Chapter 3 : Carnage

The moment I pierce the artifact with my sword, I feel something rushing through me, a torrent of power, emotions and so much more. It’s so overwhelming it’s hard to describe. I realize I’m screaming, but it feels distant somehow. Time has no meaning in this moment as my very soul is ripped to shreds by something frighteningly powerful. As I feel like my own self is at its limit, it suddenly stops.

Breathing hard, I take in the scene around me. Mercenaries screaming, laughing and mutilating themselves, or others, it’s like a scene out of a nightmare. I spot Max bleeding out on the ground, dying. I feel a pang of remorse because I’m the one who did that. In my frenzy to survive I didn’t even hesitate to use [Burst of speed] to cut him down. I know I didn’t have a choice, but seeing his smile as he tries to look up, I still feel worthless. I know he doesn’t resent what I did as he looks up to me. Somehow it makes it worse, so much trust in me. I don’t feel worthy of it.

His last breath finally comes, as I am kneeling beside him. I absently notice tears are running down my cheeks. I’m not sure how long I stay there, but the sounds of madness have stopped by the time I stand up. Silence reigns once more on this godforsaken temple. Around one hundred men are dead around me. My whole company and the priests we escorted. The amount of blood and gore remind me of a battlefield. Only there was no enemy here, only madness.

I realize my amulet is vibrating furiously and has been for a while. That can’t be good. I fear that if it breaks madness will overtake me soon. That and my sword are probably the only reason I’m still standing, still sane, somewhat. I cast a look around, still disbelieving of what transpired here and a feeling of unease wells up inside me. I have to get out of here, out of this nightmare. I start to run clumsily for the exit, slipping twice on half-dried blood in my hurry. My amulet still vibrating hard. Faster, I have to go faster.

I run past everything as fast as I can, everything is hazy and I know something is starting to affect me. I want to believe it’s just a bad dream. I smile nervously at the thought. It’s impossible to use large-scale mind magic. Even affecting one mind takes a tremendous amount of effort. But it felt so real. The danger of losing myself to that madness makes me sprint as fast as I can up the stairs. I see the end of them finally. There’s the exit! Almost there.

Just as I am about to go through the exit, I halt to a stop as the insect warriors bar my way.

“Out of my way!” I scream at them. “You have to let me out of this place.” I plead.

Not reacting, they just stand stock still, looking at me. I know I will die if I try to fight them. Even one of them is my match.

“Please, we don’t have to do this.” I don’t manage to stand completely still, small movements betraying my impatiens. Why do they have to stop me now of all times. They could have at least waited until I was outside in the jungle. I just want this nightmare to be over, to get as far away from here as possible.

Finally, the older Khalex speaks up, tone neutral, emotionless.

“How did you withstand its influence? The artifact holding the demon was made to channel its power to make it impossible to free him.”

“It doesn’t matter now, please, I’m on the verge of losing it. I can feel its influence on me. I have to get away from here.” I can feel my amulet burning me through my shirt now, it’s not going to last much longer.

“We cannot let you go after being influence by it. We will have to wait for a competent party to finally rid us of this cursed artifact it seems.” Pulling out his two swords as he speaks, he slowly walks forward. I spot several additional insect warriors coming out of hiding to encircle me.

Desperate and out of time I rush forward activating [Burst of speed], [Heightened reflexes] and [Lesser strength]. Time seems to slow down as I move at superhuman speed for a short second. As I try to make it past the encirclement with my speed, I notice they are all following my movements and matching me in speed. The talking one is even faster than me. Desperate, I try to cut him off with a [Double Slash] while pushing my legs to their outmost speed. Blocking both blows somehow, he lands an attack of his own, while other insect warriors are already upon me. [Burst of speed] finally ends and I’m on the ground, bleeding from several wounds. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Propping myself up excruciatingly slowly from the ground to a knee, the small party of insect warriors surround me.

“Are you still sane?” the leader asks.

“I’m not sure I ever will be after what happened here.” I respond dejected.

“Now I asked you a question before. Answer me before it is too late.” His tone is emotionless, like he couldn’t care less. I groan in pain as I feel my amulet burning my chest. Smoke starts to leak from under my armor. The heat of my amulet burning my torso underneath. Slowly reaching down and taking it out from under my armor, the insect inspects the searing amulet. Glowing brightly now, a high whine can be heard, the pitch going higher and higher. Having given up about my sanity, about my life, I look at the scene with hollow eyes. So, this is how I die. At least I won’t roam the land in an insane trance for the rest of my days.

The glow is too bright to look at now and the high pitch whine seems to reach its peak when the amulet finally explodes. The insects back of slightly at the small explosion. Suddenly, everything feels out of place, like I don’t really fit in my body somehow.

Silly human, let me show you how it is done.

A deep sound, more growl than voice resonates inside of me. Not in control anymore, I feel myself standing up, the wounds on my body closing, the bleeding stopping. The insects all take a step back, taking their stances.

