Wrath

I stumble in, falling face-first into red sand. The smell of food is replaced by that of blood and hate. Chains hang like willow leaves. There's discarded armor here and there. Bodies line the ground some to weathered to be recognizable.

Somewhere in the distance, a lion roar. At least the temperature isn't too hot or cold here. My abdomen hurts yet I can't find the source. Was I wounded at some point? The fabric above my navel's torn and stained with what I presume is blood.

Wind blows and with it comes the smell of rotten flesh. A man screams at nothing while to others duel.

"What are you looking at?" someone says, "you think you're better than me?" A figure rushes towards tackling me to the ground, "today you die," the female has a crazed look in her eyes. Her clothes are torn barely covering anything.

My silence seems to anger her she lifts a bone dagger. I try to push her off me before she can stab me her head rolls off.

A sinister-looking man stalks towards me, "how will you reward me," he licks his lips and looks over my exposed legs.

I kick back moving until my back's pressed against something stone hard. There's a roar and then I'm being lifted and tossed against a boulder.

Everyone here's so angry lacking all sense. I cough up blood cradling my broken ribs I somehow stand and stumble forward coming face to face with a horned figure.

"You won't escape me," the figure says, "you're too weak to suppress me here."

"Who are you?" I ask.

The figure lets out a shriveled laugh, "you push me down locking me away how can you ask who I am?" She lunges at me; I barely have time to move out of the way.

"I don't even know who I am," I stumble back just in time for her second attack, "why would I know who you are?"

That last bit seems to anger her, "look at me, I am you, you are me, how can you not know that?"

"That doesn't make sense," I keep walking backward hoping against hope I don't get hurdled through the air again. My foot brushes against something sharp.

"Of course not," the strange female says.

I let myself fall, throwing her off guard as I pick the jagged bone up plunging it into her gut. She screams and claws at the bone trying to tear it out. I don't wait I just run, what is this place? Who was she? There was an odd familiarity to her.

Something nocks me to the ground pinning me down, when I look up a massive tiger pins me down claws digging in.

"You don't belong here," the tiger growls, its maw opening wide enough to make me feel like he'll bite my head off. Yellow eyes scrutinize me, before the tiger roars bringing his maw down to my shoulder, he lifts me, up and sends me flying, my back hits the remnants of a tree as my head begins to spin.

"Why?" I manage to get out as I try to pull myself up, "where am I?"

"This is the Fourth Level of the Underworld," the Tiger stalks towards me, "you have to find your own way out, unlike Ji I will not help you," he growls sending vultures flying.

Where did they come from? Who's Ji? How do I get out? Before I can ask the Tiger's already towering over me with a flick of a paw, I'm tossed to the side my head colliding with a boulder.

"Get up," he growls, "don't tell me you like it here, you're not worthy," he growls.

Darkness threatens to take over the pain from my broken ribs combines with the pain from his bite and that of hitting the boulder. Why am I here? Who am I?

"Get up!" Tiger roars.

I manage to open my eyes; he towers over me no longer a tiger but an angry male. His eyes are full of fury his hands are still claws, claws that look like, there about to take me apart. There's a rustling of wings, Tiger looks up claws retracting as a Crow swoops down dropping an obsidian blade into my extended hand.

Crow circles around me before diving towards Tiger sinking his talons into Tiger's shoulder. Tiger lets out a low growl but doesn't move ruby drops start to drip down as Crow flies off banishing from sight. Everything hurts yet I somehow manage to stand obsidian blade in hand.

"Do it," Tiger falls to his knees.

I limp towards him uncertain of what I'm doing, "why?" I stop before him and before he can answer I slash the blade across his handsome face leaving a searing mark from his left eye to the right side of his face.

"I just want to go home," I say, walking past him blade still in hand.

The horned figure comes out of nowhere fangs bared, "I'll kill you today!" she hurtles towards me arms outstretched.

I don't know where the reflex comes from, but I twirl the blade bringing it up in time to plunge it into her throat. We collapse tumbling towards Tiger, I pull myself up pulling the blade free I bring it down plunging it into her chest black blood oozes out of her as I look into her lifeless eyes a memory comes to the surface.

"Remember, the Soul Splitting technique while effective has consequences. Do not remain apart for more than a week you will lose yourself, understand," a male says.

"Yes master," a small child answers as she closes her eyes a silver light glows around her then another child stands next to her similar yet different, "you are me I am you," the first girl says, "if anything happens I will feel it and come to help you."

The other girl just nods her head taking the crimson veil the first girl offers, "Elena can never know," the second girl only nods.

The memory leaves as quickly as it came, "you are me and I am you," I dig the blade further in running it from her chest to her abdomen, "you were my mistake," silver light engulfs us then I'm spiraling upward into vast darkness.