1 The End

This story starts near the end or should I say an ending, one of many to come. The protagonist, William Creed is sitting in a cell awaiting execution, a justifiable end for the man he was. Now I don't want to misrepresent who the man was or what kind of person he really was so I'll now offer a little background on his life. William Creed was born the bastard son of a blacksmith and abandoned at an early age. It was surely by the grace of some god that he managed to survive at all and even I don't clearly know how it happened but nevertheless he survived only to resurface 7 years later as a poor beggar. Sadly Will wasn't much for begging, he was too strong willed to ask for much and received nothing in turn. This ultimately led to a life of crime, originally a petty thief he would tangle with the law several times before falling in with a gang at the age of 13 as a common thief. Two years later he became a thug and a bruiser, despite his now ungainful employment he chose to maintain his lifestyle on the streets offering his ill-gotten gains to the cities beggars. In the following years Will worked his way up the ranks and ended up leading his own crew at the age of 25. It was at this point he ended his homeless lifestyle buying a large plot of land that would become the Creed orphanage. Now while Will cared for the less fortunate he was also amazing at his job, namely violence within 3 years he had the local gangs under his control and had enough clout to practically control the city. Will spent the next 20 years increasing his power and influence until he became the criminal kingpin of the Empire. In this position he set up numerous schools and orphanages to help kids attain a better future. However it all ended 5 years later, years of poor living conditions caught up with Will sapping him of most of his strength at the age of 53 it was at this point his underlings betrayed him taking control his criminal empire and sending him to rot in prison. That's how he ended up here waiting for death, he didn't live an honest life and in fact killed numerous people while destroying the livelihoods of many others. Despite all that he held no regrets it was life and he lived it, all he wanted was for those kids to have better opportunities than he did. So here we begin at the end of the line.

The sounds of wailing and the scurrying of rats echoed in the distance as a series of loud footsteps approached the cell of William Creed. The guards grin as the one in front shouts

"Oi! Get up, its judgement day"

"Five more minutes mommy"

"Ha, funny one ain't ya"

"It's a talent"

"Well get your talented ass up before I make you"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going, I'm going"

The prisoner stood up revealing a tall figure at 6'3" with graying hair, striking green eyes, and strong features. Despite losing most of his strength to age he was still stronger than the average guard yet he let them take him away without resistance. After chaining up the prisoner both guards sighed in relief.

"Whew, I half expected him to try something."

"Me too, maybe those stories of ol Creed here were exaggerated"

"Hahaha!"

Cries of uncontrollable laughter suddenly erupted from Creed.

"What's so funny?"

"Hahaha"

"Ignore him just an old man at the end of the road"

"Yeah you're probably right.

"It's funny you know? Even now I could probably still escape. I spent my life trying to avoid this and now I can't spare the effort to even attempt an escape. I can't help but be amused by that but carry on oh great guards."

The guards stood nervously for a second unnerved at the sudden outburst.

"Heh heh, he's joking right?"

"Yeah, heh(I hope)"

The guards quickly regained their composure after a few nervous laughs and continued the rest of the trip in silence. After what seemed like an hour Creed and the guards arrived in a large clearing at the city's center filled with crowds of people and a wooden stage surrounded by guards in the center. Two men stood atop the stage, one was a thin pale man dressed in fine clothes and holding a scroll in his left hand while the other was a large axe wielding man with a black hood over his head. Will instantly recognized them as the local constable and executioner.

As the guards neared the stage with Will in tow the crowd quickly went into a frenzy stringing insults and throwing garbage at him. Before being silenced by a single glare from Will seemingly stating "I'm not dead yet". It was at this point it truly set in that each and every one of them was but a short distance from the most dangerous man in the Empire with only chains and a handful of guards between them. The crowd swiftly retreated on all sides allowing Will to walk peacefully towards his demise, a small smile etched upon his face. As they reached the stage Will was escorted towards the headsman's block before willingly placing his head on the block.

After seeing Will submit to his fate the constable began reading from his scroll

"Hear ye, hear ye. We are brought here today to witness the lawful execution of a known criminal in his Majesty's name. William Creed stands accused of murder, theft, assault, arson, bribery, impersonation of an official, …"

As the constable listed his various crimes and charges William's eyes began to wander across the crowd before stopping at a group of children, specifically a little girl in the front. She had long black hair and sky blue eyes, she seemed to be 9 or 10 years old but showed signs of malnourishment and likely appeared younger than she was. As she met his gaze the girl smiled and mouthed the words "thank you". Creed smiled before being brought back to the constable's words.

"It is for these crimes that his majesty has ordered the execution of William Creed. Any last words Mister Creed."

Creed just smiled in response before the constable signaled the headsman and to quote a famous Queen "off with his head".

After his execution the crowd roared in cheers save for a solemn group of children who refused to make a sound. The crowd eventually died away and Creed's body was carted off yet the group of kids remained at that spot until day turned to night and they were forced to retire. What followed Creed's death was a tumultuous period, without him holding the gangs together they underwent a series of bloody power struggles dying the streets red. This would all end 10 years later with the actions of a single woman who would bring peace to her world. Creed however knew none of that, all he knew was that upon his death a voice rang out.

"Congratulations soul, for actions rendered during life the universe has granted you the Legacy System."