Pushed back by the unexpected strike Damian stumbled slightly as a horde of Legionnarriers ran past him seemingly unaware of his existence, looking ahead of him to face his opponent, he studied her expression with intensity. Her eyes radiated with a subtle golden glow mixed into the amber hue, her gaze radiated a type of strength he had never seen before, the intensity of her glare made him feel like he should kneel and beg for forgiveness.
Her hair, crimson like the fabrics of her armour seemed like it was woven from the blood of her enemies with each strand representing one of her triumphs, with specks of white sand clinging to it, a perfectly forged set of half plate covered her torso, with smaller plates covering over vital areas such as her arms and legs,with a slight olive tone taking over the parts of her skin that remained uncovered.
Her beauty was unlike anything he had seen before, it would have been almost tantalising if it wasn't so eerie, no human could ever look like that, as if she was sculpted from clay by the hands of the Gods themselves and given life, in a world like this he wouldn't be too surprised if that really was the case.
Looking down on her opponent a small smile appeared on her lips as she spoke,
"So it is you, the one who frightened my people and filled the hearts of Truth's army with the idea that they actually have a chance of success, I must say that is a remarkable achievement." Her pleasant smile quickly turned sour as she continued.
"Even so, I can't imagine why that Despicable Daemon would send you out here to ambush me and my Legion by yourself? Answer my question and I will grant you a swift death, for that is more than you deserve ."
Damian looked at her with a puzzled expression, he didn't know what she meant by the word Daemon, did that mean that the man who controlled this army was some sort of evil spirit or deity? That would explain why they were opposing the Gods themselves. Looking straight ahead without ever lowering his spear he spoke,
"I and I alone planned this ambush, in order to prevent a dire future for my fellow soldiers, all in the hopes of striking you down where you stand, for that is my will."
For a few moments it was like everything turned still, the rushing footsteps of the legion disappeared into the background, the sounds of clashing weapons and the roar of mighty creatures faded away as an oppression air pressed down on him, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Her eyes turned cold and a hateful grimace covered her face,
"Don't lie to me pitiful human, I may be limited in this form but I am far from blind."
Pointing her sword towards his remaining arm she continued,
"You claim you did this yourself yet you use a tool woven from Fate, I can see it clearly from here, it's a primitive work for sure but there's no mistaking it so I will ask once more, why did the treacherous Daemon of Fate send you here to meddle in the war they wanted to no part of! Tell me at once and I shall spare you from the embrace of Shadow."
Damian was lost for words, the oppression on his body was nearly unbearable to the point he felt like giving up right there and then, he didn't know what this woman was talking about, woven by Fate? How could something be woven from something as nebulous as Fate, sparing a glance at the Broken chain wrapped around his remaining arm he recoiled.
The memory was rewarded by the voice of the trial he had found himself in, if its rewards were woven by Fate, wouldn't that imply that the trial itself was created by this creature of Fate, it was too much to process, he would have to think about this later because right now he had bigger problems to worry about,
"I have no idea what your talking about lady, I was given this as a gift for slaying one of your men by a disembodied voice that only speaks to me when I kill things, how was I meant to know it came from some evil creature, ive never even heard of a Daemon before you brought it up."
Her eyes twitched as she pointed her blade towards his head, anger painted across her face as the glow of her eyes grew brighter,
"LIES! You claim to not know of Daemons yet you wear their gifts like a fool, fight their wars until your last breath and you claim to have never known? There are no creatures alive who don't know their existence, for a man serving the master of lies, I thought you would be better at telling them."
As she readied her blade she looked down on him, as if imagining how she would watch the life drain from his eyes for his disrespect or her status,
"Human, your death whilst insignificant to this battle will serve a larger purpose, it will be a footnote as to the path I will carve to reach your cowardly master, who refused to show himself until now. I shall make sure in your final moments you surrender your will to your true master, for I shall lead humanity to a new age, this body has served me well in this battle but once the Final Legion arrives at daybreak I shall assume my role as patron of Humanity, but for now I shall fight you as the War Maiden, Ariadne, for it is only right to know the name of your enemy before you die,even if the name is borrowed."
