Coalescence

I kneel in a ceaseless downpour of torrential rain, awaiting my death. Powerful water from the heavens that should be capable of washing away my pain instead brings more. My vision is tinted with crimson and the once peaceful town looks like hell. The nitrogen-cold water feels like fire. Hell Fire. The pitter-patter on my open wounds is piercing me, nailing me to the ground, and the rising water's blood-red coloring makes our deaths more evident.

Mother...

Chop.

I look away. I don't have time to mourn in the face of the executioner. It'll only make it more painful. I close my eyes and focus on my inevitable demise--avoiding the pain of life. Fleeting memories remembered as I make my last one. Happiness I wish I never knew.

Chop.

With my eyes closed, I begin to appreciate the searing rainfall. I feel my tears coalesce with the water and hope that an image of strength can be maintained when I die. It's a futile wish, but if I can prevent the man in front of me satisfaction from my pain, it might give my soul some solace.

Chop.

The sound of a large metal object, the executioner's axe, reverberates in my ears. It grates unbearably against the stone pathway. Against the lives of Providence. My town. It grates in my bones, until it abruptly stops.

Thump, thump. My heart wildly beats to the rhythm of the executioner's boots.

With a burst of adrenaline, my eyes open to see the axe swinging over my head. The clean and painless death that I seek awaits me, but my body betrays me and I lean to the left.

Grasping a few more seconds of oxygen.

Chop.

In horror, I see my right leg completely detached. An impossibly clean cut separates my thigh and my calf. I feel an itch in a knee that no longer exists and I begin to lose consciousness. The executioner, an expert in enhancement magic, is able to easily sever not only human bone but also the ground itself. They say the most traumatic pains are the ones you don't feel right away. I feel nothing except my fear. I desperately claw my way away as he slowly lifts the axe to finish the job. I don't want to die. Snot is dripping from my nose and my vision is blurring from my tears. I don't want to die!

But, the only god I know is evil. There will be no savior.

"Do. You. Want. To. Be. Reborn?"

I see two boxes labeled yes and no. As I forsake God, the devil has come to my rescue. My vision blurs, and I look at the executioner's face one last time. He has a metal helmet covering most of his features but a tinge of blonde hair can be seen. Brown eyes... they look teary.

But, I won't forgive you.

Chop.

I see nothing. I feel nothing. All that exists is a ceaseless void. A sense of loss, an infinite darkness.

__________________

I awake in a cold sweat. The surrounding area is an unfamiliar forest. Noises of exotic birds, wind, and rain drown out my thoughts.

"Mom?!" I scream through my exhausted pants.

"MOM?!" I continue to scream.

That must've all been a dream, right? How else am I still breathing? Able to speak? To hear?

Please... Mom, please come and tell me it was a dream.

"Hello." The momentary excitement of hearing a voice evaporates when I realize it isn't my mother. This voice is jarringly robotic and foreign.

I recall the devil's offer.

"What do you want from me?"

... I wait a long time for a response.

"For. You. To. Become. Strong."

My body is shaking uncontrollably. I'd like to believe it's from being unguarded in the cold rain, but I'm afraid. So many questions appear in my mind, and they're all masked by my insurmountable fear at this moment. I'm not strong, but...

"You already have my soul. Make me strong." I don't know what came over me, but my words have a tinge of conceit like I deserve the strength of this devil.

This time the voice replies instantly.

"I. Gave. You. The. Power. To. Respawn. You. Will. Not. Die. I. Will. Guide. You."

Respawn? This must be the power of rebirth I experienced.

At this moment, everything before my death begins to flash through my mind. The experience of death itself is embedded in me. My body that should be completely deprived of life has blood coursing through it rapidly. I scream and cry. On the verge of consciousness, my body shakes violently. I recall the fear. The fear of dying. A fear I'll certainly become accustomed to soon.

Then for an inexplicable reason, I begin to laugh uncontrollably. A crazed laugh overwhelming my tears and fears. I remember the executioner.

I recall the final appearance of my mother. Her sweet smile contrasted by disheveled hair and a broken body. Until her body couldn't move anymore, she struggled to protect me. I remember her broken legs and her arm reaching out to me as she died, as if drowning and gasping for air. I looked down at her mutilated corpse as she faced me and let out her dying breath, "Fight." I watched as the executioner's axe came down and bisected her face as she uttered that single word. Sadness, regret, and hate all filled my bones at the same time. How could I fight and end up like you? How could someone so strong fall so easily?! How could I give up?

I thought I resigned myself to death, and perhaps I did, I died after all. But, I'm still here and I haven't given up. I have the power of rebirth. The power for revenge. The power of a devil.

"Mother, I will fight."

But power comes at a price.