Lucian dropped to his knees in exhaustion, the pain in his chest preventing him from catching his breath.
The assassin was more experienced in fighting, heck, he was a trained killer, and could sustain much more damage.
Lucian couldn't do much with his fists against the man's build, that's why he went for the face the moment a chance showed itself.
The wound by the arrow barely fazed the the assassin, making him raise his sword to deliver the final blow at Lucian.
Lucian curled up in defence, and then screamed. Not in fear, but in anger at the voice that kept blaming him for his failures, "GET. OUT. OF. MY. BODY!" he yelled out loud, "IF YOU WANT TO KILL HIM, DO IT YOURSELF! YOU ARE WEAK!"
Bam!
The assassin's body flew in the air like a ragged doll from the shockwave, crashing into Lucian's hut, destroying it. His sword fell to the ground with a clang, grazing the side of Lucian's arm before, leaving a bleeding cut.
Crack!
Lucian's gaze shot up. The assassin's body moved unnaturally as he tried to stand, his broken bones cracking with each movement. His eyes turned golden as they glared at Lucian.
Lucian quickly picked up the short sword and threw it like an axe at the man, hoping to finish him off, but the assassin caught it with his bare hand, stopping it before it could penetrate his chest. His wrist twisted in an unnatural way, yet he didn't seem to mind.
Widening his eyes, Lucian scrambled to his feet and ran away from the scene, "A SHACKLED! A SHACKLED IS HERE!" he yelled, hoping to get the attention of the guards or any knights nearby. "HELP! A SHACKLED!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
The strain on his body was unbearable, but a chance to turn the situation around had appeared, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. There was no way Lucian could escape Rochefort's reach, but a shackled's? He could even turn the Rocheforts against their own with it!
He knew his way around the town and soon alerted the people that heard his plea and screams of terror started to spread throughout the town, followed by the ringing bells of the church as a warning to everyone to take cover.
Lucian hid behind a corner, collapsing to the ground and clutching his injured arm. "...hah…" He couldn't stop shaking from exhaustion and shock, adrenaline still pumping through his veins.
He peered out slightly to see what was happening. The townsfolk were all in a panic, running away from the monster that had appeared out of nowhere.
"That way!" The town's people shouted, "The shackled went that way!"
'Yes!' Lucian cheered inwardly. 'Go that way!'
He saw a group of guards and one knight approaching, their swords drawn, and ready to fight.
"Take cover!" one of them shouted, "We will take care of this!"
Lucian watched from a safe distance as they fought the shackled, who had a short sword in his hand.
He remembered the slave woman's words; she thanked the voice in his head, which probably meant that the voice had given her the powers she had used to cause a rampage.
When the voice also gave Lucian the powers, he became sure that it was a shackled.
'It has so much power so why is it always complaining?' Lucian wondered. The voice was silent so it probably entered the assassin's mind.
'I did not,' the voice said, making Lucian shudder in surprise, 'I returned right back after you tried to kick me out.'
"..." Lucian was too scared to reply. So who was the shackled inside the assassin? Another voice? Another shackled?
'It's still the assassin. I just lent him my power after he died,' the voice explained, realizing that the boy would never cooperate with it if it kept him in the dark, 'It's like an agreement: power in exchange for granting your last wish.'
'Wait, wait, wait,' Lucian was freaking out, 'You don't mean...'
'I do,' the voice laughed.
Lucian peered around the corner again and watched as the battle continued. They were struggling against the shackled as it continued to roam the street.
Its eyes shone bright gold as it scanned the area, searching for its last wish.
"!!!" Lucian quickly ran away from the alley. The shackled assassin died while wanting to kill Lucian. Now it was using the voice's power to get that wish fulfilled. It was still the assassin.
Lucian made a detour, heading straight for the church.
'Good, that's the spirit,' the voice encouraged him, 'Take down the people who exploited your parents' situation and caused their deaths.'
'Don't you dare try to make this a bonding moment. I'm not going to forget what you did,' Lucian hissed, 'You left me to die too.'
The assassin caught the sight of the kid with striking blonde hair and immediately began to chase after him.
The guards and knight didn't hesitate and also chased after them.
'Weak voice, weak voice,' Lucian chanted, hoping the voice could feel as vulnerable as he did, 'You are weak! You are weak! YOU ARE WEAK!'
'...' the voice went silent, probably not liking the fact that Lucian was using tactics that the voice always used on him.
Lucian had enough of being the voice's punching bag, and now it was the voice's turn to be his.
'...You are targeting the wrong person, I'm not the one who tried to kill you,' the voice argued.
'Yes, but you abandoned me,' Lucian said, feeling a weird satisfaction from the small victory over the voice's authority.
The first grudge he had ever felt in his life was toward the voice, the same voice that claimed it wanted to help him, yet took away his health and made him suffer when he wanted to choose another path for himself.
'...Nothing is free in the world, why should I help you for nothing in return?' the voice argued, not giving Lucian any power until he begged for it, 'You need to learn that everything has a price, and that's how the world works. The sooner you learn, the better.'
'I didn't make any deals with you! It's you who need me to live. Not me!'
Lucian wiped his tears and snot from his runny nose. It left for two years, and now it came back when an opportunity presented itself, as if nothing had happened.
Did it really expect him to welcome it back with open arms?