The Burnt Blade

Darkness lingered over the starlight sky, the moon was hidden by a dark cloud. Red stained the hem of her dress, evil lingered in her eyes. Who was this woman? Did the night spark something evil within her?

The night can be a horrific time, especially if you scare very easily. The stars were beginning to cloud. Shadows of mist were floating over them, the moon was now completely gone. All that remained was night. Dark, heart beating night. The wind blew a cold chill, what remained? A man, covered in blood wanders through a crowded forest, the trees sway back and forth causing the world to shift. In his hand he holds a sword, a sword shrouded with death and blood. From afar you can see the evil in his eyes, the very smell of blood lights up his senses. He comes alive when death is near. Who is this man of evil? How did he come to be? All that remains in his hand, is the burnt blade.

The rain pelted against the wooden wall. The cold had seeped into the very air of the filled room. The owner of this small little home is a young girl, Takumi. The home belonged to her father, Yawau Mibirue, he was a sage and fighter for the Unholy Lights. An organization which dealt with the creatures known as Servitor Titans. These creatures are evil and bloodthirsty. They roam the dark forests only at night and prey on whatever they can feed from. They will attack in the daylight, but since they travel in groups of three they are more likely for success in the dark. Takumi knew nothing of Titans, as they were called by her father. Takumi always suspected he was talking about good and powerful gods, characters from books she had read. TItans were supposed to be the good guys, right?

That night during the rain storm, Takumi was all by herself. All alone when she heard the noise. That eerie, familiar noise. She heard the breaths of a being, they were deep, frantic. The noise froze her blood she looked to the door. It opened with a sudden shock, a blast of wind came swirling around her. It sent her ash blonde hair into a frenzy dancing around her like snakes. The wind then calmed, but only enough to let her hair rest against her shoulders. She stared at the wood floor, she was too afraid to look. She reached blindly for the hilted sword which set only a few feet from her. She heard the nearby chair shatter as it hit the far wall. The fire in the fireplace crackled with an angered fury. Her hand touched the hilt of the sword and she pulled it toward in her a frantic motion. Her hands shook with fear, she didn't want to look up. What would she see?

Harsh steps intruded her thoughts, suddenly there was silence. A fowl stench filled the air, it caused her to gag and cover her mouth. Her hand tightened around the hilt of the sword. Her arm was itching to pull it from it's sheath and finally reveal the silver blade. Slowly her sky blue eyes lifted, first she saw the pawed feet blood soaked claws protruded from the large lion like paws. Her eyes scanned upward still, the chest of the animal was soaked with dirt and blood as if it had been in a massacre. Her body shook with fear yet her eyes were still moving upward. With one swift movement her eyes locked with the creatures. Red blazing eyes, blood stained teeth were bared at her. A large growl came from the demons throat. The growl sent shivers up and down Takumi's spine.

Bravery filled her, strength consumed her and with one swift motion the sword was drawn from it's sheath and revealed with all it's glory. The demon growled at the sight of the sword.

"I will kill you, you demon!" came the scared yet strong command of Takumi.

The demon bent low to the ground preparing to attack. Takumi felt fear grip her very bones, cold was making her shiver. The long split skirt gave no warmth to her near bare legs. Her long sleeved japanese top let the air flow right through to her skin. The fire crackled behind her, only a second passed then the demon attacked.

Takumi threw one hard blow with her blade, but the demon only landed on top of her, pushing the blade closer and closer to her right shoulder. She should have known she could never have matched the strength of the Titan. But Takumi was not yet aware that she was battling a Titan. In fact, she wasn't even sure what kind of demon it was.

"I have to win!" she grunted underneath the pressure of the monster. She felt her chest being crushed, it was becoming harder to breathe. She felt the hot breath of the demon cascading over her. "Get off of me!" she shouted pushing the demon off with her feet. The swords edge caught her arm as the demon flew from her. It's claws sank their way into the wooden flooring. The intense scraping of claw against wood shattered her ears and caused her to close her eyes. The thought of running snapped into her head.

