The resurrection

Preface:

            This is what happened after Volrod has struck himself down. To recap what had happened the last time we left Volrod; everyone, that he remotely cares about, betrayed him (mainly the betrayal of his mentor) and his whole life was a lie. The revelation that he was just mans attempt to rival the gods in power and strength caused his mind to start falling in on itself. All of the defenses that he constructed to keep people away from him, were crumbling, and crushing his mind. His powers started to grow beyond his control, and even his life force was unable to maintain the hold over his primal powers. What he contained within himself was more than the frail human shell or a mortal can hold. It was the beginning of the end. He knew there was only one way that his powers could be stopped, and that was to obliterate his own life force. He fought so hard to defend it from all of his enemies; his own hand would guide the finishing blow. He fell instantly, as anyone having his or her life force extinguished would.

Chapter 1 Afterlife

Now one has to remember all of the things that Volrod did during his life. He was a keeper of the peace, fighting Diablo and the minions of darkness around every corner. Sacrificing his body for the greater good of the world, helping those that he didn’t know, without asking for even a word of kindness in return. To contrast that though was his darker past, which was now eating away at him as he waited to be judged. The wait in the after life, all around him were the innocents, because they were all that mattered to him. Those lives that he ruined, the children he took from their families would all be up here waiting for them. All of these emotions clouded his mind. Clutching in his right hand was his only real shred of humanity at this point. The only thing that he was aloud to take with him to the after life, his white powdered stone, in which held his good deeds in life right now. His mind had forced them in there because he still was unworthy to have compassion and be seen as good for what he had done. It was his comfort though the time. The blue Psionic stone’s split and scattered back over the world, as did the red magic stones. To be awoken by the next children of power, if they ever rose again. Imprinted on them was the essence of Volrod and Gerrod themselves. Each of those stones was the last slice of truth that they have ever walked the Earth. Clinging to what he still had of his humanity, it finally came time for him to be judged. This was the moment that he feared ever since his birth, now that he thought about it. This was the culmination of all his actions over the 20 years that he walked the Earth.

Chapter 2 Garian

With a deep breath and a heavy swallow, Volrod walk forward as he was told. His eyes remained low to the ground; his pace slow, trying to cover up his quick beating heart. Each step was brining him closer to the fate, and his eternity. In his eyes, he would walk one of the two possible paths. The first path, that might lay before him, being that of a saved person, a person that is judged to be good and will live in eternity with pleasure and happiness. The second, and the path he knew that he would walk, is the path of the evil. Beings that were evil in life were fated to be evil in the after life. A tortured existence, filled with pain and agony, the likes of which he had never seen before. He would also have it far worse because Diablo himself, who was still around. In his mind he knew that path that he would walk, for he had already judged himself, and evened stacked the odds against the path of good by removing his humanity, the humanity he was not worthy of. Not worthy to walk down the path of goodness and purity, and unwilling to stool towards the destitute of darkness, his pulse started to increase even more. A few paces left to take, and his legs would not carry him. Frozen in his place, this was the first time that he had felt genuinely scared of the future, even though it was just moments away, and would come weather he reached it or no. A push of a seemingly “angelic” force brought him to the point of judgment. There he was, face-to-face with the judger of souls, the Angel Girian. Mustering all of the strength that remained within his body, he brought his now normal eyes to Girian’s. A harsh booming voice echoed though what seemed like the ages; “Is this the one that they call Volrod?” The angel’s wings spread over and then around Volrod, engulfing his body. Then with a blinding light they were both taken far away from the judging plain, to a place that Volrod had never even heard of. Angels walked all around him, and confusion added to the dark veil that was shadowing his mind. “Why am I here, I did not get judged yet, or did I?” Millions of questions chased out some of the dark thoughts of his occupied mind. On a blind instinct, her followed Garian towards their goal. Garian’s wings flowed around his body with the steps he took. Leading Volrod towards a giant door of light, Garian pulled what can only be described as a key out from under his blinding white cloak. Sliding the key effortlessly into the lock, the door sprang to life, spilling out radiant white light that cascaded over everything, blinding Volrod. All of the angels even looked on, as if this was something that they had never witnessed before either. All those that glimpsed at the door of white, needed to shield their eyes or be blinded.

