Damian marched forward, as the blinding sky slowly shifted into darkness, the midday sun shifted slowly, as if its radiance was breaking apart, being consumed by the graceless night as a pale moon hung overhead, as if it was always there, the sight was unnatural yet beautiful, Damian wondered how many more times he would come to see such a sight, but now was not the time for such thoughts.
His desire to see his plan succeed felt like a sun itself burning in his chest, he knew he would stop at nothing to see it done, if he ever wanted the chance to see his family again, he had to act, he had to break through the Legionaries of war, he had to strike down their commander even if it was his was act in this vile place. Flustered by his thoughts he quickened his pace, in hopes of getting closer to the front of the formation.
His plan was a simple one, he would deliver critical strikes or even kill enemies which were already engaged in brutal combat, in hopes of making sure as many soldiers on his end survived as long as possible in the hope of them breaking through the defensive wall of the legion, so that he could distract his enemies long enough to land a surprise attack on their stunning commander, in hopes of taking her out.
Paying the nature of his thoughts, how unusual they may have been little mind as he was suddenly a bit too warm in the cold of the night, he looked forward, he could see the same as he saw the night before, a mass of shambling bodies marching over the dunes, their armour now damaged and torn, some with half broken weapons much like the many slaves spearheading their force, still in rags with cobbled together weapons and armour, with the large bestial creatures seemingly unaffected by the carnage soon to erupt on white sands, with most of the blood being boiled and simply fading away under the radiant light of day.
He could hear their repeated chants spreading over him like a wave, but this time he understood, the power they gave to the soldiers to keep fighting was truly inspiring, he even had to stop himself from starting his own, the burning of his passion grew more with every step he took, knowing he would soon reap those very voices soon enough.
The battle started much the same way, as the enemy commander let out an opening salvo of stark black arrows which seemed to glide noiselessly through the night as the first lines of soldiers clashed in the light of tall torches and pale moonlight, but unlike before, Damian didn't stand his ground and defend his position, instead he charged ahead, looking for the smaller fights he could aid in.
It was as if a vengeful spirit was ripping through the front line of the legion, moving in between his allies, his steps almost silent as his form almost seemed transparent within the dreadful night he struck out time and time again, he didn't directly kill anyone at first, only striking at joints from his enemies blindspots , allowing the other soldiers to push through, believing they were simply better, with none questioning why their opponents were damaged in places they had never struck,
It was strange, before it seemed like his presence was only slightly less noticeable, making his enemies just see him as less of a threat, but now it was almost like he was invisible, on the rare occasion they did see him however it was already too late, they never stood a chance, against his untamed veracity, it was liberating in a sense, he had never thought on the front lines like this before, but it was exhilarating, just the day before he had been too focused on his defence that he had neglected an overwhelming offence on people who were simply there to be cut down by him, it was a simple thing, but he couldn't help but smile, his only thoughts were of his desire to sow more violence upon his enemies, and to make sure the chain remained, for those were his only desires, who was there to dare get in his way.
Losing himself in the cadence of the battle, moving from one target to the next, his mind was becoming more and more overwhelmed by ecstasy, at the joy of being a part of something larger than himself, knowing that he, no matter how small was making a difference, that was what he had missed most about his days as a soldier, the simple bliss of making sure other people lived at the expense of another, even if he told himself otherwise before, he always knew, deep inside he enjoyed every shot he had taken.
The voice of the world spoke to him, time and time again,
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
It was intoxicating, he felt like nothing could take him down, he rushed to the peak of a nearby dune, hoping to get a better view of the entire battle, the sands wet with blood but before he could reach its peak a skeletal hand reached over the top, then another, and another, until suddenly a creature composed entirely of bones lifted itself over, its form silhouetted against the moon itself, standing at around five meters tall, its six arms, each ending in a handful of razor like claws, its body twisted and deformed, its head was large with spikes running down the skull like a mohawk, with three piercing red eyes staring down at Damian.
Damian stared at the form of the creature, it should have been one of the most horrifying sights he had ever seen, a creature like this would have normally sent shivers down his spine and made him feel like giving up all hope, but for some reason, his intensity was burning hotter than it ever had before, charging at the creature with an untamed fury in his eyes, he attempted to pierce it with his spear.
Attempting a forward thrust he aimed for one of the creatures legs, hoping to bring it down to deliver a more devastating blow, but instead it moved away from the strike, with the tip of the spear barely grazing against its leg, looking down on him the creature simply swung one of its powerful arms into his torso, tearing chunks out from the stone armour.
The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before, as if burning blades had been cut deep into his flesh, the force of the strike sent him tumbling backwards, spinning his spear around he quickly thrusted it into the ground to prevent himself from falling down the dune, and for the first time in this battle he could think clearly once again.
The pain washed over him, despite the searing pain it was as if his mind had been dunked into cold water, ridding himself of the strange way of thinking he had been developing, glancing at his arm, he already knew the culprit, he could feel his desires being pulled to the surface by the chain, it was subtle at first but was slowly cascading into an absolute failure, but he hadn't even realised until now.
