The scent of blood and death filled the air, the home he was longing for has been snatch away from his grasp, just when he was about to take it.
Such a cruel fate, such a pitiful life… there must be no God.
Because of so… why will he allow such things to occur?
Tears stream down Darius' face, his trembling body curled in a fetal position. He couldn't believe it, this must have been a dream.
A nightmare that will soon be snuffed away.
The peace he had been longing for was so close that he could taste it, so close that he could feel it.
Yet reality destroyed everything once again, his dream blown away like an early morning mist.
Derange from everything that had happened, Darius heard a voice. A sweet and gentle familiar voice.
There is no mistaking it, this was his mother's voice. Warm like the summer, sweet like sugar.
Dead-fish eyes turned to look in the ceiling, then the window. Silence filled the room, the chirping of birds was subtle, muted by the walls of his blood-covered home.
"Help~" the voice weakly said, suddenly Darius sprung up. There is no mistaking it, it was his mother.
Running to the back exit, Darius burst open the poorly made door. The bright sun blinding him, but when his vision finally focused again… he saw his mother laying on the lush green grass. Her blood soaking the soil beneath her as she hangs of her life. Tears flowing from her orbs, hand gripping the grass.
"Mother!" Darius kneeled before her. His hand taking hers, holding it gently.
"I'm here… I will find help" he said as he tried to control his tears.
"D-Darius?" she uttered his name weakly.
"Yes, it's me… Don't worry I-" he tried to stand up, but his mother stop him.
She shook her head, "N-no… I don't have time left…l-listen…" she gulped the blood pooling in her mouth. "T-they to-ok y-your bro-ther…" he breathed heavily. "T-they were w-witches… one was we-aring w-white robe… please… save him… p-please… his the o-only f-family you have left now" her hand slowly slipped away.
"I love you both" she breathed out before falling into her eternal slumber.
Despair once again took hold of Darius, his breathing ragged. Witches? But why?
He doesn't even know what to do anymore… how and where will he find his little brother? What on earth is going on?
Ravana was dead… so… why?
Inside his head, he heard a chuckle that sent chills down his back, a familiar voice that he never liked.
'If you didn't betray me this will not happen~' Ravana teased.
'I was your protector after all'
'Now that I was gone, the spell lifted and the curtain that was hiding your family vanished' she laughed at his misery.
"What… what are you talking about?!" Darius demanded.
'Get stronger… and I will tell you when the time is right.' with those final words, Ravana vanished.
"Ravana! The hell with you!" Darius screamed, only to find that his efforts to call her back were fruitless.
Darius sat against the decaying wall of the shack, his dead eyes staring at nothing. His lips curled into a deep frown. In that position, he remained, until the sun started sinking into the horizon.
Even after the moon rose, he remained unmoved. As if he was dead, he just sat there motionless.
It was only by dawn when Darius found the courage to move, "You should become a hunter." He remembered what the old man told him from weeks ago.
If the culprit were witches, then he must know.
Picking up his dead mother's body, Darius went back inside the house.
Gently, he placed his mother's cadaver next to his father's. His eyes glaze with tears as he stared at them. As he backed away, he saw a necklace worn by his mother.
Taking it from her he stared at the small accessory, he have never seen this before. It was on the shape of an octagon, carved in stone, in the middle is a square with looping ends. Inside the square was a diamond shape- again with looping ends. And in the middle were writings that he couldn't recognize.
He doesn't know anything about it, but he has this feeling that this necklace is valuable. Without much thought, Darius pocketed the necklace.
Before once again, with a heavy heart.
Left home.
Standing from the road, Darius watched as their tiny home burn to the ground. The small shack at the edge of the wood diminishing into nothing but a pile of ashes, just like his hopes and dreams- gone in a single stroke of ill fate.
"Unfortunate, isn't it?" a woman appeared next to him. Her curly black hair flowing along with the wind, her red robe and red-painted lips matching the color of the blazing fire from afar. Ocean blue eyes, deep and calculating, a ghostly smile curved in her lips, while a single mole under her left eyes marked her beauty.
"Who are you?" Darius glared at the woman.
"Relax… I'm not the enemy" she waved her hand dismissively. "In fact, I'm your ally," she said with a bright smile. "Here, you'll need this" she added handing Darius the very same sword he left inside the castle.
"How did you get that? I already abandoned the sword" the young man asked knitting his brows.
"I was watching you all this time Darius, and let me tell you, you cannot abandon this sword… because this will be your weapon for your upcoming battles," she told him, stabbing the sword on the ground between them.
"Are you a witch?" the man asked once more.
"No, but I'm something more" Lachesis tilted her head.
"No, I already turned my back to that life" Darius glared at the woman.
"And what? Let your little brother be killed by those witches? I think not…" her blue eyes shined with hope, convincing the young man. "You can never run from your destiny Darius, this is your fate" she told him.
"You have to stop the seals from opening because only can do it."
"This is your duty as the son of the king," with a blow of the wind, the woman was gone.
"What?!" purple eyes widened, he do not understand a single thing. "Damn it! You could have said more!" he shouted kicking the dirt.
It almost feels as if the heavens are playing a joke and he was the sole victim of it all.
He collapsed on the ground, sitting next to the subterranean sword. "Damn it!" he cursed, pulling on his hair. "When will this nightmare end, someone… anyone… wake me up" he mumbled, his shoulders trembling.
When Darius finally came to, the sun was high up in the sky. It seems that he fell asleep. Eyes wide he hoped that everything from before was nothing a dream, turning back to the shack he only disappointed himself.
Nothing but a pile of burned wood and ashes.
Scowling deeply, Darius took the sword from the ground and allowed his feet to take him as they please. His mind wandering to the furthest seas, at this point on, he was lost and have nowhere else to be.
He needs to vent out his anger and despair, he thought to himself as he walk away from the place he once called home.
The memories of his past echoed in his mind, the voices screaming for him to snap from his trance, to extinguish the fire of his hatred. Yet for the past few hours, it was proven to be futile.
Gently her mother's voice sounded once more, reminding him of his brother, where he need to be, and what he must do. You have to save him, she told Darius.
Yet the young man never listened, just one foot after the other going wherever his feet would take him.
Before he could even realize it, Darius fell into a trap. His eyes widened from surprise, his back crashing at the side of the hole, he had fallen into.
"What the…" he mumbled as he looked up, purple eyes staring at the opening of the trap. Who would dig this trap? He asked himself.
Finally, he realized that he had entered the forest. Knitting his brows, Darius clenched his teeth. He was too careless, he wasn't thinking straight. Lost in his despair, he was too blinded to see reality.
The young man could only stare as an odd creature loom over the trap, it was a huge frog-like creature. With greyish-green colored skin, smooth and slimy. However, the most disturbing thing about the monstrous creature was its grin. A wide creepy grin showing his ragged sharp teeth, along with the yellowish liquid that's dripping down its mouth. The monster's biddy black eyes looking straight at Darius as if celebrating its victory.
Darius glared at the monster, purple eyes burning with anger. This must have been fate because he wanted to vent his anger. Now he happened to come across the right creature to do so.
Darius stood up, finally realizing the slimy substance that covered his hands after falling inside the trap.
Cringing, the young man gripped his sword as tightly as he can.
First things first, he needs to get out of the trap.