A little short story from Zarc's POV (I rarely do first person perspective, but hey) while I'm working on the next chapter of When Darkness Falls. I'm hoping to get that chapter out sometime soon, and I'm getting back into Arc-V by rewatching the series, so yeah! :)
Little kudos to Shimmering-Sky as I remember that one of her older one-shots is similar to this one. Forgive my writing; it has been a while since I have done something like this. XD
W-what...where am I?
I blinked my eyes once. Twice. But all I could see was darkness. All I could hear was a deafening silence, save for my own breaths.
But there was pain. Lots of it, coursing through my being, and it was absolutely horrible.
I winced, biting my lip as I try to numb or ease it in some way. It was agonizing. I could feel the dull aches and throbs, a soreness in all my muscles and joints that never ended, and a continuous shock of what could be best described as a combination of fire and electricity in my skull and chest.
I wanted to scream, it was so unbearable.
Please make it stop! I can't take this anymore! Make the pain stop!
It felt as if my very soul and body had been ripped apart, severed into multiple pieces. If only there was some sort of relief...
I scrunched my eyes shut, moaning softly. I couldn't speak, not with all of this torturous agony spreading throughout my body (which I can't even see). It never seemed to end or cease, and I tried my best to move or curl up, anything that could provide some relief.
A sickening thought then entered my mind: is this what Hell is? Am I dead?
What did I do to deserve this? I couldn't find an answer, mostly due to the throbbing in my brain. It hurt to even think at this rate.
To take some of my mind off of the pain and darkness, I went over all of my memories, anything that I could remember. I started with myself.
Name...my name is...I-I don't know it.
What is my name?!
I'm nineteen—no, twenty-years-old. I have...no siblings or family.
No, wait...I do have my...my dragons. My dragons! Where are they? Are they here?
Odd-Eyes! Dark Rebellion! Clear Wing! Starve Venom! Are you here? Please...answer me! Please!
Where are my four friends, my dragon companions? They should be here in this darkness too, right? Please, I don't want to be alone here!
Where are you guys...don't tell me...I'm the only one in this Hell...
I called out their names again and again, but there was no response. No roars or chirps or anything that sounded like them. I wanted to cry so hard, but this pain wracking through my body robbed me of any tears. I didn't want to bear with the thought that I was alone, or that I was going to suffer without anyone to help me.
Please, I've been through enough! I don't want any more pain! Why am I suffering? What did I do...what happened to me that led to this?
I couldn't remember anything else; my skull throbbed before I could think any more. I scrunched my eyes shut, feeling the strain behind them. Movement was impossible, relief was unattainable, and I couldn't scream or cry out because no one else is here.
Must I continue to suffer?
This couldn't be my fate. I moaned again, unsure if I'm lying on the "ground" as I curled up. My eyes and ears burned, and everything else was on greater fire.
I want this torment to stop...please make it stop...
How much time had passed? I couldn't tell if it's been hours, days, weeks, or even years. The pain would slowly fade away at times, and I would often wake up seeing from someone else's eyes. But I don't know whose...
But the first time that happened, I heard one of my dragons, my closest friends, and my heart was bursting with joy. I recognized that roar anywhere.
Odd-Eyes, you're back!
After so long, I finally found my friend again after so long, and for once, I didn't care that I was in pain and suffering. All that I wished for was to see his face and greet him, but...his cries...
You sound angry yet fearful...is it because of something involving me?
I still had very few memories, but I'm slowly gathering up the pieces from time to time. Outside of my name and the dragons, I started to remember the old world, the Original Dimension as it was called. The crowds, the everyday people, the duels, the crazed cheers of the audience screaming out someone's name...
Who is Zarc? Is that...my name?
But it stopped there. I was still confused and had more questions than answers. The audience was clearly enjoying the performances, there was nothing wrong with that. My dragons and I were being accepted and having fun with each other! It still didn't explain why I'm still here in this dark, cramped, silent abyss!
Anger raged in my heart. I didn't deserve this! I want my old body back, my eyes, my hands, my feet, everything! I want to get out of here to see my friends again, to duel again! Surely, that's not a crime!
I didn't want this pain, whether it be physical or mental. So why can't I escape?
Why am I here?
It didn't take long for me to hear the roar of my second comrade, and my heart was lifted once more. Any anger that I contained within my mind dissipated briefly, and my sight returned to me. Even if it was for a single moment, even if I was doomed to return to that abyss...that second was enough for my voice to ring back to him.
Dark Rebellion! My friend! You're finally here!
However, I caught the similarity of his voice with Odd-Eyes. It held the same anger, the same fear, the same anguish, and it broke my heart from hearing it. He wanted something too, but it was unattainable to him, to Odd-Eyes, and maybe to the others...
They were all screaming out that same name too. Zarc.
They were calling out to me.
More of my memories had returned to me in that point, and the picture of the past was clearer. I was dueling in a tournament...then someone got badly injured. It was by...my hand, my monsters.
I hurt someone.
I didn't know what to think of the new revelation at first. It was a complete accident! I didn't mean to go that far in my dueling, not at all! All I wanted was to entertain the audience and make people happy! The crowds were all silent, which left me uneasy and apprehensive.
