After all the chaos from just before had subsided, I found myself on my knees, looking down in my arms. My one and only love lying there, covered in shrapnel, had bled to death. In my head swam hundreds of thoughts of how I could have prevented this outcome. Not one came with a solution.
My gaze changed upward at the ceiling. I could see the massive hole where dozens of men blew through previously.
Those men… Are responsible for this outcome. They did this. I thought though I knew it wasn’t entirely true. They were just doing their job after all weren’t they? Their employer was at fault.
Right. Their employer. I have to find him. He began this war, and so I must finish it.
It was then that I realized the truth. Government… Religion… Monarchies… They all have one thing in common. Man. And that one thing is their fault. The only thing man wants is money and power.
It was then when I made my vow. I made my vow to never be suppressed by the making of man and to destroy all those who tried to suppress me.
I then began my search for this higher power that sent these men to my home and killed my wife. I left none alive, leaving none to question. I didn’t need to question anyone though, I knew exactly who to look for. Because their employer was also my employer.
It had been several months before I made considerable progress in my search. My preferred weapon had progressed from a gun to a sword. It made stealth much easier. I am now known in the dark corners of the world not as who I am but as a shadow… A faceless killer. And now, after seeking out many of my previous employer's middlemen I finally have tracked him down. My one and only chance to find him and kill him was close at hand.
I had faithfully worked for him and did his dirty work, all with gladness. I thought I was doing good and helping the world. In reality, I was doing the opposite all along. I was slowly destroying the power of the people and giving authority to the higher powers I was killing for. The more I killed the more I found this to be true. I fully intended to fulfill my vow.
One month later I found myself on a rooftop, looking down from a ten-story building at my target. There he was. My previous employer, Yao Ch’en, had just gotten out of his limousine and headed toward the doors to his building of operations. I began crawling across a rope, I previously placed one in preparation, to the building Yao was going in.
I made it to the other roof and found three guards on duty. I stealthily made my way to the first and came up behind him, slicing his throat, making sure he didn’t scream. The second was close to noticing me so I ran up to him and cut his head off. A messy way to deal with it, but I had no other choice at the moment. The third was luckily far enough away to not notice. I snuck up to him and slit his throat.
I made my way through the stairwell down several flights of stairs until I came to the floor that had Yao’s office.
Quietly making my way to the other end of the floor I came across five guards, which I quickly dealt with. It was only a minute or so before I found myself staring at the door to Yao’s office. I crept up to the window and peeked in. He was meeting with someone.
“So you’ll go through with it?” The mystery man asked.
“If you pay me the amount discussed within the hour, I guarantee the job to be done,” Yao said.
“Rest assured, you will get paid. You have my word.”
With that, the mystery man stood up and was about to leave. I couldn’t have that.
I smashed through the door, slicing through the man, sending him backward onto Yao’s desk, and held Yao in place with my sword.
“Ah. So you’ve finally found me.” He said. “A shame you had to kill my customer though.”
“Enough with your sick games Yao. I’ve come to put an end to your power.”
“Oh, but don’t you realize? You helped me build my power in the first place! You have a part in making me so powerful.”
“Quiet! You sold me lies! And now…. I shall repay you.”
“Aw, you're just going to kill me like that? We have history you and I. Join me and you will have unlimited power. I guarantee it.”
“I don’t want your power. And our history? That dies with you tonight.”
Just then I heard voices yelling from down the hall. It’s the Dragon! The Red Dragon! Kill him!
“You know. I quite like that.” I said just before I drove the length of my blade through Yao’s heart. Our battle was at an end. But the battle between higher powers and The Red Dragon had just begun.
