Chapter 2: War
Walking around the place, not noticing how long i have been in this place. Everywhere i go, there were mirrors to my left and right. I looked up and also saw mirrors. Pretty much concluding that there were only mirrors in this place. Simple reasoning really; I looked far off into the distance and saw mirrors as far as i can see.
At times when i took a peep at the mirrors, i saw moving images. Some mirrors had images portrayed in different themes. Themes were like a knight slaying a dragon to save the princess while some had a party of heroes fighting a powerful demon.
With every mirror, it contained a different story to tell. All the same in appearance yet never the same in contents.
It was a bit strange truth be told. Because for every mirror I came across, i saw that it held the most fantasy-like stories. It wasn't all unicorns and rainbows, unfortunately. The most heartbreaking thing I saw was that of a man standing in a city of ruin.
The image of a man standing within the ruined city was a little saddening. Encased in a pitch-black suit of armor with an axe held in his right hand while on the other, well there was no weapon held. Because there was nothing to hold it.
His back was like an impenetrable fortress built to protect, his immense pressure making me feel like a mountain was on my shoulders. Yet now as he stood there, i felt that it was cracking.
In contrast to that image, I stared off into another mirror telling an entirely different story. I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me but i think that the being in the image has wings.
Pearly white wings that seemed so pure of any taint and damage.
Another difference was that his back wasn't turned to me. And now i can clearly see his entire appearance. I had to rub my eyes to make sure that i was seeing clearly because of how perfect it is.
He wore golden armor that was akin to that of the sun, a face so beautiful that it seemed like the gods sculpted it themselves. Ocean blue eyes deeper than the ocean itself with a kind and gentle smile fitting for an angel.
Adding to that, he looked like he had the power to match. On his right hand was a sword blazing in holy fire. Almost blinding if i look at it directly too much.
He was, by any stretch of the imagination, Perfect.
Like he was the embodiment of what perfect looked like.
It would have been almost too perfect, if it wasn't for his blazing sword pointing down at something with his gaze focused on it. The image was ominous by also considering his gentle smiling face.
Suddenly, i felt the temperature rise when i saw the man, mostly likely an angel, staring back at me. There was a slight shock in his eyes when he saw me, and in the next, it turned into that of amusement as if he realized something.
His mouth moved like he was trying to say something. But before i could read into it more, the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces as it fell to the ground.
I stood rooted in my spot with utter stupefaction. Before i could react, the mirror reformed and was back in its original place as if nothing happened. I looked closer and noticed that the image was replaced.
A sudden feeling arose within me. Feeling as though something was summoning me to it. Without resisting, i went closer and reached out my hand, and the moment i touched it, my vision went dark.
Without a moment's notice, i was in the middle of a battlefield. I gazed up into the sky and saw massive fireballs flying across the air as it intended to hit their targets. Some of them succeeded and proceeded to scorch rows upon rows of swordsmen and magicians.
While some of them were defended against and countered with another ball of fire to be thrown against the enemy. I looked around and saw that soldiers clad in armor were charging against the enemy.
Horror filled my being as i saw that the enemy they were fighting against wasn't humans. They were emanating evil, filled with only the desire to wreak havoc upon their surroundings. Their every scream and swing of their weapons evoke a sense of wanting more murder and blood.
Pure fear washed over me and I wanted to run in the opposite direction, almost to the point of desperation. And yet for some reason, i was made to watch. I felt my body become frozen stiff, refusing to heed my command.
My mind became blank as despair overtook me. It heightened when i saw that a massive fireball was thrown in my direction. The position i was currently in was dead center as its blast radius.
Seeing that i was unable to do anything, i closed my eyes as i felt the hellish heat emanating from the fireball. The feeling of being swallowed by something made its presence known throughout my body.
And yet for some reason, i still felt that i was alive. Not dead. I opened my eyes for a little bit and saw that i was still in the middle of the battlefield. Still very much alive.
Shocked by this revelation, i thought of why it was so when a gust of wind by passed me. Looking over, i saw that it was a man wearing a full suit of armor.
He rode a white stallion as he traveled across the battlefield reaping the lives of demons wherever he goes. Every part of his body was covered in blood except for his face. His armor was stained with either the blood of his enemies or his own.
Yet judging by how easily he was slicing the rampaging demons made me realize that it probably wasn't his blood. He got off his horse and stood tall against the overarching enemy.
He turned his back against the approaching enemy, letting me see what he looked like. Platinum blond hair, clad in pristine silver armor now covered in blood, along with his sword that gave a person a sense of holiness to it.
