2 Curious Fate

The next day the whole village was a strange place place to be. The mood from the previous night to the frosty morning was like the difference between black and white. All the families had yet to recover from the shock seeing their own people cut down and hunted like prey.

Most had yet to even process the massacre, let alone pay mind to one who saved them.The mood was solomn, to say the least. Very few people had slept that night, however a certain youth had a very different reason for staying awake. Casious, now set on his path, had no rest as he reviewed both the tragedy and the epic confrontation between the powerful entities in his mind.

His determination coupled with frustration, excitement, and wonder at the mysteriousness of the nature of the Hero's powers and fear and disillusionment at the helplessness of his people. To him, to call the man a hero was the least of what he deserved, and yet, he wasn't so sure the others would share his views on the man.

Especially his grandpa, who looked at the man as if he where an even bigger monster than those bladed creatures who had hunted them like rabbits. Yet he knew without a doubt that the man had saved all of their lives and requested nothing in return. What other trait could define a hero?

No matter where he went everyone was so frightened that they had lost touch with reality, slipping into a daze of denial and fear. Needless to say, they where in no mood to talk at all. Frustration bubbling up he had the urge to scream at them, tell them to wake up and start fixing their problems. But he knew nothing would come of it except resentment. Thinking back, the only reason he had such a clear state of mind was his determination to change and get stronger.

Otherwise the next time something like those creatures comes it won't be one or two lives lost, it will be the whole village that dies. But not everyone took what he did from the tragedy last night. He could barely contain his fear even after the hero had departed. Only his drive to get stronger gave him the guts to face it. If he had it that bad, he could only imagine the state of mind they must be in.

Despite his newfound understanding, he still couldn't help but find it pathetic as he looked on the once busy people doing nothing but feel sorry for themselves. They are so deeply bothered by their weakness, and yet they do nothing about it. Growing tired of the toxic atmosphere he decided to take a walk, only time and their own efforts could help them now.

However the atmosphere of the village only served as a reminder of their sorry state. A deep and pervasive silence peirced through the town, he almost couldn't believe Ordinarily just yesterday there where hundreds of people hard at work fixing houses, selling crops, and crafting various things such as medical concoctions for lyyns at the the market. Yet as he walked through town it seemed as if every resident actually was slaughtered last night. There wasn't a person in sight.

Unnerved by the complete state of empteyness, he was tempted to return inside. But just then he came to a realization 'no one has taken a step outside of their homes since yesterday, that means... ' He began walking south, twords the back of the village. Eventually he came upon the fields his family tented to in the summertime, it was exactly as he had thought. Based on the noises he heard yesterday, the majority of the battle took place right here.

He felt his chest tighten with anticipation. Flashes of fear passed though him as his eyes devoured the scene before him. At least fifty of the monsters that assulted his village lied dead in the feild. He had only ever seen them from a safe distance though his window. But this... the creatures faces where visions of rage and their bodies were mangled beyond recognition.

Their torso's, which closely resembled humans where terribly damaged. It looked like each of their bodies had caved in some place or another. They must have all been killed by a single blow. 'Amazing, We could only sit and watch as they killed us, yet they could only do the same when someone truly strong came along' He examined the blades of the closest one.

'It looks like the swords uncle Jarron makes at his forge, but its blade only runs along one side, and it's color is crazy red' The blades extend out just after the elbow, some even had them for legs. 'How could they move so fast while balancing on blades?'

He walked arround the battlefield examining each corpse closley, hoping to find a clue about the nature of the man's power. Each one was killed by a massive impact to the stomach or chest, the man's strength had to be beyond human. Every organ in their bodies had to have been completely destroyed by the force of his blows.

Seeing he wasn't getting anywhere, he worked up courage to shift the closest body. Careful not to touch the blades he tuned the creature over. 'Damn thing is heavy' he thought. Finally he looking into it's eyes. 'Just like a cat's, what are these things?' He wondered. The yellow orange eyes stared sightlessly into eternity, unaware of the watch full youth pondering their nature.

On a closer inspection he noticed that they where terribly blood shot, the veins in his eyes seemingly reaching for it's irises with desperate hunger. Casious couldn't tell if it was the result of the force from the man's blows or if it was the natural state of their eyes. With more questions than answers he turned to check the other corpses

Before he could even take a step, his blood ran cold. Most days, when he's this close to home even the loudest sounds couldn't coax a reaction out of him. Yet the subtle crinkle of dead leaves no more than a couple places away from sent him into full shock. Paralyzed with fear he felt that the moment turned around would be the moment he died.

No amount of mental conditioning could prepare him for the reality. In end experience and theory will always by miles apart. Fueld by a surge of adrenaline he mustered the courage to turn and face the source of the noise. With that single motion he found himself looking into the eyes of a monster.

He could only shiver as he stared into eyes that regarded him not as a person, but as prey. Those where the eyes of a hunter driven by an instinct to kill and consume. Ironically the most inhuman thing about those yellow slitted eyes was the intention that lay behind them. He watched as the intent in the eyes changed from kill to something unknown, something far scarier. He recalled seeing those eyes before, right before the hero came. But this time there was no hero. Just him and a monster.

He knew that if he moved and inch, the creatures instinct would be to kill him. He was desperate for a way to escape the situation, It could be anything, as long as it worked. Finally he managed to tear his gaze from those frightening eyes. 'The creature' he realized, 'its dying'. It's left side was caved in, the crater was so deep it nearly peirced through its body.

At first he felt hope, then fear. 'If it can survive that massive dent in it's side, then there's nothing I can do that would even bother it' . Suddenly the red began to drain from the creatures arms, the color drained from the blades tip to it's base, leaving only a dull grey behind. As it drained the creature slowly opened it's mouth and stream of red flowed from inside the creature into a single point, floating just outside the dying monsters body.

As the unknown substance let the creature he noticed two changes taking place. It's eyes slowly lost their cat like characteristics and become closer the eyes of a human. What was even more terrifying was the look pain and fear on the now human face, along with sorrow and determination. What truly scared him, was the ominous feeling that the man's fear wasn't for himself.

By the time the man's face was fully his own, the crimson substance had finished it's transformation, taking on the likeness of an eight sided gem in the shape of a diamond. It began spinning as it remained suspended in the air, It's four edges gleaming with an unnatural sharpness. Suddenly the broken man's face contorted, his eyes incredibly focused. Even as he stared death in the face, casious couldn't help but admire the look in the man's eyes.

With the look of a hero on his face, the man died. Just as he passed, a flash of purple flew from his forhead into the still hovering gem. The gem stopped spinning. It's red surface slowly becoming tinged with purple. Suddenly, before he even had time to blink, the crystal flew point first into his chest. Unable to even draw breath through the pain, he fell into a comfortable darkness