It was a cold day, a thick layer of snow was covering the ground, and
the only thing heard for kilometers away was the quiet voice of a
chilly wind. If one focused on his hearing, one would hear the distant
screams of a battle. These screams disturbed Razek's meditation. He was
sitting under a tree, taking deep, slow breaths and enjoying the shadow
it cast over him. Choosing this place wasn't a coincidence for him, he
preferred darkness over light, it was less populated.People are generally scared from darkness and try to avoid it.
He slowly stood up, scrubbing off the accumulated snow on his
shoulders. Despite the cold weather, he was only wearing a torn to the
thighs pair of black pants, and a sleeveless shirt, he was also
barefoot. Due to the cold conditions, nobody had the idea to design
shorts and t-shirts.
However that wasn't the case for Razek, his training included many forms
of extreme conditioning, so the weather was just perfect for him.
He walked out of the shadows, and while the light was slowly shining
upon his face, he closed his eyes so that the sun didn't annoy him as
much as it usually did. He had short white hair that was pointing the
opposite direction of a regular growth. Despite his white head, he had
thick, pure black eyebrows that were underlining his forehead, and due
to his hair color, they were the first thing a person would notice.
Their unique shape resembled that of horns, and if one looked closer,
one would notice the way they branch out to the sides in order to
connect with his hair. It was because of this, that some people knew him
as The White Demon.
He stood still for a while, listening to the screams in the distance.
" I didn't know Kazuya wanted my head this much, following me with
his army around the globe for more than 3 years. I wonder if it is worth
it?"
His thoughts were organized and knew their place, never emerging
without him giving out the command. However this one popped out on its
own. It made him wonder whether he was anxious about being chased by an
old enemy… or was it pity that drove this thought? He couldn't know,
that's why he was meditating in order to clear this thought from his
mind, however it was always surfacing up from the depths of his
sub-consciousness.
"He is getting closer..."
Yet another echo in his mind, it was as if another personality was
talking to him. He was isolated from contact for more than 3 years now.
Razek was wondering if he was going insane, or if there really was
something else in his mind besides him. He couldn't answer this question
no matter what he did. The only clue he had were the distant screams,
that were diminishing by the moment.
He thought to himself: "It's been 3 years...now to find out my own answers."
At that very moment, the screams completely stopped. They were coming
from the South-East direction, where a large city was situated. Silence
could mean only one thing...the battle has ended, and most likely
Kazuya had no casualties as always. He had the most feared army in
these lands.
Razek wasn't moving, he was patiently waiting Kazuya's arrival. He
could hear the ground tremble as Kazuya's troops were marching towards
him. The wind now carried the smell of sweat and fresh blood... "I
almost forgot about this smell." He thought to himself, and after a
brief pause he went on: "A lot of people must have been killed in that
city, it was one of the biggest hubs of activity in the area. The city
will probably be filled with the stench of rotting flesh for another 6
months at least. And if I know Kazuya, he probably "redecorated" the
city with its' population."
The sounds were getting closer with each passing moment, and the
snowy field with a few footprints from Razek's feet would soon be filled
with his enemy's army. This place, would become a battlefield.
"You will die here..."
Another thought appeared out of nowhere, however this one was
different...it was a warning. A slight grin appeared on Razek's face.
The fact that this echoing voice was talking to him before a fight,
meant that the answers lied there. He was trembling. He hadn't been in a
fight for 3 years. The feeling of anxiousness was filling his very soul.
He wanted the fight, he was craving for it. He was barely able breath
properly, the excitement was just too great. He would be in the heat of
battle once again. His nerves of steel could barely hold him from
charging the enemy without first speaking to Kazuya. He drove his
shaking hands through his hair, driving it backwards so it doesn't get
in the way during the killing. It was a habit of his, he didn't have to
do it because it was already growing in that general direction.
Suddenly a dark figure emerged from the horizon. A few moments later,
a horde of blood covered people appeared behind him. In just a few
seconds the valley was filled with Razek's enemies. The snow was
absorbing the blood from their boots, leaving only the half clotted
pieces on their armor. All of their weapons were covered not only in
blood, but most had various parts of their victim's insides and skin
stuck in the blades, especially on the saws. Some had brand new shield
"enhancements" from carved flesh.This horde was fresh from battle,
although it was obvious that the enemy was easily defeated, and they
wanted more.
