originally posted in:The New Dojo
[b][i]Of Wolf and Man[/i][/b]
[i]"I hunt
Therefore I am
Harvest the land
Taking of the fallen lamb"
-Metallica[/i]
[b]Dojoville, Tatakai[/b]
[i]The Dread had arrived, viciously assaulting the Dojo and its forces without mercy. Both sides fought hard, but it appeared that things for the Dojo were not going nearly as well as hoped. The sounds and smells of war filled the air of the normally quiet area, and people fled and hid to avoid what was coming, not that there was anywhere to run. Amidst the bloodshed, reports had come in of something strange, and altogether horrifying. Traumatized civilians and Dojo fighters spoke of a being of fire, radiating a deathly cold, his eyes a piercing and eerie blue. His face, they said, a mask of white and black, his armor black and soulless, like staring into a void. To be near him, they said, was as to be paralyzed with fear, an inability to reason, to comprehend just what it was. To some, this apparition appeared to be a soldier. To those who knew legend of the Dojo and her history, they cowered in fear, terrified that the Betrayed Soldier had returned.
The streets of Dojoville were empty, corpses of both Dread and Dojo fighters lining them, as the spectre approached. His walk was deliberate, purposeful, and in his hand, what appeared to be some sort of lever-action shotgun, a cloak of black flame billowing behind him, the air cold as death. [/i]
[spoiler]Open[/spoiler]
English
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Alex looked outside quickly to find that he was gone. He cursed as he looked around the home that was terribly destroyed by the ongoing war. He began to sweep the home, looking for anything he could use....
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[i]As be turned around to head into the home, the figure reappeared before him, igniting from the air. He lunged with his gauntlet blades, swinging to hit his opponent in the jaw.[/i]
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"Jesus Christ!" He yelled as he brought his blade up around the arm and had it contact the blades on the man's wrist, having the punch slide off his blade.
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[i]Sparks flew from the contact of the blades, but it appeared that the spectre was slowly pushing the sword back and down, and quickly, he fired a slug from the shotgun into his opponent's stomach with his free hand.[/i]
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[spoiler]wait what? Kinda just assuming Alex would let that happen bud. I'll give it a pass for now, but you gotta realize that he's no god.[/spoiler] He was sent back and he landed on his ass from the sheer force of the shotgun. His armour had protected him, but he writhed in pain as he impaled his blade into the ground, holding his chest as he scrunched his face in pain.
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[spoiler]Yeah... he's basically a spirit of vengeance, meaning that in a one-on-one against an average person, he is far stronger than they are. There's a weakness you've yet to exploit, because nobody seems to remember that memories and family can bring forth the man behind the fire. Very easy to beat, actually.[/spoiler] [i]The spirit approached, his footsteps deliberate, the air growing frigid as he approached the man on the ground.[/i] "Look at this. All around us, war, destruction, death... there is no escape from it, no running away this time." [i]He said, harshly.[/i] "You cannot undo what has already been set in stone, and you will not escape me."
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Edited by Inflatablepants: 2/20/2017 4:08:37 PM"I may not be able to escape you..." Alex said, breathing hard and wincing. "But you can't escape what follows you. What the hell are YOU running from? Because spirits and wraiths are always held back by something..." Alex was attempting to dig into what this spirit was here for. It was his only option. [spoiler]Paragon options. Got it [/spoiler]
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"I do not run from my past. I embrace that which I had sold myself to do. I bring forth the bloodshed of war, I follow the paths of armies as they clash to cull the strongest who stand to defend. I have forfeit that which I once held dear." [i]He said, grabbing the man by the throat, his grip so cold it felt as if he was burning. Lifting Alex from the ground, he looked into the man's eyes. [/i] "You shall make a fine trophy."
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"Urk! Ya! No doubt about that!" He choked out. "Then...what did you forfeit?"
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"To lose one's life is a part of nature. To lay down one's life for those you hold dear is an act of the most powerful love known to man." [i]He replied, his grip tightening.[/i]
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"So you died for someone?" He just barely made out. "That's respectable. Who was it? A friend? Family member? Lover? Child?"
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[i]He looked to the man before him, still holding him by the throat.[/i] "I've damned myself to this hell so that my own flesh and blood may go where I never got the chance to go." [i]He said, a pride in his voice, mingling with a deep sorrow.[/i]
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"And who you do it for...is it worth it? Or [i]was[/i] it worth it? The fact that those you love are in a place...without you?"
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"It is better to give the gift of life to those who can go on living than to keep it for yourself and forever put them in danger." [i]He replied.[/i]
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"But what's life if it's filled by the grief of losing the one who sacrificed everything...?" Alex said. "Take it from a son to a father, but life without the one who loved you most is almost as terrible as death itself..."
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"And so here I am. There is nothing in this life or the next that is free, and to live is to suffer the emotions of being human. No trade is perfect, no deal as cleanly cut as they should be. To minimalize that pain was to surrender myself." [i]He said, a regret in his words.[/i]
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Edited by Inflatablepants: 2/20/2017 6:45:45 PM"And did it ever cross your mind how those you loved felt about your decision before you made it?" Alex pushed, trying to force out the very regret he heard within the spirits words.
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[i]He remained silent for a moment.[/i] "Had I remained with them, they would have both been in danger. They would have taken them, tortured them to draw me out. Nobody deserves that, to have to see their loved ones suffer for their actions." [i]There was a concern there, some spark of humanity. [/i]
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"Yet by isolating yourself from them you've subjected them to a whole new form of torture. Grief."
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[i]He continued to eye the individual, eventually dropping him to the ground, still standing there.[/i] "And so I have..." [i]His voice seemed to shift to that which sounded more human.[/i]
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Alex had a coughing fit as he breathed in air finally. It took him a bit to get up, but he left his blade where it was go show no hostility. "And so? What are you going to do about it now?" He asked.
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"There is no changing the past, for what's done is done." [i]He replied, the fire fading, calming.[/i]
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"Doesn't mean you can't do something now in an attempt to make reparations." Alex put rather bluntly.
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"To make reparations would be to give back the time they could have spent with me, to give my son back his childhood. There is no turning back time." [i]He said.[/i]
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[i]"Well that's up for debate itself..."[/i] Alex thought to himself, given his past adventures. "Then try to do something now. Would they want you to be so damn vengeful all the time?"