This is it. It is finally over. All of this fighting, all of this killing and butchery, can be put to rest. This world, my afterlife of darkness, is empty, lonely. But it is right for someone like me. It is good to be dead by my own hands, even though it should’ve happened before all of this. No one can hurt me anymore, nor can I hurt anyone. I can have peace at last. For the first time, I can stop being the weapon I forced myself to always become and accept my own death.

  There is no sound, nor will I see the faces of the people my soul treasures. A heartbreaking fate, but a deserving one. The void belongs to me, and only me. All I can hope for is that the people I cared for have a better journey beyond, if there is one. However, seeing that I am standing here is perhaps proof that there is something beyond death. I suspected something like this would exist and not a false illusion like Heaven or Hell, but a proper afterlife for all living beings. I just wish for everyone else besides me to have a better afterlife, something that gives them peace, while I stay here to be forever isolated. It is necessary for I fear that being near them, even in death, will only put them at risk. They have to be far away from me.

  It is for the best. There is nothing I can do to make things better. My hands are only capable of killing and inflicting harm, not saving people. I try to use them to heal, but that is not their calling. My destiny, my wretched life, is only made for one thing. Kill, kill, and kill. Whenever I try to build, it will only crumble to pieces as soon as it is finished. I am cursed to have blood on my hands and to be unable to wash it off. It is good to be here, away from everyone, and to face punishment for what I am. A force of destruction, undeserving of mercy and hope. The voices will tell me such, and I agree with them.

  ‘Don’t look sombre when you are needed.’

  I turn around to see him, a younger me. My heart races, my breath picks up, to stand amongst them. He has a consistent shade of dark green scales, his body free of old wounds and scars, minus the scar on the right side of his smooth reptilian bill. Our first injury that failed to heal properly. As my fingers trace over the place where the scar is, now covered in a dozen new ones, my mind goes over the events of a foe long ago, during a time when he embedded his enchanted axe into my face. His clothing is simple: a knee-length gown, long pants, and red laced leather armour.

  ‘Qiang,’ I mumble my old name.

  ‘Took you longer to remember who you were than it should have.’ He sarcastically replies. ‘Tell me, what name do I go by now?’

  ‘Jackson.’

  He turns to bow to me. ‘It is good to see you alive and well. Even if you are weaker than you should be.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  Qiang raises a brow. ‘Is this what I will become? Someone who has so little to say that they are reduced to saying one-word sentences? Don’t tell me that you lost someone dear, or did you suddenly become a brain-dead imbecile?’

  ‘Get to the point!’

  With a smirk, he shrugs. I can’t believe I came across as arrogant and foolish in my youth. ‘Fine, I guess I have to be blunt with you. You made a big mistake, and you have to go back down there.’

  ‘I accepted the consequences. I’m ready to die.’

  ‘No, you really didn’t.’ Qiang walks up to me. ‘Now, I believe that when I get older, I should get used to killing people. Innocent or otherwise. Because there is always a mission, a dirty job that you and I will have to do to keep the world clean. It is what we do best, our hidden talent. But looking at you, it seems you are a bit tired of what we are. However, I think there is something deep down that you can never shake off. Something we both are very inclined towards.’

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  I shake my head, refusing to let him continue this. ‘I am not like you.’

  ‘Maybe not. It will be a while before I become you. Honestly, it takes some time to stomach the things we have to do to keep humanity free from undeserving powers. But beyond that, there is something we both secretly enjoy. Because we are just that good at it.’

  ‘The world doesn’t need a hunter anymore.’

  Qiang shakes his finger at me. ‘Oh, it does, because you caused a Cascade.’

  ‘That isn’t possible!’ I hiss.

  ‘Oh, it is. You created the very thing we swore to prevent. Now we are in this mess, and now I have to talk to you to remind you of the world shattered to pieces. Admit it, your failure made you no better than those parasites.’

  I clench my fist. How dare he compare me to those creatures! He should know better than to push my buttons and try to get me to do something I grow tired of doing. We both slaughtered, but it seems my younger self still fails to comprehend the weight of our own capabilities.

  ‘Speak.’ I demand. It will give me an answer.

  ‘Faith Breaker, Butcher with Many Names, Killer of Killers. That is what people call us throughout the years, handing us titles that illustrate what we are and how we deal with humanity’s threats. We hate the titles, but they have a grain of truth to them. And right now, the world needs its Faith Breaker.’

  ‘Get to the point.’

  He chuckles. ‘You have to get in there and fight! There are monsters, Jackson, new horrors that will terrorise everyone below, and they are unprepared for the chaos to come. Humanity needs its killer; it needs us to do what needs to be done. However, that is if you are willing to do what is necessary.’

  ‘Why are you telling me this?’

  ‘To give you a choice, Jackson of Abernu, the last member of our forgotten tribe. The one cursed to carry on their legacy. That legacy is to fight those horrors and defend people who can’t defend themselves or fathom the evil beyond the darkness. But that legacy isn’t forced upon us. You and I know this. To be an Abernu is to accept its trials and prepare to bathe in the blood of our enemies. There are new evils entering the world, Jackson. So make the right choice, and fight.’

  ‘If I don’t choose?’

  ‘You will.’

  Is that what you want? To make me decide what I should do? No! I refuse to be a pawn or do this song and dance. I will not choose to continue this farce in fighting this endless conflict against the hordes of darkness. This fight is not for me, even though I caused it. It will end by someone’s hands because they will be able to put an end to the madness that was brought into the world. My time is done, and I will not fight. Someone else can be a hunter for once, because all I will achieve is make things worse.

  But is that what Hannah wants?