A Flash of the End

  ?The rubble was shaking… no, leaking was the right word for it. Black liquid seeping through the cracks, the same color as the blood of the corrupted entity.

  ?Blade reflexively turned around to where Aru’s body had lain, only to see the black liquid form tentacles that began making his body rise. At first slowly, as if unsure, but quickly it learned, moving like a spider, with its head following suit.

  ?The liquid slowly rolled around Aru’s body as his flesh gave way. His bones splintered, his limbs snapping every way but the right one. Everything that could go wrong with his body did, until it formed a giant humanoid figure made of nothing but darkness and blood.

  Seeping from the rubble, ?the liquid combined, forming a wave of darkness.

  ?“Finally. Thanks to you vermin, I finally am closer to crossing over fully.”

  ?The entity said, marveling at its own body. This power he now held was overflowing, yet he was still far from his peak.

  ?“This body is incomplete, I will have to absorb my other halves.”

  ?“Other halves?”

  ?Blade asked him loudly. He did not really know what to do against this and could only try to question him.

  ?“Oh… the bugs are still alive? Well, since I’m in a good mood, let me dignify you with a response. I am split in three halves. The me you see here is the personification of my mind. The me behind you, the personification of my body. And the me who is divided into each and every god, the personification of my soul.”

  ?“Why haven’t you combined with your body then?”

  ?“The same reason I’m gracing you all with this talk, your despair amuses me. I can not be killed separately. The resentment, the regrets, oh, the deliciousness I will enjoy when I rid myself of the multitudes of crawling ants that continue creeping over my property.”

  ?He said before kicking Blade into the ruins, causing the ground to shake and the rubble to fly everywhere. He then jumped to where Blade was lying before he began pummeling him to the ground.

  ?“Come on now, where is all your talk!?”

  ?The entity enjoyed the feeling of his fist connecting with flesh and bone. By the time Blade was nothing more than minced meat, he was picked up by the entity and healed, only to be slammed back down and pummeled.

  ?The cycle continued again and again and again, driven by his desire to see Blade regret everything. To see everything hidden behind the emotionless facade. And if that meant beating him to death again and again, then so would he enjoy it. Every part of having his fist connect and break Blade’s body could only send vibrations of pleasure through his hand.

  ?By the time the sun began to rise, signaling a new day, Blade had been almost killed at least 60 times. And this time, after healing him, Blade was tossed towards Yuki, landing beside her.

  ?Yuki was in a half daze, though she could move, she had lost a lot of energy and strength. And if this continued, she would die due to lack of everything.

  ?She slowly moved her head aside, looking at Blade, who was getting back up, ready to fight yet again, even if it only meant being beaten again.

  ?“I have enjoyed our game, ant, but I’m done with it.”

  ?The entity said as the ocean of darkness finally merged with him. It formed a cocoon around the entity as he transformed. In that short moment of respite, Yuki spoke.

  ?“Blade… please… sacrifice me.”

  ?The words made Blade come to a halt, surprise etched all over his face. Never would he have believed this would be what she requested from him. He quickly found his voice, though, as he said.

  ?“What do you mean, sacrifice you? Why would I?”

  ?“Have you forgotten, or have you truly chosen to forget? Do you not remember? He told us himself.”

  ?The words made Blade think back to when the entity had tried to make them believe he was Aru and unwittingly revealed its own weakness. A sacrifice that would make up its core.

  ?“But there is no guarantee that will even work. If it truly was that simple, shouldn’t somebody have figured it out by now then?”

  ?Yuki took his hands in hers, a soft smile on her lips, as she brought his hands close to her chest. Resting their foreheads together, she said.

  ?“I do not regret a moment of my life, and I would not wish to change a moment. I am happy with the fate that has been given to me. So let me fulfill this last wish of mine. Let this be my proof of a life I found worthy to live, just like I found you, someone worthy of hoping for.”

  ?Blade’s eyes widened at her words. He did not know what to say, feel, or anything, really. At this moment, he did not know what to believe. Yet he became acutely aware of his surroundings as a voice boomed behind him.

