§2 The Sealed Memories of a Warrior
Once, Lea Monde boasted the some of the best wineries and finest wines in all of Valendia. Likely, they were once stored, a rack for each type, in that hall. The cellar is man-made and exceptionally large, the light from the torches left behind by the Cult followers not enough to chase the shadows from all the corners.
There, with darkness flickering in his peripheral vision, Ashley felt an involuntary shudder.
It was one not caused by Lea Monde, nor its denizens. Indeed, the magical creatures that run rampant in the blacker spaces of the ancient city, the walking corpses and ghouls, the uncountable bodiless spirits and all the other monsters; none of them inspired any terror in Ashley. Even he himself was mystified at his lack of fear at things that would panic a normal man.
No, what scared Ashley to the core was the truth about himself, of which he was just starting to learn.
Was it truly simple darkness hovering about the edges of his vision? Or was it truly not "darkness" at all but something cloaked in "Darkness", following him just outside of his awareness? Since entering the cursed capitol, Ashley had begun facing off with the unfamiliar foes "doubt" and "paranoia".
Then Sydney Losstarot began his "game," taking Callo Merlose hostage and luring Ashley ever further into the depths of Lea Monde. With every step closer to the city's heart he took, the inner unease about himself grew. It felt as if another Ashley Riot, one different and unknown, was coming forward from the ruins around him.
That thought struck fear into Ashley like nothing else could. If that "other" wasn't illusionary, that would make him, the Ashley Riot he had always thought himself to be, the illusion. All he believed the world to be would turn false.
------So just who is Ashley Riot?
Still plagued by doubts that were admittedly illogical, a sudden, high pitched squeal stopped him. A shriek fit to send shivers down a man's spine trembled through the air of the huge room in which Ashley found himself-- a steel blade being drawn across a stone floor. Soon the deep, hollow thud of metal armor joined it, creating a chilling cacophony that filled the air.
Ashley had already seen the fallen Crimson Blades raised as zombies by the Dark. As this new monstrosity began to lurch out of hiding and he felt the extent of its hatred for all living things, he strangely felt his cool composure returning.
There was going to be a fight. That, he could immerse himself into. His self as a Riskbreaker and Agent of the Valendian Parliament could come to the fore, would become more real. It didn't matter if his opponent be man or monster, Ashley could shove all unnecessary thoughts and worries to the back of his mind and bury himself in the fight. For at least a little while, he could be simply a weapon, nothing more. As the death-match with the whatever-it-was across the hall ticked closer, an odd sense of peace descended on him.
It wasn't long before the "whatever-it-was" stood revealed. Another squelching, half-rotted zombie it was not. Flickering torch-light glimmered off a suit of armor. Once, it must have been custom-designed for a knight of huge stature, each metal plate painstakingly pounded out and embossed, then assembled into a stunning whole. Well, whole except for a helmet.
But a helmet wasn't needed. The creature had no head on which to put it. Nor did the shoulder plates rest on living shoulders. In fact, there was no flesh at all within the thing. Peer through its joints and all you would find is an unmistakably empty cavity.
The Dark that permeates every inch of Lea Monde had seeped into old armors long ago drenched in the blood of foes, possessing them, giving the dead metal a semblance of life. So was born the monster "Dullaham." The living muscle that once moved its limbs is long since rotted away. No bones support its frame. Instead, the Dark attached marionette's strings to the armor itself, manipulating its impromptu puppet like a master.
The "living" armor slowly turned to face Ashley. Gathering power in the tip of the huge blade in its hand, Dullaham struck the floor, leaving behind a deep gash in the stone. Almost as if it'd been waiting for Ashley, a deep red light began shining from within the cursed metal, more power pouring into it from the Dark.
What it did next, no one would have thought possible. Moving several times faster than any living creature of the same size, it closed to within two steps of Ashley. A bare fraction of a second later, its sword, easily longer than a man is tall, swung down like a lightening bolt.
Ashley did manage to block the strike and his shield did not crack, but the arm holding it felt on the verge of doing so. Numbness shot down his arm, every muscle fiber quivering with the stress of the blow.
Yet such a massive, sweeping attack left Dullaham wide open, an opportunity Ashley promptly pounced upon. While the greatsword still swung with the momentum of the slash, Ashley stepped into the space created, quickly closing the last two steps. Aiming for the joint in the armor's right arm, he struck. Steel met steel in a clash that sent sparks glittering into the dim light.
Surprisingly, Ashley's attack didn't stop there. Throwing all his strength into it, he hit the same place again. Dullaham staggered, unable to bring its sword back into position to counterattack. Five, six, seven times Ashley's sword connected with cursed steel, the metal visibly deteriorating each time, becoming much weaker.
Cushioned in the white haze of no thought brought on by the fight, a new worry suddenly bubbled into Ashley's peace. When did he learn how to chain attacks together like that, not allowing even the slightest chance of counterattack? He'd never done any such thing before setting foot in Lea Monde. But now it was like he'd practiced the technique for years upon years, until the pattern had soaked all the way into his bones.
The armor having taken more damage than it could handle, the Dark abandoned Dullaham and the empty metal started to crumble. Another cold shiver of fear sliding down his spine, Ashley stepped back and asked himself;
"What am I?"