A Fatal Outcome

  This was nothing like anything Blade had ever gone through. Was he lost, simply spiraling, or trying to reject the reality in front of him? Yet none of it mattered much when his eyes wouldn’t leave whatever was happening in front of him.

  ?“That wretched bitch, trying to break my control.”

  ?Were the words that fell from Rugo’s mouth, yet Blade didn’t know if what he saw could even be classified as intimacy. It simply looked macabre.

  ?“Father… What is happening… stop, please-”

  ?Yet the pleas fell on deaf ears as Rugo's hand shot out, enclosing on her neck and slamming her head back to the floor.

  ?“Shut up, you wench! Of course that damned doctor managed to partially break the curse. Must I do this over and over and over?”

  ?Slamming her head into the ground again and again until the blood began painting the floor with her blood.

  ?Blade understood it was wrong. That this, whatever it was, was everything he was against. Everything anyone should be against, so why was it happening? What happened? There must have been a reason. Some logic explaining this scene.

  ?“There you go, this will all be better now, dear. You will understand, right?!”

  ?Why was she smiling? Was what Blade thought. As when Rugo said his words, a smile began creeping on Scarlet's face, yet why was she so obviously resisting? Fear was written on every corner of her face, yet she began breathing heavier, a blush creeping up her face. Her eyes glazed, as if she were drugged.

  ?“Much better, right? Of course that damn doctor managed to partially break the curse, but no worries now. You enjoy this, right? Enjoy me.”

  ?To Scarlet, the words were a heady mix of intoxicating dominance and the curse forcing intense pleasure in this twisted situation. Her own mind forcefully reverted her state of mind to a child to lessen the psychological effect on her, yet Blade wasn’t as lucky.

  ?His body wouldn’t move, couldn’t move. He didn’t notice as blades began shooting through his body, the pain being the only thing that kept him somewhat sane. They were slow and few at first, only protruding where his skin was the thinnest, yet as the time passed on, things only got further out of control.

  ?“I… yeah love… this is love, right?"

  ?Were the words that fell from her mouth. They were childish and innocent, from someone forced to not understand the gravity, the horror that was befalling them. And it only spurred Rugo on more, making him thrust harder. It was disgusting, it was wrong. And Blade had caused this.

  ?If he never had killed Kis, if he never had accepted the mission. He should have simply been on his way. Why was he saving people if all he caused was pain and death? There was never a reason, so why continue if this was the result?

  ?“Oh, I’m close, now open wide. I’m hoping the next child will be as delectable as you. I’m a bit tired of women, though, so make sure it’s a boy.”

  ?His actions became even more violent with his words, forcing himself deeper.

  ?“Of course, when you have the boy, we will train him up just as obedient as you and your mother. Too bad she tried stopping, though.”

  ?He said, slamming into her chest, as he held her hand almost so they broke.

  ?“Remember that delicious dinner we ate? Wasn’t it so good with all that newly butchered meat?”

  ?Tearing into her arms, causing bleeding, yet Scarlet didn’t understand any of it.

  ?“... am I good, daddy? Are you having… fun?”

  ?Blade hoped this would end. He wasn’t stopping the blood running from the blades sprouting from his body. Didn’t care about the fact his body was painfully being destroyed by the blade. He only wanted it to end. For something to end. If he hadn’t done anything, if he had stayed in his lane…

  ?“Oh yes! I’m so close, tell me how much you love daddy.” Rugo said.

  ?This couldn’t be called love, obsession, or lust. This was nothing but barbaric, animalistic horror in humanoid form, and the words that came as a response only made it worse as Blade heard it.

  ?“Yes… Scarlet loves daddy… daddy is happy? Daddy loves me.”

  ?And the words also caused the height of Rugo's pleasure as they slammed together one last time. What the hell was this? Blood was dripping from her body, but so was another fluid. Blade felt like throwing up, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t hear himself or feel his own touch. Tasted nothing, felt nothing. So when Rugo's lust-filled eyes finally met Blade’s, something ruptured inside of him.

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  ?The area turned into a dust storm, as blades erupted from Blade's dying body and spread across the area, destroying and piercing everyone and everything in the village. Some were large, some were small, all in different shapes and forms, yet the blades continued the path of carnage until Blade’s body fell.

  ?When he eventually woke up, he found himself in an empty field. Standing up, he looked around to see a giant orb floating in the air. He didn’t have any marks on his arm and understood that wherever he was, it wouldn’t allow any others.

  ?With nowhere else to go, as there was sand in all directions, he walked towards the orb. Yet as he took his first step, the ground under him suddenly trembled before shooting up as the orb rose higher into the air, stopping as a mountain formed. A mountain far too similar to the one he had climbed when he first fought Raiden.

  ?Yet when he tried stepping up the mountain, blades shot from his foot. Staggering, he noticed the blades protruding from his right foot, causing immense pain. Yet the weirder thing was the crack he now saw in the giant orb.