"Where will I go?" she thought. "I can't run fast enough to get away from this monster!" her thoughts raged on.

Her body was being mangled and she wasn't strong enough to defeat this monster on her own. "I must defeat it." she said to herself. "I have to."

She gathered up her thoughts and shut them away. All fear she had before was now gone, all that remained was her and the demon. She ran full speed at the demon baring her blade high. The demon stood still as if waiting for the attack to end. Did this demon think she could not kill him? Takumi swung her blade she was prepared for the blood flow. But all did not go as she had hoped, at the very last second before her blade fell, the demon cast it's clawed paw upward catching her in the chest. The blow sent her flying and she slammed into the back wall, her hand along with the blade were thrown into the fire. The minute she felt the white hot heat she let go and pulled her hand to her chest. To her luck her hand had not been burned. SHe glared at the demon and rushed to the sword she pulled it quickly from the fire and gazed at the red hot blade. Blood pooled from the claw marks in her chest the demon lifted it's hand and licked her blood from it's claws.

That gesture alone sent Takumi over the edge. She felt something change her view had become sharper, clearer if you will. She suddenly felt a rush of strength and she knew she could defeat this monster.

"This time.." said her distorted voice, "You're going down!"

The rush, the speed of her footsteps were quicker than before. Like lightening flashes she appeared above, then beside the demon. She plunged the hot sword deep in it's side the spray of blood caused her to move once more. Now above the demon she sent her blade straight down, the power of the blow caused the bones in her hand to crack and just as she severed the demons body she let out a eerie and distant cry. She dropped the blade and staggered back against the wall. Hot tears sprung from her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. SHe slid down the wall and lifted her hand to reveal crimson fluid streaming from her chest.

"What a Spectacle.." came a strange voice. A black void took over her sight and within seconds she had blacked out.

Dreams shrouded her very thoughts she felt her feet walking but she was not awake. She could hear voices, but the voices were not familiar. She then saw her father's face in the black void, he was smiling. Takumi felt the urge to cry but no tears would come. She felt an extreme pressure on her hand and wanted to pull away from the pain but she could not. She looked to her father's face which was now being consumed by the darkness.

Takumi woke with an extreme pain in her chest, it felt like a ten pound weight was on her. But when she opened her eyes there was no weight. She was in a bed covered with a dark navy blue blanket. Her hand was bandaged tightly, she attempted to move her hand but stopped as she felt a needle pricking pain all across her hand. She could feel a tight binding across her chest as well. Embarrassment crossed her thoughts and she felt her cheeks go red hot.

"Who bandaged me up?" she wondered.

"You're finally awake." came a somewhat familiar voice.

Takumi looked to see a young man, much older than her, sitting in a chair beside the bed. How could she have not noticed him before?

"I'm glad to see your alright Takumi." said the young man.

"You know my name?" she asked still a bit frightened.

"I do indeed, I knew your father and met you when you were very young."

"I see," she replied. "Where am I?"

The man sat back against the chair and rocked back and forth. The tapping of the chair hitting the floor became a constant echo in the small room. He smiled and lifted his hand to brush away his hair.

"My home is where you are. I came running to your place as soon as I heard the Titans howls. I knew they would be coming for you." he said smiling.

Takumi had nothing to smile about, "That demon nearly killed me! And you're telling me it was a Titan? My father talked about Titans, he talked about their unquestionable power."

"What he didn't tell you was their affection for you, and for human blood. They like to feed from it. It makes them stronger, faster and more difficult to kill." he leaned forward and looked her in the eye "There are many left Takumi, and we have to kill them. The Unholy Light has been trying to destroy these creatures for generations. And now you must follow in your father's footsteps. You possess his abilities, as you are obviously aware. Without them you wouldn't have much chance defeating a Titan on your own. Like you did two days ago."

