–Michael–
It was not fair.
So many people had died, and yet I was still alive. Why?
I leapt over a thick, gnarled root, landing hard as my boots sank slightly into the damp forest floor.
My sword flashed out in front of me, slicing through a curtain of twisted branches.
The others had gone ahead. I remained.
The monster would not get past me. I would make sure of it.
I steadied my stance, holding my blade out before me, its edge trembling just like my hands.
A gust of wind blew a tangled strand of my long blond hair across my eyes.
I puffed it away with a sharp breath and squinted through the haze.
My skin, once a pale beige, was now streaked with soot and grime, almost blackened from smoke and dirt. I could barely recognize myself.
And I was shaking. Not from the cold, but from fear.
I was afraid of the end.
But this would not be my end.
This would be the beginning, of vengeance, of memory, of the lives my family and friends should have lived.
Then I heard it.
Heavy footsteps crushing underbrush, the groan of wood as something massive approached.
The beast emerged slowly from the mist, its black, spiraled horns jutting out from its grotesquely twisted head.
Its dark blue eyes shimmered with mana, glowing like cursed stars as it stepped forward with deliberate menace.
It was part goat, part boar, if anything could be called a part of such a nightmare.
Thick black skin hung from its body like melted tar, dripping with foul essence.
Its bite spread plague.
Its breath summoned storms.
This was the thing that had destroyed my village.
The thing that had taken everything.
I looked into those glowing eyes and gritted my teeth.
Even if I died here,
I would make sure it died first.
The beast charged, darkness bubbling at the corners of its jagged maw.
I dove left, my body scraping against the forest floor as a beam of pure destruction tore through the space where I had just been.
Without hesitation, I erupted from the ground, driving my blade deep into the creature's flank.
It shrieked, a guttural, animal sound that rattled my bones. In blind fury, it twisted, my sword still embedded in its side, and slammed me into a tree.
Then another.
And another.
It barreled through the forest, dragging me with it, obliterating tree after tree in a path of chaos and ruin.
Finally, it halted and leapt into the air.
As my sword slipped free from its hide, I twisted my body midair, placing my hand behind my back.
A gust of wind, conjured from desperation, formed a veil that cushioned my fall.
Then came its scream.
It plunged from the sky with a roar so loud the heavens seemed to tremble, unleashing a wave of dark energy that swept across the battlefield.
There was no time to dodge.
I raised my sword and wrapped myself in another veil of wind, bracing against the blast.
In an instant, the forest vanished.
Trees reduced to splinters.
The ground charred, torn apart by the impact.
And there it stood, monstrous and silent, glaring at me.
I swung my sword, sending a crescent wave of pressurized wind at the beast.
It jumped, narrowly avoiding the arc, and the moment it landed, it surged forward in a blur of movement.
In less than a heartbeat, its horns pierced my chest.
I gasped.
Darkness surged through them and shot out in beams, searing my insides as I dropped to the ground.
Coughing, I fought to breathe, my lungs burning as I used both legs to kick upward, forcing the creature back.
I staggered to my feet, drenched in pain, soaked in fear.
But still standing.
"This is my last day on this planet," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "I'm going to make sure it's yours as well."
The monster bellowed, a screech so overwhelming that my vision shook.
Blood trickled from my ears.
From its horns, darkness poured again.
Two orbs began to form, spinning with terrifying speed, dripping with vile energy.
I tilted my head back, and for a moment, I saw my life flash before my eyes, everything I had done, everyone I had loved.
Then, gripping my sword, wind howled around me.
I took one step.
And then lunged.
The orbs fused into a singular beam of annihilation.
It roared toward me, but I did not stop.
My blade met the beam, clashing with a force that rattled the air—and yet, I broke through.
I reached the monster.
My sword drove itself into its skull, piercing through the corruption, through the madness.
But in that same instant, another wave of darkness surged from its mouth, lifting me into the air like a ragdoll.
Then it exploded.
A detonation of shadow consumed the sky, and I was thrown higher, my limbs limp, body numb.
Below, I could barely make out the monster, still alive, preparing one final blast.
And in that moment, even if I had lost, I knew one thing: I had saved them.
That was enough.
Then, a flicker passed through my mind.
A memory, or perhaps a dream, no, something more.
A vision.
It was of a lone soldier wandering a battlefield, bloodied and burned, yet never once lowering his blade.
He pressed forward, struck by lightning, engulfed in fire, pierced by swords, impaled by spears, crushed by hammers.
But still he moved.
Unyielding.
Until finally, he reached his end.
And when he died, he died standing.
His body was broken, but his will had never faltered.
And with his last breath, he released a terrible cry, an explosion of all the pain and power he had gathered.
When he died, he took every single enemy with him.
And his final words, though simple and calm, echoed with the strength of a thousand storms.
I tilted my head back, the sky spinning above me, and looked down at the beast with a soft, defiant smile.
My lips moved with the weight of all I had lived for, all I had lost, and all I was about to become.
"Terminus."
The world went silent.
Time itself seemed to freeze, holding its breath for what came next.
Then, in a flash of force so sudden and so pure it felt like the will of the planet itself, my blade surged upward, rising.
It carved through the monster's body with absolute finality, like fate itself had chosen this moment to be the end.
I let go of the hilt, breathless, my limbs trembling.
My knees gave out, and I fell, stumbling backward onto the charred, broken earth.
The weight of the moment crashed into me as I stared up.
The monster was fading, disintegrating into motes of shadow and dying light. But something stood in its place.
A figure.
Where the beast had fallen now stood a new presence, cloaked in silence and serenity.
Kneeling down, he reached for me and rested a hand gently on my cheek.
His touch was cool and strangely comforting, like the first snowfall after a storm.
"Welcome," he said softly. His voice resonated not in my ears, but in my very soul.
"This is… salvation."