward and covered the distance of the lobby in a few seconds. Many would consider these abilities unnatural, but I knew I was only scratching the surface. But progressing any further felt impossible, as if there was a barrier I couldn’t break through here.
My knife flashed, and I stole two more lives faster than I can blink. Screaming tore through the air around me, and fell into the beat of the song I was listening to. The music rolled, and my heart beat fell into tandem with it. I stepped to the side, and threw my knife at a guard that had just turned the corner.
My body moved of its own accord, and the sound of an alarm mixed with the music. A feral grin crossed my face as I pushed further into the building. Body after body fell, and it all became a blur. My vision shifted and the metal walls faded into another scene.
This was on a large plain, and in front of me stood thousands of shambling warriors. Zombies, skeletons, liches, wights, and everything in between. Their eyes are lifeless, and their motions are thoughtless. It filled me with such anger and heartbreak I couldn’t contain myself. I dove into the mass of shambling undead, and danced through their ranks. Heads fell, and bodies shattered under my relentless assault. Reality blended with my dreams as I pushed forward. My vision flickered back and forth as I wove between the dozens of faceless guards that had appeared. For a few fleeting seconds, they looked like zombies, other times they were human. Time slowed to a painful crawl as I dove into the mass of guards. My mind was caught between reality and what felt like another set of memories.
I cleanly snapped the wrist of the closest guard and swung his body out. The cough of a few pistols filled the air and slammed into the chest of the man I was holding. My vision blurred, and color faded into red. Anger, sadness, guilt, shame, and everything in between danced through my body. “Why Quintus? Why did you betray us?” I whispered as I threw the guard to the side and snapped his pistol out of the air. I rolled across the ground and fired four shots. Each slammed home into the legs of the various guards, dropping them to the ground.
Once more my vision changed, and I stood in a city captured by flames. The cries and screams reached my ears, and the acrid stench of burning bodies broke my heart. “Why? Why would you do this?” The pain in my heart exploded outwards as I felt tears flow down my face.
The scene in front of me shattered away and shifted back to the present. My body moved off of its own accord as I began my dance once again. Bodies fell and blood painted the wall in macabre scenes. But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered to me. All that was is the pain in my heart that filled every fiber of my being. Pain, I wanted to stop, Anger I couldn’t fix. I was falling into my own bloodlust and my eyes starting to opened once more. I felt alive, I felt like me again, if only just barely.
It felt like hours as I danced through all the guards. Yet I knew it only took less than seven minutes. Seven, to reap a bloody toll, and fight my way up to the fourth floor. There were countless above me, but going up that far was not needed. My target was close by.
This time, there was a full hallway of guards. Each was armed with rifles and submachine guns. Exhilaration tore through my body and a laugh ripped through my throat. Did they really think a bullet could hurt me? I rushed forward as time pulled to a standstill. Each round slowed to a snail’s pace in front of me and I easily stepped through the hail of fire.
In a flash, I got to the first person and jumped. I brought the pistol I had taken up, and fired off a single shot into his head, and cleanly stole the rifle he had, all before he could land. My body moved of its own accord as I rolled, and fired, dodging each bullet like I was nothing more than a phantom. Guard after guard fell to my movements quicker then I could blink. Each life taken as easily as I had breathed. Each second that passed, brought back more feelings that lived deep within the recesses of my mind. This was who I was, a warrior beyond reproach. A dragon with no master. I am death and I am the end, and no one will stand before me. Not ever again.
