Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero [REMASTERED]

Shadows consumed the narrow passages of Veridia. A bitter chill clung to the damp stone walls, seeping through the gaps in the man’s light brown armor. He pulled his brown cloak tighter, the fabric coarse against his neck. Strands of messy black hair whipped across his blue eyes as a draft whistled through the alley.

*Things aren't looking good for me.* His boots struck the cold cobblestones with a rhythmic echo that bounced off the high, dark walls. *There weren't any reports of someone who had died. No gossip or rumor, which means he might have survived. Damn it!*

He skidded to a halt. His palm pressed hard against his forehead, skin dragging as he shoved his hair back. His chest rose and fell in shallow, jagged breaths. *I have to get out of this town, but if I get out, they'll find me and they'll kill me for sure.* He reached a four-way intersection and pivoted right, his footsteps quickening.

*If I stay here for too long, I'll get caught too. The first person I've robbed here was that kid. And the only thing he had were a few silver and copper coins. What a fucking cheap bastard.* His jaw clamped shut, the muscles jumping in his cheek as his teeth ground together.

*I should have made sure he was dead.*

"Oh, so this is where you've been hiding."

The voice drifted down from the rooftops. The man’s muscles locked. A sharp jolt raced from his spine to his chest. He spun on his heel. High above, a woman stood silhouetted against the dark sky.

A mask, the deep hue of a bruised twilight, concealed the upper half of her face, its edge settling precisely at the bridge of her nose. A torrent of long black hair whipped and fanned behind her in the surging wind. Her irises pulsed with a contained, steady luminescence, a vibrant, unnatural purple glow that seemed to emanate from within.

She was clad in black pants that hugged her legs and heavy boots, sturdy and practical, that climbed to her knees. A black coat, like a shadow given form, draped across her lean frame, its fabric catching the unseen currents of the alley.

*Violet.* His breath caught, a strangled gasp dying in his throat. *It's her. But what in the hell is she doing here?* He retreated a shaky step, his knees threatening to buckle beneath the cumbersome weight of his gear. *Could they have sent her? But surely she wouldn't align herself with them?*

"You're a hard man to pin down. I suppose the rumors hold true, it isn't exactly simple to catch a rat."

The man’s body twisted, pivoting sharply, and he exploded into a desperate sprint. His boots skidded, fighting for purchase on the slick, unforgiving stones of the alleyway.

A flicker ignited in the woman’s eyes, her eyelids flaring with a sudden intensity. Her lips drew back in a predatory baring, exposing canines that were unnervingly sharp. She stepped into what appeared to be empty air. Her heavy boots met the ground with a muted, dense impact, the sound absorbed by the stones as she seamlessly absorbed the shock with a profound bend of her knees.

The man's heart pounded a frantic rhythm against his ribs. *One of the most notorious assassins in the region... hunting me? Did they truly hire her? But why? She's far too formidable for this sort of pursuit.*

Caught mid-stride, a length of coiling black leather snaked out and wrapped with lethal precision around his ankle. His leg snapped back with brutal force. He pitched forward, the world a sickening blur as his forehead collided with the unyielding cobblestones.

A colossal force seized his leg, yanking him backward with brutal efficiency. His body was ripped from the ground, flung through the air in a jarring reverse trajectory. A strained grunt tore from his throat. Abruptly, a hand clamped around his neck, arresting his flight instantly. His head snapped back with a sickening jolt. A searing, white-hot agony ignited in his windpipe. He gasped, his chest heaving as a dry, ragged cough clawed its way from his lungs.

"Where are you running off to? You're a hard man to find, Bernardo," she said, the corners of her lips curling into a smile that held a dangerous, playful edge.

"What do you want from me?" Bernardo choked out. His fingers scrabbled desperately against the thick leather of her glove, pulling at her wrist in a futile attempt to break free.

Violet's fingers dug deeper into his flesh, tightening their vise-like grip and further compressing his windpipe. A strangled grunt vibrated in his throat as the world at the edges of his vision began to blur and distort.

"Don't worry. They didn't send me here to kill you," she murmured, her voice a low, silken threat. "I do wonder, though. How is it that a small-time thief like you managed to get on the captain's nerves? It's not easy to rile him up, you know. And I don't like that."

"I'm sorry. I promise to give him back his money. Please, just let me go."

"Okay," she conceded, her fingers snapping open with an almost casual sound.

Gravity reclaimed him with a vengeance. Bernardo collapsed onto the icy cobblestones, the rough rock scraping his palms raw. His hands instinctively flew to his bruised neck, his chest heaving as he dragged ragged, burning breaths into his protesting lungs.

She rested a hand on her hip, regarding him with an unreadable expression as she looked down. "You have three days to bring back that money. But remember, the interest rises every time."

"Thank you. Thank you for sparing me," Bernardo gasped, his head tilted back, his gaze fixed upwards.

Violet chuckled, a low, melodic sound that seemed strangely out of place in the dark alley. "You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?"

"What?" Bernardo wheezed, confusion momentarily eclipsing his pain.

Her heavy boot connected with the center of his chest. The impact drove the air from his lungs in a violent, explosive rush. The sheer force launched his body backward. His armor scraped and sparked violently against the cobblestones as he tumbled head over heels, finally sliding to a halt in the damp, clinging shadows.

