# The Bound and The Broken Chapter 2



## Wolvenreign (Jan 20, 2013)

The now silent sun shone malevolently over the brown, grassless Earth. Great mountains towered in the distance, and the unreachable, ever-blue sky flowed in a steady rhythm, as though it were a sea above. So too did the young Schaden's steps flow to the coming battle. In the last thousand years, he had massacred the humans who attack him. Their technology flourished as a result; they leapt from worthless sticks and stones, to spears, to swords, all in a desperate attempt to destroy him.

All had failed. Nothing could stand against Schaden's incredible might and endless energy. It was as though he was restlessness itself. Nothing less could be expected of a living star.

Schaden now draws closer to the horde of humans, easily ten thousand strong. He laughed just under his breath as he saw them amass under a banner, decorated with a curious yellow symbol. They wore chainmail, some parts of it melted with silver. It was some silly human superstition that it would somehow repel Schaden.

However, there did to be something new among their ranks; an enormous, hulking cannon made of steel. A long fuse twisted down it's side, where a human wearing leather armor lit a match. "By humanity's vigor!", shouted the leader of the militia, "Taste death!". The fuse almost seemed to evaporate, leaving behind a twisted trail of smoke. The cannon's boom seemed to shake the air around it. A mountainous cannonball flew towards the fledgling Bound, leaving behind a trail of smoke and fire as bright and hot as humanity's passion!

As the cannonball careened towards him, Schaden simply stared at it. His permanent smile made it unclear whether he was trapped like a deer in the headlights, or merely smiling, knowing it could not stop him. When, at last, the ball made impact, there was no "THUD!" or "BOOM!" or "CRASH!". There was only the sound of sizzling. A hole the size of Schaden was burnt into the lead sphere! His stance did not even appear to be slightly effected. It was as though his body was made of an acid that could burn through anything, save for itself.

The youngling growled lowly. His primal nature had not evolved, even a thousand years after his birth. It seemed he aged like a star. He had never spoken a word. An idea seemed to sprout from the back of his nigh-feral mind. Jumping behind the cannonball, he reaches into his cloak and produces the Solid Star. When he stuck it into the cannonball, it seemed to enter this melty state.

The humans were not far behind. Charging with the battlecry of "Death to the predator!", they charged through the smoke and fire of the battlefield. Their spirit would soon be greeted with the worst massacre of humankind's prehistory.

Pellets of lead, derived from the cannonball, shot out in every direction. They were small enough to go through the human's chainmail armor. Even when the armor did protect them, it was touched with a set of strange symbols, similar to the circuit wiring on the Solid Star. The bullets derived from the cannonballs killed the humans whose armor they pierced, and went through their backside via exit wounds. These bullets went on to pierce other men, or attach to their armor.

An impish laugh howled from Schaden as he watched them fall. Deep inside, all he could think about was how they could never take his happiness away, so long as he held the great gifts of the sun. The metal armor on the humans began to melt, strangely enough. It pooled at their feet, forming a blob of metal. The humans looked on in horror as they were frozen in a lake of quicksilver! However, it was not over. Not by far.

Schaden, looking upon the destruction, took out a very small, pocket-knife version of the Szizzor's Edge. He outstretched his left arm, and with his right, cut across the balloon-like skin. A torrent of lightning bolts shot through the quicksilver, electrocuting the now armorless humans. They fried instantly...but there were more of them on the way. Suddenly, the blob of melted metal seemed to come to life! It gathered together into the shape of a cloud and rose to the sky. As more humans faithfully charged Schaden, their view of the sun was blotted out, as though they weren't worthy to receive it's light.

The little Bound's permanent smile was truly meant now. A large, jagged bolt of metal dashed down from the iron cloud, splitting a charging human in two. Before the humans around him could even process their horror, they too were rended in half by Schaden's metal death from on high! The bolts assimilated the humans' armor and returned to the metal cloud, which was growing bigger with each split. Even the cannon itself was bolted and retrieved into the blob of metal.

They couldn't get away in time. Within the span of the most horrific two minutes of humankind's history, the entire army was decimated. No human could stop the living death star. A mix of blood and melted steel rained down that day. As it rained a mix of blood and melted steel, a rainbow of grey and red arched across the sky. The sun, the grand star Ogen, shone once more...and for the first time in a thousand years, it began to speak to Schaden, using His patterns and signs.

"Well done, my child. Soon, very soon...happiness shall be yours. There are only two humans remaining, one male and one female. Pity them not, he who was born in the womb of the sky...for their descendants shall hunt you to the ends of eternity. You will find them just beyond the mountains, where green covers the earth, and I shine just a little more pleasantly. Rest for tonight, my child...dream of happiness."

Schaden bathed in His warm light, content like an animal after a satisfying meal. He fell asleep in that sunlight, adrift in it's infinite wisdom.

That night, two humans, Noal and Genevive, huddle over a small campfire. The shivers of the night's howling winds crept up their spines, their faces being the only things warmed by the fire. They held each other tightly, not only for warmth, but also because they were afraid. Terrified. They had seen the metal cloud gather over the horizon, where the human army had marched. They saw the bolts fly down...and they knew that they were the last two people alive. They knew, now...they only had each other.

Amidst terrified sobs of mourning for their lost, they could only look at the starry sky...and wish. "I wish...", said the terrified Noal, his voice shaking and hoarse, "I wish we could survive...I wish the hunter would leave us alone...I wish there was a future for humanity.".

It was then that he saw it. Streaking across the sky with a sound not unlike a newborn babe's cry...he saw a falling star.

The next day, Schaden began approaching the two. Walking step by step, he could only think about how happiness would soon be his...all his. They were cornered. Schaden could catch them any way they ran. There was no escaping him now. He reached into his cloak and brought out the enormous Szizzor's Edge, pointing it directly at the couple. They cowered in the corner, holding each other tight, their nails almost digging into each other's skin. Schaden laughed at the gesture.

Or at least, he would have.

In the flash of a moment, a scythe protruded out of of Schaden's chest. A high, grumbling voice could be heard behind him; the voice of a Bound. "In the name of the Sun...DIE!".


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## Shinigami357 (Jan 20, 2013)

Hm... The plot thickens. I like the new Bound already [seriously, the last bit reminded me of that one scene in kickass]. Also, prob the first time I've seen that the answer to a wish is the actual shooting star; usually, people just wish on one and then sleep and get disappointed.


Also, continuity check... Schaden did speak in chapter one, when he asked Ogen his name. Grand total of, like, 6 words, so one could forgive him for forgetting after a millennium or two [or a thousand].

Sorry for nitpicking again.


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## Wolvenreign (Jan 20, 2013)

No prob, thanks again. Like I said, it's rough around the edges and one of these days I'll get around to smoothing it all out. I appreciate anything you can point out in that regard.


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## Shinigami357 (Jan 20, 2013)

Well, I get to read the story for free, so call it payment in kind.


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