A/N: Warning, one of the reasons this is rated M is in this chapter!

!In other words, Excessive Violence and Rage ahead. Depictions will be graphic, and if this disturbs you, please don't read this chapter; I will include a 'clean' summary in the A/N of the next chapter!

- You HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Chapter 4: The Rending

It was a new and entirely welcome feeling, drinking hot chocolate with good friends and enjoying company. The others had noticed my initial discomfort, and had taken out all the stops to make me feel welcome. It was the most heartwarming thing that had ever happened to me. Anna and Elsa were constantly touching the "Lightning Crystals" as they had taken to calling them, and seemed to be in great spirits. Kristoff was much the same, and seemed happy to see Anna happy. He really was a good man. We bantered for the rest of the day, wandering the markets, just wiling away the hours in pleasant company. Anna even shared her secret knock that only she used with us; Elsa even made up her own, and we all started coming up with increasingly ridiculous things to identify us that we finally just gave up in gales of laughter, and settle with a simple, rhythmic knock that ended differently for each of us.

This became a routine for the next month; I would go and help out various places in the markets and on the docks during the week, and on Elsa's day off, we would go on a trip. Sometimes to the market, sometimes into the woods where we would just talk and play, acting as immature as we wanted, away from prying eyes.

After the first month, Anna and Kristoff began to find reasons so Elsa and I could go off alone. I didn't argue; neither did she. We grew close; she was my new link to life, and I was her rock in the whirlpool of politics and negotiations that was her life. We came close to becoming more many times, but we always pulled up short, and it wasn't because of her.

I hadn't told her everything about me; not yet. Oh, she knew more about me than anyone on the planet, as I knew as much about her. No, I had two more secrets. One was a dark, dark part of me that would deeply deny for all my life if I could and I intended to do that. The other was something I had planned to show her when I had the chance.

This most recent day was my chance. We went on our date (I had no illusions that it was anything other than just that) and I felt it in the oncoming storm. Still, we went through the town, visiting the chocolate shop, the seamstress and a jewelry shop that I supplies every so often with my glass. All too soon, the clouds went grey and the wind picked up as the sun went down.

Finally, as the skies started to get darker and cloudier, and I needed to do what I had been putting off the entire day, and for good reason.

I knew that it would be more shocking than the rest of my powers-

Figuratively and literally.

Still, Elsa needed to see it if she really meant to keep me around the castle, and in her life. Even then, I was nervous and puttered along, procrastinating as much as I could. Once we got to the castle gates, though, I could wait no longer; the storm I had seen earlier was here, and it was now or never. Tapping Elsa on the shoulder to gain her attention from a babbling Anna, who had joined us on our way back, I point at the storm, and then myself and mime writing something, making sure she knew I was serious. She gives me a quizzical look, probably wondering why I wasn't tracing letters into the air or being my silly pantomiming self.

"Rai, why aren't you air-writing like you usually do?" Well, I had hit it on the head after all. I mime writing in the air, again, and then an explosion, and she seems to get the point; still, I have more she needs to know. I bent down into the dirt and start scribbling with my finger as fast as I can, spelling out what I need her for as fast as I can. I went almost too fast- the script was nigh-unintelligible, but she grasped that I needed her-and only her- to come with me, now.

It was a testament to how close we had grown that she came along without protest.

Waving off the others, we head back to the clearing I had demonstrated my powers in, all those months ago. Elsa was looking at me strangely the entire time, wondering what I was doing this time. Finally, we arrive, and I mime creating a dome around us and point to Elsa. She does as I request, and the built up static I feel in my mind subsides... for the moment. Using my power, I deploy a wall of writing that Elsa starts reading.

Nervousness gripping my mind, I pace back and forth, worried that she wouldn't come with me to see this. And worried that she WOULD. I was going to be baring something nobody had ever seen to her; it was as frightening as it was exciting. Finally, she finishes the text I had written and turns to face me with a pinched expression.

"Okay, let me get this straight. This storm is exciting your powers; this doesn't happen much, and you might become a giant lightning rod, and if you do, your powers… change? Am I getting this right?"

