Bondbreaker

Rainheart trudged his way towards the village, thoroughly exhausted.

'Jesus, I need to sleep! I really shouldn't have gotten so caught up in the game...'

The day had been a nonstop rollercoaster for Rainheart. In a single day, he had hiked for several miles, and the number of goblins he had slaughtered had reached the triple digits, even without counting the unknown quantities he had poisoned to death at their camp.

'Well, we saved a few people from those goblins, so it was worth it. I got a cool sounding perk, I befriended a bunch of villagers, and even found myself a reliable partner!'

Despite being exhausted, what Rainheart felt most was excitement. 'I can't wait to talk to Raven again. After the quest, I think we can both relax for a little bit. Maybe, after a couple of days, we could explore the surrounding forests, or-'

Cresting a hill, he could finally see the village. It was dark, and the town was only barely visible because of the full moon.

Rainheart smiled. "Finally! I made it back. Now, I wonder if Raven is on..." Rainheart rolled his eyes. "No, that would be dumb. He needs to get some sleep, just like me! Hmm, maybe I should've specified Mr. Fischer teach him some other day..."

Rainheart had asked old man Mr. Fischer to teach Raven some skills, since apparently he used to be a famed adventurer. Although the guy was super annoying, his skill was beyond reproach. Rainheart was confident that, after a few hours with him, Raven's throwing skills would be far greater.

'Man, everyone in the village is so cool, it is making me conflicted! Should I stay in the village, making sure it stays safe, or travel with Raven? Monsters are appearing everywhere, and I want to make sure nothing happens to Littlehaven, but I also want to go on an adventure!'

Rainheart sighed. 'Honestly, I really want to stay here and protect the village. I just wish there were more quests. Wait, but more quests would mean the village was being put in danger!'

Deep in thought, Rainheart eventually reached the village. He walked past the houses, approaching the center of the village. He frowned. 'It is really quiet tonight. And where is the old guy? He said he would stay up and wait for me... Don't tell me, did he fall asleep!? Well, he is old...'

Then, he noticed the strange sight of Raven, standing in the middle of the road, staring up at the moon. A familiar women was standing by his side, and there was a sack next to them.

Rainheart smiled, slowing down. "Hey, Raven, Luciella, I made it back! Man, that was a-" Rainheart froze, and then covered his mouth. "Crap! Sorry, that was too loud! I forgot people were sleeping..."

Neither Raven nor Luciella, Adam's mom, responded. Confused, Rainheart frowned. "Is everything okay?"

They both turned around, and it was... strange. Raven had tied back his hair into a ponytail, and his face... he looked creepy! Luciella, on the other hand, looked dead inside. It was unnerving. Her eyes were puffy, like she had been sobbing. The only sign she was alive was her faint breathing. Why was she-

Rainheart froze up, shocked, as he finally noticed...

'Why? What? Why does Raven have a knife held against her throat!?'

Rainheart drew his sword, staring down Raven. "Raven, what are you doing! Why are you holding a knife to her throat?!"

Raven grinned, his crimson eyes glowing in the moonlight. "Rainheart, I have been waiting. Don't worry, I will explain everything, you can trust me~ Here, I even saved you some food! You must be pretty hungry, you have been gone for a while."

Raven grabbed the sack, tossing it towards Rainheart. It was heavy, landing with a solid, squishy thump.

Rainheart gagged, covering his mouth and nose. 'The smell, it's disgusting! What the hell did he cook... ?'

Slowly, Rainheart untied the sack, and then opened it up. Immediately, he froze. Time slowed to a crawl, and the whole world around him disappeared.

"... Adam?"

Inside the sack was the corpse of a child, fried to a crisp.

Rainheart's hands trembled, and he dropped the sack. The body, a small, charred corpse of a child, rolled out onto the dirt. It's face, or what remained of it, was warped into a mask of pain and horror.