Suddenly I’m behind one of the warriors, looking at his torso separating from his legs. The movement so fast I couldn’t comprehend how it was possible. I can feel the muscles in my face shaping my mouth into a wide smile. All the insects turn towards me again, some with what I guess is a shocked expression. It points my finger towards one, and I feel energy being channeled through my body until it is finally released from the tip of my finger. A black ray of light goes out and the target warrior collapses, no external damage visible.

Having recovered from their initial shock, the warriors all charge together, dozens of swings coming my way. I hear someone laughing as my body is dodging, parrying and weaving through the onslaught of swings. The laugh is coming from me, but it is so primal and inhuman I take some time to realize it. I see some using [burst of speed] and other skills but my body responds perfectly, and even gets in some shallow hits.

It’s playing with them. It’s playing with elite Khalex warriors, who could have defended this place from a party of one hundred, maybe even two hundred men. The dance continues and I see several other skills being used, some I do not recognize. The toll of using so many skills is starting to show, and the warriors are slower now, less aggressive. Most of them have several shallow cuts, leaking yellow liquid.

Still not in control of my body, I watch through my eyes as I stroll up to the warriors with a light step. Using a skill, one of the warrior’s head is cut straight off. We all understand who has won the fight, but this is not over for them yet.

“I always wondered if Lexabrah’s could feel fear” I hear from my own mouth, the tone curious and arrogant at the same time.

The insects remain silent as they look straight at me. I wonder what they are thinking right now. Taking me by surprise, the same old Khalex who has been talking before steps forward, and bows.

“Great one, we did not recognize you before.”

“You mean you hoped to be able to defeat me in this body” My mouth answers on its own, smirking at them.

“Would you fault us for trying? Your presences has plagued our land for millennia. I have a proposition for you.” He says with what I believe is determination.

“Oh? Please go on.”

“We will let you leave our territory alive, in exchange you are to never come back.”

I don’t understand how that could work, but what I say next surprises me.

“Very well, that is honest enough, I quite like this host, and even I do not want several Lexabrah Queens chasing after me.”

The insects part slowly and cautiously, not trusting I keep my word. As I’m waiting for it to walk away, I realize I’m in control again. Walking awkwardly at first, I slowly find my bearings. Confusion and disbelief at what happened here. Confusions as to why it didn't slaugher them all. Everything feels so unreal, I cannot accept what has transpired to be reality but I know deep down that it is. I walk out and to the camp in a dreamlike state. My whole body is aching from the fight, but I have been healed of my initial wounds.

I find my tent, pack the essentials and move out. I can feel the eyes of the Khalex on my back following me through the jungle. The act of treking is a familiar feeling in the sea of weird that happened this last day. Somehow making everything more real. I slowly resign myself that this actually happened. The loss of my company hits me after making camp that night, when I’m finally left to my thoughts as I try to sleep. Tears sliding down my cheeks, for the second time today.

Tossing and turning, sadness slowly changes to hatred for this being inside of me. I finally fall asleep after running through all the options I can think of to get rid of it, hoping, praying it doesn’t know what I am thinking.

I stand on the top of a hill, adorned in a dark red armor, my helmet under my arm as I look out over my army. An army of over fifty-thousand men, all standing in squares as per their unit. All wearing the same kind of armor I am. Their bloodthirst is palpable from here. The enemy army is marching up a hill opposite us, taking position.

I feel power flow through me, and I know I’m unstoppable. Nothing will stand in my way, I will make them all kneel in front of me and make them beg for mercy, as it should be. The weaklings calling themselves kings and emperors will soon know of their folly, for there can only be one true lord of mankind, of the world, and it shall be me.

The enemy army unleashes a hail of arrows that are soon stopped by my mages, a wall of wind redirecting them to the side. Retaliation with magic soon comes, which is not completely defended against and holes in the enemy formation can be seen. Understanding their inferiority in a ranged battle, the enemies first lines charges, keeping reserves for maneuvers in the back.

Slowly walking down to the front line, my soldiers part for me, a wide corridor in a sea of men. Not a sound can be heard from my army, their discipline perfect and reverence silent, but I can still feel it. The mix of fear and awe, the absolute conviction that their best option is to follow my orders perfectly. Feeling like a god among men, my stroll finally takes me to the front lines.

The enemies are not far now, and the corridor behind me closes as I order it. I put on my helmet and draw two long swords out and ready myself.

“Forward ! Massacre them !” I yell pointing my right sword in the direction of my enemies. I charge the enemy, confident my army is following me into battle. As we get closer to the enemy, I can make out some of their expressions. Some are confident idiots, unknowing of my greatness, but others have fear plastered across their faces. I relish in their expression, a wide smile behind my helmet, until we finally collide.

Activating a few passive skills is all that I need to become a red tornado. Completely unstoppable by these mere ants, I advance leaving a trail of corpses in my wake. My soldiers follow me, using the breach I’m creating to our advantage to break the enemies formation.

Seeing their formation crumble, a big part of the reserve is sent to consolidate the front I’m on. But they cannot stop me. We continue to advance, and I can no longer see any confident faces among the enemy, only fear. Most of the soldiers are running now, and like a chain reaction, in mere minutes the whole army is running.

