ã€ŠThe Will of the Deadã€‹


 Sins

    I stood there looking back at the Imperial city, Athros. Screams could be heard as my undead horde slaughtered its citizens. I felt nothing. They were tainted. We have all sinned. There were no innocents left in this world.

    I waited until the air was rich with blood and death, to absorb the vast amount of mana that came from the bowels of the dying city . When I thought that it was time to continue onwards, I turned to face the gate of the Imperial Palace and absorbed the mana from the air.With the blood and life energy of an entire city flooding my body, my meridians and mana pool began to burn and creaked as though they would soon shatter. The mana wanted to be released and ran rampant throughout my body, but I forced it to do my bidding.

    I channeled the mana down through my arm and out into my sickle.It felt like lava moving through my veins but the pain did not faze me. I had experienced much greater pain in my short existence.The runes engraved in the sickle¡¯s metal, illuminated the sickle¡¯s dark and jagged crescent-blade with a white glow.

    My sickle began to vibrate in my hand and I knew that I had no choice but to unleash it. I scraped the tip of the sickle across my wrist and my blood flowed onto it. The sickle greedily drew in every ounce that streamed out. Fueled by my blood, the white light coming from the sickle started to turn a dark red color. When the weapon had drunk its fill, I ceased feeding it blood and swung it at the gates, with a mighty roar.

    A large crescent-shaped wave of unstable energy, burst out of my weapon and swiftly soared towards the gate. Spread out along the gate, runes flared into existence in reaction to my attack. A blue screen of mana appeared, blocking all hostile incoming energy.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The violent impact of the two energies filled the air with screeches and roars. My crimson wave of energy attempted to shred through the barrier like a feral animal. After only a handful of minutes had passed, cracks began appearing across the blue screen, shielding the palace, while various runes along the palace gates burned out, popping like firecrackers.

    Mages standing on the wall attempted in vain to provide the gate¡¯s shield with more energy and quickly fainted from mana exhaustion, as they dropped like flies. How could those sad little magi hope to compete with the energy of an entire city?. Worn down, the blue screen shattered under my assault and was completely dispelled The red energy surged forward, once again, unhindered and crashed into the gate. After the dust settled, I saw that it had ripped a large gash in the metalwork and smiled in satisfaction. With an imperious wave of my hands, I commanded the mob of undead behind me to charge forwards into the palace grounds.

    Assorted types of undead pushed past me, eager to taste the blood of the imperial army stationed beyond the gate. Dullahan''s, Death Knights, Ghouls, and Vampires ran to meet the Empire''s finest fighters.

    Then I waded into the battle, with a purpose. Commanding my personal guard, the Crimson Banner, we slaughtered our way towards the imperial estate. It was time to teach the nobles a life lesson.

    I learned it in this city and so shall they.

    No one is above death.

    No one is innocent.

    We

    Have

    All

    Sinned.

 Chapter 1: Before I Was Strong

    It was a dark moonless night in the Imperial city, Athros. Most of the city was slumbering or getting ready for the next day. Only drunks and guards roamed the city streets at dusk.

    ¡°Hey! Get back here! Thief! Thief!¡± a drunkard cried out, ruining the peaceful silence of the night.

    Hearing the plea, my patrol rushed over and saw a drunk man grappling with a skinny youth. As we were making our way over, the young boy managed to slip from the drunkard¡¯s grasp and run off into an alleyway. Giving chase, we pursued the perpetrator.

    Thieves were a plague on the city, and recently more of them have been coming out from the woodwork. This thief was only able to stay ahead by nimbly jumping over the various heaps of trash and obstacles littering the alley way. As our torches dispelled the surrounding darkness, a figure of a dirty street urchin was revealed. As the kid saw us gaining on him, he started making quick turns in an attempt to lose us in the winding maze of the narrow alleyways. He was still a good twenty meters in front of us, but at this rate, his lead wouldn¡¯t last long.

    It seemed as though the running was draining him, while my compatriots and I only had a light sweat going. Seeing this gave me an extra burst of energy, I wanted to end this now and get back to our card game. Just as he was within our arm¡¯s reach, the thief made a sharp turn and slid sideways through a small gap in between two rundown buildings. It was a tight fit, but he managed to squeeze through.

    One of my compatriots tried to do the same thing and got himself stuck. Seeing that, I rushed around the building hoping to corner the kid, but by the time I got there he was long gone.

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± I muttered as I looked around, hoping for some trace of the thief.

    **************************************************************************************************************************************

    Pov: Thorin

    I woke up with a growling stomach. It ached, crying out for food, and tore me from my slumber.

    I tried to ignore it and slip back into sleep. After a few minutes, I was able to shrug off the pain of my empty stomach. It continued to protest letting out gurgles and growls, but I was about to nod off again regardless of its protests.

    At this point I was used to the relentless ache. It was like a twin to me, there for as long as I remembered.

    There are few chances to eat your fill when you''re an orphan.

    Just as I had finally fallen back to sleep, my best friend, Herald, shook me awake.

    ¡°Wake up Thorin. Today is the start of the festival! A lot of people brimming with cash, just pouring out of their britches ready to be stolen, are going to come here all week,¡± he whispered as he shook my shoulder.

    ¡°Eeh, let me sleep a bit longer. You know I had a rough night,¡± I whispered back as I forced my stiff legs off the side of the bed and slowly sat up. I stayed up most of the night to make sure the guards didn''t follow me back.

    ¡°No way man. The merchants will be just as tired as you are. They won¡¯t even notice us cutting their purses. Plus, you have to make up for coming up empty yesterday,¡± Herald whispered, with excitement in his eyes.

    He was always eager. There was nothing fun about being a pickpocket, but he was a dreamer. He fantasized that one day he would steal a pouch full of gold and leave this life behind. He was always telling me that today was the day that he would soar away from this city on wings made of gold. I admired him for that.

    I stood up and groggily began putting on the worn clothes that I had stuffed underneath my bed last night. They were covered in filth, but I had to wear them as they were the only set of clothes that I possessed.

    I finished getting dressed and made my way over to the sheet separating my sleeping area from the rest of the orphans¡¯. I was careful not to wake them up.

    I paused, taking a moment to just look them over... Each of them endured the same struggles that I did. They were all dirty, skinny kids. I hated the fact they were here because I knew what they went through. Eventually they''d have to leave.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Some might get lucky, but most would live the rest of their lives penniless and starving. The boys, that I played with, would join gangs or beg on the side of the street. The girls, that I had grown up with, would sell their bodies in order to survive.

    I would gladly give my life if that would guarantee that orphans like them could have better lives. I had given up on myself, but they each had a chance. So I stole for them. I tried to get enough food or money so they could eat well.

    Some days there just wasn¡¯t enough for all of us. We often made it through the day by rationing the little we had. Yesterday, I didn''t get anything and today, if I do not have a successful ¡®snatch¡¯ , we wouldn''t be eating.

    ¡°Let''s go already,¡± Herald whispered, causing me to move away from the sheet separating the sleeping areas.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I am moving,¡± I whispered back, as I moved towards the door of our shack with Hearld following behind.

    I rubbed my eyes as I stepped out into the grimy alleyways. It was early dawn and the sun had yet to fully show itself.

    We made our way through the warrens of Athros, avoiding the shadier areas of the slums and slowly making it to the west gate. On the way, we chatted, deciding what ruse we were going to use today.

    ¡°Cripple and helper?¡± Herald asked.

    ¡°Nah, people are going to be in too much of a hurry. Let¡¯s use the beggar and pedestrian,¡± I decided.

    ¡°Fine, but I''m the beggar. You know I¡¯m a better actor than you are,¡± Herald said, sticking his tongue out at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s more like you''re afraid that you''ll screw up the ¡®snatch¡¯ ,like you did last week,¡± I shot back. Laughing, we drifted onto less conspicuous topics as we approached the gate.

    We made it just as the gate was opening. Travelers started forming a line in front of the guards and waited to be inspected. After the guards asked some questions and checked their items, they were let through.

    Most were farmers or travelers here for the Blackwater Festival. We could rob them, but often times they didn''t have much and they weren''t worth the risk of being caught stealing. Herald and I were biding our time to find a merchant or lesser noble that was coming to participate in the Blackwater Auction. In Athros, the wealthy gather annually to sell rare items. If we could snag one of their purses, we would be set on funds for a year or more.

    We sat there, observing the flow of people, and waited for a good target. After twenty minutes, Herald nudged me and pointed at one of the people that just walked past the guards. He was wearing decent clothes that weren''t too flashy and he didn¡¯t seem special.

    ¡°What do you mean? He doesn¡¯t look wealthy,¡± I protested. ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed be looking for high-class targets?¡±

    ¡°I saw him flash gold to the guard to skip the line. He had a decent sized pouch. Trust me,¡± Herald said over his shoulder, already moving back into an alley.

    ¡°Alright, set up two buildings down. See you in a bit,¡± I said, my eyes locking onto the man.

    I waited until the man passed the alley to walk out into the crowd. Making sure to keep track of him, I casually made my way towards him. It was a little crowded on the street, but I managed to get in position behind the man. I slowed down, keeping pace right behind him. I familiarized myself with his gait and copied his movements. He seemed tired, but alert.