As these words were spoken she almost seemed to disappear in a blur of speed, nearly too fast to react to, Damian lunged forward but was met with nothing but air as she effortlessly dodged his attack and struck out with her blade, which cut into his thigh.
The cut wasn't very deep, only piercing a small amount of the stone, what was frightening about it was the force behind the attack, or rather the lack thereof, just from that one cut he knew, she wasn't fighting seriously, probing his defences to see how best to make him suffer for the perceived transgression.
As he turned around hoping to strike out again he was met with another strike, this time to the torso, again and again he tried and tried to hit her but each attempt failed, as more and more strikes built up on his armor, wincing from the pain he jumped backwards, hoping to put some distance between them.
As he backed away he saw her stop, reaching for a small cut which had appeared on her cheek after she had struck his helmet, the injury was superficial at best, she turned to face him but instead of charging forward she reached to the side as the nearby shadows seemed to shape themselves into a black arrow. Before he had time to prepare she launched the arrow live at a javelin, it flew through the air silently as it easily pierced his foot, pinning it to the ground causing him to let out a shout.
Cursing loudly, he attempted to ready his spear, hoping to break the shaft of the arrow, but before he could another one struck his other foot, letting out another scream he struck out at the arrows, hoping to break them in order to move once again but it was for nothing, as he tried one final time to strike out at the arrow, a sudden pain shot through his wrist forcing him to let go of his spear. As he looked on his face full of terror he saw blood pouring from his arm, a stark white arrow pierced through the stone and flesh alike sending intense pain through his body, the arrow was both scorching hot and freezing cold at once sending convulsions through his body, looking up he saw something that sent fear through his heart.
In the War Maiden's hand, the thick sand in the air was shaping itself, forming into another one of the stark white arrows, looking at her prey she smiled, showing no signs of pain as she threw the next one into him. Again and again she started launching a volley of strange arrows into his body, not deep enough to cause any real damage but enough to make it feel like he was truly in hell, and with each one she launched she stepped ever closer to where he stood.
Unable to do anything but endure the torture he couldnt help but wonder if he truely deserved this fate, he had done horrible things in his life which he was ashamed of, and had hoped that once he died and found his way to whatever was beyond he would be punished for his actions, but wasnt this too cruel even for him, making him believeve there was ever a chance he could have defeated someone like this, he may have had some power, but this was simply unfair, as the thoughts clouded his mind, distracting him from the pain he felt the the War Maiden was only a few steps away.
Feeling her approach he couldnt help but look at her, the look in her eyes told him everything, the sick bastard was enjoying every second of this torture, her face lingered om his for a moment before she spoke,
"Did you really believe that you could win against me, even in this weak body I am of no match to the likes of you, the armour Truth grants his soldier is indeed troublesome but its weakness is range, anything the strikes from afar is unaffected by its enchantment, as well as the soft flesh underneath."
Raising her hand an explosion of golden light emanated from her cuts, the light formed into a radiant blade, which she held to his throat.
"I shall give you one last chance, return to the light of the Gods, tell me of the plan Weaver has concocted, and I shall make sure Shadows embrace never finds you."
Looking her dead in the eyes he realised something, a smile so wide it reached his eyes painted his face, as he coughed up blood into her face as he spoke,
"Go fuck yourself, I would rather you slit my throat then tell you anything."
Enraged by his words the world itself almost seemed to shudder as the radiant blade effortless carved through his neck, but as it did his smile widened even larger as he saw her face twist in both confusion and horror, as a long deep cut, the same as what she had done to him appeared on her neck.
Her blood spilled out like a waterfall, the crimson liquid saturated by a pale golden glow as she tried to reach up to her throat the arrows permeating his body broke away, returning to the source from which they came as he fell to the ground, he could feel his life draining away from him, slowly and slowly, with each passing second the world grew even darker than it was before, just as the darkness consumed him he heard the familiar voice ring out once again,
[You have Slain an Awakened Vessel of War, War Maiden Ariadne]
[Wake up,Damian! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]