Unfurl (Chapter 3)

My Inspiration for this chapter:

Katatonia - Unfurl

“Time passes...”

The landscape barren.

“...Nothing changes...”

The embrace warm.

“...The world decays...”

The echoed wimpering.

“...You stay the same...”

Silence ensues.

“...And leave me behind every step of the way...”

We stood there in silence for a few minutes, her head buried in my back for what seemed like an age; and me pondering this entire situation. The sudden appearance of a girl buried in my memories and the sudden rush of energy as we seemed to shift our very elemental plane to this barren landscape.

- “Do you remember? Do you?” I smiled and nodded my head in amusement
- “I don’t think you’d forgive me if i did...i still remember the demonic fire that burned in your eyes that day, i could of sworn you were about to kill me...hah now look at you...you can barely keep your eyes open with all those tears...”

she shook her head, rubbing my back with her rough textured hair and continued to whimper into my shirt. I was going to be soaked in tears soon i suppose; oh well...

- “Shut up...just shut up and stay here...”
- “Heh...fine then...”

I began to reminisce, it was a long time ago.... when we first met...back then i had no idea what to do...I had wandered the earth for longer than i can remember. I just woke up one day...the same as i am now, in fact i haven't changed at all since i awoke...I wandered the earth for centuries, just passing through, doing odd jobs here and there; although i never really needed to eat or sleep sometimes i would if only to simply look and feel like a normal human being. At the time i had joined a group of people, they call themselves a cult but i never really bothered too much with specific names. It seemed like they had some good ideas, keeping the streets clean from demons and helping people at the same time, neither of which particularly interested me; but it was something to do. Having lived centuries, simple “life treasures” the others seemed to consume their lives trying to obtain held no interest for me. I knew no reason for which i existed, i knew no point to collecting petty items, i just kept my days filled with work or similar activities that kept me interested long enough before the people i knew aged and died. Some people would probably have called this depressing but i never really thought too much into it, if anything my emotions were a hassle they always used to get me into trouble and get in the way of the task at hand; i wouldn't get rid of them though...I suppose i feel an obligation to try and fit in where i can but at the same time i probably quite easily segment myself and travel alone.
Since i “awoke” centuries ago i was “born” with the knowledge to control almost anything using my mind and body, from the basic elements to people themselves, although i soon formed a seal on most of my powers, feeling it was far too much power to use without being feared and shunned by society; which like i said wouldn’t particularly bother me morally but it would be a considerable hassle to work around.I limited myself to basic control of the elements wind, fire, air and earth; and even then it took significant effort to use any of them.

So anyway i believe i was with the cult of “The 9 Eternal” at the time, i had been tasked with exorcising a demon that had been discovered in a nearby church. Thinking back on it i don’t think i’d ever encountered a “demon” before...i mean i believe in magic happenings; hell i can control the very elements and i am far stronger than any human i have encountered. But for some reason this whole demon concept interested me somewhat, i’d never seen one in all the years i’d wandered the planet, only stories of their aledged power and cunning.
A sort of morbid glee hit me as i took a step out of the horse and carriage onto the old cobbled road, it was dusty – in fact the entire area could probably be described as a desert town, there was dust everywhere and there was almost no one around. The buildings surrounding the church seemed to be really tattered and broken down with holes in the thatching and sometimes there were even some open roof buildings where no one had bothered to replace a roof that fell, if anyone lived there anyway... After ensuring the area was secure i finally got to look at the church. My glances from the carriage had given me the impression it was quite a dark and foreboding place...but with the grimly dark clouds and the deserted town area i would have to say...i was spot on in that assumption. Graves littered the front of the church that seemed to be surrounded by a swamp that had probably grown from the lack of care taken by anyone around. The building itself was a fairly typical church...if a bit tattered it still had the stunning coloured and pictured windows that let no hint onto the interior and the gargoyles looked as cheery as ever; they just sat there looming over the entrance that was undoubtedly built to allow a giant to pass through these doors. This 'architecture' as they call it is a strange thing...not once did i ever consider to involve myself in designing buildings, i never saw anything wrong with the ones normal peoples used but i suppose this christian religion of theirs wanted to make theirs looks so much better because they thought their “god” would be displeased. God...another concept that really didn't interest me, i suppose it was bad seeing as i was about to go “exorcise” a demon which supposedly is spawn of the devil – gods arch rival. But to be honest if they’ve been fighting from beyond the humans time and are still able to interrupt peoples daily lives then surely they have time to fight it out and teach the other one who’s boss. But whatever...
I took a step into the overdecorated porch of the building and the wood beneath my feet creaked and groaned until i began to be particularly conscious of my weight. Ignoring the sudden strange and feminine emotion i continued on and pushed the 10 foot tall door forcing it to open and the locks to break. As i took one step into the church i automatically felt something was off. The rancid smell of rotting flesh assaulted my senses and i had to keel over and empty my stomach back outside in the porch. As i slowly recovered i looked back inside, there was nothing visible, everything was black and i was passively interested in what the insides looked like so i summoned a ball of fire to float above my head. Suddenly however as soon as the ball of fire was willed into existence the entire church erupted into flames. I checked the size of my flame and it could, in no way cause this much destruction...it was barely larger than my pinky finger and didnt go anywhere near the walls...this was interesting...
Then i heard a scream...a scream of horror, of terror and of desperation. The shriek pierced my ears and brought me back to reality, this was probably not the time to be pondering over what caused the fire, it was time to do what i was here to do. I reached under my full length coat,  removed the my runed blade from its sheathe and headed inside.

