Illuminating the Dark Prince

A Sense of Community

"Huh, interesting." Jayden tapped his chin with a clawed finger. "But how can that happen to us if we're not rotting like this guy?" He motioned to the guard.

I blinked a few times in thought, realizing he had a good point. Sometimes I'd forget that my body was no longer that of a rotting corpse. That Azathoth had relieved me from my loathsome and decaying flesh prison. Memories of my mother whipping my back fleshless stirred in my mind like a cauldron of venom. The biting injuries she inflicted would never heal upon my corpsen frame. I couldn't take my jacket off, lest my hair would become painfully entangled in my spine.

The crown clicked as I shook my head, casting away such wretched memories. Now was not the time for that. I had agreed to teach these human souls how to defend themselves. I needed to train them to safely and efficiently kill.

"I suppose you're right, Jayden. Sometimes I forget that I no longer have any rot." I lightheartedly chuckled, earning a curious head tilt from Oliver. He looked like he had another question, but held his tongue. "Well anyway, who would like to kill him?" 

Jayden put his hand on Parker's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "My boy, I know you don't want to, but I think it would be good for you to get some practice."

"But, dad-" Jayden silenced Parker's protest with a stern stare. The young man looked hesitant and unsure of himself, shaking as he tightened his grip his the sword. "Alright." He softly spoke while glancing down toward the ground. His long braided hair and tattered cloak blew in the breeze as his wary crimson eyes lifted back up to met mine.

I held the guard firm, baring his neck so Parker would have an easy time with it. "Just pierce his throat with the blade and slash it open." I instructed with a comforting smile as he slowly approached.  

The guard growled the best he could manage, spitting black blood from his mouth and trying to bite at Parker with his nasty gaping maw. Parker carefully pressed the blade to his tender decaying flesh. His hands trembled and his eyes were filled with confliction. "I'm sorry. I've never killed anyone before." He said with an apologetic smile, brows furrowing in concentration.

"It gets easier with time, I promise." I kindly reassured him, holding the guard so tightly that my claws began puncturing his skull. His head would be easy to crush within my grasp, but the boy needed to learn how to kill for the sake of his own survival.

The blade was sharp enough to effortlessly slice through the moldering skin, but it was Parker's rectitude that made him struggle. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced his hands to move, cutting deeply into the rotten flesh. Blood poured like rancid sludge as a gaping neck wound was slashed open, trickling down the smooth blade and onto Parker's hand. The guard gave one last gargled gasp then slumped in complete stillness. Parker visibly recoiled with a nauseated expression, dropping the weapon as though it had burned him.

"Well done." I smiled while letting the guard's dead corpse flop to the ground with a heavy thud.

Jayden and Oliver immediately came over and began bombarding the young fellow with congratulatory words and pats on the back. "Yeah! I'm so proud of you!" Jayden exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. "You fucking did it!"

Parker shyly tucked a loose strand of hair that had fallen free from his braid behind his ear. "Thanks, but it wasn't that impressive." He softly smiled while looking down and shaking his head.

"Nonsense! You just slashed a native across the throat!" Oliver cheered before pointing back into the darkness of the ruins. "Well, I'm going to go grab my kill. We should head back, the others are probably hungry." My chest swelled at his words, feeling anxious to get back to Lucilia.