Silent Staples

My body ached all over, my arm burned with an incarcerating fire and my bones were at their weakest. Creaking and pushing back with every movement. My legs threatened to give in at a moment's notice and my vision was getting worse with every passing second.

Chlora waited behind me. Looking at her pendulum in worry. I felt more irritated as the time gradually grew.

Another vibration was sent throughout the ravine, rattling my bones yet all I could do was grasp my hair in frustration.

"Let's go."

"Hmm?" Chlora let out an innocent hmm in response to my statement.

"We're going." I held the sword firmly in my right hand and my mind was anxious. My eyes perked at crevices and light in fear of the creature rising.

Chlora stood behind me, calmly walking yet a trace of fear could be seen behind her eyes.

The sound of water dropping resonated in the depths of the ravine as we trod forward, ready to be attacked at a moment's notice.

I looked back at the girl.

"What is that pendulum for." I asked in a flat, ignorant tone. I deserved to know at least this much, right?

"It's a gift." The girl smiled as she hugged it tightly.

I sighed. So my life was equal to a gift. What a great thing to know.

I began to turn back when something caught my attention. A rock had moved.

I don't know why but I could have sworn that rock was a metre forward. Had she knocked it over?Nonsense, I would have heard it in this unending silence.

My ears gazed at the rock. As if under interrogation the rock shuddered.

Was this a mind trick? I raised my sword and slashed downwards at the rock using two hands.

My eyes shone with a glowing red during my swing.

The girl, Chlora, looked at me in fear.

"What are you doing?"

The sound of stone drawing back filled the ravine.

Before I knew it, the rock had been pulled back along the ground by an invisible force. Leaving a trail behind. I could not see far ahead or around me yet I could hear and feel the air moving.

Before I knew it, hundreds of rocks were being pulled backwards behind us.

And we were next.

"RUN." I shouted. Pushing her forwards in the process. She nearly tripped but managed to pick herself back up.

She was confused, but ran forward nevertheless.

I watched her figure run ahead as a stitch rose from my possibly broken ribs.

I gritted my teeth through the pain and placed a hand on my rib. I slowly watched as her figure got smaller and smaller. As the sound of rocks falling back got louder and unavoidable.

I knew that I had one shot to escape this situation. But I would probably just extend my life.

Why were we even in this situation?

I saw my eyes tear in the reflection of a drop of water, either from the pain I was holding in or the pain that I knew would ensue from this decision. I didn't know.

Subconsciously, a large amount of World Energy was already at boiling point behind me. I closed my eyes as I accepted the inevitable.

Blast. Forward.

Boom.

I felt myself fly through the air, the consequences didn't exist right now. At this moment. I could see the end of the ravine. The bright light that would allow me to exit. I could make it.

I flew past the girl who was sprinting with the wind. She only saw a red blur.

I COULD MAKE IT.

Chrck.

Blood spillt.

A large chunk of rock fell on the floor.

My bloodied head only became redder.

I could only look to my right in a daze, my body refusing to move despite my efforts.

The exit was in front of me.

I looked to my right, my neck was stiff yet bearable as I urged it to move right.

Debris from the rock I had presumably hit lay there. Blood proved its guilt.

Although my body was broken,battered and soaked in blood by now. I could feel through the air that a being was in front of me.

A creature.

A monster.

A personal grim reaper, you could say.

I swallowed in the silence and black. Ready to be dragged to some unknown place. Whether that be heaven or hell, maybe even somewhere worse.

That was when my hopes were answered.

Just... by the wrong person.

Useless.

I looked in pity as the girl blocked and slashed aided by the wind.

Her white hair was but a light grey in this darkness.

I felt the creature's hands fall to the floor, only to be dragged back and, I assumed, added back to its arsenal.

It's useless.

We can't win.

I was out of world energy, and she was going to run out of mana soon enough.

I looked in disappointment as the young girl clashed with the creature. Her traded blows soon became one sided beatdowns as she flew across the cavern. Quickly returning, yet being blasted back further each time.

Towards the end, she had become almost as bruised as me. She merely held her sword by both ends and gritted her teeth. Her eyes were desperately clinging to an unfound hope as she was slowly pushed back by the creature.

It was playing with her.

Ah. I'm going to die again.

I looked at my hopes that had barely risen. Slowly died down once more.

Returning, dragged down to the deep depths of this ravine.

In the last moments of one's life.

They can be driven to do extraordinary things.

But I'm not that type of person.

So I don't do those types of extraordinary things.

Luckily, someone else will do them for me. I watched as the girl's condition slowly worsened.

I watched in anger.

At myself.

Why couldn't I do anything?

And then, a mysterious force blasted me into the air.

It was like a memory. I remembered when I was pushed to save the wheelchair.

And now I had a choice.

To make the next move, or fall back down along with my newfound hopes.

So I made the exact same decision I had last time. But this time, I wouldn't regret it. I swore to myself. An oath that I would keep this time.

Boom.

Like a red demon, my eyes glowed in the darkness. My body crashed through the air into the monster. The girl had already collapsed. And I could feel the monster's hands coming back to my position.

Boom.

But I was already gone.

A wave of deaths hands chased me to no avail.

I had the world in my hands. And a blade in between my fingers.

I couldn't even swing the blade. My bones were tired.

Boom.

What difference was I even making?

Before another blast sent me off I thought to myself. Why am I still going on? And the momentum and instinct driving me died down.

It was at that moment, reality caught up to me. And regret filled my eyes.

A baleful hand had me in its grasp. In fear of my newfound power, I assumed it threw me down.

Time slowed.

I was who knew how long from being thrown into the cavern wall. Where I would bleed or be crushed into a bloody mush.

I don't know how.

But I threw the sword in my right hand.

An opportunity rose.

God led me by his hand.

A vortex of world-energy had already formed in a position. I followed God by his hand.

I barely uttered the words in my mind.

Blast.For-ward.

I wouldn't regret a thing. No matter what.

Boom.

The sword flew in slow-motion. Piercing through invisible flesh.

And stopped by invisible scales.

I had now stopped flying backwards. I was in a state. A state of regret and abnormality.

I stood still and rigid. Broken down to the point that I was on my last seconds.

There had to be something special about this sword. Why else would it be considered a gift?

Blazing steel.

That was what came into my sight.

A beautiful crimson-red containing an almighty sun-yellow that pounced vigorously.

Yet it did not matter. For its momentum had already died and it merely dropped to the ground.

No. I held my bloodied hand out.

I grasped a vortex of world-energy below the sword.

I uttered the words once-more. This time it was already a whisper, in my mind even.

B-last. F-o-r-w-ard.

Boom.

I didn't regret a thing.

A glorious crimson red blade pierced through scales.

The sound of flesh falling met my ears as it sounded all around me.

Invisible blood splattered across the floor and I fell on top of a pile of exploded corpses.

I stood, about to fall looking at my creation. Invisible blood crawled down my face and my sword had stuck itself into the corner of the caven. Its light slowly died out before my eyes. Or at least that's what I saw in the red screen that was my vision.

I made sure to see the girl was alive before my sight left my being. And I went into a deep sleep.

The warnings that my body had been giving me, came to me just a moment before the black.

And then the black came as fast and as I had assumed it to come.

Such was the price for using a force far beyond one's physical capabilities and such was the price for establishing the smallest line of connection between an almighty being.

Otherwise known as God.