Persphyni : I am Destruction

1

"This is your destiny! Do you hear me!" I remained quiet. Knowing that was exactly what he wanted, me to be silent. Me to say nothing. Me to be inferior. "You can't run from fate. Have your little books taught you nothing?"

They taught me more than you'll ever know.

"Pathetic. You really thought that your life could be more. Is that why you spared him? Is that why he got away? Answer me!" My head was yanked upward, my eyes squinting at the harsh light that was suddenly shoved into my face.

"No." I breathed calmly, my words even and monotone. "No, Sir."

"Then why is he still alive?" I looked right up towards where I thought his eyes were. The eyes of the man I've hated since I learned the true evil behind the emotionless windows.

"Because I failed." He lost his grip on my hair but I kept staring up at him.

"Then you know what happens next." I clenched my jaw as I nodded. Then quickly opened my mouth to answer before he could raise his fist at my silence.

"Yes, Sir." I saw his dark face nod, the light still blinding me of his true features. Blinding me from seeing his evil.

"Good. Now get up." And I did.

I stood from the ground, the clank of chains around my hands sounded as I rose. The weight heavy but comforting as I began to follow him outside of the holding cell. I wished nothing more than to be in my true bunk up in solitary, but I hadn't done as he asked.

This was my punishment.

"You're done when they are finished." The same words he says every time I found myself here in this dark tunnel. This punishment is a way to remind me of who I was, of what my life consists of and will only ever consist of.

Darkness.

The gate rose, and I walked out to the center of the arena. This one smaller than the one I publicly fight in as this was the training pit.

The gate behind me shut, and silence filled the room. I knew there were people along the railings holding their breath as they saw Bloodmoon down in the pit. Rich people to be exact, or as rich as you could be on the Ark, this was an exclusive show for them. The thought infuriating as I remembered what I had to do here.

I didn't get another moment to think as the gates around me were lifted and the first group walked out. Then the next, then the next. Until the walls of the pit were lined with people. Some seemingly innocent people who might have been wrongly accused yet were still sent to the gallows to die. Here, we were all guilty. And they would all face death.

Unless they did one thing— kill me.

I breathed, in and out. My fists clenching as I felt the steady floor beneath me, using it to keep me grounded.

The first man who was brave enough ran straight towards me. A silver blade glinting in his hand as the bright lights reflected off it.

Danger.

I caught the blade within my chains and yanked it free from him, my body already moving on muscle memory as I swung behind the man and jerked his neck to the side. Severing his fragile connection between his brain and spinal cord.

As if that woke the others up they charged. Two or three at a time. Pure primal fear dictated their moves as I cut them all down with my chained, bare hands.

Blood splattered from the neck of one I had wrapped up in the metal links. The red droplets splattering my face as I dropped him to the ground. My head already turning to face the next opponents.

My breathing even and calm as I dictated their fates. I was in control here, it was my domain. These people knew nothing that could save them.

The Shadow was evil. And he knew exactly what this punishment did.

I snapped necks, choked and drained lives right before my eyes. I punched and I kicked, I broke noses and ribs. I even ripped off body parts just to watch them bleed.

Death.

The first several deaths I tried to make as painless as possible, but the Shadow knew me too well. He sent more people towards me, and these people weren't lucky.

Blood covered the ground, the air, my eyes, my hair. I was covered in warm and dry blood. The last man alive held in my grasp as I drained the life from his eyes. His legs swinging back and forth as he tried to find the ground.

His brown hair and hazel eyes surrounded by brown spots. The freckles seemed to dance across his face, a rare attribute on the Ark making this man so easily recognizable. This man was my target. The Major I was sent to kill. The Major I had let live.

Destruction.

I knew that he couldn't escape, we both knew he would never escape. But I gave him time. Time that I would now take his life for as a debt repaid.

The smirk on my face said everything.  The punishment had worked, red was all I could see. And I wanted more.

I was the Bringer of Death, and my punishment was bloodlust. Having the power to kill and enjoying it were two very different things. Unfortunately, there's a point where they begin to blur together. A point went they were the same.

I knew he was watching. A smirk on his own lips as I threw the dead Major to the ground. His limp body now joined the several other bodies that littered the floor.

He knew I was just like him, if not worse. I knew it too.

I turned to face the gate I had come in, the vision wavering as I stared at the old man. His form slowly withering from his tall stature.

But I changed, I made myself change. I made myself change for them.

"You have no power over me. Not anymore. I choose them. I choose my family." I stood tall amongst the bodies as they began to fade. A smile on my lips as the scene drifted to black. A dagger suddenly in my hand as I twirled it around.

"I choose, Persphyni Atlys Kane. So go float yourself, Perrington Smith Ales." As I finally spoke his name, his true name, I felt the small hold his memory had on me begin to vanish. I lifted my hand and released the dagger. The blade spiraled in the air as it hit its mark.

My revenge, my anger, even the trace amounts of fear of myself— gone. Just like the Shadow as the blade embedded into his skull and killed his haunting memory Alie had left open to torment me.

Tomorrow was a new day. Except, I had to wake up first.