• A young man with ebony colored hair that hung over his eyes was shrouded by a black hood. He exited the long traversed forest to be accompanied by a stair case in the middle of a meadow. The steps looked ancient and they were daubed in dust and cob webs. He headed towards the stairs. His foot left an impression in the dust. Each step felt hollow. The stairs encircled the soaring pillar. The man finally reached the top; there was no sign of exhaustion on his face. His eye brows curved slighting up and were not trimmed. The castle had one entry way, a little door. Enough space for him. The castle gave off a hue of the sky. The shrouded man clenched the handle in his fist; ready to break it, but he hesitated to do so. Instead he kicked it open. The door flung open, hitting the wall it was connected to. It ricocheted back to its original position. The cool, windy air rushed inside as though it was trying to escape in this warm sanctuary. The massive room was as dark as a coal mine. His shadow sprouted forth, leaving him. The loud footsteps echoed through out the massive empty room. The man was on a red rug that stretched out to the end of the room.

    There were a few threads in the rug that frizzled out and did not belong. The room had no windows. The walls were made of well aged stone, with vines sprouting out the small fractures. The room was dark; the only light source came from an antique chandelier that did not put out enough light. The man got a malicious feeling in his gut. In the corner of the man’s eye he saw the tip of a large sword being thrusted at him. The man had a katana for a long time. The man withdrew his sword from his sheath. The sound when the sword was pulled out from the sheath was a familiar to the man. It made a nice shing noise. The man deflected the monumental cleaver like sword. The iron had the color of charcoal and had large ridges leading from the long hilt to the tip of the blade. The sword, when it was deflected it was crested up around the enemy’s head. His shoulder popped from the instant motion. Then the man with the cleaver spoke to the other man,” Maverick, what are you doing here.” The voice was very subtle that maverick almost did not hear him. Maverick sheathed his katana and then twirled back all extravagantly. Then words came clear out from maverick’s mouth and then they snaked its way inside the ears of the faceless man. “Karakao I’m here to see your brother.” “Which one?” The droll voice of maverick had cut down when he heard which one and then his voice was hostile. “Azure, you freak with no face!” Maverick leashed out with ire and spurted towards Karakao while pulling out his sword. The piece where the mouth was supposed to be was bare and the closed mouth looked natural. Karakao said,” Man that hurts.” Maverick slammed down with his sword but it got locked in one of the ridges in the cleaver sword. They were face to face, well not exactly. Then maverick spoke like a child,” How do you eat? How do you see?”

    “Shut up!” Karakao said flatly. Maverick’s sword was still locked in one of the cleaver’s ridges. Karakao brought back his knee and then drove his knee into Maverick’s face. The sword lock was broken instantly. Maverick flew back several feet with his hands and feet in the air. Maverick’s sword flung up in the air spinning several times and then stabbed into the floor boards. Maverick rolled several feet when he had hit the ground. Maverick struggled a bit to stand up. Maverick charged Karakao while dragging his hands near the ground. Maverick was close to the floor boards. Karakao gripped his handle of the cleaver sword, dust flew from the handle. He quickly brought back his sword above his head.

    Maverick was in striking distance, then Karakao smashed his sword it went through the ground because Maverick hopped out of the swords way. Dust and long pieces of wood flew up in the air and then settled back down in an instant. Maverick’s hand tightened into a fist. His arm acted as a snake curving back and then striking Karakao’s spotless face. Karakao was forced away from his sword. Maverick’s powerful punch had sent him across the darkened room. Maverick nonchalantly walked to his sword and extracted it from the cracked floor boards. A chortle erupted from Maverick’s lips as he saw Karakao’s pathetic body flail across the room like a rag doll. Maverick then began to walk to Karakao while he was beginning to get up from the floor. Blood formed around where Karakao’s mouth was supposed to be. It started to drip off his face. Karakao sprung up from the ground in an instant and then he prepared himself for attack. Maverick had a strait face as he began to run towards Karakao. Maverick bounded up. He brought his sword behind his head. His shirt’s sleeves slipped down his arm, showing his strong muscles with his veins popping out. Maverick slammed his sword down towards Karakao. Karakao was thinking of what to do and then he rolled out of the way. Karakao began to dash for his sword.