    I looked ahead and checked the side of the road where Herald waited. We made eye contact for a brief moment and I made a small gesture with my hand, indicating that we were good to go. He repeated the same motion.

    My heart beat started to pick up and my adrenaline began to flow, I had ten more paces until the target passed Herald. I took the small blade hidden in one of my pockets and hid it up my sleeve, ready to ambush the man. Three paces left. I stepped slightly closer and readied myself.

    Herald crouched on the side of the street and jumped out towards the man. He latched onto the man¡¯s feet crying out, ¡°Sir please give me some coins, anything please. I am starving!¡±

    The man stopped walking, surprised by Herald¡¯s behavior.

    Before Herald had even moved, I was in motion. I knew that he would go for the left leg because the pouch was on the man¡¯s right hip. We had figured out long ago, that most people move their pouch away from the beggar by twisting their mid-section.

    The small subconscious movement made my job much easier. I zeroed in on my target and was soon close enough to get to the pouch. I reached out with my left hand and pulled the pouch slightly downward creating tension on the bag. With my right hand I placed the knife to the pouch strings attached to his belt. Then, I lowered my shoulder and prepared for the difficult part. While doing all of this, I continued walking forward. Right as I collided into, the now stationary, man I jerked the blade through the pouches¡¯ strings, using the impact to disguise the force of the cut.

    I quickly stuffed the loot into a small bag, attached to my pants, and straightened my posture, quickly jumping back.

    ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡± I asked angrily.

    By this point, the man had kicked off Herald and turned to me, apologizing.

    ¡°Sorry, this beggar-kid forced me to stop,¡± the man said in a frustrated voice, glaring daggers at the figure of Herald retreating back into the alleyway.

    ¡°Next time watch where you are going, idiot!¡± I replied before heading away, into the nearest random shop.

    I was a bit out of place in the shop, but I pretended to look at the items for a minute, before wading back out into the crowd with a big smile on my face.

    I went back towards the slums, ready to go through the spoils. Perhaps we had finally gotten lucky.

 Chapter 2: Life with Coin

    When I got back to the shack, I found Herald standing in the doorway, the smile on his face stretching from ear to ear. He was hardly able to stand still.

    ¡°You got it! Thank god,¡± he said, as he walked over.

    ¡°Yeah, pretty easy when he was so focused on you. Good job! You looked pitiful enough to make even me feel sorry for you,¡± I said, poking fun at my smaller friend.

    ¡°Sure, sure. Now hurry up and open the pouch! I want to see how much loot we got,¡± Herald said, eyeing the pouch at my waist and rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty heavy, feels like a good haul. Let¡¯s go inside to avoid prying eyes,¡± I replied, untying the bag and tossing it to him.

    He promptly caught it and walked through the door. We made our way to his bed and sat down. Herald was unable to wait any longer and swiftly dumped the bag upside down.

    Gold and silver coins streamed out from the bag, like a river of gold, and Herald tossed the empty bag away, yelling out in joy. I jumped to my feet and hugged him.

    A small pile of silver and gold coins were spread out on the bed, along with a small blue sphere.

    I was already thinking about what I wanted to buy first, as we celebrated our new-found wealth.

    With this money, Herald could get an education, gaining a new lease on life, and I could make sure that the rest of the orphans never went hungry again.

    Tears fell from my eyes, like a gentle torrent of Spring rain. Up until this point everything had been so hard. I had pushed myself repeatedly to keep going in order to survive. Because of this money, I could finally stop for a brief rest and relieve some of the exhaustion and wound up stress that I carried with me daily. I just knew that everything was going to be okay.

    After celebrating for a few minutes, we looked at each other and simultaneously said:

    ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat!¡±

    Both of us had big grins, it had been a while since we were able to shop for food.

    I quickly grabbed a few silver coins and hid the rest of the money under some rubbish and cloth in my room. For now, the future was looking bright!

    I ran over to the sheet separating the rooms and tore it aside.

    ¡°What do you want to eat? Anything goes!¡± I yelled out to the kids. Some were out, but the younger ones were still here. They rushed over after they heard my announcement, instantly shouting out their favorite foods.

    ¡°Meat buns!¡± ¡°Fruit!¡± ¡°Eggs!¡± -Requests were flying at me faster than I could process them.

    Herold saved me by yelling at them to speak one at a time.

    After things calmed down, I was able to start making notes on what to get. Most of the food was pretty basic and not too hard to get. Eventually we were down to the last person in line.

    It was Avery, the most shy and timid kid out of the whole lot. A couple months ago, she had lost her older brother, who was taking care of her. The poor girl had stumbled upon his corpse in one of the alleyways left by a gang that had probably killed him because of some insignificant aggravation. I had found her silently sitting there next to her dead brother, tears running down her face, ruining her angelic features. I took her in and she joined our group but, traumatized by the incident, she barely spoke.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    I saw she wanted something but was struggling to say it.

    ¡°Could you, maybe, get me a slice of sweet bread? I have seen people eat it and I want to taste it,¡± she asked, with the tiniest bit of light in her eyes.

    I reached out and rustled her hair, reassuring her we would buy a loaf of sweet bread for everyone. Announcing that we would soon return, Herald and I set off I passed him half of the silver coins and told him that we should split up and start shopping at the various food markets.

    I made my way to the bakery in search of sweet bread.

    I decided to go to the best bakery in the city. I wanted the finest sweet bread available. If I could get Avery to smile, it would be worth every copper.

    The bakery was a decent sized building, with a large window displaying a wealth of fresh baked cakes and fine breads. As I got closer to the door, I could smell the wonderful scent of freshly baked goods.

    I walked through the door and the smell was amplified three-fold. My mouth watered just thinking about eating anything from here.

    The store was still empty, due to it being quite early in the morning. There was a large man standing at the counter, who smiled as he heard the small bell on the door chime. His smile quickly turned into a scowl as he noticed my appearance.

    ¡°Scram kid. We don''t give handouts here!¡± he said menacingly. He reached down and grabbed a small wooden club, showing me that he meant it.

    ¡°Wait! I can pay,¡± I said as I flashed him a glimpse of a silver coin.

    The man¡¯s scowl instantly morphed back into a smile upon seeing the coin. He took his hands off of the club and beckoned me forward.

    ¡°Sorry about that. What would you like?¡± he said in a warm voice, his arm gesturing towards a shelf containing food.

    ¡°Could I have a sweet cake, big enough that it could be shared with five people?¡± I asked, as I lay a silver coin on top of the counter.

    The man coughed in surprise before saying, ¡°Are you sure you don''t want basic bread or something cheaper? I could give you enough to last a couple of weeks for that.¡± The man was obviously confused by, a street mongrel like me, blowing through money to buy something only the wealthy normally bought.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure,¡± I said, slightly irritated. I disliked when people looked down on me, even though I understood why they did so. I have had to work hard my entire life, just to survive, due to myc circumstances and yet they look at me like it''s my fault that I am poor and dirty. This man thought I was dimwitted just because I wanted to buy some sweet bread.

    ¡°Alright lad. It is going to take some time, I''ll have to make it from scratch because we don''t have any that large,¡± the large man said, shrugging his shoulders. If the street brat wanted to waste his money, it wasn''t his problem.

    ¡°Alright then. I''ll be back later, when it''s finished,¡± I told him, walking out of the store and out towards the market. People were up and about now and the foot traffic had increased.

    I had some time before the bread was baked and Herold would be done, so I sprinted to the shack. I ran back to the hiding spot and grabbed the pouch of money. If I was going to be spending money today, why not go all out? I picked out a gold piece and returned the pouch back to its hiding place. I quickly made my way back to the market, in search of a tailor shop. I found a small shop with prices that weren''t too bad and bought everyone a new set of clothes. I shelled out a bit more money to have a set made customized for myself. By the time the tailor finished my measurements, I assumed the sweet bread was done.

    I gave my thanks to the tailor and made my way back to the bakery. Inside the bakery, a decently sized line had formed, waiting for the baker to come out of the back room. As I moved towards the pick-up counter, a hand grabbed onto my collar and roughly shoved me aside.

    I helplessly tumbled to the floor and looked up to see a rat-faced man staring at me. I panicked as I recognised his face. It was Redrick, the captain of the guards brother, or as we knew him the Rat. The man was sadistic and by using his brother''s position got away with torturing criminals. Normally this wouldn''t be allowed by the higher ups in the Guards, but he only hurts those who won''t be missed.

    ¡°What do you think you''re doing in here beggar? Trying to steal?¡± Redrick said, kicking me in the side.

    I cried out and grabbed the man''s foot before he could swing it back, to strike me again.

    ¡°Stop! I am picking up an order!¡± I yelled.

    ¡°Yeah, right! Like you could afford to buy anything from here. Street urchins like you are a waste of a life,¡± the man shook me off and kicked me again, this time in the head. I instinctively lashed out with my small pickpocket knife to try and stop him. The blade slashed into his offending leg¡¯s calf and created a small, but deep cut.

    The man stepped back, swearing.

