Blood dripping from my katana, a cold lifeless body at my feet and blood sprayed on my face. I had just killed a man. I was not new to this but I would never get accustomed to this. I was done with my daily bounty but for some reason it didn''t feel like it was enough. What shallow man he was. The guilt of a psychopathic mass murderer would obviously not be enough. I left for my makeshift home, a forest that had been considered cursed. The air in the cursed forest was thick, every breath a struggle against its oppressive weight. Even the dim light filtering through the gnarled branches seemed hesitant to linger. Any bounty that flew into the forest always ended up with a dead person. I just so happened to be this forests very own curse and now someone else was about to fall victim. I tightened my grip on my blade, the familiar hilt grounding me as I moved forward. My target was close. Tracking would be normally considered the hardest part of a job like mine but personally I came to enjoy it.
The man was rather easy to find considering how little effort he put into erasing his tracks. He had adopted a new identity but still stack to the job as a soldier for some odd reason. I patiently waited for him to be left alone as fighting him in a group would only be an unnecessary hassle. At some point he might have noticed he was being tailed but just couldn''t confirm his suspicions. His next cause of action was beneficial for the both of us. He walked all the way to an open grass field. By this time it was almost midnight. "COME ON OUT. I KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE. YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST TO COME FOR ME AND DEFINITELY WONT BE THE LAST." He said as held his enormous battle axe. He seemed quite confident in his skills and his demeanor showed he had taken part in quite a number of battles owing to the battle scars all over his body. No matter how strong he was there was, there was a reason why I was the only ghost bounty in existence. I was confident in a win but I was not foolish enough think it would be an easy win.
I decided to give in to his childish taunts and revealed myself with my blade in hand ready to cut down whatever needed to be cut down. Now that I looked at this man he was an absolute giant. He must have been at least 6`8 with bulging muscles that his armour could barely contain. I was practically an ant compared to this man but the man in front of me did not look happy to see an obviously inferior opponent. Rather than that he seemed heartbroken to see me oppose him. "Aren''tyou a just a kid? How old are you, like sixteen maybe eighteen max? I swear on my life I will never forgive who put you up for this so don''t worry you don''t have to do this. You can come live with me I have a son about your age you might be good friends so don''t you worry I will take care of all those who dare come after you. So just know you don''t have to do this." The man said in a very soft voice that man of his size would not normally have.
"Sorry old man. This ends here. Nothing you say can change that." I said holding my katana in a battle stance. He looked at me with a disheartened face and whispered "I will end you quickly little one so don''t you worry." Before I could even process what he said, the old man held his mighty battle axe above his head and closed a distance of about70 feet and swung his axe with all his might in one swift motion. If I had moved back even a fraction of a second too late I would have been pulverized without a clue of what had happened. For a man of his stature he was unbelievably fast and if you put his strength into account he was certainly a force to be reckoned with. I was barely able to dodge his attacks relying solely on my reflexes and instincts. In a situation like this parrying was completely out of question since I did not have the physical capability of that.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.The old man came at me with a relentlessflurry of attacks make it almost impossible to counter . My mind was racing through all possible ways of emerging victorious. I came up with quite a distasteful solution. I had very limited time to put into action. I was already bleeding from the attacks that I was barely dodging and if the fight went on I would be in a major disadvantage. The old man had very relentless attacks and I finally could no longer keep up. I lost my footing and balance which was more than enough time to be instantly killed. The old man noticed my loss of balance and came at me with a powerful downward swing. For a moment, he hesitated. The idea of killing a child the same age as his son did not sit right with him. Unfortunately for him, he had been manipulated and tricked by this very boy who used his kind hearted nature against him.
His moment of hesitation was all that was needed. Though a very fatal gamble, it proved worth the risk. I took the window of opportunity I gained to swiftly slash his neck. If an slower I would have been crushed and if done too quickly my scheme would have been found out. Timing was quite crucial. The old man fell to the ground grasping his slashed neck with one hand and with the other hand he held his battle axe for support. Even after having his compassion used against him he did not show even the slightest bit of resentment towards the man in front of him.
Instead he smiled at the young man and bent his neck forward exposing the back of his neck. Even without words it was obvious what the man wanted. It was the least I could do for him. With one swift and powerful slash of my blade I chopped his head which flew off without much resistance. It was only a matter of time "IT" happened. Barely ten minutes had passedbefore a wave of pain coursed through my entire body. Regrets, memories and emotions that were not mine flooded in my mind. All the pain and suffering he had gone through his entire life became my own. Flashes of his past seared into my mind: the weight of his axe, the cries of those he failed to save, and the warmth of his son''s laughter—now forever silenced. It was overwhelming, a torrent of anguish I couldn''t escape. I felt the pain he felt at his death. He was murdered by someone he wished to protect. I felt the pain he went through having his neck slashed and his head cut off without the mercy of dying immediately after.
This was my curse. Every life I took came with a price. Their regrets, their mistakes, their suffering—I felt it all. It was as if the void within me, the hollow place where my emotions should have been, consumed their pain instead. And yet, in some twisted way, it made me feel alive. Human
When the wave subsided, I forced myself to stand, leaning heavily on my blade. The old man''s body lay motionless before me, his expression one of peace—a stark contrast to the turmoil he''d left behind in me.
I sheathed my sword, my hands trembling. Another bounty down, another ghost added to the ever-growing list haunting me. The cursed forest seemed darker now, the shadows heavier.
"Not much further," I muttered to myself, my voice hoarse. There was always another target, another fight. And with each step, the hollow inside me grew.
For now, it would have to be enough.
After such a draining fight all I craved for was rest but fate had other plans in store for me. I had just gotten to the cursed forest and at a distance I noticed light shining on a bounty I just could not ignore. It seemed all to familiar. It was a ghost bounty. I thought I was the only one with such a bounty after being given a dreaded nickname like the plague.
This bounty showed promise I could not ignore. I held my sheathed blade firmly and sort out this ghost.