"So, you finally stop runnin' huh RAZEK!" Kazuya shouted the name
with rage.
"I had some obligations to fulfill in the past years. The time is up now though,
I kept my word and now I'm free to do how I see fit. Sorry to keep you
waiting...I guess."
"HAHAHAHA! Pathetic, is that the excuse you are using to cover your
fear, eh RAZEK? Don't forget our last encounter! Was it not you who was
bleeding your guts off on the floor? You are WEAK!"
"You poisoned me before the fight, you should've put more of this shit onto the blade if you were hoping to kill me. And why are you barking like a chained dog? Don't tell me you are trying to scare me with your yapping..."
Kazuya's face darkened from anger, making it looking even more
sinister. He had pure black eyes and long, red hair. It was perfectly
complimenting his black, bloody armor.
"Do you think that you can lower my troops' morale by spitting out
lies?!? You are not worth even talking to! A win is a win, it doesn't
matter how you achieve it!" His face was filled with rage, projecting
it to the troops, which were already in berserk mode. Their blood lust
prevailed and they all shouted out a violent WRAAAAGH! They wanted to
tear Razek apart.
Unaffected, Razek replied. "Is this the only thing all of you can do?
Your commander has been blabbering for the last 10 minutes, and your
shout can barely scare the crows from the trees." He was itching for a
fight, it's been a long time since he had an opportunity to go all out.
He could hear his heartbeat in his eardrums.
Such a taunt made the blood-covered horde sprint with rage towards
him. Kazuya's face was completely filled with anger. He was shouting out
orders not to kill Razek, just so that he could do it himself...however
no one was listening, as his army was completely obsessed with their
bloodthirsty thoughts.
Razek took off his top. He had a body a bit bigger than average, and
when he stood tall, a huge vertical scar across his torso was revealed.
Kazuya smiled from seeing the mark of their previous encounter.
The charging horde was leaving a trail of blood on the snow behind
them and soon almost all of the field was painted in dirty red.
"Ha, the fool thinks he can do anything without a weapon, HAHAHAHA! I
don't even want to waste time killing you...you are so scared that you
can barely stand from shaking, you even close your eyes so that you
don't see the incoming death! DESTROY THIS COWARD!"
Razek warmed up a bit, popped almost all of his joints and made a few
slight jumps just to check if he was getting into the groove. The
adrenaline was starting to get pumped. He felt the wave of excitement
running through his body. In that instant, the shacking stopped, his
movements became precise to the dot, his mind was concentrated only on
fighting and the battlefield became the only thing left in this world.
He slowly exhaled, his body was heated up, it wanted a fight. The
exhaled air was hot, leaving a big cloud of smoke around him.
Razek opened his eyes. Suddenly the charging troops stopped. They
felt his blood red eyes piercing them to the core of their souls. The
wind stopped and the sun hid behind the clouds, as if afraid to shine on
him. He was watching his enemies with a cold, concentrated look, and
his eyes didn't show a drop of hesitation. Kazuya's troops bloodlust
soon turned into fear, they were afraid of this man's uncompromising
gaze, it was as if death was staring them from behind Razek's figure. They knew that if they advance on this man, there would be no mercy for them.
"He's just one man, we are thousands in numbers! KILL HIM!" Shouted
some high ranking officer, and the troops continued their charge with a
renewed purpose. They didn't want to kill Razek because they were
ordered to, they wanted to do so in order to survive.
Razek started running towards them as well. He was increasing his
speed during the sprint; the snow was thrown several meters back from
his feet, and his hair started bending from the air resistance.
He jumped and kicked the first opponent that was charging him, sending
him flying and impaling him on the weapons of the others. He followed
with a round kick and took out a heavily armored officer. The kick was
so powerful, that the armor shattered in pieces and the officer flew
back vomiting blood and leaving a long, red trail on the dirty snow. He
forwarded the kick into a sweep and broke the lower shins of 4 men. The
next attack was an uppercut to the officer that was shouting out moments
ago, it had all the forces from the spin of both the 2 kicks and the
sweep behind it. At the point of impact, Razek's fist smashed the
officer's neck protector and connected with his chin, his armor bent
along the trajectory of the attack, and his helmet shattered. The
officer's head separated from the torso and fell right in Kazuya's feet,
splashing his lower armor with brains and eye fluids.
