"You have kind eyes for a dead thing."
"Hm... I’ll call you Cirrus then, like the high clouds that never touch the ground."
Those were the very words that opened Cirrus’s eyes to the world of the living and to emotions he had no business feeling.
She gave him a name after centuries without one, on a pretty grassy hill under a purple sky. Her words stood in sharp contrast to his glowing blue eyes and the centuries he had spent watching the life fade from the eyes of those he killed.
Because of her, he resisted destroying her village and learned to make decisions on his own. Because of her, he felt love and learned how to love. But for a living weapon, love brought him things he should never have: grief, memories, and a burning need to protect her.
Oh, how much he wished to hold her in his arms, feel her warmth, and hear her voice.
That is, until he found out the truth.
"Ah... my most loyal blade," the Death God’s voice echoed through the darkness of his plane. "Turning against the one who brought you into existence." He clicked his tongue softly. "That’s not good. Tell me, why would you do such a foolish thing?"
Cirrus paused at the entrance of the Death God’s plane. Every step he had taken to reach this point had left cracks in the floor, and even while standing still, the force and pressure from his body sent spider-web cracks across the divine plane, creating thin white lines.
His armor was completely ruined, barely hanging from his battered frame. A deep gash in his chest plate revealed the bones of his ribs, and black blood dripped from his sword, tapping steadily against the floor.
He had no idea whether the blood pooling at his feet was his or that of his fellow Death Knights, who had tried to stop him only to be brutally killed. He cared less about that and more about the fact that the girl he loved had been placed by his side like a bug to be crushed—just to keep a servant in line.
What the Death God had done was not only ignorant, but he did not realize he had just handed his servant the weapon to kill him.
Cirrus tightened his grip on his sword. "You killed her."
"Hm?" The Death God’s voice came from deep in the darkness again, this time closer. "A mere mortal? Is this why you act so immature?"
"Why did you place her by my side if you knew?" Cirrus finally raised his head, revealing a bloody pale face and sunken eyes with blood-filled scleras. "You made a mistake, Master."
The Death God laughed, a cold, bitter sound filled with disappointment and intrigue. "I made every bone in you, and I can destroy it easily. I will overlook this as a joke, so kneel and beg for forgiveness."
"No."
As though the word had affected the Death God, the plane dimmed, revealing his form at the top of his throne. He quietly raised a single finger, and an ocean of dark energy rushed at Cirrus from all corners of the plane, carrying enough power to crush worlds.
However, Cirrus did not dodge. He raised his sword and sliced downward, cutting the wave completely in half. He stepped into the gap he had created and slashed again and again, carving a path through the rush of energy.
The collision was so violent that in distant worlds, mountains crumbled and oceans rose, terrifying ancient monsters who did not even know why they were afraid.
As the energy faded, the Death God spoke again. "Hm...since you killed my knights. Let me give them back to you."
Behind Cirrus, the broken pieces of armor dragged themselves back together. Thousands of dead knights stood up, their eyes glowing blue once more.
They charged him all at once.
One dropped from above, swinging a massive axe. Cirrus stepped inside the swing, grabbed the axe handle, and drove his sword straight through the knight’s chest.
He used the corpse as a shield, letting a hundred spears slam into it instead of him, then threw the body aside.
Another knight warped right behind him, aiming for his neck. Cirrus twisted out of the way, grabbed the knight’s helmet, and slammed it into the floor so hard the ground split and the head shattered.
He fought his way through the entire army, but every kill cost him a lot. His armor kept breaking, and his body healed slower and slower. His strength was failing by the minute, yet it felt good in a terrible way.
Feelings of despair, anger, and resentment filled his heart with every hit. The screams he could not let out when she died, he poured into his muscles. The blood she lost, he painted across the Death God’s plane.
He had never felt this way while fighting before.
Meanwhile, the Death God simply watched, wanting Cirrus to exhaust himself.
Finally, the last knight fell. Cirrus did not waste any time. He looked at the throne and charged.
The battle between creator and creation broke reality. Every time their weapons clashed, the air tore open. The Death God whipped chains of dark energy at Cirrus, who cut them down repeatedly. The force of their blows created and destroyed whole planets in seconds. At one point, time itself froze, then shattered like glass as they kept fighting.
But the Death God had a massive advantage: he had designed every single move Cirrus knew. He predicted every attack and slowly closed the distance.
Cirrus’s movements grew clumsy and desperate. He left wide openings in his defense and fought recklessly.
Thinking the fight was over, the Death God thrust his weapon forward, burying it deep into Cirrus’s side.
Yet that was not enough to keep the knight down. Cirrus grabbed the blade with both hands, trapping the Death God in place. Black blood poured over his hands, but his grip was as tight as a vice. Through his teeth, Cirrus whispered her name alongside a silent apology, guilty for the fate he had brought upon her.
The Death God tried to pull his weapon back, but it would not budge.
Then Cirrus reached behind his back and drew a secret weapon he had stolen from a different god long ago. The entire dark realm shrank back from it in horror. The darkness dimmed as light filled the space around Cirrus.
It was called the Sharpened Edge that Killed What Could Not Die.
The Death God’s eyes went wide with fear as Cirrus activated it.
The weapon reached into the symbol of the Death God’s existence and began slowly erasing him. The god desperately tried to flee. He attempted to change the fate of his existence and his creation, but nothing worked.
His eyes began to glow with a brilliant yellow light. A loud, agonized scream that shook the space around Cirrus tore from his throat. Blood flowed like a river from his physical body, mixed with the flesh of those he had consumed.
"You immature child!" he screeched, glaring at Cirrus, who held on with everything he had and bore the pain and backlash. "You should never bite the hand that feeds you! Turning against me will be your worst mistake! The Everlasting Entity of—"
The words faded as his body dissolved into nothingness.
With the god gone, the dark world began to collapse.
Cirrus’s legs gave out instantly and he fell to his knees. He had never been this tired in his entire life, his broken body was vanishing along with the world and yet, he still felt empty.
’Was it not enough?’
Heaving a sigh, he collapsed onto his chest and slowly shut his eyes.
But then, a warm, gentle light appeared.
Someone was walking toward him through the wreckage. The light around them was too bright to see their face, but they stopped right in front of him and began to speak. Cirrus strained to hear the words over the sound of the world breaking, but could only make out the first words and he understood nothing.
Then the bright light around the stranger’s face finally began to fade and—
Nathan Avenworth’s eyes snapped open with a sharp inhale. He instantly felt someone shaking his shoulder hard and found himself staring at a familiar cracked wooden ceiling with an equally familiar face grinning down at him.
"Finally, I’ve been waking you up for minutes now. Get up!" Jerry yelled as he moved across the room. "The Awakening Ceremony is starting soon!"
Nathan lay there, his heart pounding as he breathed heavily. He clamped his jaw shut and gritted his teeth.
’The same annoying dream!’ he groaned in annoyance. ’If I can’t see the face, then why let me dream it.’
He turned and glared at his friend, rubbing his face with a tired sigh.
"What?" Jerry asked, confused. "You look like I just killed someone."
Nathan sat up and muttered under his breath, "You kind of did."
Jerry just laughed, totally clueless, and hauled Nathan out of bed by his collar. Nathan let himself be dragged toward the door, staring at the back of Jerry’s head with a heavy sigh.
’One day,’ Nathan thought, ’I’m going to find out who that knight is... and why I keep dreaming about him.’
[A/N: If you liked the Chapter, add to library, give powerstones and support this author. It’s a new journey! And I would love to have you join me on it]