Lucas stumbled from the Guildhall, his eyes wide and frantic. For as far as he could see, the presence of chaos resided, amidst a sea of flames and smoke.
People scrambled for safety, shoving and kicking one another in a desperate attempt to escape. For those who were too slow, their corpses lined the streets, trampled and beaten.
Lucas fought back his revulsion and joined the bloody fray, doing his best to avoid the people beneath his feet.
All around him, buildings collapsed and trees fell, trapping people beneath. Their cries rang out, but he ignored their pleas and pushed forward, driven both by fear and guilt.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I can't help you!" Lucas shouted, averting his gaze. His feet pounded against the ground as he left them behind, but each step was more difficult than the last.
He gritted his teeth and pressed on, ducking and weaving through the masses. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his legs burned in protest, but he refused to stop.
Finally, he burst from the crowd and landed in front of a hidden alley. A dark abyss lay on the other side, lined by shifting walls and moss-covered stones.
Lucas glanced behind him, where people still fought for survival. A few even used their abilities in the hopes of bringing each other down, but this only furthered to weaken the structures around them.
Lucas trembled at the sight. He was fortunate enough to have survived as long as he had. Pulling his gaze back, he decided to go his own way, lest he be struck by a stray ability.
By straightening his back, he managed to squeeze into the narrow space, all the while making sure to keep a wary eye on the bricks above him. He wished to be prepared should one fall.
The alley proved to be tighter than he first thought, but after sucking in his gut, he managed to wiggle past the rough stone.
Once on the other side, he found himself standing in the middle of the marketplace, or at least what remained of it.
For where the previously bustling shops once stood, now only piles of smoldering rubble remained. Streams of molten glass pooled beneath the debris, while ashen banners hung overhead, their tattered remains still flapping in the wind.
'What happened here? Where are all the people?' Lucas wondered, frowning. He dug through the wreckage, searching both high and low, but other than the few trails of blood here and there, he found nothing.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Lucas called out, returning to the street.
He waited for a moment, but only an eery silence and the crackle of fire met his call. Lucas furrowed his brows and crept down the street, his boots muffled by the ash. Even if most people ran from here, there should have still been a straggler or two.
As he neared the end of the street, the silence was broken by a loud grunt, accompanied by the heavy stench of burning flesh and pine smoke. Lucas quickened his pace and dived behind a nearby wall. Its charred edges provided just enough cover to hide, while a thin crack allowed him to observe the other side. What he saw chilled his blood to the bone.
A mountain of corpses rose from the ground, their bodies dark and twisted. Men, women, and even children, all packed together within the flickering flames.
A group of monstrous beasts surrounded the place, their massive bodies drenched in blood as they tossed one lifeless corpse after another into the flames. A few snorted when the body of a child tumbled back out, landing in a mangled position.
Lucas staggered back, feeling vomit rise in his throat. He spun around, wanting to get as far away from the place as possible, but when he looked up, he froze in his spot.
One of the beasts blocked his path back, carrying a smoldering ax in one hand, and a wriggling girl in the other.
Although it wore a makeshift suit of armor, composed from straps of leather and iron, most of its body was bare, revealing a hardened layer of grey skin, and two broken horns.
Fortuantly, the creature's attention was focused on a distant building, and it had yet to notice Lucas.
'That... That's a Fawnsrot Ork!' Lucas thought, instantly recognizing the creature.
The Fawnsrot Orks were a bloodthirsty tribe of Orks, born with a higher level of intelligence than their kin, but the same terrifying strength. Unlike other races, they were incapable of wielding aura, but their hardened skin provided a layer of defense to the mysterious energy.
With their tribe being one where strength reigned supreme, most of their time was spent battling one another for the position of chief.
Rarely ever, would they venture from their lands in Falthrell Mountains, and never before had they come so far.
Lucas trembled, realizing the moment the Ork noticed him, he would be done for.
'I have to get out of here! But... but where would I even go?'
He scanned the surrounding rubble, searching for a place to hide. A small crawl space caught his gaze, buried below a pile of stone. The only problem was, he would be caught the moment the Ork turned its head.
'I... I can do this! Just have keep low, and I'll be fine.' Lucas thought, gathering the courage to move.
