The Fall of the Society

Chapter 40: Experiments

"His glare was fixed on me as he picked up a sword that was on the table in front of him. He gave it a quick swing before moving purposefully forward. I warned him of the mistake he was making, but he just laughed and swung his weapon toward me. Easily dodging his slow and lumbering attacks, he began to grow frustrated. His fury grew as he smashed his things in an attempt to harm me, but his efforts were futile as I easily staved off his attacks. He began to grow tired and I kicked him hard in the chest, breaking my own ankle, and knocking him to the ground. My ankle healed before my foot hit the ground and he looked up at me suspiciously. He laughed, claiming that no matter what I did, I would not be able to physically harm him and any bindings I put on him he would break. With a smile I knelt over him and began pressing my blade on patches of his exposed skin. Much to my happiness, the rumors were true, and his skin was in fact impenetrable. His laughing continued as he began trying to stand. I placed my foot on his throat and forced him back to the floor."

"I was not able to cut off his airflow, due to the rigidity of his skin, but his eyes widened as he discovered that I was nearly as strong as he was. Holding him to the ground, I focused on a spot on his arm, hoping beyond hope that what I wanted to attempt would work. Pressing the blade against his arm, nothing happened. My frustration showed clearly, and he pushed me from him and quickly got to his feet. He decided against recovering his weapon and started trying to hit me with his fist. This was a clever idea, as he was much faster at attacking this way, but he was still too slow. When he was tired once more, I knocked him down again and began trying my test again. This process went on for three days before I had my first breakthrough. I had him pinned to the ground, exhausted once more, focusing with all my mind on a patch of skin on his forearm and I slid the tip of my blade across it. A small wound opened there, blood rising to the surface. He screamed and sat forward as I took a step back. Wiping the blood away, he revealed that the wound had gone, but left a red mark in its place."

"I was unable to reproduce this result for a further two days, when I opened an even larger gash on his upper left thigh, while parrying an attack. He fell back screaming, but I continued to focus on the spot, and it did not heal. His skin was unable to repair itself while I focused on it. This revelation was exhilarating, as it was the culmination of all my work. I had managed to access portions of my mind that no human had ever managed, that I know of anyway. The man on the grounds surprise at what had happened was greater than my own at what I had done, he had obviously never felt pain like that before."

"My abilities allowed me reprogram the way my brain worked. I had almost perfected my control over my powers, but I was still unable to turn them off for long enough for a fatal injury. I was not concerned with that portion at that moment though, I was finally able to help Gwen, though I was hoping beyond hope that I could change her mind. I loved her unconditionally, but I could not force her to struggle through a life she no longer wanted. Even I felt at times like I wished I could pass; my mind did become very tired occasionally."

"I still had to deal with the man before me, he was prone to using his abilities to harm those that did not deserve it and that did not sit well with me. He was glaring at me from the floor, his leg having healed while I was lost in thought. Backing away I stood on the opposite side of the cave, waiting for the man to get back to his feet. I may have been planning to kill him, but I would do so honorably, not while he was laying exhausted on the ground. He must have understood that while he was on the ground, he was safe, and he laid his head back and soon fell asleep. I wandered around the cave, looking at the goods and items he had stolen and was surprised to find a stack of books. There was a philosophy book on top, a layer of dust and dirt on it told me they had been in this position since the man had stolen them. I returned to the spot I had been standing and began reading. He remained on the ground, though he woke up a few times and was disappointed to see that I was still awake but did not fully stir until the following morning. Pulling himself into a chair by the table, he retrieved a bottle and a basket of fruit, quickly gorging himself."

"Staring at me, he decided he may want to take a different course of action. "Why are you here?" he asked me. I did not answer but continued to watch him. The man frowned, "I will give you whatever you want if you just leave." I smiled and told him I could not do that, that I would not be able to live with myself if I left him to his own devices to harm innocent people. He glared at me and stood to face me. Spitting threats at me, he lunged forward. Easily, I dodged his attack with a sidestep and slammed my right knee into his stomach, followed by a hard elbow to the back of his neck. He stumbled but spun and tried to attack again. His momentum was off as I kicked him in the chest, slamming him against the wall. Swiftly I pulled my dagger from its sheath and plunged it into his abdomen. I withdrew my blade and he fell to his knees. Stepping behind him I kept my focus on cancelling out his abilities and placed my blade below his left ear, dragging it to below his right. Sputtering and shuddering, he fell forward into a pool of his own blood as the life drained from his eyes."

"It had been a long time since I had killed anyone, I had not needed to do so in my travels with Seralynn. After a short while of observing the man, I searched the cave once more and found a spade and pickaxe. Heading outside, I found a nice spot that the sun shined on during midday and began digging. Soon I had a deep rectangular hole and pulled myself out of it. Moving back into the cave, I recovered a large tapestry from a heap of items the man had stolen, and wrapped him in it, before dragging him outside and placing him in the grave. I then replaced the dirt into the hole and finished the burial process."

"The village he had been stealing from was a little way to the north, so I headed for the town. There was still an exceptionally large amount of goods within the cave and I felt they should be returned to the people they belonged. I arrived at the town a little before dusk and found the inn, the smell of roast meat was wafting on the air. Entering the building, I was ambushed by a feeling of somber depression. This village had taken great losses at the hands of the man that had been terrorizing them, as it was where the soldiers he had killed had hailed from. Next to the door was a bounty board, a large depiction of the man plastered upon it. Approaching the bar, I asked the lady standing behind it for a drink and who I would need to talk to about the bounty on the man's head. She stared at me for a moment before placing a tankard of amber liquid in front of me and motioned to a long table with many people sitting around it, an older and very tired looking man at the head."

"I gave the man a courteous bow and asked if I could sit with him for a moment. He nodded grimly and took an empty chair next to him. Over a short while I told him about the cave in which the man had been staying and that they would find their possessions with it, minus some of the food items. He stared at me in disbelief for a moment. I understood his concern, as the man was not easy to dispose of, but I assured him that he was in fact dead. He did not believe me and told me that he would be unable to pay the bounty without proof that he was in fact deceased. I laughed, telling him I was not concerned with the bounty, and that I would gladly take some of his remaining men to the cave to show them the truth. Still not believing that I was telling the truth, he told me he and some others would head out with me in the morning to see if my tale was true. I agreed and approached the bar maid and requested a room. I paid the required amount and she showed me to my room. The room was plain with a hard bed and rough bedding, but that mattered little to me. Laying down I quickly fell to sleep as my mind drifted to Gwendalynn."