Everything feels empty.
The air, the ground, my hands, my heart, empty. Like I'm walking through a world made of dust. Like nothing is real, not even me.
I don't know why I'm still fighting.
I try. Gods, I try. But it's never enough. Save a city, and they bitch about the rubble. Stop a war, and they whisper about the bodies left behind. Nothing's ever clean. Nothing's ever finished.
They don't see the nights I spend choking on my own blood in some ditch. They don't see the way my hands shake when I stitch myself back together. All they see is the one time I didn't save them.
Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm not enough.
It's been so long since I felt anything but the weight of my sword. Since I felt warmth, or anything close to human. Every day is the same—wake up, kill something, bleed, repeat. The monsters change, but the war doesn't. I've lost count of how many I've cut down. Lost count of how many times I've been cut down myself.
Sometimes I think about letting go. Just dropping my blade and walking away. Letting the next beast tear me apart. Maybe then, it would finally be over.
…Can I?
No.
**
Ash floated in the emptiness of space, his body broken.
Blood ran warm from his wounds, little red drops spreading through the endless void. His arms burned from deep cuts. A slash tore across his chest, slicing through his clothes. His right eye was barely open, blood sliding down his face.
But he was still alive.
All around him, bodies floated.
Not human bodies, monsters.
Giant creatures, larger than warships, lay dead around him. Their bodies were torn apart, some missing heads, others with holes in their chests, some ripped into pieces. Some had thick armor. Others had long, twisted horns and too many eyes.
Their blood, thick, black, mixed with his drifting into the void.
A crack pulsed in the distance. A massive tear in space itself. It was unstable, glowing with light.
And then, they came.
More creatures clawed their way out of the tear in space, their forms writhing as they adjusted to the void. Their eyes, too many eyes, locked onto him immediately. Hungry and desperate.
Static buzzed in his ear. A voice, fractured and desperate, tried to break through. "--backup is--hold on--!"
He tried to respond, tried to move, but his body was too slow.
A monster lunged. Its jaws snapped shut inches from his face.
Ash twisted his body just in time. The monster's massive teeth slammed together with a sick crunch, missing him by seconds. He spun away, but the sudden movement sent pain shooting through his chest.
The creature let out a roar so loud that he felt it in his bones. Even in the silence of space, the vibrations rattled through his skull.
His earpiece fell out.
Another beast charged, swinging its claw. He raised his sword, blocking just in time. The impact sent him sliding back. Lightning cracked through the blade, running up the monster's arm. The beast shivered, and Ash didn't wait. He pushed forward and slashed. His sword sliced through its skull. The monster froze. A second later, it stopped moving.
Another one attacked. Ash twisted mid-air, grabbing its horn and using the momentum to flip over it. He kicked down with all his strength, snapping its spine. The monster let out a weak roar before falling still.
But it didn't matter.
There were always more.
A tail whipped toward his head. Ash ducked, felt the air crack above him. He kicked off a floating corpse, launching himself at the next monster. His sword bit deep, and lightning burned through its insides, turning flesh to ash.
Then
A massive shadow covered him. Ash turned, breath catching as he saw it. The intergalactic vehicle. The one he had been protecting. It was being devoured. A creature, no, a nightmare was crawling over it.
It was too big to be real. Its body was stretched thin and long, like a serpent, its flesh pulsating as if breathing. Its skin was black and wet, covered in armor. Its limbs four twisted, spindly things dug into the ship's metal, bending it like paper.
Its face or what passed as a face was just a massive hole filled with teeth. No eyes. No nose. Just hunger.
It opened its maw wide.
Then it bit down.
Metal screamed. The ship buckled, circuits exploding in showers of sparks. Wires and shredded plating spilled from the creature's mouth like drool.
And the people--
Bodies. Dozens. Hundreds. Drifting out into the void. Some whole. Some in pieces.
Ash stared. His teeth clenched. His fingers tightened on his sword. The burning in his body vanished, replaced by something else. Something worse.
He moved. Lightning cracked through space. Ash shot forward like a bullet, blade raised. The monster turned, sensing him, but it was too slow.
Ash cut.
The sword sliced through its limb like it was nothing. Black blood burst into the void. The monster recoiled, a soundless roar shaking Ash's bones.
He didn't stop. Another slash. This time, across its face. The blade tore through its maw, splitting it wider.
The thing thrashed. A limb smashed into Ash, sending him spinning. Ribs screamed. He ignored them.
Another strike. Another cut. The creature let out one final screech before it stopped moving. Its body convulsed, and then It exploded.
Flesh and black blood exploded outward, coating Ash, his sword, the ruins of the ship--
Everything.