I nod, confirming that she had the gist of it.

Elsa, thoroughly exasperated, runs a hand through her hair, as she nods.

"Okay you crazy man, I'll watch this thing of yours. It really seems important to you, so it's the least I can do."

Her expression softens at that, and she smiles at me, making my heart race.

"I do care, after all."

Taking her kind words to heart, I settle down a bit and she releases the dome.

As I feel the mental buildup of power begin again, I think back to when my first 'change' had happened.

-Winter Lightning-

FLASHBACK: 10 YEARS AGO

I was finishing my training with Kai for the day when a frantic trainee came barreling through the front door of the private Dojo. I was glad he came through after the spar, as I didn't want any more people in on my secret. I was broken out of my thoughts by his words.

"Grandmaster Kai, Master Raiken, we have a serious thunderstorm blowing in- it looks to have quite a punch, so we are all gathering in the ceremonial cave for safety. We are leaving now, so please come with us now! We don't want to leave anyone behind!" He gives us imploring looks, and Kai and I nod to each other and get ready to go. The storm had been much closer than the man had implied; by the time we exited the building, rain was sheeting down and the packed dirt roads were a near impassable quagmire. Still, we made tracks to the cave. I was falling behind, my tired and smaller body having a harder time slogging through the mud then theirs. Soon, I was out of sight of them. I was not worried; I knew the lightning couldn't hurt me, so I was only a little cranky, and that was from being cold and wet. Still, I kept on heading forwards until I felt a static tingle. I looked around for the lightly glowing streamers that indicated potential for lightning strikes, but though my power granted me the ability to see them as clear as day, I saw none. Soon, I discovered that the feeling was inside my mind, behind the mental wall I had built to keep my combative instincts from casting electricity in my spars. All too quickly, it built into a raging current and smashed through my barrier, and then projected from my body. Then, as my power discharges, shaking and nervous from the river of lightning flowing into the sky and ground from my core, I look up.

A streamer of true lightning was frozen above me, as though nature had pointed me out with it. I was unable to move from the spot, my violently discharging powers too hazardous to move with. Soon, a second natural bolt joined the first, then a third and a fourth. This continued until the sky, for as far as I could see, was a WALL of frozen lightning, all pointed at me. The power flowing from my core cut off with a sudden jolt, leaving me breathless. Then, the lightning from above finished its path towards me, all at once.

My world became, at once, small and impossibly large; for that instant, I could feel the entire continent I was on, and everyone and everything that was in it. And yet, with this power flowing through me in a raging blast, I still felt impossibly limited. Then, the moment was over and the agony of my warping powers took over. I could feel my gift changing, growing stronger and stronger, the power of nature feeding it, nourishing it. Where before I could manage a couple bolts of lightning with time and concentration, now I felt as though I could fry a town without so much as a twitch. The thought scared me. Along with feeding my gift, I could feel a presence in my mind, going over my memories and judging me. It seemed pleased with what it found, and left me an image in my mind;

Me, hovering in the clouds with two jagged, glowing wings of lightning.

After that blazing, eternal instant, time resumed and I fell forwards, residual current making my muscles spasm uncontrollably. Soon I passed out from the strain of my powers and from the cold. I woke a day later, and my secret was out. Many had seen the light show, and while I was out, I zapped people who approached me too quickly.

I was greeted with a spectrum of reactions; from admiration, to greed, to fright and hatred. I accepted them all, and worked to show them I was a person, not my powers. It took months, but I succeeded, and all was normal once again.

Nobody knew I could fly, now.

-Winter Lightning-

Present Day

Finally snapping out of my recollection, I feel the familiar static in my mind, even more powerful than before. I could only mouth the word 'RUN' at Elsa before my powers erupted into the sky, spreading throughout the storm, whipping the thunder and lightning into a frenzy even as the wind and rain stopped. Seeing my stiff, immobile form spraying lightning into the sky and ground like I had described, Elsa sprinted to the edge of the clearing, and huddled down in an ice shelter there like I had asked her to.