But his appearance was kind of strange. It was because his face was…blurry? I don't know why but his face blurred out as if it was erased by an eraser. Like something was hiding it from my eyes.
Nevertheless, i ignored it for now and paid attention to him. He seemed to be the commander of the army since he began a small speech.
"Brothers and sisters, today we shall fight. We shall fight for everything that is good. We shall stand against the encroaching evil before us intending to destroy our home. So fight with me, let us battle against the despicable demons that slaughtered everything that we knew and loved. This here will be our final stand against everything that is evil, for the light of day will eventually shine upon us. Victory!"
He turned his back as the army of brave soldiers passed by him, colliding against the enemy headfirst. Limbs flew and waves upon waves of soldiers died in front of him yet he did not move.
Standing there, he continued gazing upon the battlefield. All of a sudden, i was transported above the middle of the battlefield overlooking every single part of the battle going on. I saw soldiers rushing against the demons while the demons were ripping apart the soldiers like paper.
Some of the soldiers managed to kill a few demons yet they were promptly replaced and they in turn were killed. While all of this was going on, the blond-haired warrior didn't move an inch from his spot. Something was off about him. Something wasn't right.
Despite the inspiring speech he gave, he gazed into the battlefield with an indifferent expression. Like he was watching something completely unrelated to him. The cold look in his eyes, as he watched, proved my point even more.
All of a sudden a demon appeared in the middle of the battlefield. The difference with this one is that he completely gave out a different sort of aura. With other demons, they gave a feeling of crazed slaughter.
Yet the demon overlooking the battlefield was completely different. Like he was a different species altogether. But his appearance was almost human-like, but I can tell he was still a demon.
Because judging from his skin being bloody red, the rows of skulls hanging from his waistline, as well as his massive height and size, dwarfed every other demon by comparison. He was definitely a demon.
He had a massive axe hanging behind his back as he emanated an aura of pure destruction and death. In contrast, he had an indifferent temperament. Keeping an indifferent expression, he began approaching the blond-haired man step by step.
It was like he was taking a stroll in the city. Yet every time a soldier approached him, he didn't even look at them and pulverized them with one arm without stopping his pace. It happened a few more times until the demons and soldiers fighting began making way for him to walk.
In no time he reached the blond-haired man as he was already within arm's length. Yet the two didn't make any subtle movement. They stood there eyeing each other when the blond man spoke.
"So you came Belial."
The demon supposed to be Belial nodded. Despite the lack of response from the demon named Belial, the blond-haired man kept talking.
"That is indeed a surprise, i mean my reasons are fairly justified. Aren't you supposed to be sieging a fortress of another empire by now? What, their skulls aren't shiny enough for you to collect?"
In a mocking and playful tone, he gazed at the numerous skulls decorating Belials' waistline, some were human while some were from other species unknown to me. Yet throughout that, there was no trace of fear on the blond man's aura.
He stood resolute and tall against the abomination of a demon called Belial. While Belial seemed to just gaze at the man that was barely up to his chest. He didn't want to converse any further it seemed as he started pulling out his Axe in a slow, and terrifying manner.
The blond man saw it but didn't seem to have minded it. He continued looking at the demon with apparent arrogance and conceit in his eyes, acting as if the demon in front of him was nothing more than an ant.
Once Belials' weapon was fully pulled out, he gripped it with both hands and without warning, slammed it down against the blond warrior as if he wanted to pulverize the man in front of him
A cloud of dust rose when his axe made contact with the man, yet the expected burst of blood and guts was nowhere to be found. When the dust settled the battle between the two became clear.
There was a slight shock on my part when I saw that the blond man successfully blocked the axe pulsating with murderous intent. Not like the demon gripping the axe with both hands, the blond man only defended by gripping his sword with one hand.
The axe was only a few centimeters from his face, and yet there was still no trace of hesitation and fear on his part. He then said.
"Anyways, good talking with you Belial. You can die now."
He deflected the axe away from him and swung his sword at the demon's throat, intending to cut his head off with one go. The demon didn't block his attack and instead cleared some distance between them.
The blond man saw it and didn't let him get away, he closed the distance between them and swung his sword one more time. And this time Belial responded in kind and so their two weapons clashed.
Sparks flew as their weapons collided again and again. On the surface, not one of them had an advantage as it seemed that they were both equal, and yet if i looked closer, and somehow i realized, that the battle was actually on the side of the swordsman.
It continued as their fight raged on, everywhere they went it became an absolute slaughter. Be it demon or human, anyone that got in the middle of their fight was killed and even if no one interfered, their mere battle in a huge war was enough to cause disastrous damage on both sides just from the shockwaves of their fight.
What to do…