Meaning of Madness (fic pt 4)
Warning, this chapter contains blood. Poor Garland gets somehow dragged into this as well. :3
Can also be found on FF.net. Right here.
A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: HIRING, I need a willing beta-reader who can go over this fanfic and give me feedback. Remember my ambitions on the first chapter? I need help in order to do that.
--::Meaning of Madness::--
--:Chapter III - His Zenith Realized:--
(Release it. Open up. Kill. Everything.)
Those were the words the Warrior heard before everything began to crumble. His vision, already partly lost, blurred and distorted, as if he were looking through a foggy lens of a scrying pool.
He could still make out the monster holding him in place, the undead beasts shifting behind it. He still had his hearing, although it was muffled, feeling like someone had placed wool in his ears. And that wasn’t the strangest part.
He couldn’t move his body. He could feel his body, sure, but controlling it was a different story. It felt like he was trapped in a dark cave, floating helplessly in a void while something more powerful than himself took control.
The scene before him was a nightmare. But whatever this strange force was, it had an even greater nightmarish vision in store for him.
Oh, if he only knew.
The beast holding him to the wall hesitated a bit. It cocked its head, and then squinted its one eye at him. It seemed to be confused, unsure of what to do next. The Warrior’s facial expression was completely relaxed, not stern or in agony.
That’s when the dark force took over. He felt the darkness creep all around him, starting to laugh hysterically. A chill ran down his back as he realized that laughter was using his voice. It sounded just like him, only deranged, crazed…
Bloody-thirty.
“Weakling.”
The Warrior gasped as he felt his left eye open, the cornea restored, the eyeball fully healed. An intense fire burned within it, though, and the Warrior could only helplessly watch as this fiery energy released itself in a lightning-fast, red-colored beam. The victims of this attack, two headless zombies with gapping mouths on their chests, shrieked as the beam flashed through them, imploding their corpses, and then decimated them completely.
“Your molecules will scatter like sand.”
The monster holding him hissed loudly, releasing him immediately. The Warrior’s body fell to the floor, completely motionless. The other zombies seemed to be unaware of the fate of their allies, as they kept creeping closely with each moan and growl.
Then another surprise burst forth. A small group of knights, led by Garland himself, stormed into the room. The former renegade knight inhaled sharply at the sight before him.
“What is going on here?!” the knight bellowed.
The taunting Voice returned. “What am I to you?”
Garland turned around, looking side-to-side. “Who said that? Show yourself, you coward!”
“Coward, fool, monster, fiend. Call me what you will!” The Voice then began to laugh darkly once more.
A knight took a shaky step back. “Wh-what’s going on here, sir?”
Garland growled. “I’m getting to the bottom of this.” He heaved his large sword up, narrowing his eyes underneath the helmet. “But first, we must knock down all these monstrosities before they injure anyone.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Meaningless. It’s all meaningless.”
That voice again, Garland thought. He glanced to where he noticed the Warrior of Light slowly removing himself from the ground. A zombie was slowly crawling towards him, its misshapen arms reaching out to him as its gaping mouth drooled bodily fluids. Garland was about to shout a warning to the Warrior when, without warning, the man was on his feet and holding the creature’s skull in its hand.
Something was wrong. The Warrior had glowing red eyes, pentagram stars embodied around the pupils and a dark, sinister grin on his face, one only a madman wore just before a kill. The grin widened slightly as the disembodied Voice from before spoke again.
“I create nothing, forgive nothing, save nothing. I just erase.”
The zombie gave one final cry before its body ruptured into ashes, organs, limbs, and muscles shattering into dust.
“Completely.”
One knight cried out in horror, “H-he’s a monster!”
Another one joined him, swatting away a zombie with his blade. “We have to get out of here! He’s gone mad!”
“Stay where you are!” Garland commanded. “That’s an order.” But his words were cut off by his men screaming. The Warrior hadn’t moved, only turning his head. The Voice continued to speak as Garland watched in disbelief as both the zombies and his men were suddenly slaughtered before his eyes.
“Break. Destroy. Shatter. Crush. Annihilate and ravage.”
The bodies of both friend and foe alike were destroyed like the first victim. Bones shattered, tissues crushed, bodies broke and eliminated just like that. Residue of the murdered barely fluttered in the air, leaving only cinders that once formed people. And while this was happening, the Warrior kept that dark, malevolence smile on his bloodied face.
Garland was beside himself. He had seen the Warrior in action before, but never like this. What on Earth happened to him? What is going on here? he pondered angrily.
The Warrior broke Garland’s thoughts when he raised his right hand into the air. A pentagram floated above his palm, and a maelstrom of crimson light burned in his hand. “Erase existence.”
The light in his palm changed into a beam, and once more, everything caught in its path disappeared in a violent explosion of gore. Garland hardly had time to dodge the blast himself, but he managed, hiding behind the doorway he had previously burst through.
Red light filled the room. Men and zombies alike collapsed in on themselves, their remains making sickening noises as they were destroyed. Blood splashed onto the walls, the only sign of what had happened. Not even their ashes remained. Just empty void.
The screaming then stopped, and then there was nothing. Garland closed his eyes. Rest in peace, soldiers, he thought, putting a hand to his chest-plate. His hand shaking angrily, Garland then returned to the room, his large sword leading the way.
“Warrior of Light!” he shouted, his armored frame properly blocking the door. “Explain yourself!”
But nothing happened. Garland saw the Warrior of Light was staring down the dark creature in a cloak. The creature was hissing, shaking violently while wielding a scythe that mirrored Garland’s sword-size.
