Chapter 1: Chapter 1: A New Life Off To A Bloody Start

(Trigger Warning: Gore) 

As my eyes opened the first thing I could see was large black clouds with ash falling onto my face.

The smell of blood came right after.

That was never a good sign.

“Ergh! My head…where, where am I?” I said trying to lift myself from the floor only to keep slipping.

“Why is it so slippery? Wait? Am I on…no…no…this has to be some kind of dream?”

It only took a quick glance at the ground to realize that I hadn’t fallen asleep on forest grass like I usually do. Instead, what I found was nothing but piles and piles of dead men. Each and every one of them were armored with warrior armor covered in blood and various chunks of flesh. All of it looked fresh and the smell of rotting bodies hadn’t kicked in just yet. Every one of them was missing limbs, organs splattered everywhere and some were even beheaded. It was like a body pile you’d see that would be burned on the battlefield and here I was on top of it.

How did this happen? Did I do this? No, no that’s impossible, I’ve only killed animals on farms like chickens and rabbits…not people. And even if I did fight…the mutilated corpses were far beyond anything I could ever do to anyone or anything.

After getting off the bodies I could see this pile I was on wasn’t the only pile of bodies in the area. So many corpses splattered every inch of the open space. The space itself being that of royalty with palaces surrounded by a forest. A place like this would have housed the emperor and nobles. People would come to a place like this if they wanted to be taken in by the scenery and see the erected red and golden buildings. Now there was nothing but those palaces in ruins, ash and mutilated corpses.

“Where am I? I’ve never been here before…is this some form of purgatory? But I haven’t committed any kind of ill actions…right?” I said making my way down the plaza’s steps avoiding each and every body and blood puddle I would find.

As I walked forward I could see that it was not only the palaces that were destroyed but also the homes, restaurants, and streets. Many of them were on fire, missing chunks of their walls, and even some with cannonballs still smashed into various parts of the ground. Even the rivers around the city were doused in blood and with many bodies floating in them.

If the bodies near the palace were those of warrior men then the ones in the village were those of men, women, and even children civilians in colored robes. Many looked as if they were running and were met with being impaled, beheaded, or even set on fire. 

With a quick examination of the area, there were warriors that had been killed near the civilians but those weren’t the only warriors. There were men and women in black and red robes with swords near them just as mutilated as all of those around the area. Besides their strangely colored robes, there was one distinguishable thing about them that could never be forgotten.

They all wore heavy metallic demon masks.

These weren’t noble warriors that killed these people. 

They were savages who came to terrorize this city. But why? What was the purpose of it all? Did they do this for some kind of sick pleasure or did they do this as some takeover attempt? Was this city so rich and grand that taking over it was the only thing they could think to do?

So many questions and not any answers.

But there was only one answer left for me to wake up to.

This wasn’t a battle that took place.

It was a massacre.

A massacred of innocents with no survivors to ever tell the story…except me.

And where did I fit in all of this? I didn’t know. I was nothing but a farmer who lived with my aunt and uncle growing crops and slaughtering animals for meat.

How did I end up here? In these clothes, a belt with swords and the only survivor of a city massacre. Did I black out and end up doing horrific things for years to wake up here? Nothing made any damn SENSE!

But it was the reality that I had found myself in.

I wanted to vomit each time I saw a corpse or their bodies burnt to crisp. I wanted to scream for help but if all of the massacre wounds of the people were fresh it was safe to assume that the people who did this were nearby. I wanted to do something besides walk around and smell the smell of blood as fire ash fell from the sky like rain.

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I wanted to help in some kind of way. Any kind of way. But what could I even do? How could I even help anyone if they were all dead?

“Someone…anyone…help me…please.” Said a faint feminine voice.

As I turned my head I could see a woman with her clothes ripped apart, battered, bleeding, and covered in so much grime at first I thought she was a ghoul. But upon further inspections she indeed was alive but not well. 

With each step forward she began to fall slowly to the floor to the point of complete exhaustion. It didn’t take long for her to collapse onto the floor gasping for the air she desperately needed to take in. 

“Help me…please…help me…” She said raising her hand with the little energy she had left in her system.

As I lifted her head she looked at me for only a few moments until her near-death eyes turned to that of fear. Her body did everything it could to run but all that led to was her legs barely moving and her hands barely lifting. 

“Hey…Hey…I’m not going to hurt you, I’m not one of the people who did any of this.” I said lifting her up in my arms.

“Liar…you are the…black demon…you made…this…happen…sigh.” Said the woman in one last breath as she passed out in my arms.

“No, No, No, No! Please tell me you’re not dead!…oh thank the heavens, you have a pulse…she’s alive, just exhausted.” I said walking forward near the exit of the city with this woman in my arms.

Looking at the exit its red arches stood mighty and high with armed guards on the floor mutilated from the events that had happened today. The walls were as high as the eye could see with many holes and blade marks from this awful massacre. The ground led to a grey road with a single walking carriage in the middle. Nothing fancy but this would get the girl to the safety she needed much quicker than me carrying her. 

Plus my arms were getting tired.

“And up you go,” I said laying her on the carriage seat carefully.

And with a single sweep of the handles, we were now on our way to find some help. As the city walls began to slowly fade each of us made our way into a small forest. It was quite peaceful all things considered. No longer was the scenery a massacre but now all that remained here were luscious beautiful trees with birds chirping. There was no violence and no sign of blood. There was nothing but calm and tranquility.

“You got a lot of nerve showing up here you know that.” Said a more mature-sounding feminine voice from behind me.

“Hm? Oh…Hello stranger! Thank the heavens you’re here! Do you know the nearest village I can get her to? The city up ahead has been attacked and we barely escap…ERGH!” I said right before being smacked into a tree by the throat.

"You playing stupid or something! Did you think I wouldn’t be mad the moment you came into one of my domains after what you had done to my home! And you dare show up here with a victim of yours!” Said the woman as she gripped my throat even harder.

The woman in front of me looked vicious as her teeth gritted and her head vein was visible. She may have looked elegant with her pale white skin, short black hair, and green robes but in front of me was a tall woman who didn’t look like she was in the mood to be flattered.

“Miss…I don’t…ACK…know you…please…stop!” I said barely getting in any kind of words as she pressed even harder into my throat.

“Don’t play dumb with me! If you’re going to show your face around here the last thing you could do is take off your…mask…your face…your crying…how…since when do you ever cry?” Said the woman as she loosened her grip after removing whatever mask I had on.

As the light hit my face I was blinded for only a moment only to find my vision back. And the sight that beheld me was the woman looking at me with a confused look.

“Miss…let me go…please…I’ll get out of your way…ACK…that’s a promise.” I said looking right here with tears rolling down my cheek.

“But you…Zhiyuan doesn’t cry…who are you…” She said loosening her grip on my throat.

“My name is Lixin Zhang…and this isn’t my body.”

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