I walk through the night shrouded city, as the moon now rests in the middle of the sky.

Even if it is midnight, however, people still cross these streets. Whether in pursuit of happiness, justice, or home, they walk with speed and energy unexpected.

Unlike diurnal animals, which submit themselves to the gentle lull of moonlight, these people instead find comfort under darkness. Tools that are lanterns or flashlights, which now exist, no doubt shift their schedule to new ones.

Busy no matter the time, Wilshington is a city that never sleeps. One comprised of buildings of yore and structures of new, it is known as a 'mage city'. The same city where I receive my missions, and the same city where my employers reside.

Much like animals, mages flock to each other. To better protect themselves, socialize and safeguard their secrets is the reason they give.
And yet, the ones I kill also tend to be mages.

How hypocritical.

"Hey, is that what I think it is?"

A single voice among many reaches my ears.

"Pretty sure, yeah, though it's kinda weird to see it in person..."

There is no concrete proof they are referring to me, but logic would dictate it is the case.

My body, which pays them no heed, does not turn, yet my mind does. No matter how hard I try, their words still reach me. For a reason I do not understand, I mull it over. To face ones demons, it is necessary to know why we have them. Emotion, desire, attachment to the physical self are all possible reasons.

But I do not have any. Sometimes, I think I am already dead.

Soon enough, though, there is no longer any need to think. My body, which moves with speed, takes me further and further from these sounds and sights. In enough time, there is almost nothing that indicates people.

Before me now stands a great forest.

I have already eaten my fill, so there is no need to hunt tonight. As my footsteps step onto the gravel, there is a certain sense of fulfilment that reaches me.

There is no reason for people to live here. Though still the city in name and territory, in spirit is far different.

It is one of the only places in which demons and otherworldly creatures still reside.

Naturally, those who do not understand or enjoy the presence of such do not interact with it.

In one motion, I run forward. Over the gravel, I then jump over the fence that is double my height and land on the other side. My feet, which now embrace soil, dig into it.

While I am closer to home, I am also not quite there.

Beyond here lies a clearing of grass and flowers. Though there are many locations to rest, such as atop cliffs of stone or trees that touch the sky, I choose that place for one reason only.

That it is the most dangerous of all.

My body, which cannot wait any longer, moves.

Like water, it flows and bends around all that meets it. There is no way to process all that stands in my way. Whether it be branches, leaves, or vines, it does not matter. To me, there are smears of brown, green, or other colours than true objects.

In time, my movements that create the sound of trespassing mud now shift to grass. Two hundred steps before me, and I will arrive.

With a final burst of energy, my muscles tense.

What happens next is nothing of note.

Though what comes after is. Between the fields of vermillion, flowers stand a moon in the cloudless sky. A moon so illuminated by the planet that it shows its whole form.

My flesh and spirit, more agile and durable than usual, pays its graces to the celestial body above.

Silence. Now that is all there is. Unlike people, the inhabitants of this land leave me be to my thoughts. Rather than comment, judge, and scrutinize, they eat, hunt and try to maul me instead.

Much more direct and to the point.

The forest where the culture and civilization of people that do not exist, is a home for strife.

Were it not for the mission. I would consider wrestling the nearby giant ape or other monsters, but tonight I cannot. Even if I am not physically tired, my mind is.

In my pocket, where I hope my answers lie, I pull out the camera. On it, I press the 'on' button and watch life breathe into the machine.

Spectacular, though I do not feel it crackle and move, it is as if it is a living being.

A hole in which I can view my past, it is the only evidence I have lived.
Even my hand, which was struck by a 'kangaroo', is still the same pale white as it always was.

I then begin my routine of rewatching the past battles. I count twenty-two separate videos total, but the truth is that I have killed more.

Far more. In some of the clips I see, I hold off against twenty or dozens at once. Although weak in power, their prowess is still commendable, and their deaths real, but even so, it has little effect.

With a move of my hand, I press it against my heart.

It does not move. One by one, I playback each of the videos, and each time, the effect is the same. No matter what I do, their deaths do not give me life.

A boundless black sky. A sea of stars muddled by the distant light of achievements and society that is supposed to be far away, I gaze.

In time, my body which needs rest sinks gently into the earth. My very thoughts, which coalesce into one swirling mass, find themselves in what some call a dream.