The sky burned.
Kamigan stood frozen as fireballs—each the size of small houses—rained down from the heavens. The earth shook beneath his feet, and the crackling roar of destruction echoed across the village. His thoughts blurred into chaos, his chest tight with dread.
Then, one of the blazing spheres struck the ground nearby.
The explosion was deafening. A wave of force slammed into him, flinging him backward like a leaf in a storm. He barely registered the sight of Aldric's house disintegrating into dust and rubble before his body crashed into the shattered remains of another home.
Blood trickled from a gash on his temple, warm against his skin. Groaning, he pushed himself up, wincing as splinters and dust clung to his wounds. His vision spun, but the screams of the villagers snapped him back to focus.
Shadow-like figures darted through the smoke and fire—inhumanly fast, impossibly silent. With each movement, they left devastation in their wake. People were cut down, homes were consumed, and the air reeked of fear.
Kamigan's breath hitched.
This isn't a raid… Bandits don't burn villages from the sky…
Panic clawed at his chest. He needed to find Aldric. Silvana. Anyone. That blast had thrown him far—he was lucky to even be breathing.
As he gathered his thoughts, a heavy thud behind him sent a jolt down his spine. He turned—but too late.
A punch slammed into his ribs, sending him flying again. He crashed and rolled, gasping for air. Before he could even stand, the attacker was on him again—another blow aimed straight down. Kamigan barely managed to roll aside, and the strike cratered the stone where he'd been lying a moment before.
Adrenaline surged. He used the momentum to push off the ground, twisting mid-air into a somersault, his heel slicing downward in a counterattack. The man caught his leg with alarming ease.
"You're quite skilled, aren't you?" the stranger said with a calm, cold smirk.
Kamigan didn't answer—he couldn't. The man hurled him like a sack of grain. His body tore through a crumbling wall and landed hard inside another broken building. The pain seared through his back, stealing his breath.
Then, with a thundering crash, the attacker smashed down through the roof and stomped on his stomach.
A sharp burst of pain exploded through Kamigan's core. He coughed blood, the copper tang sharp in his mouth. His limbs went limp.
The world around him dimmed. His consciousness teetered on the edge, slipping toward black.
Of course! Here's your text turned into cleaner prose, keeping the intense and emotional tone you aimed for:
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Kamigan was about to pass out. He looked up at the man stomping on him — Dave — when, suddenly, an arrow flew towards them at high speed. But it was no use. Dave caught it effortlessly. Kamigan turned his head weakly towards where the arrow had come from and saw her — Emilia, Aldric's wife, standing with a bow in her trembling hands.
"Get out of here! Run away!" Kamigan shouted, his voice hoarse.
He didn't know why those words slipped out. Get away? he thought bitterly. Wait... I'm fighting for my life. Why am I worrying about her?
The question lingered in his mind, even as Dave lifted his foot again. A brutal stomp to Kamigan's stomach sent him deeper into unconsciousness.
Dave turned his gaze towards Emilia, who staggered back in fear. She tripped over a piece of rubble, falling hard to the ground.
I'm losing consciousness, Kamigan realized. No... this feels different. Like I'm dying. I can feel my consciousness slipping away. But if I fall now... they might all...
Flashes of warm memories — laughter, shared meals, the feeling of family — flickered before his fading eyes.
Dave reached Emilia and, with no hesitation, lifted her by the neck. Dangling in the air, she looked towards Kamigan one last time and whispered:
"Thank you."
A sickening snap echoed through the ruined street. Emilia's arms went limp, and her body crumpled to the ground, a lifeless shell.
Huh? Is she... no, no... she's dead. Kamigan's mind struggled to process it. No, that can't be. She's joking. I'm the one joking. She's definitely... His thoughts lagged, stumbling over themselves. Kamigan, you idiot.
Tears streamed down Kamigan's face as he lay there, pretending he wasn't crying, screaming silently inside himself.
I won't be able to stay awake much longer, he thought. After this... he'll probably kill me too. Yeah... it's normal. People die. It's... normal...
His tears blurred his vision before everything faded to black.
Dave dropped Emilia's body with a thud and slowly walked towards Kamigan's unconscious form. In just a few steps, he would reach him.
Where am I... how long have I been here... Kamigan wondered.
In his unconscious state, he found himself in a boundless desert under a pitch-black sky, scattered with endless stars. The sand shifted beneath him as he stepped forward—and suddenly he fell through it, weightless, floating in the vast void among the stars.
"I have to get back... to save them..." Kamigan murmured, barely able to speak.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Dave raised his fists high to deliver the final blow. He brought them down with crushing force — but struck nothing.
Kamigan's body had vanished. In the same instant, he reappeared behind Dave and launched a powerful kick to the back of his head. Dave crashed through a wall, flying out of the house. Before he could even hit the ground, Kamigan hurled chains towards him, wrapping his entire body. With a roar, Kamigan swung him like a ragdoll, slamming him into another building.
Dave staggered, blood dripping from his mouth.
What the hell happened? he thought, reeling. Why is he so strong all of a sudden? I'm barely keeping up!
Kamigan, without pause, picked up a spear from a fallen corpse. Dave, still struggling to stand, widened his eyes in fear.
Is he carrying a weap—
Before Dave could finish the thought, a spear shot towards him, grazing his eye as he dodged at the last moment, blinding him on one side. He gasped, looking up — and locked eyes with Kamigan's pitch-black gaze, a gaze devoid of mercy.
In that heartbeat, fear shot up Dave's spine.
Kamigan leapt above him and slammed a fist deep into his stomach. Dave coughed blood and collapsed to the ground.
Who is this monster...? Dave thought weakly. What's someone this strong doing in a place like Thornbarrow...?
Kamigan climbed atop Dave's broken body, planting a foot firmly on his face.
"Please... spare me... I was wrong... please, just spa—"
Before Dave could finish, Kamigan stomped down, smashing his face into pieces. Blood splattered across the ground. The brutal scene drew the attention of the Phantom Scourge members nearby.
"He killed Lieutenant Dave so easily!" one soldier shouted. "He's not an easy opponent!"
"We should attack him all at once!" another barked.
Dozens of Phantom Scourge soldiers surged towards Kamigan, surrounding him.
But Kamigan moved first.
He jumped into the air, narrowly escaping their encirclement. An arrow shot towards him — he twisted midair, dodging it effortlessly, catching it in one hand. As he descended, he drove the arrow straight into a soldier's eye, killing him instantly.
Another enemy swung a massive hammer at him, but Kamigan vaulted up, snatching a dagger from a soldier's belt mid-motion. In a fluid movement, he slit another soldier's throat.
They kept coming, desperate and ferocious.
One attacker leapt high above Kamigan, blade flashing down. Kamigan dodged, countered with a savage kick that sent the attacker's head flying from his shoulders.
Even surrounded, Kamigan slipped through their ranks like a phantom, each move sharp, lethal.
He landed atop the shattered roof of a broken house, looking down at the soldiers below.
His body was bleeding from countless wounds, but his expression remained blank — no anger, no pain, no fear. His pitch-black eyes gleamed under the ruins of Thornbarrow.
In that moment, Kamigan no longer looked human.