Chronicle XXI

 

N4H perched atop an ancient temple, listening intently. His target was inside, though he’d have to eliminate the hooded guards in order to gain access without alerting others. He considered entering in mantis form, but expected to be noticed as they were not common in the area. One guard stood ready at the open entryway to the marble temple, another patrolled the perimeter, beneath an extended roof supported by large pillars. N4H was biding his time on the edge of this roof, awaiting the perfect moment and for the sun to fall.

In the back of the temple, while a guard strolled by, Naoki’s odachi, Nakanaka, tapped softly from behind a marble pillar, which drew the hooded figure’s attention. It swiftly reacted to the tapping. Within just a moment, the guard was at the site of the tapping, its back facing away from the temple. Nakanaka rose from the ground with Ninja For Hire below. The nimble assassin wrapped a cloth around the guard’s face to muffle a feeble cry, and pulled them backwards so that his Odachi would rise up through their heart.

Ninja pressed the body through the dirt floor into the realm below, but took the purple, hooded robe for himself. He wore it and patrolled the temple’s exterior, matching with precision the pace and gait of the figure he replaced. After a few cycles, Ninja took a single step differently as he passed by the entryway, subtly alerting the other guard to his presence. He felt the eyes follow him as he continued to move along.

The guard took no chances and moved to strike the imposter down, plunging a knife into the spine of the robe. Within it, however, was simply the air. The guard peered down at the empty robe and started to turn around, recognizing its own demise. Nakanaka was already piercing through the skull of the guard and Naoki stood below in mantis form, thoroughly enjoying outsmarting his enemies. He transformed back before approaching the entryway, hoping to attract whoever the next guard was. There was no next guard there, though.

N4H and Nakanaka silently passed through the dim, sconce-lit temple corridors to find that there were no occupants in any of the rooms. Ninja was surprised, as he was informed by the employer that the temple would be heavily guarded and fully manned. They reached the room where the target was meant to be. A being as old as time itself played with mystic forces within the heart of the temple. Its body was weak so it was constantly laid in a bed, operating with minimal physical movement, often doing so out of body.

When they entered the room, they looked around to see all the guards were killed already, a pile of bodies in purple robes filling the corner. Stepping up to the bed, Ninja For Hire held Nakanaka and harnessed darkness to vanquish the ancient being. He was struck by a memory in that room. Many years prior, he was fulfilling a contract for Beemon to slay a corrupt pastor. Just like that night, there was something else in the room.

“You.” N4H stated.

From the throat of the decrepit humanoid laying in the bed unraveled a freakish, sentient pillow with coldness in its empty eyes.

“You stole my target.” he whined.

Pillowfriend slithered rapidly to exit the room, but was stopped by Nakanaka, which blocked the door, moving along with the pillow creature that was trying to find an opening. Naoki stared at the blank pillow face, trying to figure out what manner of being it was. Pillowfriend sensed that the sword definitely wanted to kill him, and that the Ninja was leaning that way. Defensively, he fluffed to his maximum size, sucking in as much air as possible to fill his pillowcase skin. The force of the expansion blasted Nakanaka out of the room, though Naoki reacted quick enough to narrowly avoid being hit. When he stood back up, Pillowfriend was gone.

Nakanaka must have punctured some part of Pillowfriend, as there was a trail of feathers leading out of the temple. It led them to a point in the forest, but PF was nowhere in sight. A feather at Naoki’s feet was buried in the dirt. The creature had burrowed, tunneling away to avoid the confrontation. Pillowfriend was a silent killer, no match for the soul-blade Nakanaka and its pet body.