Chapter Text
His vision was swarmed with red while his body begged for just a moments rest. The stench of iron and decay invaded his senses, making his stomach churn in disgust.
Tanned fingers wiped the blood from his eyes, and he felt a part of him shatter at the silence that took over the clearing. There was nothing but a slight howling of the wind, and the faint sound of two feet dragging in the mud.
He surveyed the area with a despaired gaze as familiar faces stared up at the sky, their eyes glazed over and filled with terror in their last moments. He tried to push past his fear and anguish, ignoring the tears that threatened to spill over, and focused on the enemy before him.
Long dark hair swayed in the wind and piercing red eyes bore into his soul, anger rolling off the mans wounded body in waves. They were both wobbling slightly, their injuries too great and energy too low. The end was near.
It came down to hand to hand combat. They weaved around each other in a deadly dance, waiting for the other to slip up. The sound of flesh hitting flesh and ragged breathing seemed to echo around them, replacing the heavy silence.
When the final blow was dealt there was no relief or excitement, only the dull thump of a body meeting the earth in one final embrace. The victor scanned the horizon and felt any hope that he had left fade away instantly.
There was nothing, he was all that remained.
Hollow blue eyes searched the piles of human remains, looking for a familiar tuft of silver hair. He passed two bodies that laid hand in hand, their last moments spent sharing their love with one another. He looked away from the blood soaked pink locks and gaping hole in their chest. He ignored the gaunt face and missing eyes of the person next to them.
On and on he walked, through mounds of cadavers, all staring at him with vacant expressions and splattered with crimson. He picked up the pace once spotting that familiar hair, gleaming silver in moonlight.
Dropping to his knees he cradled the body close, hot tears slipping down his cheeks as violent sobs wracked his chest. Slick palms tenderly caressed the pale, cold flesh, and he wept for what could’ve been, wept for every soul lost and for the future that would never come.
As the last tear fell the man said a silent prayer for his fallen comrades and began the long process of digging a mass grave.
His body protested, begged for water, food, rest but he could not rest. Not until they were safe and at peace, he couldn’t leave them exposed like this. They deserved better than being bared to the elements and left to rot.
Two weeks passed and the sun came up, bathing the barren land in soft gold and bringing warmth to the empty space, though barely visible through the clouds of ash that hung about. No bodies remained, only dark red stains that served as a reminder of the many lives lost.
A single figure slumped in front of a grave, marked only by a headband and a ring. He sat for hours, turning into days looking at nothing but the pile of loose dirt in front of him. His cheeks were puffy, red and tear stained.
Defeated eyes stared unseeing into the destroyed land, his body was pale and sunken in. He waited impatiently, exhausted and grieving he craved the sweet release of death. What had he to live for now? There was nothing and no one awaiting him and all he wanted, all he needed, was to be with his precious people again.
Time passed and his body was close to death, wrought with hunger and dehydration, wounds festering and infected but he didn’t feel a thing. The man was empty, merely waiting for his time to come yet it never did.
Right as his eyes closed and he took one last breath, a deep burning sensation took over his body that forced him to thrash about and release hoarse screams that echoed across the vast nothingness.
He began to feel weightless, as if floating helplessly in the depths of the ocean, and there was nothing around him but an endless black sky.
A tingling sensation accompanied the pain and he looked down to see his body disintegrate, filling the blank space with glowing yellow orbs.
His entire being was then unraveled and bared to the universe, memories replayed in front of him and then slowly began to rewind. He watched himself become younger until he was but a baby, helpless and small. A woman with long crimson hair spoke to him with the love and kindness he wished he’d heard all those years growing up. A blonde man stared fondly and wished him strength and prosperity.
And then the pain intensified. The space around him twisted and warped and suddenly he was thrown.
He didn’t know how long he fell, as the concept of time had disappeared, and for a moment he thought this was the afterlife. Though just as soon as the thought came, his body crashed into something that rattled his soul.
And then he woke up.