Chapter 3 Judging

As quickly as the light came it was gone even quicker. Garian pointed into the room that was now unlocked and pitch black, giving a shove to Volrod forcing him inside. Garian locked the door, seemingly trapping Volrod inside. Swiftly his mind started back up again, thoughts churning though his head; “Great, I guess that I have been placed in some form of after life prison. To dangerous to walk among the angels, and not even worth to walk among the demons.” A different booming voice snapped his mind back to what was here and now. “I am the creator of all things,” the voice spoke slowly, but each word caring with it the sound of a million harps, “I created the world as it is, and man in my image, and this is how man repays me, with their bastard creation.” The tone of the voice remained constant and without any inflection for the words he spoke. Volrod went to open his mouth to try and defend his existence, but he came up with nothing, it was as if his voice was stripped away in this beings presence. Cracking forth once more the powerful voice took to words once again.

“Their attempts to create a rival, to even my angels have not worked. Man is obsessed with a goal they will never accomplish, and I guess that is what I get for creating them in my own image. Each of your cycles, have no doubt brought them closer to their goal, but with everyone they over looked the obvious facts. The vessel in which they were placing ‘god like’ powers was not built to handle them, so their efforts are stacked against them. I do not hold you responsible for their actions, because you and your kind don’t have any control in the cycle. It is out of your grasp, so by my laws I can’t hold you accountable for the actions of those that made you. Also according to my laws, judgment can only be passed on what I create.”

The voice got weak for a moment, as if it was caught up in something greater, but it came back in full force once again, echoing though, at least in Volrod’s mind the world itself.

“I look at it this way though; I created them, they created you, so therefore you are indirectly my creation, therefore you are held accountable under our laws of judgment. It has been ages since a being has required my judgment, but you are a very unique creature Volrod. Ever since you began to repent your crimes, I fixed my attention on you and your other half Gerrod.”

Chapter 4 Judging Board

“To many factors must be weighted in this calculation. In an effort for your simple brain to comprehend what I am speaking of, I had this created.”

A large board was revealed, as if out of thin air itself. Many numbers were etched on it, some in one direction, some in the opposing direction, and what appeared to be a total tally at the top, falling in the dead center of the board.

“This is your judgment board. Every person has one, and it is what we used to judge a being fate. On one side is all of the good you have done, the other all of the evil, and as you can see it is perfectly balanced. Every deed that was done in your short life had an opposite; weather or not you even know it. You were perfectly balanced, even though you were an incomplete being. Only once before have I saw such unison and balance in a being. That being you already met on the way in. Garian is the only other life that has attained perfect balance, so who betters to judge the rest of those that come here. My conjecture is that you have many questions floating around that primitive cerebral humans call a brain. So I grant you permission to ask one and only one of them.”

This was Volrod’s moment to speak, but he only got one question and he didn’t want to waste it. So much moved though his mind, and now that the time to ask a question was upon him, his mind was a blank slate. Stammering as he finally formulated a question he thought was intelligent, and pertained to this situation. Speaking out clearly, “Why am I here. This is not the way it happens, so judge me and get it over with.” His words seemed harsh, but they were a cleaver ploy to cover the terror shaking though his body.

“That is the best that you can come up with, when you are given the chance to have any question answer. However it is to the point, and that is what I admire about you and your style. You are here because your life has been full of choices, and the path you have walked down leads you here. All of the actions in your life lead you up to this moment, your judgment, and because of who you are and what you have done, a special judgment it is. Garian had to make the same choice that you now have to make. Two paths lie before you, and only you and decide how to move forward. The path to my right will lead you back to the judging hall, where you will work here. You will work along side Garian and myself judging people. On my right side is a different path. A chance to change the final position of your judging board.”

Never has such a choice hung so heavily on Volrod’s mind. To serve here, along side those that made the world, or a life back on Earth. His life would be free of everything that plagued him in his first life. Standing unwavering as he debated deep within his mind. Not knowing how he would return to Earth was the major question that haunted him. “Will I still be myself?” and questions of that nature reverberated though his consciousness. His mind made up he walked forward. The voice was encouraging his actions; “walk the path that fits you, not anyone else. Remember how you got here and follow your heart.” Following ones heart was not something Volrod had ever done, but he was going to start.