“This could be dangerous...interesting...”

The Hero's Sorrow (Chapter 2)

My Inspiration for this chapter:

Dissipating Sorrow - FFIX Piano Collection

I'm Not A Hero - Dark Knight OST

Her eyes transfixed on mine.

“I want to know”

A cold stare of desperation.

“I don’t want you to know”

A feeling of transcendence aroused.

“Why not?”

A surge of power ruptured.

“Because To Die Is The Only Way To Know”

Time slows down to meet the flowing tears.

“Better dead than wanting.”

Feelings swirled around inside of me as this surge of emotion began to erupt from an unknown source within my heart. Feeling pain indescribable and joy un-measureable something within me awoke. Its eyes tore open as if they had been sealed shut for some unspeakable crime it had once committed at some point in the passage of time. Immense hatred poured from this creature like fire it twirled and danced – pleading to be heard! To be used! To be released! I clenched down, my willpower my only weapon against such a destructive mental force. As my tears continued to roll down my face time slowed to meet them at the end until everything stopped as if time itself had come to a halt to allow me to recuperate from this outburst.
I looked at the girl; then looked at my surroundings, this was no time to fight amongst me and myself; I knew what had to be done, why she was here, and where it was I had to go. As time unfroze around me I rose to my feet. Slowly but surely I felt power flow into my body from deep within me...from where the beast inside slumbered. It was a strange feeling, a mix of adrenaline and searing pain all combined under one force but somehow it was unbelievably addictive. I craved it, i wanted more but this feeling scared me, the chills ran down my spine as I slowly took control. As I harnessed the hatred under my will my arms welled up surrounded in flame. My eyes began to enflame, it was painless but I felt the tears stop and the power engulf my mind and body.
My name... my name was... Alex? No...that was a name I took on to fit in...no my real name was...Quin...Quin the guardian. I took a step forward; leaving behind my “life” I suppose I would call it, the concept of it anyway. The time I had spent among the rest of humanity for a brief section of time so that I may continue living un-noticed by the cult I once swore an oath to protect; the same cult who threatened my life and the one I cared for the most. Taking another step I threw back my shoulders as my head rose so that my eyes met the girls head on.
She continued to wear her still and serious expression; I knew it far too well. It was the look that denoted love, fear and hatred in one expression. Her eyes shone light blue, a colour not even the heavens could dream to imitate, pulsating with the flow of magic as it swirled within. She rose to meet my stance and staggered towards me. Crackling sounds and snaps of lightning dancing around her and me as our magic flowed freely around the room. The lightning quickly became more intense, the crackling became louder until it felt like I was surrounded by light and thunder. The lightning swirled around us as our eyes remained transfixed; the images beyond the light were blurred as if it was all spinning at an immeasurable speed. Slowly the room faded away as the light grew more and more intense.
The thundering noise was battering my ears but it was getting louder. I steeled my hearing for the impending climax that was almost certain to occur. The girls gaze never broke once, her unblinking eyes penetrated the soul – looking deep, deeper than I would dare; judging me in the harshest and cruelest method I could imagine. Suddenly a huge explosion of sound erupted around me as the thundering became a huge crack, it sounded as if the world could have been split in two by the very force. The whirling light began to slow as a barren landscape came into view. The sky caked with fire and flames and the earth so dry it had a shattered crust. In all directions there was nothing but fire and dust. I looked around me, breaking my eye contact. I turned to take a better look. As I gazed into the distance, like a whisper of movement the girl closed in on me from behind. I felt a warmth around my waist and heard her breathing in my ear. I realised the warmth I felt was her arms, wrapped around me; she squeezed me hard burying her head into my back.

“I missed you...remember me?”