I peered upon the dusk of the twilight with the hope I could see the dawn of tomorrow. Every day we lived involved a level of luck because we all knew heaven nor hell would accept our souls. The troupe would accept it without any qualms. But with me, I couldn’t comprehend the idea of not being able to rest my soul. What was the point of everything we had done until this point then? Every person, every demon, every angel slain by my sword has left an arduous stain upon it. At first I tried to clean off the stains to symbolize the clean justice I had delivered, but I grew tired with every battle. Why waste my energy to clean off the work I had done? The work is not work if we destroy it at dusk. The blade shined blue when I first received it. Each clash of sword against flesh, the red bled into the blue, giving my sword its unique purple. I wanted whoever saw my blade to marvel at it. I wanted even the weakest man to see the tale bathed within the blade.

The troupe and I would camp anytime we moved from city to city. Wait, let me correct myself. We would move from wasteland to wasteland and set up camp. A city implies life and people exploring their own journeys. The capability to live without experiencing constant concern over every moment of our lives. Or to remain connected across all three planes of existence for eternity. Which would best explain the current state of the world.

Each wasteland had its own perils. The current region we were progressing through had two major factions: the Mammon’s and the Orielians. Mammon’s, who prayed to Mammon. A demon lord who was the personification of greed. This would be the first time I encountered them on my travels. I heard they sold pregnant women to other demon factions who enjoyed eating the unborn child while still in the womb. This delicacy fetched a high price. I wondered to myself every night while in that territory, how much did they collect from all the women sold this way? I heard other tales of them selling their own people for the extra coin if the right demon lord asked them. If they didn’t like the person, they would add discounts alongside the betrayal.

The other faction that resided here the Orielians were people who prayed to the archangel Oriel, an angel of divine wisdom. I despised them from my encounters in the past. All that wisdom to act stupid and blind to the atrocities that their angel lets people of their similar sect suffer. In their defense, acting stupid is the best play when you lack the strength to defy your government or even the god you pray to.

These are the thoughts that floated around my mind while I sat on the edge of the mountain ridge. Imagining the wasteland that I knew existed beyond the expansive forest beneath me.

I watched the light extinguish itself so that night could rise once more. But my peaceful moment evolved into a cumbersome one. Gentle footsteps pressed behind me. I could hear them from several meters away. The individual’s heartbeats rose as they approached me. With deliberate motion, my hand inched towards the hilt of my blade. I was aware I need to take a decisive measure to witness the resurgence of the light that fell a moment ago.

“Are you going to jump Saint?” a familiar voice said. I turned my body around to see Kezia, a newcomer of my group. She approached me, signaling for me to scoot over. There was enough space for her on the ridge. In the small two weeks since she joined the group, she took a liking to me. Which I enjoyed deep down, so I let her push me around every so often.

“You disappeared. We thought the Mammon’s found and captured you.” Kezia said.

“It would take all three realms to band together to even capture me if we were taking this conversation seriously,” I said.

“Yeah, if you had food in your belly for that long. What would you do once you got hungry? You would grovel and complain about how much your stomach hurts and ask for a time out,” Kezia said.

Her assessment of my ability to fight with an unmaintained hunger situation was correct.

“I assume you found me because dinner is ready?” I said.

“Is that all I am, your little messenger and meal ticket operator?” Kezia said back while getting up and walking towards the forest behind us.

“A meal ticket operator? I have never heard of that phrase before, but that job sounds like they would bring the food to the person.” I said.

“Oh, fuck off!” Kezia said, sticking her middle finger so high it scraped the heavens. I laughed at the gesture. Getting under Kezia’s skin and testing her nerves had its benefits. Getting underneath people’s skin and messing with them is one of my greatest pleasures.

As I laughed, my blade hummed a tune that only I could hear to capture my attention. I scanned every direction. My eyes drew me to the ascending ball of light speeding towards me and Kezia. The force of its flight caused the tailwind to shake the treetops with unyielding violence.