Chapter 5 The choice

            White light faded out all around him, and his choice was made. In the blink of an eye he was transported out of the hidden chamber, and then he was there. He was back on Earth, breathing the fresh air as life returned to his body. He was back at the cave, clutching the stone in his hand, his knuckles white. “I can’t believe that I am actually alive again.” He was over come with bliss by this turn of events. His powers had not all come back with him, and he really didn’t seem to care. He would have carried if he were aware of what was taking place at that exact moment, on the other side of the world. Gerrod has followed him back. Gerrod’s essence clung to Volrod, and was now back on Earth, only without a body. It floated though aimlessly, having no control, but even that would change soon enough. Gerrod would not be slowed by this minor set back. A body was all that he required, and he would get it. Short shallow breaths brought oxygen back into Volrod’s lungs. His eyes weak at the moment, trying to adjust to all of the new light, his pupils quickly contracting, blocking out the light all around him. The grogginess began to leave his body, moving around freer with each passing moment. Finally his full range of motions and free movement were blessed back to his body. A quick look around, and he found himself back in the cave where he ended it. His powers were basic, just as they were when he lost his hunger. He also felt different, like he was not his old self. His entire mind seemed distant from the rest of his body, locked away; and this time he didn’t know if he had the keys. The cave seemed unchanged, everything was as he remembered it, and save for one of the books, his book; it was gone. He tried to remember what happened to it, but the knowledge was not there. Leaning down he wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword. His swordplay was jerky, each of his movements clumsy, as if he had never used a blade before. The awkward actions woke the sword back up from its slumber. Speaking in its weak voice, as if it was drained of its powers, “Who goes there and dare uses the blade of Volrod?”

Volrod was over impressed to see that his sword was still there, but then again, why wouldn’t it be? “It is I, your master Volrod. You don’t remember me?”

“I do remember, but it has been over forty-five years since you last walked this Earth.”

“It has been that long?” Volrod dropped the sword as he fell to his knees. “I was gone for forty-five years? How can that be it seemed like just a few moments.” His mind burned with anger and hate for the judger had returned him, but basically to a different life, not the one that he had left behind. The pain tore though his heart, as a few tears started to swell up deep in his body. A moment of silence was all that he allowed to pass, he should have known better than expecting to return to his old life. His old life was finished, and now he had to live a new one, one to try and break the dead lock of his fate. Without haste he gathered up the few things that he owned from the damp cave, taking the books with him, he walked out into the world, as the sun started to set on his new life, his mind was still grid locked. Sheathing his sword and now only friend, he secured the books he wanted and then caused the cave to fall in on itself, sealing away all of the records regarding the “children of power”, in the hopes that he could prevent the next cycle from occurring.

Chapter 6 His new life

Volrod almost did not know where and how to start off this new life that he was given. It had been forty-five years, all of his friends, and anyone that knew him would either have forgotten, or more likely be dead by now, so there would be no use in tracking them down. Rays of the rising moon cast an eerie shadow on the ground upon that which he stood. He was in no shape to travel off towards his cabin, or even though the woods. His powers were to weak and his mastery of the sword had left him, so he was not ready to defend himself if he had to. Oh, if his enemies could only see him. He should have known this area well, but he could only remember pieces of it. Gradually his brown eyes moved around, he was certain that a town was close by, he needed a place to stay, but where was it. Proceeding away from the now buried cave, he stumbled across a path, which seemed strangely familiar to him. He didn’t know where it leads, but he knew he had walked it before. The trees around him carried an ominous feel to them, and the feeling that he was being watched with every step that he took. There was no word from his sword, which had finally lost all of its energy, so he was on his own. Rustling of the bushes, and even the wind blowing though the tress were enough to put Volrod on edge, with good reason. The path was hardly ever straight in course, twisting and turning, wide and narrow but he continued to walk down it, for he didn’t know where else to go. With a creeping noise, something emerged from the brush, moving to quick for him to make out. It ran past him, stopping off in the distance, just out of the light. The creature called forth to him in a raspy voice, “drop the sword, and hand over all your valuables.” Volrod could not believe it; he was being robbed on his first day back alive. Everything that he has was valuable, and he would fight for them, and it was apparent that he would need to.

Chapter 7 His First Fight?

            Instinctively his hands went to the hilt of his blade, not even knowing how to swing it. He thought he used to know how to fight with it, why else would he have it, but now its skills had left him. His fingers taking the handle in a tight grip, unsheathing the fine crystal blade, poising it in front of his body, trying to strike a fighting pose. His sword could not save him or even help him in this fight, and his powers all hidden away. The robber began laughing at all of Volrod’s awkward actions, and drew his blade in response, and it was obvious that the other man knew what he was doing. With a rapid pulse Volrod’ could barely concentrate on the fight, his eyes trying to follow the man’s blade, guessing at where he was going with his moves. As the burglar lunges forward, Volrod seemed to gain back his sword fighting ability, as if just for a brief moment, parrying the blow with ease. Caught almost as off guard as the other man was, blinking in astonishment of the skill that seemed to just appear. Taking up another fake offensive stance, the mugger thought his actions though more carefully this time, starting to wonder how Volrod had dodges his blow with ease. Flipping his short blade on his hand, holding it across his face, he made a few slashes against Volrod, trying to get him to commit to a defense. Volrod was panicking, but a reflex keeps kicking in and he was able to read his opponent’s move. Getting feed up with the apparent toying that he was being put though, the attacker poised himself to make a final blow against Volrod. Lunge quickly, Volrod side stepped away from the move, and with one speedy motion, he ended the man’s life. His corpse dropped to the cold ground, decapitated.

