He could feel the blood on his mouth and his teeth grinding in pain, the blood gushed out from his forehead quick blocking his limited vision fighting in the shadows, but the pain of have to use his broken leg to keep up brought him back from the blackout as the warrior turned to bash his head once again.

With a small jump, he evaded the next strike as he turned the club around where another glass tip was poorly attached to it but was enough for another stab aimed to his face. But facing this attack he quickly raised his right arm to defend and used as a shield. The glass tip pierced the already cut forearm and the tip could be seen on the other side before breaking as the free hand once again hit Mordread face.

Mordread stumbled to the side fighting to keep up but the broken leg couldn’t hold him this time and he ended in his knee.The noise of the rock falling and hitting the ground sounded distant as if was a thousand meters from him, he feel lightheaded and if wasn’t for his Clear Mind, as detached view from the situation, he wouldn’t be able to respond to the buffing in pain and madness warrior in a hasty beeline for him.

With his own face feeling the baking of the embers now centimeters from him he tried to get up but he didn’t have time, so he holds griped the club with all strength he had left as the warrior raised the remaining rock on his hand. Turning his body in a quick spin, hitting the fire bolder edge and the flying embers quick covered the warrior body and some even hit his cut eye, prompting him to stop in his track to protect his face.

The club, however, didn’t stop only there and keep in his track and hit the Warrior jaw, taking blood and some teeth with it. Now was the warrior that blackout, Mordread that had bare stand didn’t lose this chance and screaming obscenities he hit now from above his head. But the trembling hand couldn’t hold the bone club with all the blood from his own palm and this time the club couldn’t be kept in his hand and ended rolling somewhere outside his view.

He stood before the still confuse warrior and kicked him with all his might with his broken leg, that once again cracked with the impact, the extra weight of the stone still strapped on it gave enough momentum to throw him right over the smoldering rock raising flames and spark high in the sky. The pain, however, the crushing pain was severe and traveled through his bones marrow, losing his balance and falling over the burning warrior.

Their reaction while they echoed each other suffering and agony howl, the warrior trashed about wildly trying to get out of his burning hell, but the bolder was partially hollow and like an egg, his back was deep in his center while his feet couldn’t touch the ground. Mordread froze in pain as he feels his foot was held just by the muscle around it trying to move it the least possible, but over the crazed men under him was but a vain hope and each time he moved his feet swayed in pain.

The warrior conscience had long-leaved him but his anger was enough to try to push and break his enemy in front of him. First was a flurry of punches with all his strength and without any regard for his fist hitting the painful hard bones under his skin, but he keeps protecting his head with his arm and the more he punched the more the fire rock scraped the skin of his back.

Changing his strategy he couldn’t feel enough satisfaction with such punches so he started to strangulate him, blood was start to boil on his mouth but he didn’t mind, showing his teeth he could feel the blood from his torn eye streaming for his mouth and this only makes his wrath hit another level, now even the pain of the flames was secondary. He needed to see the moment where the light vanishes from the bastard in front of him.

Mordread was struggling to break free and release the pressure from his neck, but the warrior that was already stronger than him gained an iron grip and his own muscles couldn’t make him budge a centimeter.

His white hair was in a patch of red blood, black charcoal, and gray dust, sticking on his face that had a big bruise on half of it from moments ago that would have difficulty his vision it wasn’t long covered by the blood oozing from the strikes on his head. But his expression was filled with an unwillingness to surrender to the fate that he was quickly running towards, as he also was gritting his teeth and try his best to suppress the burning pain on his lungs longing from free air.

The anxiety builds up as the air run out, the burning pain of the embers falling over him, his vision started to fail and the well illuminated by the fire hell around him was starting to get dark. He gave up to try to break his grasp and grabbed a handful of the burning rock around him and pressed in his face, as the embers entered his mouth and wound he screamed loud but his determination in strangling his enemy to death was above such problems and after some seconds of the grip weakening just enough to take a small breath the strength come back.

Mordread knows that in the moment his vision vanished would be his end. His hand reaches for the stone strapped to his broken leg but he couldn’t reach, just scrap the very edge of it, the club was long gone somewhere in the darkness and his hand bare reach the warrior's face. Now as the despair started to set in and half of his vision gone the groped around for anything.

For many time he could just feel the painful touch of fire around and the tattered cloth of both. Was when he found something his vision was just a third of what was and now that heat distortion started to fuse with the darkness distortion from before. Now that red fire could be seen again but it was dirtied by other colors, in fact, was almost consumed by them like sick green and pale blue, each second that pass the blue gained ground.

Gripping the long tooth on the warrior teeth necklace, he has torn it apart, the other teeth scattered into the embers around while the white pelt on his back couldn’t hold anymore and was burning wildly on the warrior back. So he raised his new weapon high, the warrior that could see only red in front of him hadn’t noticed and was dead set on finish his task.

However, mordread strength started to falter trembling he could bare hold the tooth in his hand, and now the flame overlap with the face of the Warrior and with just a feel centimeters left the black flame from before raised from its center and his target from the neck changed mid attack to take away his other eye.