As my powers discharged, the lightning from above came down, faster than ever before, the solid curtain formed after only a minute. Then, to my shock, my powers looped into the lightning and it ALL hit me at once. There was no euphoria this time, only agony. My powers were changing and growing again, yes, but the presence in my mind was FURIOUS at me even before it entered. It began ripping through my memories carelessly, making my head feel like target practice for cannon fire. Soon, it came across the memory of my enslavement, and it froze, shocked. Slowly, carefully, it absorbed the memory, and began flowing much more gently across my mind, soothing this time. It watched me commit murder time and time again, and I could feel its wrath build, but it kept it at bay, knowing that I was not at fault. I could feel it examining my sectioned off memories, my semi-free thoughts from the corner of my mind and it felt my horror at what I was made to do.

For what must have been hours, I was held, immobile as the timeless presence flowed over my mind and examined my once again. Although the initial contact was hostile, I got the impression that I had acquitted myself well regardless, and that it approved of my feelings for Elsa. A voice whispered to me in my mind, sounding like the faintest whispers of far off thunder…

"Young child of storms, I am sorry for abusing you like I had. I was following you from the skies of the world and was furious with your life path, but now I see that you were used, and badly. Your will and purity shine through, and you broke the chains on you at the right time to protect someone very important to the world; we of the Heavens are in your debt. For the suffering you have gone through under the yoke of evil, I give you the gift of healing; may you never scar, and may your life be long. For your perseverance, I give you the gift of the Thunder's Voice."

At this, I feel like the presence is smiling coyly. The words I hear next confirm them.

"You will have to figure that one out yourself, young one. And for my apology, I give you a small ability of my own. I gift you the ability of enchanting; you can now imbue a bit of your power into objects you make from things other than the glass you are so fond of."

The presence starts to fade, and I start to feel drowsy as well, never noticing the blood coming from my nose and ears.

The last thing I hear from the voice embeds itself into my consciousness forever.

"Child of the God of Storms, your destiny awaits. Beware the one of crystal."

The presence fades, and as I collapse, twitching, Elsa sprints over, heedless of the small shocks she receives in the process.

Arriving at my side, she is frantic, trying to see if I am okay. I reach up and grab her hand, squeezing out a small smile. She nearly collapses, her relieved sobs echoing through the clearing. I remember seeing her using her power on the ground near me, and a giant, chilly something enveloping me, then darkness.

-Winter Lightning-

I wake up with a massive headache, and a feeling of wellness, too. Boy, am I a study of contradictions or what? Slowly sitting up on what I identify as a hospital bed, I look around and see an unexpected sight; the Queen, fast asleep in the visitor's chair, her now unruly hair spread across her shoulders. I barely suppress a smirk- my pranks have nothing on her natural bedhead. As I look around, I see a small bolt of static shoot across the room and fry a housefly. Cursing to myself, I look inside my mind and take stock of my powers. I spend a moment searching for my power's center, finding- holy mother of-

Well. Now, THAT is a lot of power. Afraid of what would happen should I accidently spark anything right now, I build walls around my power. Not the single bulwark I had before, but thick siege walls, and I still don't feel like I have it as controlled as I did before. That's confirmed as I move to stand and startle on the cold floor, sending a zap of static into the bed and making all the sheets stick into a ball. Frowning, I go back into my mind and add more and more until I can barely sense my power, and still, I feel like I can do my ring-shot trick dozens of times in a row without being winded. Damn, what a boost!

My control mostly sorted, I turn to wake Elsa. Reaching over, I nudge her shoulder while unconsciously mouthing the words "Time to wake up, sleepyhead!"

Imagine my shock when those words come from my throat in a raw, hoarse metallic buzz. Startled, my hands go to my throat, seeking-

Yep, still have the scar, and I hadn't felt any vibration from my voice. But then how did I…?

"Rai, did you just talk?!"

Whelp, looks like I did wake up Elsa after all. I try to answer her, and am rewarded with the same disconcerting rasp again.

