[Dawn's Quietude: Breath of the Dead]
The cold was gnawing at my bones. It wasn't the natural chill of winter, nor the bite of the morning wind; it was that specific, unnatural cold that Dan had left lingering in the air behind him like a curse. Dawn was creeping in slowly, pale gray threads struggling to push back the oppressive blackness of the night, but they failed miserably to banish the darkness that had settled deep within my chest.
I stood there, on the stone balcony overlooking the dense, dark forest. Gina was standing in front of me, her back turned to my presence, her hair dancing wildly with the cold dawn breeze. She was staring up at the moon, that pale silver disc that seemed to be watching us with silent mockery. She didn't move. She didn't even breathe audibly. She stood as still as a statue carved from black marble, sculpted solely to embody grief.
I approached her with heavy steps, my massive frame casting a long shadow over her small figure despite the dim light. I sat down beside her on the cold stone ledge. I looked at her sharp profile; her eyes were empty, void of any light, but I knew with absolute certainty that inside her, a hell was boiling over.
"Gina..." I started, my voice rough. "I... I am truly sorry about what happened to Luca."
She didn't look at me. She didn't even blink. But my eyes, trained to spot the minutest details of enemies in the heat of battle, caught the movement of her hand. Her fist was clenched so tightly that the knuckles protruded, white as ghosts under her skin. Her fingernails were digging into her palm with such force that I could almost smell the blood, as if she were trying to replace the agony of her soul with physical pain. That rage... that suppression I felt radiating from her, filled the space with the scent of incinerator ash.
I placed my large hand on the edge of the balcony, gripping the cold stone until it cracked slightly, and swore in a voice that did not waver: "I promise you, Gina... that monster named Dan... I will kill him. I will tear out his throat with these bare hands, and I will make his blood wash away the memory of this night."
She finally turned to me, but her gaze was not one of gratitude. Her eyes reflected the moonlight strangely, cold and distant, as if she were telling me in a deadly silence: "You don't understand, Ray... Dan isn't a human you can just kill. He is a terrifying concept. He is Death walking on two legs. Your promises are nothing but dust before his might."
She didn't say a word. She turned away and walked back inside, leaving behind a void, and the image of Dan smiling enthusiastically as he looked into my eyes... that image which made my hand tremble involuntarily, a reaction my body had never betrayed before.
[Innocence Amidst the Rubble: Growth of the Little Wolf]
I tried to sleep, but images of the dismembered corpses and Dan's glowing red eyes haunted me behind my eyelids. I woke up with the first thread of sunlight, my body stiff, my soul desperate for air that hadn't been polluted by the stench of noble blood.
I headed to the forest, to the place where nature's honesty existed far from the lies of the cities. I saw Rio. The boy was training with an intensity I hadn't seen before. His body, already large for his age, was beginning to harden. His muscles were taking on a defined shape, and his movements with the heavy log were becoming more fluid and powerful.
"Oh... look who's become a little monster," I said, trying to force a smile onto my tired face.
Rio ran toward me, enthusiasm overflowing from his eyes. He began to recount how he could now chop thick logs with a single strike. I sat with his mother for a while. She was a kind woman, her face bearing the wrinkles of patience and hardship. We talked for a long time. I laughed with her, and for a few moments, I felt that I wasn't that assassin drowning in blood, but just a human seeking peace. But deep down, I knew this was just a temporary mask; inside, the real "Ray" was preparing himself for war.
[The Filthy City: Dancing on Graves]
Later that day, I decided to go down to the city. The atmosphere was charged with tension. In every corner, in every tavern, people were whispering about "Adrian Valerian." The brutal death... the eye found in the mouth... the name "Dan" began to echo like an ominous spell.
But what truly made me nauseous was what I saw when passing by the Royal Palace. There was no mourning. There were no black flags. Instead, golden decorations filled the walls, drums were beating in celebration, and news criers spoke of the coronation ceremony of the younger brother replacing his murdered sibling.
I stood amidst the crowd, watching the nobles laughing on the high balconies, raising glasses of wine as if Adrian's blood, which hadn't even dried yet, was merely wine spilled on the floor.