This time he couldn’t just shrug off, the warrior release the strangling and took one hand to his eye while the other gave a sound impact on Mordread face that was almost thrown back to the ground, as he greed absorbed the oxygen around, even if the hot hair entered like blazing shrapnel scrapping his throat and lung, for him it was sweet as a dream of vengeance itself.

But now he could reach the stone on his leg, he didn’t hesitate and tore the burning cloth around it, the leg rocked around and he couldn’t keep from agony filled roar as he lifted high above his head. Opening his eye facing the miserable state of the now blind warrior, as the drops of blood flowed as stream like tears to his cheek, but there was only rage on his eye, as he holds the rock with both hands, the warrior finally manage to pull off the tooth that he so dearly hold before now was extremely difficult to simple touch it.

And so the rock fall with all his weight and strength behind and again and again, each time he would repeat one of the words.

“YOU”

The rock was once again raised and bashed

“KNOW”

the rock bashed again

“WHO”

the rock bashed again and again

“I’M?”

the rock bashed again and again and again

“I’m NOBODY!”

and again

“NO FUCKING BODY!”

and again

“YOU GET IT? NOBODY!”

and again

“Tell everyone that was all work of NOBODY!”

again

“NO HARKAI, NO MAKUI, NO FUCKING TETHENNAK!

again

“NO NOBLE, NO COMMONER, NO FUCKING USER!”

Now the cracking was muffled by the squishy wet noise

“I’M NOBODY! I’M A FUCKING GHOST”

The blood splashed all over his face and back

As he stopped in his attack he was out of breath, his hand and body was just as bloody as the rock he used to bash the warrior, he glanced for a few seconds the poor state of his weapon and with disgust he throws it aside looking down but not at him but inside his memory when a small schism noise was heard. The chest of the warrior was still moving but with difficulty, what remains of his jaw bone was trembling as he leaves painful gasp for air.

Mordread eye starts to tremble his face showed an emotionless shock as his own mouth mimicked the movement of the warrior. But in the very next instant, he was taken by a blazing rage enough to prompt his still good leg back into the pit of fire and his knee over the bloody body of the warrior. His hand grabbed his now burnt black hair, and with difficulty raised his from the rock and looked close to the pitiful minced meat that was now the warrior's face, that at the moment looked like was the start to drown on the blood oozing from his mouth.

After looking around for a bit he found the core of the bolder and started to use the warrior head to carve into his deep. Time and time again, his own breathing was out of place and the vision was already blacking out slight but he didn’t stop until he heard a crack. But not the crack of the warrior skull that not soon after being used as a hammer started to make such noise in each new collision. What happens was the crack of the ember bolder.

In fact after such long time burning the boulder was less of a rock as it was a big pile of charcoal and after being hit time and time again while two grown men fight over it couldn’t hold anymore and break almost in the center. Making both slides as part of the rock give in, as they fall back to the ground and scattered blazing pebbles.

Mordread fall that was partially standing ended rolling back with the loss of the foothold and end up spread out on the ground. His previous good but already burn leg was black and only the gnawing pain from his leg could be felt, while his broken leg without the support and rocking around while he attacked had cut part of his muscle and part of it was sticking out like a red broken twig.

The warrior wasn’t making any noises or movement as his body has just slid slightly from where he was and most of it was still being blazed by the hot rocks of the core of the bolder.

He tried to suppress, but was for naught he started to thrash around like a worm as each of his muscle spasmed out of synchrony and control. Hist gasp turned into a scream that turned into howl agony louder than his hot and dry air managed to squish through the blood on his mouth. For minutes the agony continued, a stream of tears washed his face alongside the blood from his wounds.

After calming his internal demons all it was left was the empty darkness from the paradoxical endless ceiling that hangs broken chains and unending columns and walls without never showing how far it goes. With the center now exposed the bolder could blaze brighter each time the cold wind blows but also fading it’s light as soon as the wind is gone, pulsing the orange and red light in the corner of his vision.

The sleepiness and tiredness hit him as strong as the fight before, the embracing dark the dim and warm light and the sound of rain on the background that brought the direly needed humidity to the ambient. Supported by the pain fading alongside his conscience, everything feels right for quick close his eye, for just one moment.

However, Mordread hadn’t ended yet and even with the help of his clear mind was difficult for him to move his body again. He first raised his body enough to sit, there he saw again the warrior oozing smell of cooking meat, the water from the rain entering from the hole was already making it well to where he was and his leg keep tormenting him while the sleepiness, attack become more and more relentless. Whoever there was a new wound on his side that he hadn't noticed before, the tooth was sticking out from his belly.

Deciding against touching the tooth that didn’t look like was bleeding as much as the other wounds he focused on the state of his broken leg. After some hesitation, he pressed it back inside, as he screamed in pain and after a long time, the strange redbone wasn’t visible anymore but his leg was just as black as his other one, that after all this time eased a little. But his mind keeps reminding him that probably the new pain just overrides the previous unbearable threshold.

