Fire. Everywhere. It spread by licking walls or crawling on the ground, like some otherworldly creature chasing the inhabitants. Frightened and appalling cries echoed throughout the city, and only the glow of the flames gave a glimpse of the true appearance of that summer night. The sound of hooves pounding the stone floor roamed the entire city, and swords clashing seemed to create a cacophony inspired by carnage and destruction.

Azure, sky, and crystal-colored towers were crumbling all over the place, letting the twilight light reach smaller stone towers. Fleeing and scattering in every direction like ants whose anthill had been scattered with a kick, the inhabitants were running here and there with no specific destination in mind.

A majestic city whose name would be nothing more than a distant echo was consumed, by the fault of a single being. And in the midst of that scarlet gloomy scene, attention shifted to a small group. No more than ten people, together, running for their own lives as for the salvation of the one who was to be protected among them. They were literally rushing towards their future, the immense gates of the city, destroyed and unrecognizable, which had remained wide open.

But they soon encountered a serious obstacle. Reptilian creatures barred their way, circling them, and uttering fierce grunts.

"Stay close to each other!" a man with long brown hair shouted.

The scarlet thorns on the creatures' backs quivered. One of them gave a shrill cry and suddenly rushed towards the small group, targeting those who were most vulnerable in its eyes. A first inhuman howl then resounds. A blade had split the monster's mouth in two, forcing it to suddenly back down, and inflicting excruciating pain in the process. A blackish liquid ran down the floor, as black as charcoal, and viscous as candle wax.

Hearts were beating faster and faster, no longer allowing to distinguish within the group the valiant from the fearful. It was almost impossible to hear anything other than your own palpitations, despite the surrounding noise.

They knew full well that if they didn't get rid of these creatures, they would never make it out of this city alive, and that this would be their last night.

" Watch out!" yelled a young man with shaggy gray hair, a spear in his hands.

Too late for the unfortunate victim who was suddenly carried by the arm outside the defensive circle formed by the humans. He had been dragged by large jaws and had been torn to pieces in the shadows with hideous gurgling noises.

The creatures, moving slowly on their four legs and their sharp teeth protruding from what looked like a beak, circled like marine predators around their prey.

"We'll never get there if we stay still!" exclaimed another man in the group; stronger than those around him, a large two-handed sword waved in front of him.

An outside observer could easily have guessed who the humans forming this group were.

Armor adorned with a gold and green coat of arms. White and brown tunic protruding from underneath their pieces of armor, and more than obvious mastery of the weapons they had in hand.

They were knights of the kingdom. Trained in combat from a young age.

And among them...

"Then we'll try to break through!" shouted a young woman, as she began to run towards one of the nearest monsters.

Something... Someone... To protect.

As if responding to a call from elsewhere, all rushed forward to face the creatures, each with whatever weapon they could find, or which had always belonged to them in the first place. Fighting for their very existence, their wills became one. No one was to faint, under pain of being devoured.

A well-placed thorny tail backhand knocked down an unfortunate man, who saw bloody fangs preparing to grab his head.

It was then that the hiss of a blade spread through the air, and these fangs, along with the head, detached themselves from the rest of the monster's body; sliced ​​clean in one fell swoop.

"Come on! We're almost there !" the gray-haired young man encouraged.

No sooner had he said these words than he found himself pinned to the ground, claws blocking him by his chainmail, and attempting to pierce the weak protection of his breastplate. A big shock sounded, and under the eyes of the young man, an immense sword pierced the monster right through, from its back to its chest; the tip of the blade almost touching the young man in the process.

"Watch out grandpa! You almost cut me there!" he yelled.

"Is that how you thank me, kid? You're all the same ungrateful bunch!" taunted the old man who owned the aforementioned sword.

He extended a hand to the man he had just saved. A younger man who was still reviewing the pavement, and ended up silently wincing at the gesture.

But the old man's face suddenly froze in a dazed expression. As if seized with a spasm, he began to cough up blood; standing still, the horrified gaze of the young man planted on him.

An organic blade, attached to the tail of one of the creatures, had just pierced the old man's body through and through.