From the center of the light that stormed towards me, eagle wings equal to the size of three wing spans fanned outwards. A large body protruded out of the ball of light. The being, covered in battle-worn armor which had witnessed its fair share of combat. I picked up my blade and dashed from the edge of the cliff to protect Kezia.

“Principality” I screamed, hoping it could echo far enough for the troupe to hear me. I looked over my shoulder to see it. Its eagle wings spread out even more. It ate the little light surrounding us. It charged at me with full velocity. I swung my sword with both hands and it responded by materializing a sword to clash against mine. Even with my stance secure and steadfast, the force driven by the monster slid me across the rock floor, digging my feet into a small grave.

“Saint!” Kezia said. I could hear her heartbeat drumming a song of petrifaction, revealing how much of a rookie she still was.

“Go get the captains. There could be more!” I said, hoping my voice would break the rhythm of her heart. The creature stared at Kezia. To draw its attention back onto me, I pushed the principality’s sword with more force. The principality wings contracted back, feeding the light back into my eyes. I stared at the gigantic angel monstrosity. It stood over ten feet tall, dressed in chained vest armor thicker than a bull’s torso. This principality wore a mask with golden lines and azure colored symbols littered about. I locked my eyes onto the ghostly white eyes that gazed through the mask. In the middle of our standoff, its head tilted, and it uttered the word “Saint.”

I took that opportunity to roll to my left to regain a better position to strike. The principality’s sword crashed to the ground and its body buckled because of my quick movements. I sprung myself forward to thrust the torso of the being. It reacted faster than I expected. Waving its blade upwards to block the thrust, then it moved so fast I couldn’t comprehend it. One of its gigantic hands held me up. It squeezed my head and brought its face closer to mine.

“Saint” it said once again. The intention behind its inquiry remained ambiguous, whether it sought to mock me or ascertain my affiliation with one of the angelic sects. With all the pressure applying to my head, from the monster increasing the hold he had upon me, I needed to focus on escaping to safety. I held my sword in my hand still. I gathered what strength I had and swung my sword into the arm of the creature to cut off its arm to let me go. The blade connected. I knew the sensation of a blade severing flesh. But the blade did not cut deep enough, and it did not let go of me. Instead, it smiled, saying once more “Saint” with a voice that jeered off like mist upon ocean waters.

The principality swung me back and forth, then twisted its whole body and launched me from that cliff side over the surrounding forest beneath it. I don’t know how far I traveled in the short time of that throw. All that remains in my memory is the snake-like hiss that slithered around my ear, born from the sheer intensity of the throw. Then I witnessed my blade being tossed at me in the same manner.

The filthy monster attacked us without knowing a critical fact about me. My blade and I had a profound connection that could easily defeat it. Furthermore, the principality was also oblivious to the fact every action until this moment served a purpose. To create time and distance. From it and the troupe.

“Desideratum!” I shouted. I held out my hand, and it flew into my grasp. There’s a surge of intense emotions every time I cast Desideratum. I have tried to explain the rush to those who don’t have similar powers like me and my group. Most don’t understand the comparisons. They don’t understand how familiar it feels to falling in love, making love, then ripping the heart out of that person so you can get closer to them. The essential nature of being everything to someone, their lover and their worst nightmare. The intensity of that situation overcomes me in every use.

As I fell, I could feel the skin of my back rip and tear as if my soul wanted to exit its own body. That’s how I knew this clash would be in my favor. I let Desideratum take over and watched from the inner part of my mind’s eye. Wings made of my flesh sprouted from my back. Primaries and the secondaries shaped of deformed fingers melded together. The right wing resembled black frostbit ligaments. The left wing resembled third-degree burns still crinkling in the fire.

Desideratum had control over all parts of my original body and the additional parts that it could form. It spread out the flesh aileron that it constructed, slowing our descent into the forest treetops. Allowing us to land on top of a tall tree branch.

