The greatest fear an undead has is what happens to them after they are defeated. Will the next death be their hollowing? Shall they lose their mind, become a hollowed creature living only to slay and slaughter the next undead to brave the new lands? Or would they brave another day? All it relied on was whether or not they held the courage and bravery. The pure will to continue and clutch tightly onto the memories they held dear. He had met many undead on his travels, each telling him of the same thing.

“Do not fear death, young undead. Fear thine own resolve. For thou bravery and fortitude shall be tested and tortured, but only thee may decide when it breaks...” The words rang through Artemis’ mind as he felt his limbs and body slowly forming. It was a feeling he never would get used too, no matter how many times it occurred. A groan cascaded in the darkness as his eyes slowly opened, showing the barely visible room surrounding him.

Arms dropped against his sides, swords, shield, and bow all jingling slightly as he leaned back against the wall of the room. A hand was brought to his helm, clutching it with mild pain coursing through his thoughts. While not deadly, it was alarming. Headaches and migraines were one of the first experiences of going hollow. Memories being torn asunder inside the undead’s own mind brought upon agony most foul, usually crippling for a moment or so.

Both fortunate and unfortunate for Artemis, he had experienced this many, many times before and had grown accustomed to the maddening pain. After a few minutes, he pushed himself off the wall and staggered to his feet. Shaking his head to clear the pain, he squinted to look about the room he rebirthed inside of. An abandoned stone brick cell, rusted metal gate, barely hanging on its hinges, barring the way out. It was nothing special aside from one beacon of hope. A bonfire, undamaged with coals barely alive.

A smile almost graced his lips as he walked towards the ashened sword speared into the ground. Hovering his hand over the near extinguished cinders, a warmth radiated from it. With a small ‘Fwoomp’ flames burst from the coals, ignited the bones gathered around the sword. Watching as the flames danced and ran across the blade, the undead felt more at ease near the glowing heat. Despite his mind and body screaming to him to rest, he turned towards the rusted bars. A swift kick near the handle was all it took to break the damaged iron, the shattering and clanking of metal against stone resonated throughout the darkened halls.

Artemis sighed, irritated that he had thrown away his torch. He would have to brave the darkness, the bonfire illuminated the halls enough to barely glance through the shadows that surrounded him. Drawing his sword and shield, a cautious step sent his form into the darkness. The thickening shade brought upon thoughts of horrors screaming and clawing at him. A quiet growl emanated from his throat, he lightly shook his head to clear his mind.

‘Just remember, Artemis, just keep remembering.’ he thought to himself as he walked through the dark, only occasionally stopping to investigate noises in the dark. ‘I had a wife named.... Named... J-.. Juliana. A daughter.... Named S-Seria.’

His thoughts were already becoming torn. Attempting to keep his mind strong, he slowly began to hum a small tune. An old song from a musical popped into his head, specifically, a Musical that his wife loved dearly. As he walked through the dark, the humming calmed his nerves, hazy memories filled his mind. The lyrics of the song passed his thoughts, a small somber smirk settled on his lips.

“Oh, to you I owe the sun and moon, the warmest night and afternoon...” he sang softly, doing his best to not butcher the verses of the song. “Your caress is something uncompared, your flawless skin, eyes and hair...”

Slowly, his mind began to calm, deviant thoughts were banished for the moment. Sheathing his sword as he walked, he tenderly reached into his chestplate. He grasped at a chain around his neck.

“For you I’d fight an army whole, so long as I could know your life would be preserved by me, My sweet, sweet melody.”

He lifted out of the jewelry and felt his milky eyes well with tears. He gazed down to see a single golden ring. The band had an intricate design, roses twisted and hugged a longsword aimed towards a heart. A gift from his beloved, and the object that helped his sanity over the millennia of bloodshed and death. Lifting the ring under his helm, he gave it a solitary kiss, praying to the goddess of the Sun that his wife reached the afterlife. Beginning to place the ring back into the safety of his armor, a loud explosion threw him into a wall of stone. A gravely voice cackled loudly as smoke filled the air.

“Hee hee... Alpha smart for taking boomsticks from ponies.” The same voice spoke with the sound of claws landing against stone. “Much easier to dig rock... Eh?” Artemis was too dazed from the point blank explosion, his hearing barely registering the voice and his body aching. His vision, blurred and warped from the sudden explosion, landed on a strange bipedal creature. Its legs were bent in the wrong direction along with a oddly thin body. Artemis groaned as he slowly pushed himself up, hissing with pain as his limbs burned. “Yip! What is that thing?!”

