Fruitless Journey, Pt. 2: Encounter with powers Unknown

I lunge at the beast, all thoughts collapsed into a single wish.

To win.

The beast doesn't hesitate. Its tail snaps out and captures my outstretched arm before I can pull back. I drive my axe into the tail with all my remaining strength. The blade connects, a torrent of blood splashes all over my face. Before I can even register the cold metallic taste, a strange burning sensation attacks my tongue and throat. I fall to my knees in pain, too distracted to notice the beast's counter to my pitiful attack.

A large paw claws at the side of my head, ripping at my flesh and sending me flying once more. I land hard, the air freed from my lungs and the sense from my head. A cool chill lingers where my left eye once rested, contrasted by the warmth of my blood pooling without restraint.

I instinctively try to run, but my legs fail immediately.

No matter how hard I focus, I can't move a muscle.

The cold arrives slowly, spreading from my chest outward. My vision narrows. My heart pounds so fiercely it stings.

The beast inches closer.

I turn my one good eye toward my axe. One last thought. One last refusal. The axe doesn't budge, resting silently from just beyond my fingertips.

I’m finished.

The beast marches on, slowing ever so slightly as it nears my broken body. It almost sounds… hesitant.

Just as I resign myself to fate, my whole body starts burning like my throat did before. It starts a bit warm at first, but soon it feels like I am engulfed in flames. I force my eyes open but see only my broken body sprawled at the base of a tree.

This pain, as if molten steel has begun searing my skin, is unbearable. I can barely scream, as my lungs are now full of blood.

Once my chest begins to tighten, I know not to fight it anymore.

Just as I finally begin to let go, the agony peaks and a wave of relief washes over my entire body. The sensation is blissful, like nothing I ever felt before.

For the first time in so long, I feel… at peace.

Basking in the pleasure, I almost missed the muffled voices around me. I tried to find them but couldn’t see anything.

Basking in the pleasure, I almost missed the muffled voices around me.

I tried to find them but couldn’t see anything.

Not blackness or darkness, just… nothing.

What is this?

I reached out my hands and kicked my feet but nothing registered.

Is this death?

I tried once more and this time felt my feet plant on something; the ground? I tried to push but it didn't feel completely solid. It almost felt like swimming in mud, yet still felt like nothing at all.

I kept at it for some time, soon the voices grew clearer and I could somewhat distinguish them. I listened harder and made out a single woman's voice.

"Please! Don't touch her! I'm begging you!"

As those words left her lips, a torrent of inexplicable emotions swelled within me. Before I could make sense of them, I felt all my senses return.

In that instant, a terrible heat clawed all over my body.

As my eyes adjusted I finally began to register my surroundings.

A great sea of flames.

Shocked by their magnitude, I hesitated a bit before ultimately escaping. The sight of burning buildings, the smell of smoke, the unforgiving heat — all of it crashed against my feeble mind at once.

After a bit of running I finally managed to escape the flames. Before long I came to regret that decision. Even after escaping hell, I was greeted by an even worse sight.

A whole horde of people, fifty or so, lying bound ahead of me. Scarred by wounds and strung together in hideous black chains.

Lording above the captives was a group of strange foreigners, the likes of which I had never seen before.

All of them were tall, pale and broad. Their heads crowned with silver-plaited hair, their eyes tinted like the colour of dried blood.

I looked amongst the captives and saw only men. Just as I began to wonder, I looked to my left and saw the fate that had befallen the women and children.

They had been packed by the dozen into small metal cages. I wasn't close but I could perceive the horrible scent of blood and waste that had settled on those floors. The only thing I could do was cover my mouth in despair. I could never before have imagined a fate worse than death, yet I knew straight away that this was one of them.

I turned to run again but was met by one of the foreigners. He looked straight through me with his cold red eyes, using one arm he raised a giant black sword, far above his head. The sword came down so quickly I didn't even have time to think.

I looked down, expecting to see a strike; somehow, I remained unscathed.

I couldn’t spare a moment to question it. I turned to leave almost immediately.

Mid-turn I met the eyes of a woman. Her face was stricken with panic, her mouth agape as the light drained from her sorrowful eyes. A thin line of red crept from her shoulder too her waist. Right after, the top half of her body slid cleanly of the bottom and unto the floor.

