Tale of The Void
Today I rose for my gladiator fight. To the death, we shall play. Dancing with brutality in a maelstrom of blows. Hit after hit, blood splatters over the tainted ground where many have fallen. We both had armor, a chestplate and helmet each, leaving our limbs exposed as weak points. In the pit time is slow and fast, a moment, a second, a minute all feel the same. We had both been getting weaker and weaker as the fight went on and on. The sand and the blades of our weapons tainted with a blood red hue. After long, I had won, the crowd cheered for blood and I got to live another day.
The next day was another fight, a team fight of sorts. 12 men in teams of 3, fighting for their lives, for blood. The fight began, we charged at one another armed with swords, axes ,and maces. Only a helmet was given to us as armor. The teams were of primary colors. We charged at the red team and my friend pinned one of them against the walls of the pit with the point at the tip of his mace. Next, I got into a sword fight with one, the sound of metal on metal pierced through the air, as our swords do battle. Then at last I slashed his arm, then his chest. As that was happening My other teammate was fighting axe on axe, they blocked, they dodged, then finally my teammate got stabbed in the neck and fell. I ran and stabbed the attacker in the back and ripped off his helmet beating him to death with it. We turned and the rest of the teams had fallen granting us freedom from the pit.
Today will be my hardest fight, a fight against a beast, a tiger. Three of us will enter and likely three of us will fall. One will be given a sword and shield, another will be given a battle axe, and I will be given a greatsword. No armor was given. We entered the empty arena, readying our weapons for the cheering crowd. Through the bars of the door across from us, eyes of the tiger glow a fierce orange. They release the tiger and it starts circling us, stalking us. Then suddenly it pounced at us and we dodged, evading the attack. We struck back at the beast cutting into its skin. The beast slightly wounded and its eyes grew into a light red, I heard the light ticking of a clock surround me. The beast pounced on my teammate, ripping out his neck. He slowly bled out. It charged at me, but I stabbed it forcing the beast to back off. Its eyes darkened to a darker red. My other partner tried to slice it with his axe and got bit in the arm. Making him drop his axe, defenseless his arm was ripped off, killing him. I was left alone, with the beast, and a clock ticking around me. The beast’s eyes now a dark blood red. It charged, I dodged and sliced, then it bit me in the side and in a moment of rush. The ticking sped up and its eyes went black and the beast went limp. With it dead the crowd cheered me on, I was victorious. The emperor had come to my room and told me I was free to go. Finally, I was free.
The next day, I went for a walk for the first time in 5 years. Seeing nature, and Rome in its golden age. Time felt oddly slow but fast at the same time. My mind, still wondering what the ticking was in the pit. After a while a mirror appeared in my view. I walked by it as I wanted to enjoy my first day out. I looked back at it and it was gone. Confused, I grabbed my sword that was at my waist. Then, it was suddenly in front of me in this green vibrant forest. I was suspicious of it so I poked it with my sword and It was a normal mirror. Then glowing blue eyes appeared in a skull in the mirror. I felt, I should go into the mirror. No, I must break out of this trance, trusting my body and not my mind. I swung at the mirror, breaking it. Leaving nothing but a void in its place.
A voice behind me called, “What a lovely day out, isn’t it gladiator” This voice felt preternatural. “How do you know me?” I said. The voice revealed its shape to be a shadowy figure with a suit and piercing blue eyes. “I've been watching you for a while, you may remember”. I responded, “I've never seen you in my li-”. Memories of the fight with the beast flood back, the ticking louder and louder than ever. The man with no words snapped his fingers and everything went black. Then I was still in the forest but the man was gone. Time had felt as if it had stopped, and the ticking was back. I blinked and a wolf was stalking me with orange eyes in the distance. I blinked again and the ground beneath me and the world around me had started falling apart. The wolf grew closer with darker eyes and the ticking got louder. The wolf rushed me with the world crumbling beneath my feet, the eyes grew darker and the ticking got faster and louder. I pulled out my sword and stabbed the wolf, as it backed off the ticking sped up. The wolf’s eyes turned black and it died. The ticking had gone.
I was losing my mind fast as I didn’t know what was real or fake anymore. A mirror appeared in front of me as I was running causing me to run into it. Going through it, I found nothing but emptiness with two piercing eyes staring at me. An ominous voice said,”You gave me a good chase my friend, but I'm afraid it will have to come to an end.” I said,”What do you mean?” The voice spoke with the words,”You are now at mercy to time, The Watchman will now see to this rhyme, you are a fighter, but the dark will get no lighter, for your sanity will break, no matter how much it will take, a pawn of the void, you will be deployed, but when your time runs out, you will never scream or shout.” As the rhyme ended I felt my mind slowly clawing my own sanity away from itself. I can no longer run, I can no longer shout. A pawn of the void anymore I must be devout.