"Sigeel! Yelled the young woman.

The group had made a breakthrough and were almost beyond the reach of the creatures... But at what cost.

The old man gasped, still motionless. However, he wasn't going to die without doing anything.

Drawing on his last strength, he seized the blade that pierced him, and determined not to let go, turned and slaughtered his blade towards the creature which caused his misfortune. Without it having the time to understand what was going on, its head took off from its body in a precise and powerful gesture from the old man.

" Grandpa!" pleaded the young man.

"Don't mind me! Go join the others!" shouted back the veteran knight. But the young recruit showed no signs that he was going to leave him to his fate. "Hurry! Go! "

With that said, this veteran's final encounter escalated in violence, the creatures focusing on the injured old man, and leaving the rest of the human group behind. The young man reluctantly joined the rest of the troop, with a heavy heart and a soul full of regret, at having to leave this admirable man, who now was no more than a shadow of himself.

But they finally arrived at their destination. Less than a hundred meters and they could get out of town and into the forest, far away from it all. Far from all that would be nothing more but a distant and confused memory.

However, claiming victory was impossible; even later that day. They had already lost, a long time ago. And a voice they all recognized brought them cruelly back to present reality.

"And where do you think you're going, Arbel?"

A middle-aged woman had arrived behind them, her face framed by long, sleek black hair, and her eyes hollow with age and greed. Her purple dress fluttered in the wind along with her hair, giving her a grim appearance.

The small group froze in place, torn between fear and dismay. They had been caught. And not by just anyone. By *her*.

"Y-you..." blurted out the young woman. "What have you done to my father? "

The older woman pointed - with a fingernail far too long to be appropriate for a public appearance - at the young woman she had called by name.

"I took back what was rightfully mine…" She began. "As for you..."

She then swept her hand in front of her, as if dusting an invisible object, and a surprised gasp responded to her gesture.

The young woman was holding her throat, suddenly having trouble breathing.

A spell had been put on her; to choke her.

And the only way to break an active and ongoing spell... Was to kill the spellcaster.

A young man with long brown hair brandished his sword in both hands, and rushing at their enemy, made a large bow with it. The long, sharp blade sliced ​​through what stood in its path like butter, mercilessly.

The witch then collapsed to the ground, clutching her bloody stomach from which a mixture of blood and bile escaped. And immediately, the young woman found her breath, not without experiencing strong pain in the throat and an unpleasant cough. She slowly massaged her neck, feeling great discomfort; and taking up great inspirations.

"You might have fatally injured me, but I'm not going to disappear like this..." hissed the woman lying on the ground.

She spat blood and coughed, but even that didn't lessen the hatred she had in her. Crawling a few inches on the ground, she stretched an emaciated arm one last time towards her target.

And as if everything had been planned since a long time ago, the young woman suddenly put a hand to her chest, clutching at her clothes. She felt an excruciating pain, which kept increasing. As if someone was branding her heart with a hot iron.

Gritting her teeth, she collapsed to the floor; her breathing hard and irregular.

"What have you done, you damn witch!?" yelled the long haired young man, who was also the captain of the guard, livid.

The woman sprawled in her own blood sneered, her gums and teeth full of blood, and didn't bother to answer him. Instead, she turned to the so-called Arbel, and giving her a look full of hatred, said:

"I'm going to make you so hideous the first thing one will think about when laying eyes upon you; will be the quickest way to kill you!"

The earth began to rumble, to tremble. Walls collapsed from the vibrations, towers fell, and chasms swallowed a few wretches here and there. Panic was finishing to invade the last hearts which had been masters of their emotions until now.

In the midst of this limitless destruction - of which only the silence could have echoed if not for these cries - others were still fighting for their lives.

And like an answer coming from the depths of darkness, a terrifying howl - between the gasp of pain and scream of pure sorrow - resounded.

A shooting star moved away in the sky above the city which was nothing but ruin, and where there was no more living soul. The flames eventually choked out, finding nothing to consume in their path, and that's when it happened.

That night the stars fell by hundreds, and the sky darkened almost entirely; letting the earth dwell in eternal darkness.