"I believe I did, although my throat is still scarred. Maybe the storm did something?"

I see she is uncomfortable with the voice; it is pretty disturbing. I switch back to my elegant, looping writing in the air to her visible relief. I write out some words.

"Well, Elsa, I do believe that I prefer to talk like this rather than use that creep-show of a voice. Maybe over time I will be able to refine it, but for now… you should fix your hair."

As she reads the note, her hands fly up to her head and she flushes in embarrassment, quickly trying to tame the wild tangle and only succeeding in making it worse. Taking pity on her, I put a hand on her cheek and zap it into a halo of static frizz, then release it into her braided form, using my powers to re-weave it as it relaxes.

She gives me this half lidded look and I know what it means; I had seen it before, with Anna right before her and Kristoff kiss.

At this moment, I can't even think of not sharing all I am with her. Slowly, haltingly, I tell Elsa about the 'rending' and how I found it.

-Winter Lightning-

Raiken's Dojo, two months before the attack

I was coming back from my job as a professional bodyguard when I had come into a situation that pushed a button in my head that I wish I never had. Walking down the road towards the gates, I hear a struggle down a dingy alleyway, muffled sobs and truncated screams. Dropping my bag, I round the corner to a sight I will never forget; I saw Ling, the young woman from my Dojo who drove the carts for us, dead with a dagger through her eye, and a fat, grubby man undoing her dress and her money pouch while humming a merry tune. The tune still echo's in my head; it was totally incongruous to the scene in front of me.

Then the reality hits me. Sweet, precious little Ling; she was an orphan like me who lived at the Dojo, but didn't practice any of the martial arts. She didn't have the instinct or inclination for it; she was as peaceful a person as you could ever find. She was a breath of fresh air in a school of fighting, and everyone loved her like a sister.

The world goes grey as I feel my mind drop into pure rage.

I come to after who knows how long to a sight that made me stifle a scream before I remembered that it was me who did it. There was nothing left of the man but half of a head; in my rage, I had vaporized every part of his body, one by one. While he was still alive. I remembered what I had done; it would never leave.

All I knew was that it was the death of someone I cared for, the threat of it happening again, that sent me into this… unholy rage. When I arrived back at the Dojo, Kai noticed the difference in me and pulled me aside; I confessed it all, and he explained what I had found in myself.

"Young one, some people live by their emotions; you are one such as this. This is not a bad thing, as you feel for others and have an innate purity of heart that constantly astounds me. However, you are so closely linked to your emotions that sometimes the darker parts can take on a life of their own. I have met another like this, and he called it "The Rending". He described it as a place where there is no God; you describe it much the same. This is a part of you; you cannot escape it, and you should not try. Instead, accept it and control your negative emotions, prevent them from taking you into the unholy place. Then, you never need fear your own righteous wrath."

His words would stick with me for the rest of my life.

-Winter Lightning-

After a look of surprise at me revealing my last secret to her, she listened. At the description of what I had done, she pulled away from me a bit. It ached, every bit as painful as a physical wound, but I swept on. When she heard what it was, she relaxed.

Putting her hands on my shoulders and tilting my chin up to meet her eyes, she gives me a soft, shy smile and speaks.

"You make yourself sound like a monster; you are anything but. You would burn the world for those you love; I would freeze it. Do not be ashamed, Rai. You are you, and you are… family."

I notice the hesitation. Before I can ask what the pause was for, she pulls away and composes herself.

After making sure that I'm okay, and after she changes the subject and makes me recount the voice from the storm, I regale her with details of the eerie voice and the gifts, we finally switch the conversation over to what was going on with her.

With a grand huff and an angry frown, she lets loose and tells me what's on her mind.

Quite a bit, apparently.

"Well, while you were recovering from attracting what looked like the wrath of an angry god (we laughed, there- so close to the truth) I have been busy in negotiations with other countries. Most have been going well, but there is this country called Kelvaarii that has been insistent that we join them in this… blood sport that they call their national pastime. They want a competitor to go into a series of fights and brutal beat downs! What's worse, we have a trade agreement from my father's time with them that is a necessity to keep going now that we cut all ties with Weasel-town."