    ¡°You fucking trash! Now you''ve done it,¡± he said as unsheathed a sword from his waist. I tried to scramble away but the last kick had scrambled my mind. I wasn''t able to get to my feet in time. I looked at the other people in the store hoping someone would help, but they all just looked away not caring about what would happen to me. The man raised the blade and I closed my eyes. I didn¡¯t want to see it coming.

 Chapter 3: Headaches

    I braced myself for the pain, but it didn''t come. All I heard was a loud thud and a wet squelch. I slowly opened my eyes to see the baker reaching out, to lend me his hand. On the ground next to me was the rat-faced man, blood trickling from the back of his skull.

    ¡°See? This is why I have the club,¡± the baker said, as I took his hand.

    He pulled me to my feet and lead me to the counter. He gave a searing look to the customers.

    ¡®You should all be ashamed! Watching, as a grown man almost kills an innocent child. Get out of here!¡± he bellowed, fury saturating his every word.

    ¡°This young man is a paying customer! If you ever want to buy something from me again, you better apologize to the lad!¡± the baker said, while lifting his bloodied club.

    All of the patrons scoffed at the man as they left. There were plenty of bakeries in the city. Why belittle themselves in front of a child just to buy bread.

    The baker shook his head and spat in their direction.

    ¡°Disgraceful, the whole lot you!¡± he said, while slamming the door shut.

    He turned back towards me, displaying a concerned smile.

    ¡°Are you alright there? You took some nasty hits,¡± he said, gripping my shoulders and guiding me to a chair. He quickly examined the area where the man¡¯s boot had hit my head.

    ¡°It broke the skin, but didn¡¯t fracture your head,¡± he spoke, as he parted the clump of hair where the gash was.

    I was too shocked to say anything; I was paralyzed. Just moments ago, I expected to be maimed or killed. Instead, I was saved by a man who had threatened me only an hour earlier. It wouldn''t have been the first time a street urchin was killed in public, the guards wouldn¡¯t have cared and would have simply declared that the kid was a thief and moved on.

    I pushed his hand away and straightened up, asking, ¡°Why did you do it? You could have just done nothing. You already have my money,¡± I just couldn''t figure out why he had helped me, of all people. He threw away a decent number of customers just on principle.

    The man saw the distrust in my eyes and stepped backward.

    ¡°Listen lad, I think we got off on the wrong foot this morning. My name is James. I used to be part of the Imperial Guards, before I retired and took up my father''s baker profession,¡± the baker said. I was going to interrupt, but James held up his hand to signal that I should let him finish.

    ¡°I did not help you out of pity or because of the fact that you''re a paying customer. I stepped in because that man was picking on someone weaker than himself to stroke his ego,¡± James said, as his old eyes ignited with an angry passion.

    ¡°As an Imperial Guard, I was surrounded by and served nobles, and if there''s anyone that makes a sport out of harassing those lower than themselves it¡¯s the nobles. They are constantly abusing their power against those who are weaker, and I was never able to protect those people. When I saw that man beating you, I couldn''t stop myself.¡± James had a more somber look in his eyes now. It made him look simultaneously world weary, sad, and wise.

    I didn¡¯t say anything. I just let him have a moment. Eventually, he stood up and went behind the counter.

    When he came back, he was carrying the sweet bread. It was so large that I began to think I would not be able to carry it back by myself.

    ¡°You should go, here is your order. Make sure to clean that wound, you¡¯re filthy so it will become infected if you don¡¯t,¡± he said, in a neutral tone, while setting the bread on the table.

    ¡°What about him?¡± I asked, pointing at the unconscious man on the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tie him up and deliver him to the guards. If he is dead, I¡¯ll report that I did my duty as a citizen and prevented the murder of a child in my establishment,¡± James said bluntly, with a cold and distant voice.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    I realized that James was no longer in the mood to talk, so I shakily picked up the bread and walked out the door.

    I slowly made my way back to the slums of Athros, carrying the wrapped sweet bread. Every now and then I had to stop and rest. I probably had a concussion, thanks to that asshole in the store, but I wasn''t going to let him ruin my day.

    I forced myself forward, making my way back to my home. After a torturous hour of walking, I finally entered my home with a fake smile plastered on my face. I was greeted by the sight of everyone laughing and smiling. Herald had must have gotten back a few minutes before me and everyone was eating their food.

    A couple of the bolder kids ran up to me, having caught the aroma of the sweet bread.

    ¡°What''s in the bag?¡± ¡°Is it the sweet bread?¡± ¡°Can I have some?¡± ¡°Can I have some, please?¡± -I set the bread down on a wobbly table nearby and pronounced that it was fair game. The kids practically jumped on it.

    I shook my head and smiled at their antics. Herald tumbled out of the other side of the room as he wrestled with a couple of the kids. I attempted to make my way to him, but after a couple of steps, I was forced to lean against the wall.

    Herald¡¯s jovial face instantly turned worried as he dashed to my side. One of the kids spotted the blood in my hair and screamed. They all went silent staring at me.

    Herald bent over and instantly noticed that some of the blood was still trickling from my head.

    ¡°What happened Thorin? Who messed you up? Was it the Jacob brothers? I swear to god I''ll fuck them up!¡± Herald said, getting angry on my behalf as he saw my bruised and bleeding head.

    ¡°No, it was just some asshole. Don''t worry about me, I just need some rest. Come on, enjoy the party,¡± I said in an effort to erase his worry, as I attempted to stand back up. My exhausted and battered body didn¡¯t have enough energy to pull it off though.

    ¡°Alright, if you say so, then I¡¯ll ignore it for now. Let me help you to your bed and take a look at your head,¡± he said, while helping me get to my feet.

    I saw the worry in his eyes and tried to reassure him as he led me to my bed.

    ¡°Don''t worry, the baker looked at the wound and said that it was nothing serious. I will try to find something to bandage it up and I will tell you everything in a few minutes. Just get out there and let the kids have fun. Right now, they''re all out there scared for me instead of enjoying themselves,¡± I said, urging him to leave me alone so I could drop the facade of my painless demeanor.

    ¡°Alright fine. Just yell if you need anything. I¡¯ll save you some food for later if the kids don''t eat it all,¡± he said, with a nervous grin, before leaving the room.

    It warmed my heart that he was concerned about me, but I had dealt with worse. I was just upset that it had happened today. The kids really need this little party of sorts to raise their spirits, and honestly I had looked forward to seeing them all happy.

    I had a pounding headache and was semi-nauseous, so I wasn''t in good enough shape to be out there running the party. I moved down to the end of my bed where the pile of cloth scraps, that some of kids had collected, were. Normally they were used for patching up clothes, but for now they would function as a bandage.

    I sifted through them attempting to find a clean one. I accidentally revealed the coin pouch in my search and looked at it for a moment.

    I grabbed it and thought for a moment. I realized we hadn¡¯t even counted the money yet. Honestly, I just thought that counting the money would make me feel better. Perhaps, if there was enough, I could even get my wounds treated with it!

    I opened the bag, pulling out one coin at a time and making separate piles of each type. I ended up counting a total of twelve gold coins, twenty six silver coins, and three copper coins. I blankly stared at the coin piles and realized that the money wasn¡¯t actually that plentiful. Before, when Herold poured out the pouch, I got overly excited. I mean, yeah there was a lot there, but we still needed to be smart with it. I was about to put the coins back when the blue sphere I had set aside earlier caught my eye.

    Really noticing it for the first time, I picked it up. It was about the size of a marble and it was very shiny. It was a deep blue and it was somewhat transparent. I laid down on my back and held it above my head, lost in thought. A cloud moved and a ray of light poked through one of the holes in the roof. The beam of light hit the sphere and it lit up. Due to the light brightening the room, I was able to see almost all the way through the cloudy gem-like sphere. When my eyes focused, I noticed small specks of colors floating inside of it. Surprisingly, it almost seemed like the specs were moving. Before I could take a closer look, the clouds covered the sunlight shining through the roof.

    At this point, my interest was piqued. I sat up, despite my head¡¯s protest, and hunched over the sphere, holding it at different angles to see if I could see the specs again. Blood was still seeping from my head wound and pooled at the top of my forehead due to gravity. I ignored it as I studied the weird sphere in my palm. Perhaps I had just been seeing things or my head wound was worse than I thought, as I could no longer see anything odd about the sphere.

    I was about to lie back down and put the sphere away when a single drop of blood dripped down from my forehead. It fell through the air and splattered on the sphere. I moved to rub the sphere on my pants to clean it off, but as soon as the blood touched the sphere, it was absorbed. For a second, I thought that I had just imagined it but suddenly, I felt a burning sensation in my hand. The sphere lit up and the pain amplified. I tried to throw it away from me but my body wasn''t moving. I tried to scream for help or even voice my pain, but not a sound came out. Eventually, the pain became too intense and I passed out.

 Chapter 4: Imprisoned

    Jolted awake, a shock wave threw me out of bed. I was robbed of my hearing and my ears rang in protest. My head bounced off the ground, barely hanging onto consciousness. I opened my eyes, but everything was blurry. After an excruciating second of my eyes refusing to work, I was able see a white robed man stride into what was left of our main room. I glanced around the room to seeing the orphans sprawled on the ground holding their heads. It took my brain a moment to process what was happening.

