Whispers of a Dead Empire

Chapter 161

I fought through the countless horde of the undead. My mind was locked on a single purpose as I pushed through the hallway. Members of the traitor's force fell with each swipe of my sword, and bodies crashed onto the floor. I had long since lost contact with the rest of my forces and instead took my path. It wasn't like I needed them with me. No one here outside of Viator was any threat to me.

Hours passed by as heads rolled. It seemed like no matter how many of the undead I killed; another took its place. It was wave after wave of cursed. My arms never tired, and my purpose never wavered. I felt alive in a way I had never before, yet boredom existed just below the surface. I couldn't feel pain, and I couldn't feel the familiar ache of muscles that were well spent. There was so much that I couldn't feel outside of anger and hatred; if I did, it was muted. This curse bit deep into my soul. More than anything, with each passing second, I wanted nothing more than to feel something. I needed something to root me into reality. Something more than just anger or sadness. I need something human.

I cut through another group of traitor forces down and marched through the dimly lit hallway. Red flames cast a baleful red hue onto the rotting wood. The sounds of distant fighting reached my ears, telling me I was nearing an engagement spot. Thankfully, it seemed as if all the artillery placements were silenced, which meant that my lieutenant should launch the charge. Once we establish a foothold here, we can use the long-range bombardment to our pleasure and soften up the following line of defenses before we push into its interior.

Another head rolled from its shoulders as I glanced around. I didn't have a direct blueprint of this place; even if I did, it likely wouldn't come in handy. Everything here feels different. But there was a presence that I could feel in the distance. It was thick, felt like syrup, and was rife with evil energy. My legs drug me on, following the path of that vile scent. I could see it twirling in the air like a vile miasma. It clung and drifted to the untainted air, and illuminated my path as I cut through the chaff. It stuck to my nose and made my stomach churn as another bout of anger coursed through me, followed by the sting of betrayal. I'll make him pay. I'll make them all pay.

It took a while, but eventually, I found the power source. I braced my arm and threw my fist through the wooden door. Behind it sat another open portion of the outer wall. All around me, there were dozens of enemy formations. Spears and swords glistened in the ambient moonlight, and the stars behind that twinkled sadly in the night sky. But the one that mattered the most stood in front of me.

He wielded a scythe that was as ornate as they come. The edge bled tendrils of green and sizzled as they dripped onto the ground. His eyes were a lifeless void of green that seemed to flicker in the light, and his flesh constantly decayed and regrew in a sick cycle. The sound of teeth mashing together filled the air as the monster stared at me. "My oh my. To think that the Warmaster has graced me with his presence."

"Viator. You foul traitor." I brandished my blade and took another step forward. Fire pulsed in my chest and burned with a radiant passion that threatened to overwhelm me.

"Traitor? No Octavian. I released our people from the mortal coil that bound us. Each of us now is so much more than we could have ever dreamed of. Severed from that lying Empress, we are free." He clanked the hilt of his scythe against the ground. The hollow sound resonated through the still air.

"Free? No, you are but a slave. All of you. Chained by false lies and empty promises. Tell me, Viator, what were you lacking in life? What were you not given? You had everything you could ever dream of, and you gave it up for what? A chance to live forever? I pity you; I pity all of you." My rage flickered through me, and I felt my bones stretch and my muscles grow. Viator was to blame for everyone's fate here. I did not hate the soldiers. They were under his spell. Perhaps when I cut him down, they will all be free. Free to embrace her majesty's light.

He clicked his teeth together, and putrid green energy exploded from behind him. "Come, Warmaster. You can't imagine the beautiful bounty of death. Let me craft you a new body, one that is free from your false Empress's grasp. Let me free you from your mortal coil."

I crossed the distance between us in the blink of an eye and swung my sword towards his waist. The undead easily parried the first blow, and a sonic boom filled the room as sparks exploded into the air. "I will never betray my oaths, and I will never betray my people."

Our weapons crashed into each other, and gusts of air blew into us. Each movement from the traitor was smooth and flowed like liquid, and each riposte and parry from me was solid and unyielding. Viator danced around me, swinging his scythe around in graceful arcs. Putrid green energy splattered around us, melting through stone and wood with terrifying ease. I wish I could say that my muscles screamed, and that piercing pain from my flesh being ripped apart and then stitched apart bombarded my mind. But I couldn't. I couldn't feel anything, and that alone pushed me even further into a fury.

The surrounding ground cracked and shattered as our blades crossed. Neither of us could get the upper hand here. He boosted past human limitations with his false god's power, and I was a shadow of myself. But I still pressed on. I would never give up, I couldn't.

His face was locked in a twisted rictus of pleasure, and a condescending cackle filled the air as he danced his weapon around in a beautiful arc. "Warmaster, how fall you have fallen if you can't handle a man like me." More sparks flew into my face as I riposted another blow from his scythe.

I gritted my teeth, took a step forward, pumped more ki through my body, and swung my blade even harder. I couldn't let my temper get the best of me here. There was no barking, or braying, that I could do to counter. It would only give him satisfaction. So instead, I pressed on silently, my body falling into its familiar patterns. Each time his scythe fell, my flesh was rent apart, only to quickly stitch it's self back together. My mind struggled to keep itself together. Was I more than human? Was I less then?

The thoughts swirled around my head as more power coursed through me. Red lighting arced through the air and slammed into walls and the ground, tearing gouges out of it. My muscles rippled, and I took another step forward, caught the man's scythe mid-swing, and used the pommel of my blade to smash his teeth. Why shouldn't I embrace my body more? I couldn't feel pain, so why was I acting like I could? Why couldn't I take a blow that would rip a normal man apart? But just as those thoughts crossed my mind, they disgusted me. Why was I shedding my humanity for an abomination?

I lashed out with a kick that shattered bone, and in turn, I caught the scythe's blade through my abdomen. My body didn't even register it as I held the blade in place and punched it with everything I had, sending the dead man flying through the far wall. I was a monster myself, and I deserved to die.

A sickening, suckling noise filled my ears as the scythe was torn from my stomach and flew toward Viator. "Heh, it seems like you are starting to embrace who you are, Octavian. Come join us and shed your chains, and reach even greater heights. You've already started the journey. Let me help you finish it." His broken body quickly healed as he stood up and dusted off the wood shavings covering his body.

"I am the Warmaster of Asteria. I am the Asterian Demon and guardian of her lands. Above that, I am proud to serve my Empress. I am the servant of her people and I reject you, Viator and all that you have done. There can be no forgiveness, your recompense will be your death." With each word that I spoke, I felt a righteous anger fill my being, and the last vestiges of power crept into my body. It was time to end this once and for all.