I strangle my urge to laugh at the name she calls that town; it is quite apt, after all. But my thoughts are more on the tournament she mentioned. It seems like she is in quite the quandary; maybe I can help?

Tracing my words in the air, I formally reply; "Queen Elsa, are these so called "Games" to the death?"

She goes stiff at the almost too formal address, and then gives a grimace, but replies anyway, using a funny habit of hers on the last three words she speaks.

"Not really, no, but killing has happened in the past, and is allowed, just "Not in Excess".

Her air quotes amuse me endlessly. What she says next is almost unimportant, as I had already made up my mind what I was going to do even as she continues.

"They change rules every year and announce them only when the games open, and it is too late to withdraw. Such barbarity! We really should-"

I flow writing into the air, making a sentence that rocks Elsa back into her seat.

"I will go. I have experience enough that even without my powers, most combatants are no threat to me. Even their "Beat Downs" aren't a problem; numbers only help if your opponent isn't trained to deal with them."

She splutters as she tries to come up with a better idea, visibly torn between wanting done with the dilemma and not wanting me hurt. Finally, she quiets and looks me in the eye with the most intense expression I have seen from her.

"Rai, you have become a… good friend. I cannot in good conscience ask you to do this. Are you sure you wish to do this?"

I notice the hesitation again, but say nothing as I stare straight back, and nod once, leaving no doubt to my answer.

Letting out an explosive sigh, Elsa slumps into the chair, rubbing her temples.

"I really wish this wasn't needed. Thank you, Rai, for this. I just have one more thing to say."

She stands and comes so close I can smell her shampoo, a light, airy floral scent. Looking me in the eye and placing her hands on my cheeks in an almost intimate way she locks eyes with me and speaks.

"Live through this, Raiken. I can't… I don't think I could deal with losing you."

I smile, and give her the guard's salute.

Then I hug her, and we stay like that for a minute before separating and start planning.

-Winter Lightning-

The preparations go quickly- the kingdom of Kelvaarii is fairly close via trade routes on the sea, and will only take a week for us to arrive. Yes, 'us'. Elsa had insisted on watching these games, if only to provide support for me, and Anna had heard and decided she wanted to come as well. Elsa pointed out that she could hardly leave without someone in charge, and that resulted in a cranky Anna being left behind with a stressed Kristoff at her side. The week went by quickly, and all too soon we were disembarking the ship and entering the walled desert city. Elsa was greatly enjoying the heat, as her powers kept her cool and she could simply feel whatever temperature she wished. I simply boiled. Such is life, we move on. After speaking with dignitaries about quarters and where I would go as a contestant, we were split up; Elsa was required to stay with her guards in the palace, and I was taken down to the arena under heavy guard, just like the other competitors. With a quick hug and a few encouraging words to each other, we left for our destinations. The room they gave me was not to my tastes; incredibly opulent, showing wealth just to show wealth. I stayed there as little as possible, availing myself of the public training grounds for the contestants. What I saw was a sight to behold.

Every single other competitor was a ball of angry, bulky muscle or a clanking, angry knight. Everyone was bursting with competitive urges and insults; I entered the room and was mistaken as a servant simply because I was the least obviously muscular in the room. After rebuffing the drunk who asked me to get him another beer, I stepped up to an empty punching bag bay to jeers of laughter and taunts; I ignored them, and dressed in my old leathers. The insults stopped, and silence fell as they recognized who I was. Elsa had promised me a new identity; I convinced her to use my old one for here, and to finally make the new one when we got back home.

Through the silence, I began my katas, flowing through them and beating the bag until my fingers bled and I was tired from my bones outwards. Then, I rested and stretched, ate and drank some, and repeated. I had an audience the entire time, so I kept my motions quick but not as sharp or as fast as I really was. For days, I worked and regained my own style; I dropped the Assassin's style, as it was too dark and bloody for me. Instead, I worked and worked on my Raiken and my own unnamed style. Ironically, it was one of the other contestants who gave me the perfect name for my style, and on the last day for training too.

