3. DAMIAN

Chapter three

DAMIAN

I wasn't sure what exactly led me to this moment. Was it a series of events? Was it watching my fiancée die right in front of me? Or watching the houses burn down and crumble?

Holding the knife down by my side, the moonlight glinted off the blade in a somber reflection. Drawing my black cloak tighter, I grabbed it around my body so as to not be seen. The alleyway was obscure and dark enough for me to hide in the corner without calling any attention.

The man ahead of me had his hood up. The figure of him and the other man he was with were hidden behind the pile of garbage that so sourly resided in the middle of the crevice between the buildings.

I wasn't sure what he was doing. Some trade? Whatever it was, it didn't seem legal.

However, I wasn't one to judge. Killing wasn't necessarily legal, either.

The man that I was tracking dropped his hood, exchanged an item with the bald fella, and then started to make his way out to the main roads. I waited for the streets to clear of any possible witnesses before I trailed after.

Once I heard the distinct click of the door shutting, I followed after him in the streets. The Avenue was dimly lit by sconces attached to the nearby buildings. The walkways were paved with gravel, but contained piles of wind-driven sand from the nearby beaches. The waves pounded against the silence of the town.

The sky started to cry, and if I didn't know better, I would've thought that it was the tears of the gatekeeper of Ezu 1 , telling me to not do what I was about to.

I knew that what I was doing was a cycle and knew that I promised to kill these people for food to appear at my door. It was completing the work that needed to be done for others.

Knowing that I was just a pawn in the game, I still complied, nonetheless.

I didn't even know who the man was. I only knew that I received threatening to-do notes on my door that I would follow through with begrudgingly. But then I was taken care of. I didn't have to leave my shack during the day, only at night to fulfill the man's requests.

It was a small price I had to pay. I knew that it could be worse, harder.

After her loss, I couldn't concentrate. I wasn't myself anymore. I had changed. Whoever was in charge had turned me into a killer. And I had to kill my old self to make it this far.

Killing brought some feelings back into my soul. But after doing it so much, I still felt soulless, lifeless, and better off dead.

The man scurried past another cobblestoned building. As swiftly as the rats in the streets, I found his neck beneath my hands, and raised the knife to meet his warm skin. The slick blade sliced as easily as it always did, thick blood dripping down my hand. However, I didn't mind. It was a liquid form of power and control that was mine. The crimson puddle pooling caught my eye. The image was soulless, empty. I wasn't just a killer, but a beautiful monster.

1. Ezu (Eh-ooh): Heaven