    Steel armored men, with the emperor¡¯s insignia, passed by the man in white robes, who motioned towards the kids. The men continued forward and grabbed the orphans.

    Seeing them take the kids away, I panicked. I urged my body to get up, to do something, to do anything other then lay motionlessly on the floor. All I managed to do was grunt in pain and shift my body slightly. The white robed man noticed my feeble attempts to get up and looked right at me before smiling. He began to make his way over to me, through the rubble. I could only watch him come closer, as the sphere continued to affect me, my body rigid like it was encased in stone. I lay there, silently praying for help.

    Hope blossomed as I saw Herald slip from one of the armored men''s grasp. Seeing my predicament, he broke free to help. He grabbed a piece of wood as he sprinted towards me.

    Herald rushed up from behind the white robed man and raised the makeshift club above his head, poised to strike.

    Right before Herald came within reach, the white robed man turned towards him. His hand lit up and he thrust it towards Herald. I saw the air ripple before a force hit Herald in the chest, sending him flying across the room. I couldn''t even scream out, before Herald hit the wall across the room.

    He crumbled to the floor, with his neck bent at an unnatural angle and blood seeping out of his mouth. In that moment, everything felt like it was in slow motion as his body fell to the floor, unmoving.

    I just lay there, staring at my best friend, unable to do anything. I didn''t even notice his killer approaching me. Even as the white robed man reached out, touching my head with his glowing hand, I couldn¡¯t react, my mind was in shock from what had just occurred. I could do nothing but stare at my dead friend¡¯s eyes as my vision slid to black.

    ************************************************************************************************************************************

    I came to as water dripped onto my forehead. I opened my eyes and shifted my head to avoid the incoming droplets. Darkness surrounded me, with only a single torch lazily shining through the small slots in the bars, adorning the top-center of the door before me, allowing me to see my surroundings. I tried to move and heard clanking. I reached down and felt cold metal shackles digging into my ankles. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    At first I was confused, but then the memories came flooding back. The strange sphere, the white robed man, and finally, Herald¡¯s death.

    It took a moment to process everything, and in the end all I could focus on was the image of the white robed man thrusting his hand towards Herald. I sat in the cell, going through the day¡¯s events over and over again. I was able to move now but it was useless, I was locked in a cell with nowhere to go.

    The cell was empty, besides a small latrine-hole that reeked. I curled up in the corner of the room, as far away from the hole as possible. I couldn¡¯t believe that Herald was gone. I bit my lip and wept silently. I thought back to some of the happier times when we were together but the memories only made the grief sink deeper. Why couldn¡¯t it have been me? He was going to use that money to make something of himself. Why didn''t the white robed man kill me instead? Why did he do any of this? The question made me grip my hands tightly, until my fingernails dug red lines into them. I stopped weeping and lashed out at the wall next to me. I continued mindlessly punching the wall, as blood dripped down from my knuckles and my hands became numb. Each hit became weaker until I collapsed back onto the ground. I tried to clear my mind as I lay there, but I couldn¡¯t stop seeing the image of Herald dying. I was occasionally interrupted from my stupor by the slot in the door opening up, food and bottled water being thrown out at me through that slit .

    At first, I yelled and tried to get the guards to talk with me but they were silent. I then began to plead and bargain with them, offering anything just to hear another voice. Eventually, bitterness completely took over and I just cursed at the men. I yelled out awful insults and charged at the door until the chains jerked me back, just to see if I could get a reaction from them, but they just delivered the food and water silently and moved on.

    After a few days, I didn''t have any physical or emotional energy left and just sat waiting for when my food and water would come. Curiosity began to set in. Why was all of this happening? What did I do to deserve this? It was driving me crazy. My whole life, my whole everything,was gone and I didn''t even know why.

    I spent what could have been days or weeks, as time wasn¡¯t marked, in complete isolation. One night, while I was sleeping, the guards came in and grabbed me. They unlocked my ankle cuffs and dragged me from my cell. I fought half-heartedly, which earned me a punch to the stomach. I struggled to breathe and just dangled between them as they dragged me away.

    They carried me through a maze of corridors and into a large circular room. Inside of it was a slanted stone table, that they laid me down on. They restrained my wrists and ankles with rough leather strips to the stone slab and walked out. I looked around the room to try and figure out why they had brought me here. Directly across me was another contraption. Obscure characters were engraved into the ground. To my right was a table covered with a cloth. I began to panic as I noticed the large red spots that stained the cloth, where different shapes protruded.

    I heard the door open and my heart began to race. I turned my head to look at the door and saw the white robed man walk through. I pulled at my restraints, cursing vehemently at him.

    He examined me, before walking closer, with a sinister smile on his face.

    ¡°Oh, I am going to enjoy this.¡±

 Chapter 5: Mark of Servitude

    A chill traveled down my entire body when the robed man looked at me. His eyes were hollow, but at the same time filled with a sadistic excitement.

    This didn''t stop me from continuing to curse and strain against my restraints. This fucker killed my best friend. I had to avenge Herald!

    ¡°You bastard, hell isn''t good enough for scum like you!¡± I ranted and continued to spew profanities at him.

    ¡°Tsk, Tsk, young man, have you no manners? Let¡¯s shut that filthy mouth for a moment, shall we.¡± The robed man said as he raised his hand and began chanting.

    Upon his completion I found myself mute. I made the motions to curse and scream, but no sound escaped my lips.

    ¡°There we go, much better. Please do realize that you are powerless here, stop resisting as it will make it easier for you and me.¡± He said as he lowered the hood covering his face.

    I was stunned as I recognized him. If I wasn''t already silenced the shock would have made me speechless.

    ¡°Ahh, I see you recognize me! Who wouldn''t? I mean, I am this city¡¯s savior, Alistar the Wise!¡± He said while sarcastically striking a pose in front of me.

    I struggled internally trying to make sense of it all. How could he be Alistar? Alistar was the Emperor''s head mage and was known for his valor and kindness. He had been the deciding factor in the Empire''s recent wars due to his mastery of the arcane.

    ¡°Now, you must be confused. Why would the great hero, Alistar, kidnap you? Why am I going to torture you and end your pitiful life? I¡¯m supposed to be the good guy, right? You¡¯re wondering, shouldn''t he save me instead?¡± His sarcastic rant continued as he walked towards me.

    ¡°You see, that''s all a show. I am not only a great magician, but also a fantastic actor. I could care less about this insipid empire and wouldn''t lift a finger to save anyone, if it weren¡¯t for the deal the emperor and I struck. I protect the kingdom and am a symbol of his strength, in exchange he funds my experiments and turns a blind eye to my little enterprises. Basically, I go out and slay some monsters or bandits as needed, and in exchange I can do whatever I please. As much as I hate working for the old bastard it''s a pretty good gig.¡± He said all of this with a smile that made him look insane.

    ¡°You see I am used to getting whatever I want. Quite adamant about it too. Now, the reason why you''re in this mess and your friend is in a hole, is because you took something I wanted.¡± He said while striding up to me with a face full of fury.

    I panicked and tried to scream out that I had never stolen anything from him, but nothing came out. I was still mute from the spell he casted on me earlier.

    ¡°Even worse, you bonded with it!¡± He screamed at me, lashing out with his hand.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    My head whipped to the side and instantly began swelling on the on the right side.

    ¡°If that weren¡¯t bad enough, you don''t even know what you wasted!¡± He screamed again and backhanded the other side of my face... Then he became eerily quiet and gently placed his hands on both sides of my now bloodied face.

    ¡°But you''re so young, I mean you''re probably around twelve aren''t you? It''s not your fault you didn''t know what you were doing.¡± His face was so close that I could feel his breaths on my face.

    I wanted to jerk forward and bite him, head-butt him, anything to get some measure of revenge, but I was paralyzed by fear. His eyes were so dark and cold that I found myself unable to do anything.

    ¡°I believe in honest mistakes and would have let you go out generosity as I by reputation am a noble person, but the thing is that you bonded with an artifact that is extremely useful to me.¡± He released my face and began to pace back and forth.

    ¡°I could try and remove the artifact from you, killing you and chancing that it will be destroyed in the process. No too risky. I could just let you go and try to create my own artifact after carefully studying you and performing various tests. No, no, that would take far too long and even then I might not succeed.¡± He continued to mumble on for a bit, listing various paths he could pursue, most of them involving my demise in one way or another.

    ¡°Ah ha! I got!¡± He turned to me smiling with pride evident on his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple you see. The artifacts are magical tools, you bonded to my tool, so you¡¯ll become my tool instead! A loyal follower controlling the artifact just for me!¡± I could tell by his voice that he had already had come to this conclusion before he had even entered this room, all of the theatrics were for his own sadistic pleasure.

    I spat out at him in disgust, unable to show my protest in any other way, I would rather die than serve the scum who had killed my best friend. My bloodied saliva hit the maniac¡¯s face causing his smile to disappear. I smirked knowing that I ruined his perfectly planned rant just a little bit.

    He glared at me while using one hand to wipe off his face.

    ¡°I was trying to be civil, but I guess we can get right to it then if you are so inclined to start.¡± He turned towards me and began to mumble an incantation.

