"My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid."

  -Genesis 4:13-14

  CHAPTER 1.1: Raw Iron and Dead Sand

  Footsteps walked through the sand and created a path in the undisturbed grains. A man alone in the vast world of what he could see from the hood that shrouded his face. He didn't know where he was, didn't know how he got there and frankly, he didn't know where he was going. Haven woken up only a few days before, He had walked the vast wasteland, only coming across a few broken structures here and there. All wasn't however, he still remembered his name.

  "Belcalis"

  He heard the voice whispered in his ear as he stared at his fingers. it was the only words he knew so he assumed it was what he was supposed to be called. Dark metal covered his fingers, slightly rusted but still functional. He flexed his arms and raised them into the sky; a horrible grinding of metal being heard as a result that made him cringe each time. The sunlight, though blindingly bright as it bounced off the sand, seemed to be swallowed the moment it touched the dark metal of his arms; as if the light itself lacked the permission to exist upon him. A grunt of frustration left him. He may have been new to whatever this was, but something inside of him told him that this wasn't normal.

  A soft clink was heard behind him causing Belcalis to turn around, the sight making him sigh. Laing in the sand was that damn sword, dark like his metal and covered in words he couldn't read in a language he didn't understand. The thing was massive, nearly his entire body in length and strangely not heavy to him, but it was annoying. He had woken up with it, the chain that was tied to the hilt wrapped around his arm clearly meaning it was for him, but Belcalis didn't like it, so he had left it and somehow, the sword didn't get the message. Standing up, Belcalis walked over to it, his feet sliding in the sand as he kept upright. "What is your problem" He couldn't say the words, but he could still think them.

  "If you can move, it wouldn't be strange to speak..." Silence. Belcalis grabbed the handle of the sword and picked it out of the sand, staring down at the long blade that didn't show him his reflection. After a moment, his frustration grew and he raised his arm, throwing it off into the wasteland. As the sword disappeared along the horizon, he stared at its direction until...

  Clank

  Belcalis groaned and turned slights, the swords standing in the sand closer this time as if positioned there once more. He sighed, shaking his head and beginning his walk once more into the unknown...

  Belcalis stopped in his path only having taken a few steps, the hairs on the back of his neck raising. He heard something, something unnatural and silent yet so loud in his head. The resonance was unexplainable - A low hallow groan that felt like someone pacing down an endless, empty hall. It didn't just fill the air, it echoed, scratching and clawing in the back of his mind. He didn't have to move at all, only reaching into the open air behind him and grabbing the hilt of his sword which had changed potion once again, only this time, it was heavier; carrying a weight to it that felt powerful.

  His eyes didn't even make contact with the statue before his sword cut through it; a squishy, horrible texture as he cut it down like melted clay. It fell, hitting the sand as if never having moved at all. Belcalis stared at it, the statue appearing feminine, a nude woman holding a basket like something captured in a museum, only... wrong. It was cracked, the smile on it just a bit too wide and the arms just a bit too long- uncanny and a freak against nature itself. Even still, the very thought of it moving within his sight didn't sit right. It was disappointing; something strikingly human... not being exactly correct. Belcalis looked away from it, not wanting to be tortured any longer and continued his journey. Maybe this was his own personal punishment; for a crime he didn't remember, in a world that wasn't familiar. He dropped the sword, walking on and knowing it would follow wordlessly.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  ...

  Belcalis stumbled around, his feet finally making ground on something other than sand. He had found a building, a few of them actually, clustered together and looking a little less wrangled than the rest he had come across. Walking among them, he focused on the small details, trying to get a better understanding of the world he was in. It was overgrown a bit, grass in between the stone he walked through only mixed a bit with the sand spilling from the dessert around it. Green scrubs grew on the walls of the structures, flowing through broken windows and into spaces long fallen into disrepair. Even a few pretty yellow-colored flowers were sights to behold on the greenery. He touched one, dark metaled fingers gently rubbing one of the larger leaves; small tear appeared, a byproduct of too much force that Belcalis couldn't help but find frustrating.

  Clank!