Rainheart collapsed to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. "No... what? What is going on? I.. this can't be-"

Suddenly, Rainheart was knocked backwards, as a sharp pain emanated from his shoulder.

He turned towards it, and saw a knife jutting out. It had struck right where his gambeson was thinner, at the join between his torso and his arm.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I just needed to make sure you wouldn't try and kill me, so I had to distract you for a moment. Now, we can talk freely! Well, at least as long as it takes for the poison to kill you."

From the wound, Rainheart felt a weakness spreading throughout his body. Already, he could barely muster the strength to move.

He looked back towards Raven, tears streaming down his face. "This means... you killed him? Wait- where is Mr. Fischer? He was supposed to wait for m-"

"I killed him."

Rainheart could only stare in shock, slowly digesting Raven's words.

Raven smirked. "Not just him, though. I killed everyone in the village! And guess what?" Raven leaned forward, a manic gleam in his eyes. "It. Was. Exhilarating! I snuck into each home, killing them silently as they slept! It was tense, it was exciting!" Raven inhaled deeply, calming himself down. "Honestly... I have never had more fun in my life! I think I finally found it; something I want to accomplish myself."

Raven looked up, contemplating for a moment. "You know... everything feels better when you actually have a goal. Something that drives you forward. It feels like... I had lived my whole life as nothing but a corpse, and now I finally know what it is like to live."

Raven stared down at Rainheart, smiling. "Thank you, Rainheart, you really have helped me out a lot. Without you, I would've never figured this out."

Rainheart could not believe what he was hearing. 'This can't be... he killed them all? But I thought- But he was-'

Rainheart gritted his teeth, fighting desperately against the growing lethargy in his body. 'No, one person is still alive! I have to save them!'

Rainheart forced out a smile, and laughed. "Wow, that's great, Raven! I am glad you could enjoy yourself. Hey, you don't mind doing me a favor, do you? Just... You see, I really like Luciella, and I want to go on an adventure with her! You don't mind just sparing one person, do you? We've been through a lot, right? So... please?"

Raven scratched his cheek, cocking his head as he thought it over. "Well, you helped me out a lot, I really should do you a favor..."

Raven slashed his knife across Luciella's throat, and she dropped to the ground.

Raven rubbed his knife against his gambeson, wiping off the blood. "... But not today. Sorry, guess I owe you one~"

All the energy left Rainheart's body. He watched as Luciella bled out, powerless to stop it.

"Raven... did you... really never... care about me? I..."

Raven frowned. "Hey, I like you! Don't worry, you're still a cool guy, in my book."

Rainheart barely had the strength to speak, the poison already spread throughout all of his body. "Then... why? What... is so.... important?"

Raven grinned. "This game is going to be massive, I can tell! There is nothing else quite like it, and I bet it is all people are going to be talking about soon. I now have the perfect opportunity!"

Raven spread out his arms, basking in his own fervor. "I am going to kill every single living being in this world! All life will be exterminated, and I will become the most infamous player!"

As the words sunk in, Rainheart began shaking, and his face contorted into a look of rage. "You're... a psychopath! A murderer! You're insane, why would anyone want to-"

Raven laughed. "Exactly, this is what I want! People like you, who get so attached to this world, to break and crumble before me! It's so obvious now. Looking back, I can't really see my life going any other way..."

Rainheart roared. His terrible scream shredded his vocal cords, echoing out for miles. His whole world went red, as he forced his body to stand. Fighting against the poison, he shakily stood up, staring down Raven. "I... will... tear you apart! You fucking basta-"

A knife penetrated his skull, killing him instantly.

Raven walked over, and pulled his dagger out. 'Now, time to look at that notification I got after killing that last women...'

With just a thought, the notification popped back up.

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Congratulations, Raven, for being the sixth player to wipe out an entire town's population! Your mighty feat has earned you a supreme perk!

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Notice

Perk [Butcher] has been upgraded to [Bondbreaker] due to the game launch event.

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