Void

I stood in a cavern full of the undead. This was not an unusual occurrence. It also wasn’t odd that they lusted for blood. I was used to that. Some found it frightening. They fail to take into account the dreadful character flaws of human. The undead killed for sustenance. The living fed on their fellow man, and unmercifully left him living but hopeless on the roadside, and they enjoyed it. That was what I cured the world of. Yet I couldn’t live in the worlds I made. For this very reason I took to living in the Fields of the Dead. This particular field was an extraordinary one. Somehow a rectangular pool was cut into the floor in the center of the chamber, and a single tree grew by the east end. But that was not what occupied my thoughts. No, what I was interested in was the fact that the dead were advancing. Until now, none had paid me any attention. But now ten score began their ominous shuffle forward. I drew my sword and cut through the side of the nearest. As she fell to the ground, a thrill of terror ran through my veins, the first feeling in years. I knew this woman. She had been a healer in my village when I was young. The air suddenly seemed unbearably cold, and I looked upon the throng with new eyes. I knew every one of them, and I knew that I had caused their deaths in my mad grab at power. I knew that why I was here. Tears carved streaks through the grime on my face as one by one my friends and family died by hand for a second time. As each fell, some portion of their spirit infused the others with greater speed and strength. However, my skill was torturously unparalleled. With ease I cut down everyone I had ever loved, and I felt my soul dim and die. I didn’t mourn the loss of it. There was no redemption for what I had done, so why did I need a soul? I stood in a bloody field, and felt nothing once more. I felt myself sheath my sword without wiping the blade. I no longer cared. I turned to leave, but I then felt a presence behind me. I turned, and I saw Death standing there. My only companion through these long years. He no longer served me. He spoke, “The Lord has carried out his sentence.” In a burst of light, the only friend I ever had left me. I was alone. No life breathed about me. I had created a world free of cruelty and evil, and in doing so become it. I brought out my sword and raised my chin high. I had become what I sought to destroy, and so to complete my work I had to remove it. Sin ran thick through my veins, and so made one swift motion. A cascade of blood fell on the rocks, and the world was at peace.