The principality did not lose sight of us. The monster accelerated its flight speed and dove to our location headfirst. bring its sword downwards, attempting a powerful thrust. We jumped to dodge the attack. Pushing our bodies to the heavens with our wings. We took a moment to admire the position we were in. Above the principality, unlike what it and its people believed the hierarchy should be. We could tell anger flooded the principalities’ mind. It never faced someone of greater strength and agility before. The mask could not hold back the expression imprisoned in his eyes.

The principality propelled itself from the ground towards us. I can’t take credit for the next part of this fight, as Desideratum dictated every intricate movement. It let the principality attempt a thrusting stab as it ascended upwards. With blinding speed, Desideratum pierced the armor of our enemy with a thrust. This occurred at the same moment we dodged the principalities strike. While it ascended above us, not realizing we dealt a severe blow. We grabbed its leg and pulled upon it, slowing down its rising trajectory. We used our wings to push ourselves downwards.

The principality fought but could not break free from our grasp. Desideratum took the blade that connected us and threw it, aiming for its wing. Severing it from the monster. Its wing and sword fell to the ground below. The principality body folded over. We held the body upside down in our hands. Deprived of its ability to fly, we rendered the principality immobile, effectively determining the outcome of the battle. We put our hand out so the blade that bound us would return into our grasp. As we descended from the air into the umbral hued forest. The principality vehemently fought, trying to break away from our grip.

When we landed on the ground near the principality’s fallen sword and wing. It reached out to it. We cleaved the head off. We picked it up and tossed it aside. The prevailing thought from all of this was the missed dinner for this one sided fight. The smell of the principality had only gotten stronger with its blood spurting from the neck socket. Each principality releases a smell of death. Its peculiar trait. This principality was my third that I had defeated since I acquired my blade. The first smelled like burned ashes being washed away by a gloomy rainstorm. The second principality emitted the smell of a neglected garden left to rot. This third aroma contained a smell of roasted meat. With the comforting presence of friends and family mingling around it.

The one thing as humans we lack is our inner connections with our senses. For us, we have to lose one sense to truly understand the others. We fail to devote adequate time to each sense, preventing us from harnessing their power in a precise and effective manner. If we did, we would become what we really are. Not that I am different. I am not. It’s only when Desideratum controls my body. I can truly savor the purpose that our senses bring to our existence.

This was that moment and me and Desideratum figured, why not act upon the smell? Do our senses lie when they encounter a feast? Our senses exist to push us forward within our reality. Its blood was dark and thicker than ours. We cut into the torso of the being. Eating chunks from within. Warm and soothing. When it touches the tongue, it stings, but when it reaches the stomach, it feels like a belly filled with liquor and untamed desires. Me and Desideratum sat there for an unknown amount of time eating our hunt. I would take over once in a while so Desideratum could enjoy the sensations. The group found me feasting after some time.

“Saint, what are you doing?” Kezia asked, her voice wavered. I believed it to be obvious, as I wouldn’t be in this position if she had brought me the food earlier. I turned my head to see my leader and several of the captains stare at me. The visage of my leader captivated my attention, devoid of the haunting horror that plagued the faces of Kezia. There was not a trace of shame present, which was why I followed her.

The captains shook their heads and proceeded back to camp.

“It was a one off principality. That’s good news,” Hope said. She walked over to the decapitated head and picked it up. Then strolled over to the masterless sword and lifted it and placed it over her shoulder.

“Kezia, you will clean Saint off when we get back to camp. Make sure he has sustained no injuries.”

This time, Kezia’s heart played a new rhythm, its tempo erratic. There was a moment where I desired to name it, yet the fluctuating beats held me back. I contemplated asking her what she would call it, but I reasoned that there would be a more opportune moment for such a question.

Once I finished consuming the remaining blood of the principality. Kezia stood there in shock. She had never seen me in this ravenous state before. I grabbed her hand and guided her to walk with me back to camp. The one thing we forgot to tell Kezia was this. My second greatest pleasure in this world is getting under people’s skin. My first greatest pleasure is eating angels and demons.