    Upon finishing, the markings carved into the floor began to glow and I felt a burning pain on my forehead. My skin blistered and cracked and smell of my own skin burning caused vomit to rise into my throat. The pain began to spread and grow as intricate details were being etched into my flesh. I attempted to scream and thrash.as the pain grew until I felt like my entire head was on fire, my skull melting and the pain worming its way into my brain.

    After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, the pain receded back to the center of my forehead and disappeared. I hung limp dripping sweat showing no trace of resistance. I looked into the pool of sweat at my feet and saw my reflection. On my forehead, directly in the middle was a single black symbol that filled me with dread.

    I wanted to just hang and rest, but Alistar grabbed my hair and ripped my head up.

    He looked at my face and smiled. ¡°Looks good on you!¡±

    He released my head which promptly fell back to resting on my chest.

    ¡°You should be proud, you¡¯re the first person I have used this particular enchantment on! You have to follow my orders and can''t directly harm me. It''s by no means perfect though, I will be watching you very close so that you can¡¯t betray or rebel against me.¡± He said while flicking my head right on the raw and fresh brand.

    ¡°Of course there are ways to get around that. I think I''ll just torture you until you are just a lifeless husk and allow the spell to fully control your will completely!¡± He said while walking over to the cloth covered table.

    Hearing this I lifted my head to see what he was doing. I was greeted with the sight of his crooked smile and the gleam of a metal instrument rusted with what could only be blood.

 Chapter 6: Breaking

    My life devolved into a living hell that day. That demon, Alistar, tore at me each day with something new. My thought processes began to blur as I fled from the harsh, painful reality and sought haven in my mind.

    The pain came in many forms: At first it was small blades cutting into my flesh and tearing through it like wolves. My vision was stained red as my body wept blood. The rusty blades pierced deep into me, but not deep enough to end my pitiful life. My vision faded into darkness, before I would suddenly jolt back up due to a particular cut. This continued for what felt like eternity - my only respite was when I passed out completely. I was stuck in a sea of agony when it suddenly stopped.

    Instead of the sharp pain I was expecting, a warm feeling enveloped my body and an intense itch spread across the wounds. I opened my eyes to see my skin and flesh stretching and mending itself making it seem like the hours of pain ever happened. Shocked, I swung my head up looking for the source of my healing. I saw the blurry figure of Alistair changing out of his blood splattered robe and another figure standing next to me with glowing hands. While I was being healed and my mind wasn''t being bombarded with pain, I had a moment of clarity. My eyes focused on the individual beside me. It was a young woman with blond hair wearing a white robe similar to Alistar''s.

    I as I looked at her, hope blossomed in my chest. Perhaps this person convinced Alistar to stop and save me. My hope evaporated as I noticed the black brand on her forehead and looked into the dead empty abyss in her eyes. I could tell instantly that she was no longer a person and that she wasn''t my saviour but was just my predecessor.

    ¡°Thorin, meet Sylvia. Sylvia will be keep your body together while I shatter your mind. I wouldn¡¯t want you dying on your first day, now do we?¡± Alistar said as Sylvia finished healing me.

    ¡°See you early tomorrow for more fun!¡± He said before extinguishing the torches in the room with a flick of his hands and closing the doors. I was left alone again, surrounded by darkness and dreading what was to come next.

    The next day I was woken up by the guards and was forced to eat and drink while Alistar prepared his tools.

    After Alistar checked over me to make sure my condition was passable, he began his next round of torture. This time, it would be flaying.

    That demon using a long rough blade began to remove my skin, one strip after another. I started to bleed but, he had Sylvia there to make sure I stayed alive until he had finished removing most of my skin that fell of like sheets. I eventually slipped out of consciousness and felt the sweet relief of nothingness.

    I was out for what only felt like a moment before I was brought back by him splashing some sort of acid onto my raw flesh. It sizzled and bubbled as it began to seep into my flesh melting my muscles. The intense surge of pain caused my brain to hallucinate. It felt like I had been swallowed by a snake and was being digested whole. I passed out once again unable to stand the new type of pain. Alistair responded by splashing another dose of acid onto my exposed flesh.

    Not only was he making me endure this he was forcing me to remain conscious for all of it. Tears streamed from my face I forced myself to hold onto reality to avoid another dose of acid. Eventually Alistar grew bored of seeing me struggle and left the room. Before he left he dumped the rest of the bottle on me leaving me to writhe in agony for the day.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    The next day I was brought back to the peak of health by Sylvia again only for another day of agony. It became a pattern. Alistar would come in each day and torture me with something different. Each was worse than the last, whether it was being burned alive, having my fingers, toes, and teeth removed, or opening my chest to show me my own organs. I began to hate Sylvia and dream of dying. Each day I was hurt terribly and each day my body was healed. I was only left with my damaged mind warping. I must have lasted for at least a week and a half before Alistar grew tired and decided to finish it all.

    Like every other day Sylvia entered the room and healed me back to perfection, but instead of casting a spell or pulling out a tool, Alistar was just standing there holding a metal box.

    ¡°I have grown sick of you. Grown men were easier to break. As a reward for your useless struggle I will treat you to a special method.¡± He said while opening the lid of the box and setting it down.

    ¡°Enjoy today and cherish the feeling of pain because today is the last day you feel anything.¡± He exclaimed before he and Sylvia left.

    A single torch was left lit and I picked my head up to glance at the box he had left me. I wasn''t able to see into it, but after a second a small purple bug crawled of the rim and crawled down to the floor. As the first one made its way down six more began to make there way out of the box and onto the floor. At this point I didn''t couldn''t think or even panic as they made their way over to me. As they got closer I managed to get a better view of them. They were each about a half inch big and were a metallic purple beetle.

    Eventually they reached me and started crawling up my legs. I tried to shake them off but they clung on and continued to move up. I felt one stop for a moment before I felt it start to claw through my calf. I felt it starting to dig its way through my calf making my moments become more desperate trying to shake off the rest of them. It was futile though as I felt another the other bugs decide to start burrowing into my flesh whenever they reached a part of my body. One crawled all the way up my chest, but luckily decided to burrow in my shoulder instead of continuing up to my face. Eventually all of them were burrowing into me as I thrashed from side to side in pain. I could feel their mouths biting me and their legs forcing them farther and farther into my body.

    It was incredibly painful, but other days were worse. These bugs wouldn''t break me. For a while I just laid there trying to distract myself from the pain as the insects squirmed in my body. I managed to slip into a state where I didn''t feel much of the pain, just the unnatural movements beneath my flesh when suddenly I felt my left leg in complete agony. I felt that the bug in my calf had made its way to my bone and was now attempting to grind its way through it. It was extreme pain as it slowly whittled away. Soon I felt even more pain as other bugs began to make their way to my bones. It was too much for me.

    I withdrew into my mind seeking shelter from the pain. I sifted through memory after memory seeking something that I could latch onto in the sea of pain. Each couldn¡¯t hold up to the storm of agony and weathered away as I desperately clung to them. They were too weak, I was too weak. No, I was pathetic. Unable to do anything as my mind was being washed away. Herald wasted his life trying to save me, when I couldn¡¯t even save myself. His final moments flashed before my eyes once again.

    ¡°No! I am fucking tired of being weak! I am sick of this world taking away from me!¡± I screamed out as I grabbed on to the memory of Harold fighting to the end and let my anger burn brighter than ever. It flared hotter than any pain I had felt during my time in the dungeon and washed away my despair.

    ¡°This world owes me and I am not going anywhere until I get pay back!¡±

    I felt a surge of power and my mind piece back together solidified by my rage. I felt my soul become reforged in the flames of hatred and come out stronger. I believed in that moment that nothing was going to break me and that I would some how life through this.

    I was wrong, dead wrong. At that moment the bugs managed to break through the exterior of my bones and reached the soft tissue inside them. There is no way to describe the agony. In that instant my mind shattered and I was left powerless. My mouth foamed and various limbs spasmed as I lost consciousness. The last thing I felt before closing my eyes was brand on my forehead burning as the spell took full control of my mind.

 Chapter 7: Spectator

    At first black spots appeared in my vision, as the pain attacked my consciousness. I kept praying for it to stop but the pain kept coming, in waves, making me lose my grip on reality. The black spots began to melt and swell in size. And soon my eyelids started to flutter, as I lost the power to keep them open. The black spots began to flow together unifying into a dark sea that completely surrounded me.

    Yet the pain didn¡¯t stop coming. Red flashes of pain and purple agony kept striking me, illuminating the black ocean, like strikes of lightning. However they only lasted briefly, as I fell further downwards and drowned in the endless abyss. The flashes transformed into spots once more and soon the last remnants of light were swallowed.

    I just existed there in the darkness, waiting to be brought back to the surface. Back into the world of pain.

    I drifted in the currents of darkness helpless to its intentions. Soon my momentum slowed and I was brought to stop by something solid.

    I had reached the bottom of the abyss. The darkness slowed and flowed with ease.

    An odd sense of tranquility filled me as the currents washed over me like a breeze of warm air. I relaxed as I was coerced by the darkness. All of my fear and desperation vanished.

