All Life Is Sacred

All life is sacred…

Those were the tenets Aksel held onto ever since he was a youth. No, for far longer.

He never hurt anyone—not even animals, no matter the temptation. To him, taking the life of a sentient being was something his soul could not bear to see.

Even though the indiscriminate slaughter of animals was rampant all around him, and he experienced countless violence his whole life, Aksel never allowed his firm belief to get swayed.

In simple terms, he was a pacifist.

… So why?

Why was he currently experiencing this horror?

"Haa… haa…" His breath was ragged as he took in the choking, smoky air into his trembling lungs.

His heart ached beyond compare as his long, blood-stained white hair drooped to cover most of his face, hiding the streams of tears that never stopped flowing.

With blurred vision, he took in the sight before him. He could see the carnage that was wrought upon his entire household as his whole estate was plunged into flames of destruction.

The dead bodies of his stewards and servants littered the courtyard. The pungent, unfamiliar odor of their blood overpowered his senses, pushing him, many times over, to the point of retching.

But he couldn't let out his vomit. Not while staring at the corpse of his family.

His wife was dead, her naked body violated many times before she finally gave up the ghost. She had always been frail, so being tortured so much before her demise was certainly the most merciless way to have treated her pristine body.

His children were dead, dismembered from their fingers up to their arms before finally beheaded. He was there to watch all of it.

"Haa… haa…"

Their bodies hung right in front of him; so he could see and reflect on the reason behind such meaningless cruelty. However, no matter how hard Aksel thought, his mind drew a blank.

"W-why…?"

He couldn't think of a single cause for this heartwrenching carnage.

"Do you see now, you idiot? You should have accepted the bribe when you had the chance. This is what you get for defying us." A bone-chilling tone echoed from behind him.

'E-eh…?'

That was it? The reason for the brutal death of his family, his entire household, and the eventual destruction of all he owned… all of that was due to his refusal to take a bribe?

"The Nine-Headed Dragon Union isn't to be trifled with. This should serve as a warning to any other imbeciles who think they can defy us. Though… I don't think anyone would be as foolish as you."

Aksel's eyes went wide in shock. Despite hearing so many words, he couldn't quite understand them.

He didn't do anything wrong. Taking bribes was illegal. As a vassal of the Northern Emperor, he had sworn not to engage in any unlawful activities.

He had upheld the rules.

Why was he the one being punished for it?

"What a waste, though. If only you had a little bit more sense. To think you couldn't display a little tact despite holding such a prominent position. You doomed everyone here. Tsk tsk. You should have been able to use your head a little." The voice continued to taunt him.

Even after losing everything, why did they continue to torture him?

Both his hands were on the ground already, separated from his body. He could see his teeth lined up on the ground too, and his nails had been peeled off.

He had been beaten to a pulp already and his body was covered in bruises so severe that he was unrecognizable from his previous self.

The only reason he was still alive was because of the resilient body he had achieved due to the remnant effects of his 'Prime Aspect', the treasure of the Nile Household.

Unfortunately, even that was powerless before the might of an Executive of the Nine-Headed Dragon Union.

'Mei… I thought I could protect you and our children from them. I thought I could end this in a way that no one would get hurt…'

But he ended up being wrong. And in the end, he and everyone he loved paid the price for the very same resolve he treasured most.

"Well… this much is enough. I've gotten bored. I'll just kill you now."

~SQUELCH!~

Without any further explanation, a hand dug into Aksel's back. Blood sprayed out, and his heart was ripped from his body.

His body fell to the ground, drowned in the pool of blood that surrounded him. Splatters of the dark red liquid covered his body, and he found himself losing himself to the darkness.

Just like that, Aksel was about to die.

'B-but I didn't do anything wrong. Why…? Why do I have to die? Why did my wife… my children… my faithful servants… my pet… my… my… our… their… WHY?!'

Even as he drew his last breath and completely slipped into the darkness, his question was never answered.

*****

Aksel Nile belonged to the great house of 'Nile', descendants of one of the Ten Heroes who saved the world from the threat of the Great Demon Monarch so many centuries ago.

As a result, his family was forever honored as the 'Vassal' of the Emperor of the Northern Empire. They were blessed with their very own land, where they made the Great Nile Estate and led the people with mercy and favor.

It eventually became his turn, and Aksel also governed the residents of his land with dignity and grace, never once forgetting the virtues he was taught since he was young.