  ?Thoughts like where he was and what this place is, were immediately forgotten by how real this pain was. But Blade still couldn’t completely fathom what was going on. If there was one thing he felt, though, it was that if that orb broke, things would end badly for him. With no other choice, he began climbing, taking step after step even as the blades continued to pain him. Yet Blade’s pace became far quicker when another crack befell the orb and more blades sprouted from his body, piercing further up his leg, while his other foot also began sprouting smaller blades. The pain was already some of the worst he had experienced, feeling like he was dragging his own body up the mountain.

  ?The further up he went, the more cracks formed and more blades sprouted from him. By the time he was maybe 60\% up the mountain, all notions of time, distance, and memory had been forgotten.

  ?Sometimes he would stop, questioning why he was climbing. Yet the pain pushed him on. The blades didn’t wait for him to climb, they simply came to make pain and ruin his body. Yet his body and soul wasn’t the only thing being ripped apart, as his mind was fracturing, and before long he felt memories slip. Why was he here? Why was he climbing? What had he been doing before this?

  ?It began with smaller things, yet as the pain grew, so did the value of the memories. Who was the white fox in his memories? Did he have a family? And eventually, after another ruined memory, the question became. What was his name?

  ?He was crawling up the side of the mountain, blades ruining every part of his body. For each cell a blade destroyed, it felt like a sword was being shoved through every nerve within him. Each one causing his mind to scream more with questions he could remember no answers for.

  ?By the time he reached the top, all he had were vestiges of what were maybe memories. He was only a boy. A sad, lonely boy on the top of a mountain never meant for him. His body had given up long ago, his soul screaming for relief, and mind clouded by tormenting shadows of what was once memories. He saw the orb, saw how cracked it was. It mirrored his state, yet each time he felt he had an idea for what next, it was lost in pain.

  ?His path was forged by blood, in every sense as blood dripped down the path he had taken. The boy’s eyes were barely managing to stay open, yet why they needed to was unknown.

  ?The orb was shaking. Another crack and it would collapse, just like him, yet it was only now that he was so close he saw the two rings circling the orb. One grey and another black.

  ?There, under the orb, stood a blade as beautiful as the grey ring. Yet what about the black? The boy’s eyes tried wandering, but he saw nothing, or at least until he looked at himself, seeing a peculiar black ring on his finger.

  ?Why was he wearing a ring? Why was there a sword here? What was the orb? Did any of it matter?

  ?Taking a labored breath, he stood up, only to fall right back down by the pain of more protruding blades. Every part of him had blades going through, with blades covering his legs, most of his arms, and the rest, but his right eye. The fall, though, served some help as he was now closer to the blade. Using it to steady himself, even as more pain shot through him, he slowly got up on two feet. But what was next?

  ?Now he was standing, but why was he? Face to face with the orb didn’t give him any more insight. It would shatter anyway, why do anything more? Yet looking at the orb caused him to see himself, and at the same time, someone different from the one standing currently. The one reflecting to him looked happy, pleased, knowing, as if he knew what his purpose was. Yet the standing boy couldn’t understand it. How could they look so similar, yet so different?

  ?Touching the reflection, he wondered if he had ever had a purpose. A reason to do all he did. As he thought, scenes began playing on the orb. Of the same boy which had first been reflected, though in this scene he was hurt and cut up badly, yet it was his words Blade focused on.

  ?“These are my dreams, my stupid ideals, and I won’t accept you ruining them. I know it is childish, that it’s unreasonable to save everyone, that no matter my strength, saving everyone is impossible… yet I reject the future where I can't, with all my heart.”

  ?It sounded dumb. An unfinished, even childish ideal. How could someone with that kind of stupidity look happy? How could someone like him… smile?

  ?Despite it, why did it entice him? Why did it matter to him? The reflection showed someone he didn’t know. Had the boy died then? Why did he care, though?

  ?Lifting the blade in the air, his pain was felt no more.

  ?The idea itself was stupid. Everything about the ideal sounded childish and only led with no thoughts of self-preservation. Did the reflection believe everyone was worthy of saving? It was laughable, so why wasn’t he laughing?

  ?He gripped the sword tighter.

  ?Why was he taking the words seriously? They weren’t? He didn’t have to deal with them. He could simply stop. Nothing good came from meddling with the unknown. What if he proved wrong? What if… he stopped making excuses.

  ?So what if they were childish and stupid. For some reason, they resonate with him, and for this unknown, this boy, this… Blade. Was that good enough?

  ?“Keep moving forward, even if I don’t find a singular thing I’m looking for.”

  ?Blade cut the orb, not caring if what he found was salvation or damnation. He would follow this path, because that was who he was.

  ?As the light from the orb expanded, Blade felt himself trapped. Yet he had found himself, and took the chance to break free this time, never to be trapped within himself again.

  ?Breaking out of a cocoon of blades, Blade found himself back in the house where he truly saw the carnage that he had caused. The bodies raised on top of blades like flags, the blood and destruction covering the area like a macabre painting. Yet he didn’t mind it too much.

  ?He couldn’t save everyone. Trying to do so would only lead to ruin likened by what he saw now. He should not try to change for an unforgiving world. Blade would continue to help and save, but only the ones Blade could save.