    Soon a spec of light came into vision amongst the darkness, being pulled downward to the bottom. As it got closer I was able to see that it was a mixture of colors, vibrant and constantly flowing. Eventually it was brought down to the bottom next to me where it stopped.

    I watched as the colors began to transform. I was mesmerized by the floating iridescent mass of colors began to shape into the form of a human. I felt strangely connected to the colors. Like they were apart of me.

    No they were me. They were my soul.

    I had thought that souls were pure white or silver, but before me was a piece of art. It was a reflection of myself, each color was a part of what made me, me.

    Then it began. On the forehead of the body the black symbol branded on my forehead came into existence and the colors of the body began to shudder. The darkness from the brand began to spread across my soul.

    I could feel myself being taken over. It wasn''t painful. Part of me felt joy at being erased from the world, but really I was afraid to fade away.

    My anxiety and sadness were the first to be tainted by the darkness. They had long been broken, nothing compared to the pain.

    I felt a void where they used to be. An emptiness in myself. But it didn''t stop there. Soon more of my soul began to waver and fade away. Each time I became less and dwindled away.

    I wasn''t able to do anything as they slipped away from me, just feel them slipping away.

    Eventually I was with only one thing remaining. It was a ball of blue fire. As I started losing various parts of myself it had expanded, trying to fill the gaps created. I waited for it to disappear too so I could fade away as a whole.

    I looked at it curiously. Why was it attempting so desperately to hold on. It crackled and strained attempting to fill my entire soul. What''s the point in struggling any further?

    I could tell that this strange fire was my rage, my anger. Bottled up my entire life it now wanted to burst out and refused to be extinguished.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    No that''s not it. I saw a brighter light in the middle. It could barely tell it was there. It was miniscule compared to my rage. I was only able to notice it because the areas of anger around it were lighter and gentle. While the rest of the fire were flowing like a blaze, the fire near the light was more like water, just cascading around the center where a spec of light was.

    The light was fragile and flickering, it looked like it was about to go out. The blue flames wouldn''t let it go, and surrounding it. Protecting it and keeping it hostage at the same time.

    I just existed there staring at the rage flowing around the light keeping it from fading away. I stood there and watched the flames fend off the darkness, gradually getting weaker as time passed

    The flames was about half its original size when a flash of light appeared next to me.

    A window of light appeared next to me. It seemed to be showing a blurry image. The light was abruptly shut off as the window blinked. When the light came back it was focused. In it I could see the same room I was stuck in for the last horrid week. The image swayed as it turned showing a pale scrawny body. I instantly recognised it as my own and realized I was seeing what reality from my own perspective.

    I couldn''t feel or hear anything though, just watch as my body looked up to see the dungeon door open up and Alistair stride in. He was sporting a large smile as he walked up to the slab of stone I was restrained to.

    He began to speak but I was unable to hear any sound at all besides the slow crackle of my dying rage.

    After speaking for a brief moment, his grin grew and he started the motions for casting a spell. I tensed up preparing for more pain, but it never came. Instead, I was surprised as the window showed me getting off the slab and standing up.

    When I saw this, it clicked. I realised why this was all happening. The spell had worked and I was no longer myself. I was trapped there, watching myself as a slave, until the rest of my soul fades away.

    At this point I had given up, there was nothing left that I could do, but observe the window.

    My body now that it was freed, followed Alistar out of the room and walked down the dungeons hall way before stopping at one of the other doors. He turned and reached into his robe, pulling out a steel dagger. He spoke for a moment before handing the knife to me and motioning to the door.

    I watched as I pushed open the door and entered into the dim room while Alistar followed behind me.

    He lit the torch in the room and I was able to see what it contained. There was a small figure huddled in the corner of the room shuddering. As my body walked forward into the room, I was able to get a better look at the person. It was a girl much younger than me with filth covered hair draped across her face. I approached her and reached down to picking up the girl. She turned, attempting to push me away. She turned and looked at me with panic strewn across her features. Upon seeing my face she was quickly surprised. I was too, because in my grasp was Avery.

    Surprise quickly turned to dread as I remembered what was in my other hand. My body lifted up the dagger and brought it towards Avery.

    I began to wail at the window. Lashing out with everything I had. Because I knew what was coming next. My efforts showed no effects as my body back in reality brought the knife to her neck. I was trapped there pounding on the window, watching as my hand forced the knife through her neck. Blood sprayed out hitting my face, tinting the window red.

    My struggles began to lessen as I watched myself drop her back to the ground lifeless.

    Why god dammit?

    What did I do in my last life to deserve this?

    What did I do?

    What did I do?

    I collapsed against the window and turned away unable to watch any more.

    I killed her. Just like how I killed Herold. I killed them because I wasn''t able to do anything.

    I was too weak.

    I turned back to my soul. At this point the flames were all but gone. Only a small layer remained around the flickering white light.

    Why couldn¡¯t I have been strong?

    Why can¡¯t I be strong?

    Why can¡¯t I kill Alistar?

    Why can''t I kill them all?

    I stood back up as I watched the blue flames begin to flare back to life. It fed off of the very thing it protected, the white light. It became a bonfire shaped as a person, using the small white light as fuel. As the flames of hatred grew and the light diminished, the flames darkened. Soon the white light blinked out of existence, completely burnt up by the flames that had become as pitch black as the darkness surrounding it.

    Why can¡¯t I kill them all?

 Chapter 8: The Body of a Slave

    For the next four years I was trapped in my own body, waiting for an opportunity to escape and exact my revenge. Four agonizing years of watching and helping Alistar. Not once did my hatred waver over these years, but instead grew as I was forced to obey his orders.

    The first two years consisted of physical and intellectual training. I supposed Alistar would consider it sharpening his tool for better use.

    I was hand trained by what appeared to be one of the emperor¡¯s personal guards. He was an older gentleman with graying hair. One would expect his body to match his age, but instead he had a large frame bulging with muscles. At first he was very standoffish and disapproving of my stature and build. The first two months with him was spent only exercising and running my body into the dirt

    Honestly the training itself could have been consider hell. Any normal person would have long given up or been unable to continue working with that man, but my body was a mindless puppet. It didn¡¯t feel pain as it continually picked itself up from total exhaustion and continued fully obedient to the man¡¯s yells. Perhaps the man was in on the fact that I was a puppet. Either that or he was a sadist. At the end of the sessions, Sylvia would have to reconnect torn muscles and ligaments so my body could walk properly.

    Despite the cruelty of the training its effects were evident. Along with a proper diet my malnourished body flourished. No longer was I a scrawny miscreant out on the streets, but a proper slave able to carry its master¡¯s burdens.

    Even after all of the training though I didn''t become a hulking mass, like many other warriors. I did gain a significant amount of weight, but it was mostly powerful lean muscles.

    My instructor seemed to approve of my condition and began to instruct me on hand to hand combat. At this point I began to be able to read lips somewhat well. It was a bit hard to do, but I eventually could get the gist of what people were saying. It only worked when I was looking at their faces and even then I could only get bits of the conversation. I believe he said something about how hand to hand combat was the foundation for all forms of combat. It started out as forms and slowly worked its way up to full on sparring matches that I would consistently lose.

    Due to being a puppet, it was mechanical with its attacks and defenses. Everything was by the books. It could never even land a hit on him because the instructor knew all of the moves he had taught me.

    Despite not being in control of my body, I still found it infuriating to lose constantly. One day while we were in the middle of sparring, I just grew so sick of watching my body fail. My rage flared and I lashed out against the window separating me and the real world. I could do better than that imbecile!

    To my surprise the window shattered into particles of light and everything went black. When I opened my eyes back up I was exhilarated. I could feel again! I welcomed the feeling of pain wracking my muscles, the smell of a working body, and the taste of blood in my mouth. Even the sounds of my instructor yelling at me were like a song of joy because I was free.

    My excitement was short lived the instructor¡¯s fist came hurtling at my midsection. I instinctively dodged out of the way, but the fist still landed on my side knocking me off balance to the ground.

    ¡°Get back up, I¡¯m not done with you yet worm!¡± the instructor yelled at me as he waited for me to get to my feet.

    My rage swelled up upon hearing the nickname he had been calling for months. I clenched my fists up against the loose sandy ground of the training area and pushed myself up onto my feet. I quickly turned and threw the dirt I had gathered in my hand towards his shocked face. After watching weeks of very generic moves he never expected anything like this and was caught wide-eyed.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    He gave a small yelp of surprise before his hands instinctively shot up to rub is eyes. Blinded and his guard down I shot forward and delivered a punch into his solar plexus which was at the perfect height for me to hit. He folded over, with the wind knocked out of him. He brought his head down low enough allowing my next blow able to reach his face and hit him in the nose. I felt a crunch and my instructor slumped to the floor with blood flowing from his nostrils.

    ¡°Worm¡± I said spitting at his body. It felt good to strike back at my tormentor. I turned to go and get even with my torturer, but the moment I went to run towards the manor to find Alistar, the brand on my forehead flared to life. Pain flood my body as I fell to my knees and passed out.

    Upon opening my eyes once again, I found myself back in the darkness where the window had reformed allowing me to see my body stand up and brush itself off like nothing had happened.

