Chapter 1 - Having Never Seen the Sunlight (part 1)

51 7 7
                                        

A World without Misery (Interitus 1: Book 0)


Chapter One – Having Never Seen the Sunlight

"The storm of screaming souls surrounds every thought and swallows the hollows of this hopeless world. The tempest of the damned roars on even when my eyes are closed."

Hatasuko stared at the monster in the sky as flames roared all around him. Shouts echoed as helpless people ran through the dusty streets of the city. He stood in the center of the panic as smoke lifted from the rooftops and shrouded the stars in the sky.

 He stood in the center of the panic as smoke lifted from the rooftops and shrouded the stars in the sky

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

He whispered to himself, "It is a symphony of anguished screams – an orchestra of broken souls. A storm that wages on, both when I fight and when I am most alone. I hear every shriek of those who were lost to this evil, and I can hear nothing else. Their misery is my curse and my fuel; it is a reminder that it's my destiny to bring this evil to an end."

Hatasuko glared through the smoky air at the demon floating over the city. Its jagged feet levitated above the burning rooftops in the distance. Its body was built of the darkness and fueled by the shadows. Its massive arms glowed from the reflection of the fire. Its golden eyes pierced through the veil of smoke and starlight. A transparent layer of blackness blanketed the sky and shuddered every time the monster made a movement. Countless evacuees screamed as they ran away, but Hatasuko stepped forward when the last of them had passed. 

"It is the most detestable being in the universe; it is the monster that cursed me with this symphony of screaming souls. It is the catalyst of agony and the emissary of darkness. Every heart has been scarred by its unacceptable existence. Every inch of this world has been soaked by the tears and blood left in its wake. It is the demon of flashing blades and shifting shadows – the nightmare known as the Interfectus."

The Interfectus twisted its massive body so that it faced a different street in the heart of the smoldering city

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

The Interfectus twisted its massive body so that it faced a different street in the heart of the smoldering city. It lifted its arm, its golden eyes glowed for a fraction of a second, and then it unleashed the first weapon of the Interfectus. A diamond-hard blade of shadows shot forth from the demon's arm at an extraordinary speed. It pierced through the smoky air and crashed into a distant home with more than enough force to dismantle it entirely. And though he could not see through the smoke and the darkness, Hatasuko could feel the crushing pain of a human life ending in the wreckage. He could feel the tempest scream louder in his head, he could see the transparent layer of blackness begin rolling like an ocean wave, and he could hear the splatter of the Interfectus ripping its blade-arm through a victim in the distance. Another scream echoed through the sky.

A World without Misery (now with images!)Where stories live. Discover now