  ?“Ah, reborn and reformed. Finally, only a matter of time now before I become one again.”

  Standing up, ?Blade faced the entity. He needed to buy Yuki enough time to do whatever was needed. Just like how she had repeatedly put her trust and life in his hands, Blade would put his life in hers.

  ?“If you want to complete yourself, don't you have to kill all the gods out there?”

  ?“Of course, I have had my fill of this planet. Always destroy it at a high note. I would hate for my food to become stale.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  ?He said before picking Blade up like a doll, and began flicking his head back and forth with his thumb, making his head snap each time, yet healing him for every time.

  ?Blade could deal no permanent damage to him, one of the main reasons for the need of a core.

  ?Suddenly, though, a bright light flashed where Yuki sat as mana began building up.

  ?Blade was quickly tossed away as the entity fully focused on Yuki, practically forgetting Blade entirely.

  ?“YOU BELIEVE THIS PUNY RITUAL SHALL HALT ME!?”

  ?He screamed, though even Blade could notice it wasn’t one entirely made of arrogance or ego, but one with a hint of fear.

  ?Yuki, though, paid it no mind, placing a hand on her chest over her heart, before freezing it to numb the pain. She then pierced her hand through her chest and tore out her own heart.

  ?“Let me become your anchor, let me become your core. I willingly give you this, to become stable once more.”

  ?She recited, repeating the words that seemed to flood her mind as she calmly offered her heart. Her face reflected neither pain nor sadness. A soul that bore no regrets, only a profound sense of warmth, even as her body went cold from her missing heart. Yet the ritual commenced. As mana chains sprouted from the offered heart, binding themselves to the entity.

  ?“Stop this at once! Do you not hold regrets, fear me! Fear your death! Despair at the suffering which will befall your people! Cry at the tragedy you bring your loved ones!”

  ?He screamed, tearing at the chains to no avail as they only tightened around him. He wanted her to regret, to feel negativity, to waver. Yet her resolution and mind stayed strong until her demise. When her body turned cold, so did the chains that wrapped around him as they fused with his body, and he became aware. Aware of the ground under his feet, the air flowing past his head. His senses, his feelings, his existence returning, yet his anger burning.

  ?Remembering Blade, he lunged at where he had tossed him, only to find him nowhere to be seen.

  ?“Where are you!?”

  ?He said, his mere scream breaking the forest apart and causing space to distort around them. As if reality was stuttering, everything was breaking apart at his presence, yet Blade remained steadfast. And so did the slash that appeared on his neck as Blade rushed past him.

  ?“You!”

  ?The entity screamed. It felt no pain, but the act of having been fooled by a human and a fox, of having been anchored back to reality by someone else's will disgusted him utterly. Yet Blade did not care. Paying his final respects to Yuki and honoring her wish, he gave her a quick, but gentle burial before carving her name into a stone he used as a gravestone.

  ?The entity could only watch in utter confusion before saying.

  ?“Are you stupid? You are supposed to carve out two graves, because you will die here with that pet of yours.”

  ?Though before he could slam down, Blade already dodged to the side, bringing him away from the burial site to preserve it.

  ?“I don’t want to ruin this place, let’s move.”

  ?“You do not get to decide that, damned mortal!”

  ?Anger and rage flew back at him as he had to dodge the strikes. It wasn't that Blade had suddenly gotten faster, but that the entity had gotten slower. Now tied down to reality, he was forced to abide by its rules. No longer could he exist as he pleased. Another reason why he so detested being forcefully anchored against his will.

  ?Gripping a handful of rubble, he threw it at Blade. It fell like meteors, yet they were destroyed by Blade, who cut them into finely sliced cubes, before using them as stepping stones, dashing at him and cutting him across the torso. Having to use gravity to drag the sword across his giant body.

  ?The entity tried to retaliate by kicking him, only for Blade to cut off his foot. Stumbling without proper footing, Blade took the opportunity to end him fully, cutting off his legs completely.

  ?In the end, he stood on top of his chest, over his heart, after cutting off each of his tendons. He had never believed Uso's teachings of the body would come in handy in such a form.

