Shadows of the Past

A Powerful Man

We reached the coast shortly after noon on New Year's Eve, the air frigid and biting with a blanket of snow covering the landscape. The waves crashed against the rocks below, the sound haunting in the stillness of the winter morning. As we stood there, our breath forming misty clouds in front of us, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease creeping over me.

Anne exhaled, watching her breath form mist in the cold air. "Do you think we'll make it back in time for New Year's? I really want to go to the Three Broomsticks," she asked.

"Hopefully," I replied, my voice tinged with uncertainty. "Where do we go from here?" I asked, scanning the horizon.

"Up there," Sebastian said, pointing to Clagmar Castle in the distance. We trudged up the steep incline, our hearts beating faster with each step as we eagerly anticipated what lay ahead. But when we finally reached the summit, our excitement turned to alarm as we were met with an overwhelming number of Ashwinders.

Anne's voice broke through the tension. "What are the Ashwinders still doing here?" she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"Probably following Rookwood's new agenda," I replied grimly."Well, there's only one way to find out. Kill them all but leave one for interrogation."

Without hesitation, I charged toward the group of Ashwinders, my heart pounding with adrenaline. "Ophelia, wait!" I heard Sebastian and Anne call after me, but I didn't stop. The rush of battle consumed me, drowning out all other thoughts.

"Well, well, well... look who has decided to join us," one of them called out, his voice dripping with malice. Without hesitation, I launched a spell at his throat, silencing him before he could utter another word.

The sickening sound of his blood gurgling and choking on itself only added to my twisted satisfaction. With every gasping breath he took, I felt a surge of dark delight, driving me to unleash even more chaos upon them. As their spells rained down on me, I deftly dodged and countered with a vicious barrage of my own, each one punctuated by their screams of agony and the putrid stench of burning flesh. With each blast, my perverse pleasure grew stronger, fueled by the sight of their suffering and my unquenchable thirst for revenge.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning flesh and the metallic tang of blood as spells collided with their targets. Bodies littered the ground, some still twitching in agony, as the sickening thuds of impact echoed around us. I fought side by side with Sebastian, our desperate movements mirroring each other's as we battled for our lives against an unrelenting enemy.

Amidst the raging battle, I couldn't shake the thought of Ominis watching my every move. Did he condemn me for finding enjoyment in the bloodshed and chaos? The fleeting doubt gnawed at me, but I shoved it aside, consumed by the intense focus and primal urge to emerge as the victor. In that moment, there was no room for hesitation or second-guessing, only the relentless drive to survive and conquer.

The scene was a whirlwind of violence, my spells slicing through the air with deadly precision, rending flesh and bone without mercy. As I watched their limbs fly off and blood spurt from their open wounds, a twisted sense of satisfaction washed over me, warming my cold soul in the midst of the chaos. Each spell cast, each life taken, fueled a primal urge within me, driving me to continue the onslaught until the enemy lay defeated at our feet.

The ancient magic within me surged through my veins, pulsing with an unrelenting power. I took careful aim at the second-to-last enemy, channeling every ounce of strength into the spell. With a fierce cry, I unleashed it upon him and he lifted into the air, writhing in agony as I slammed him against the ground again and again. The sound of his bones shattering filled my ears, intermixed with the sickening pops of his lungs collapsing under the force of my attack. It was a brutal display of raw power, and I reveled in the destruction it brought.