I Am Your Executioner

A cacophony of encrypted whispers clawed at my mind. Dark were its jaws, morbid as the calls from the outside. Horrified screams and the sound of a broken cog. I heard it. I heard it, I tell you. She is here. She is here. Wake up!

Sho's eyes snapped open. Quickly, he sat up, his heart racing.

He glanced around, taking in the strange, musty environment. A dark cell with bars separating him from a silver-armored guard sleeping on a chair beneath a flickering sconce.

His eyes widened, lips barely parting. "A cell...?"

Then, he heard it—distant but faint shouts echoing from outside his cell.

Rumble. Rumble.

The interior shook. He looked up and saw the walls nearly cracking, almost breaking.

Sho's mind raced with confusion. What is going on?

A low cough caught his attention. He glimpsed at the guard, whose arms were crossed.

The guard's gaze was concealed under his helmet. He muttered, "It's time..."

Sho's brow furrowed. "What?"

Suddenly, loud footsteps echoed down the corridor. The guard stood waiting before opening the cell. Five more guards appeared, their faces furious, weapons in hand, clad in luxurious armor bearing the kingdom's brand.

Sho stepped back as one came closer, raising a pair of shackles. "It's time for your execution! Put these on!"

Sho hesitated. Their gazes held no light. He trembled, averting his gaze, his mind racing with thoughts of escape, but he knew he couldn't do anything—CLANK!

His thoughts were interrupted. The shackles lay on the ground. One of the furious guards pointed a broadsword at his throat, yelling, "Pick it up, now!"

Sho gulped, his breath shaky. He knelt down and picked it up—only to be kicked in the face, crashing against a bed frame. The guard who yelled advanced, broadsword raised. "You took everything—"

He was cut off as three guards struggled to hold him back.

One of them shouted, "Take him away!"

The three guards dragged him out of the cell, his broken voice echoing down the corridor. "H-He took everything! Everything!"

Sho's vision swirled, blood dripping from his forehead. The remaining guard stood over him, waiting. No anger, no emotion—just expectation.

"Put it on. They are waiting," he said dryly.

Sho crawled slowly to the shackles, shakily putting them on. He had no choice.

The guard lifted Sho to his level and guided him outside the cell.

The cell keeper stepped in front of the guard holding Sho. "Need assistance?"

The guard glanced at Sho's bloodied face. "He won't be an issue," he replied.

The cell keeper sighed. "You're an odd one." He stepped aside. "Leave."

The guard turned, escorting Sho down the corridor. His gaze shifted toward Sho's bloodied, expressionless face.

He gripped the shackles, muttering, "Huh. The 'Great Destroyer' looks a little... underwhelming."

Sho glared but said nothing.

"Don't give me that look. You think I care about the kingdom? I don't. But I do care about what happens next," the guard said.

Sho's expression shifted. "What?"

Then, loud roaring echoed outside the dungeon door, growing louder the closer they got.

Sho glimpsed down at his feet. He could feel vibrations. He saw the looks on prisoners' faces—gritted teeth, clenched fists.

The guard continued, "Let me tell you something about fate. People act like it's some grand plan. I think it's just a drunk bastard stumbling forward, breaking things."

His gaze shifted to Sho. "Well, you... just happened to be holding the hammer."

Sho pondered his words. "And you? What are you holding?"

The guard tightened the shackles slightly. "Your leash. Now walk."

Sho hummed, his gaze returning to the floor.

They reached the door, and the guard turned the knob. Light pierced Sho's eyes, revealing stone stairs ascending to a bright opening. The roars built to a crescendo, his ears ringing.

Sho glanced at the guard, who said, "Go on. I don't have all day."

Tap.

Where is he?!

Tap.

Kill him!

Tap.

Sho slowly lifted his gaze. Thousands were crying, screaming in a deafening cacophony. Guards struggled to push back citizens. Many threw objects, while others broke down in a crisis.

The guard patted him on the back. "Give them a show." Then, he pushed him forward toward approaching guards who gripped his shackles.

Sho looked back as he was being escorted. The guard waved and raised his voice. "Enjoy the sunlight while it lasts. You'll be sunless soon!"

Sho's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Sunn—"

THWACK!

A brick struck the side of his face.

Sho crashed to the ground, his vision blurring. The roaring intensified, and he heard... Cheering? Mixed with loud curses.

His eyes shut, but the guards picked him up. One of them yelled, "Make way! Make way!"

Sho couldn't see. He couldn't make out anything—only red. Blood.

Did I create this madness?

His gaze shifted left—people fighting guards, trying to break through.

To his right, he saw a man whose hair was familiar, but blue.

He couldn't make out any faces, Sho couldn't hear a thing. Only loud ringing and a head wound that stings.

His world became darker. Darker. Until... he fell into unconsciousness.

That choice I made...

I was blinded by desires.

Your cries, your suffering... If only I wasn't searching. I started this bonfire, now it has misfired.

Wait... what desires? How do I—

Sho's eyes snapped open as a bucket of water splashed over his head.

He coughed and glanced at the thousands overhead, chanting:

Kill him! Kill that man!

Sho glimpsed down from the stone scaffold. He struggled against the shackles binding him to the floor, but the chanting only soared.

A boot struck his back. "Lower your head!"

Sho leaned forward, his head pressing against the wooden chopping block.

Suddenly, the crowd went silent. Sho couldn't tell why. But when he turned his head, he saw the blue-haired man raising a hand.

The man unwrapped a parchment and yelled:

"Sho, the Great Destroyer, guilty of mass slaughter, is condemned to death!"

"By decree of the King, you shall be executed by beheading!"

"Let this serve as a lesson to all who defy the kingdom!"

The blue-silver-armored man looked at Sho. "Prisoner, do you have any last words?!"

Sho said nothing, only stared at him with an impassive expression.

The crowd roared. The blue-haired man clicked his teeth and walked off.

The chanting was deafening—children, rich men, crooked women. All joined in.

Sho heard it. The sound of approaching footsteps. Metal scraping against the stone scaffold. A strange whistle from someone he didn't know.

Slowly, his gaze shifted left.

A womanly figure with a black hood and a giant axe.

She raised it high, and Sho saw her ember eyes.

"Your sins will not be forgotten!"

Sho furrowed his brow, looking forward, ready to embrace his fate. Then, he saw him. And the world slowed to a crawl.

Black curly hair. Wide hazel eyes. An odd blue wrap around his left eye. He looked different. Worn out at best. He wasn't chanting. He wasn't crying.

But when their gazes met, they both thought in unison:

It's... you.

CHOP!

[You died.]