Chapter 25- The Red Sea

Silas was someplace dark, a place devoid of even the faintest glimmer of light. He was surrounded by darkness, it was as though life didn't exist. As he called out into the surrounding void, it became clear to him just how barren this place was.

He was alone in the dark.

He began to wander about the blank world in hopes of finding anyone or anything. "Where the hell am I?" His quiet voice was the only thing he heard, even his footsteps didn't make a noise. He walked for what felt like hours, and finally he heard something aside from his own voice and heartbeat. He heard… whispers. Quiet voices of men, women, and children, voices that surrounded him, yet barely reached his ears. "Who's there?" He grabbed his Glaive and pointed it towards the voices.

Silas' eyes went wide as he looked at his weapon; it wasn't the black, long lance that he wielded before. The shaft was crafted of rotted bones and the blade was caked with dried blood. In a panic, he dropped the weapon and instead tried to conjure ice to his hands. "There we go…" He whispered as ice crystals began to form, yet, as they appeared, they were dyed a deep shade of red. "Argh… the hell's going on here?" Silas threw the bloody crystals at the ground and turned to go the other way, only to see a small girl standing twenty feet in front of him.

She appeared no older than fifteen, yet no younger than twelve, her pale green eyes gazed upon Silas without feeling. Her skin was the colour of freshly fallen snow and her long, brown hair was caked with dirt and grime. She wore a sleeveless dress as white as her skin and as filthy as her hair. The dress was horribly torn and partially dyed red. Her lips moved, yet whatever she was saying was lost in the sea of whispers that washed over the entire area. Silas opened his mouth to say something to the girl, but something made him stop and look around. There were more of them. Eight people in total, including the girl, surrounded him on all sides. Each of them looked much like her, filthy hair, bloody white clothes, marble skin, and dead eyes. They all stared at him and whispered in perfect unison. "Who are you…?" Silas muttered as he cast his eyes from one to the other, analyzing their zombie-like posture.

The whispers grew and grew until he was able to make out what they were saying, they spoke as though they were chanting. "This is your work, born from suffering and despair. This is your work, created by your bloody hands." They said those words with increasing volume, their fingers slowly rising and pointing towards Silas as they inched forward.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you! How could I have made you?" Silas said as he took a defensive stance and looked at the little girl.

They didn't acknowledge a word he said; they just continued their emotionless chant:

"This is your work, born from suffering and despair.

This is your work, created by your bloody hands."

One of the voices sounded closer this time, so he looked down at his hands, only to see that he was holding a severed head that chanted along with the walking corpses. Panicked, he dropped the head and stepped away. He opened his mouth, as though to express his shock, yet whatever sound came out was immediately crushed under the voice of the others. This time, their chant had changed…

"You did this. You did this. You did this."

"Guilty is your verdict."

"Who's agent are you?"

Finally finding his voice, Silas shouted. "I'm nobody's agent!" He quickly picked up the bone spear and raised it, as though to defend himself from the march of the dead.

Drip… drip… drip… the once dry blood was now fresh. It poured off the blade like a gruesome, torrential downpour, soaking the black land below and staining it crimson.

Splash, splash, splash, the black floor had instantaneously been replaced by a three inch deep sea of blood. As Silas panted and searched for a way to escape the macabre sea, the walking dead continued their chant, only now they were rotting away, their unhealthily pale flesh was now a sickly shade of blue, millipedes and maggots made it their home as they continued to creep towards the lone Dragon Knight.

"You did this. You did this. You did this."

"I never did any of this to you! Who are you all?"

"Guilty is your verdict."

"Guilty of what? I'm not responsible…!"

"Who's agent are you?"

"I serve no one!"

The questions and accusations persisted and Silas continuously gave the same answers, his voice increasing in desperation as the people rotted away in front of his eyes. Their flesh slowly peeled off their skin, revealing the bones underneath. Then the chant changed once again. At this point, their faces had all-but completely decayed.

"We are you. We are everything you've done."

"You are your past."

"The past forges the present and future."

"You cannot run."

