Xoris

Chapter Ten

Xoris groaned as light ran through the thin slit in the sky, right onto his face. No matter how hard he squeezed his face to shut it out though, the veiny, greyish-orange of his eyelids bothered him too much to let any semblance of sleep return. As he ran his hands over his face to clear some of the tiredness away, he flinched back in surprise as a dried, crusty sensation scraped his skin. He looked down at them, realising with horror the amount of dark blue liquid was splashed all over them, smeared down his face. It was everywhere.

He quickly got to his feet despite every pulled muscle in his back fighting against him. He took note of the battlefield around him. How had he slept surrounded by bodies? A horror surged into him, all too late. He knew he had done this but... There were so many figures strewn about, coming to light. How many?

He tore his eyes away, a sense of nausea creeping through his torso, arm, and head, vomit knocking steadily at each throat. Despite the acidity, he forced himself to swallow it. He'd barely eaten since he'd left, and couldn't afford to lose much else. A growl rumbled through him, in too many places for his liking. If anything, his hunger felt worse in his Stained state, but what did he have to eat? The closest town was a good ways away from the Fae, and for good reason. His thoughts trailed as he thought of the town, full of people, Human people, and children... Immediately, he dispelled any extra thoughts that came to his mind. That was disgusting. Annoying, intrusive thoughts. It was a good thing they were simply his brain conjuring horrible images of torn flesh and green blood dripping from his blade, and not something he would ever actually  do. And yet...

He took in the sight around him again. Why? Why had this felt right in the moment? He had never truly fought before in his life, yet had handled it so easily, as if by instinct all reasoned by a logic not his own. No, that's ridiculous. Of course it was his thought process. He wasn't some monster that was driven only by the urge to kill, unable to control his own actions, which left only one option. It had been easy because this was his job now, and they had been enemies. Of course taking them down wasn't some Beast-like side to him. It was like a craving for a desert, one that he could easily choose to ignore, or indulge in. That was harmless enough. That was Human enough.

Really, he thought as he wiped his sword clean, sheathing it at his side. They weren't going to help either way so... It's not that bad, and if it was... He turned his back on the village, pushing past trees as the horrors eventually disappeared behind him. Then once I explain, everyone will understand that it was fine. That it had to be done.

𓂀

"Sire, I am well-aware of the situation, but we need to- Oh! Hello, Thing of Eyes and Teeth," Kraim called out to him as Xoris opened the heavy metal door to the throne room. He could have sworn that he got a sense of panic from the advisor, but he had become pleasant in an instant, so Xoris was sure he'd been mistaken. After all, he was here to offer up good news.

He had made sure to close up any aspects of being Stained by the time he had reached the castle, and yet, as he made his way further into the room, it seemed denser, darker to him, in a way that felt smooth and comforting on his skin. He breathed in the feeling of whatever remenants of magik were in the air, almost wanting to walk up to that higher place in his mind just to take it in, but that wasn't what he was here for.

"Your highness," he began, taking a knee on the floor. It was much easier this time, his right greave taking most of his weight for him. "I have wonderful news for you." Xoris announced, finally pulling his gaze up off the floor, beaming up at the king if only to see how proud he would be. "You see, when I arrived, the Fae were insistent on not helping the Human race. So I took it upon myself to take out the enemy force!"