Too Little, Too Late(What Could Have Been)

Different Perspectives

The red creature roared, desperately snarling and hissing at the black-haired man fighting him. It limps, staggering and readying another wave of fire toward the slim man.

-It floundered while I cut the Achilles tendon of its hind legs. The second point was dark red.-

Kyaaaak!

The man dodged and only narrowly managed to avoid the creature with that presence. The being emitting a similar yet foreign presence. I raced as fast as I could, wind aiding my movements and clearing my path towards that strange presence, that strange creature. It was too weak to be familiar, too  limited to be the same. Yet-

A young dragon stared up at me. A startling blue gaze, tired yet willful, glared at me, looking straight into my eyes. I could see multitudes of wounds scattered across their body, yet still- even while weak,  limited , this young,  tortured soul refused to back down. They only stared at me with defiance, chained as they were but rebellious all the same, in the way they refused to drop their glower.

"What a nice gaze."

It truly was a nice gaze. It was a gaze full of rebellion, vicious, and  full of life- so different from the look this child had when they dug into their energy- their own life force just for a chance of the freedom known as 'death.'

(It had been so unlike my gaze, as I had given up. Given up, since the place I should have been able to call home was where I was broken, shattered, and abandoned amongst the ashes of my life.)

It reminded me of someone. A person close to my heart that I could not quite remember. What was their name again? No matter how much I replayed that scene, I couldn't quite place it. There was only a vague sense of joy and hope that this person in my visions lived a long and joyful life. They certainly would deserve it.

-I ran as it roared and stabbed my blade.-

The man raced forward with a surprising grace compared to earlier. The movement was clean, and the moment his hand started moving, I knew the creature wouldn't be able to dodge it. And still, I kept on running. Just a bit more... maybe I can make it if I just  moved faster... I forced myself to be faster, to move quicker. Something, something in my soul,  sang.

And then I did.  

For a moment, everything seemed to have stopped. Everything was frozen. I was the only one moving. The only thing in motion was me. And even as pain rushed through my system, and red teardrops of blood slowly flowed down from the thin cuts on my body, I persevered. The pain seemed insignificant, somehow. There was a sense of it being less than it normally was.

And I hit a barrier.

And everything resumed.

-The explosive ice damage hit its chest. But it still didn't fall.-

The creature was truly desperate now. No. That person was truly desperate now. With mad roars and frantic movement, they unleashed another powerful, yet hopeless attack. The flames blazed wildly, a trail of destruction swirling around in a mesmerizing dance. One last hope, one last chance of survival.

But it was useless.

Frost surrounds the victor, shielding the human from the vicious flames. As desperate as the creature was, they could not melt through the man's frozen armor.

-I grabbed the hilt with all my strength. I recalled the feeling of that moment with my senses.-

The sword swung down and with it, the reaper's scythe.

-The sword moved and I heard something burst. It was the sound of flesh exploding. The blood of the lesser dragon soaked my eyes and its body parts flew through the air. After rolling around in the high-temperature dust, I vomited up all the congested parts.-

I watched as the creature blinked one last time. We made eye contact and I saw a feeling of deep sorrow in them. Sorrow for a life that they would never have- for, from the moment they first woke, they had to fight for their life. A fight they had no chance in, since the moment that sheep bastard had appeared on the battlefield, with that stupid, apathetic screen, calling for that magnificent creature's death, their fate had been determined- as all who saw participated. ( Fate,  a voice in my head snarled.  Pathetic.   Since when had I cared about that? )

As they collapsed onto themselves, I found myself staring into the beast's dead, empty, eyes. Even after they've gone from this world, the soul still seemed so tortured.

There was a strange buzzing in my head, and I couldn't help but wonder. Would that have been how  Я@0И looked like, had the events of  TʜƐ dƖɿTʜ oᆿ μ HƐɿO had played out as it would have originally? I didn't want to think about it.

I blinked, and the thought was gone. Only a heavy feeling of despair remained. As I dropped to my knees, finally ceasing the pounding of my fists and powers on this wall, the already crumbling wall shattered.

( Like my hopes and dreams, a part of me whispers, chuckling at this dark humor. It was all that part of me could do, to alleviate even the smallest amount of my misery.)

-[You are the first to kill the disaster 'Lesser Dragon Igneel'.]-

-[You are the first to contribute to clearing the fifth main scenario.]-

-[An impossible feat has been accomplished.]-

-The power slowly went out of my body. There was no power in my clenched fists. I gaped for breath as I sat down. It was a reckless challenge. This time I really almost died.-

I stared down at my fists that were clenched so tightly, blood seeping out of my palms. The minor cuts and scratches from when time froze have already stopped bleeding, the cuts disappearing as if they had never been there.

So, that creature had been a lesser dragon. Was that why they felt so familiar yet foreign? Is that why I feel so empty as they died?

I took a shuddering breath, body shaking as I clawed at my thighs.   However, no tears ever leaked out of my eyes. All I can feel is an alien kind of blankness.

It was one that I haven't felt for a long time.

It was one that I can't tell what to do with, as I had never dealt with this kind of emotion before. This all-encompassing sadness.

-Anyway, now was the time for sweet rewards.-

There was static in my brain, and I couldn't help but want to rip and  tear apart   all these fools, who had destroyed a child before they could even experience living. This was a hatchling.

A child.

( They haven't even gone through their first growth phrase yet,  a voice strangled by anger snarled out.)

I couldn't have helped but wonder... had those morons tried to communicate first, could there have been a less violent solution?

Either way, this question would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Because me?

I, am someone,   who could

Never.

Ever.

Forget.