Chapter 3: The Most Damned

Leaving the brothel, I gleaned no useful information on Jin Liwoth's whereabouts from the elven courtesan. The bustling streets teemed with life beneath the blood-hued night sky. I navigated the nocturnal market, where traders and merchants from myriad planets and realms peddled their wares. A sudden, forceful tug on my red cloak, which concealed the dark armor beneath, arrested my progress.

I turned to face a peculiar crone, her wild, black curls obscuring her eyes. She leaned heavily on a gnarled wooden cane, her face a landscape of deep creases and swollen cheeks. "You are damned," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Indeed, I am most damned," I conceded. She stared at me in silence, and in that protracted pause, time seemed to stretch endlessly. Finally, she pointed towards a massive clock tower, uttering, "Blood is what you seek, blood is what you'll find."

I glanced at the tower and, when my gaze returned to her, she had vanished. With her hobbled gait, how could she have disappeared so quickly? Dismissing the odd encounter, I focused on the tower, suspecting that the vile elf might be hiding there. My ruby ring growled ominously, and a searing pain coursed through my spine, fueling my determination for the approaching bloodshed.

Navigating the thronged streets, I ascended a cobblestone path that belied the wretchedness of the godforsaken city. The architecture was a marvel to behold. Climbing a grand flight of stone steps, I arrived at a blackened gate guarded by stone gargoyles perched atop the clock tower. "How delightfully macabre," I muttered.

My ruby ring grew hot, its searing heat penetrating my bones as it demanded, "Feed us." Pushing open the massive steel doors, I entered the pitch-black chamber, my surroundings concealed by darkness. The ring's pain pulsed within me, fueling a singular, blind determination. From above, I heard the muffled cries of a young woman. Ascending the spiral staircase, the cries grew louder, accompanied by a man's voice: "Quiet down, I'll make this quick for you, darling." The voice was all too familiar.

Reaching the top, I faced a door beyond which I sensed Jin's excited breaths and racing heartbeat. "Filthy rat," I whispered, unsheathing my sword and grasping Dream Ender in my other hand. I kicked the door open, revealing Jin and three other men. Two were pale-skinned, white-haired elves—perfect targets for my wrath. The third was a corpulent, balding man. Jin, his pants around his ankles, stood near an elven woman bound to a wooden table.

"Are you going to let them all have their way with you in front of her?" I snarled. The two elves lunged at me from either side, like twin beams of deadly light. I aimed Dream Ender at the elf on my right and fired, point-blank. His face disintegrated, leaving only a gruesome, fleshy mess as his body collapsed. The other elf froze in terror. Seizing the opportunity, I swung my sword, cleaving his head and bisecting him. His two halves toppled to the floor.

The obese man remained motionless under my piercing gaze. Jin, witnessing the carnage, was petrified. "You're a monster," he stammered, his voice quivering with fear.

"A monster?" I replied, a twisted grin carving its way across my face. "I'm not certain if that's what I am, or even what I've become. But it's you I'm here for." My words dripped with malevolent charm. "What do you want, Leon? Gold? I can give you heaps of it," Jin stuttered, his voice trembling like a cornered beast. The stench of his fear was intoxicating.

"I seek your soul, Jin. I shall offer it to Orphease," I intoned, a tranquil darkness cloaking my demeanor. "Orphease! You made a pact with him? Do you comprehend the depths of your folly? He is not a deity to trifle with, Leon!" Jin's desperation was palpable, almost pitiable. "Now, now, Jin. There's no need for fear. I'll make this swift for you, my dear," I taunted, laughter bubbling up like venom. "Hmm, perhaps not so swift," I reconsidered, as I fired Dream Ender into his left kneecap. The bullet tore through bone, leaving him crumpled on his remaining knee. His cries of agony harmonized with the darkness of the night.

I advanced toward him, my gaze locked on his pleading, tear-filled eyes. As I aimed my weapon at his other knee, the blast rent both of his legs. "Not so swift, darling," I whispered, watching him convulse in pain. "Don't expire just yet, I'm only warming up." I contemplated the cruelty of the world and realized I was no better than Jin, savoring the thrill of taking life while he indulged in other depravities. Were we not cut from the same sinister cloth?

I severed his arms with my sword as he lay limbless in a pool of his own blood. The ruby ring hissed as Jin's demise approached. Lifting my sword, I brought it down upon his throat, decapitating him. His soul was wrenched from his body, consumed by the ruby ring, a euphoric rush surging through my veins—an indelible high. I strode over to the table and cut the ropes binding the girl. She jerked upright, her eyes wide and pallid as if beholding a specter.

"Get dressed and go," I ordered, but she remained frozen, trembling more in fear of me than she had of Jin. The ring growled and hissed, the pain intensifying in my head and eyes. "More," it demanded. "No, not the girl," I gasped, gripping the table as the girl stared, bewildered and terrified. My arm seemed to move of its own volition, clutching my sword. I struggled to resist, but my control slipped away. The blade swung, cleaving the girl's head from her body. "No..." I sobbed as her lifeless form collapsed into my arms. I relished killing, but not like this. Damned, vile, and loathing my own existence, I hated what I had become.

I lowered the lifeless body to the ground with reverence, a profound sorrow welling within me, yet no tears fell. After rummaging through the belongings of the others, I discovered a trove of gold coins—perhaps 500 in total, nestled within satchels. Then, a faint creak from the wooden floorboards caught my attention, and I turned to find the rotund man I had previously immobilized.