    Frustrated about my being locked away again, I lashed out against the window, hoping to once again shatter it and free myself once again.

    I couldn¡¯t no matter how hard I attacked it.

    It was a while before I managed to break out again and after that I was able to slowly figure out how I could escape.

    First, off my body has to be extremely stressed or distracted. Whenever it is doing something complicated, the spell must have to focus more of its self on controlling it rather than keeping me trapped.

    Second, I had to be pissed off. Luckily I had plenty to be angry about whether it was thinking of Alistar, getting beaten up by my now crooked noses instructor or at myself.

    Third, I had to somehow merge myself with that rage in order to lash out at the spell. This was especially tricky to do but I could occasionally do it naturally. I tried to force my wrath into helping me but it slipped away each time. When I got it right fist in the darkness would glow the same color as the dark flame of my rage.

    Fourth, I had to do what my body was instructed to do. As long as I continued doing what was order, the spell wouldn''t lash out against me. Whenever I would stop doing the task or try to get away the spell would ensnare me once again.

    All the while I was experimenting with this I continued to train with the instructor and we finally moved onto training with weapons, due to his defeat. I was finally able to start training with weapons.

    To my dismay, Alistair decided to have me learn how to fight with a sword and shield. Whenever I broke out and used them in fighting, they just felt uncomfortable and clumsy in my hands. There was nothing I could do about it. I decided to throw myself into this training and learn all I could so on the day I broke out I could use those skills for my revenge.

    I progressed quickly. After a year I was no longer being pushed around by the old man. Instead I would be able to break out of my chains to fight in my body and keep him in check. I never was able to defeat him like I did in hand to hand combat but I was at least his match. Despite that I was furious with myself.

    I needed to do better. It wasn''t enough to be this old man''s equal instead I need to be able to dispatch people like him easily if I was ever going be able to fight against Alistar and his various forces.

    In the end really I knew that while physical training was going to be helpful for my survival my key to defeating Alistar and freeing myself from his spell laid in magic. Every day, after my eight hours of training in the morning, I would be healed by Silviya then sent inside where Alistar or another Tutor would teach me academics and the arcane arts.

 Chapter 9: Academics

    Every day after training, I would go to Silviya to be healed before going inside to the library. After my torn muscles and aching body were fixed I would eat a larger meal usually consisting of different types of fruits veggies and slabs of meat. Alistar would then have me drink a strange concoction that prompted my body to grow stronger. It looked absolutely disgusting, but lucky for me, I wasn¡¯t attached to my tongue''s sense of taste or my nose¡¯s sense of smell. After drinking that murk potion, I would make my way further into the manor, towards the library.

    Alistar¡¯s manor was quite luxurious, and out of all of the rooms, the library was the largest and most used.

    For comparison, my original home that I shared with the other children was only a fourth of the size of the library.

    The first day I went into the library I was met by a young man in spiffy clothes and large round glasses. He began to talk to me, but obviously I couldn''t hear him tucked away behind the spell.

    Of course my body paid close attention and was focused to the utmost degree possible. After speaking for a while the man then handed me a piece of paper and an ink well. He also had a set and once we sat down at a table began to write out letters.

    He would then say something before my body would copy his motions and write down the same letter.

    The man was trying to teach me how to write and read from scratch! Well I didn''t know how to read or write very well, but I at least knew the alphabet and some basic words.

    I had once gone through a phase where I thought if I educated myself I could get a job and stole some library books to teach myself.

    Despite this, my teacher decided to start from scratch. This period of time was especially tedious to me. Instead of focusing on what my body was doing, I would run back the lessons and moves I learned earlier in combat training. It didn''t really matter if I didn¡¯t pay attention. Whenever I would merge back with my body all of the experiences and knowledge it had gained would become my memories and my knowledge. At first it had felt extremely unpleasant and even worse all of my body¡¯s experiences were transferred not just the useful ones.

    Not only did I have to remember the image of my own body killing Avery, but now I had to live with the feeling of her blood splashing against me, the panic in her voice, and feeling of the cold leather handle of the dagger that slit her neck.

    After I received that memory I steeled myself and worked even harder to try and better myself rather than dwell on it. I would escape this spell and when I did I had to be ready.

    My mind began to be as devoted to training as my body was forced to. During my physical training I would watch what my body saw closely, analyzing every bit of combat. My instructor¡¯s posture, his tells and how I could improve myself. It was almost like I was able to improve twice as fast because going back to reality would also instill my observations and insight into my body¡¯s behavior.

    Due to this, I excelled in both physical and academic training and made extremely fast progress. In two weeks I had the grasp of most of the written language and my teacher declared me literate. After that whenever I made my way to the library I was met by an older women in a gown. She began to teach me etiquette and other necessary cultural norms. I learned how to greet, how to speak, and even how to eat properly.

    Despite the fact that these skills meant nothing to me personally, I threw myself into memorizing and understanding the lessons. The sooner I and my body were able to learn this material, the sooner I would switch to a different area of study.

    Soon I finished that area of study as well, and Alistar hired another tutor for me. This time I wasn''t able to fly through the material.

    Instead of another intellectual ready to teach a subject, I met a person who could only be described as a monk. He was incredibly old almost to the point where I thought he would croak at any moment. Rather than teaching me facts or skills he was insistent on teaching me how to meditate. The monk was a simple man and didn¡¯t say much the only words I saw him say were sit, relax, and meditate.

    Simple commands. Each day he would just repeat them.

    Of course my body would comply and sit down cross legged. The most difficult part about this was that I was told to close my eyes. My only window into the world was closed off by darkness, making it impossible for me to learn from the old monk. I just prayed my body would be able to master meditation on its own.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Every day for three months I would hear him say were sit, relax, and meditate before my body would sit down and close its eyes for eight hours. I would wait patiently or try to go over what I had worked on earlier in my mind to starve of the boredom. Eventually my body would open its eyes to see the monk sitting there shaking his head in disapproval. He would not say a word only motion for me to leave.

    I just couldn¡¯t understand what I was supposed to do. I watched every day my body sit down and meditate. What was it doing wrong? What did that man want from me?

    This was just a waste of time.

    I believed that the old man was simply senile, until one random day he decided to grace me with more than three words.

    ¡°Relax body, clear mind. That is Meditation¡± he said somberly before once again leaving me in silence.

    His words struck me like a blow. Of course my body wasn''t able to meditate. Meditation was more than just sitting down and closing your eyes! It was a mental state as much as a physical one. My body by itself can¡¯t mediate and due to the fact that my soul is still intact my mind isn¡¯t at peace either. I would have to meditate not only in the real world but also in my prison.

    Once my body sat down and closed its eyes, I attempted to clear my mind. To block out all of my thoughts. The thing was I couldn''t just like the swirling darkness surrounding me in my prison my mind was chaotic.

    Normally, I go through the day either focusing on the training at hand or about what I would do when I obtained my freedom. I was able to maintain my sanity by just putting one foot in front of the other and tried not to look back.

    Now that I was forced to stop and clear my mind everything came rushing back. Flashes of red mixed with my repressed memories. Suddenly I felt like I was back the cell chained up again. There was a blade in stuck in my shoulder. Looking at my wound my vision flashed red and I strained against the chains in a panic. They dug into my wrists eventually snapping and I dropped to the ground.

    I reached up and put my hand on the handle of the blade. The vibration caused by the motion caused me to clench in pain, but I carried on. I took a deep breath in before yanking it out. I cried out in pain as my vision once again flashed red. When I opened my eyes again I was in a different cell. I was holding something else besides I looked down and saw Avery bleeding to death.

    I saw Avery¡¯s face just after I slit her throat. Unlike before where she went still and crumpled to the ground, instead she started to scream. The dagger fell from my hand as I covers my ears. The blood curdling shriek was piercing and bored in to my brain. Her voice then began to gurgle and a fountain of blood began pouring out of her mouth.

    I wanted to shut my eyes but they were already closed. This nightmare was in my head and there was no escaping it.

    I could feel myself slipping into insanity once again as I watched her in horror. She began to rot as if time was sped up. The blood stopped flowing from her mouth and was replaced by an endless stream of small purple beetles crawling their way out of her shriveled face.

    The longer I stayed in here the worse it got. I tried to just go back to the darkness and window. Back there where I had some measure of control and the comfort of watching the black flame burn.

    As if I had called upon it the black flame suddenly flared into existence above my palm. At first I thought it was just another part of this nightmare but it felt real. The more I focused on it the more everything else feel away.

    It began to spread surrounding the room slowly burning away the room. In its wake it left behind a glossy obsidian surface. I began to stop panicking and calm back down. I didn''t feel any more pain or fear. I didn''t feel anything.

    Eventually the flame melted away everything besides Avery¡¯s decomposed body, leaving me in an obsidian room with the corpse.

    I looked at Avery one last time before the fire started to consume her. It burnt away her flesh leaving only a pure white skeleton. The bones then began to crackle and pop before melting. As the bones melted it began to shine brighter emitting its own light. The liquid pooled together at the center of the room forming a perfect circle. The black flame having burnt up everything began to die down back to its normal size. It then floated to the center of the liquid and hovered there.

