Adonis POV

The halls remained eerily silent, and with every strained breath, I felt the blood pouring steadily from my wounds. My eyes, bloodshot, glared nervously at the four bullet holes lodged into my left thigh. 

My thigh was bloodied like a flayed carcass hanging on the iron hook in a butcher's shop. A cold grin creased against my face as I realized that I had finally used up all of my luck. My eyes widened as the sounds of near-distant footsteps captured my attentive ears. By default, my body stiffened, as I heard their rugged boots press against the floor. Dried blood squelched crimson footprints into a trail, four in total, zigzagging toward the table with murderous intent. I closed my eyes, gently exhaled, and inhaled with a precise rhythm. My mind painted the scene behind me, and my ears caught the sneering sounds of two thick red beams blaring from a 2 ½ inch infrared scope.

Their firm grip handled a pair of metallic semi-automatic machine guns, thumbs circling the trigger, and the thumping thrum of a warm, bloody heart echoing in my ears. My right sweaty palm reached for the gun beside me, a silver revolver with a charred nozzle stared back at me. I pressed the revolver against my forehead, counted to 15, and waited while the footsteps drew closer. Their bloodied soles squelched soft sounds. I didn't need to see them, my ears painted the entire scene like a mural within my thoughts. I nestled my finger against the trigger, and like a spark of thunder, I twisted around and rose like a snake.

And just like I had performed numerous times, my arms shot forward, and I squeezed the silver trigger. My two eyes widened with the focus of a bald eagle. Two bullets whistled my way, but my own trigger hadn't been quick enough. The first bullet grazed the side of my chin. The second bullet tore a ghastly hole beneath my left shoulder. 
The pain was a cold and burning wave, an emptiness soon arrived, and my mind moved with lightning speed.

'Not yet - to die like this…'

My heart beat with a ferocious will, my fallen arm regained its vitality, and I refocused the revolver. I sent three bullets of my own back, and as though the forces of the world guided each bullet. The two assailants were both hit between the eyes, and the third bullet ricocheted off the mouth of one of the two, leaving half of his mouth torn away. Their surprised and almost complicated looks forever stilled against their faces.

Once their two bodies hit the floor, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. That should be the end of them on this floor. I narrowed my eyes and noticed the dead bodies along the path. I already knew this mission was a failure; my entire squadron was mauled today. Being the lone survivor left me with a dreadful feeling of loss, after all, I was supposed to have conducted the ops for this mission, but it was all a failure...it seemed in the end.

My feet pressed forward while my mind remained rooted in sorrow, dwelling on the past.

The narrow hallway stretched on for about 100 meters, leading to a dozen sets of black and white steps that climbed towards a closed crimson door at the top. Gritting my teeth, I ascended the stoned stairwell steadily, leaving droplets of blood behind, marking a peculiar path. First, using my shoulders, I barged through the twin doors, and what I saw in the elegant suite beyond stunned me. The polished black and white tiles beneath me seemed far too pristine for a place like this. I couldn't help but glance back at the stairwell to ensure I wasn't imagining things.

In the center of the room, a long mahogany polished table stood, adorned with golden ornaments molded into busts of strange, regal faces. I assumed they were part of some ancient pantheon. With purpose, my footsteps led me toward the table, and I glanced downwards to read a name carved beneath one of the heads.

'Nocturne... Empyrean and Prince of the Night... Son to Goddess Lunara... the betrayer.'

Shifting my gaze to the tall walls, I found equally tall windows framed against them, covered with heavy red curtains that oozed an air of nobility into the atmosphere. As my heart settled a bit, I began to hear the soft sounds of faint jazz playing from somewhere. Just as I was about to investigate further, I noticed a box resting on the table in front of me. The half-open lid piqued my curiosity, drawing my bloodshot eyes closer. My bloodied hand gently caressed the spectacular craftsmanship of the rich material as I shifted the lid aside and peered inside.

I discovered a stack of sealed files piled on the left, but what truly captivated my interest were the items on the right side. There were eight shimmering crystals with a liquid interior, giving the impression of a swirling sea of gold trapped within each remarkable jewel.

The crystals measured about nine inches in length, and the moment I laid eyes on them, I found myself locked in a strange trance. It was as if the truest part of my existence had instantly found solace.

Throughout my entire life, I had never seen jewels so exquisitely beautiful; the aura they emitted was otherworldly. My fingertips cautiously stroked the smooth surface of one crystal, and suddenly, I felt a darkness invading me.

A cold and callous surge of energy traveled through my fingertips, shooting straight up my arm and mercilessly rushing to my skull. I felt my entire being turn numb, followed by an icy rigidness that held me in place.

"To my pitiful accursed children...

I leave to you, my will, my self, torn accordingly into 8 pieces of myself.

May your second song, be more mightier than the last.

And may my power spread forth across the galaxies...forevermore."

I heard a howling voice screeching madly in my thoughts. For what seemed like an eternity had painfully merely occurred for a few seconds. 

"For their sake, you must return to the void." A voice snapped me out of reality, a shadow loomed darkly behind me; my body stiffened as though it was laid on ice. I was a second too slow to react. 

*Splish*

"Hyeuk?" My fingers brushed against my lips; blood stained my fingertips and flowed out of my mouth like a running faucet. The sheer surprise of seeing the stainless katana appearing through my chest rendered me speechless.

A soft voice arrived behind me again.

"In the end...it is for the betterment of this world...that you don't live to see tomorrow."

 I was familiar with her soft and gently poised voice, after all, hadn't I been beside the woman for most of my life? 
 
"Ni...na?…" I said brokenly feeling the air within my lungs rapidly ceasing,

The assailant pressed the katana deeper into me, my flesh squelched, and my mouth parted, breaths of pain escaping with the droplets of blood falling out from my mouth.

"Shh…hold your voice, my love. It's all over now. Everything ends with this."

Her fleeting words reached my fading subconscious. In the cold darkness, I saw the face of the clear crystal gleaming with a mysterious aura. I saw a swash of Golden and a strange face gazing towards me.

 A being revered in holiness. 

But darkness swiftly stole my vision before I could make sense out of it.

At the gates of death, I wondered if my life made sense.

Did I achieve my childhood dreams? Had the rivers of my enemies' blood flowed enough to quench my thirst for revenge?

My mother, my father, and my kin…their faces were distant,

My soul ached to see their faces appearing …bitterly, in fact, to the point I inwardly spoke words I had long since forgotten about.

'God…anyone…save me.' 

And then...

I heard a voice within the void...

"Do not be afraid...I have come.

My Champion 

A coral voice spoke to me and then I saw something I had never witnessed in my entire life. I saw a falling halo. And an ethereal figure clothed in pure white descending towards me.

"A...angel?"