He thought he had been unseen and unscathed up to this point, but he realised that was false, his armour was covered in small cracks here and there, as if struck by countless weapons, but as they did not reach far enough, he simply failed to register the pain, it was strange, feeling like a stranger in his own mind, there was simply nothing more terrifying, maybe besides the creature standing in front of him.
The only solace being that the creature was also now injured, having staggered back from the sudden pain and force from its own strike had given Damian a chance to recover and think, but that time had now come to an end.
The skeletal fiend moved forward, its lumbering steps were simply an illusion caused by its size, as fear grew in his heart he pulled his spear out of the ground and readied himself, he stared at the creature's skull, its bloodied eyes staring back at him as what almost seemed like a demonic smile painted its bloodied face .
Even with his body, infused with inhuman strength by his connection to the stone armour, he could barely avoid the strikes, its attacks were quick and lethal, with each being able to kill a regular person in seconds, he knew his armour could survive a few more strikes but no more than that, before long, if things kept up like this, he would die. Weaving in between its legs he tried to get behind it in order to strike out, but each time its arms twisted in unnatural ways or simply moved away, reaching behind its back with as much ease as the front as the arms morphed at the joints in real time.
Realising the futility of his plans he decided to disengage the foe, but not without taking another strike in the process, falling to the ground he barely managed to avoid rolling down the edge,looking up he could see the almost gleeful expression of the fiend as it rose one of its hands into the air as it looked down on him, as there was nothing he could do.
Damian stared up for what felt like a lifetime, staring into the creatures dreadful eyes, was this it, was this how he finally died, as the arm fell towards him, he finally noticed something, his last glimmer of hope, as he saw it, he felt the impact of the strike, the claws digging deep into him, slicing apart some of his flesh,letting fresh blood escape from his wounds but he did not move as he was lifted into the air.
Still gripping onto the spear as he was lifted from the ground, the clawed spikes piercing his body, as terrible pain pulled in every part of his being, as he was unceremoniously dragged into the sky, the fiend lifted him higher and higher until he was staring down on the creature, from here he could see soldiers from both dies staring at what was happening to him, the legionaries were filled with glee, happy to see an enemy torn apart as if part of a grim ritual, whilst his own allies faces were painted with sorrow and sympathy, they knew what was about to happen and yet they couldn't look away.
The creature opened its jaw, unhinging wide enough to swallow him hole, its razor like teeth stained with blood, with pieces of flesh and stone stuck between them, but he could see it, the one way in which he could kill this thing, but he would only get a single try, as he raised his arm.
The sight was as morbid as it was enchanting, so horrifying and yet you couldn't look away, as a young soldier was about to be eaten live in front of a crown of spectators, with some of them fearing they would be next, but he wouldn't allow that, so as the creature raised him up, he readied his spear, intending to finish it off in one single strike, in order to protect his fellow soldiers, he was willing to risk it all, if it meant a chance at escape he would do nearly anything.
Letting out a shrill of joy, the fiend quickly pulled him closer, intending to eat him like some sort of fleshy apple, but it never got the chance to bite down, as suddenly Damian's arm tensed, and with all his now inhuman might threw his spear into the creatures mouth. The spear flew through the sky, he knew he would have to get uncomfortably close to it to have any chance of the spear making it through, as soon, the sound of cracking bone could be heard, as the spear broke through the base of the creature's neck.
A shudder rippled throughout its body, its limbs began to shake violently, enraged it reached its remaining arms up, hoping to tear him apart, the claws of its other arms scrapped against the stone, opening up the cracks which had been formed over the countless battles before, but they never got the chance, as they suddenly fell to the ground, the bones struck the ground, causing a small tremor to echo out from the scene, Damian's armour was torn, he was bleeding and felt like he had been caught in a powerful explosion but he was alive as the voice spoke to him once again,
[You have Slain a Dormant Demon, Feasting Fiend],
These simple words filled him with comfort, somehow finding the strength to stand despite his injuries he managed to stand, with the sounds of battle noticeably quieter than they had been before, he calmly walked over to where his spear now layed, barely managing to pierce the neck of the creature, the stone point embedded deep within the bone, unable to be separated for now, with the head of the once mighty monster…or rather Demon skewered on the end of his spear Damian stood forward, no longer hiding in the shadows of the battle, simply blending in as if he was never there, no. Standing atop the corpse he had an idea, his spear raised high he screamed as loud as he could ever hope to,
"To my enemies, it is a shame for you to be born only to die by a truth long foretold, for the fact is, we will win this battle, for that is the only Truth that matters this day, in the face of your Gods."
"To my allies, rally behind me, for if it's just the Gods which block our path to a better tomorrow, we shall simply pave one anew with the blood of their most loyal supporters, for that is the will of Truth."
Feeling his desire to protect his fellow man and conquer his enemies burning deep inside his soul, he looked out to his enemies below him, pointing his spear to the center of their formation.
Staring back at him, her Honeycomb eyes shining with hints of intense emotion as a golden arrow was notched onto an elegant recurve bow, as dark as the night sky, almost invisible without the pale glow of moonlight shining on the golden string, aimed directly at his heart.