Ancient ruins stood beneath the full moon, bathed in pale silver light. Weathered carvings traced the broken pillars, their patterns whispering of a civilization long erased. Wind moved through the hollow arches in slow, grieving breaths.
Then steel collided.
The clash rang out like a bell struck in a cathedral of bones.
Two golden blades crossed in the heart of the ruins.
One moved with restraint.
The other with fury.
The first figure wore dark, close-fitting garments suited for silence and assassination. Blood soaked his sleeve and dripped steadily from a wound at his side. His breathing was shallow. Measured. His posture remained aligned despite the tremor in his legs. Every angle of his body minimized exposure. Every step conserved strength.
Across from him stood something barely human.
Scaled arms rippled with unnatural muscle. Jagged plates of hardened hide sheathed his torso. His eyes burned feral, pupils thinned to slits as rage drowned whatever reason remained. Each swing of his golden blade tore through the air with brutal force, heavy and direct.
He attacked.
A descending cleave meant to split skull and stone alike.
The assassin stepped offline rather than backward, pivoting on his lead foot. Their blades met at a shallow angle, sliding instead of crashing. Sparks scattered. He did not contest strength with strength. He redirected.
A disengage. A glide along the opponent's guard.
The hybrid roared and forced a bind, trying to overwhelm him with raw power. The assassin yielded half a step, letting the pressure extend too far.
Overcommitment.
The hybrid's rear heel lifted. Balance shifted.
For a single breath, the monstrous warrior was no longer rooted.
That was enough.
A tight parry, executed with minimal motion. The assassin's wrist rotated, knocking the golden blade off its line. His body slipped inside the guard in one seamless advance.
Thrust.
Not wild. Not desperate.
Precise.
The golden sword pierced scaled armor at the narrow gap beneath the collarbone and drove straight through the heart.
Silence reclaimed the ruins.
The hybrid froze.
Then the scales began to recede.
Armor melted into flesh. Claws softened into fingers. The monstrous frame shrank, trembling, until a human man stood impaled upon the blade.
The assassin withdrew it without ceremony.
The body collapsed against a fractured wall, sliding down stone slick with moonlight. His strength was already gone. What remained flickered faintly behind dimming eyes before fading entirely.
The assassin watched until the last breath left him.
Only then did he move.
From his satchel, he withdrew several small vials. He turned them one by one in the moonlight.
Empty.
All of them.
He studied the glass for a moment, then returned them calmly to his bag.
With slow fingers, he lowered his hood.
Snow-white hair fell over sharp features. A mask hid the lower half of his face; he removed it as well. His eyes were an unnerving shade of blue, clear and cold, devoid of triumph or sorrow.
He inhaled deeply.
Exhaled.
As though setting down a burden too vast for language.
His gaze drifted beyond the ruins.
Past shattered stone.
Past crumbling arches.
Across a horizon layered in bodies.
"Billions of innocent souls…" he murmured.
The words seemed foreign in his mouth. He paused, faint surprise flickering across his expression.
"I didn't know I still remembered how to speak," he said softly. "It's… refreshing."
He spread his arms and lifted his face toward the moon.
"I HAVE DONE IT!" His voice tore through the ruins, scattering the night birds from their perches. "I KILLED EVERY ONE OF THEM! NOT A SINGLE ONE REMAINS!"
The wind carried his declaration across the dead city.
"Am I worthy now?" he demanded. "Am I finally worthy of your blessing?!"
No answer came.
Only silence vast enough to swallow a world.
He glanced once more at the corpse at his feet.
Then he pulled the blade free and turned it toward himself.
"If you dare deceive me…"
He did not hesitate.
The sacred sword drove through his chest, piercing his heart. Light burst outward from the wound, fracturing through flesh and something far deeper.
He fell to his knees.
Blood filled his mouth, metallic and warm. His vision dimmed, yet his gaze remained fixed upon the moon.
"It is finally time…"
Darkness descended.
...