A Feast on the Battlefield

I am but a cloud, floating from–ahhh! No time!

The ground blurred into a giant splotch of green as I flew through the air. Normally, I preferred to drift along the wind casually, enjoying the scenery beneath me. However, a once in a lifetime event was occurring, even for a being like me. I had to fly even faster if I wanted to get there before all the mana dissipated.

After all, someone had shattered the moon.

It was an impossible feat, and yet, someone managed to pull it off. I wasn’t sure what they were thinking, but who cared? They created a feast.

See, as a cloud, I needed mana to maintain my existence…probably. It was more of an instinct, so I trusted it. Normally, I didn’t have to do anything special – my cloud-like form would absorb the ambient mana from the environment somehow. Honestly, I had no idea how it worked. Mana was just weird like that.

However, just because I had enough mana didn’t mean that I wouldn’t go out of my way for an abundance sometimes. Though its texture was consistent, mana had different flavors depending on where it came from, sort of like the food people ate. For example, mana from flora had a leafy or flowery flavor, while mana from fauna had a bit of gaminess to it. The ambient mana in the air didn’t really have a taste – it was more refreshing than anything, sort of how I imagined water would taste like.

Though, unlike the food people ate, you couldn’t change the flavor of mana. Sure, you could combine different flavors together, but it didn’t mix to create a new flavor. It was more like switching between two different flavors every so often. It was a bit disappointing, seeing how people enjoyed their complex cuisines, but that’s how the world was.

I could feel my stomach rumbling louder, at least, in my mind since clouds didn’t have stomachs. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but the abundance of mana was so tantalizing. I felt like I understood the meaning of the words ‘mouth-watering’. I sped up.

It wasn’t long before I could see my destination off in the distance: a city. A sea of white beasts writhed and wriggled out from an underground cave, closing in on the city from all sides. Guards stood against the tide, holding the beasts from reaching the walls; however, they were gradually being pushed back. It wouldn’t be long before the beasts reached the wall and broke into the city. It was quite literally a battlefield.

And that made it all the more delicious.

I swooped down, hovering just outside of the city, and started absorbing the surrounding mana. The flavors started pouring in. One group had a bit of a tart flavor, reminding me of a lime tree. Another group had a rich and sweet flavor that was almost overpowering. There was even a group that had a creamy aftertaste that seemed to linger. Moving to another area, some of the beasts being burned by fire had a smokey flavor, or at least, that was what I thought smokey mana would taste like if you could smoke mana. Honestly, it didn’t taste any different than the other groups. Regardless, it was still delicious.

All the while, the battlefield below was slowly dyed red. The people were still holding out likely because most of the mana from the beasts was feeding me. Some of the beasts and people were collapsing under lack of mana in their bodies. Well, that just means more mana for me.

As I flew around the borders of the city, I noticed a giant circle of red within the white sea of beasts. Anytime the beasts attempted to rush in to close the hole, they were slicked into pieces instantly. I couldn’t see what happened; however, I could definitely sense something going on. It intrigued me…and yet, it gave me a feeling I could not place. If I had to describe it though, it was…uncomfortable.

So, of course, I decided to get a closer look.

I enhanced my senses and saw…nothing. Nothing at all. Blood would occasionally splash in random places, but there was no cause to it. Whatever was in that circle was moving too fast to see.

I enhanced my senses further, absorbing even more mana from my surroundings. This time, I was able to see a blur, but that was it. The blur seemed to run on two legs, so it was probably a person, but that was unusual. It was rare to find a person able to hold their own against so many beasts in a mana rich environment. Their weapon was also curious. It looked like a log, or maybe a giant block of wood.

Come on, just a little more. I could feel my senses wavering as I pushed the enhancement even further. Controlling this much mana should’ve been a breeze. However, without the moon, I had to draw even more mana from my surroundings. It was starting to take a toll on my form.

And then, the blur stopped, breathing heavily while warily looking around. It was, in fact, a person. His dark purple hair could be mistaken for the blackness of night. His clothes were rather formal, but he had the sense to wear some armor underneath his shirt. If anything, they looked like a citizen of the city – someone that shouldn’t be on the battlefield.

However, the weapon he wielded made it obvious that he was no ordinary person. It wasn’t anything standard like a sword or an ax. It wasn’t fancy like a mace or a katana. No, this weapon was one of a kind, if not a bit weird.

That person wielded a chair.

And that chair had more mana than almost every single thing in this world.

Even with my limited knowledge in weapons, I was pretty sure that no weapon like that could exist, or should exist for that matter. A single swing could change the fundamental rules of the world, though not without severe consequences. It was as if this weapon was made as a last resort, or to maintain some kind of balance within the world.

…ah. I understand why I feel so uncomfortable.

That person can kill me.

I hadn’t understood the concept of death until that moment. As a cloud, if I used up too much mana, I would simply fall asleep until I regained enough back. As such, I wouldn’t “die” in the same sense that other people used the word. However, that chair could reduce the mana and water making up my form into its elementary components. Whatever mana that made up who I was would be separated completely, destroying any semblance of “self” I once had. It would be impossible to reassemble myself. I would truly die.

Maybe this is how people or beasts feel when they’re terrified.

I turned my attention back towards the man…

…and he was staring directly at me.

We both remained still, staring at each other. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, the man balled up his fists before walking away. I had no idea what he was thinking, and I had no desire to find out.

And so, I floated away, leaving behind the city surrounded by a silent, calm, red-white lake.