[Some memories are best forgotten...]
[short chapter today.]
The lone soldier stood atop the hill, gazing upon the village that was once his home. From his position, he could clearly see the writhing black tendrils that were tearing the roofs off houses, wreaking havoc on whatever they touched.
Before he knew it, he was running. Down, down, towards his home. He thought not of his comrades who he had abandoned, but of his family, which he treasured above all.
Finally, the soldier arrived at the doorstep of a large cottage. An elderly man stood before it, fending off the corrupt tentacles with nothing but a broadsword. His heart was worn and his breath was heavy, but the fiercest flames burned in his eyes.
Through the window of his old home, the soldier saw a woman and two children cowering together with their backs to the walls. It was at this moment when the elderly swordsman noticed him standing there.
"??????! What are you doing here?!" As the old man shouted, he made the fatal mistake of letting his eyes leave his opponent for a split second.
Time slowed to a halt. The soldier, rooted to the ground, watched helplessly as the vantablack entity brought down a thundering blow, its tendrils crashing into the old man's temple and sending him flying. He flew in a great arc, tumbling into the dirt with a thud.
"Father!"
The soldier rushed to the old man's side, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"You... you're supposed to be guarding the capital..."
"Father... I... I came to protect you and the others..."
The old man coughed, sending blood splattering onto the dirt pavement.
"You... fool..."
The soldier froze in disbelief.
"W-what?"
"You abandoned your duty... your responsibility for something like this? How... could you..."
It was at that moment when the soldier looked into his father's eyes once again, and what he saw chilled him to the bone.
What lay in his father's eyes was not joy to see his son for the last time, nor sadness that he had to depart.
It was disappointment.
The soldier fell to his knees, next to his father's corpse and his destroyed home. And he screamed. Screamed in sorrow for all he had lost in those few moments. Screamed in remorse for how he had let his father and his comrades down.
Most of all, he screamed in fury. Fury against the evil that had taken so much from him, as well as fury against himself for letting his father down.
And his fury manifested into flame. Flames that burned blue and violet, burning everything they touched. The soldier's flames swirled around and around, forming a searing inferno with him at its center.
The dark creature, undeterred, lashed out at the whirlwind of flame, it's limbs swinging erratically.
The soldier snapped out of his trance, his tear-streaked eyes snapping onto their target. The flames shot forward, wrapping themselves around the dark abomination. The creature roared, slamming nearby trees, rocks and whatever else it could hit. But the flames continued to burn, consuming it bit by bit until nothing but a charred body remained.
Silence settled into the courtyard.
Of how long he stood there, motionless, the soldier knew not. But eventually, he slumped down, reality beginning to set in.
He had lost everything.
The lone soldier died that day, together with the ashes of his family and the responsibility he failed to uphold.
That day, I cleaned the slate. Threw everything into the past. I started anew, as a different person.
I am ?????????, the Blazing Warlord.