Chapter 8 Aftermath of the encounter

            Terrified, he dropped his blade to the ground, next to the fallen man. Shaking in fear, the weight of his own body caused him to collapse to his knees. “What have I done, on my first day back no less?” The corpse of the fallen man, only a few inches from his face, started to vanish. Grabbing his crystal sword off of the ground, and gazing around he shouted, “What sorcery is this?” His eyes moved all around him, trying to find the reason to this madness, but none could be found. The source of the problem would be revealed to him later, where the body of his fallen enemy would end up, but that was not a priority to him at the moment. He sheathed his sword once more, concealing it beneath his cloak and tried to maintain his composure. Finally he made his way into the town that he knew existed, passing under the arched gates of the city. It was nothing at all like he remembered. All of the buildings were changed, as he walked amongst them, trying to gain his bearings. Making his way to the inn, he stopped once more to try and take the city in. Nothing as he remembered it, but it had not changed that much in the time that he was gone. Slowly approaching the man working behind the counter, he dropped a few coins out of his hand, and asked for a room. Gasping at the coins, which had not been used in over forty years, he quickly snatched them up and led Volrod to one of the finest rooms in the place. Handing him the key, the innkeeper scurried away back to the desk greedily counting the coins. After a spell of being confused, Volrod shrugged it off and began to look around. This room was amazingly similar to the one he got his first night in the village all of those years ago. Settling carefully down in the room, placing his sword on the table, looking it over. “I wish you were here to help me now my old friend.” Charging up the sword was a simple process, expect for the fact he could not remember how it was done. Tracing his fingers over the crystal, and then down the hard steal of the hilt, he focused on how it was done. He could see himself clearly doing it in the past, but the skill was so far away from him in his mind. Sighing as he gave up for the night. He set the rest of the books, and his few belongings on the ground. With a heavy heart he walked towards his bed, letting his cloak fall to the floor. He climbed up into the bed, it was far more than he expected, and to him he didn’t pay that much, but the coins he used were antiques, along with everything else that he possessed. Closing his eyes, he started to drift off into a deep sleep; his worries started melt away. Little did he know that his troubles were far from over.

Chapter 9 Return to the Judging Board

            Volrod began to open his eyes, confused once again on where he was, bright light surrounding him once more. The booming voice echoed though his head once more.

“I see that you have made it though your first day back on Earth, and I gather you are wondering what you are doing back here so soon. No, don’t worry you will get a full life to live until you are killed, but this is something no one else has ever gotten. You will get to see your judging board every night till the day you die.”

True as his word, there was that board again, this time it was blank. “Every night when you start to dream, your first thoughts will take you here, so you can see where you stand.” Clenching his fist as he waited for his first actions to be judged on that thing before him. Closing his eyes as he heard his deed etched into it, not wanting to look, but something inside of him compelled him to. There was his first action, he struggled to make out what it meant, it was not as clear as last time. Then it struck him; it was still balanced. “Why is it still balanced, were by deeds not one sided in action?” Speaking out rashly, Volrod did not even think about his words, they just sprang forth from his lips. The voice boomed once again at his question.

“First off, you dare to question my judgment? In all of the millennia that I have judged my creations, you are the first to get a second chance, and you are second-guessing me? This time, and this time alone I will explain myself to you. You killed a person, and that by itself is a negative action, but then again, one needs to look at who you killed and why, thus things balanced themselves out. This is not the start that I hoped for.”

With those words, Volrod vanished back to his bed, and back to his sound slumber. He was back to a dream, which seemed so familiar and life like to him, and who knows, maybe it was real. He was watching himself, was it the future, or even the past. What it was he was unsure of, but all that he knew is what he saw held a secret. Standing over a table, his dream self started to infuse energy back into his sword, but then just as quickly as the dream had started, he was ripped away from it, and brought crashing back to reality. Looking around, daylight started to creep into his room, and a quick remembrance told him where he was. Tossing the sheets off of the bed, his eyes caught the table where his sword was resting, only it was not where he left it, it was in the position that it was left in his dream. As he rose from the bed, he made his way closer to the sword, inspecting it closer with his own fresh mind and eyes.

