Whispers of A Dead Empire

Chapter 43

I trudged along a long hallway. Torches lined the walkway, along with a red carpet that stretched the entire length, casting a baleful glow across the claustrophobic space. My heart ached with every beat like somebody was driving daggers through it. Each step I took felt like I was being tugged along by a string. Never before have I felt this hurt. It was far more profound than anything that I have ever felt before. Like my life was falling apart, and I had no power to stop it.

I still walked on that same path. Warm liquid seeped down my face in an endless trail as I pushed forward. In the corner of my eye, dozens of notifications were rolling past. Most of them were blurred as they quickly replaced one another, yet one word was as clear as day. That single word twisted my heart and fanned the flames of burning anger that threatened to consume me with each step I took.

Slain. That word wrenched my heart, and my tears became a torrent. The rage blossomed into a bright sun, and my thoughts became focused on something. Something I couldn't quite make out. All the words seemed jumbled together and hidden through a filter. But the emotion was still there, eating away at me. Rage, sorrow, despair, hatred. They all circled around my mind, driving nails into my chest.

I stumbled forward towards a double door that was clad in gold. Laurels of silver hung from various crevices, along with a plethora of various jewels. Jewels that no longer held any sort of meaning to me. Just worthless pieces of rocks. Just as I pressed my hand against the door and a bell wrung out. The final toll for a fallen hero. The same toll was strong enough to tear my heart in two and send cold chills across my flesh. I clenched my teeth and forced the door open on silent hinges, revealing a sun wreathed in the color of freshly spilled blood.

A few bolts of scarlet danced across the sky, matching the thunder that was keening in the distance. Rain drizzled down, trying to drown out the pungent smell of blood and fire, mixed with the all too familiar scent of death. Large plumes of black smoke rose towards the sky, and the faint sounds of swords clashing rang in the distance. A few paces in front of me were two hulking creatures clad in armor that were once golden but now charred and blackened. They both had their hands extended out, and a shimmering golden shield enveloped us that was shrugging off a flurry of white and golden magic. Yet each spell was blurred and shifted, hiding its identity from me, and the sound was muffled and faded.

But that didn't matter to me. What mattered was the corpse that was lying behind the hulking armor-clad creatures. I stumbled forward, and all the rage I felt dissipated and was replaced with absolute despair. I fell to my knees and placed my hands on the face of the now-dead figure. Its face was blurred beyond all recognition, yet I knew who exactly it was that lay before me.

My heart ached and I cried out in anguish as I reached forward and touched the ashen face. My mouth moved, yet no words came out. I knew not what I said, yet the emotion told me everything I needed to know. A final departure for the person closest to my heart. A sorrowful lamentation of regret. My hands reached out and clasped the sword that lay next to the corpse. As I grasped the blade, the ball of hatred in my heart reignited into an icy rage.

I stood up and reached for the single button that held my cloak together and threw it to the side before I placed my hand on my mask and threw it to the side as well. It landed on the stone with a soft clatter, and the two creatures glanced behind them. Each bore a set of picks of golden light that fixated on me through a scorched golden helm. With a single glance of intent, both understood what was about to happen and drew a sword that glowed with a sickly green aura. I walked past them with the sword clasped firmly in my hand.

The handle felt cold and heavy, a grim reminder of what had come and what had yet to be. With a single thought, power coursed through me, and a ball of violet power grew in my right hand. With each passing second, it only grew stronger and brighter. I stepped forward and gazed out across my city and cried out, with a primal roar that tore from my throat with unprecedented power, matched with the anguish that threatened to break me.