Artemis had no time to react as he felt something smash against his head, sending him back to the ground. A small shout of pain escaped him as his face hit the ground hard, feeling his nose break and maybe even a few chipped teeth. A few more thwacks was the response to his cry of agony, each hit sending him deeper and deeper into the collecting darkness. His hand made a almost pathetic move towards his sword, only to be hit one last time, sending him into an unconscious abyss.

~!~

Artemis awoke, head splitting with pain, to find himself being dragged across cold stone and dirt. The grunts of his captors filled his ears, rocking forward as he felt the rough grips drag his through the tunnels and halls around him. His head barely lifted as light came into view, several sounds of gasps and whispers echoing around him. Only minutes later was he thrown to the ground, a small yipe of pain escaping him.

“Well well well… What is it you mutts have brought me this time.” A gruff male voice said from ahead of him. Gingerly pulling his hands to his sides, Artemis began to push himself up before a rough kick to his side sent him back to the ground, he flipped over onto his side. “Well, explain yourselves!”

“We found him in one of the tunnels, Alpha! Groger was blasting the walls like you said and this thing was on the other side! Took two guards to make him stop moving!” The gravelly voice from before spoke.

“He sealed off… interesting.” The ‘Alpha’ spoke, its tone powerful and commanding. Artemis’ vision had finally come back as he tried once more to push himself up, lifting his helm to see the voice before him. A creature that reminded him of his old pet dog stood before him, a thoughtful yet angry expression plastered across its features.

It was clearly a male from the tone of voice. Looking like a doberman war dog, face and arms covered in scars. A old worn bandage covered its left eye while a tunic and kilt covered its legs and chest. Finally, this creature was tall and broad, bulging muscles almost tearing the Alpha’s skin open. One of the small creatures, looking much weaker and shorter than the Alpha walked forward, holding all of Artemis’ weaponry.

“He was carrying these on him, when he was found!” The almost ear gratingly irritating voice spoke. The alpha took the weapons from the dog roughly, he gave the Flamberge a few test swings and smiled.

“A blade of a true warrior.” He said, looking it over. His icy gaze fell on Artemis. “Yet we do not see this warrior’s face.” The alpha left the sword with one of his underlings, his steps caused the ground to tremble as he got closer. “Nor do we know his name…” The alpha knelt down to peer beyond Artemis’ Helm. “No matter, remove his helmet.” The dog stood up and made his way back to his underling.

Artemis felt a set of paws grab his arms and raise him to his feet, barely struggling as his mind was still mildly reeling. When he saw another of the strange dogs walk towards him, his instincts began to kick in, making him thrash in the dogs grips. Despite his efforts, they held him in place with vice grips while the dog gripped his helm and yanked it off.

A sudden gasp filled the air followed by the clinking of Artemis’ helm against the ground. Silence ensued as the guards holding him let go and staggered away, whimpering at the sight of his features. Artemis knew what he looked like, with his skin green and decayed, eyes milky white. He was a sight that even the reaper would cringe too.

“What are you, dogs or ponies?” The alpha said to his mutts, subduing his urge to flee. He instead walked towards Artemis, growling at his subordinates. They took the man’s arms again. “Stand him up, stand him up straight.” The guards complied, roughly holding his back straight. “Tell me, foul creature of the crypt, who are you?”

Artemis barely acknowledged the Alpha before him, opting to remain silent and stare back with his lifeless eyes. The alpha sniffed the air for the moment, then smiled.

“You may not know this, corpse, but I have a certain knack for finding things.” He said, gesturing to Artemis’ chest plate. “You’ve been very rude to me, and my associates here. We simply are defending our home, asking basic information, yet you must be difficult.” The other dogs nodded in agreement. “Now, I am in a forgiving mood, and I’m willing to help you out. For a price.” The grin on his face increased immensely, he tapped Artemis’ chest.

Artemis’ hands clenched into fists and his brow furrowed, a glare attempting to burn the Alpha away. He remained silent, his jaw clenched shut as to not say or do something that would cause incident.

“Struck a nerve, have I?” The alpha said with a chuckle. “Well corpse? Do we have a deal?” Artemis was silent. “I take silence as an agreement.” The alpha reached forwards.

“If thou dare touch it, I will rip thine arms from your body and sear you alive.” Artemis snarled, baring his teeth at the dog.