Pumping my fist up to the sky, a victory shout can be heard from me, and soon from the whole army. The picture of me, shouting for victory surrounded by blood and gore is glorious, and I know this is just the beginning.

Jolting awake, it takes me a little time to get my bearings. The dream too vivid to be an ordinary dream. My emotions are a mess, a part of me still basking in glory, while the other is horrified by the person in the dream. That could never be me. Never should be me.

That is only one of the things you could become.

The demon’s voice tries to sound tempting, but the horrible sound of its “voice” only makes a shiver run down my spine. I take a long sip of water from my water-skin, trying to forget about the dream and start the day fresh. The loss of my company and my friends hits me as I look around, completely alone in the jungle. But I know I do not have the time to grieve them now. I have to hurry out of this jungle and back to the kingdom. I still have some contacts in the adventurer guild that might be able to help me or direct me to someone who can.

The days starts blend into each other as I forage, march, and march some more to put as much distance between that temple and myself. After a week, I’m finally out of the jungle, and I can sense that the Khalex have stopped following me. Every night is filled with horrible dreams of bloody and cruel glory. I try not to think about them as I continue my journey to the Kingdom proper, that is still about two weeks away.

The climate is becoming slowly more temperate as I get closer to my home country. Small forests and lakes more predominant now. I think I’m close to one of the border villages we passed on our way to that godforsaken place. I go to sleep, fearful of what the night has in store for me.

Morning comes and I’m surprised about my dreamless night. I haven’t felt this rested in weeks. Somewhere deep inside, I hope that it is because of the distance to the ruins that the demons hold is weaker. But I know better than that. That temple is no longer its prison. Trying to shake the dark train of thoughts I’m having, I concentrate on foraging and moving forward, trying to keep busy as I have these past weeks. The need to survive the wild keeping me busy enough.

I see smoke rising in the distance. I’m almost at that small border village. I hurry my pace, happy to finally meet someone else for the first time in weeks. As I get closer, I realize there is too much smoke to simply be the forge and the bakers working. The village is under attack!

I hurry my steps until I’m at the village entrance. A small wooden palisade encircles the settlement. The doors are closed, but I can hear high pitched shouts from inside, and more than one roof is ablaze. Climbing a nearby tree, I jump over the palisade into the village proper. Hordes of goblins are running around, looting and screaming to each other.

Turning around, I see two goblins looking at me curiously, before they can react properly, I charge them and impale the one on the left with my sword. The other goblin runs for its life and a lot of other goblins converge on me.

I have a weird feeling of wrongness in the pit of my stomach, but I push down that feeling as a group of bigger goblins, hobgoblins, charge me. I activate my passives skills and start to circle them, to force them to exchange blows with one or two at a time, making it hard to surround me. Killing two hobs in the maneuver they finally surround me. I’ll have to use my trump card already.

As they get closer, I activate [Burst of speed] and manage to kill two more and break the encirclement. Using their surprise against them, I manage to kill another one before they regain their bearings. Sweat is dripping down my face. I can only use burst of speed three times per day before I’m exhausted, and the passive skills slowly takes their toll on my body too. But I don’t want to rely on it ever again. I only hope there aren’t many more hobs in the village.

The six remaining hobs charge me as one, staying grouped, unusually coordinated for goblins, but I don’t have the leisure to dwell on it now. Backing away while dodging and parrying, I try to look around for a narrow passage, where I could force them to fight me. I spot two buildings creating a narrow passage and make a run for it.

I go to the end of the passage to check that no goblins will ambush me from behind. As I turn around I see only three of the goblins in there. The other three must be going around. They underestimate me. I run into the passage which forces the third goblin to stand behind his friends. In a two versus one, I am stronger than them.

I charge them and activate [Double Strike] on the left goblin, he manages to block one of the blows but the other one cleaves cleanly into his guts. While he is dropping his weapon to try and hold in his innards, I turn to the other goblin. Overwhelming him with my superior strength and speed I make short work of him, noticing the third hob has fled the scene while I fought his buddies.

Turning around I see the three other hobs looking at me. Is that horror I see on their faces? It seems so out of place on their monstrous faces. The feeling of wrongness is gnawing at me. An idea hits me, but I quickly suppress it. No that’s impossible. I quickly kill the frightened hobs before they can get into a good formation and continue around the village, killing scores of goblins. I see no other hobs, and the goblins do not stand a chance against me. I dispatch more goblins into oblivion every minute. The goblins making themselves more and more scarce.

While cleaning out the village, I notice that something is missing. Where are all the humans? I don’t see a single human body. Maybe they evacuated from the village. I hope that is the case. I continue to hunt down as many goblins as I can.

Most of the goblins are dead in the village now, only a few are left, and they are hiding. The silence is deafening. Looking around, understanding dawns on me. Oh my god, how is this possible. What have I done? Trying to stop myself to continue this massacre, I feel that I am no longer in control. An evil laugh escapes my lips as the truth is revealed to my eyes. Becoming a spectator yet again, I watch on in horror at what I have done, and what I am now doing.