Chapter 10 The Return of and Old Friend

            Approaching the table, a weak voice started to speak, it was the voice of his sword. Laughing, and holding back the emotions that started to take over; “What brought you back to life my companion?”

“It was you, wasn’t it? You are the only one that can give me energy, so it had to have been you. I have not felt this alive in, in, since you left.” It was apparent that the sword was fully charge with energy, but Volrod didn’t remember doing it, all he remembered was the dream. Or was it a reality. Did he charge up his sword during the night after he visited the judging board? Many questions circled around his brain, but none of them mattered now. With his sword back at his side, all of the mysteries surrounding his powers would start to reveal themselves. He would have access to his powers again in no time. Volrod was full of questions, something that he was not before. His sword would now be the starting place of all the answers, or at least he hoped so. Maintaining his calm demeanor, he wanted to begin his interrogation of his now only friend in the world. “I have so many questions for you my blade, but I don’t know where that I should begin. Like what has transpired since I have been gone?”

His sword responded as follows, “I can ask you the same question. The last thing that I remember was you saying that you will end the problem, and then you were gone. That was over forty-five years ago. I have spent that time alone in the cave, slowly losing what little energy that I had left. I started to give up hope, and then as soon as I thought all hope was lost, you just came back to life. You need to tell me what happened while you were gone.”

“Well it is a long short story, but I was judged, and found to be balanced, so I was sent back here to try and live a different life. I don’t know why I was gone for so long, but I am back, and that is all that really matters, is it not?”

“I agree with you on that one, the only thing that matters is you are back here.”

“Before we go any further, I want you to explain to me my powers. How do I infuse you with energy so I know how it is done, incase I have to give you more later.”

The sword was confused about this question, Volrod is the only person that has the ability to infuse him with energy, so he had to have known how it was done, but the sword figured it would humor and enlighten his master. “Placing your hands over my hilt, and then concentrating with your energy will transfer it me. That is all that is required; it is a basic skill that all Psionicists are endowed with.” Volrod didn’t remember even the most basic skills, but now he was starting to remember them. He guessed he energized his sword, and he guessed that he could do it again. Two old friends were now reunited, and ready to face the challenges that lay before them. Little did they know that they would have to face far more dangers than just basic Psionic tasks. Gerrod, even though far away was still linked to Volrod, and was able to see everything that he did. Gerrod knew that Volrod was weak, and he was not. All that he needed was to find a body, and then he could take his revenge on Volrod. The moment between the old friends was quick to pass as the continued to deal with the matters at hand. Volrod needed to know more about his powers, and he needed to know them as soon as possible. Volrod continued to question his sword, trying to unlock all of the mysteries of his past, and try to get his strengths back, the strengths he knew he had but could not use.

Chapter 11 Returning Powers

            It was his first new day back on Earth. He was eager to being his new training, something that his sword was not too happy about. It had always hated the long days of training; it was just something that was unappealing to him. All of the slashing, and now the fact that he would have to instruct his owner on how to fight with him, during this training, and on top of it how to use the most basic Psionic powers. It knew what it had to do though, and his master was demanding it of him. The sword knew its place, and would never question his master. Checking out for the day, he took his sword and the key to the room deep in to the woods. He was not as scared as he was this time, he didn’t know why, but he had an aurora of confidence about him during this walk. He took the sword to a clearing, and began to set up a new training ground. Gathering up a few stone, and setting up some targets, he paced around the forest. “Where should we begin in your training dear Volrod?” The sword spoke. Volrod didn’t know where to begin, but he thought the basics were the direst issues. “We should start with the basic, telekinesis. Yes that is the perfect place to start.” Nodding his head, Volrod moved away from the pile of stones, looking them over with a dumbfounded look gracing his face. “Well, how do I start with all of this?” Gasping followed by a heavy sigh came from the sword as it peered onward,

“Focus on the stones. Feel their energy, and then start to harness it, move it where you want it to go. Feel your mind’s hand reaching out to move the stone. Feel its weight shift away from the stone, and gravity to loosen her grip on the stone. It will rise up above the ground, and then you can move it freely.”

