~Tales of Swords~
Chapter 0- Blood stained memories…
Several footsteps are heard sprinting through the hallways of the Palace of Seles. A thunderous night occurred which had an array of lightning soaring all over the skies, and it was almost as if the heavens themselves were at war. His heart beat faster than ever; the risk of falling due to exhaustion compromised his safety and yet, he kept pushing himself beyond the limit and continued to run away from the pack of wolves that were in pursuit of him. These wolves were the Palace Guards, which had strict orders of capturing the fugitive, whether it was dead or alive.
The fugitive found himself cornered, guards arriving from all sides, leaving him with no other choices than to attempt to elude them by going up stairs. Sweating, the man placed his man on the wall as he gasped for air, panting, eyes widened, heart beating even faster. As he summed up his will, the man went upstairs and arrived finally to the roof of an old tower, hoping to escape from this relentless pursuit. High above the tower though, he found yet another obstacle that prevented him from achieving the freedom he so desired. The fugitive recognized this man as his former comrade, now turned his nemesis.
These two men were once entangled in a poisonous vendetta, which now ended up being brought to this tower in hopes for this mad rivalry to end. The roof was large enough to give them enough space to move freely without being too concerned about falling; still the danger of being tossed into the abyss was latent for it could be the fate of any of these two. One of the warriors was clad with a breastplate, and he was wearing long black pants, leather boots, a long trench coat and black gauntlets. His weapon of choice was a two handed long sword which was fairly light for its size. This man had mysterious look on his face; his eyes were a pale brown and they had a distinctive faint malicious green light on his irises, his face was pale, his eyebrows were thin, his nose was fair in size –not too big and not too small- and he was wearing his hair long to his shoulders. His hair was dark brown, wet due to the rain and falling over his forehead, partially covering his eyes yet they did not limit his sight.
The other man was even more intriguing, for he was covered by a long black coat, and only his young face was exposed. The man had emerald grayish eyes, long bluish silver hair, thin eyebrows, small pointy nose and small ears. His weapon of choice was quite peculiar; it was a bizarre sword shaped like a bat wing, with a blue jewel that resemblance a dragon’s eye embedded on the hand guard. The man called this sword “Way to Dawn”, and he wielded it masterfully against his opponent.
The battle indeed was a bloody one; both fighters unloaded all they had against each other. Their swords constantly met each other, clashing again and again letting out sparks of fearsome lights that illuminated the darkened skies alongside with the sudden lightning that came once a while. In the midst of battle, the two fighters pressed their swords forward; the steel of their swords came in contact as they blocked each other as the same time. Both warriors struggled to push the other against the edge, yet their seemingly equal strength made it a difficult task to fulfill.
It all seemed as if this battle were going to continue eternally until it happened. Suddenly, the man carrying the “Way to Dawn” was able to disarm his opponent, following up by aiming his sword straight to the unarmed man’s throat. The now helpless opponent stared coldly at him, always so defiant even to the very end.
-“Why? Why did you betray us?”- The man demanded answers as he shortened the distance between the tip of his sword and his opponent’s neck. Silence, a silence so unbearable that would drive even the sanest of men into madness was all that he obtained. Before the man could force his opponent to speak, he was interrupted by a young lady. She was beautiful, all dressed in white and red; she had long ponytail, green eyes, milky skin, in summary, a true angel.
Surprised, the once unarmed man took up this chance to free himself from his once tight spot, and as he retrieved his long sword from floor, he recovered and took a defensive stance, aiming his sword to his opponent.
-“Riku! Stop please for goodness sake!”- The woman cried out almost as if she were defending her own flesh and blood. The man in the black coat who was wearing the bizarre blade lowered his weapon and sighed, disappointed to see that she was still willing to defend the traitor. Then a man clad in a black body suit and steel armour arrived with a group of soldiers wearing rifles and swords. The man seemed to be an important officer, wearing a long and magnificent black cape that was caught by the wind. This man’s presence was surely threatening, his face marked by an “X” shaped scar that covered some of his forehead and cheeks. His menacing dark yellow eyes were fixed on what he thought was a treacherous dog standing between Riku and the young lady.
-“So you did had the guts to come back after all, a shame you just came to be captured and placed on trial. Now guards! Seize him! ”- The guards carefully approached the fugitive, their rifles always aimed at him. –“Saix, NO!! There has to be another way!!!”- The woman cried out as she stood before the criminal, preventing the guards from moving any closer. -“Your capacity to be so merciful is sometimes astonishing and at the same time quite a nuisance, yet I am not obviously like you, Lady Aerith, and I will not show an ounce of leniency to this traitor. You see, I have no mercy left to share…”- Saix claimed ever so righteous, so defiant, for he had a thirst for justice and revenge that was demanding to be satisfied.
-“I never expected it Saix…”- The criminal replied with disgust as he stepped back closer to the edge of the tower. The man looked over his right shoulder and stared down to the abyss, and then he brought his eyes back to Saix. Meanwhile, Aerith remained standing before him, shielding his life from the guards. Saix smirked, as he raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. -“Riku, take Aerith…now…”-
Riku nodded as he withdrew his blade, banishing into the darkness and then he quickly grabbed Aerith to take her out of the way. Now matter how much she struggled, Aerith was helplessly restrained and forced to bear witness of what it seemed to be the preparation for an execution.
