Shadow

Blood. That was all that surrounded him as he stood frozen and petrified by the destruction he had caused. A mass of dead bodies lay scattered all over the big courtyard, the sight of severed heads and limbs painting a horrifying scene. The man looked at his sword which was stained with fresh blood that dripped to the ground, his black cloak damp due to blood that had splattered on it. A feeling of dread overcame the man as he continued to scan his surroundings. The sound of many footsteps snapped him out of his daze, and he turned to run, jumping over the low wall of the courtyard and dashing into the town square.

He weaved through the large crowd of people, aiming to exit the town towards the West and get into the forest, his large, tall and bulky figure not helping as he drew a lot of attention from envious men and flirty women who giggled as soon as he met eyes with them. On a normal day, he would've flashed the ladies his dazzling smile and give them a wink but this was the last thing on his mind as his only thought was to escape the town.

Soldiers began to pour into the town square from all directions as they searched for him.

"Over there!" shouted one of them as it was easy to pinpoint his location due to his height.

The young man desperately pushed and shoved anyone that stood in his way, knocking over stalls as the soldiers were in hot pursuit of him. As he was running, his eyes flickered from red to blue as he desperately tried to resist.

"Not now," he murmured under his breath, an excruciating pain overwhelming him as he groaned, the soldiers finally having caught up to him and surrounding him. He fell to his knees, the pain in his head spreading to the rest of his body as he looked up at the leader of the soldiers, who had now drawn his sword and pointed it at his neck.

"Who are you?" inquired the leader, his expression cold as he looked down at the man who was now on his knees.

"What is the point of knowing the name of a man who's dying," he sneered, his eyes now fully red as he stared at the leader, unfazed by the sword that was on his neck.

The leader frowned, dissatisfied with the answer.

"Why did you kill the people in that courtyard?"

The man's eyes returned to normal, their blue colour alluring.

"I didn't kill them," he answered, his voice trembling and dripping with fear, "It was my shadow."

A large crowd had now gathered around them, the onlookers listening in with curiosity. The leader examined the man, unable to decipher whether or not he was telling the truth. The man's eyes then turned blood red, his shadow moving and a thick, black mist spreading, clouding everyone's vision. A shrill scream was heard from the crowd, the sound of blood splattering all over the ground haunting their ears as a figure of a young lady fell to the ground with a thud. The mist vanished almost instantly, as if it was never there, revealing the sight of the headless figure lying on the ground, it's head not too far away, causing multiple people in the crowd to scream and panic, some even fainting from shock and terror. The man's cold smile brought chills to the surrounding soldiers, his expression showing absolutely no remorse as he looked at the dead corpse.

"What did you do?!" asked the leader, his hand which held the sword slightly trembling.

"Absolutely nothing."

Suddenly, a huge, heavy pressure that emanated from the young man, draining the life out of the surrounding people. The leader struck him without hesitation, his sword piercing the man's chest, aimed for his heart. The pressure eased as blood gushed out of the man's chest, the leader relentlessly pushing the blade deeper before pulling it out. The man clutched his chest, unable to form any words as he stared wide eyed at the leader, his eyes now back to blue before he collapsed.

"Is he dead?"

"Most likely."

"Good," said the leader before falling to the ground unconscious.

The pressure he had felt unnerved him and he knew that if he had delayed, the whole crowd would've been endangered and completely wiped off the face of the earth. These were his last thoughts as he sank into a world of darkness.