ELEGY OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER 1

There you lay, in the muck and mud. That spot was warm. It had been that way for as long as you could remember. A thick layer of dust and dirt covered your body. You were weak, and had had nothing in the way of food for ages. Your lips were cracked, your hair all but gone, your ribcage protruded, and scars lined your back.

The echoes of your screams for freedom reverberated throughout the asylum for the first few years. No one came, of course, and you fell silent, as all Hollows do. You then took to beating, gnashing, and kicking at the cell door. You quit this venture as well, but only after your knuckles broke, your feet tore, and your teeth shattered. How long had it been since you'd first arrived? Decades? Centuries? The concept of time seemed foreign to you, somehow.

A loud crash pulled you from your thoughts. The body of some other blight had fallen through the sunroof and landed in the middle of the room. Its body was no more broken than yours, though it was adorned with several extra slash marks. Above you, on the sunroof, a knight clad in armor loomed for a moment before he drew back. You hadn't noticed the incredible amount of noise that came from the roof until then; the clang of metal, the screams, and what sounded like the roof caving in. Your bloodshot eyes drifted to the corpse, and you rose to your feet. After pillaging the corpse, you found a key, presumably the key to the door.

The realization crept upon you slowly as you stood there staring blankly at the rotted walls. Your eyes grew wide with elation. You were free. Within a few seconds, they sank once more. You were free. What is the cost of freedom? These walls, these dirt and blood-ridden, rotten walls are your sanctuary, your haven, aren't they? These thoughts blazed through your mind as you thrashed and flailed around the room for hours on end. You threw yourself from wall to wall, falling to accrue a new layer of dirt every few moments.

The door creaked open after you struggled to fit the key through the lock. Your fingers, along with the rest of your body, were battered and bloody from their recent abuse. You paused again. You couldn't possibly leave. You were simply a weakling in a cruel world. A world you weren't meant for. This cell was your home, your life, everything you are; how could you leave it? Your first step was short, but it may as well have been a continental leap. You know not of your fate, Undead.

Your feverish worrying was interrupted by a low growl. Another Hollow was further down the hall, with yellowed eyes and a worn body, much like yours. How had he gotten out? Within an instant, you, with all your might, set upon him, knocking him to the cold brick ground. With your long, unkempt nails, you ripped and clawed into the Hollow's chest, spraying its blood from wall to wall until it twitched no more. You may retain some of your humanity yet, young Hollow. That's what humans do, isn't it? Trample those who stand in your path? You stood over the cadaver, and a fiery black mass appeared over it, somehow being drawn to you. No, you were drawn to it. As the thing dissipated into your body, you suddenly craved more, insatiably so. You began to lose what sanity you had once again. Not for want of security, like the moments prior, but lust for the warmth that you had felt. More. There must be more.

And so you departed in a mad scramble. Never mind your battered figure as it hit clashed with the bricks. You need flame. Before long, you found yourself stumbling into a courtyard of sorts. In the center, there was a sword standing atop a pile of ash, bones, and dust. A rusty old thing, you ignored it at first. You needed a weapon, and a crude, deformed blade such as that would do you as much good as your bare hands. Amusing, how you know so little of the workings of the world. A faint wind breezed past you, carrying a bit of ash from underneath the sword. It was faint, but you heard a whisper on the wind. "Fire," it said. You immediately turned on your heel to look at the thing once more. As if on instinct, you brought your hand to the sword. The ash suddenly sprang to life, twisting and churning as a pillar of fire erupted around the sword. With your cracked lips, you muttered the word "bonfire" and sat beside your discovery.

You were happy. You were content with this feeble flame which stood no taller than a foot. This is not the height of your destiny, you depraved being. Your calling is greater than a mere cinder. As you idled, you felt compelled to reach into the bonfire once more. As you withdrew, your skin returned to its natural pale hue, your many wounds healed, your hair regrew, and your wrinkles faded away. You were human again. The flame cackled, and in its light, you saw more of that black mass, humanity, as it's called. That hunger flared up once more. There must be more out there. More humanity, more fire. Go, little moth, seek your Fire; seek and find solace in warmth.

There was a large door at the top of a short flight of steps near the bonfire. After opening it, you walked in, confident in your stride and purpose. Almost immediately, your resolve was challenged as something fell, and sent you tumbling to the ground due to the force. A massive beast unlike anything you had seen stalked you. No, this thing was no beast, it was a demon. It snarled at you with its massive teeth. Despite it being extremely large, it had a pathetically small pair of wings, which would, at best, allow it to hover for a few seconds. The hammer which it wielded, however, was large enough to crush a whale's skull. You wouldn't let a mere demon stand in your way, however, your insatiable lust for humanity would carry you, and grant you the strength and dexterity to overcome anyone and anything. You scoffed at the demon, and charged at it, fists raised. Within seven seconds, you were crushed beneath the weight of the hammer, and as you attempted to recover, the demon itself then promptly sat on you, crushing your bones beneath its rear end. You heard its distorted laughter as the world turned to monochrome, and then faded to black.