He gasped, a warm, metallic liquid bubbling up his throat. He coughed, splattering dark, viscous blood onto the stones. Pushing his trembling palms against the cold ground, he forced his heavy eyelids upward. Violet stood a meter away, a stark figure against the gloom. He strained his muscles, attempting to push his battered body upright from its prone position.

A blur of black motion sliced across his vision.

Instantly, Violet stood over him. Her right boot slammed down onto his right shoulder, pinning him immoveably to the ground. She shifted her weight, driving her heel in with deliberate intent. The joint popped with a sickening crack under the immense pressure, sending a white-hot spike of agony shooting down his arm.

Bernardo threw his head back and screamed, the sound tearing from him with all his remaining strength.

As the agonizing sound ripped from his throat, the air around Violet grew dense, heavy. A palpable pressure expanded outward from her core, manifesting as a grey, translucent bubble that swelled with unnatural speed to engulf them both. The whistling wind of the alley vanished entirely, replaced by an absolute, suffocating stillness.

The air around Violet grew taut. "Scream like that, and you'll get us caught," she warned. She leaned forward, grinding her boot harder into his tearing shoulder joint. He shrieked again, his back arching violently off the stone. "But then again... even if you do, no one can hear you in here."

"I thought you were letting me go!" Bernardo choked out, his voice raw.

"You don't waste the guild's assets without paying a price."

Her hand moved with lethal grace. Steel slid against the sheath in a frictionless hiss. A crescent of silver light flashed through the dim air, a blur of motion too swift for his eyes to truly track.

A sudden, white-hot heat sheared through his right hand. Three of his fingers detached cleanly, tumbling onto the rough rock with sickening little thuds. Warm, bright blood sprayed through the grey, suffocating air, painting the cobblestones in a gruesome mosaic.

Violet lifted her boot and stepped back, leaving him exposed. Bernardo’s left hand scrambled across his chest, clamping down tightly over his severed stumps. A fresh, wet scream tore through his throat as the raw, excruciating agony fully registered.

"I'm not done with you yet," Violet said, her voice dripping with amusement. A wide grin stretched across her face as she watched his muscles spasm uncontrollably in sheer agony.

Bernardo's entire body shook uncontrollably. He dragged his knees against the rough stone, curling inward like a wounded animal. His left hand maintained a death grip on his right wrist, desperately trying to stem the torrent of blood. He pressed his forehead against the freezing cobblestones, utter despair washing over him. "Please, please, no more. I'll do anything. I promise. I'm sorry. I'll... I'll get it in three days, I swear."

"You promise?"

Bernardo lifted his head, his eyes widening in horror. Pinched between Violet’s fingers was a chunk of meat, disturbingly black and glistening with a slick, unnatural moisture.

"Eat this, and I'll let you go. I'll give you more time," she offered, her voice deceptively calm.

Bernardo shook his head frantically. He scrambled backward, his boots slipping on the treacherous stone until he dropped onto his backside. "No. Please. Anything but that. Listen, I'll work for you! I'll serve you for the rest of my life if I have to! Just keep that away from me, I beg you!"

Her heavy boot lashed out with brutal speed, slamming into his face. The impact twisted his neck with a sickening force, sending him tumbling sideways across the hard, unforgiving stones.

"This wasn't a request."

Before the world stopped spinning, Violet's fingers locked into his messy dark hair, wrenching his head back with brutal strength, exposing his throat. She shoved the cold, dense meat past his teeth. Bernardo brought up his uninjured left hand, clawing desperately at her wrist, but her arm felt like solid iron, unyielding. The strange mass slid to the back of his tongue. He gagged violently, his throat contracting, and involuntarily swallowed.

Violet released his hair. Bernardo’s head snapped back. His eyes rolled upward, the whites rapidly filling with an inky, spreading blackness. He opened his jaw to scream, but the air caught in his throat. His muscles seized, locking him in a terrifying paralysis. He clamped both hands to his skull, smearing hot blood from his severed stumps across his own face in a desperate, futile gesture.

Harsh, guttural grunts forced their way through Bernardo's clenched teeth. His body shuddered violently against the cold, unforgiving alley floor.

Violet chuckled, a bright, almost musical sound in the dim air. "It's only a small portion. Fight it."

Bernardo rolled onto his side, his limbs jerking in uncontrolled, painful spasms.

"You might keep your sanity. Or, if your will is weak, you'll go mad. I wonder which it'll be." She watched him with an unnerving, detached anticipation.

The violent jerking slowly lessened until Bernardo lay completely still, his breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps. A faint, black aura began to bleed from his skin, waving like dark, spectral fire along the edges of his silhouette. Instantly, the blood pouring from his severed fingers thickened and clotted shut, the flow ceasing.

"You see? It wasn't so bad, was it?" Violet asked, her tone almost conversational. "Bernardo, you've become just like me. Even if it's just a fraction, this power will help you."

She turned away, her long black coat swaying heavily with each deliberate step. " Don't disappoint me."

The dark aura surrounding her legs flared outward. It swirled violently upward, forming a tight, black tornado that swallowed her figure entirely. As the dark wind collapsed in on itself with a silent implosion, she vanished.