  ?“Grieve, human, even if you kill me—”

  ?“If? Sorry, but there is no doubt in my mind. You're dying here,”

  ?Blade said, interrupting him. Without breaking the momentum, he pierced his sword through his newfound core, finally killing him, though he would not fully leave yet. Parting with his last words.

  ?“I will curse you! Hahaha! I shall make sure you never find happiness in this world.”

  ?“I do not need your curse nor blessing. I will find my happiness by myself.”

  ?“How do you know!? A hollow shell like you!”

  ?“Because people trusted me. That is answer enough.”

  Stepping off the disintegrating corpse without looking back, only to fall moments after. Blade had run out of energy. Used more mana than intended and now paying the price. He felt his eyelids fall slowly across his eyes, and though the sun glimmered between the trees, he found himself in a dark sleep.

  ?By the time he woke up, days or maybe weeks had passed. He had no way of knowing, and so he got up and started walking back the way they had originally come from. Hours passed with the only sound being the crunching of grass under his shoes, as he walked.

  ?It surprised him, though, what he saw when he was clearing the closest settlement. Hundreds, no maybe thousands of people all gathered and waited for him. And the moment they saw him, they shouted.

  ?“You monster!”

  ?“How dare you kill our god!”

  ?“So you enjoy our suffering, you abomination?"

  ?They were berating him, but for what? That was when Blade realized this was what the entity had meant. Rewriting the present, using his dying breath to make everyone view Blade as someone who killed a part of their god. The entity was all gods, and so when all the gods pointed at one person, nobody had any reason to think otherwise. The insults only continued, getting worse by the second, though the one which interested him the most was.

  ?“We now know why you didn’t take the title as the new [Sword Saint], you’re the [Devil’s Blade] here to bring damnation to us all!”

  ?Blade did not know why it caught his interest as such, maybe it was how they believed this was what he wanted, but then it hit him. What did he want? He could not refute their claims, when he himself could not even answer it.

  ?He remembered Yuki’s smile, and the realization struck him. He wanted to see more of them. More of the happy smile of people. But how did people smile?

  ?It hit him again, the two people whose smiles had enticed him the most, Yuki and Ryuma, were both dead. If people died, they could no longer smile. When he went out on missions with Ryuma, the people smiled. Was that it then? His ideal?

  Caught in his own thoughts, Blade didn’t even notice as the people threw rocks at him. One of them suddenly broke the crowd, though, trying to harm him, and that is when it happened.

  ?The man’s arm fell to the ground, as Blade’s sword was stained with blood. He had cut it off swiftly, causing nothing but shrieks and screams from the crowd, but Blade did not mind.

  ?To him it made perfect sense. He wanted to see people smile, to do that they needed to live, meaning he had to make sure they were alive, but as long as they could smile, he could be the villain, hero, or whatever. To him, he needed only to protect them so they could live and smile. Meaning losing a limb or two was fine if they were kept alive.

  Observing the crowd in silence, ?Blade thought about his next move. Yet when the sea of people parted, he felt himself being dragged back by a hooded figure.

  ?Blade let it happen as he felt no intent of harm in the action. When they reached a secluded area, the figure took off its hood to reveal Evelyn, who looked at him seriously before bowing.

  ?“I’m sorry for everything that might have befallen you.”

  ?“What do you mean?”

  ?“The loss you have experienced. I cannot truly fathom what you have been through, but I wish not for you to have to face this injustice alone.”

  ?Those words were what made Blade realize Evelyn had gone unaffected by the entity's manipulation.

  ?“Won’t you be in trouble if you follow me?”

  ?To that, she only smiled.

  ?“Yes, but it's too late now. It seems whatever is going on, I'm the only one unaffected. My fate was never to the right being, and therefore I ask you to be my new god.”

  ?“Your new god? But I’m not divine.”

  ?To that, Evelyn took his hand as she shook her head and said.

  ?“A god does not have to be divine. Only superior, and to me you fit that. Let me be your guide in this new world.”