Prologue

"Those... BASTARDS!

I won't forgive them...

I WON'T EVER FORGIVE THEM!

Damn them, damn them, DAMN THEM ALL!! I'll exterminate them all! Debowl them, liquefy them, crush them slowly, rip them limb from limb, bathe in their screams and their blood! I won't let them get away for this!

Not for what they did- not for how they--"

A sob, ripped from the coldest, darkest depths of my soul, cut off my tirade, cut me from my final tie to my anger, to my morality, and I could no longer hold onto the last thread to my heart. I could no longer prevent my fall.

Not when the warmth that bled from my cherished champion coated each cold inch of my body in a burning crimson.

Killing those bastards wouldn't be enough. They would suffer. An eternity of agony would only be the beginning. They'd get a taste of my agony. They'd get it tenfold.

"My dearest champion..."

My heart felt empty as I whispered to all that remained of him. Blood and burnt flesh, the mithril collar he'd worn so proudly melted into tarnished skin. It broke my heart to see.

"We shall meet again... the stars will it, as do I.

So next time, my love... let us never part again, lest our souls be torn in two."

Perhaps when you had many it could be considered to be broken by the loss of only one. Yet what life could live without part of its soul? What being could ever hope continue after a loss such as this?

Even if just one soulmate out of many, the bond was absolute. Such was the way I designed it to be.

Even if it hurt, I could not regret that.

"Sleep well, my darling..."

I gave my final whisper, wishing and hoping for my love to reach his soul, to cross to where not even the great I could.

It was time for the massacre.

Only one order, one word, would be needed for darkness to swallow this world I had once held dear.

"Begin."

It answered my call willingly, eager to serve despite the harm to itself, "Executing commands, generating artificial souls... successful. Generating artificial personality... successful. Granting skills... successful. Creation completed, moving onto second task.

Executing Operation..."

...

"Successful."