-“Any last words…”- Saix asked with a mocking tone, to which, the fugitive man replied with defiance. -“You bastard….I hope you realize someday the unfair mistake you are committing…you know as well as I do that I am innocent….”- Saix smiled amused to see that the man was still so arrogant to stand before them claiming to be innocent. –“Oh really? Odd indeed, because they all seem to claim the same….”- Without losing any more precious time, Saix gave the order to attack. The man gave Saix a cold stare as he prepared to face the group of guards before him.
-“You know Saix, why don’t you face me alone if you have the guts?!”-
Saix smirked, as he snapped his fingers ordering his men to halt their attack. Suddenly, Saix drew his blade and walked towards the fugitive; his cold stare sinking deep into that man’s eyes. –“Ah your arrogance amuses me, yet I am very much tempted to shove this sword straight through your heart. Let’s see what you can do…if you lose, you die…”-
Without any more delay Saix burst through the battlefield and swung his sword madly against the fugitive swordsman. His sword clashing against his opponent’s blade; with each strike, Saix managed to push his opponent away with swift moves and powerful strikes. The man was exhausted, and in this condition he was obviously no match for Saix, yet he still managed to block most of the attacks while eluding the others.
Desperate to find a way to reduce the advantage Saix had over him, the man attacked recklessly thrusting his blade towards Saix’s left shoulder. Saix grinned as he eluded the attack gracefully with a side step to the right, and at the same time. As the man’s attack missed, he felt himself being drawn by the blade and left in a vulnerable position. Saix sighted this opportunity and, having summed up enough strength, he gave out a fierce blunt blow with his left fist towards the fugitive’s abdominal area. The blow made the man fall down to his knees, his hands placed then on the ground as he kept gasping for air. Saix smirked as he lifted his sword and aimed it near the back of the man’s neck, almost as if he were readying to decapitate him. Lady Aerith’s eyes widened as she feared for the man’s life, and so she desperately begged Saix to forgive him. Saix ignored her as he thought of a good reason to stop him from beheading this man. Finally Saix withdrew his sword and sheathed it, turning his back on the man and heading towards Lady Aerith.
-“He has lost...men…you know what to do…”- Saix said with a grim satisfaction shown on his face. The guards nodded as they aimed their rifles to the fugitive. –“Vae Victis….Woe to the conquered…”-
Saix pronounced this old phrase as he closed his eyes and waited for the execution to be carried out. On the other side of the battlefield, the weakened fugitive slowly brought himself back to his feet, clinging to the hilt of his blade. Not willing to give up, the man gave out a fierce battle cry and went straight to Saix hoping to strike his nemesis down. The man heard the sound of his own heart beats echoing within his ears as he shortened the distance between his foe and his blade. At the same time, the guards prepared to shot him down.
Suddenly…boom….the first sound of a bullet coming out of the rifle and piercing the man’s left shoulder, then a second bullet and a third. The man fought his best yet unfortunately, he was no match for the heavily armed guards as they kept unloading their rifles on him. The second array of bullets stopped him in his tracks, and then the following ones hit his right and again his left shoulders, pushing him back violently. Blood burst from the wounds, scattered all over the place as the man was sent against the edge. Saix then raised his left hand, commanding his men to stop. The criminal stood at the verge of the abyss, panting, clinging to his sword, bleeding and coughing, soaked by both his own blood and the rain that fell over him.
Just as the man lifted his blade to unleash his counter attack, Saix ordered his men to fire once more. The first guard shot the man’s left leg, which forced him to fall on both knees. The second guard shot his left shoulder, and the last guard dealt five consecutive shots on the man’s chest. The man gave out a faint cry, and then he stood up, he slowly walked back, his feet stumbling, his sight was weakening, and he felt his life leaving his body. With the last ounce of will, he raised his left hand and aimed it to Lady Aerith, almost as if he were trying to reach her. Finally the swordsman submitted to the wounds and then he fell from the tower, disappearing into the abysmal darkness.
Lady Aerith then struggled once more until she broke free from Riku’s arms, and then she ran off to the edge to see if he had survived, but unfortunately, his body was lost deep within the mist below. -“It is done…Riku, let us leave this place…”- Riku and the others left the tower yet Saix remained, waiting for Lady Aerith. The high commander approached the saddened lady, and with utmost care, he lifted her from the ground and embraced her with his arms. -“Let’s go Aerith….there’s nothing left for you here…”-
“You know as well as I do that it was the right thing to do…he was out of control…” Saix said as he helped Lady Aerith walk down stairs. She felt destroyed and guilty because she was unable to help that unfortunate man. As the last two left the tower, the rain started to end, the clouds darkening the sky began to disperse, and for the first time during this cruel night, the warm light of the stars could be seen illuminating the Palace of Seles. As the night faded in the darkness, several questions were left unanswered:
Who was this man?
What did he do to deserve such fate?
Was he still alive?
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I'm just like him 'cept maybe less of an arsehole and without the demon arm... I want a demon arm... KEEP UP TEH GOOD WORK JULI!
Plus if Faith's in it Rene's gotta be a good guy lol.