Begin Anew - 2

[Sabrina pov]

A view split between bars of a prison. A helmet made out of the strongest steel known amongst our kind. Tempered for days within the furnace. And garnished with symbols and talismans that grew it even greater in strength.

A forced garment. Placed in the way of my view. Promised, by many and even myself, to block a blow created by even the greatest of masters.

Yet I scoffed at that claim. Knowing that they would find something as weary and worn as my helmet. Nothing more than scrap metal amongst their battles.

Not till now. Amongst the great ear splitting blasts of power. Created with such speed and energy that I could barely react. Pulling my given shield in front of that already split prison.

Hoping against hope that I would survive intact. And even then. The wind that broke through my hastily placed defense.

Who poured energy within the ground, redirected from its original goal. It broke through the stone with but a touch. Splintering the road below me into pieces.

My structure… my grip upon that ground. It grew weaker and weaker. And that burst of energy. Redirected upon my shield.

It split the ground even further. My feet holding tight to their grip. As I was taught, remembrances of ear splitting training, suffering where even hell was preferable.

I gave a silent prayer to her. Knowing that without guidance I would have fallen. My hand, the same one gripping tightly to the shield. She would have failed, nails biting into the rest. A death befitting a coward… a weakling.

I thanked. I prayed. Knowing the fate that would befall me without that harsh guidance. And as the slash reached the wall, the energy reaching past my shield, redirected with such effort that even my forehead broke into sweat.

Salty tears that splintered down my face. Down past my nose and into my mouth. Where I swallowed. Rather… if it was willing or not… I would beg to know.

A prison of bars. That helmet forged within the greatest and harshest of conditions. Turned to slag as it was forced from my face. Not before it blocked the full force of a hand. Poised to kill me in that one moment of weakness.

Revealed to the world. My hair, golden braids that split amongst my back. A swirl of hair matted against the iron armor taught against my body.

A taste of copper. As that split amongst my eyes dripped down past and into my mouth. Death. A fear I had long conquered. Yet it came back with a vengeance. Biding its time through my life, waiting for its opportunity.

My pink tongue reached from the confines of my mouth. Licking at my lips and taking in that coppery blood. Blood that had fallen past my lips and down my chin. 

Strength left my knees. For surviving just that one blow, it took upon me all my energy, all my blood and sweat to merely survive that one attack.

What was I to do but fall to my knees. Yet still, there was an ultimate determination within my eyes. Setting one foot after the next. Holding to my own sword with both hands.

My will ignited into being. Blue flames that consumed my sword. Reinforcing it with both the strength and tenacity of a raging inferno.

Again and again. Foot after foot, inch after inch. I crawled forward. Vision blurred from the sweat and blood that poured from my forehead. Gashes created by the mere debris and aftermath of my captain. Of that monster.

So as the fight began anew, her blade pushed heavily against that rough skin of his. A slash of energy that sent her sprawling back. 

I took upon myself every ounce of energy… and more beyond that… gathering it into one strike. Putting foot after foot. All to gather upon the world one last chance.

Memories of my captain. Of her gracious attitude as she dragged me from the depths of absolute depth and within her arms. 

Of the countless times she had saved my life at the risk of my own. Those supple lips as she spoke for me. Against me. A sister.

And so I gathered every ounce of strength.

Letting it fly with but a thought. Knowing that with this push. This very attack. That it would not be enough.

For even given my life. This creature would not die, a will amongst its own that reacted to my hostility. To that desperation that drove me forward.

A poignant green. A mere swipe that brought forth the spikes upon the back of that creature. Its malignant mouth glowing that same color. Bringing forth a beam of energy.

Different from its claws. This time… it glowed with such power and ferocity.

Recognizing the threat and preparing appropriately. And so… a twist of his attention was all the warning I was given. For that action. The glow of its spine that signified its growing ferocity.

A warning given and none taken. Where once I stood. Instinctual in power. I turned and threw that gathered energy towards the beast.

I threw that molten slag of a shield… slag that had clung to my arm despite how far it had melted. Even then it was a disturbance. Weight that could be cast with but a thought.

Such a thought was all that was needed. Thrown to the side. A brief side-eye by that creature as it stood still for one last motion.

And so it connected. 

An echoing roar. One that screeched to the heavens. A roar so powerful and… and… distinctly human. Like a girl raging through her first injury. Trading blows with another as she was forced to the brink of death.

A roar that combined the savage nature of those creatures, tainted in their very souls, with such a human emotion.

I tried to roll it through my ears. Let it flow from my mind like the wind would breeze past my garments.

Yet that sound stuck within my mind. Knowing that it was the last cry of that boy. Who had given himself willingly to such a monstrosity. A tragedy like no other.

And a tragedy so similar.