But now he had nothing to use, the blazer had been lost in the middle of the fight and his shirt was torn not too long ago, while his pant had turned into a short at the time of the first contact with the smoldering flames. Looking around was equally desert as before, without choice he crawled again his way to the bolder, but now with both of his legs out of commission and only his burnt and cut hand to pull him around.

As he approached the warrior body he looked at the previous white wolf pelt on his back, now was torn riddled with holes and black from the blazing rocks, part was even sticking in his muscles. A strange anxiety started to build up as his hand was slowly closing his body, his eye quick interchanged between the wolf pelt that he was after and the hidden face of his.

As he touched the warrior, he flinched waiting for any sudden movement, but there was nothing. With a sigh he keeps his work and struggled to tie out from his neck the remain of the now black and white pelt, but as he finished his job and the body slid a little more because of the movement the smell of burnt meat filled the air but was a minor annoyance for Mordread at this point.

However, at the very core of the bolder, he could see a bright light, hitting the center of his eyes forcing him to look away from the piercing pain. However, it was neither the light of the fire and ember or the flash of the electric lights, after the first glance he could see that in fact was a dim and soft radiating a golden white light, with blazing light from the embers surrounding it, creating most of the painful light. He had seen such thing somewhere before, but he couldn’t put a name on it.

As he grabbed it the consistency was a mix of smooth crystal feeling along with the consistency of a tensed muscle, it was hot but after all, he had passed it wasn’t enough to suppress his curiosity. When it was away from the boulder that he noticed, the core also pulsed in a strong light, just like the embers, every time the wind fly over it and got the temperature raised alongside.

When he feels the cold water touching his feet Mordread was surprised, but the rain had already created a pool reaching the bolder, soon the fizzy and sparkly sound of the water hitting the hot rock followed as the steam clouds formed. Mordread quick took another way too big rock to keep his broken leg in place, but the feeling of his bones slight out of place plagued his mind.

When the hall started to fill with stream was when Mordread started to move, but like he expected he couldn’t put any weight in neither of his legs. So he crawled to the big door at the end of the hall, back to the center where this fight started he pass the broken remains of the now wet pillar; the column that was just behind the warrior at the end of their first exchange; the hidden third pillar that none of its features could be seen and lastly the stairs.

The pillar of blinding light was still there, radiating from the small crack that the heavy door allowed, hiding from prying eyes just like the ink black dark from before. On each side the pillars closer to the door and the wall than the rest give a strange sense of imposing importance, the only instance he saw the pillars from the dark side of the hall, but was the same as the others before what lowered his expectation a little.

The stair matches one of the thrones. However, while the throne is three steps here is just two, both are wide and not very tall make one wonder what was their purpose. The gate was a plain two door plank that it only feature was it thickness and size, that easy reach 5 meters, with a small arc on the top.

His cut and burn arm is also filled with bruises, but the pain is a distant reminder while his eyes that fight to keep open, Mordread would try to flex the muscle on his leg to sting himself in order to wake, sadly the pain didn’t stop there and keep gnawing his muscle for a couple of seconds longer. The problem is this was getting less and less effective as the time pass, the pain was strong as always but the tiredness and sleepiness keep in a steady rise.

Mordread with the core, on one hand, he finally was three steps away from crossing the door. The long and torn spectral cape had stretched three to four meters, giving the illusion that his body was long as a snake. As his leg protested against have to climb the stair, the vertical cut in the center it opened by the uncontrollable spasms, cutting in right and left long tracks of spectra cape coming from his bare and blood back.

At the same time, his hand was having trouble raising his weight for the task because he was unwilling need to scrap even more on stair than he already would, making the climbing of each step took much more try. Ironically was only the strong and blinding white light that helped him help in his waking his increasingly dull body.

The moment he crossed, the blind light slowly faded and in its place, the warm light of dozen of big black iron braziers lit in a checkerboard manner on a short hallway. Their design mirrored the ones on the columns inside the throne hall, simple rounded triangle shaped bowl with the big indentation on its border, the only difference was while inside they have three indentations one in each corner like wide leafs sprung from it. this has just one at the very center shaped like a tooth or sword.

They provided all the source of light as there was no window come from the hallway itself. Mordread decide to keep going forward, crawling over a long red-carpeted with mud footprint, but otherwise clean that stretched all the way to a well lit courtyard. Each time the crystal approached the fabric it started wrinkle and the color fade a little before have to pull with increasing difficult himself forward again.

The cold wind was now chilling his bone and he could swear that there is steaming cloud each time he exhales. But he just took a deep breath and keep moving, or so he wished.

The vision of the long and numerous thin white pillars of the courtyard started to blur, as the color of the green grass and ash white of the adonmentless fountain mix in a that same sickly pale green from before. The core almost fell from his hand but in last resort Mordread turned around and sprawled in the middle of the red carpet and hugged the crystal in his chest that at the time was almost freezing. The warm over him was the last straw and succumbed to the sleep, but until the end the warm failed to warm his inside.