“Ohohoho…” The alpha said gleefully. “He doth speak in the tongues of old. Thou must have been sealed away for a long time. No wonder time has not been kind to you.”

“I art giving thou only one warning, mutt. Let me go or I shall rip thee and all thine servants apart.” Artemis warned, his angered grip beginning to dent the metal of his gauntlets. The alpha paused for a moment.

“You would kill pups? Innocent mothers?” The alpha asked, losing all mirth to his voice.

“I kill those who get in mine way.” Artemis growled, beginning to pull against the grips on his arms.

“Then perhaps it is thou who hath become the savage BEAST!” Alpha said angrily. “If such is the case, then I will take pleasure in removing that necklace from thine corpse!” He snapped his fingers. “Barf! Bring me his weapons.” The dog holding Artemis’ death dealing weapons approached, the dog took the flamberge in his grizzled paw. “Release him, give him the other blade. If he wishes harm to my pack, I shall face him alone.” The other dogs cheered loudly.

“HAIL, Devil Dog!” They shouted, forming a circle around the two. Flamberge in hand, Devil Dog stood in a defensive stance. The guards let go of Artemis, dropping the sword in front of him. He bent down and grabbed the sword, feeling much more relieved at having a blade in his hand.

“Have at thee, foul beast of tartarus!” With that, Devil Dog charged forth. No matter the outcome of the fight, he would be ever loyal to his pack. If he failed, then he failed with honor. He viciously swung the blade at Artemis.

Fully awake and coherent, Artemis backstepped narrowly missing the swing. He was used to having his shield with him, more so having the element of the first strike, but he would make due. Devil Dog swung the blade once more, attempting to sever his head. Raising his sword, he gripped the blade with both hands and let the flamberge clash against his own sword. He gave a hard shove against the Alpha, sending him back and allowing him to dart forward. The Broadsword in his hand swung deftly, each time nearly splitting Devil Dog’s stomach.

A single slash across the dogs chest became apparent as blood splattered along the ground and painted the tip of Artemis’ blade. A smirk slowly slipped onto Artemis’ lips, the hollowing thoughts beginning to fuel his actions. His slashes started to become more violent and harder, each hit landing drawing more and more blood. Devil Dog’s own expression had turned to one of anger and pain, his attacks becoming fiercer and bolder.

The Flamberge landed against Artemis’ arm, tearing deep into his flesh until bone could be clearly seen. A small howl of pain escaped him, his brow furrowing. A savage slash across his side brought about another wail, his anger rising with each wound. Devil Dog’s eyes were showing cockiness, becoming more aggressive with his movements.

Despite his injuries, Artemis growled and charged at him. A mighty clash was heard as their blades connected, Artemis reeling his arm back and slamming their blades together once more. He relentlessly pounded against Devil Dog’s defense, sending him back with each hit, it was only when the Alpha’s paw slipped and he fell did the attack even barely lighten up. Artemis did not stop as he stepped over Devil Dog, slamming his sword over and over against the Flamberge, sparks beginning to fly.

Finally, Artemis’ tireless attacks stopped when he turned his attention to the Alpha’s paws, sending his broadsword to the fingers holding the sword. A cry of agony filled the air as several fingers and the Flamberge fell to the ground, each becoming red with passing seconds as blood flew through the air. Artemis stopped as he saw the blade laying in the dirt, the dog beneath him defeated and bleeding. The sight alone was almost enough to quell the monstrous thoughts in his mind. Eyes snapping towards the dog, he brought a hand down to the scruff of the Alpha’s chest and roughly brought him to his knees.

“Just know, you started this, mutt. What happens next shall be your doing.” Artemis whispered to him just as he raised the blade and run it through the alpha’s chest, a ‘urk’ escaped him as the blade pierced him clean through, poking out of his back.

“At least I can die with honor.” The alpha rasped, glaring at Artemis. Letting him go, The Alpha slid off of the blade and flopped onto the ground. The tunnels were silent as the guards and underlings of the Alpha stared at the corpse of their leader. Artemis grabbed his Flamberge from the ground, gently resting the pummel on his hip, and turned to the rest of the dogs around him.

“Now... Who else wants to intervene with my quest?” He spoke, glancing around the group.