"Can't run? Watch me!" Silas shot past the corpses and sprinted through the stagnant blood, his feet kicking up the red droplets with each leaping step. "I've got to get out of here… there has to be some way to escape this hell…!" He dared to look back, and saw that the eight corpses had been joined by an army, each and every one of them pointing at him as they strode towards him. "What in the…?" They all recited the same unholy mantra.

"We are you. We are everything you've done."

"You are your past."

"The past forges present and future."

"You cannot run."

They were gaining on him… "No way…" Silas snapped his fingers and sprouted his enormous dragon wings, taking to the sky to escape the endless horde of the deceased. Their words echoed, he could feel the reverberation of their synchronized voices against his black wings. He looked towards them, they all pointed upwards, yet they were unable to reach him. "Phew… I think I got away…" Upon saying those words, he heard the sound of somebody coughing and felt something moist against his cheeks. He looked down into his arms and saw a wounded Noire. "N-Noire…?" She coughed up more blood to looking Silas right in the eyes, small tears running down her cheeks as he flew through the air.

"Y-You did this… you… did this… you… you… d-… did th-this…" She recited as the strength that Silas admired so much fled her voice bit by bit. The corpses below fell silent as the Dragon flew through the air with the dying lady in his arms.

"No… n- no… I didn't…! I'd never do anything like this! Not to you!" Silas shouted as his wings flapped faster, shattering the sound barrier as he remained in flight. His tears mingled with hers as he held her close. Thump… thump… Her heart was moving at a snail's pace, her breaths were few and far between, he could feel her life slowly fleeing with her strength.

She shook her head and leaned in close to his ear, it was as though she were able to ignore the intense winds tearing at her. The words she spoke were her last, yet they formed the first answer he'd received in this bloody wasteland. "You… you are… the agent of Death…"

Silas shot up in his hospital bed, the heart monitor next to the bed going out of control. He was covered in sweat and was breathing as though he'd just finished a triathlon. He looked left, right, then down at the floor, searching for any sign of the bloody sea, the corpses, and Noire. After about a minute of scouring the room with his eyes, he relaxed and laid back on the bed, closing his eyes as he did. "It… it was just a dream… oh thank goodness…" He whispered as the door to his room opened.

"Silas? You have a visitor… I bet you know who it is though." Came the voice of his doctor. That's right… he remembered that today was his last day in the hospital, after today he'd finally be cleared to leave this place.

He kept his eyes closed and tried to get his breathing back under control. Yet he failed to do so before somebody entered the room and the door closed. Tap, tap, tap, came the sound of shoes against stone. Eventually, he could sense them right next to his bed. "What's wrong with you? Did you have a nightmare or something?"

He embraced her. He didn't give Noire any time to react as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thank goodness you're ok…" His voice was hoarse as he whispered those words.

"Wh-What? Hey…! L-Let me go! Sheesh! What's the matter with you?" Noire spoke words of resistance, yet she didn't fight the hug. After a few seconds of silence, she returned his embrace with one of her own. "I don't know what you were dreaming about, but it must have been pretty bad."

Silas said nothing, he just held her in his arms as he brought himself back under control.

Me: What up peeps? I bet you're glad to see timely chapter this time around! How long has it been since my last update? I'm not entirely certain… but hey! Timely chapter! Praise me…

Blanc: -sighs deeply- Good writer… -pats my head-

Me: Dawwwww… thank you Blanny!

Blanc: Sh-Shut up…

Noirey: What's up with you Blanc? You've never really act like this…

Blanc: What? I'm in a good mood…

Noirey: That's new, you usually hate being in these things.

Blanc: I've come to accept my role here, I might as well make the most of it… -shrugs while sitting down-

Me: -pats Blanc's head- Isn't she adorable? Anyways, what have we got on the schedule for today?

Noirey: -reviews the schedule- Not a whole lot… just you ending off this post-segment because you're not sure of what else to write.

Me: Precisely! Alright folks, I hope you all enjoyed this rather… unsettling chapter, if you did don't be afraid to leave a review, they help more than you know! Anyways, with that I'm gonna peace on out of here. Adios!