Volrod started to concentrate hard on the stone, and trying to move it. Placing his hand on his temple, trying to aid in the process to lifting the stone. After a few clumsy attempts, the stone started to rise off the ground, slowly at first, or even with jerky motions, but then it started to come together. It was three hours into the training session, before Volrod was able to start moving the stones freely. First one stone, and then he moved on to two. Now the simplest Psionic power was at his command. Volrod started moving on to large objects, and by the end of their twelve hour training session, Volrod was finally able to command the easiest Psionic power to master. It did take students much longer to learn this basic power, but because of what Volrod was, it should have came much easier to him than it did. Though the training though, Volrod started to feel some of the mental locks on his powers starting to fade away. He didn’t know why or even how this was happening, but it was.

Chapter 12 Returned Memories

            Gathering back up the few items that he brought to the clearing, his stomach was empty and his mind exhausted for the day. His brain felt as it was in a vice, and set aflame as his new old powers started to burn back though his being. Volrod’s head was pounding, and stumbling with each step, he walked back towards his rented room. Unable to focus on much of anything was he ventured down the short path, suddenly stopping dead in his tracks and falling to his keens screaming out in pain and agony. His sword chimed in, concerned for his well being; “What is happening, I can’t see or sense anyone around attacking you.” Choking on his words Volrod tried to speak, but nothing was coming out. His body seemed to go limp, and then a portion of his memories flooded back to him. Crashing over him in waves, they were tearing him apart as he saw his horrors return in a flash. Years of pain and abuse that he tried to escape swamped his mind. Burning rapidly back into his mind and life. Finally he managed to speak, and tell of what had just happened to his mind. This is what Volrod had tried to run from all of his life, but he was never able to escape it. The visions of the past had finally come back to haunt him, but why and how. He was told he would be given a new chance at life, so all of these memories should be gone from his mind, everything else was.

“There must be some key, some reason for those thoughts and images to return to me now. Have I unlocked something I should not, or accessed a part of my essence that was locked away for a reason?”

Those were the only things that Volrod could keep his mind on. So many questions always gnawing away at his subconscious, that it was hard for him to even speak to people. Not that many people would speak to such a man, but those that tried to found themselves face to face with a walking riddle that had no answer to itself. A daze is what became of Volrod for several days. He would just sit and ponder on these ideas and theories behind his newly awakened past and powers. He found no matter how much he dwelled on those thoughts; the answer would always seem to elude him. It was only at times of peace and relaxation did anything move readily though his mind. As he lay awake on the bed, nearing the end of his second week of this “new life” an answer finally came to him. It was his past that defined who he was, and who he will become once again. There must be something that those memories are trying to tell him. If only Volrod could see the answer that was clouded by all of the emotions and confusion that swelled up inside of him, he might have seen what was being presented to him; that he did not come back alone. While Volrod pondered on his past, Gerrod was setting his eyes on the future.

Chapter 13 Gerrod’s return to power

            Gerrod did not waste any of his time back on the mortal plane of Earth. Planning each second that he was back alive, if you could call it that, on how to destroy Volrod for good this time. He was still enraged that he was beaten by such a weakling, and then forced out of his own destiny. Gerrod’s spirit was fading with each passing day that it did not inhabit a body, but he would soon change that problem, for even as a ghost, he still retained all of his powers and could use them as he wanted. Infesting a small village far on the opposite side of the planet, he whipped out the entire population of the village. From the ruins of his actions, he then chose the body most suiting to him, and he was finally living once again. A few awkward jerky breaths were all that stood in Gerrod’s path back to life. Overcoming them he looked around at the city of dead. “Far be it for me to let such things go to waste.” With those words and an evil laugh, he began the first stages of his plan. Meanwhile, as soon as Gerrod inhabited his new body, Volrod caught a chill that affected his very soul, but he could not place what it was, or where it came from. If only he possessed the sight and ability that he had before, he would have sensed the disturbance that Gerrod was creating in the life of the world. Setting to work, Gerrod began to raise all of the fallen corpses of the village people, forcing them to be his undead servants. His evil army was gaining power, and Gerrod was growing deadlier with each passing day. The body he inhabited used to that of a middle aged, man, but because of the plague that hit the villages, the body was now old and decrepit, something Gerrod could easily rectify. He knew that as the days past, the body he posed would begin to regenerate, just as his old body did, and in just a few short months, the body would be just like new. No one around him would mind the rotting flesh, and decay that was his being, and nor did he. Any that opposed him, he quickly put to death and the turned to his will. Gerrod was wreaking havoc on the life of the world, and Volrod was probably the only one that could stop him, but he was across the world, and could barely defend himself, let alone someone of Gerrod’s power.

