A/N: Welp, it's that time of year again! This is my first real attempt at something that might be close to the horror genre. Also, there are scenes in here that will be intense and slightly gruesome, so if you're not into that kind of stuff, then I'd advise you to read with caution, or steer clear of this story altogether. Thanks, all!
Mugen found himself plummeting to the sandy ground after his brother had thrown his fist into his stomach. Doubled over, the man coughed, trying to regain his breath.
"Get up, you idiot," his brother, Shinda, hissed. "Get up and fight like a man."
Mugen shakily got to his feet and lunged for his brother. The two were locked in a battle of strength, shoving and kicking and slapping the other. When Shinda had his little brother in a headlock, he felt a tingling in his fingertips. Mugen glanced at his brother's hand and roared aloud.
"Shinda, don't you dare-!" he screamed, "Keep that witchcraft to yourself!"
"Never!"
Mugen felt something like tiny claws scratching at his face. He cringed at the sound of high-pitched screeching coming from his brother.
"This is for telling them!" Shinda yelled, throwing his brother to the ground. Mugen's body twitched slightly at first, then he writhed about, screaming in agony. He pleaded loudly for his brother to stop the pain, to let him go, but Shinda's eyes only flashed with insanity; a desire to kill.
"They know now," he cried, "You told them about my power!"
"I couldn't let you keep hurting people like that!" Mugen yelled through the pain, "You're not yourself anymore; look at you!"
Shinda gritted his teeth through his thin lips and gave another cry of effort. The dark magic that he emitted engulfed his brother, causing his skin to turn a deep blue color. When he realized it, the younger brother wailed.
"You're nothing but a monster!" he said between cries, "The magic transformed you into a terrible creature!"
"The goddesses must have wanted me to destroy everyone and everything," Shinda growled, his voice low, "That's why they cursed me with this damn power. And you're next!"
Mugen screamed one more time, and his body was overcome with one last shudder as the dark magic absorbed his blood and pulsed through his veins. Suddenly, his shouts of pain came to a stop and he shrunk to the ground, his body a shriveled mass of skin and bone. Shinda panted with his teeth bared. He gave a final cry of effort, but the power shrunk back inside of him before he could do anything else. With a sickening feeling settling in his stomach, Shinda stared at his dead brother.
"No . . ." he whispered, "No, no, no . . ."
Shinda stared at his hands and curled them into fists.
"Mugen," he uttered, "Mugen . . . what have I done?"
The man with auburn hair sank to his knees and began pounding the sand with his fists, sending small clouds of the sand into his face and eyes.
"No! No! No!" he shouted with every time he slammed his hands into the sand. When he'd calmed down, Shinda's body trembled with sobs. He looked at his brother one more time and fought back the urge to vomit. The younger man's body lay on the ground, still and thinner than it was initially. Shinda bellowed, tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm a monster, I'm a monster," he sobbed, "I'm a sick killing machine . . ."
His world spun around; he grew dizzy.
Suddenly, voices came from behind him. Shinda barely heard them at first, until he snapped out of his grief and whirled around.
"There he is!"
Hylian soldiers. They appeared almost immediately all around him, pointing their spears and swords at the killer.
Shinda, with a glint of insanity once again appearing in his eyes, cried out and swung his arm around in a half-circle motion. The man's entire body became a dark blue as he began to flail around in the seizing hands of the Hylians.
"Hold him down!" one with a bushy mustache yelled as Shinda thrashed about, snarling like a wild animal. One of the soldiers brought a bottle containing some kind of red potion and two more forced open Shinda's mouth. Sensing the danger, Shinda struggled against the men and fought to keep away from the bottle.
"Keep his mouth open!" the soldiers yelled, attempting to keep holding him down.
Shinda murmured an incantation and his eyes flashed deep blue again. The soldiers reeled backward, knocked back by an invisible force. A smile crossed the killer's face.
"You'll pay for what you've done," he said, madness creeping its way into his voice, "You'll all pay!"
The soldiers lunged at him again, defending themselves from Shinda's attacks with the shields and countering them with their swords and spears. Shinda shot bolts from his hands, leaving behind trails of smoke as they struck the soldiers. The Hylians flew backward one by one, and many of them regained their balance to pile on to Shinda. The man cried out when they forced his mouth open again and held the small bottle over his mouth. Shinda growled, kicked, and screamed curses between his open jaws until he felt droplets of the liquid dripping down his throat. The Hylians let go of him while he choked on the drink, shuddered violently, and fell to the ground. When he was confirmed to be knocked-out, the captain of the Hylian guard shook his head.
"Pitiful creature," he muttered, "He even had the gall to murder his own blood relative."
The other soldiers picked up the man and threw him into the caged carriage where the prisoners of Hyrule were taken to the dungeon in.
"Take him to the Hyrule dungeon," the captain ordered, "And lock him up. We can't let this dangerous man terrorize anyone else. His days of dark magic are over."