"A filthy world..." I muttered to myself, spitting on the ground in contempt. "A brother sells his brother's blood for a crown of gold, and power dipped in shame. Draka isn't a kingdom; it's a swamp for worms dressed in silk."
[Meeting the Old Man: Birth of Sin]
My next destination was the shop of that old bladesmith. I needed something to restore my confidence, something to fill the void that Dan had left in my hands.
I entered the shop; the smell of oil and cold iron filled the place. I found the old man sleeping deeply, his head tilted back and his snoring filling the small room. I approached him, placing my hand on his shoulder to shake him gently, but suddenly... the scene flipped!
The old man jumped up as if stung, letting out a scream that shook the dust off the shelves. He drew a dagger he had been hiding under his clothes, attempting to stab me in the neck with a fast, instinctive movement. I retreated backward quickly, raising my hands in surrender.
"Calm down, old man! It's me... Ray!"
The blade stopped millimeters from my chest. The old man blinked several times, his eyes adjusting to the light, then sighed deeply, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Damn you, you cursed brat! You stopped my heart! I thought one of the King's dogs had come to settle old scores."
I chuckled lightly and sat on one of the wooden crates. We began to talk. I told him about the fight in the arena, about the Asura Guardian, and about the power I had begun to feel exploding in my veins. The old man listened in silence, his eyes shining with a mysterious glint.
"Damn you..." the old man said, standing up with difficulty. "I was going to give you a gift for your great victory, but you almost killed me with fright."
"A gift?" I asked curiously. "What surprise were you preparing?"
He didn't answer. He walked toward the dark back section of the shop. He disappeared for several minutes, minutes in which I felt time stop. Then he returned, carrying a black box, long and made of a strange wood that seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it.
He placed it in front of me. "Open it, you idiot..." he said with affectionate grumpiness.
I extended my hand; the box was cold enough to cause goosebumps. I opened the lid... and held my breath. Inside the box lay a blade unlike any I had seen in my life. It was entirely black, a deep abyssal black that swallowed the light, but its edges glowed with a faint purple hue, as if dipped in a nebula from another world. And along the length of the blade, one word was carved with exquisite craftsmanship: "SIN".
I lifted the weapon. Its weight was perfect, as if it were created to be an extension of my arm. "Why... why did you engrave the word 'Sin' on it?" I asked, admiring the letters.
The old man looked into my eyes with a seriousness I had never seen from him before. "Ray... your killing of the Asura Guardian, that symbol which these fools sanctified, was in their eyes an unforgivable sin. You broke their laws, shattered their prestige... You now represent the Sin they fear."
The old man continued in a prophetic tone: "I wanted you to realize that your 'sin' is your only weapon against this filthy rule. You are the 'Sin' that will destroy their thrones and uproot their corruption from this land."
I smiled a faint smile, feeling the power flow from the hilt of the blade straight to my heart. "Sin... yes, this name suits me perfectly."
[Testing the Blade: Edge of Absolute Destruction]
I bid the old man farewell and left, feeling the blade on my back pulsing with life. I headed to the deepest point of the forest, where the ancient oak trees stood with trunks meters thick.
I stood before a gigantic oak, one that looked like it had withstood storms for hundreds of years. I drew "Sin" from its sheath. In that moment, I felt the air around me become heavy. The purple edge began to glow with greater intensity.
I didn't attack with force. I didn't use my massive muscles. I simply passed the tip of the blade gently, as if caressing the bark of the tree.
Silence... then a boom.
The thick tree separated into two halves with terrifying smoothness. There was no sound of friction, no resistance. The blade didn't cut the wood; it seemed to tear the fabric of existence of the tree itself. The massive upper part crashed down, causing a small earthquake in the area.
I looked at the elegant black blade in my hand, seeing the reflection of my sharp eyes on its purple surface. "Oh... beautiful..." I whispered to myself, madness beginning to seep into the tone of my voice. "So beautiful... I can't wait to dip you in real blood... I want to test this beauty in a fight that quenches my thirst."
I looked toward the horizon, toward the palace, and toward the shadows where Dan might be hiding, and said in an audible voice: "Get ready... for Sin has arrived."