Chapter 14 Broken Friendships

            Tales and rumors of Gerrod’s escapades started to reach far and wide, but somehow that avoided the little bubble of life that Volrod had carved for himself. Hero’s and villains like were drawn to the might that was Gerrod’s armies, but none were ever heard from again. Gerrod was becoming that which legends and fairy tales are carved from, and it was only about a week after his rise to power. Volrod remained clueless, and keep up his slow training regiment for himself. He did not want to push things to far to fast, because he knew what that did; just brought more memories, memories that he was not prepared to deal with. What were locked away were still his friends, Teama, Fenix, and the others. Should he go and try to find them, or was it best to leave the past far behind where it belonged. Thos thoughts encircled Volrod’s head with each training session that he held for himself. One of these days he swore that he would muster up the courage to find young Teama who would undoubtedly be far older than him by now. As for Fenix, he wanted that left alone. Nothing scared him more than what he did for Fenix, and why he did it. He knew partially of what became of his old friend, he would choke over those very words every time he mustered himself to speak them. Volrod had left the inn, and the small life he cut out for himself, and made the long trip towards his cabin finally. This is where his friends actions were most evident to him; his house was vandalized. Fenix had stolen almost all of value, leaving behind books, and a note explaining his actions.

            “Dear Volrod,

If you are reading this, then you have come back from where ever you chose to go. I have taken what stuff I felt fit to, and left you to dwell in your pitiful life. I find it amusing the pains that you suffered for me, because you were to weak to stand up for yourself. I was working with your enemies from the moment that we meet, and I am only sorry that I could not be there at the end of your miserable life.”

What a not to come home to was all that Volrod could think about that first night as he took inventory of his remaining life’s ambition. Before he lay down to rest that first night back at his cabin, he reordered the books on the shelves, putting them back in the proper order. The whole cabin would need the same treatment, but that would have to wait. As he put his cabin back in order, he just wondered why his supposed best friend would betray him like he did. He had shown him nothing but kindness in all the time they were together. Taking the demon inside his own flesh, fighting Fenix’s battles for him. How could a person deceive a friend that has done that much for hi; question that was now engrained into Volrod’s very conscious and unconscious mind. His trust and loyalty in humans was shaken, and would probably never be reinstalled. Also his compassion had faded away as well. He no longer cared form humanity or even a person in general, that is what Fenix had mainly from Volrod, his human compassion.

Chapter 15 Frustrated Judgers

Sleep came unnaturally easy to him the longer he lived out this new life, but the judging board was always there to taunt him. What would his fate shift to this time, if it would move at all, but it never did. For each act of kindness or good will, it was somehow countered, either by weight or volume of the opposite. It was looking to the judgers; it was appearing that Volrod was a truly unique creation, in that it was inherently neutral, no matter how it tried to live its life out. Volrod and the judgers were both growing increasingly aggravated that this creation was the embodiment of what the judgers had strived so hard to create; a perfectly neutral life. They were all taking a careful watch over what he did, basically trying to ensure that he was not “cheating the system” and just padding his evil acts, but he was not. Each one he committed for his own free will, and because that was his choice, not knowing his fate. There were times that Volrod would fall one way or another, but after a few days balance and neutrality would take back over the harmony of Volrod’s life. Each day that Volrod woke, since Gerrod’s accent to power, a great chill would move thought his body. Gerrod never slept, because he found a way to function without it. Its powers did not need any time to recharge or recoup as he used to need. On the flip side, Volrod found himself sleeping more and more as he used his powers. They were not as infinite as they used to be, and the pool he was drawing from was not a deep as it was in his first life, giving Gerrod another huge advantage. On the path of life, Volrod’s scales were perfectly balanced, but when it came to comparing Volrod to Gerrod, there was not even compassion to be made, unlike last time where they were equally balanced, as they were meant to be.  They were made to be equal, but being stripped of his powers left Volrod defenseless to the threats and actions of the world. A twenty-five year old infant is really what he was. He needed a guide to show in every step of his path, to hold his hand, and to teach him the order of things. This is not really what he was, but Psionicly that was the case. His heart was frosting over, just as Gerrod’s was, and that would probably prove to be the turning points. Deep inside of his very essence of existence was the hunger, the hunger for more power, no matter what the price. Fenix and Teama became the reason he fought the hunger back off, even though he knew the price to keep it at bay. The first time he made the choice not of his own free will, but because something compelled him to make that choice to block the hunger. When the demon inside his mind, Diablo, tried to reawaken it, Volrod fought it because he did not want to hurt his friends. This emotional attachment to humanity was gone, and most likely never to return. How should it, and most importantly, why should it return to him. Humans have caused nothing but pain and suffering to him in his lifetime, his only real friend in the world was just using him, as all humans did. The more dwelled on it, even Teama used him in a way, she used him to watch him train. Every waking moment between breaths was spent trying to figure out a reason to let humanity live, to give humans a fair shot in life, but he did not move forward in his actions, as of yet. As he trained his powers and strengthened his mind with all of the knowledge in he books around him, he was beginning to decide and determine the fate of the world for himself. He began to read all the history of the world, philosophy, and any subject matter that would help him gain the knowledge and the wisdom that he felt he needed to judge the word for himself, after all, he was given that choice to help judge the world. This could be his way to atone for all of his past sins, by cleansing the world of all its evil, but was he the one that should judge the world? In his mind he started to become that person. Humans did not deserve to live in his mind, and that was beginning to be painfully obvious. The more he read about the human history, the clearer the image of the worlds fate became in his mind. Death to them all was the only way the humans should pay for their sins. They killed each other in mass, so what did it matter if they all died at once? He needed to gather the courage and the strength to do this. His powers started to come back quicker as he started down the path of hatred, and he did not even realize it. A choice of life paths would return his powers quicker, but as long as he remained neutral, his powers would remain dormant and locked up inside of his mind. The judges were unaware of the choice brewing away in Volrod’s mind, for he kept in hidden form even then. Gerrod’s army was growing, but still he stayed away from Volrod, no matter how much he wanted to just strike him down while he trained. His army was ravaging away at the near by towns, strengthening his army. Many hero’s fell at the hands of Gerrod’s diabolic armies.