    Karakao’s arms were swaying back and forth as he ran to his sword. Maverick followed quickly behind Karakao. Maverick lifted up his sword. Maverick’s sword was held by his hands and it was going down at Karakao’s back. Karakao kept running, ignoring Maverick’s incoming blade. Karakao extended his arm for the cold hilt of his favorite sword. He reached it in time and as he grabbed it, he pulled it from the floor and did a spin while low to the ground and parried Maverick’s gleaming blade. Maverick was knocked back from Karakao forceful block. His arm that held his sword was in the air and then brought back down to block Karakao’s sweeping attack to Maverick’s face. Karakao’s sword and his whole body flung back from the instant shield that formed from Maverick’s sword. Maverick sprinted forth to Karakao before he got his footing. He stabbed his sword towards Karakao’s stomach. Karakao spun rapidly while tapping the non sharp part of Maverick’s sword, sending it through the floor boards. Karakao stood strait up. Maverick knelt down still gripping his sword. The faceless man reared up his arm and then he lunged his fist at Maverick’s perfect face. His fist had landed and Maverick felt the bare minimum of Karakao’s awesome power. Maverick stumbled back a few feet from his sword. Then Karakao sent a wave of his energy in the air. He unleashed a series brutal punches allover Maverick’s helpless body. Each punch to his stomach sent a rush of air and blood out his mouth. Karakao still held his sword in his left hand; he slashed at Maverick’s chest. Each sharp ridge that was on the cleaver left a giant gash across his chest. The treads of the shirt were torn from their place leaving Maverick with a ripped up shirt. He knelt down and placed his hand on his bleeding chest. Karakao was full of glee. He held his sword above his head reading to slice through Maverick’s body. Maverick’s goal flashed before his eyes. I won’t die he thought. His right hand tightened. His heart was beating incredibly fast. Maverick was so fast Karakao didn’t realize what happened. Maverick’s fist was inserted in his stomach. Karakao shouted and dropped his sword. The loud ring echoed through the room and then just stopped. Maverick spun his hand around inside his intestines. He pulled out his hand that was covered in blood and food. “Gross.” He said while flinging the blood and food from his hand. Karakao fell back on his sword. His hand smelt like chicken. He walked over to his sword and ripped it from the ground and sheathed it and left the room. There was a dead silence in the room that made Maverick feel queasy. There was an unsteady aura in the bright room. Maverick’s eyes scanned the room. He saw a canvass nailed to the wall. It was a picture of a man sitting down. He stood near the door where he came from. His eyes were fixated on the drawing. He could not leave it. He was hooked and then the picture of the man began to move from the chair. How could this happen, is it magic he thought. The man in the picture became bigger as he got closer to Maverick but he remained in the painting. The man had tattoos of wolf, dragons, snakes, and other evil creature. Maverick thought he was dreaming. The half naked man’s hand reached out from the painting. His hand was paint at first but morphed into flesh. He crawled out the painting like it was a window. Maverick did not discharge his sword or did any thing at all but stare.

    The man covered in drawing from head to toe ran over to maverick. He was only wearing red shorts. There was a huge smile on his face as his fist made contact to Maverick’s cheek. He was stronger then he look and Maverick found that out as he was sent through the stoned wall. Maverick’s arms and leg flung in the open air as he hit the wall. It shattered from the power force like glass. Maverick was still in shock from the man exiting the painting. Maverick was outside the castle but close to the wall. His faze was broken. He unsheathed his sword and outstretched his arms. He shoved his sword through a crack of the wall.

    The painted man left the room he had originated from and walked in the room where his dead brother laid. His mouth and eyes began to tremble with madness and a small tear formed under his eye. His heart swelled with hatred and he left the room and did not look back at his fallen brother. As he entered the bright room with a gaping hole in the wall he saw Maverick creep up the wall. The illustrated man looked at Maverick in disgust he now was bent on breaking him. Dust flew from the ground where the man took off. He Dived at Maverick like a spear. His hands turned into fists. Maverick’s grip was lost. He was barreling in the sunny sky. The man was on top of Maverick, pounding in his face. The 5th punch Maverick had caught and twisted his arm. The man felt a writhing sensation. The man brought his other fist in Maverick’s gut. He spat blood on his face. Maverick jostled free hand at the man’s stomach but it was grabbed by a snake that came alive from his abs. It bit his arm and Maverick flinched.