He stalked with a smile. Not a smile of happiness, joy of anticipation.
It was a smile like a sword. A smile like a knife to the ribs.
A smile like dying.
It was a new experience, to be a ghost. A silent wraith. To slip unseen through the chaos of battle like whisper.
All his life, Sarkar had been nothing but a Tyrant.
Nothing but fear. He who stole bravery, turning men into children. Polluting dreams into nightmares, and drove away sleep to every soldier that had by some stroke of luck, survived meeting him.
Sarkar was Regret.
Their final regret, as he stood over them, with a smile of course.
Watching as they re-lived every moment of their life. Recalling every opportunity missed, every chance unlived; he was a witness to it all…before he killed them.
That's what it truly meant to be fear.
But this…this was different.
Instead of fear, he was Silence.
Like a soft exhalation. Like a knife gently slipped through the ribs.
His sword was now Quiet, not Fire. Unseen he prowled, the sheep surrounding unaware of the wolf in their midst.
Each step was a step closer to his target. Today he had no appetite for sheep.
Today, a giant would fall. Death was coming, and today it followed Sarkar's footsteps to the Thanason camp.
Yet, distractions pestered his mind like annoying flies.
There was one, nothing more than a rat. A child…yet he had defied death. He was a uniquely coloured prey, with white hair and scarlet eyes, but prey nonetheless.
It didn't matter now. No matter how many times someone avoided death, Sarkar had finally and surely killed him. Luck didn't last forever.
'Yet, did he not survive death twice already?'
The first time was the very first day on this glorious battlefield. Where he had sent a comet. But perhaps he had missed, as unlikely as it seemed, it was plausible.
But the second time?
How had he survived a sword through the chest?
Sarkar had heard it, as his heartbeat had stopped. As the pounding ceased, leaving behind the blissful silence of a successful hunt. The rat should've died then…but again he'd survived.
It was unsettling. Prey existed to be killed, not to survive.
'Perhaps a revival skill?'
No, definitely not. Revival skills had colossal drawbacks, and besides being incredibly rare, there was no way he could use it more than once.
Perhaps it was something else. Something darker.
He had heard whispers…
It was considered wisdom to ignore the tales of drunken men. Especially if the tale was told late at night amidst a circle of wide-eyed listeners.
But he had heard them nevertheless, if only out of boredom. Tales of a man who could go out into the night. Into the mists…and return…something else.
No longer a man.
No longer human.
Yet, infinitely more powerful. With abilities that contorted sense.
'It doesn't matter. Focus on the task.'
Whoever that boy was, he was incinerated into a million pieces now. There was no way anyone could survive that. Not even luck could protect him from a direct hit with a comet.
What mattered now, was his new target.
General Thanason.
The Lord of Light himself.
A name spoken with reverence and fear by enemy and ally alike. A reputation of ruthless and unstoppable power, carved throughout his bloody life.
Only to be eclipsed by his death. And from his grave, a new name would rise from the ashes. A name that would inspire, fear, and fear only.
Sarkar. The Tyrant of Earth and Flame.
Stalking out of the battlefield, he made his way towards the new encampment, the Empire's reinforcement completely unaware of his passing.
'Raleigh, he's truly a dangerous man.'
Thanason had made his arrival loud, pronounced, as he should. Predators like the two of them should never be made to hide like the others. Well…unless necessary of course. Thanason had made his army raise the ground from where the encampment was established, forming a small cliff that overlooked the battlefield.
Not only did it allow them to oversee the battle, and attack from the safety of his base, but it protected them from any potential attacks. That encampment couldn't be allowed to be kept standing for longer than one day.
With own powerful mana enhanced leap, he crested the cliff, landing deftly on a clearing before the commander's tent that overlooked the battle.
And there he was.
Impossible to overlook. His very presence commanded respect
Thanason.
The General's dark hair and piercing yellow eyes radiated unshakable authority. As if he was not a man at all, but a force of nature. An innate law of the world that couldn't be denied.
He stood like a statue, carved from his obsidian armour, as he surveyed the battle with a cold detachment.
