He's better than I thought…
In the quiet of the night, she left. There was much to prepare. Seldirin had one week left, if that at all. One week until it would surely be destroyed, and all its people ravaged. There was no time to wait; Mallory had only one task: to ensure its survival.
In the immediate vicinity of the town, there were many threats to its safety. Blasphemous creatures that had no place living as they did, and only served to bring ruin to society. Nearby, a drifting corroded hollow soared through the air, a bubbling mass of dead, boiling flesh. She retched, disgusted by the sight. It was to be expected, what with it being a collection of dead bodies.
I knew it'd be disgusting but damn…
Calming herself, she materialized a familiar weapon, listening to the comforting sound of crystals materializing. She created another. Dual-wielding was uncommon but not unseen, and was a skill she had mastered to an almost perfect degree. She shivered as the hollow stared at her, its many severed eyes meeting her own. The mere sight was enough to make her, the infamous assassin, cower in fear.
"Breathe. Breathe." She stilled herself and immediately launched herself at her opponent. Furiously hacking at the bundle of flesh, small slices appeared. Hundreds, no thousands. Red arcs flew out as she continuously cut. It was no use.
With a scream, it gathered itself and then exploded. Growing in size until it towered over Mallory. Her heart started beating faster, and she kept slicing, inch by inch, its size was reduced. With a swing, its fist smacked into her side, knocking the wind out of her. She slowly rose, only to see it preparing another charge. She held out her hand, dropping one of her weapons, a long, thick blade appearing. With a heave, she swung upward, removing one of its arms.
The monstrosity gathered itself in, sucking in all parts it had consumed and spewed them, scattering the arms, legs, and eyes in every direction. Small scrapes appeared on her arms as stray pieces struck her. Her teeth clenched, grinding together as she threw her daggers. In midair, they shimmered, turning into dazzling rays of light, creating gaping holes in its legs, dropping it to the ground.
Mallory ran forth, grabbing what was left of the hollow, even as it was regenerating. A giant mirror formed. The dazzling beauty of the colors it emitted trumped the dull world outside the dome, brightening up the battlefield.
There was no sound of life nearby, the hollow had consumed it all. With a wail, three people were pushed from the mass of flesh, soldiers for the fiend. With a stumbled run, they charged, only to be cut down by Mallory seconds later.
The giant mirror, now fully materialized, shone out, light encompassing the hollow. Slowly, it began to shrink. Chunks of flesh turned into nothing, reappearing on the other side, trapped within. It pounded on the walls, desperate to escape, but it did not matter; the mirror vanished, taking the hollow with it. The fiend was gone.
Mallory continued hunting for the next hour, until the ink on her back had turned almost clear from exhaustion. That was when the trouble began. Lacking any more abilities, she was left with only the weapons she had materialized, which right now was a single katana. She tramped the rough terrain hesitantly, she was at her most vulnerable.
But she felt relief. She had done the village a great service, eliminating close to ten unholy creatures. Breathing heavily, she sat in an attempt to catch her breath.
Just then, something rough slammed into the back of her head. She fell to the floor, dazed and struggling to rise. Across from her, there was a shadow of a being, wreathed in robes of ash.
"Flyden," she whispered.
Her captor and master.
This was not the right moment. Her former master, Flyden, had arrived, hell-bent on catching her.
"T-To what do I owe this visit?" she asked, still undergoing shock over his appearance.
He snickered, "You know exactly why I am here. You abandoned us, a crime punishable by death. But I will be merciful and take you back in."
Mallory frowned and took a stance, ready for battle. Holding the katana in front of her in a defensive position, she braced herself for the battle.
"I was no more than your property."
He thrust his fist out at her. Mallory swung, in an attempt to relieve him of his limb but it turned into ash, reappearing inside her gut.
She spat a mouthful of blood and phlegm.
She swung once more. He easily parried, grabbing the clumsy slash with his hand. Mallory tried to leap back, but stumbled, barely avoiding another fist.
"And you will continue as such or die." He vanished, absorbed into the now dark sky, reappearing behind her.