Razek carried on with his momentum, taking out multiple enemies with one hit
and sending their flying corpses into the heart of the army, causing
chaos in the ranks. He was getting covered with more and more blood with
each hit, his knuckles were resembling a dish of bone marrow, his strikes cracked bones and pulverized joints in an instant.
All of the front-line officers were dead, the ground was full with
half-dead troops, some of them had their heads cracked, some had several
broken limbs, others were coughing blood and couldn't move from massive
internal bleedings. Razek's fists shattered organs instantly. He took
out one platoon in less than 3 minutes.
However their numbers were seemingly infinite, and he got surrounded.
His hair was covered with blood, and his eyes were channeling even more
fear into the hearts of his enemies. He was holding 2 severed hands,
with the broken bones sharply sticking out.
The troops, terrified from the picture, attacked together, they knew
that running would be useless against this man. The fight continued. The
first opponent to come in range, received a stab to the throat with a
bone from his fellow soldier. The next one got a low kick that
instantly snapped the femur, and lost his left eye to another bone
stab.Razek was like a phantom dancer, dodging attacks and leaving a
trail of death behind him. He followed each attack into another one, he
integrated dodges with killing blows, and he was blocking with the
intention of causing more pain to the attacker instead of minimizing the
damage taken. The White Demon showed no mercy.
Kazuya could hear the voices of his men, as Razek was dislocating
joints and twisting bones. He could almost feel the pain from the
screams coming from there. He could see bodies flying to the sides from
Razek's back kicks, and whenever he saw one of his men going airborne,
he would see his blood covered enemy jump up to finish him either with a
slam to the ground or with a brutal air attack that would crush
windpipes and tear the lungs apart. The screams weren't decreasing,
more and more people were pouring to the "fighting ring". Kazuya's
expression was a mixture of anger and fear. He was terrified. How could
he expect that Razek grew so strong in just 3 years. He has never seen
The White Demon being such a dread.
It soon happened so that there were so many corpses or dying people
on the ground, that the horde had to climb in order to reach Razek. And
if he didn't kill an enemy in an instant, that person would suffer the
slow death not only from his injuries, but from the fast-rising death
toll of his fellow soldiers. Bodies were covering one another every
second, dying soldiers were getting buried alive and Razek was always
emerging on the top of them. Even though he was moving on to other
places, they were soon filled with so many fallen opponents that he
would have to change the location. He was running out of space, and
advancing was the only option for him. He knew that if he stops even for
a second, he will get caught up in all the corpses and be killed.
Four hours have passed. The screams never stopped and Razek was
gliding like a ghost around the battlefield. However, no matter how many
people he was slaying, their numbers were just growing and growing. It
was as if this army was of infinite proportions.
Six hours have passed. Pain was the only thing left in the air. Many
troops from the initial assault were in their final agonies on the
ground, begging for death to come faster. Razek was starting to lose
footing.The ground became an obstacle, it was full of slippy intestines
and kidneys, there were severed spines and other internal organs in his
way. He started avoiding tearing out limbs, since they were becoming
more of a problem then a solution.
Twelve hours have passed. Razek was getting tired, he was fighting
non-stop for 12 hours, turning bones into weapons, smashing heads into
the trees and tripping enemies on their own blades and spears. His
vision was starting to dim, as the oxygen in the air was replaced by the
stench of rotting corpses and clotted blood, which he and everyone else
was covered with from head to toe. He couldn't tell if he was injured,
since everything was red anyway.
"Don't disappoint now..."
Again, even during battle, when his mind is the most focused, that
annoying voice was still reaching him; “Just shut the fuck up already” was the only thing Razek said. He didn't have time to think on it,
he barely dodged an incoming thrust. His reflexes were starting to slow
down, and his movements were starting to get sloppy. It took him 2,
even 3 hits at times to kill one enemy, let alone achieve double or triple kills. He knew that he was approaching the limit.
24 hours have passed. Razek had numerous injuries. He was bleeding
from the many cuts he had. He was stabbed more than 17 times, and had a
dosen of broken bones and internal bleedings. He could barely breath.
His eyes were starting to stare the bloody ground, instead of being
focused on the opponents. The snow was still falling, but the moment it
touched the ground it was soaked in blood. The troops were about to
attack again, when a shout from the back lines told them to stop. In a
few moments, Kazuya appeared.