The man was one of the more tolerable sorts, someone from the oriental islands. When he saw me, he remarked that my style looked superficially like the lost style Raiken. He, and everyone else, was stunned when I stopped my katas and turned to him, gave a short bow, and signed to him in the rough gestures that I knew. He didn't read them, but a servant did and translated for me.

"Indeed, it is based in that style and I was a Grandmaster in Raiken before I changed professions. You have a good eye, sir."

Startled, he nodded to me in respect, and lapsed into a thoughtful silence. I went back to my katas, aware that he was watching more closely, and when I finished, he came up to me and spoke once more.

"Your new style is indeed like the Raiken of old, but is much more lethal and sharp; it is more of a Lightning Demon style, not a simple Lightning Fist. Raijin, not Raiken."

And thus I named my style the Raijin no ken, and began one of the bloodiest chapters of my life.

The day of the tournament dawned, and my reminder that rules will have changed had me tied into knots. As the hundreds of competitors were led out, I looked up at the Royal's Box to see if Elsa was there. To my surprise, she wasn't. Frowning in concern, I barely listen to the opening announcements until I hear something that makes my blood boil.

The announcer was talking of the rules, and blathering on about how the rule changes were to simulate the uncertainty of war and blah blah blah. I tuned him out until he came to two points.

"This year, all matches are allowed to be to the death, no consequences! War is brutal and you shall be too!" This angered me. I had no wish to kill, and if I could avoid it, I would. The continuation of this rule squashed my hopes and fired my rage.

"As a part of this, if even one of the contestants of any match, be it a group match, free for all or team battle decides that it is a death match, then it WILL BE ONE! All champions will follow this rule, or be ejected and any treaty's made with Kelvaarii made null."

Yes, that rule made me see red, but who they had just frog-marched into the Royal's Box at bow-point made it a supreme effort to not drop my power's walls and vaporize the stadium.

And, of course, the announcer has something to say to that, too.

"Ahh, the Ice Queen of Arendelle! Did you know, folks, that she brought the Silent Assassin to fight for her country, and then tried to back out when we gave her the privilege of knowing about the new rules in advance? Well, it was so rude of her that we added a special condition to the Assassin's fights; if he loses, we cut ties with Arendelle… and we cut the Snow Queen's neck."

If I hadn't locked all but a tiny fraction of my power (just enough to boost my speed, reactions and strength) away, I would have zapped to that booth and zapped us both back to the ship and left right away. As it was, I was starting to look forward to the death matches; over 90% of the competitors were from Kelvaarii, and I wanted blood.

I knew, in some far off place in my mind that I was going the 'rending', the violent, black place in my mind where even gods fear to tread. I welcomed the feeling, wanting to make them pay for threatening Elsa. I meant to rip them apart;

I did not disappoint.

-Winter Lightning-

We were led back to our chambers by guards, my contingent quadruple the others. After half an hour of waiting, I was so far gone in my rage that I was already planning to use the Assassins Style, regardless of my oath, when I was summoned to the arena.

I arrived to an empty field, just packed dirt up to the sheer walls with gates for the competitors stationed at regular intervals around the perimeter. They were all full with angry men, most armored, and all heavily armed. I knew this was a setup the moment I saw it; they had probably all asked for a death match, while I had not.

A bleak grin comes to my face, slowly turning into a rictus of rage. Their funerals.

The asshole of an announcer mentions that it is a death match, blathers on for a while, and then signals the lowering of the gates. I brace myself; all the other gates lowered quickly, and mine was coming down very slowly. By the time it was down, I would be hip deep in murderous men.

I smirk darkly- time to change the rules.

With a running leap, I bounce from one wall onto the other, gaining height until I'm over the top of the gate, and then I launch myself into an acrobat's tumble, landing safely on the other side in time to meet the first wave. I don't even try for the battle calm; I delve deep into the battle RAGE, and as I pull my power into my body, my vision goes grey, and I fall into the rending.

I rush the oncoming men, ready to kill.

