The Eyes of Fate [Beta Chapters]

The Shadow

 It's a cold night and the pale moon illuminates the valley. It's a battlefield, rubble and debris lay scattered, almost crushed. Massive buildings of brick lay in devastation, most of which resemble the 1800's. It's quiet and not a sound can be heard but the whistling of a gentle wind. The ground is moist as if it had rained recently, a thick fog layering the floor. Something breaks the deathly silence. A fallen stone wall moves, pushed upwards and over with a grunt, the shape of a young girl appearing from the destruction with four large tentacles extending from her back. Her skin is inky black and her head round and smooth, two large glowing white eyes pierce the night. She weakly trips forward, landing on her hands and knees, her tendrils laying limp near her. She breathes heavily, struggling to stand up, whimpering every time her legs give in. She's drained of stamina, falling forward once more, her hands falling into a small puddle. She gently opens her large eyes, seeing herself for the first time. Her form is completely black and smooth, lacking even a mouth and nose, but somehow still able to make audible sounds.

She sits back, taking a rest in the desolate dead-zone. She looks around with big eyes, confused and frightened, "where am I?" she wonders, "what happened?". She begins to look at herself and realizes she's smooth all over her body. She lacks hands and feet, her would-be hands rounded out like a toy and her flat feet are somehow staying level with the ground. Once she regains her breath she slowly stands up, staying more steady this time. In her head, she tries to retrace her steps and remember what happened. She can't see anything, its just...black. "Who am I?" she wonders. Something in the distance catches her eye. Through the fog, she can see a red glimmer, almost crimson, calling to her. She tilts her head curiously, there doesn't seem to be anything else around. The girl begins to walk forward, heading in the direction of the strange glimmer. This doesn't prove easy, as large pieces of rubble block her path. Burn marks and large slashes decorate the debris. Occasionally she's forced to use her tentacles to move objects which easily move even the heavier obstacles. It's not long before she begins to near a massive glowing red object standing erect from the ground, glistening a crimson sheen. Once even closer, she can get a better look at it, the rubble around her growing smaller and smaller as if more finely crushed. The object is massive, towering over the girl and even most somewhat-standing buildings. It seems to be a massive blade, sharp on the edges and heavily worn, seeming to lack a proper shine with chips at the blade. She can't seem to see the top but it doesn't seem to have a handle or any mechanical attachment, simply rounded to a shorter point. The part stuck in the ground doesn't seem normal either, curving up at both edges of the blade, creating a large backward crescent.

As the girl stares at the large blade, she can't help but want to touch it, as if it's calling to her. Slowly, she starts to approach the ancient weapon. The red glow dances on the blade as she draws near as if ecstatic to see her. She extends her rounded hand, which begins to change shape into clawed fingers. With her hand extended, her finger draws inches from the blade, strange whispers chatter around her. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you," a deep voice says in the distance. The girl jumps in fear, her finger stopping centimeters away from the sword. She whips around fearfully, scanning her surroundings. Then she sees it. A large figure standing perched in the distance atop a section of destroyed building, his silhouette and shadow covering her. The stranger is large with broad shoulders and a bulky visage, a cloak over his shoulders, watching the girl like a hawk. "W-who are you?" she calls fearfully. The stranger's eyes glimmer an emerald green, chuckling slightly. He walks forward, jumping off his perch and landing with a thud, keeping low to the ground like a dog. "I don't wanna hurt ya kid," he says, standing his ground. "Just step away from the blade", the girl looks back at the sword, walking away a bit, "Why?". The stranger chuckles, "The guy that it belonged to... well, he wasn't very nice, so there's this thing apparently where you touch it, you get evil, you bring it to him, blah blah blah", he says nonchalantly. The girl takes a few more steps from the blade becoming a bit more nervous around it. "So then... who are you? And what's with the cape?" She giggles slightly, pointing to his cloak. The stranger looks down at himself, showing horns behind his head. He grumbles slightly, "Forget it, a friend thought it would 'look cool' he says in frustration, grabbing it off his shoulder.