Primal Gambit

Chapter 70: The Brightside

The light overhead blinded everything. Last thing the ex-soldier knew he was lying face down, before his field of view was invaded by burning fluorescence.

Was he dead?

Was this what came after?

Was he about to atone?

Was he ready to atone?

He could not see, the vibrant shine too bright to see anything else. He could not hear his own beating heart. He could not feel his own breathing – had it stopped entirely?

He wanted to remember something, anything before his mind reeled and it was too late. He wanted to savor the special moments he had experienced in his youth – the simple times before mankind began to collapse into itself like a dying star.

All the memories he wanted to take grasp of and hold onto were just out of reach, too far for his thoughts to wrap around.

He began to lose sight of what was good in life, as he returned briefly to his later years. He was sure of it, that the spark in his head – the light source before him, would burn out in the following moments.

It was a difficult concept to grasp – death. No matter how he thought about it, there was no sense to be made. It reminded him of thinking about falling asleep as a child: the more he pondered, the further it drifted: growing ever-more out of reach. He lacked even the slightest insight into how he had ended up there, in such proximity to the end.

There it was, directly before him. Whatever Elysium or Purgatory lied on the other end, he would find out once the light finally burned out. He was sure of it.

Ever so slowly the vitality in the shine began to dim. Much like a light consuming a drained battery, it flickered in and out. He could feel his pulse again, rhythmic beats echoing in the silence, keeping pattern with the surging epicenter of the beam.

Rousing just out of earshot, he heard agony – he heard pain. Beyond the light there would be nothing but misery waiting for him. All those he cared for had perished –

Why would his fate be any different?

He was sure each deep inhale, each continuous exhale would be his last. There was nothing he could do except wait for the warmth to crawl over him – a blanket on a frostbitten night.

It was not to be. Not now. And as the numbing chill caused his bones to shiver, he realized it was not yet over. He was not as lucky as the rest – his life evolving.

There was no question that he would need to become stronger than he had ever been before. To tackle not only the demons before him but those that resided within would cost him what humanity he had left.

There was still work that needed to be done.