Chapter 1
I gasped as I found myself swinging my sword down with all of my strength, only for it to collide with another blade. My vision blurred, as I tried to piece together what was happening, and vaguely realized that this wasn't real. I grimaced and did my best to rouse myself from the nightmare I was in, but found myself unable to do so. Realizing I was trapped inside my own mind, I held back a cry and resigned myself to living through my mistake once more.
"Not again…"
The scene was as fresh now as the day it had happened. Thick black clouds tumbled and roared above, and lightning flashed through the clouds, briefly lighting up the small clearing I was standing in. Across from me, a familiar figure stood, their cloak and sword covered in fresh blood. My blood. I heard my heart beating loudly in my ears, adding to the cacophony of sounds that were assailing me.
Tha-thump.
I swung my blade again, and when it met the other, red hot chips of metal shot off into the air. I was covered in a shower of sparks that were extinguished by the downpour of rain. We continued like this, caught in a dance of death, grunting and snarling as we struggled in the ankle-deep mud. Despite the slippery ground, I kept my footing and moved quickly, twisting around my opponent as I had done many times before. They turned to meet me and we clashed, our faces inches apart as we pushed for an advantage. I found it first and shoved her sword to the side, then attempted to get a quick jab in. She saw this coming and ducked low at the last second, only to slip in the mud, giving me the opening I needed. I could hear my heart beat faster, straining my chest.
Tha-thump. Tha-thump.
I lunged forward with a low strike that was caught by a quick parry. This surprised me and I lurched forward, then felt a strong kick that hit me in my stomach, launching me back into the ground. After a few moments of tumbling through the mud, I oriented myself and rolled to my feet with my sword at the ready, angled slightly downwards in a defensive posture. Mud fell from my body in thick chunks, and my hands trembled with fear as dark black and purple energy seeped out of my opponent. A wind blew violently through the clearing, pushing back the hood of the other figure. Long black hair whipped back with the wind and revealed the face of a young woman. Aside from her smooth features and pale skin, the most noticeable feature I could discern were her eyes. Yellow, piercing orbs with narrow slits glared out at the world, bereft of life or consciousness. I could barely keep my focus as the emotional strain started to drown out other thoughts.
Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-Thump.
I was tired because days of hasty travel had left me fairly weak and drained of chakra. I gripped my weapon tighter, my heart clenching inside of my chest, and called out to my opponent desperately. I could hear the strain and sorrow in my own voice, further reminding me of what was about to happen.
"Luna... stop what you're doing! Can't you see what you've done?! You've betrayed everyone you were supposed to protect! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"
She ignored my pleas and lifted her weapon with a hiss. She then broke into a blindingly fast sprint toward me. Realizing I only had a moment to react, I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, settling into a calm and ready state, prepared to do what was necessary. I stood still, my own sword ready, prepared to strike when the time was right. I could feel tears start to work their way down my face, mixing in with the rain that was already there.
Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump.
It only took a split second for her to close the gap, her sword aimed for my chest. I did two things at the same time, in a last-ditch effort to save my own life and possibly hers: I breathed out a small, chakra-infused wind that pushed her blade to the side a few inches. Then, I twisted my body into a better position the moment she reached me and thrust my blade forward until it sank into her flesh. I felt a sharp pain pierce my shoulder and I shuddered as small flecks of blood flew into the air. I tried to breathe but found myself almost unable to do so as the air itself pressed in on me. Time seemed to slow and I stood quietly, frozen in place, feeling nothing apart from the cold steel that was piercing through my shoulder. I felt locked in a daze, unable to act until warm blood dripped down my arm. I felt my eyes narrow in confusion at first, but then everything came to focus all at once, and any pain I had felt was overshadowed by an icy numbness that coursed through my veins.
I watched Luna as the purple and black glow that surrounded her faded away, causing her to pull back. I let go of my sword, leaving it in her chest as blood began to spill out of the wound. She coughed, gasping for air as her once yellow eyes regained some of their former color. Luna's eyes widened in shock and she dropped her blade, her hands trembling too much to hold her grip on it. Realization dawned on her face and she feebly attempted to dislodge the blade in her heart, and when that failed, she looked up and met my eyes, sending a wave of guilt ripping through my heart. A small, sad frown crossed her lips and she gurgled out three words, blood and bile at her lips.
"Kiran.. But… Why...?"
Luna fell back and I tried to grab her. I staggered and missed by inches due to my exhaustion and the mud around my feet. A wordless scream emanated from my lips as I cried out, watching as she fell further away from me. I couldn't lose her here. Not now. Not like this. Right as she hit the ground, a mound of darkness shot up and consumed her, taking away any chance I had of reaching her. I stared at the ground in shock and soon after, the entire land was quickly engulfed in a thick black cloak that spread out from the ground in front of me. Dark hands emerged from the black sea, accompanied by the sounds of subdued and desperate voices that made my skin start to crawl. I began to panic as a few words made themselves heard over the whispers.
"Wretch!"
"Monster!"
"Traitor!"
THA-THUMP. THA-THUMP. THA-THUMP. THA-THUMP. THA-THUMP.
The multitude of voices continued to grow louder and louder as the hands drew closer to me. I put my hands over my ears in an attempt to drown out the voices and screamed out in frustration and pain.
"N-no, please! You don't understand!"
Before I could move, a large hand shot up and wrapped itself around my throat. I choked, my words caught inside of my throat. I grabbed the hand as it lifted me off of the ground and desperately tried to pull it away. It refused to move and soon, other hands grabbed onto other parts of my body. I tried to kick and squirm as a deep chill began to spread throughout my body, but nothing I did was able to free me from their grasp. Slowly, the hands dragged me down into the thick blackness and my vision began to blur. I felt the strain on my lungs as I fought for a final breath, but I realized that there was nothing I could do. As my vision filled with black and I faded out of consciousness, a deep booming voice laughs to himself in the distance. Everything went silent before one final, terrifying scream ripped through my head.
"MURDERER!"
Updated 5/29/2021 - Minor Grammar and Spelling fixes
Updated 10/24/2021 - Several descriptions and sentences reworked.