Chapter 6: Face of the Forgotten   He pressed forward with his claymore resting on his shoulder, leaving bloody footprints behind him. His feet regrew the muscles and skin with every step he took further into the labyrinth. Requiem walked through the labyrinth that took the shape of a dungeon. Every room he passed was vacant as he progressed through the torchless hallway that seemed to have no end.   He spent days walking through the hall into an eternal darkness that all stayed the same. The scent of grass filled his nostrils making Requiem stop in his tracks. He peered into one of the rooms next to him to see nothing, but empty stone coffins. Requiem then looked back in the…

Every school has their little weirdos. Some more than others, but us weirdos gotta stick together. Back in the fifth grade my buddy Tim got a lot of shit. Not like the kid dressed weird or anything, but he was just the kid that had a target on his back. We’d be out in the field flying around in space ships or fighting off a mob of samurai. He was the best at playing swords and stuff though. The kids never messed with me though. Only him for whatever reason. Tim was my boy though. We looked after each other. Well, mostly me looking out for him, but someone had to. Most of the kids couldn’t understand why I was…

Chapter 5: Devoured by the Sands of Time   Requiem rested his claymore against his shoulder before walking over to the crumbled beast. He scanned the chamber to see a vast emptiness accompanied by the mountain of corpses and himself. Requiem turned to the mountain seeing it was his only path.   He spent days climbing the mountain of bodies with the hope of seeing something from the top he had failed to notice before. He scanned the chamber once again from the top until he felt the bodies under him start to slide down. Requiem staggered on the top of the mountain trying to catch his footing, but the bodies were being sucked in straight down the center of the corpse…

Hello, Mother, I feel like tonight may be my last in these trenches, for better or worse. Last night the enemy pushed us back to the perimeter of the town we’ve been defending for the past three months. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much longer we can hold out for. Reinforcements and supplies are two to three days out, I have two insta-chow syringes left and three and a half magazines to hold me through the next few nights. We have about two more hours of sunlight left. I’ll be sure to give the mail carrier this letter before it heads back to command. I just need to be honest with you. Don’t get me wrong, I love you very…

Chapter 4: The Cry for Fairness   The violent vibrations of the wails caused a portion of the wall to crumble, revealing a passage hidden behind it. The violet viscous oozed into the neighboring area as a breeze of air hit him with a refreshing touch. Requiem rested his claymore against his shoulder to continue his journey through the labyrinth. He lurched through the sludge to the next passage that was a skywalk. There were eight windows along both sides with an iron rod gate on the other end.   Requiem walked onto the middle of the skywalk taking in the scenery. He peered over each side of the skywalk to see if the tower had moved. The sun was setting over…

Everyone thinks they have an idea of what madness is, but in reality, you don’t. I’ve come to accept that our physical death is nothing compared to what happens in the other plane, and there is nothing we can do about it. An unseen world that we share with our counterparts. The madness I will never understand. Yet, I was able to realize at a very young age that they will take us all a lot sooner than we think. You won’t see or feel these creatures take you from this world. I don’t even know why they do.  They just exist to do whatever they so choose from what I’ve gathered over the years. It all started when I…

Master, please wake up. Everything will be okay. I’ll just lay here next to you. Too bad you wouldn’t teach me how to use the phone. I saw how to use it on TV.  You said I wasn’t allowed to touch it, so I won’t. I’ll be a good boy. You’re not breathing like you usually do, but I’m sure the men in black will come soon with their lights. They’ll know what to do. They always come when it gets too loud. This time they’ll be surprised when I answer the door. All because my wonderful Master is sleeping, of course. I remember when you plucked me from my mother. You said, “she’s dying anyway,” and threw some of…

Chapter 3: The One Who Understands All Requiem looked down at his right hand carrying the claymore with thorned rosary binding them together. He let his blade drop next to him to hang freely by the rosary so he may use both hands to climb the vine. He dug his fingers into the vine making it bleed, and started climbing. His claymore dangled from the rosary causing it to shred his forearm while the claymore etched patterns into his legs as it swayed back and forth. Requiem climbed through the darkness covered in blood for what felt like an eternity. He climbed until the face of the iron mask clanked against a stone ceiling where the vine suddenly ended.   Requiem…

Chapter 2: One Hound’s Meal is Another Man’s Treasure He scanned the chamber for another door, but fell short. All while the holes in his chest and stomach began to glow with the healing white light. Requiem rested his claymore against his shoulder, then made his way to the door he had entered through seeing that it was the only way out of the chamber. The white light turned into his entrails, then muscles and finally his scarred skin until he was whole again. Pride’s blades pushed out from his back and side to the floor. Requiem pushed open the door to see another void. Without hesitation, he stepped through into a decrepit hallway with the door disappearing behind him…

Chapter 1: The Purity of Corruption A naked holy man stood knee deep in snow on frostbitten legs in front of a tower he did not believe existed. It was a tower of legend that was forever moving that sat atop of a snowy mountain scape for the time being, and was said to grant a wish to whoever reached the top. A gust of icy wind cut into his skin scar covered skin like the many blades that did the same during his holy crusade reminding him of his duty. The duty now halted by the seven window stone tower he had only heard from those he had slain. The holy man’s true name had faded from the world…