"Two days ago?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, you've been asleep for two days. It took me a long time to bandage your wounds without hurting you. They were very serious. I'm afraid your blade isn't in much better shape either."

Takumi was silent. A faint knocking on the door interrupted their conversation.

"May I speak with you?" a man asked peeking inside the room.

The young man nodded, "I'll be right back." he assured her. He left the room at a brisk walk and closed the door firmly behind him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We have found him, one of our men made it back. You've got to hear this Damien!" the man exclaimed.

"Fine." Damien said, obviously annoyed at the rude interruption.

They walked into the living area, Damien stood beside the black leather couch. A young man laid on the couch, a bandage covered his shoulder and chest. They were already showing blood.

"Tell me quickly Knight! What did you see?" Damien urged.

The young man had shallow breaths, "They always go for the heart.." he said weakly. "I saw him..the twin. He looks very similar to the young woman, but his eyes are shrouded in evil. And he's tall and muscular. He carries with him a burnt blade, which is stained with blood."

Damien sighed, "Yes, we know that Takumi's father hid the other one. We know all of that, where is he now?" Damien persisted.

"The North Bayon, near the Terkin Forest. He has a castle there, my team was killed but..I..got..away." the young man fainted into a everlasting sleep. Shadowing his last breath were the unbridled arguments of the entire room.

"Quiet!" shouted Damien. "We must honor our dead, then we go to seek Tenji. Only we can kill the Evil One.

There was a wave a sadness which rushed over the crowd. They mourned for their dead comrade and honored him with a heroes burial. After they had laid him in the ground Damien went back to see Takumi. He told her of the information given to them, “You are the only one who can kill him.” he whispered, failing to mention that this person she would kill was also her brother.

She'll feel too emotional if she knows, he thought.

It would be a mistake not easily forgiven. They headed out at daylight, Takumi was surprised at the quickened pace her healing had taken. Severe wounds had healed in a matter of hours, she now found herself ready, but also fearing battle. “How will I kill this evil one, am I more powerful than he is? I don't remember my last battle going very well.”
Damien smiled, “You will have nothing to fear, my and I will be protecting you. If you get into trouble we'll be there.” he assured her, his words held very little trust. Takumi found herself unsure of whether to trust these men or not. She wished she had one of her family beside her, they would have known what to do. Takumi was so easily influenced and she knew it.
“We're here!” Damien said loud enough for his men to hear. He looked at Takumi, “You just wait for our signal, when we call for you come out with your blade held high.” he said giving her a strong look. Takumi looked down to the blade she now wielded, heat had once darkened the blade, the spiral inlace on the hilt was blackened from the intense heat. Faintly you could see the insignia which rested on the highest point of the blade. Takumi set the sword against a nearby rock and wrapped her long hair high on her head, she pulled out a long piece of ribbon and tied her hair into place. She doubted that it would stay, but she couldn't have her hair getting in the way while she was fighting.

I can do this, just bring back that courage. That pure instinct is inside of me, I just have to unlock it!

She suddenly heard the men shouting, shrill screams echoed in the night. “Takumi, now!” yelled Damien. Her body froze, her hand had reached for the sword and now gripped the hilt. She was frozen from movement, she heard their screams but she could not help.

Come on! Get up! Move!

She flung herself from her hiding place she went out at a full run, she suddenly felt an intense heat fill her. Some unknown force was driving her, something..animal. She could feel a pure rage driving her forward. What was this? In all but a flash she saw the moments pass by so slowly, with each swing of her sword she cut the monster from head to toe. It seemed she was moving faster than he was, a great gift, but quite horrifying too. The blood sprayed from the wound covering her like rain. The monster gave a loud shriek and stumbled towards her, clawing his way along the ground. Takumi went to deliver the final blow when suddenly he began to change. At first it was a small change, his eyes softened his hands began to shrink into normal human form. Takumi watched until the monster before her was a man, a wounded and curse ridden man. He rolled over on his back, his breaths were short and shallow, “Please..please..kill me.” he gasped. His lungs were filling with blood, he coughed letting the crimson fluid spurt out of his mouth. “Please.,” he begged her. Takumi said not a word but stood and held her blade over the man's throat. “I'm sorry.” she whispered, she stuck her blade deep. Tears streamed down her face.

