Light. Bright, hot, sterile light. Shining from everywhere, beaming out from him. He could feel it racking through his body. And it [i]burned[/I]. He felt the energy inside him, the raw power. He shuddered at the energy coursing through his veins. He felt the scorching blast of light scourge his skin, felt it tear away at his mind, piece by piece. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t die. He’d been like this for so long. It was too much. For all this time, all these millennia, he had been fighting. Fighting to escape, fighting the energy, fighting for vengeance against the god that did this to him. All for nothing. He still wasn’t free. Behind him he could hear the lion that dragged him across the sky every day. There was no way out. Then he woke up. That was how it felt, so great was the change. It was like a blindfold had been removed from his eyes, allowing him to see. And he saw. He saw how he would escape. All this time, he had been fighting the energy, when he should have allowed it to run through his body and soul. Wincing, Samael let the power course through him. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt, even in these millennia of torment. A tiny part of his mind remained conscious, howling in the storm of his power. He managed to take the energy, to control it. He willed it with every last atom of his soul to burn through the chains that shackled him to the lion. At last, they broke, and Samael was free. But he didn’t have any time to celebrate, as a deafening roar testified to. He turned to the giant lion, gleaming with golden light. He raised his spear- the one he’d been clutching onto ever since his fight with Aroesus, he whom he hated most- and walked towards the lion. ‘Come on, you thrice-accursed bastard. I’ll have my freedom yet…’ --- [b]Weeks later[/b] Falling. Speeding through the heavens, sky and land melding together into one blur. Across the sky, a streak of blazing light scoured down to the earth. It hurtled down towards a city, by fate or mere coincidence. Samael stirred, murmuring to himself as he woke up. His eyes widened as he saw that he was about to plough into a street. In desperation he released a shockwave of energy, halting his descent. He slowly floated down to the flagstones, confused and bewildered. What was this place? Could it be- the mortal realm? A city. Home. Freedom. Out of the corner of his eye, Samael caught a glimpse of something red. He turned, and his eyes narrowed. The disassembled corpse of a child lay on the street corner. Samael walked over towards the body, noticing as he did so the screams and guttural howling in the background. He ran towards the source of these sounds, and slowed as he saw the scene of a huge and brutal battle. Women ran from bestial horrors, desperate to protect their children. Men took desperate stands, unarmed and unarmoured, trying to buy enough time for their families to escape. Children were mercilessly hunted down. Those that were killed were lucky. Those that were not rose again, as mockeries of the vampires that had changed them. This wasn’t a battlefield. This was an abattoir. There was no glory in this bloodshed. There was no honour in killing those who could not fight back. There was no valour in hunting a de-clawed beast. Samael clenched his fist in quiet rage. He roared into the heavens and opened his hand, releasing a wave of sunlight. It scourged into the undead, obliterating them. He ran into the smoke and rubble and began to fight the remaining vampires. When he was done he raced to the next group, and the next, and the next. It was an unending haze of white, burning light. But there were always more. There were always some who hid in the shadows. Samael snarled and blazed up into the sky. He was high now, far above the city. He could see the extent of the fighting now. It was a slaughter. Roaring once more, he let the power course through his body, radiating from him. He screamed in agony, but fed more and more power out. He lit the city up with his sunlight, trying to blind the undead. They ran for cover, desperate to escape the sunlight. He started to fly back down to the city, when something caught his eye. At the south-eastern gate a large collumn of undead were retreating. He low growl uttured from his throat, and he flew towards them. He landed with a blast of energy, turning the flagstones to rubble. Without pause, he ran into their midst and set to impaling them with his burning spear. The undead had more power than the others, but Samael was bursting with it. He created golden sun beams, cutting through armour like sunshine through glass. When the smoke finally cleared, he fell to his knees in pain. The energy inside him was twisting, boiling, bursting through his body. He gritted his teeth and bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming. When the pain eased enough, Samael slowly stood back up. He launched into the sky, and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. More undead were leaving by the north-eastern gates. He wouldn't allow these abombinations to escape with their lives this day. Not after what they had done. They were... Dishonourable. Samael roared his fury at the stars, and dived into the throng of fleeing undead. He fought with bloody determination, a grimace painted on his face. He derived no pleasure from this bloodshed. Well, that wasn't quite true. He relished it. He loved disintegrating every last one with his light. He smiled as he ripped through undead after undead. They should never have come here, thought the more melancholy parts of him. So much suffering, and for what? For power, of course. Inside, Samael roared.