(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

~~~~~
I was amazed that I didn't collapse and vomit when I returned to the
present.
Dak'kon was silent, contemplative in the silent seconds when the memory
had swept over me. "I heard your words. The chaos in my mind became still.
I knew myself again."
I swallowed hard, trying to clear the taste of ash from my mouth. "Tell me
about that other 'me'... the incarnation you knew. What was he like?"
Dak'kon's gaze traveled through me, and he fell silent.
"Dak'kon?"
"Know that he was different. Know that the differences were not marked on
the skin, nor in the Way of the weapon, nor in the attire that cloaked him.
Know that he was different in the way of thought and the means he acted
upon his thoughts. His WILL became substance. Know that he saw others
and did NOT see them. He knew only how they could serve him. His heart
was treacherous, and it was cold, and never did its coldness burn him."
My voice was a whisper when I asked. "Did it ever touch you, Dak'kon? Did
he betray you?"
Dak'kon's blade began bleeding into a dull, flat black, and I watched as
edges, like teeth, began sprouting from the edge of the blade. His face
clenched, and he spoke through his teeth. "It is not my will you know of
this."
"Tell me, Dak'kon. Did he ever betray you?"
"I surrendered my WORD to him. I surrendered my SELF."
"What are you talking about?"
"The People do not allow themselves to be enslaved to another in deed or
chains. If we find ourselves in such a cage, we ACT to free ourselves, even if
it means we must endure another cage for a time. You performed a great
service for me. In so doing, you enslaved me. I acted to free myself. Know
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