On The Threshold of Dissonance

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“So that means I have to fight you too.”

***

The sounds of battle in the distant hills echoed down the battlefield surrounding a pair of fighters. The battle here has long been fought and won for their side. The rest of their allies had moved forward to push the enemy back into the dark depths located in the southern edges of the world. They were taking no chances, taking no prisoners.

The sound of metal clashing with metal echoed across the field. Bodies lay unmoving and unhearing of the lone fight that was happening.

The two combatants eyed one another, though no insults were thrown. The smaller of the two breathed heavily, her grip on her sword shaky yet she did not yield.

She wanted to laugh, laugh out all the misery that she’d kept bottled inside. But she couldn’t no matter how much she told herself that she wanted that release. Tears rolled down the sides of her cheeks but she didn’t utter a whimper. They were merely little streams of water falling out from her eyes. In the world she came from, no one fully understood what tears were anymore. What it was to feel sadness from the simplest or most complex of things. Realization fuelled the emotions roiling under her skin.

Rejected, her misery desperately clung to its last brother, begging to be found even a small outlet to stabilize itself. Its sibling accepted it readily, thinking that it was about time it were to have a release of its own.

The screech of metal hurt her ears. But it never went on for more than just a second. She jumped back, breathed in and lunged for her opponent again.

She wanted to find freedom from the invisible wounds that reopened time and time again. Oh how much she wanted to throw caution to the wind and wreak the absolute destruction LeRoux had so boldly and lovingly told her would one day come. He was right that she wasn’t fully denying the idea. And he was right that she would have thrown away everything that had meaning to her at that very moment it was realized.

Enemies or comrades, friend or foe, she wouldn’t care who was involved once the world was swallowed up in the chaotic destruction brought upon their decisions and deeds. Everyone deserved it. Even she did not exclude herself from it, though the very least she could say was she tried to be better. In her eyes, nobody was an exception to the consequences of her anger.

And that fury was making itself known in this moment, mingled with misery so deliciously flavoured with saltiness. Who was she to deny herself to be flawed for even a moment in time? Not a God, of course. She was only human, one that wanted so direly to hurt someone right now.

The young woman glared at the stoic man and raised her sword once more. Tears meant nothing in this situation, nor will it ever be in any other.

“You will have to do.”

***

His visits were yet scattered and sparse, but the nature of their often one-sided conversation had turned deeper and more symbolic in nature. The man took a seat on the broken pedestal, facing her with an amused smile. Flicking his hair back he began to tell his tale.

“A man lived alone in a house. He was an ordinary man, like his friends and his family, and he led a relatively ordinary life. He was content with it, but as days passed, an empty feeling began to gnaw at his being yet he didn’t know how to satisfy this growing void.”

“One day, there came a knock on the door. The man answered not too long after and found himself standing before a figure whose body was half bathed in light, and shrouded in darkness. Awed and made wary by this presence, he took a step back yet he did not close the door. The stranger slowly stretched out his empty hands and whispered loud enough for the human to hear.”

“Human, I mean you no harm. For eons, I have watched you and have interacted with your kind. I have seen what ails your mind and heart, and so I have come.”

***

“You can’t stop me, can you?” She said, tilting her head at him as pushed back.

“As long as I live, you won’t fall.” He replied. There lay the implications and the hidden meanings, but he wasn’t sure what they were exactly. He was never sure of half the words that fell from his mouth. Much as that bothered him, there was no changing something that was beyond his current abilities.

“Oh.” The young woman simply said. With reflexes that were a testament to his prowess as a powerful fighter, he blocked her thrust with a simple parry. It did not deter her. She jumped back, finding her footing then lunged for him again. Ally against ally, a mistress against her confidante, for many it would have spelled doom now that this situation has come to be. But Azrael would not let it frighten him into yielding. He can’t. He wouldn’t.

“Nobody cares, Azzy.” She snarled, gripping her sword tight as she lunged for him. “Nobody gives a damn. All they ever think about is their own happiness, purposely blinding themselves, hurting others and thinking that the other person wasn’t human enough to feel.”

This vent was only the calm before the storm. He was sure of that.

“Stupid, idiotic...”The words poured forth from her mouth, punctuating each pause with an attack. Each time she swung, he parried. Each time she lunged, he sidestepped. Not once did he raise his weapon against her in offense. Despite the overflowing emotions that poured from her, he didn’t allow it to affect him.

“I hate it! I hate it all! Call me fool! Curse me for being a hypocrite, but I this is what I see! This is the way I know to survive!” Her attacks were getting wilder. It worried him that she could harm herself but he tried to keep himself on guard.

“I’m one of them! But at least I know I am being a careless and blind moron. At least I tried to be someone helpful even if I may end up with nothing good for myself.” The tears continued to spill, but not a single sniffle interrupted her words.

“Sure the world has its own worries and problems to deal with. But that is exactly it! Those problems arise because it came from the very human flaws of being selective of the suffering we see, being jokingly cruel and doing nothing to change anything whether or not we are aware of it!” He thought of punching her, but that would only cause her ire to rise rather than fall.

“People refused to sacrifice anything just to care a little more!”

And suddenly there was a sharp sting of pain on his cheek. He stepped back, lifting a hand up and finding a thin line of blood on the palm as he pulled away. It surprised him, though not as much as it worried him. He looked back at his mistress, finding her labouring to breathe, yet her blade was poised and ready to strike. But the anger was lesser, the tears have dried and left her eyes bloodshot. The wound no longer bothered him, but it was going to be a reminder of what she was capable of destroying.

He could only sigh and wait for her next move.

“... I’ve realized I can’t keep this up any longer.” And she willed her blade to disappear, walking away from him as if she hadn’t intended to maim him moments ago.

“This is the reason why the world is so screwed up as it is.”

***

“Two gifts lay in my hands, each with its own blessings and curses. It is up to you however, how you choose to make these gifts grow and fill that void.”

***

“People have limits.” She whispered, staring down at the corpse at her feet. With no warning, the young woman summoned her blade again then proceeded to systematically hack the corpse into pieces. Azrael could only look away, brushing a hand against the wound on his cheek. A distant, contemplative look glazed his eyes, a slight crease of his brows marred his statuesque visage. There was nothing that can be done in this situation.

No matter the dark skies, hope is immortal.

He wasn’t sure if he could continue believing it. But for the sake of many, he was going to. He never had a choice, but he never had a complaint of his duty either.

Once there was no more body parts to mince, she looked towards the reddish grey clouds travelling towards them from the horizon, bringing with it powerful gusts of wind that swept across the corpse strewn fields.

She shivered, but she did not ask for any comfort at all.

***

He ended the tale with the stranger’s final words, smiling as if he knew something she would only realize until it was too late.

"So choose, human."