Cultivator of Fear

Upon justly hearing such false conviction, he endeavoured to rid himself of the accusation entirely. Insane– The word left a foul taste in his mouth ever after all, How could he be insane?

A man stood lone with a grass field. Bodies were strewn across it and his black robes fluttered in the winds.

Zheng Xiaowen, his hand stretched like tentacles, incurred his fingers into the deep sockets. His palm found leverage on the leathery patches of skin and cobweb hair that rode down a fine head scalp.

Insanity should be called to those who could not see the entire picture. It is quite the serious accusation to make nowadays, that's what Zheng Xiaowen thought at least. However, some would think it a word to be tossed around carelessly.

Driving his fingers deeper into the eye sockets. His arm venerably flexed and tossed the head like a ball shooting toward its target. The ground. Upon, which it rolled a few dozen times before stopping at a veritable giant pair of shoes.

"Do you think I'm insane also?" Zheng Xiaowen's high pitched whiny voice pinched the sky, "HA– What am I saying? Of course not! Afterall, you would've been in the same boat as me, ha– what an insipid joke."

His perfectly normal eyes fell deeply upon the gigantic man that stood a few dozen heads away. How about him? He looked more crazed and more vile than Zheng Xiaowen, his eyes were– His eyes were perhaps more depraved and more sullen as if Xiaowen were looking upon a wise old man.

The felon spoke slowly, "You're insane." Perhaps a bit slower than an old man taking a nap. As if each word should've been caught with rapid percession within that senile– crazed brain of his. Their golden eyes descended upon the head at their feet, "You've killed such innocent people, do you have no shred of guilt?"

"Innocent– INNOCENT?! Ha– You must– I mean, you think!" Xiaowen paced to the side,his arms rolled like tides in fits of violence then mellowed them just as quickly as they were raised. "That's what you might think but– AHA! They are perfectly and utterly innocent. Not without a shred of doubt and no piece spared to scrutiny and exhumed."

The felon pursed his mouth closed. His hands shifted between white cloth, finding a perch to latch his fingers around the strong leather covered handle of his long blade. The wings of his clothes bogged him down yet his hand slid forward smooth enough to cut a block of stone. Bringing his sword to his side.

"I wish you well in the next life." The felon lips curled themselves into a frown, "Die peacefully."

"Dying peacefully requires that I die." Xiaowen's lips curled, "Wait– You're going to be the one to kill me?" Xiaowen's eyes danced playfully around the felon's figure. Like a jester his figure swayed half hazardly.

Yet, once the felon kicked the ground like a bull and charged. He swayed like an acrobat.

A sword of light zoomed forward and from the acrobats hand a deafening sound of thunder erupted and snapped the sword backward. The felon's charge never stopped, his sword came round like a crescent moon and beat against his lightning quick defense. Lightning bursted. Sword zoomed.

Xiaowen flew while on the ground, his feet taking a brisk retreat from the ground as he leveraged on the giant's knee and pushed away. His arms retracted into clouds as lightning bolts shot toward a well placed thrust aimed for his gut. The Sword swirled about and air cut stone evenly split down the middle.

"Ah Ha. You dare! You really dared!" Xiaowen cackled as he floated backwards. The bullish charge never ceasing, the light sword never retreating. Xiaowen was being pushed backward hard. A justly procession of light and electricity lined themselves about each other as their positions flashed from left to right, always retreating from their original position.

The felon moved to his right, Xiaowen retreated toward the left. A bolt of lightning eagerly snatched at his forearm, but the felon easily alluded with a well placed thrust to the chest and drove their aim off mark. Xiaowen danced to the side spinning like a tornado throwing a sharp low ball bolt at their head.

A slight rise, unphased eyes peered behind energy. A firm step ushered them forward and a complex rising of the wrist pulled their sword toward their face. The strength of the blade captured the lightning within its winged guard and the tip like the tip of a horn seized Xiaowen's chest. Only a drop of blood spewed as his dark robes were punctured.