“FOR OUR THE ALPHA!” One of the guards shouted, as he and dozens more began to descend upon Artemis. The man glared at them, his hand began to glow, igniting in a burst of flame. With one arm he fended off the hordes while the other charged a storm of chaos. When the energy was at its peak he slammed his hand into the ground. Large pillars of flame shot upwards from the floor, burning and singing guards and innocents alike. The flames spread through most of the tunnels, maiming and burning any and all unfortunate enough within. Artemis strolled through several burning bodies and out into one of the tunnels, ahead of him he could hear the remaining defenders preparing to fight.

To his surprise, however, there was a corpse that had been unburned. The body of the Alpha had been dragged from the chamber into one of the safe tunnels. A small doberman pup was laying near the body, gently nudging it with its paw.

“D-Daddy?” It said with in a female voice, tears were welling in its eyes. “Daddy, wake up… Please?” It looked at Artemis and did its best to look intimidating. The man walked past it, as he left it behind he heard more of its forlorn cries echo through the tunnel. It was all he heard until he came upon the next contingent of guards. “Daddy?”

~!~

His blade slashed the final throat of the remaining guard, the mutt gurgling as it slumped backward. He had long since retrieved his equipment, and had replaced his helm, from the central chamber and had fought his way until he had found light. Blood dripped from his blade and hands, the ball of flame engulfing his glove evaporating all the blood before it could dry. Several of the diamond dogs had fled when he started killing, many staying to fight but falling to his sword as they attempted to slay him. After the final guard had been killed, he had found his way out, a tunnel filled with light.

When he stepped outside, he found several dogs running away, each screaming or cursing him as they ran. His hand went to his bow, extinguishing the flames in his hand to properly wield the bow. He didn’t need them coming back with reinforcements. Only seeing a few dogs in the distance, he drew back the string with an arrow knocked. A thwip filled the air as he saw one dog drop to the ground, an arrow sticking out of its back. One fled into the forest near the tunnel entrance, a curse escaping him as he lost sight, another charged off towards a familiar town.

‘Delightful,’ he thought. ‘Killing two birds with a single stone.’ He took off into a light jog towards the dog, following close on its heels. The run was quick and without incident, the dog stopping in front of a group of those ponies, like the one he had seen earlier. He hid behind a thatch roofed home and held up his bow. The dog appeared to be ranting and raving to them, flailing about as it spoke. ‘Time to perish, mongrel.’

An arrow fell into place on the bow, drawn back slowly. Artemis took his time to aim, having to get this right lest he injure an innocent. With a single breath, he let the string go and watched as the arrow sailed over, perforating the dogs skull. Satisfied, he stepped out of the shadows. A familiar feeling of warmth began to well up in his chest, a feeling of his own soul pulsing and begging for him to come and claim it once more.

Rolling his shoulders and neck, he began to stride towards the ponies, following the call of his soul. As he stepped forward, he found plenty of eyes upon him, the only two armored ponies bracing themselves as he walked forward. A growl escaped him as he began to grow annoyed at the continuous interruptions. He took in a deep breath and quietly let it out before he raised and hand and pointed towards a familiar mint green glow.

“I believe...” He rasped. “That you are guarding something that belongs to me.” The ponies looked between each other, some glancing towards the orb of green behind them. The guards exchanged looks before one nodded and stepped forward, standing defensively.

“You may not pass strange creature! The princess resides within that... thing and cannot be disturbed!” The guards shouted, his voice authoritative and final. Artemis sighed, stepping forward, despite the guards standing before him. “Did you not hear me!? I said you are not-”

“If they continue to block me, I shall be forced to take hostile action to retrieve my soul, dost thou understand?” Artemis spoke firmly, stopping only a few feet from them. The guards beginning to debate whether or not to continue to stand in his way. “I hath slew enough lives today, I only wish to retrieve mine soul and continue on my journey.” Before the guards could respond, a taller pony stood up from behind the rest, much taller than the colorful counterparts. Her coat white as snow and mane that of a flowing rainbow, a longhorn just barely separating the colors from her forehead. Her expression one of protectiveness and defense. A set of grand and pristine wings splayed out as the group of ponies separated for her.

She strode towards Artemis until she was within arm’s reach. Artemis raised an eyebrow to her, standing tall with his hand firmly holding his blade. The guards looked as if they were about to say something before she held a hoof. “Creature, I am Princess Celestia, Co-Ruler of this land. If you continue on your path, I will be forced to restrain or, if necessary, kill you to protect my subjects and sister! Do you understand?” Celestia spoke, her tone carrying the commanding nature of the Iron king and the force of a Demon’s hammer.