  The metaled man felt himself tense at the sound of that sword once again appearing and clashing to the stone floor behind him louder than when on sand. "Where am I going?" He spoke, turning and staring at the black metal, not getting an answer as expected. He slowly walked over to it, picking it up with clear annoyance. As the blades moved against the floor, a small sound cut through the horrible scratch of metal against stone. "Please... don't-" That was new.

  Belcalis looked at the place the voice had come from; a pile of stone half eaten by the greenery around him. Focusing, he could hear soft, heavy breathing. He was silent for a moment, unsure of what to do. "Hello... do you kno-" A cry left the stone, one that quickly became muffled as if someone was trying to keep quiet. A ping of sympathy ran through him at the sound, had he made them cry? "You don't have to-" Belcalis stopped, the crying louder as if whoever was hiding knew they were caught and didn't bother trying to silence it anymore. The thought crossed his mind, maybe he should stop talking...

  Belcalis made his way closer trying to be as gentle as possible, though it was a bit hard with the sound of how heavy he was on the floor. He touched the stone, attempting to look over it but moving it instead with the strength he forgot he possessed. It was pushed aside, scratching against the floor with a loud sound and breaking the shrubs growing around it. Under it, a boy sat, his clothes tattered and hands in his own hair, pulling hard enough to rip out a few of the dirty curls there. The larger of the two felt out of place.

  The child wasn't horribly young -an early teenager if he had to guess- but he wasn't sure what to say if his voice was scaring the boy, so he reached out instead. "Don't touch me!" The boy suddenly screamed, nearly startling Belcalis himself. "I'm sorry, I just-" "Stay away!" The boy scrambled back against the remaining broken wall that sat behind him, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at the larger man though his hands. Belcalis felt bad. Quickly, he stood up and moved away from the young man, his hands up in surrender and dropping the sword he forgot he still held on instinct. As it clashed to the ground, the boy took his moment and moved, quickly and sloppily running away from Belcalis and down further into the overgrown town. The other watched him run off, footsteps echoing among the buildings.

  "Demon! A demon is here!" The boy shouted making Belcalis confused. Was he talking about...him? A breeze, fast and heavy pushed against his back making him turn around, eyes widening. A boy, one that looked younger than the first stood by the entrance to the town, his silhouette all that Belcalis could see. "Demon" He spoke, voice like silk. "You dare disturb my sanctuary". Eyes met his, eyes full of life and rage yet still so... pretty. Belcalis took a step back, the heel of his foot touching the metal of his sword that had gotten closer to him. In the short seconds he had looked away, the boy was now closer, standing a yard away from him, features now fully on display.

  He was beautiful. Skin plump and sun kissed, not a blemish. Eyes wide and focused, a soft crystal blue even more clear than the sky above them. His hair, a warm blond color, curled around some kind of headpiece that dangled a blue crystal against his forehead. His clothes were clean, a baby blue colored robe complimenting his skin, wrapped with a white rope around his waist. He was barefoot, and possibly the most striking feature of all. Wings. Large white wings seemingly coming from his back stretched out wide and high, even bigger than Belcalis himself and taking up space as if threatening the man's very existence. He gasped, stepping back and nearly tripping over his sword that clanked behind him.

  The boy, now closer tilted his head at the sight, large yet firm eyes eyeing the sword before a smirk made its way to his perfect face. "You don't know why you're here do you?" His words, they were warm, comforting as if the earth itself hand crafted that voice just for his ears. Belcalis didn't speak back, not knowing if his voice would scare this child like the last one. This got a soft laugh from the boy. "You can talk to me demon." He spoke, "Your words won't scare me like some human child." His smirk grew wider. Belcalis was silent. Demon. Was he really an abomination?

  "...Who are you?" He asked softly, wanting to seem as non-threatening as a man covered in metal could. The boy tilted his head again before replying. "I am your god" He spoke, word ever so soft. "And right now, you are from where you should be demon "He was fast. Belcalis didn't have time to think before he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He stared at the boy who was now right in front of him before his eyes drifted to the long, golden sword that was now lodged in his chest. "Die" The boy spoke, twisting the metal, the sound like crushing glass. "You disgusting filth!"