He embodied the ideal of his ancestor, the great Axel Nile.

He got married to the daughter of the Lord of a neighboring Nation, the love of his life, and together they had three children.

Even with all his wealth and success, he was never once conceited. He never harmed everyone since he was young, and even when he reached the height of his power, he did not resort to anything of the sort.

Yes, he obtained the 'Prime Aspect', one of the most powerful 'Aspects' in the Empire, since he was the head of the household. However, he never used it on anyone—at least, not with ill intentions.

Truly, he was a man with both the heart and life that anyone would admire.

Despite all of that though, he met a tragic end at the hands of the growing scourge of the Western Empire; The Nine-Headed Dragon Union.

They were an infamous powerhouse that plagued the other Kingdom, Theocracy, and Republic, and now aimed to expand their authority to the Empire.

Aksel refused their offer, and he paid the price.

He, his family, his household, and his entire estate… everything was razed to the ground.

On that fateful day, he lost everything.

… All because he clung to his righteous resolve.

"All life is sacred… BULLSHIT!"

The lingering thoughts of his heart echoed in the eternal darkness as he succumbed to the jaws of death. All alone, in the cold end that awaited him, he cursed and cried in deep regret.

"What about my life? What about the life of my family? What about the life of the innocents?"

Was all life truly sacred?

Regrettably, the answer came to him a moment too late. The simple answer that stood beyond argument.

NO!

Not all life was sacred.

Life could be given. Life could be taken. Life was unfair. Life was unjust. Life was fleeting. Life was unpredictable. Life was the opposite of what he thought.

There was no sanctity in life.

Now that Aksel was deep in the purity of darkness, he could see the truth for the very first time. The irony eluded him as he realized the truth that set him free.

"There is nothing as cursed… as life."

And with that realization came something—deep and murky, it approached Aksel with a promise.

~Do you want a new life? I can give it to you.~

"What?"

The echo in the darkness sounded like the most repugnant tone anyone could ever hear. It was slimy and disgusting, and it threatened to swallow Aksel whole. Yet, it spoke so calmly and gently… like an illusion, yet a reality.

~I can allow you to return to the past. To restart everything. A new beginning.~

"Why? Why would you do that?" Aksel's voice echoed.

He was scared. But… the hardness of his heart prevented him from showing any kind of fear. It was like he was completely devoid of emotion.

~It will be interesting to see… just what kind of life you will live with this new… revelation.~

Hearing the chuckles of the deep dark voice should have made him tremble to the core, but Aksel had acclimated. He no longer felt the mortal pangs of fear and pain.

He only felt suspicion.

"For what? Why go so far for me? What do you want?"

Silence.

In the eternal darkness, silence reigned. And from that silence came a deep voice that sounded alluring to the ear.

~A simple trade. I will grant you power, and in return, you will give me everything. In essence… all of me, for all of you.~

The price for such a reward was quite steep. However, for a man who had already lost everything, was there really any sense of dread to feel?

He no longer had anything to lose.

No reason to refuse.

"Who… are you?" His final question rang out.

Yet another round of decorum manifested. However, this time it didn't last very long.

As Aksel's soul floated in the infinite expanse of darkness, he could feel something rising from the deep.

Its eye opened, and a bright crimson glow emerged from beneath.

Tentacle-like appendages swirled around Aksel's body, and a massive figure came forth.

Taller than any mountain.

Deeper than the seas.

Larger than the world any man could see.

"I am the most primal aspect known to man. The origin of chaos and discord. The bottomless abyss that swallows all things and refuses to be filled."

The voice seemed everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Human… you are one of the few who never knew me their whole life. Only at the end of your life, when you lost all that was most precious to you did you know my identity. Only in your death did you realize my worth."

Aksel's consciousness expanded, and his soul's eyes connected with the single crimson eye that watched him in the darkness.

"... You know who I am."

Indeed he did.

Only in the very depths of his despair did he encounter the manifestation of this being, and only in his death could he recognize this primordial truth.

It was none other than the ancient Aspect that all men dreaded and exhibited.

The one and only meaning that the world had to offer Aksel at the end of his existence.

The true nature of life.

"You are… EVIL."

*

*

*

[A/N]

And so we begin!

Thanks for reading. I hope you like it.

Support if you want to see more of this work. Thanks.