I looked beyond her and saw a little girl dressed in similar clothes, wearing a look of dread just like her mother's last. The giant behind me let out a loud sigh. I turned to look at his face as he began to speak to the girl.

"Quite unlucky. Product like that usually sells for quite a few shillings."

After calmly letting out those words he watched the scene in regret for a few moments.

Satisfied, he slowly marched toward the girl, whistling softly as he unfastened his belt.

The girl remained unresponsive, only staring blankly at her mother.

"Don't worry young lady, I won't sell you. Hell, I’ll show you lots of love in her place."

His smile was disgusting. No warmth in his eyes, no love in his expression. I could see that he was smiling but all I felt was malice. I wanted so desperately to scream, to attack him, to do anything — but I just couldn't muster any strength.

My body shook so violently I couldn't even stand anymore. This whole place is a nightmare.

Why am I here?

Why is this happening?

Am I supposed to help?

I dug my palms in my ears to drown out her screams. Trembling on the ground I abandoned my restraint and started yelling out erratically.

"PLEASE! Be it god or devil, anyone at all, just stop this madness!”

“Even if it's my life, I’ll offer you anything. JUST PLEASE SAVE HER!"

Just as those words escaped my lips, I felt a shift in the air and a strange presence suffocate the area.

I looked up immediately, hoping that god had truly heard my call.

As if answering my prayers, a figure emerged from the night. Shrouded in smoke, a soft breeze flowing around him.

He wore a green sleeveless robe, it hung loosely about his body and flowed softly in the breeze. His hair was long and white like salt, yet flowed gently like linen. His face was sombre, his bright blue eyes dancing around the chaos with indifference — stopping only when they landed on me. Meeting his gaze sent a chill down my spine, he felt so… cold.

The giant brute fixed his eyes on the stranger. He turned toward his comrades and yelled out ecstatically.

"My god! Did you see the smoke? Lord Gunther, he might be a mage!"

I followed his gaze to a lone figure. Even among giants, he stood head and shoulders above the rest. A mix of stitches and scars crossed his face. His left eye, though dull and empty, glowed with a soft scarlet hue. The other eye was sewn shut.

I was amazed most by his mouth, two long slits marked either end of his smile, making him look like a demon.

The man showed no fear, no concern, no panic. He slowly lifted his arm and pointed toward the stranger before making a simple declaration.

"I don't care how many of you die. Exhaust it and take it alive. His blood alone will net us a fortune."

Without delay about twenty of the giants began surrounding the stranger, yet he didn't stop walking, marching toward the little girl.

The brute stood up excitedly and brandished his sword. He leapt far into the air and sent his blade crashing down with inhuman force. The impact sent so much dust around that for a moment I was completely blinded.

The first thing I saw after it settled astounded me.

The giant remained suspended mid-air, completely frozen in place. Right below the tip of his blade, the stranger stood unmoved, not even looking the giant's way.

The remaining giants stopped immediately, unsure of what to do next. The stranger maintained his pace toward the girl, eventually stopping to kneel at her side. The girl lay there battered, body broken, spirit shattered. Even though muffled, I could barely hear the sound of crying as she fought for every breath.

After making a pitying face he shook his head and stood.

With a sudden, cold finality, he placed his foot to her face and drove it through her skull.

Wait…

What?

He…

Why would…

Why would he do that?

I immediately tore my eyes of the bloody mess pooled at his feet. The silence that filled the area was deafening. Everyone present seemed equally stunned.

The giant called Gunther broke the silence with a hearty laugh. After collecting himself he rose to his feet and called out to the mage mockingly.

“What a sick fellow, here I was thinking I’d found myself a hero to torment”

He picked up his axe, a giant two headed weapon covered so much in blood that it bloomed in the moonlight.

The mage paid him no mind, he simply lifted his hand toward the sky and began activating some kind of spell.

A fierce blue glow engulfed his eyes. A large halo wrapped itself around his head. Resembling a glowing crown of thorns, it lit up his white hair with an ethereal bloom.

Gunther's eyes widened, he stopped immediately before turning to scream at his comrades.

"All forces, full retreat!"

His men turned to him in confusion, but he had already started sprinting away. The remaining giants abandoned their captives and followed their leader; all except the first, he remained suspended mid-air, straining as he struggled to move.

I looked back at the stranger and suddenly remembered the stories my mother used to tell me. Stories about beings that painted murals on the sky and split countries like cake.

