And as I promised, here is the next chapter.
In the beginning I said that Ryu would be in the first person, but in order for this chapter and future chapters to work, I am switching to third person. I have my reasons, so hopefully it won't throw you off.
Enjoy :)
-A-New-Awakening
Death, too much death surrounded them. They knew that the alliance was weak at best, but they had thought it meant something to the Kingdom of Ludia. Apparently they had been wrong and it blew up in their faces. The attack came so suddenly that they had no way of getting their forces together to defend themselves.
Everything was half-hazard and it showed. Carnage of the loyal lay still on the ground; blood pooling from their wounds. Their faces were forever frozen in terror and as their Captain looked at his executioner he understood why they looked as they did. The Captain was wounded; too tired to even cast a single spell in his defense while the not man, the monster stood completely unfazed; his sword drawn. The aged Wyndian looked at the sword and felt a stab of both betrayal and irony.
Who would have thought the one to bring about so much destruction was the very person they protected all those months ago when Ludia was chasing him. Now the boy was a mercenary for them; killing the very people who aided him in his time of need. If that wasn't bad enough, the sword he used to slaughter them was the Sword of the King; the very sword that symbolized the peace between the two regions. Now as the Captain looked at it, dripping with the blood of the dead, it was nothing but a symbol of war.
"Do you have any final words?" The monster asked.
"I do, but none that will preserve my life. I only want to know one thing. "
He waited for the blue-haired man to give some sort of inclination that he would answer the dead man's question. When he got nothing, he simply took it as sign that he would be able to ask.
"What brought you to this? Why did you turn your back on us and take our lives after we put so much faith in you? Were you truly so wicked inside?"
"I do not understand your question. All that I know is what I am and what my duty is. I am a weapon to be used by my masters. I will obey their every command because that is what a good soldier does. I have no personal quarrel with you, so you can take that solace with you to your grave."
He raised his sword and he stepped forward towards the Captain. The broken man succumbed to his weakness and fell to his knees. He bowed his head in both surrender and defeat. From underneath a curtain of gray, Ryu could see soft brown eyes looking up at him, not quite pleading with him but something else.
He couldn't distinguish the look and it bothered him to no end. The blade was now hovering above the man. It was to be a swift execution with no suffering. It wouldn't take much for Ryu to simply let the blade fall and end the man's life, but for some reason he hesitated. That look in the man's eyes was just too much and Ryu felt an unsettling feeling in his body.
This wasn't right. None of this was right, but why? This was his duty; his masters wouldn't lead him astray. This man had to die, as did all the others, at least, that's what the voices in his head insisted and they wouldn't lie to him. They had been there as long as he could remember and they were always there to comfort him. They gave him the strength to do what he had to do.
'Kill him. He deserves it. They all do. You're suffering won't end until you kill them all. Don't hesitate.'
'Yes, do it quick. You wouldn't want to upset the master would you?'
No! He thought quickly. But what-what did he do to deserve this? Why does he have to die and why do I have to be the one to do it?
'You question us? When have we ever lead you awry?'
'Do you not trust us?'
More and more voices began to join in and the volume quickly rose as they all began to yell at him; accusing him of betraying them; of being too weak to do what had to be done. His skull felt as if it would crack from the inside out. The stained sword dropped from his hands as he gripped his head in pain. Screams escaped from his mouth as the noise grew louder and louder. He wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if his ears began to bleed. He didn't understand what he did wrong. The voices had never been this angry with him. Why were they hurting him?
'You are pathetic! You can't even do this much.'
'You have to be punished. How else will you learn to obey us?'
"No, please stop! I can't take it! Please! Please!"
'You should have known better than to speak out. We've always been here for you, and this is how you treat us?'
'Such an ungrateful boy.'
"Stop the noise! Stop it!"
'You know what you must do. Only then will we forgive your insolence.'
He opened his eyes just enough to squint through them. There his blade lay on the ground; beckoning him to pick it back up and finish the job. With shaky hands and labored breathing he picked it up. His breath hitched in his throat as the blade drew closer to the man's neck. Why did it have to be this way? Why did he have to kill in order to feel better?
'Do it!'
'Do it now!'
His breaths came out more harshly and quicker than before. His eyes watered as the blade weighed down his hand. Why? Why? Why?
'Kill him!'
"Ahhhhh!"
The blade came down and with one swift motion the skin, muscle and bone were cut through and the head tumbled off.
The voices were quiet now, leaving Ryu with a short reprieve. A sigh of content flew out of his mouth as he himself fell to his knees, relishing in the silence. He heard the thunder as the storms clouds started to role in from the East. The sky was blackened within mere minutes and the rain cascaded down like a waterfall. He looked up towards the sky; feeling the cool water wash away the red shame on his face.
'You did well.'
'You make us so proud.'
Those were the voices he was used to; the ones who loved him. They soothed him when he was in turmoil. His blue eyes, which had been so expressive, began to cloud over and soon they were blank once again.
'There now child, don't you feel better?'
He nodded, his body and mind completely numb. He did feel better now. He felt nothing at all. It was best when he was this way.
"Hmm you did quite nice, little dragon. It would have taken our troops months to do this much damage and you did it just a few days. At this rate there will be nothing left of them."
Ryu looked up at Captain Rusong with glazed over eyes and stood up slowly.
"What should I do now, Captain?"
"Hmm you do look a bit worn and that just wont do. The King would not be happy if he saw that his favorite little weapon wasn't properly taken care of. Return to camp and get some rest and wash up. You are covered in blood and you reek."
"Yes, sir." He bowed at his waist, straightened up again, turned from the captain and walked back towards the camp.
Hope you liked it. Please review and follow. See you next time.