Mallory turned just in time, just to block a slash that would have removed her head. He raised his hand, beckoning Ash to answer his call. A storm whistled, threatening to extinguish her life as if it were nothing. It swirled around her, and crimson red sprayed out from the millions of small cuts that appeared on her arms and legs. Her vision turned black, and unable to endure the pain, she fainted.
***
Water splashed over her covered face. The rough leather sack that had been placed over her head was laced with some sort of a chemical that kept her drowsy, thus rendering her ink useless. There was no escape.
She tried to concentrate, to form a weapon, anything that could damage her tormentor. But her ink refused to mobilize, stubbornly remaining in its place.
"You should not have crossed us." A disgusting bald man, with crooked teeth and long, winding nails, was giddy with joy. "I have a new experimental subject. Heh, they gave me full control of what I do. Nothing is off the table." His rusted grin was the last thing she saw.
"L-L-L." Mallory attempted to force out words, maybe to get him to reconsider, release her. It was of no consequence, she was too weak, the residuals left from the mask restrained her ability to think.
All she heard was a whisper. Make it hurt.
When she awoke, she was back in her prison cell. Shivering and only covered by her thinnest undercoat, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had survived at least. She had been caught far too quickly, but it was amazing how desperate her lord was for her, that he would come in person.
It only took three days after her departure for her to be located. Mallory had assumed there would be more time, enough for her to prepare. She was wrong. Mallory may have been successful as an assassin, but it was growing apparent that she was not very capable when it came to staying hidden. No, it was not one of her strong suits.
Lightning struck. The storm raged on as if the heavens were angry. Could they be? Were they? Mallory believed in nothing, but the weather as of late had given her pause. She was used to the calm skies, typical of Ygolhdrah.
She tossed and turned in her cot, enduring the dreary night. Still caked with dirt and blood from the mess of the day, she whispered to her bunkmate,
"I hate this. Returning to my cell day after day, caked in dirt and gore. What a pitiful life." She continued, "I tried to escape… but here I am."
It had been hammered into her mind that she should never go against her master, but she was about to. This daring maneuver would either cost Mallory her life or more pain. Either way, it was a better alternative to being enslaved, forced to assassinate people just to gain her next meal.
And so on her next assignment, she ran. Left her life behind, determined to live peacefully, away from the gore of murder.
But they should not have found me so quickly.
Now, everyone she had met in the recent days was in danger, Riven, Gordian, the whole town. She had deigned to protect it, but now it was only going to be the cause of its demise. She had led them straight to it. With the latent apocalypse outside of the haven that Karn had created, there were no more peaceful towns.
Flyden.
Mallory knew instinctively that the town was doomed from the moment she first saw him; his power was overwhelming. Riven had no abilities, or any way to fight him, and being that there was no one else other than Gordian to try and fight, the town had no chance at survival. If the people did not perish to the beasts, then Flyden would be the one to destroy them.
He was a crooked man and desperately achieved everything he wished for. His next conquest had just happened to be taking over what little towns remained across the globe. War. She could sense a war brewing.
Her head shot over to her right, forgetting there was another with her for a brief moment.
"Who are you?" She asked, as her cellmate stood to the side.
His empty eyes stared back, "I am Lyren."
She turned to get a proper look, but all she saw was the strangest sight. A man, dazzling as he was, stood there in fine attire. He was fit for a big event, but unusually enough, there was no dirt or scrapes on his clothes. That which he bore held no imperfections, out of place in a cell crawling with bugs and covered in dust.
She took a skeptical look, whispering as she continued, "Why are you here? I have not seen you before."
His face held a strange expression, was it sadness? Mallory could not tell but his eyes glinted as he responded.
"They tried to kill me. They really did, and many times I wished for it. But here I am, unable to live or die."
Her eyes widened.
"What an unusual blessing."
"No. It is nothing but a curse."
A thud ended their short conversation as a guard entered the room. "Get up."
Lyren smiled as he was led away, "This is attempt… I don't even remember." The sound of the door closing left her truly alone, with not even a guard to speak to.