Xiaowen's lips fainted and twitched. "Ah Ha…" His body ceased wishing to be deathly still. Yet, his body flew away, throwing himself to the left and to the right. The bull followed closely, his sword hacking and pistoning away. The lightning tossed itself in front of the light blade. The ground shuddered under the breaks of energy that tossed itself into the ground.

"Give up." The felon softly spoke, "You're only making things harder for yourself." He pivoted his waist and waves of light ran itself through the air and climbed onto the backs of his shoulders. His sword cut into Xiaowen's shoulder, just as Xiaowen twisted away and raised a barrier of electricity in front of him.

"Shut up!" Xiaowen roared as he felt his barrier falter. The beginnings of fear began to work into the eyes of Xiaowen, a curious jolt of the unfamiliar substance joined its way to his lips and they curled with unnatural unease. Was he going to die today? After that serious accusation? How could he let that happen.

They swarmed backward uniformly, the sword came from every direction, Xiaowen pulled along the electrical barrier around himself, the electrical barrier and the sword withheld each other back. A thin line of electricity, like the thread of spider silk kept the sword at bay.

The sword swept forward and then swerved downward into the ground like a pole, the ground beneath their feet shook and shivered as it split down the middle. The lightning barrier became useless as light erupted from the ground like a spilling volcano. Xiaowen's eyes faltered and his body twisted unnaturally as it left the ground turning to the side mid-air as he narrowly escaped his fate.

The craze in Xiaowen's eyes suddenly refocused as A torrent of electricity revolved around him and as it reached the ground spat forward like a geyser. The felon merely pulled his sword back and an iron like light wall shuntered the assault. His feet never stopped for a second as he pulled himself to the side and with an angel-like roar slammed his hand down. His crazed face crumbled like a stone wall.

Sunlight burst from his hand and a beam of light centered on Xioawen's chest. At once, Xiaowen closed in with a firm twist of his body and a crooked bolt of lightning firmly took into his hand thrusted toward their throat.

The felon cracked his sword upward just in time to reflect the blow.

"You're pushing yourself too hard." The felon suddenly regained his composition. Panting from exertion, Xiaowen's brow faltered slightly then he spun his hips mid-air and side kicked their head. The felon placed one hand on the sword and raised his other to flex next to his head.

"You're not going to win." The felon spoke more easily, "Your blood is still leaking…"

Crimson stained Xiaowen's dark robes as he floated to his feet, his lips parting and closing quickly. "You– You really got me– my chest." Cold sweat ran down his cheek, "I didn't– How could you. You bastard…"

"This is only what you deserve." He answered, "Have a peaceful afterlife."

Xiaowen's knees folded as his calm eyes faltered into the crazed and deranged the felon in front of him exhibited. He opened his mouth and blood poured down from it like a fountain, just as his chest began to pour a waterfall.

His body fell heavily… onto the ground.

…

His eyes were cracked. His head erased itself as if to meditate quietly among the darkness. "I've died." Two saucers made their way across the dark plains– now they pointed deathly close– the rather quiet procession– and like ants ran themselves across him. Quietly they went to work.

"Hphm…" A snort came from the saucer, as if discontented by an unwanted guest, "This one can't be accepted forward, throw it down, throw it far, I don't wish to see it again."

Then it quietly wrapped a pitch black tentacle around it as if to first carefully hug it and then another looped transferring a hug into a squeeze, then as they wrapped round more and more a vice-like grip.

Then Xiaowen was thrown away and into a blinding light.

…

His head sprung into life, his eyes uncracked itself and like an unshackled ship roamed his surroundings. The first thing he could see was a rotten wooden ceiling board as if the wood could've been centuries old.

His eyes focused further and saw beyond it a small little light that came from the wooden wall, dirt and waste clinging to the floor and its stench stomped into his nose. Xiaowen wished to pull his hand immediately toward his face but he couldn't feel it, only the phantom image of it coming toward his face.

He twisted his chin to the side, his arm completely fine and also perfectly there. Except, he couldn't move it no matter how hard he tried. He tried the same with his other arm and found the same problem.

His eyes teased his surroundings. His body failed to move, but his mind was sharper than ever, perhaps more so than before.