He must have been in great pain.

Damien came beside her, his hand was held over his arm. “Are you alright?” Takumi asked little enthusiasm in her voice. Damien nodded and examined the creature. “Well, this monster is done for.” Damien said a certain pride in his voice.
“He's no monster, just a tortured soul.” Takumi said dropping her sword.
“He was a monster!” Damien shouted, “He killed thousands of people!”
Takumi turned to face Damien, “And who made him like that? You? Me? Someone made him this way, he was unaware of what he was doing!”
“You don't know what you're talking about.” Damien said turning from her.
“He begged me to kill him! Begged! You think he wanted to die that bad as he had to beg me to finish him? He knew he had done bad things, but he did not do them himself..of his own free will.” Takumi argued, the tears were making her vision blurry. She was breaking down, she had seen so much in so little a time. Damien didn't understand, he was a hard man. A war hero, how could he understand?

Damien sighed and walked over to her, the men who had survived were treating the wounded while the unharmed listened to the conversation. “Takumi, I...I'm..” he wanted to say it, he did, but somehow the words just wouldn't escape from his mouth. Damien put his hand on her shoulder, “Come on, let's head back.” he said giving up on apologizing. “You've got lot's more work to do with us.” he added.
Takumi slapped his hand away, “No, you've got a lot of work to do. I'm done. “ she said walking away leaving the blade resting on the ground. Damien picked up her sword and looked at it, he walked away pulling the monster's blade from his sword sheath. The swords were exactly identical, the same insignia, the same burnt blade. Damien walked over to his second in command. “Take a small squad and kill her, she's probably infected.” Damien ordered. His man nodded and pulled a small team together. They went after Takumi and watched her carefully, when she stopped and looked behind her they knew. “You can come out.” Takumi said still recovering from her tears. The group of men emerged from the vegitation and looked her, their swords were still sheathed. “Did he not send you to kill me? After what I've done I'm sure he was highly suspicious of me.”
The second in command came forward, “Takumi, my name is Tenshin and we're not here to kill you. We're going to disobey our leaders orders and protect you. We know you're not infected, you're father said your blood was the cure for the monsters.”
Takumi looked at him with a smile, “A cure?”
“Yes, a cure.”

And indeed there was a cure. Takumi's blood contained the exact materials needed to counteract the curse that had been tormenting the monsters. They took blood from Takumi and created a special kind of weapon to disperse the cure when stuck to an enemy. Damien created his own monster kill squad and went around parading the conquered deaths of the monsters. Takumi celebrated the new health being granted to the monsters, as they were cured they joined her. She had an army of cured monsters at her disposal and it was time for some cleaning up.

Takumi spent her young life securing the welfare of the “Cursed” men and women. Damien became her rival, where she wanted peace he wished to destroy it with death. But Takumi would give him a peace of her mind. On the third year of her campaign they infiltrated Damien's camp. And in his tent she held him by the throat.
“You once treated me as a friend, then as a tool and now I am your enemy. If you will not let me be then I will kill you..what is your answer?” she questioned her silver blade etching across his throat.
“I swear if you let me live I'll kill you on sight!” he growled.
“Has power changed you this much? If that is true than you do deserve to die.”

Takumi then slid her blade across his throat, letting him drop to floor she found herself walking through a pool of blood. Her steps left a crimson print in the white snow.
“Join us, or join your leader in death.” Takumi said to the remaining comrades of Damien. The whole group of men shook their heads and joined her ranks. The result was a long and tiring campaign which was a success as they cured every last monster in the land.
The days of Titans were at an end.