Silence of the Void

Waking in a daze, Reinhardt tried opening his eyes. Still fuzzy from almost drowning he had to fight to see much of anything, instead he relied on his sense of touch. The dirt under his hands left long streaks as he moved to get up. Everything around him was strangely dry, even his clothes didn't have any water on them. Considering how he had come to find himself where he currently was, he was confused. 

        Finally able to see in the dim light he was curious to find out how he managed to get inside of a cave. Turning around to look at where he thought he had come from it wasn't a surprise to see that there was no way out. Not being able to hear the roaring of the water outside left an eerie silence within the small cave. A fuzzy feeling washed over his body when he finally got to his feet.

Bracing himself with the stone wall Reinhardt moved slowly in the only direction the cave went. It didn't take long before a faint light became clear. The cave stopped and opened into a vast cavern. In the center of the cavern the floor gave way into an abyss. Making his way to the edge required some courage. Reinhardt made sure his balance was correct before leaning forward to look over. All the light from within the cave died away and, similar to the vortex that brought him here, it vanished inches from the surface. Not even a sliver of moment or sound lived within the void.

The sudden Tap, Tap, Tap from below him made Reinhardt stumble away from the edge in time to miss a blot of lightning that shot past him and into the ceiling. Quickly gaining his balance Reinhardt turned back to the void with his fists up. Realizing the gesture was pointless he lowered his arms and waited.

From inside the darkness a figure rose. Having no distinct shape, it looked like black water rising before him. The faint flicker of the torches in the room reflected off the surface of the mass, but he couldn't see his own reflection.

Reinhardt realized that it wasn't liquid at all but actually a strange type of fabric. Points started to spread from the ball and slowly flowed towards six pedestals lining the top of the room. Moving like water the cloth rippled over the rock and stone of the ceiling. The already dark room looked like it was being swallowed.

        When the black flow had reached it's resting spot, the cloth began to clump together, growing, and shaping itself. Almost as if he had been watching water flow the cloth had taken on the forms of humans, enveloped in heavy, dark robes. Each form looked identical and not a single face could be seen under their hoods. The strange mass in the center of the room was now clinging to the ceiling, and Reinhardt was strangely reminded of a droplet of water. woven together into a single form Reinhardt was hands down the most creepy thing he had ever been in his life.

Not being able to see their faces didn't hide the feeling of him being watched. Reinhardt knew he was the center of attention in this room. The silence was stressful and it felt as if it wasn't going to end. No longer moving, the six figures just watched patiently for something to happen.

One of the creatures started tapping a cane on the pedestal in front of him. The same Tap, tap, tap, rang through the cavern as before, but this time a wall of water shot from the darkness, arching through the air until it was cascading towards him. Completely off guard by the speed of the attack he reached out with his mind and grabbed the water, forcing it to part in the middle, and forced it to pass by.

Reinhardt's second hand shot back above his head and caught a ball of fire roared that had suddenly sprung to life from somewhere in the darkness. Another succession of tapping brought his attention to the void. Searching for the feeling of water, Reinhardt almost missed the subtle movement of the earth underneath his feet.

Dodging to the side, the head of a spike flew towards him. With a snap of his shoulder, the Dragon's tail sprang to life, cracking the rock spike into pieces. Focusing on everything around him he felt the air stir awkwardly. Grabbing hold of the strong metal cable, he kept it from retracting back into his armor. Using his momentum Reinhardt forced the tip of the dragons tail to spin freely through the air around him. As the strong blade of wind flew towards him he kept the attack from fully condensing and cut it to pieces with the spinning tip of his Dragon's tail.

        Before he had time to recover another attack came, and then another. Matching each attack as it came Reinhardt was barely managing to keep himself out of the path of the endless attacks. These dark figures were throwing every element at him. From fire, to water, all six were being used now. Breathing hard now he missed a block and was thrown to the floor by a sharp, thin piece of rock.

        Following through with the fall, Reinhardt used his uninjured arm to vault himself back to his feet. A large ball of fire erupted from above him and another blade of wind gathered and came at full speed. Getting ready to defend himself Reinhardt turned and tried to release his only weapon again. When it didn't extend he realized that the thin piece of rock had hit him it had damaged the mechanism that made the weapon function. Now that it was useless he had no defense.

        A chill went up his back as he watched both attacks fade from sight. Through the darkness the forms of the cloaked men appeared again, their eyes never having left him.

"You have potential elementalist." A strange voice filled the room. Reinhardt couldn't tell who was speaking because the voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once. All six of the figures watched him, calculating.

"What are you?" Reinhardt asked trying to figure out what was going on.

"We are the one who created this world, the ones who created the dragons and banished the forgotten one."

