Kiss of Time

The demon within

           As his blood spilled across the ground, Xavier fell into a sort of dreamless sleep, losing himself into the void of his own mind as the world around him fell into complete darkness. The pain began to subside in his gut as Xavier let himself fall, his demon soul clawing at him, urging him to stand, but still he lay motionless.

           Whispers began to fill his mind, echoing from the darkness surrounding him, near driving him to madness as he glided through the void, images of his past returning to haunt him as he fell deeper into the grips of death.

           Corpse strewn fields set blazing, the smell of rotting and burning flesh filling the air came to mind, and to him, was all to real as he stood among the bodies, overlooking the city of Matze, the first city he had single handedly destroyed.

           Looking around Xavier shuddered, though he could not help but feel a since of pride as he looked over the land of Matze, then something caught his eye, the gleam of metal to the north. Looking on he saw himself, a younger demon drenched in blood, blade set in wicked black flames as he stood over a crying child, grinning evilly.

           Wincing, Xavier watched the images of his past, observing himself as he swung the flaming blade through the child’s throat with a single swipe, severing their head with perfect ease.

           Shuddering as the world around him faded into darkness again, Xavier looked to his feet, letting out a soft sigh and shook his head. Suddenly startled by the sound of screams, he looked up again, only to see another shadow of himself, though somewhat younger this time, his blade set to the chest of a young woman who stand strung from the ceiling of an inn, begging for her life.

           Eyes widening slightly, Xavier watched as his shadow began to carve into the woman’s flesh, slicing through her flesh and fur, the sound of burning meat tearing through his ears, followed by the sound of deafening screams of agony.

           Quick as a flash Xavier had his own blade drawn, but as he struck he found his blade slipping through the shadows as if striking a cloud, their forms distorting for a moment into wisps of smoke, then reforming perfectly as if untouched.

           Letting out a long sigh, Xavier stood with his blade in hand as the world around him faded into darkness once more, a single tear of blood rolling down his cheek as he shook his head.

           Once again his silence in darkness was short lived, as the image of a woman came to him, battered and covered in dirt, clothed in no more than torn and tattered rags, bound by collar and chains. The woman seemed pained by look, a slave bound into a life of hell by chains of iron, but as Xavier looked closer, he saw a flicker of hope in her eyes.

           Hearing a demons voice, speaking in a familiar tongue, he spun around to behold a massive creature of black scales and eyes the color of brimstone, his wings spread to almost encompass four women of different races, claws draping over the edge of an ebony throne, digging into the arms where they stop near the base.

‘Father..’ Xavier whispered absently, looking at the demonic creature, his eyes moving to one of the women who stood beside him, a vixen clothed in pure black armor.

           Confused now Xavier wondered as he looked on, watching the demon stand, his wings sprawling completely, almost touching the walls of the throne room on each side.

“Lord Krechek, I beg of you--” the enslaved woman pleaded, but her words were cut short as the demon jerked a clawed hand, whipping four claws through the front of her throat, grinning as her blood spilled across the marble floor.

           As Krechek turned to the vixen in black, four Dire Wolves began to feast on the corpse of the slave, ripping her body apart quickly, leaving not even her bones when they had finished with her.

           Draping his wings around himself, Krechek looked down at the vixen in black as he towered over her, muttering something in a demonic tongue, and as Xavier walked to their side, he shuddered to see a shadow of himself, a mere infant laying helpless in the arms of the demonic vixen.

           Growling now, his fur raising as his blade began to flare up, wicked black flames surrounding his sword and arm, Xavier lunged at the vixen in black, but was caught in a whirlwind of confusion and amazement as Krechek gripped his throat quickly and threw him back with the lash of a wing.

           Fading to darkness again, Xavier felt a sharp pain filling his body, like thousands of knives piercing his flesh from all around. Closing his eyes, he let out a long sigh and let himself fall, hearing the whispers around him becoming clear until finally, a woman’s voice could be heard, soft and calm, almost like that of an angel:

“Do not give up, nor shun who you are Xavier. You have the gift of strength, use it well.”

           With that a flash of light filled his eyes, and Xavier cried out in pain, gripping the first thing he could grab and pulled it to the ground, panting as he lay there half naked, covered in blood.

“You can let go now,” Came a familiar voice, accompanied by an innocent giggle. “Your sort of hurting my neck.”

“Aurin..” Xavier said, his voice raspy, his mouth filled with the taste of blood. “Where in Bladden are we?”

“We’ve not moved, Xavier.” Aurin explained, glancing down at the blood covered knife in her paw. “I could barely lift your armor let alone you..”

           Chuckling as he looked down at himself, running a hand over the wound which lay already half closed and unbleeding, centered in his stomach.

“How--” Xavier began to ask, but was quickly interupted as Aurin threw her arms around him, tears rolling freely from her eyes as she held him in a somewhat tight embrace.

“I’m sorry,” She said through her tears, trembling, her voice quivering slightly as she spoke.

           Stunned, Xavier wrapped his arms softly around the vixen, holding her as she sobbed, sighing softly as he tried to comfort her.

“It’s alright Aurin..” He said calmly, a reassuring smile crossing his mouth as he spoke, his voice still somewhat raspy. “I’m alright now..” glancing towards the sky, Xavier let out another soft sigh and stroked the vixen’s headfur gently. “Please, don’t cry.” 

           Pulling Aurin into his arms, Xavier held her close, nuzzling her absently to comfort her, brushing her tears away gently and smiling down at her. For hours they sat there together, the sun barely risen as it beamed down on them, and for the moment they both seemed at ease.