    I felt at peace just standing there staring at the flame dancing. Everything just fell away besides the flame. I drifted there for a while mindlessly.

    Eventually I came too and realized I needed to figure a way out of the room and find my way back to the window and see what was happening in the real world. I had spent enough time trapped in my head.

    I turned around looking for the door to the now obsidian cell hoping I could somehow leave. To my surprise I found that instead of the metal door the window into real world was there.

    At that point everything clicked. Over course it was there. I never left the swirling darkness that was my mind. Instead I faced the sea of despair which I had repressed.

    Somehow the black flame helped repaired my mind allowing it to become something solid once again. It might be a cold and black stone but it felt much more stable.

    It made much more sense that the spell Alistar castes on me was to make me go insane and then trap me in my mind. Not pull me into some dark void to wallow in agony.

    I mean it''s almost funny. The whole time I thought I was trapped in some sort of prison, but I am actually just trapped in my own mind. The oppressing darkness was just my warped thoughts crushing me.

 Chapter 10: The Arcane Arts (UNEDITED)

    When I looked back into the window I saw the old monk sitting there smiling at me. He simple nodded at me before standing up and leaving. I guess he knew I managed to achieve some sort of meditation. I doubt he knew what I had to do to get there. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be smiling.

    After that day my mental state was much more stable. Occasionally I would have break downs and visions of the past. Now instead of shutting down and being tormented I was able to let the black flame burn away my feels and dread.

    Having finished my ¡®meditation training¡¯ I moved on to my next study. My last study also. It turned out that I didn''t have a next tutor instead Alistar was in the library next time I walked in.

    He began speaking to me and luckily I was in control of my body at the time.

    ¡°Alright, seems you have advanced quickly enough through the other lessons.¡± He said approvingly as he walked over to one of the near by desks.

    ¡°Now it''s time to see if you have affinities.¡± As he said this he pulled out a small chest from the drawer.

    He then pulled a key from inside his robe and inserted it into the chest and turn. The chest glowed momentary, showing off its enchantment.

    From inside of the chest he pulled out a small orb about the size of a apple. It was crystal clear completely smooth.

    ¡°Be very careful holding that it is the purest mana crystal I have come across.¡± He said As he handed it to me.

    I grabbed it and instantly felt a chill run up my spine.

    ¡°Alright now channel your mana into the stone. It is enchanted gather your mana and show its underlying properties and what kind of affinities you have.¡± He said while gesturing at me to begin.

    I didn''t know how to do that though so I left reality before the spell forced me to and allowed it to take over assuming it some how knew to work the orb. A moment later a small red flame appeared inside the orb. It flickered quite weakly before dying out. As this happend I felt a weakness come over me before passing.

    ¡°Well you''re a useless fuck!¡± Alistar exclaimed.

    I woke up later sitting in one of the libraries chairs and I could tell my body wasn''t feeling great. The image outside of the window was blurry and quite disoriented. On my lap was a piece of paper and on the ground in front of me was a vial with a blue liquid.

    I picked up the piece of paper and found out it was a to do list. Apparently I wasn''t worth Alistar¡¯s time. I read over what I had to do and it simply stated to read The Fundamentals of Mana Manipulation. Once I was done with that I would have to begin absorbing mana and build up my mana well.

    I was honestly pissed though. Not at Alistar, but myself. Doubt hit me like a boulder.

    What if I didn''t have enough magical talent to figure some way out of this spell. I¡¯d rather die than serve Alistar for life.

    I sat there for some while stirring in despair, but eventually my rage one out. I steeled myself to train even harder and to overcome this obstacle. To go through all of that pain only to give up wasn¡¯t an option any more. I¡¯d show Alistar some day that I''m not fucking useless by shoving a sword down his cocky ass throat. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    All while I was stewing internally my body was already at work flipping through the book. I vouched to myself that I wouldn''t give up then and there.

    I spent two weeks reading that must old book, but I found myself reading along side my body. It was fascinating reading about mana. Whether it was ways on how to absorb mana from a beast core, or how to channel it through your body to increase your mana pool.

    By the end of the book I was able to grasp almost all of the concepts, but had yet to use them. On the day I read the last page my body instantly put the book down and moved over to the mat where I sat previously for meditation practice.

    According to the book you had to reach a meditative state, before reaching out to the world''s mana. From there you would allow it to flow into you until you had your fill. There were many other way to gain mana, like mana stones or from another magician. According to the book all mana once came from the world¡¯s underling energy and other ways are just a middle man.

    Once I sat down I took the first step and began to gaze into the black flame. It made me numb to the world and put my mind to ease, allowing me to slip into a trance.

    It was much like the last time except for this time I had a purpose and began to seek out the earth''s energy. It took me a couple minutes, but I eventually found it. It was a step pulse of strong energy the coursed all around me. In the air and the soil alike.

    I reached out and tried merging with the energy. It felt like I was enveloped by extremely hot water. It wasn''t painful, but it sure as hell wasn''t comfortable.

    After that I tried to open myself up. To allow it to trickle into my body. My pores opened up and began to drink in mana letting it flow through my body to my mana pool. It filled my body with a hot tingling sensation. As I absorbed more the tingling feeling turned to pins and needles. It grew more intense as I continued to drink in more mana. Eventually it felt like daggers piercing my flesh and I had to break off my connection to the world.

    It took a moment to stabilize myself then open my eyes. When I did I found that the obsidian room now had another pool this time instead it was a bright blue liquid. It was almost pitiful how small it was though. Compared to the silver liquid it was practically a puddle.

    Over the week I have tried to figure out what the silver energy was, but it just sat there stagnant. I just decided to leave it alone for now. I had to focus on the mana I had absorbed.

    I watched until I saw about a fourth of the mana float into the are and dissipate into the obsidian ceiling.

    As soon as I saw the mana leave I was relieved. My body was already starting to circulate mana through my body without my assistance. By doing that it would not only strengthen my body, but also temper my body preparing it to channel more mana.

    Normally this practice is extremely unpleasant and unused, but due to being disconcerted from pain it was a perfect method for me. Sure it wouldn''t be pleasant when I merged with my body and remembered the feeling of having my body strengthened, but that is much better than having to go through it in the first place.

    Usually mages expand their ability to use mana by carving out their mana well. To do this a mage would need to meditate and enter their inner domain. From there they would harness the mana they had and use it to dig down into their domain digging a hole. This hole would eventually become deeper and wider until it is considered a mana well. By creating a mana well mages could store more mana away.

    I decided to work both methods at once. While my body worked on strengthening my body I focus on digging a mana well.

    I reached out and grabbed at the mana letting it fall under my control. I then directed it down word and had it begin to dig away at the black stone beneath it. After an hour I the mana I had absorbed was all used up. Feeling a bit strained I looked to see how much progress I had made. I scowled as I saw that only a slight indent was made only about a tenth of the mana pools size.

    Welp whatever I had plenty of time on my hands to continue to make my mana well. I took a moment to rest before once again looking into the black flame in order to get another helping of the worlds mana. That time though I was able to absorb a bit more.

 Chapter 11: Spells (teaser)

    For the next year all I did was weapons training and work on my mana pool.

    Honestly I spent every waking moment possible absorbing mana and using it to dig my mana well. It was slow at first but picked up as I began to be able to absorb more and more mana. That an every time I did it could visibly see a difference. A sign that I was progressing. Each day I strove to push myself further and dig a bit deeper.

    Only after six months was I able to create a mana well that was the size of a watermelon. It might not seem like much, but it was at least double the size of my original mana pool.

    While I was doing this my body continued to cycle mana throughout my body. Strengthening my meridians and flesh. Soon I was able to see a difference in my strength when fighting and my body stop taking so much damage each day. By no means was my flesh strong enough to repel a blade, but I would at least reduce the damage.

    After while though everything just became routine and went by in a blur. By the end of that year I carved out a three foot deep mana well. My body was well toned with muscles rippling with energy.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Only then did Alistar deem me fit to learn a set of basic spells. The first was a body enhancement spell that allowed me to channel mana into my arms or legs to give me a boost of strength for a short period. Normally this would cause extreme damage to the mages body after it wore off, but my body was now used to mana coursing through it. I would still end up sore and exhausted, but atleast I wouldn''t sustain an injury.

    It had a short casting time, that allowed for quick use and only used a extremely small amount of mana. I found this spell extremely useful in my physical training and I used it to get some revenge on my teacher.

    The next spell I learned was a basic fireball spell that conquered up a fireball the size of my fist and launched it at my target. This one took a second or to to cast and I had to be standing still to do it. Its destructive power wasn''t that great but it would still work in a pinch.

    The last thing I learned wasn''t really a spell. It was how to control the artifact bonded to me. All I had to do was move mana through my body to my palm and have something I want to will away into a dimensional storage. To bring it back out all I had to do was channel the mana back into my palm and will it back out. If there wasn''t enough mana to bring it out it would destroy the object so I had to be careful. The larger the object the more mana I needed to warp it back and forth. In the beginning I started working with coins and began to work slowly towards larger objects. By the end of the year I was able to store objects the size of a large chest, but even then I had to be focused and careful.