"Probably isn't forgotten if you know about him." Remembering that his wife always hated how fast he was at being sarcastic he figured he probably should stop speaking.

"The War of Greed has spread throughout the lands, and has infected the whole of your race. It has made you weak and wild."

"War makes people stronger, they've learned and grown into a capable race." He didn't know why he was defending what they were doing. This was the same war that took the life of so many innocents, Briccio, and his own family.

"As an individual you may become strong, yes, but your race has been torn to pieces. You have been made weak and that will lead to your demise." The mass in the center of the room began to shift and move. From the middle he could see it begin to unravel and open. An object began to lower from within it. Oddly it looked like a flower unfolding, even if it was a dark, non-reflecting flower. Straining his eyes to see what was emerging he finally managed to make out an object.

As it dropped further down he noticed that the light didn't glint off the blade like normal steel. The entire sword was black, and when it had finally emerged, he could see how large it actually was. The blade was at least five feet long, with the other foot of the swords total length being its handle. At almost an inch wide the black face of the weapon was covered in an intricate pattern flowing just beneath the surface.

The cloth flowed towards Reinhardt and he reached his hand out to take the handle of the sword. He was surprised at how light the weapon was in comparison to its size.

"Even though your creation was unforeseen the results are..promising. You have begun to master the traits of your power much faster than your predecessors."

"How many of us have there been?" Reinhardt was beginning to get interested in what was going on.

"The number is less relevant than the reason."

"What's the reason you created me?"

"You misunderstand. We did not create you like the others. You were not planned like they were. The events that led up too your acquiring your gifts were random and uncultivated, making you the first to reach this state alone."

        "You keep speaking about creating this, and the state I'm in. So answer this for me..what happened to me?" Reinhardt could finally get an answer to what had happened to him back in the woods of Wanve. Not knowing if it was an answer he actually wanted he just waited.

        "When you stole your own death before it could take you, and in doing so transcended death and took it for yourself. You are death. Simply. Elegantly."

        Refusing to believe that a simple farmer could in fact become what these creatures were saying Reinhardt laughed. "Do you honestly believe that a person can become death?"

        "You are inherently different than any other person now. Your physical prowess will continue to grow, as you have seen, until your body can no longer maintain the stress it will put on you. Death will then find you, and you will be reunited with the ones you lost." Taking a few moments to think about what was being said he realized that parts made sense. Before his family died he had never been able to use the Dragon's Tail as effectively as he now could. His frequent encounters with hostile enemies also proved that he could fight far better than ever before.

        "I will admit that I am stronger than before, but I cannot accept the entirety of these facts." 

        "You cannot fight what you are, nor will you. Death must pass on, and when you have reached the limits of your body, you will die again." The figures started to flow in the opposite direction. Slowly disappearing back into the ball of cloth, Reinhardt could only watch.

        "My limits?"

        "When your power emerges you will know. At that moment you will be strong enough to fulfill what you were created for."

        "You said I wasn't created?! Now you say it was for a reason?" Reinhardt was beginning to become irritated with the twisted logic.

        "Just because we did not create you does not mean you weren't created for a purpose." Almost completely gone, sucked back into the black ball, their voices still echoed from everywhere at once.

"What is it that you want me too do exactly?" Reinhardt asked, still not sure what was going on.

"End the war of greed."

"How do you figure I manage that alone?"

"Help destroy the ones who began the war."

"You mean that I need to kill Astraeus?" Even though he asked the question he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it. These things were supposed to be smart, and in his head he wanted them to agree with what he already had planned. If they disagreed than Briccio would have been wrong, and he refused to let his plan die.

"No! You must remain away from the master. They are stronger than you realize. Being near one will hinder your ability to fight." Not understanding how being near somebody could hold him back in a fight, Reinhardt just accepted the fact and continued to listen. "Do what you have to do, but let the others handle the masters."

        Tracing his fingers across the smooth metal blade of his long sword he realized that something about this weapon didn't sit well with him. A presence rested within the dark metal and it wanted to be released. Fighting the desire to hold the sword he used his cloak to tie it down snugly. Deciding it was best to not use his new weapon, he tried thinking of places that would have the supplies he needed to fix the Dragon's Tail.

        In the distance the cave walls began to open like doors. Throwing the sword over his shoulder he started up the steps, stopping only long enough to let the next step form. His life had taken a seriously strange turn, but it was still his life. A human couldn't become death itself, and he didn't care what a group of strange cloaked men thought about it. All that mattered was that he needed to end this war and to do that he needed an army. Luckily the supplies he needed to fix his weapon were with that army.

Author's Note

This chapter is another pivotal point in the story. Reinhardt receives the weapon that follows him throughout the entire series. Is this part vivid enough? Does it leave a sense of gloom over the future of the story?