"My, my, I nearly overlooked your presence," I said calmly. "Y-yes, sir, I-I won't breathe a word. Jin forced me here. I wanted no part in this," he stammered, pleading for mercy. Perched atop the corpse of a fallen elf, I methodically wiped the blood from my obsidian blade. "Leave," I commanded, my voice icy and unyielding. The corpulent man needed no further prompting, fleeing down the spiraling staircase with surprising haste.

Rising, I retrieved the tablecloth from where the girl had been bound and gently draped it over her lifeless form. I exited the clock tower, feeling as if I had left something vital behind, a numbing emptiness settling within me as the rain began to fall. The raindrops cascaded down my face, cleansing my skin of blood, as I stared into the void of the murky night.

I returned to Marley's as dawn broke, the first light of day slicing through the shadows. Without a word, I tossed two coins to Marley, who understood my request without question. Ascending to my chamber, I sat on the edge of the bed, the girl's face and the specters of Jin Liwoth and his bandits haunting my thoughts, tormenting me like restless spirits in the dark recesses of my soul.

I studied the ruby ring as it constricted my finger, its eternal ember pulsing with unbridled fury. "Why me?" I questioned the ring, but no answer emerged. I contemplated escaping to some obscure reaches of the cosmos, but realized that wherever I went, the ring would bind me in perpetuity, and Orphease would always know my location. A bargain with a god is never prudent, I mused. Mere days ago, I was a forsaken child in a pitiless city. Now, I bear the curse of a thirst for blood and souls to satisfy my so-called deity. "This is not the existence I sought," I whispered, resenting my parents for bestowing life upon me only to abandon me to my own devices. Once, I craved power and gold; now, I yearn for the return of my sanity and innocence.

I removed the oppressive plated armor and reclined in bed, my eyes closing, only to be assailed by the horrors I had wrought with my bare hands. As I descended into sleep, the ghastly dreams of the girl I had murdered played on a loop until I found myself in a fog-enshrouded forest. The trees were twisted and withered, the air chilling. I traversed what seemed an endless path, leading to naught but fog and the eerie silhouettes of trees. As I continued, my footsteps grew hotter, as though something burned beneath the ground. Then, in the distance, a colossal figure clad in black armor and draped in ebony fur stood with his back to me. I recognized him instantly: Orphease, the God of Destruction.

His laughter resounded through the void, his sonorous voice sending shivers down my spine. "Orphease, you have cursed me," I bellowed, my fist clenched, anger ablaze within my heart. Orphease merely laughed, treating my anguish as a jest. "This is art, my boy. You are greater than you were yesterday. I took a broken canvas and painted a magnificent masterpiece," he proclaimed, his words infused with power. As he spoke, a two-headed wolf—twice the size of the already gargantuan Orphease—emerged from the shadows. Its fur was darker than night, its eyes redder than blood. The beast lay down beside Orphease, who gently stroked its massive head. Fear petrified me, but I unleashed my rage. "What are you talking about?" I screamed, unable to comprehend his meaning.

"I don't mind killing the scum and crooks of this world, offering their souls for you to consume, but I cannot abide the murder of the innocent and pure," I sobbed, collapsing to my knees. Orphease's grin widened as he continued to caress the wolf's head. "Do you believe you have the right to choose? To determine who is evil or righteous? You are my chosen, and I am your god. Cast aside your morals, foolish boy. You are more than a mere human. One day, you will lead my army of the damned into battle against gods and mortals who dare defy me," he declared, his words igniting a fire within my very bones. "Battle? Army? I never asked for this. And if I refuse?" I challenged. Orphease rose, his hand leaving the wolf's side as he drew his sword and plunged it into the earth. The shockwave triggered an earthquake, shattering the ground and dislodging the surrounding trees. "Then you shall die, and I will attend to the task myself," he replied. "Now awaken from your slumber. The next time we meet, I expect your demeanor to have changed." With that, flames erupted around Orphease and the two-headed wolf, engulfing them as they vanished in a blaze of infernal light.

For two days, it seemed, I lay in bed, paralyzed by despair and bereft of the will to live. The gentle rapping at the door stirred me from my torpor. "Leon, I'm coming in. I've brought you breakfast—just eggs, toast, and ham. It's all I have at the moment, I'm afraid," Marley announced, his voice a tender balm. Rising to my feet, I met him halfway and took the platter from his hands. "You look like hell, Leon. You've been out for two days. Thought you might have died or something," Marley remarked. "Death would have been the sweeter option," I replied. With a sigh, Marley left my chamber to tend to the inebriated patrons of his inn.

I contemplated whether death might have been the easier choice, but I knew it would be too simple a release, and Orphease would claim my soul in the end. Abruptly, the sharp report of a gunshot from outside the inn shattered my thoughts. I hastened to the window, where I beheld a man's lifeless form sprawled on the ground, and a Space Pirate standing over him. The pirate donned a black hat adorned with a pair of pistols and an embroidered skull, his lengthy mustache curled at each end, rendering his sinister grin all the more chilling. He wore a ruffled shirt and blue coat and trousers, which shimmered beneath the merciless sun. Kneeling, the pirate whispered something to the corpse before rising and making his way to the inn's entrance, his every step oozing menace.

The air crackled with tension as the door creaked open, and the Space Pirate sauntered in, his spurs jangling with every step. His eyes swept the room, scanning the faces of the petrified patrons who dared not breathe, lest they draw the attention of this harbinger of death. My heart raced as I prepared to confront the pirate, my instincts screaming that he would bring nothing but destruction in his wake.