Sarkar's grin faltered slightly, heart quickening.
He wasn't scared…no that couldn't be it.
Fear was his tool alone. No, it was only exhilaration. Anticipation for a glorious trophy soon to come.
'Silence will fall.'
Mana rippled out from him, creating an invisible dome that surrounded the area, reaching just before the General. Here now, within this dome, sound no longer existed.
Yet still Sarkar crouched slowly as he approached, moving as carefully as he could. Each step made his heart beat faster and louder, feeling like a drum within his chest.
He readjusted his grip on the dagger, sweat slicking his palm.
Then…
Water surged?
'What?'
————————————————
Noah cursed.
In fact, he hadn't stopped cursing the entire journey after leaving Arthur. Keeping up his swearing with a fluency that would've shaken his parents to their very core.
There were no particular targets to his cursing.
No, no….actually there was.
Arthur for one.
Arthur for second.
Arthur for third.
The world fourth.
His luck was fifth, but now that he thought about it, luck should probably be second.
And lastly that damn noble that had resulted in him being here in the first place.
'Damn bastard Arthur. Asking me to do the impossible again and again as if I'm some miracle worker. It ain't right. That damn midget white-haired bastard. Fucking noble white haired damn little…'
Noah couldn't grasp the gall of it. The way Arthur had clasped him on the shoulder, with all the seriousness of a politician and asked what he had asked.
'Oh Noah, all you need to do is save a General from being assassinated. Oh, and all you need to do is defeat someone who has been turned into a master assassin by a rebel general. Oh and by the way, your going have to do all of that while sneaking in because only the two of us know the plan.
Why don't you tell me to become the king of the world while you're at it.'
Yet, despite his inner monologuing, Noah crept towards the Thanason camp. According to Arthur, the assassin was most likely going to be invisible, so he needed a work around for that.
At first sight, the Thanason camp seemed impossible to enter, the entire encampment had been raised by some sort of earth magic.
'No..there has to be some way of entering.'
Running, he circled around, until he found a small pathway leading upwards.
'I'm a genius.'
Suppressing a smug grin, he shot up the pathway as quickly as possible, entering the camp.
One of the good things about a newly formed camp was the chaos. Soldiers running back and forth, officers shouting, everyone trying to make sense of the disorder. Perfect for a little soldier to just slip through unnoticed.
The General's tent will be overlooking the battle on the opposite side according to Arthur.
'Of course it's on the opposite side. You know, fuck my life, fuck the world, fuck…..'
Looking as if he belonged, Noah strided, trying to look busy. It was easier than he thought to make his way to the cliff's edge, the encampment growing quieter as he got closer.
'It's almost as if it was made to be easy for an assassin, what a shitty general.'
Crouching, he scampered towards the tent, hiding behind it as he peered past. There one man stood on the edge. He seemed to radiate power. Authority.
An absoluteness that seemed beyond human.
'Someone manages to assassinate him? And I've got to stop that someone?'
"Well shit."
'Now how am I meant to see the assassin coming?'
Arthur had said that the assassin had been turned into one by a rebel general's ability. Looking around, Noah tried to find anything that would help. But there was nothing but soldiers, a hell of a lot tents and water barrels.
'…wait, water barrel. Oh Noah, you're a genius.'
Approaching each one of the four closest, he tipped them over with a grunt, letting the water spill to the floor. Outstretching a hand, Noah focused. Freely manipulating your affinity was more difficult than using an associated skill, but the freedom it gave you more than paid off.
Straining, he focused his mana, feeling his reserves take a heavy hit as he manipulated the water to even flow towards the cliff.
Obeying, the water slowly creeped towards the General. From the way Arthur had described it, this spymaster was able to make someone an assassin in moments. So whoever this assassin was, his skills would be top notch.
But what about his instincts? His experience?
That could only be gained through years of being an assassin.
Returning to his original hiding place, Noah waited, his breathing growing fast with anticipation. For a moment there was nothing, the crystal clear water resembled a molten mirror, reflecting the cloudy sky above.
'There!'
A trail of disturbance shimmered in the water, moving toward the General.