Legacy of War

Burning Pyre

The Following is a Non-Profit Fan-Based Parody

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Chapter 1 - Burning Pyre

The sound of my heartbeat is ringing in my ears, I can just faintly hear the sounds of battle and the howling winds. I was laying against a broken stone wall, sword in hand with a giant corpse standing above me. Father's voice and the hysterical laugh of the Stranger sounded so far away, yet they were battling in front of me. My whole body hurt, the grip on my sword felt loose, I don't even have the strength to tighten my grip on my own weapon.

"Tim...!"

Brother, is that you? I can't hear you, or even see you. I tried to stand up, but only ended up falling to my side, coughing up blood as I did.

"...eus!"

I have to get up, Father needs help. My brother... his cries are getting louder and louder. My family needs my help.

Get up.

Get up!

GET UP!

Using whatever strength I could muster, I pushed myself up off the ground, using my sword to brace myself as I did. My whole body ached as I stood on shaky legs, my breathing was heavy and ragged as I gasped for air. I tried to lift my sword, but I couldn't even muster up the strength to do it.

Seeing that I was now standing, the Stranger smacked Father to the side, charging straight at me with his fists raised, no doubt to kill me. He was stopped by a flurry of arrows piercing his torso, before a jagged flaming blade pierced the stranger's back. I heard another voice call out in the distance, the voice of a woman begging for us to stop fighting. Feeling my strength return, I let out a battle cry as I charged forward, my sword raised to strike down the Stranger.

I felt anger envelop my senses, a burning fury directed towards the Stranger. My entire world turned red, as if my body had been consumed by a raging fire. Lifting my sword above my head, I slammed the blade down onto the Stranger. Unfortunately he caught the blade in the middle of my swing, and now the two of us were having a contest of strength. I was trying to push the blade down to cut him in two, and he was attempting to push the black back towards me.

Soon the ground beneath our feet began to crack and split as a result of our clash. Above us, the giant corpse seemingly began to move on its own. It lifted an arm into the sky, with its hand poised right above the four of us. It quickly began to descend, clearly intending to disrupt our battle.

I could hear Father rushing towards my brother to get him away from the danger. As for me, rage had clouded my judgment, and instead of backing away from the clash and rushing to safety, I pushed the blade down with all the strength I could muster. All I wanted at that moment was to kill the man in front of me, to make him pay for everything he had done.

"Timaeus!"

Both Father and my brother called out for me, pleading for me to leave the battle in fear of being crushed by the giant's hand. I couldn't make out what the Stranger was saying, but all I can hear was his laugh, which had reached a hysteric euphoria. The two of us refused to back away, refused to leave until the other was struck down. Even if I had come back to my senses, it was already too late.

The giant hand was now mere breaths away from us, there was no use backing away now, we both would be crushed. With a loud crash, it handed on the two of us. My vision began to fade into darkness, and the last thing I heard was my name being called...