Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Purgatory ❯ Purgatory ( Chapter 1 )

Purgatory

Falling hard and fast Anubis fell from the sky striking the ground beneath the stream. Yet Anubis continued to fall, behind him he could hear a boy's grief filled scream. Yulie. Did the boy actually care about him that much? Pity he would never know. It was also a pity that he could never tell the boy about how much he had loved him for Anubis realized that he was dead and the falling was that of his soul, falling to whatever destiny that awaited him. As he looked …down? Up? He saw a light filling the space? Ahead of him the light was red, red as blood, and the sounds reaching his ears began to scare him. Screams and cries of terror, pain, torture, sadness, fear and anger were coming from this light. Suddenly the ground was very close and he slammed into a dubious looking puddle.

As he climbed to his feet he heard a sound that did not belong in this agonized place: the sound of merry laughter. He looked up looking for the source of the sound and found it. She stood there close to him looking at him with sparkling eyes of blue, her hair was as blonde as Halo's own with a woman figure beneath her black pants and blood red shirt. Her laughter eased into a smile as she gazed at him. Studying him. Something there in the back of her eyes reminded him of someone but he could not say whom.

"Welcome warlord." Those were her first words and with those words telling him that she knew him. Yet she was not afraid in fact she sounded almost flippant. "You look like shit." Well that went without saying he had just died, fallen into a steam then fallen into… his sense of smell told him that the `puddle' that he had landed in was probably human excrement. Lovely.

"Walk with me Anubis, we have much to discuss." Climbing out of the depression that held the wastes he walked towards her. Filthy and disgusted he wondered if she would offer him a change of clothes or at least a chance to wash off. Somehow he knew that she would not. They walked in silence for a time, reaching an area that held many smooth rocks as he passed he saw scenes from his life: his mother singing in the fields, his father repairing the roof, the slaughter of his father and rape of his mother, training in stealth, art of war, joining Talpa's army, the horrors that he had committed as Talpa's pawn.

They stopped at one particular scene where he was raping a girl child she was what ten? Her screams of pain and terror piercing his soul while his own laughter battered at his heart. Her parents watching him rape her fearful, angry and distraught. Anubis watched himself go through all of the couple's children, seven of them boys and girls. He then took some powder and forced it down the father's throat causing an involuntary erection on the man and Anubis forced him to rape his own children. By the time the man was done four of his children were dead and the others were sent outside to the soldiers to finish off. Anubis sent the mother outside as well. Bringing the poor wretch outside telling him to watch his family die. "Death by love." Anubis heard himself whisper into the man's ear then heard his own demented chuckle as the wife screamed as multiple soldiers took her at once.

"Enough!" he cried out to the woman beside him, he wanted to see no more of his deeds as the Warlord of Cruelty. He already knew that he had been a horrible and vicious man; the Ancient himself had known this! She laughed at him and turned to look at him. " Oh Anubis, you truly are a foolish man. Tell me how many people have you killed?" how many? How many! She was asking how many he had killed, that one family, the village the lived in, the other villages that he had been responsible for their destruction, that entire race of people that had stood against him and his master, thousands if possibly more. So many deaths in his four hundred years of service to Talpa did she really expect an answer?

"Anubis you have been a very bad boy, yes, yes, I know all about you stint as a monk there at the end of your life but truly did you really think you would get away with all of those murders?" Anubis, stared at her and frowned, " The Ancient one told me that if I served him well and acted in only the best interests of the greater world I would be absolved. I did, I gave my life in doing this, and I gave my life in order to the last of the Ancients own line. I protected the weak and defenseless and helped retrieve the Jewel of Life. Do these acts not say something of my changed character? Am I not absolved?"

At this she erupted into laughter, then just as suddenly she became serious. Her eyes held no pity, nothing, no emotion and in that moment he knew who she reminded him of. She reminded him of himself when he was just as emotionless and cruel. "No. No you are not. You are condemned. You are a damned being. Yes, you were promised absolution but that was only if you survived the war. Obviously you did not. You were to become the next Ancient one. You were chosen to create a new line of guardians. You failed. There are only so many chances you can be given Anubis, and I am afraid that you have been turned over to me. With me you will answer for all of your crimes. Your sentence will be ten years."

Ten years? Ten years in torment? He was to suffer that long before he was passed on? To where heaven? She was laughing again "yes you will pass on to glory when your term is up. But…" a vicious smile played on her lips "…you seem to misunderstand me. You see you will not serve ten years. No, you will serve ten years for every life you have taken. Start doing the math." She began to laugh again. Anubis was grabbed from behind his arms twisted up to prevent his escape. Ten years? Ten years for every life? Ancient one no, please no.

The minions of this purgatory dragged him away to begin his torture. His screams echoing mixed in with her laughter. She at least enjoyed her stay here.