A haunting echo dominated the domain where my body drifted lifelessly, an awkward corpse in the dead waters. Waiting patiently with neither false hope nor despair, muscles relaxed in anticipation. A small fish nibbling away at my fingers had its fate sealed. Skillfully crushed in a fist, it is my duty not to make a grand spill of the nuisance.

Out of the blues, all my senses jolted up in a joyous chorus. A happy occasion for celebration, for it is the stinking smell of the surface dwellers!

Subconsciously, my body snaked forward. Despite centuries of practice, the master can hardly contains the voracious beast in the unstoppable heartbeat. Undeniable is the thirst for the taste of blood, the longing for the melody of screams. The Great River of Time has washed away my origins. Am I nothing more than a primitive creature now? Denial is sustained to this age with many thanks to my little hobby. The intense focus that demands out of the violent curriculum helps to keep the mind from wandering too far. Royal blood defiled. Honor and pride eroded. Still, I hold on to the last straw of sanity unyieldingly. Is there hope for me yet?

In the distance, the ignorant target came into view. The revolting mess was enormous by the standard of land crawlers. Its body was not a work of pride or of excellent craftsmanship, but it was no fault of Nature. Stitches ran amok on every conceivable patch of skin, maggots darting in and out of the opportunistic gaps, and flies buzzing close by as if to outline the aura of stench. It didn't seems to mind its sorry state, it was not bothered by the stains of dried blood that colored a large section of its body, not even the numerous cuts and holes left behind from past encounters. Its very existence is a sin, a mistake, such that the only avenue of repentance is death, and I will be The One to bear the deliverance. I can't wait to correct it.

It had company. A group of two-legged chimpanzees outfitted with armors, shields and swords. What do they hope to accomplish? Those metal clothing and steel sticks are toys in my glassy eyes and I am quite sure the walking carcass will agree with me. There are doubts however, of the possibility of intelligence residing in that lump of decaying meats.

Past experiences predict the failure of the tiny humans. They are not worth the effort. However, the foul beast's work was far from completion, with those pesky little pests poking its body tirelessly. The struggle had made little progress. Those pests dodged and ducked its retarded blows, while their attacks barely scratched the hideous creature. My heavy tail started to sway restlessly, drawing little inconspicuous ripples.

Oh! Finally, there is casualty. The slow coach slashed his whip and caught one of them. A fiery delight burnt in the chilly environment of dark liquid, and imprisoned within an even colder shell of unfeeling scales. With a pull, the little man was brought to its face. Parting its jaws to reveal a feeding contraption that was infested with more maggots, the mindless one clamped down hard and parted the head from body. That's more like it!

The excitement caused bursts of bubbles to escape my gills, which regained their freedom on the surface. Still, no one noticed.

One of the pests was quite agitated, perhaps over the loss of his comrade. Charged blindly, the mad homo sapien immersed the metal component into my prey's abdomen. Foolish hairless ape! The large cleaver went right through the fool's midsection, dissecting the loser in half literally. Excellent butcher. I would have commended it as a natural butcher, but that would be technically improper.

The last of the party crashers discarded his weapon before fleeing, no desire to join his comrades' fate. How disappointing, he could have wheezed up my appetite further. The fat ass proceeded to collect the aftermath of the brawl and stored them in its stomach.

Blinking stupidly, it surveyed the surroundings for any more snacks. There were none, but its processing of visual information was obviously impaired. Yes, move your clumsy butt over here! Come to papa.

I rise! My whole body tore through the waters like an arrow in flight and fluidly sank my weapon right in its left shoulder. I miss. It should be the neck, but I wouldn't mind cutting you up. I will enjoy it. Trust me, my large blade will do a good job.

Pressed down hard, the blade went through and removed the left arm altogether. At least I wouldn't need to be concerned of your whip.

A cleaver swung across and forced me away. My trusty blade subsequently blocks its futile blows with ease. Pulling back, a swing is launched, which drove my metallic friend forward in an arc. The stroke exhibited the inner mechanisms of my prey. Measly grey matters resembled those of a human. Took by surprise, I actually expected something out of this world from the unnatural entity.

There is no challenge at all. I will have to choose a better target next time. While I felt like dozing off, the wretched blob caught me off-guard when it lunged forward and took a bite on my arm, taking away a sizable piece of flesh and scales. The marvelous wound contributed by my blade slowly and unbelievably healed, as the imbecile munched on my flesh.

Watching its lips rotating in a gradual, circular motion, I realized I have just been made a mockery by the disgusting fiend. My sleepy, half-shut eyes revealed in their entirety and lit with an unwavering blaze.

That's it! I have enough toying with you! You have earned my ire and you shall pay for it with immediate termination of your existence.

Faced away, my heavy tail altered its mundane task of balance and movement, and slapped the imbecile across the face. The meat lump slammed down with a loud thud. I could hardly maintain my emotionless expression when the meatball was back on its feet. It tickled my funny bone just to see its head and back facing me.

An ice shard formed in my hand and soon lodged itself inside the recipient of my wrath. The unholy being's movements reduced to a snail's pace, when I cast a net over it. My body thrust high in the air before it hit the waters, dragging the hapless one down with me.

Dive deep, deeper and deeper still, until sunlight barely penetrated. The net was released and just as expected, it was only a frightened infant trapped in the icy embrace of the mystical depths.

This is my theatre. I darted about with irreplaceable ecstasy in the familiar environment. Circling the disoriented child, I watched with amusement as it frantically thrashed its limbs, trying to secure a bearing or a foothold.

This is the end. Operatic tunes filled my mind as I moved in gracefully to my patient and applied precise strokes of a surgeon. Started with the remaining arm, down to the left leg, followed by the right leg and ended the operation with the head. Another flawless performance, and much better than the last trip. Perfect.

Scrutinizing the head closely, I spotted a tint of innocence in those dish-size eyeballs. What a paradox. I almost suspected there were remnants of goodness in this monster. I must be hallucinating.

The spread of the substance of life is masked by the darkness. Nevertheless, my sensitive tongue is able to lick up the diffusion without much difficulty. Such pleasure can only be matched by the thrill of the kill.

The suffering would be prolonged if the monster was capable of expressing pain. The suffering would be prolonged if I didn't promise my love to tidy up the place.

The fairer half is quite particular when it comes to cleanliness. As usual, the land above provided an excellent hiding place for my collection. The strong smell that lingered after the excursion is the real headache. A solution must be found soon. Another round of the incessant reproach, and turning into a senseless reptile will not be such a terrible fate.

Marveled at the litter of flesh and bones on the bottom of the waters with much satisfaction, I am totally lost in thoughts.

Maybe it is still early.

Maybe there is enough time.

Maybe I shall add another game to my collection before I call it a day.