Re-Awakening

The first object Xentros could identify was the lantern floating just above the ceiling. The magic used to make it float around the room while providing light evenly no matter what fascinated him. His sight was below what he was used to seeing, and everything had a much less vibrant color, but he could still see. His vision was even worse when he only had one eye opened, he noticed, and he couldn’t speak. Xentros felt trapped still, only being able to see the ceiling and smell something wonderful in the air.

Every time Xentros tried moving he was met with a searing pain throughout his whole body. After what felt like hours, he could finally move his right arm, though it took vast effort, and it was all he could do. He felt at his torso, remembering it burning while he was fighting, and seeing solid purple taking over his skin. Now, it was left completely smooth, and devoid of the scars he used to bear. His fingernails weren’t as long as during his fight, but they were longer than he was used to, noticing he cut himself when he tried making a fist. His next attempt at moving his left arm resulted in more pain and a feeling of great weight on his arm, and he heard a groan come from next to his ear.

Xentros noticed a heat leave his hand before he was finally able to turn his head to the side. He saw a site that brought him both joy and sorrow. Sheila was slouched over, attempting to rub the sleep from her eyes. Her hair was messy and she wasted almost no time in letting out a loud yawn.

Sheila’s eyes took a moment to focus, before realizing her pillow was looking back up at her. What that meant didn’t process in her mind until she had stared blankly for a moment. When it hit her, her mood did a complete turnaround. She latched her arms around his neck and started sobbing. “Xentros, you’re finally awake! I’m so happy, I was afraid you didn’t want to come back to me.”

Feeling began to leave Xentros as he realized that she truly meant it when she said she had loved him. He began to tear up himself, thinking that something good might have come out of this, and he was doing his best to suppress his anguish at what he had done. If she wasn’t going to hate him, why should he hate himself?

He wanted desperately to say something so she would stop crying. He wanted to return her hug, and he wanted to see her face again. He tried to move his arms only to notice they wouldn’t respond. He was confused at first, and then concern stuck him.

His vision became crystal clear, and his arms began to move, but unlike what he wanted. They were completely outstretched above him, and his skin was returning to the purplish color they were before. Between his hands formed a spark of purple that rapidly expanded to fill up the space. Fire burst throughout the ball, and it became abuzz with electricity. As his arms were plunging downwards ice shot through his right wrist, breaking the spell and pinning his arm against the wall behind him. Sheila brought her head up to see Thee standing in the doorway with his arm outstretched, and a concerned look on his face. “What have we done to you, Xentros? Are you so lost that you can’t claim control of your body?”

Sheila turned from Thee’s saddened face and looked down at her friend. She saw blazing fire coming from the eyes of the one she loved, and she saw his face covered in purple scales. She fell from her position onto the floor and stared in horror as he melted the ice in his hand and sat up. He waved his left hand over the hole in his right and it was healed almost instantly. Xentros watched in horror from inside his prison.

“I hope one of you will just put me out of my misery. Turn your weapons on me and kill me!” Xentros screamed inside his own head. The message that came out had a much different meaning. “Hope… Will… Buuuuuuuuuuurn! Misery… Your misery! Kill, kill kILL KilL KILL, KILL, KILL”

Xentros’ whole body experienced one quick twitch, and he fell back down to the bed. Xentros had his eyes closed and he groaned in pain. His eyes felt like they were on fire and his skin felt tight around his body, but he was finally in control of his movements. He sat back up in his bed and held his head. When he opened his eyes he looked up to see Thee ready a spear of ice to throw at him.

“Wha- What is happening?” Xentros looked down to see his skin was almost completely covered in purple scales, and he tried scraping them off. His attempts were futile. He looked into the mirror to his right and saw what he was. He was an abomination, blazing red eyes, purple lizard scales, and spots of his hair falling out. He looked to his left and saw Sheila holding her hands over her mouth with tears running from her eyes. Thee had started walking towards the bed, his spear since lowered, and Xentros made the only decision he thought was right.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered under his breath as he lunged from his bed, the sheets still clinging around him. On the table next to the door was his travel bag and sword, which he picked up on his way out. He sprinted down the halls towards the Throne Room, the nearest exit. As he passed through he saw the small group of citizens waiting to talk to their king. Xentros saw his father rise from his seat as he blurred by.

Vexus watched from his spot as a version of his son ran by him at inhuman speeds. A space that would take most men a minute to walk from one end to the other was cleared by this blur in seconds. There was no catching Xentros, but Vexus still had a chance to know where his son was going. “Send for Mallun! Find my son!” Messengers ran as fast as they could to the wizard’s tower.

Sheila and Thee came running out after Xentros, hoping to catch Xentros. They ran straight past their king and out the door, splitting off at the exit to cover more ground.

“Xentros, please come back! We can fix this!” The same thought ran through the minds of Xentros’ most important people though he would never hear them. The night’s moon shone high in the sky and revealed a large portion of the farmland in front of him so that he could see. Two figures were in his path, one clearly attacking the other. As he got closer Xentros’ enhanced vision allowed him to notice that one was a vampire, and as he passed his claws raked through the vampire’s body. He didn’t stop, and as he continued bounding away the body of his victim burst into a ball of fire while the farmer ran for his life.

Trees soon surrounded Xentros but he was unfazed. He intended on running until he could run no longer, and then he would crawl. Anything to get away from the people he held most dear, the people he might accidentally kill. He just wanted to be away from everything, but he didn’t have the heart to kill himself. So he ran, and let nothing get in his way.