Artemis remained silent, admiring the bravery of this, apparently, royal creature. Not to mention he was grateful for not being immediately attacked or thought a monster for once. He slowly raised his sword, the guards behind Celestia tensing. Taking his time, he gingerly sheathed the red stained blade onto his belt, never once taking his eyes from Celestia.

“Admirable, Your highness. Not many royals would care to face a problem without the aid of an army.” Artemis spoke, bowing his head slightly in respect. His tone took a darker step as he spoke again. “But I am not leaving without my soul, and I will not hesitate to draw my blade if it is the only solution.”

Celestia glared at Artemis, her eyes boring holes through his helm and into his skull. His response was to stand still and let her decide the next course of action. It was only a few moments later did Celestia turn to gaze back towards a seemingly darker version of her. When she turned back her expression had softened, her eyes almost holding tears.

“You may claim what is yours, creature, but you must let my sister return to her form before you take back your... soul.” Celestia stated, her voice telling Artemis that there was no arguing. Artemis glanced towards the darker counterpart, hollowed thoughts saying he should simply kill them and take back what is his. He banished the thoughts as he looked back down to Celestia.

He held up a hand and pointed a finger to the sky, the sun halfway through its usual routine. “Thou will have until the moon has claimed the sky. Then I shall take what is mine, regardless of who remains. And even if I must use force, I shall claim it.”

Celestia never had a chance to respond as Artemis turned away and strode towards the fountain, finding himself a place to sit right next to it. Crossing his legs, he placed his hands on his knees and stared straight ahead. He would take the downtime to collect his thoughts and regain what little control he had over his own hollowing.

‘Remember, Artemis. The souls of those dogs fed you well enough, now remember.’ He gently spoke in his mind, soothing the violent thoughts. He focused on his breathing and surroundings. After a moment he began to hum softly a melody to himself. His eyes opened, and humming coming to a stop, when he heard a small yip, a happy one at that. His head turned towards the ponies to see the small wolf pup from before slipping between the forest of hooves and bounding towards him.

A feeling of warmth gradually filled his being as the pup ran over and hopped onto his legs, whimpering and pawing at his chestplate. Chuckling deeply he placed a hand on the pup’s head, giving it a tender scratch behind the ears. He resumed his humming as the pup calmed down considerably, relishing the feeling of its ears being itch’d. As he was petting the pup, his vision picked up on a growing pool of coagulated black goop dripping down his sides. His own blood from his wounds, the familiar sting of pain as he moved his arms. Frowning, he let his hand idly pamper the wolf while his other went to his satchel and pulled out his estus flask. The glowing bottle warmed his palm as he raised the chin of his helm and took a deep swig.

Shivering as his body mended, he sighed in relief. ‘Mayhap I should consider a respite. Tis been too long since I have truly slept....’ He pondered as he looked towards the pup laying in his lap then towards his soul on the ground. His frown deepened as the anger of being kept from soul was coming back. ‘They best hurry soon. My patience has grown thin during my time in that tomb.’

After one last glance towards the ponies, he put away his flask and resigned his his humming.

Author's Notes:

Alright, you are all probably wondering why Artemis was a total prick and everything turned a bit dark? Well, if not, I am still going to explain as it will bug me if I do not.

After fighting through all the horrors, monsters, undead beings, previous champions and etc, he would have become stoic and develop the "Victory at all costs" mentality. Not to mention with his family passing away and being forced to try and stop a new era of Undead from erupting, he would not really be the most likable fella.

So in short, his years, if not centuries, of fighting and the loss of his family made him cold hearted and stoic. The only true thing that is keeping him from going absolutely ballistic on anyone who gets in his way are his memories and his will to not become the monsters he slays. So yeah, the ring around his neck and the memories of his family are the only things that are barely holding his sanity in place. Not to mention that he was beginning to hollow and that tied in pretty heavily when I was writing this chapter.

As for why everything turned dark halfway through, well we simply can't ignore the fact that some of the guards and other dogs probably had families and it would be ignorant to ignore that. Plus, let's face it, we all know those poor hollowed guards and soldiers we slaughter all had families.

Sorry, that's it, I just thought that needed a bit of a explanation. But don't worry, He isn't going to go on a killing spree every time he gets stopped.

Anywho, hoped you enjoyed it!

Special Thanks to: The Boss for writing the song lyrics, he actually wrote a full song that I may include later, as well as helping me with several parts of the chapter. So go check him out, he is a awesome guy.

((Music is Two Steps from Hell: Sons of War all copyrights belong to them, etc.))