We collide.

Sweep, kick, break the arm, and snap the neck. The dance of death was upon me, and I was leading the waltz. A man in full plate mail swung a two-handed Warhammer at me. I ducked, rushed forwards and struck his chest piece with an open-handed strike that crushed it and his ribcage into bloody soup, bone shards sticking out of the open sides of the armor. Leaving the man to die, gasping, I turned to a pair of twins flanking me. They were armed with long daggers in each hand, and they rushed me with feral smiles and berserk howls. I jumped straight up, thus making their stabbing strikes hit each other. The wounds were not fatal; they had angled the daggers when I had moved. I fixed that. I landed atop them, crouching and using my enhanced strength to do something utterly gruesome- I ripped their heads clean off their torsos. The sound of snapping bones and ripping flesh sounded through the arena as I pulled on the top man's head, his twin screaming as I went. Vertebra crunched, cartilage ripped with wet pops and muscle came apart in a welter of gore and my soundless roar of rage. I threw the twitching head as hard as I could at the announcer's box, landing it at the MC's feet and spraying him with blood. I repeated the act on the sobbing twin, this time launching the body, not the head, at the stunned and nauseated attackers. I bowled three over, and then Irushed in, holding a dagger in each hand. I plunged into the mass of brutes, each slice hitting an artery, each downward stroke opening bowels and intestines onto the dusty ground. I murdered for almost an hour, breaking both daggers off into a man's eye-sockets halfway through. I removed arms from living torsos, used shattered bones pulled from the people's broken legs as daggers, the sheer brutality echoing through my head, my rage not diminished in the slightest.

They had threatened my new family; I was going to show them the true meaning of hell.

All too soon, it was me and the last two men. I had a broken platemail chest piece in my right hand; I had just used it to crush a man's pelvis. I threw it at the last man, catching him in the neck and causing arterial splatter to splash on the now final man. The last man, showing more sense than the entire arena's worth of corpses, turns and runs. I walk after him, slowly, unhurriedly. I had nowhere to go. Finally, he dropped his mace and picked up a small dagger from the ground. As I approached, he took it in both hands… and stabbed himself in the heart, ending his own life. I watched, emotionlessly, as he slumped over dead.

After a moment, I emerged from the rending haze, from the place where there are no gods, and saw what I had done. I was… dead at that moment; no feelings. I couldn't even process what had happened, what I had done.

Startling me, trumpets sounded. The announcer, a different man this time, came to the edge of the platform and announced me as the first round victor. He asked if I had any words, and as I locked gazes with Elsa, seeing the horror in her eyes, I spoke, my new voice booming across the bloody mud and into the still silent stands.

"Do you see this, King? This is what happens when you threaten the ones that I care for, when you encroach on my soul. You better have dozens more assaults like this ready, and more. Otherwise…"

I lock gazes with the sweating King of Kelvaarii, speaking the remaining words with menace dripping from my voice.

"Otherwise, I will pull you into the place where there are no gods. I will pull you into the RENDING CORNERS OF MY SOUL and you will die in agony like no man, god or beast has ever felt, nor will feel again."

With this, I leave the dusty wasteland, my cadre of guards scared shitless of me. I run into my room as I come near, and collapse into the bathing room, scrubbing my skin until it wept tears of blood, trying to get the sight of what I had done out of my head. I lost count of how many hours I sobbed and vomited. I couldn't do anything but sit there and be so scared of what I had done that I couldn't even open my eyes.

There was a soft knock at the door, a pattern to the sound that somehow broke through to the remnants of my mind. Without thinking, only running on the association of memories with that knock cause me to yelp something before I resume my shuddering.

I don't notice the soft padding of feet approaching the washroom.

I don't register the sob of dismay at seeing my state;

The first thing I feel through my haze of self-hatred is the cool caress of snow on my tortured skin.

I finally hear a soft voice, comforting me, reassuring me.

I finally hear Elsa, asking me to come back from my broken state.

I hear, for the first time in forever, eight words that change my life.

"Raiken, I love you! Come back to me!"