Chapter 16 The Auction Block

Volrod had made the choice in his mind. All of the betrayers of the world would be exposed for who they were. In his mind, humanity was no longer worthy to walk the same Earth that he did. It was his time to start judging the guilty for himself, which was all of the world’s people. Not one of them every showed him an ounce of kindness, no matter how nice and helpful he was to them. All his past atrocities were nothing now in his mind, he wanted the world to end, but he did not know if he had the strength to carry out with his plan. Could he really start to kill those guilty in the world, well the only way one can determine, is by killing and moving from there. Swallowing all that was deep inside of him, and all the shreds of faith that he had for the humans of this pitiful Earth, he gathered up his blade, who did not even know if this plan and was basically a pawn in this game, he set out for the local slave auction. His mission in his mind was to destroy one innocent life, if he could do that, then he could kill the entire world. It was his test for himself. He buried this deep inside of his mind, hiding it from even his sword. His powers were now about half of what they were at this death, but they were returning, and he estimated that within a week he would be back to full power, this is when he would really start to take his revenge on the world for all of the pain it cause him. A few heavy steps were all that he could manage at first, but after those, the walk became so much easier. It was apparent that he hesitated with each step he took. His sword was starting to know that something was amiss and question the actions of his master, something it had never done before: “Where are we going and why are we going there?” Those were the questions that came from its existence, and Volrod just shrugged them off, ignoring his only friend at this point in time. The sword knew when it was beat and did not speak up the rest of the trip until they reach the auction blocks. The fowl smell of death, pain and misery hung in the air as lives were sold off for a few messily pieces of gold.

“What a worthless existence for this place. I can remember such a time when this place was the peak of the world.”

It disgusted Volrod what human nature allowed people to do with their fellow man, to just trade them away without a care in the world. The blade on his back even started to pick up on the emotions of this place, it was flooding over both of them, polluting their minds. Slowly Volrod walked though the cages of pitiful slaves and the guards trying to make a few bucks off of the broken soul. Then he finally laid eyes on her. She was something that he had never seen before. Not carrying herself like a slave, it was apparent that she was free, and being hassled at that point as well. His courage came back to him in one quick stroke. Pushing between the man that was harassing this poor lost girl. “I think you need to take this elsewhere.” Slowly moving his hands to his blade, the other man started to back away, the girl was not worth fighting for in his mind, but Volrod did not see it that way. This person, this human, this girl awoke something inside of him that he did not even know was there. His hope in humanity was returned with a single look from this girl he did not even know. “How could this be, all of my desire gone in a moment? A look from this, this girl and I am compelled to save her and all humans.” His mind went back to confusion, unlike any other that he had ever experienced before. Nothing was making sense to him. The girl started to approach him, and hide behind him as she saw him as a savior of her life. She did not know anything, or even what the man would have made her do. He would have taken her as a slave and broken any will she had. She was worthless to the world, but not to Volrod and he did not even know her. That spoke highly over her character in his mind, only a shame he could not see and realize it.