She doubted they were true, but her mother was certain.

They don't bleed, her mother said. They don't die. Forever perfect, forever beautiful — these godlike beings once ruled over all of mankind.

We called them Dana.

As I thought back to her tales, a swirling vortex of dark stormy clouds began to envelop the area, cantered on the man standing ahead of me. He closed his fists and the wind surged, sweeping everything away like scraps of paper.

People, trees, buildings — anything and everything caught by the wind was reduced to dust.

After the storm settled, all that remained were the stranger and I.

To think something so powerful walked the same earth as mere men. I felt so pathetic.

I looked around at the newly reshaped landscape, the whole town levelled as far as my eyes could see.

The stranger slowly turned my way, then spoke.

"The scent of that wench's magic lingers on you. It drew me here. I will send you back unharmed, so you must help me deliver a message."

His words snapped me back to reality.

Even as my voice shook, I yelled back.

"Why should I help you after slaughtering that girl! You could have saved her, you could have saved all of them!”

The man scoffed and replied stoically.

"Irrelevant. These people were in need of salvation and I simply offered mercy. Whether you like it or not you will answer my task"

his eyes began to glow, and I felt a strong pressure weigh over me. I stepped back, afraid he would kill me too.

No.

I can’t keep cowering, this isn’t right at all. Is he seriously calling this salvation?

He destroyed them all, what could they have done to deserve death?

I couldn’t contain my anger thinking of how scared she must have been, how scared they all were.

"Bullshit! This looks merciful to you? How powerful you must feel trampling on others and calling it salvation."

The stranger made a completely bewildered expression.

He then put his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes, vexed.

"Only a child feels mighty while playing with ants. Demeaning myself enough to crawl amongst you insects is embarrassing enough without your lecture."

I was stunned into silence.

These people, these lives, nothing but ants?

Suffering the likes of which I could never before imagine, yet he dismisses it so effortlessly. I looked out at the destruction and realised that he might have been right. Everything I had ever done, every moment of my life that I fought hard to survive… it all means nothing.

At the end of the day, I’m still weak.

He turned to walk away but then paused and spoke again.

"Oh yes, the message. Tell the sin eater that I'll soon be paying her master a visit."

Sin eater? I heard him clearly, but couldn't follow his logic.

Who was the woman he kept asking me to talk to?

Wait… a woman in the forest?

Does he mean… my mother?

A bit unsure, I called back to the man in confusion.

"My mother is gone. She never learned magic and neither did I. Why are you asking me to meet her?”

The man sighed loudly and turned to me in irritation.

"Are you blind and deaf? I don’t give a damn about your bitch mother. The woman whose magic you're borrowing, leave my message with her!"

Borrowed magic? He’s starting to say nonsense.

I wanted to ask again but he held his hand up, silencing me. A moment later he, drove his hand into the ground. The moment he did, I felt the burning in my throat return, just like earlier in the forest.

My senses soon faded like before; I could feel the emptiness from before engulfing me. It spread fast all over my body, but this time the pain didn't linger. My senses returned quickly and the emptiness subsided.

Soon I was able to take in my surroundings.

As my vision sharpened, I began to make out a shape above my head.

Focusing more, I saw that it was a woman's face. A small metal piece hung from her mouth, sparkled in the moonlight. 

She stared at me intently, almost curious.

I hadn’t noticed at first, but her appearance was quite unsightly. Her face was marred with cuts and bruises, her left eye missing from its socket. I leapt back in fear, springing off the ground and driving my back into a tree.

Can a human even survive like that? She’s basically already dead.

Studying her a bit more, she doesn’t seem the least bit panicked or bothered. Is that thing even human?

Wait… injuries.

My body… I’m completely fine!

After realizing I could escape, the woman acted quickly to stop me. Putting a firm hand on my neck, she lifted me up off the floor.

I tried to shake her off, but her grip was unbelievably strong.

I was completely pinned.

Before I could fight back, she uttered a single word.

"Sleep."

Even though just moments ago I had been at full alert, I felt my body relax and grow limp. She released me and my back soon met the floor; a short while after that, my consciousness began to fade.

I struggled to catch another glimpse of the woman before passing out. I noticed that some of the marks on her body were closing.

In my struggle to stay awake, I managed one question.

"What… are… you?"

My eyes soon shut after that. Before passing out completely, I managed to catch her response.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing.”