I remember the moment when everything collapsed.
I do not know if I was the one who ignited the first fire… or if I was just a spark that fell on dead land waiting to explode.
My name was not important then. And it still means nothing here.
But they used to call me the Maker.
The maker of curses. The maker of ruin. The maker of my own end.
I do not deny that I enjoyed the power… but everything has a price.
And I paid with memory, body, and even sensation.
Now, all I have is the ashes of the past…
Ashes falling from the sky like dead rain
The air saturated with the smell of fire, burnt flesh, as if
the place is exhaling its last breaths.
Under the feet, the ground covered with charred debris, the ruins of buildings collapsed under the weight of hell, the trees around the place wrapped in flames devouring them.
Every step on this wreckage emitted a muffled creak.
Every breath I took stung my lungs, burning them. The air was heavy, as if the area itself refused to grant me life.
Under my feet, the debris groaned, and the echoes of the collapse reverberated in my ears like screams from the past.
I saw nothing but endless ashes falling, until I began to think that the sky itself had burned.
And yet I stood on the rubble, proud like a beast freed from its chains.
A breathing curse exploded from me, a dark Hok crushing everything around it.
With a slight pressure of my will, the soldiers around me collapsed, their bones breaking under the suffocating pressure.
In my grip, the corpses dangled like tattered dolls, and on my face was a smile of someone who finally found freedom in the darkness of ruin.
But my ecstasy reversed.
A flash of light cut through the air, a thin sword strike but loaded with incredible power, fzzzz!
The blade pierced the Hok aura surrounding me as if tearing old fabric, and the scene exploded with chilling coldness – splash!
And yet my surrounding shadows easily repelled the strike.
I slowly turned… directing my gaze towards her.
A woman.
Walking steadily over the rubble, her long white hair dancing with the wind, and her blue eyes shining like an ocean under the sunlight.
Her appearance alone was enough to freeze the air around her.
A smile split my face.
"Oh… look who we have here."
She raised her sword towards me and declared in an emotionless voice, as if a fate was decreed upon me:
"Here ends your savagery."
Then, without warning, she launched towards me at a speed that broke vision, and her sword rained down on me with a crushing blow, forcing me to block the attack with all my strength, while sparks of clashing energy flew around us like small meteors.
The white woman flowed like a Hok snowstorm, her black sword gleaming under the gray sky, and her strikes rained on me without stopping.
Every movement split the air, almost breaking the void itself.
I moved quickly, surpassing her strikes, transforming my hand into a sword of shadows. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw it.
I spoke in a mocking tone:
"Stupid… and weak too. That's disappointing."
I said it quietly.
While I was dodging another strike, her sword pierced the air near my head.
Her eyebrows knitted, and she clenched her teeth, her white fingers gripping the sword handle fiercely.
She looked at me with disdain, her eyes sparking, before uttering with sharp sarcasm: "You are such a foolish and stupid Kaizo."
The words were like a slap, carrying a mixture of anger and sarcasm, as if punishing him for a crime he did not yet understand.
Kaizo…? What is this fool talking about?
I raised my eyebrow in surprise, stopping at her words that seemed strange to me, as if they came from a mouth that does not belong to this reality.
Her strike came fast, and the blade tore through the Hok towards me. I barely managed to raise my shadow to block the attack, and its metallic echo resonated between them.
I stepped back, staring at her, her gaze sharp and her body ready for the next attack.
Suddenly, in a fleeting moment, she disappeared from before my eyes.
There was only a momentary void before I felt a violent force hit my head.
A sudden kick, fast, hitting its target precisely, sending me flying through the air, my body breaking through the remains of buildings, smashing walls, and shards scattering in every direction.
/Perspective, the narrator.
The sound of the collapse echoed around, and sparks of fire danced among the rubble, while silence prevailed for moments, as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for what would happen.
She must eliminate him quickly
This is the only idea that came to her mind.
Before he could even think of a move, the sword cut through his body, piercing his chest and back, crashing into the ground.
His eyes widened, a sudden pain swept over him, and drops of blood scattered in the air,
His heartbeat quickened, and in seconds, his thoughts froze on a single question: How did this happen?
How did the roles reverse so quickly?
He was the hunter, confident in his steps, and now he became the prey, his body trapped between her blade and her piercing gaze.
And a cold smile appeared on her lips, while her fist tightened on the sword handle embedded in his body.
She uttered words like a stab, as steady as the sword:
"Your time is over."
Her sharp voice awakened something inside him, a voice he could not ignore, this time.
/Perspective, Murga.
I heard it unknown. It was clear, brief, without any emotion.
"Run."
I did not know the owner of the voice, and I had no time to think.
The taste of blood filled my mouth, and its heat brought me back to my focus. The pain scattered the fog of my thoughts for a moment, my eyes met my opponent again.
I remained still, smiling quietly, the pain in my chest was present, but it did not distract me this time.
Shadows began to ripple around me, emerging from nowhere, like black arms crawling slowly, wrapping around my body slowly.
And despite the pain penetrating me, my voice flowed quietly cold with a dark expression on my face:
"You are not the one who decides the end..."
They wrapped around my body like snakes, trying to pull the sword embedded in me, but his words pierced the silence like a malicious sarcasm:
"See you later."
/Perspective, the narrator.
His words echoed in the surroundings.
The woman tightened her grip on the sword, trying to do something, but his resistance increased, as if he held the blade to prevent her from completing what she started.
"You bastard."
Murga vanished as if his star had gone out, leaving behind a void that devoured every sound.
Her thoughts scattered.
What is happening? He disappeared?
Her eyes scanned the shattered arena, searching for any trace of him.
But silence was the master of the place, and little by little, the glow of her weapon dimmed, while she stood alone amidst the rubble.
She sighed deeply, and the echo of her breath mixed with the smoke rising from the ruins.
She closed her eyes for a moment, and her thoughts drowned in a sea of anger and frustration.
"Damn…"
She muttered between her teeth, and her grip on her sword loosened.
She looked at the darkness that surrounded her moments ago, at the void he left behind, and that mocking smile still engraved in her memory.
She stood in place, her eyes fixed on the void where Murga disappeared, and silence wrapped her like a cold cloak. The air carried the remains of ashes dancing in the faint light of the blue moon, while the thin ice beneath her feet cracked slowly.
The silence was broken by the sound of quick footsteps, followed by a heavy presence. A tall man with broad shoulders, wearing a dark armor, approached her, his eyes examining her with obvious concern.
"Lord Eria… are you okay?"
She remained still for a moment, did not turn, nor did her eyelid twitch. That cold aura surrounding her intensified, as if it were an invisible wall protecting her from anything… even concern itself.
But he did not retreat, rather he took another step forward, and his voice became more urgent:
"My lady, are you hurt?… That boy…"
Only then did she slowly raise her head and turn to him. Her eyes were steady, cold as unmelted ice, and her facial features reflected only the usual icy calm.
"I am fine," she replied in a steady voice, but it carried sharp firmness in its depth. "We must find him before he harms the public.."
"Okay, we will be ready soon."
He paused as if searching for other words, but in the end, he bowed slightly in respect, took a step back, content with the silence that returned to envelop the place.
She remained standing as if the whole world had frozen around her.
But what she did not know, is that all this began hours ago, in an empty white room…