"You have left quite the trail of corpses, Razek. I think it is time
for you to JOIN THEM!" Kazuya pulled out a very long katana. He was no
weakling either. The snow had covered his black armor since he was
observing the battle all this time. The only one that was tired was
Razek, since the new troops have had some sleep... the ones that didn't
were dead. He barely had energy to stand, and unlike them, he didn't
have reinforcements to cover him for a nap.
Kazuya charged, Razek attempted to dodge but his feet wouldn't listen
to him. Kazuya drove his sword through Razek's stomach, and smiled for
the first time. "Farewell, brother." He then drove the sword to the
side, slashing through half of Razek's torso.
Everything went black. He couldn't feel his body. He couldn't feel
the snow, and the stench of blood had disappeared.
"So, I finally die...Kazuya must be happy. He was that happy when he
killed our father. I never understood what the hell was he thinking…perhaps i didn’t care. I didn't hold a grudge against him, why should I care anyway. So why was he chasing me."
"Your mind is unusually active this time around, Razek." The echo was
a lot clearer this time. It was as if a person was speaking to him.
However Razek recognized his own voice.
"Don't pester me even when I'm dead." He replied.
"Ohohoho, that is very rude, Razek. You are not dead, yet. But you
are dying, yes." Said the voice.
"What does it matter? You are probably a spawn of my imagination,that, or
I've gone mad. Either way, you are not real." Razek hoped that this was
the case anyway.
"Matter? It does matter, if you are dying, you are not dead yet.
Calling me a spawn of imagination is rude, for I'm more real than you
are." The voice became stronger.
"What do you want? Why were you talking to me? And spare me the
lectures, I don't regret anything I've done, and I don't regret a thing
about killing. That is who I am, even if you try to judge me, I wouldn't
give a damn." Razek was getting tired of the conversation. He just
wanted to die and enjoy the silence.
"HAHAHAHA! You amuse me! Your attempts to organize your
sub-consciousness are fun to watch. You still don't know who am I, even
though you were treading on my territory for quite some time. I shall
spare you the mysteries, since I know you better then you could imagine.
I AM YOU. All those past lives, all those past personalities from
previous experiences...I'm all of them." The voice was not echoing
anymore, it was as clear as day.
"So why should I give a damn, If you are part of me, then I should be in
control of you, and I’m not. You can't be me." Razek was annoyed now.
"You don't get it do you? YOU are part of ME! We're one and the same,
it's just that I hold all the power from the previous
generations...nothing personal. I felt that you are ready for our little
chat. You have trained all your life, and now your body is a
magnificent weapon of mass destruction. However, there is still a way to
go. We will merge, and you will be whole again...well, technically "We"
will be whole again. Our powers will merge, and if you think that I
will overtake your personality, don't be afraid, since you are me…well maybe some politeness. And DON'T think that this power will be just sitting there, you will train until you die.”The voice was sounding really serious now.
"Heh, so I guess that's why you appear when I'm, dying. That is
stupid, no amount of power can stop my death." Razek was starting to
regret he was trying to control his mind so much.
"I couldn't approach you during your meditations, because you were
trying to invade my territory and wasn't paying attention. And when you
aren't meditating, your mind is like a fortress. The only way to have a
chat with a kid like you was when you are dying. As for the
injuries...you'll be surprised. Or should I say, I'LL be surprised?" The
voice increased its volume. It was as if a god was shouting down a
mountain.
Everything went quiet for an instant...
Kazuya was already on his bike, far away from Razek's corpse. He was
thinking which should be the next city to slaughter, when he suddenly
felt a chill down his spine, and a quiet wind went past him.
Razek was lying along the rest of the corpses. Kazuya's troops were
salvaging the battlefield for weapons and armor. He stood up. His body
was feeling light. He was mostly covered in snow now, it almost washed
off the clotted blood of his enemies. His injuries weren't there and he
could feel a tremendous amount of energy flowing through and around him.
The troops felt the fear of death creeping out the corner again and
quickly regrouped to fight for their own lives. All of them took out
their neutron-bows, and prepared to fire a barrage of particle arrows at
the dread that just stood up. Their thirst for blood had gone and the desire for close combat encounter was long gone, they just wanted to live.
Razek was wondering if that chat with the voice was just a dream, and
the injuries being healed by themselves some type of coincidence. He
then noticed the horde surrounding him. He realized that he would die,
if they all shoot their arrows. He closed his eyes and searched his
memory.
