The world was silent as the last stars twinkled in the sky. It held its breath as a single man walked in the beach during the last moments of the night. The wind carried the lone whisper of the deaf crunch his boots made as they left the sand, and the abrupt murmur of the waves crashing on the turf. The world was silent, for dawn was coming. The end was coming.
The man walked quietly as to not disturb the profound silence. In his heart, there was a silence, too. He felt empty, as if he stood before a chasm with no bottom. As the last rivulets of blood fell from his blade, staining the sand in crimson drops, he stopped and stared at his trembling hands. The chasm grew wider, and his hands trembled- in fear or anxiety, he did not know- all he could feel was the emptiness. Because after five long years, the war had ended.
Tonight he had performed his final assassination, and with it he had achieved what he had sacrificed his soul and sanity for. The peaceful era he had worked so hard for was no longer a distant future, or a dream. But that did not bring him any peace of mind. How could a man such as him, an assassin, fit in such a world? How could he live in such a peaceful time when all he had known for so long now was murder, and violence, and hatred, and insanity, and blood? How could he, when he was a monster, the angel of death and Death itself? How?
With hurried movements he threw his bloodied blade into the sand and ripped away the dark garments that had clothed him for the last five years. He clawed at them erratically until he stood bare before the soft-spoken waves. The water lapped at his feet invitingly, and he took a step, and then another. He tasted the salty scent of the ocean on his tongue as the silence once again covered him. Along with the whisper of the wind and the murmur of the waves, he could hear a persistent thought echo in his mind. Where will I go?
He had grown tired of playing this game of pretend. This game where he forced a mask on his face to keep from showing the despair that screamed to come out. This game where he pretended to be sane when his dreams were plagued by the screams of his victims. He was afraid that in this new world, the chasm would swallow him up. Because even though death was all he had known this past few years, he did not wish to die. Not even if he deserved it, he did not wish to die. In this new world, he did not wish to be left behind. But with all the demons and ghosts he carried within, who would accept him? With all his darkness and all his truth, who would forgive him? Where would he go?
With a spur of rage he regained his blade, the object with which he had killed for five years, and threw it into the ocean with an anger-filled scream. But the rage soon left him as the silence once again encompassed his surroundings. The last stars vanished as the world stilled and held its breath. The darkness of the night dissipated, and then, like a mellow and continuous song, the sun peaked through the horizon. The dawn arrived steadily, bringing light into the world, and eliminating the cold that seeped into the man’s skin. The man stared as the chasm in his heart closed, and he dared to rise and meet that light. For he understood that in this sun, he could no longer hide in the shadows.
The sun shined upon him, revealing all of his ugly truth, and his sins. He had carried them for such a long time, but now he felt them shift and change their meaning. Their weight no longer signified acute despair and guilt, but redemption. And knowing this, he felt relief instead of emptiness in his heart. Relief in knowing there was still some hope left for him; even if he carried the darkness inside.
The dawn rose, and with it the man rose, too. In his shoulders he carried a new burden, but it was one he was willing to carry. He took a step backwards, and then another. The war might have ended, but it only meant the start of a new beginning. Right now, his path was clear: he would work hard to be deserving of this new world he had created through violence, and death, and destruction. He would be worthy of a day he could finally find peace. As the sun shone on his back, he hoped it was enough.