But that was when the audience cheered...for me. My heart skipped a beat; they were still chanting my name and everything.
Did they wanted this? Violence?
I could only sit and wait for more of my memories to return, but my body and mind still suffered as a result...
Interruptions from my eternal imprisonment grew to be more enjoyable and longing, no matter how short they may be. My thoughts were temporarily paused by the whistling howl of my third dragon, who seemed to be nearby. My eyes lit up in recognition.
Clear Wing!
Another dragon, another angered cry, another memory. My thoughts grew steadily darker as more and more of the past was revealed. I came to the conclusion that my friends were sharing their memories with me, showing me what happened...
I slowly understood over time, the pieces slowly coming together to create one big picture. It was the humans who made me suffer. It was because of them that I'm here.
The pinnacle of humanity were cheering for the senseless violence. They craved for the blood and destruction, they wished for that dark entertainment, they desired for the screams of the opponents. I felt my rage reaching new heights; this is what they truly wanted.
I loathed it. This is not entertainment to me, but it is to them.
They're the monsters, not me!
Did you want all the suffering? The pain? Did you want me and other duelists to fight to the death, for the fields to be covered in blood?
A dark smirk crossed my features as I twisted the logic around; if that was all the audience wanted from me at that point, then who am I not to give them their desires? Besides, after what happened in the past, I would do anything to be accepted into society, to make the people smile.
They were looking up to me throughout the duels, so what kind of person would I be to go back now?
It was becoming easier to ignore my own pain at this point.
Starve Venom was the last of the dragons that I heard, and my smile widened. All four of my friends were finally here. It was only a matter of time before I'll be able to see them in person, in both mind and flesh.
His roar echoed through my mind, being the most bitter, anguished, ferocious cry I've ever heard in my life. Of the four, he always had a little more voracious appetite, but this goes beyond even his greed.
They all wanted justice; they demanded it. Justice for what humanity did to them and their fellow spirits. Justice for all of the violence and bloodshed. Justice for all of suffering and pain they—we went through.
We all shared the same pain of our past, wishing for it to end. I wanted nothing more than to relieve them of their fear and anger, their despair. We suffered too much from humanity and their cruel desires, whether it was at the orphanage, the streets, the tournament duels, and it was time for that pain to cease! Even if we have to destroy everything as a result, I don't care anymore.
I'm tired of being treated like this. I'm tired of the pain and the violence, of getting hurt, but they just won't stop...it never ends!
Pleasemakeitstop!
Gritting my teeth, I clung to my head. They made this prison for me, so I'll repay the favor.
I'll give them what they've always wanted. I am humanity's darkness. What they desire, I shall return tenfold!
My four friends roared again, crying in unison.
We'll be reunited! I'll break out of this darkness and free you from your torture, from this heartache and fear! We'll no longer suffer!
All four of the dragons were roaring. I was crying out in anger with them, doing everything in my power to break free from the darkness.
I remember everything.
I managed to break free from the bonds of humanity and its depravity, ascended to the levels of godhood, and was rightfully dishing out what they all wanted! I gave them their entertainment, the violence, the deaths, and they responded in horror and shock!
Are they that foolish? That simple-minded to not realize it?
I had to laugh. We had suffered for far too long, had been their little tools and playthings to fulfill their lusts, delivering them the perfect performance that everyone had cheered for. It was only fitting for me to destroy everything, to destroy them.
They are the monsters, not me! I'm just their little entertainer!
My dragons also wanted the same relief from this burden. We had been abused and scarred, treated as demons, driven by the audience's lust to grant their wishes, and I just wanted to end it all!
And we did. The world was destroyed. Everything went up in flames and ash, and we couldn't be happier.
Now look who's laughing! THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED!
But before I could finish the performance with one last encore, the dragons and I were split because of Ray's cards, those stupid En Nature Cards! She DARED to defy me, the greatest and most powerful being in the world, mocking my very existence with that!
And even worse, those cursed cards were the result of this pain. This endless, mind-blowing, torturous pain that I've been subjected to for so long! I just want it to stop...was that so hard to ask?! Why can't anyone see my agony or suffering?
My blood boiled at the thought of it, and my heart raced against my chest. I wanted nothing more than to get out of this darkness, to be free of this pain for good, and show the world that I'm the strongest! Nothing could possibly defeat me! Nobody would hurt or use me again!
I am Zarc!
I'm the Supreme King Dragon! I'll destroy the world and provide the greatest entertainment, just as you all had desired!
They made me—us like this. All of the suffering, the cheers, the blood, the violence, the entertainment...they wanted it.
I'll give them what they asked for.
I'll be unstoppable.
I will reunite with my dragons again.
WE WILL BECOME ONE IN FLESH!
I could hear the roars of the dragons, their cries for bloodlust and violence being music to my ears. Smiling widely, it was only a matter of time before I was finally out of that abyss, away from the abuse of those cards once and for all. I'll destroy them, destroy Ray, destroy the crowds, destroy the whole world!
I'll be free! Finally FREE!
...And once everything is destroyed, I won't be hurt by anyone ever again...
Whoo. Well, poor guy. I had this little head canon of Zarc that could be a part of WDF. ;) But seriously...whew.
Reviews are appreciated! Till next time, this is CTA out!