"So, that's the way it is..." His memory was full with ancient
knowledge from the beginning of the days. The first humans ever to walk
on Earth, the first war, the first martial art. He remembered how he was
charging the walls of Babylon, and how he was the most feared thing on
every battlefield in every major conflict. More than 75000 years of
knowledge and fighting experience filled his mind. His reflexes were
boosted to indescribable levels. He could dodge all the projectiles, but
he wouldn't need to.
The horde launched millions of particle arrows at Razek, the sky
filled with light-blue proton strings that could easily pierce an
armored aircraft's hull.
Razek opened his eyes. A blast of ki dissipated all the arrows. It
stopped snowing. He slowly exhaled, this time the air around him was as
hot as his own breath. His eyes turned dark violet and small lightening
sparks were jumping around them, they ignited, and covered his eyeballs.
Soon the only thing visible were the flames rising up towards his
eyebrows. His hair turned completely black and his scar disappeared.
Another blast of energy cleared all the corpses and launched them in all
directions away from the battlefield. Blood splashed and organs flew,
as there was now a river due to the lack of space and the large amounts
of material. Razek was pumping out so much ki that he could barely
believe it was him, he could only enhance his body before, but never has he actually seen his ki having such a visible and powerful effect. The air around started to vaporize. An aura of
violet flames surrounded his body as well, making him look like a demon.
The Black Beast was born.
He lifted his arms to the sides, and used his ki to materialize
razor-sharp flame claws on the end of his hands and feet. Violet curved
blades formed around his elbows and knees. He resembled a big weapon
stand. The blood below his feet started to boil and disintegrate. Plasma
was forking out from his aura, which had formed a scorching violet
flame around him. As it was growing darker and darker, dark spots
appeared in it and started to violently jump around. The blades started
sizzling, it was visible how they were vibrating at high speeds. It
would easily cut through a Heavy Destroyer's Titanium-A 95.87 cm armor without him even adding ki density to them.
Razek disappeared. Everything was quiet. A moment later he was standing
next to his brother. Another moment and all of his troops bursted in
blood. The trees got covered with various organs. Kazuya could barely
stand the view of all the insides of his men. When he looked at them, he
could only recognize pieces of limbs, or heads. Everything was red,
and the blood was up to the knees. A piece of some officers' armor
drifted by, along with a torn banner of what used to be the most feared
horde on the planet.
Kazuya felt fear. His red hair was now soaked in his men's blood,
making it look dirty. His face was pale. Razek was looking at him with a
neutral gaze. His aura calmed down, and he wasn't exerting much ki.
Kazuya was still catching glimpses of flames vaguely appearing here and
there around his brother.
Razek hadn't blinked since he locked his new eyes on Kazuya. He
was thinking of what to do with him. He could easily erase him. This was
the only family he ever had. He never felt any affiliation for no one.
However he has never hated anyone. You could say that he was the
ultimate egoist, he only cared and fought for himself. So now he was
faced with a dilemma. Should he kill his brother, the last from his
family, or should he spare his life.
"Heh, guess there won't be a handy voice coming to the scene and
telling me what to do...I was that voice after all. I guess I will leave
this to fate."
"Give me your lucky coin."He asked Kazuya.
"Why? You should just kill me and be done with it." Kazuya wanted to
die, he faced total defeat.
"I'll leave this one to luck. Heads - you die, Tails - you live."
Razek's voice had a straight tone.
"Heh, always being too lazy to think on your own. The funny thing is,
I played the same game with our father. As you know, the coin decided
on death." Kazuya grinned. And gave his brother the coin.
Razek looked at the coin.
"Never expected you to keep it for so long, despite the fact that you
hated him for tearing our world. After all, he gave this to
you just before he was preparing for that experiment."
"Pheh! He was a fool and he deserved his fate. And YOU are fool for
just standing by.What would mother think if she saw us right
now?
“Who gives a damn, she’s dead, and it wouldn’t matter anyway.”
“I sometimes wonder how things would proceed if she didn't die. And I
still don't know how we survived, being born from a corpse an all." Kazuya had
a neutral expression.
"You worry too much. It appears we and Death are partners in this
life. Just look at the mortality rate increase you and me caused in this single day
alone. Plus, I almost died. If you live, we could have a chat. I'm itching to ask you about this Zorian army."
“No, I’m not doing this again. Fuck the coin, finish me.”
“You are pathetic”
Razek tossed the coin...
P.S.: If brute force is not the answer, you're simply not applying
enough of it.