Damnation, Garland thought. I had forgotten about that one. He stood at the ready, preparing for the worst. If he were to die today, he would die fighting for his men and kingdom.
However, it seemed he might be spared for another day. The monster in red moved first. It charged at the Warrior, who made no movements, just keeping his head bowed. Then, he looked up, leering at the fiend with glowing pentagram symbols floating off the corneas of his once-aqua-marine eyes.
The creature curled up, taking the beam head-on. Through the smoke, it emerged unscathed, howling with rage. Garland growled to himself. I’m in the middle of war of monsters, he thought. He glanced quickly around. Nothing remained. No life could be seen, just blood drenching the walls and rugs of the ballroom.
If I am to do the most good for my men, Garland stated to himself, then I must warn the King. If those two were to fight in the town… Garland didn’t want to think about that anymore.
Backing quickly out of the room, he then turned tail and ran. He must deliver the message or otherwise the entire kingdom was doomed. But once he told the King what was happening…
I’ll knock them both down.
Inside the room, the fiend and the Warrior faced squarely off against each other. The red beams kept coming, and yet the fiend was not affected. It moved out of the way, sometimes, while other times it simply took the hit. The fiend didn’t seem to slow down, speed never lessening.
The Warrior did not let up either. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared, and then reappeared in front of the monster. It gave a squeak before being grabbed by the throat, an action echoing from the first battle.
The Warrior grinned. “You’re dangerous. You need to die.” Suddenly, his eyelids began to twitch.
The creature gave a low hiss, squirming in his death grip. The Warrior felt his lids attempting to shut. He groaned. “No… My eyes… They’re closing…”
The red monster gave a loud, rapturous roar before blood flew from its arm, snapping like whips at the Warrior’s face. He cried out, staggering, all the while releasing the scarlet beast. Landing cat-like on its feet, the beast shot up into the air.
The Warrior jerked his head up, pentagrams spinning. “You will not escape!” He threw up his hand, and another red beam blasted from the pentagram implanted on his palm. The beast, nevertheless, managed to dodge the blast, docking in front of the windowless frame that once held a beautiful stain-glass figure. Turning, the creature glared with a hiss before jumping into the rain.
The Warrior stood there, still. His glowing eyes were fading, the baleful light flickering with every twitch he experienced. Finally, he sighed, the red changing to blue once more, both eyes closing as he stumbled and fell back onto his back.
The last thing he remembered before fainting was the strident jangling of metal on metal as guardsmen and knights surrounded him at all sides, prattling voices shrill and commanding. Then nothing.
Garland bowed before the King in the throne room. His Majesty’s robes were disheveled, and his queen’s normally neat-pressed hair was struggling to free themselves from her pins.
“Your Highness,” the stalwart droned, head low, “we have captured the Warrior of Light, as you commanded. He is being placed in the dungeon until further orders.”
“Thank you, Garland.” The King sighed deeply. “Truly, this is a day to remember.”
The Queen looked at him uncertainly. “My love, what do you mean to do with the Warrior once he regains consciousness?”
The King gave a dismissively, impatient wave of the hand. “The Warrior is a threat. I must deal with him as such. When he awakes, he will find himself facing guards and an interrogator, who will then extract as much information as we can from him.”
“The Warrior’s a good man,” the Queen reasoned. “Why must you treat him like some monster?”
“Because he is!” the King snapped.
Garland cleared his throat. “If I may, Your Majesty?” The King gave a slow nod. The Queen watched him carefully as the knight began.
“Your Highness, the Warrior of Light is indeed a good man. So is your husband. What happened today was a tragedy of untold proportions. Many people have died, including civilians and a few nobles. Because of this, your husband behaved in a reasonable manner, sealing the Warrior away until we can learn the truth of what just occurred today.”
“You should have captured that monster!” the Queen stated sternly. “The Warrior may not have had anything to do with-”
“He killed my men, Your Highness,” Garland exposed. “I doubt he and the fiend were in collaboration with each other, but if this kind of behavior were to appear again, but in the town…”
“Unspeakable horrors will occur,” the King finished. He looked kindly at his wife. “Please try and understand, my dear. I truly care for the Warrior. I almost think of him as my own son. But it is as Garland said. I’m taking necessary precautions. For your safety, for our kingdom’s safety, and our daughters’.”
The Queen exhaled slowly. “Very well, then. Do as you will. Still, be gentle with him. I, too, consider him like a son.”
The King gave a relieved smile. “And I will, wife.” He glanced at Garland. “Check on the Warrior. See if he has awoken yet.”
Garland bowed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
In the village under Cornelia’s shadow, a girl wearing a white cloak trekked through the town, her hood covering her lavender hair. Blue eyes looking up and around, she paused in front of a man, asking, “Hey, mister, did you, by any chance, see a guy. ‘Bout…” She held her hand high above her head, moving up to her toes and waving the air under her outreaching hand. “Yea tall, has long silver hair that looks like he just got out of bed, a helmet with horns, wears armor, doesn’t have a name…”
The man nodded. “Oh, yeah. He currently resigned in Castle Cornelia as one of the King’s best knights. He’s not an official knight, granted, but everyone here thinks he’s the best. Better than Garland, even.”
The girl arched an eyebrow. “Garland? He’s here, too?” The man gave her a confused look, but the girl tapped her chin before her lips broke into a wide grin. “Okay! Thanks, buddy! I’ll be heading to the castle now!”
“Your welcome?” The man scratched his head before laughing a sigh. What a strange child.
As the girl ran towards the castle, her hood lifted off, revealing two, pointed ears. Giggling to herself, she murmured, “Found you. Now you’re mine this time!”
Okay, now that’s done. On to bigger and better things.