The Bloodstained Archives

What Is Sown, Shall be Reaped

The sun beat down with relentless force, it's blazing rays radiating on to the arid desert landscape. This sandy road seemed to stretch on infinitely, it's surface cracked and baked by constant exposure to the brutal desert sun. In the distance, a few stunted leafless trees and scrub bush dotted the landscape, their shapes battered and bent by this wasteland's unforgiving winds.

As the two mercenaries continued to walk in silence, something caught their eye in the distance. At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for just another part of the rocky, desert terrain, but as they drew closer, they noticed that it wasn't part of the terrain at all, but a watchtower. The stone structure had been worn down by years of exposure to incessant sandstorms and the punishing desert sun. It's crumbling walls and cracked foundations were evidence of years of neglect and abandonment. But Kai knew that this watchtower was far from abandoned.

Kai stopped walking to glare up at the building before him, "we're here." he muttered, still as emotionless as ever, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the door. All the memories of this place came flooding back to him, memories which he had tried to bury deep in his mind so as to never deal with them again.

Despite his past, Kai moved toward the entrance, "wait here." Kai said, his voice void of any feeling.

Slowly entering through the door, Kai was greeted with a strange, but familiar sight. On one side of the room was a butcher's table, stained thoroughly with blood as well as the carcasses of some kind of humanoid creatures. The scent of death and decay hung in the air, nothing that Kai hadn't gotten used to already, however. A man stood over the butcher's table working with different knives and tools to harvest meat from the corpses. The man turned around, allowing Kai to verify his target's identity. The man was quite tall and muscular, that of a hunter rather than a farmer. His face was angular and lined with deep grooves, eyes dark and almost expressionless as he glared at Kai. He was dressed in rough cloth, stained with blood and dirt, and his clothes were tattered and riddled with holes. This was the cannibal, his target, the man that killed and ate Kai's only friend.

Realizing who had just stepped into his watchtower, the cannibal let out a maniacal giggle, one filled with both delight and madness. His lips pulled back to reveal sharpened teeth that looked like they could tear through flesh and bone with ease.

The sight of this man disgusted Kai. Without a word, he drew his katana.

Swift as the wind, Kai's katana flashes back and forth, the sharp blade slicing through the flesh of his old friend's deranged killer. The cannibal screeched wildly as he swung his club toward Kai, his movements clumsy and slow. Kai was easily dodging the attacks with grace and agility, his blade finding it's mark each time he saw an opening to strike. Creating many small cuts all over the body of the cannibal, Kai was determined to make his death a slow and agonizing one.

Kai continued to move gracefully, his moves efficient and ruthless. He swung his katana again, slicing through another arm of the cannibal, the limb falling to the ground as the cannibal let out a scream filled with fear and desperation, the blood spatter coating his clothes, turning them red. The cannibal was desperate now, his movements wild and clumsy, his strikes easily parried or evaded. Still, Kai remained relentless, effortlessly slicing another limb off the cannibal's body.

In a final act of desperation, the cannibal attempted to charge forward like a wild bull and impale his opponent, but Kai parried his attack without struggle, slicing through the raging cannibal's neck.

He fell to his knees, choking as he tried to breathe through the bloody gash in his throat, his hands reaching out in a desperate attempt to get air, but it was far too late now. The final blow was delivered, sending the cannibal's head rolling onto the hard, bloodstained ground. Kai stood over the lifeless body, his face unmoving, as he picked up the head and walked out of the tower.

Giving no time for his comrade to speak, Kai rolled the head to him on the ground, "bring this back to the guild, you can keep my other half of the payment." Kai spoke in a calm and steady voice, as if what he'd just completed was another minor task. The coldness in his voice and actions were unnerving, his nonchalant attitude towards violence and death almost surreal.

A chill was sent down his partner's spine, it was nothing like he's ever seen before.

"Brother-" the Shinobi began, still not fully comprehending that Kai had just finished their contract. However, his words bore no weight, as Kai began to continue down the road, no longer being cautious or scanning the terrain around him. He couldn't help but wonder where Kai could be going as he picked up the head and started on his way back to the nearest Shinobi Guild hideout.