Taking a deep breath, he stretched out one hand, and then the other, followed closely by his feet. His heart beat loudly, but he kept at it, never once stopping to take a break.
He moved slowly in the hopes of avoiding the Ork's notice, but his movements alerted the girl, who looked up with a tear-filled gaze.
When she saw Lucas, her eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope, and she lifted a trembling hand.
"Please... help me..."
"Huh? Did you say something?" The Ork asked, glancing at the girl. When it saw her outstretched arm, a vicious smile crept onto its face.
With a single twist, the Ork snapped the girl's neck and tossed her to the side. Her limp body fell with a grisly crunch, which echoed through the street.
Lucas stared in disbelief, horrified by the creature's actions. Unable to hold back his revulsion any longer, he vomited.
The Ork's smile widened, pleased by the sight.
"You humans! Always so weak! Such weakness does not belong in this world!" The Ork beat against his chest, each thump louder than the last.
Lucas staggered to his feet and wiped the bile from his mouth. His blood boiled as he glared at the Ork. "Why? Why are you doing this?!"
"Why? Because our Master requests it! That's why!" With that, the Ork roared loudly and charged forward, cracking the ground with each step.
It moved surprisingly quickly for its size, leaving Lucas with little time to react. He didn't even have a chance to raise his hands before the Ork was upon him, its smoldering ax cleaving through the air.
Lucas clenched his eyes shut, and prepared for the blow which would end his life.
A second passed... then another...
Eventually, Lucas couldn't stand it any longer and peeked through squinted eyes. The ax hovered inches from his face, just close enough for him to feel the heat radiating from its blade.
Behind it, the Ork grunted in confusion as several emerald chains twisted from the ground and bound it in place.
'These chains... They're made from wind! But where did they come from?' Lucas wondered, scanning the nearby buildings.
That's when he spotted a middle-aged man standing atop a fallen tree, while a faint green mist swirled around his hands.
"Damn it, boy! Move already! I can't hold it back forever!" The man shouted, sweat dripping from his brow as he struggled to keep his ability activated. With each passing second, the aura grew dimmer.
Lucas snapped back to his senses and lunged to the side, barely moving out of the way as the chains shattered and released the Ork from its bonds.
A heavy force crushed the ground as the Ork finished its swing, followed by a shockwave which carried Lucas across the street.
Jumping back to his feet, Lucas sprinted towards the man, who motioned for him to keep running.
"Go! I'll hold it off as long as I can!"
Lucas nodded, and continued to run, moving far faster than before. Behind him, the Ork roared in anger, its gaze shifting to the man.
"Your efforts are pointless, human! Even if that boy escapes now, he will not survive past the day!"
The man responded by raising his hands and summoning forth a gust of wind, which revolved around his body.
Repeating the process, he called forth a second gust, and then a third, until eventually, his body was enveloped by the emerald blades.
The only thing left that could be seen were his jade eyes, which glowed brightly admist the howling gales, and a single hand, which aimed towards the scoffing Ork.
"It matters not. Now then, will you willingly give up your life, or shall I take it by force?"
...
As Lucas neared the end of the street, he felt a gust of wind breeze past his cheek, which provided a brief reprieve from the intense heat.
A moment later, an explosion shook the ground for miles around, accompanied by an emerald cloud which darkened the sky.
'He... He detonated his core?!' Lucas thought, staring at the cloud in shock.
Throughout the world, children were warned about the dangers of flooding their cores with aura, which would lead to core detonation.
Even if they somehow managed to survive the blast, their core would be shattered beyond repair. And in a world where wielding aura was everything, not having a core was similar to being worthless.
Lucas shook his head and turned away. 'I have to focus. His sacrifice will be pointless if I can't even get past this area.'
Lucas peered past the corner he hid behind, and examined the scorched clearing on the other side.
A deadly battlefield laid before him, where the surviving Adventurers and townsfolk fought against the Fawsnrot Orks in a clash of metal and sweat.
But Lucas's gaze was fixated past that, on a rikety building supported by two towering Duskpines. This was what he had been after all along, and he would stop at nothing to get there.
"Don't worry, Lily. Just a little longer, and I'll be there."