Master of Death

Chapter 15 - Shadows of Time

Time is a burden that bares wounds only healed by its own changing tides.

I know that Thanatos has been standing beside me  for at least a minute now, but I have yet to find the words to explain myself. 

"You came here to see a man?" he asks slowly.

I swallow my regret but keep my eyes on the village winding down along with the setting sun. "When the celestial dragon thought it time for me to grow into the human world, she left me on this mountain to be found by a woman collecting fruit nearby. It went exactly as planned. The woman brought me home to her husband and raised me as their own, as the couple coincidentally could not have children. I lived a simple life with a few children I thought to be my friends, one of whom spent more time with me than the others. His name was Ah-Kum, a kind boy who picked me flowers and let me braid his hair for practice. I cared for him as a brother, but the feelings he had for me were far more than that.

"When we got older he began to dream about our lives together and how happy I would be if I were married to him- how happy we both would be. I told him time and time again, as gently as I could, that I had no intention of spending the rest of my life with him that way. Each time he brushed it off as if I had never raised a finger against his wishes. The people I had come to know as my parents thought that it was a splendid idea to wed Ah-Kum, and our wedding was planned under my nose when I was sixteen." More tears fill my eyes despite my efforts to rid myself of them. "On our wedding night I refused his advances, which aggravated him severely. I did so night and day for a while, but his rage grew each time, and I could see the monster in his eyes every instance he tried to convince me to legitimize our marriage. The longer I rejected him, the more violent he became. It was seemingly no time at all before he could resist no longer, and that night he pinned me to the ground when everyone was asleep." I begin shaking so hard that I wrap my arms around myself in a feeble attempt to stop. "He forced himself on me with the strength that I lacked, and no matter how much I thrashed about, he kept telling me that I did not have to be afraid. He kept smiling and-"

I take a deep breath and pause my story to regain some form of composure before continuing. "That was the very first time that my dragons saved me. Were it not for them I would have been in a much darker place. I would still be in this village living as a slave to that man,"

The god behind me is silent for a long moment before replying quietly. "Then tell me why you have come back here for him after all this time,"

I turn my body only half way towards him, and tilt my head just enough to see his masked figure. The smile I offer him is heart shattering. "I am here to avenge my innocence."

He has no time to stop me. I disappear and reappear in front of Ah-Kum's door, not a soul remaining outside. I help myself inside the small bamboo house; the very one that I helped build years ago. Inside I find the man of my nightmares drinking alcohol beside a lantern. At first he is confused by the stranger that has entered his home, but after a few seconds he recognizes my face. His eyes narrow and he rises to his feet in a fit of rage.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Is this the same bitch that fled her husband and left him to live alone for nearly five years? My dear wife, why have you bothered coming back at all?" he asks almost hysterically.

"I was never your wife," I answer plainly in a way that only increases his spite.

He begins storming towards me with a hand raised. "You filthy wench!"

Just as he is bringing his arm down to strike me, I lift my own hand slightly to throw him back with a slight bit of energy. His head collides with the back wall, but it doesn't take much for him to shake off the impact. "Are you not happy to see me? I remember all the times you told me you loved me over the years. Do not tell me that you stopped now,"