Where Darkness Gathers

A lone figure trudges across the desert wrapped in a black shroud. He is tired, weary. His rage and sadness know no bounds. He is Raven, the lonely.

Raven. My name. I suppose it was fitting, back then. Gore. Carrion. That is what a raven eats. And what I created. Still, I can't help wondering, what was my name, before? Before Prozen. I feel my lips twist in a grim smile, devoid of light and warmth. Prozen. The one who tortured me, sculpted my mind into the killer I am. The one I answered to.

The one who gave me orders. Orders, hah! What do they matter, now? I'm lost, lonely, weary. Flyheight. I don't hate him anymore. Instead, I just want to sleep. Slip endlessly down that long, dark well, never to wake up. All I really want is understanding. With Shadow gone, I have none. I am the most hated individual on all of Zi.

Isn't there someone who doesn't hate me? Why am I talking to myself? No one cares about my thoughts. No one. Where am I going? I'm just trudging across the endless sands. Finally, one day, I'll crash to dust, never to rise again. Then I'll have rest. Still, what choice do I have? None. I'm just an empty shell. When was the last town? When I stumbled into there, people stared. They stared in horror. To them, I must have looked half dead. With my tattered clothes and sunken eyes, I'm the living dead. I have nothing. No hate against Van, or Prozen. No happiness, joy, or mirth.

I've had none since the day Prozen and I met. All I have is rage. Just uncontrollable rage and sadness. I laugh bitterly. I have no purpose, except revenge. Revenge. That blessed word. Against Hiltz, and Ambient. Murderers of my beloved Shadow! But I'm a murderer, too. The blood of hundreds is on my conscience. Did I have a choice? Yes. No one deserves to die more than me. And yet. my body keeps going, through the motions of life. Shadow. The only one who knew me, my hopes, my dreams, my mind.

Dead. Murdered. Gone. Gone. The finality of that word. *Flashback* I leap out of the genosaurer. I turn and see Shadow standing silently, not moving. "Shadow?" Nothing. No. No. "Shadow?!" hoping beyond hope. Futile. And then, I scream. Scream for everything, the life I lost, the love I wanted, the rage, and destruction I've caused. And for Shadow. *End flashback* and now, I still hear my scream, that wild, feral howl of despair, every day, night and when I sleep. And beyond sleep, in my dreams.

I'm weak and the sand is rushing up to meet me. Just let me die! I cry silently before falling into darkness. Just let me die.