On his way to his room, Keiran stopped to observe an object hanging on the side of the hallway upstairs.
'It looks as beautiful as always. The resplendent darkness never fails to attract me.'
In front of him was a long chain trapped in a glass frame.
The chain was so long that it could wrap around an adult's hand and still produce an extensive range of about seven feet.
However, the length was probably the least eye-catching feature of this chain.
It was coated fully black, but some of its chain links were rusted. Yet, this only served to enhance the ancient vibe that the chain exuded.
Mixed with the ancient vibe were hints of the vileness that would scare away anyone…that is, anyone normal.
As Keiran got closer to the chain, it rattled like a snake.
He could hear it hissing at him, wanting to get a taste of his blood, but Keiran knew these were just hallucinations.
Only a cursed weapon of that caliber was capable of inducing terrible hallucinations.
Wanting a closer look at the bloodstains on the chain, Keiran moved his head forward.
"Keiran, don't mess with those chains! For Heaven's sake, do you have a chain fetish?"
A shout echoed in the house.
"Whew," Keiran sighed.
Two years ago, his father's knight squad had made a huge success in one of their campaigns to the Neverforest.
They had discovered an old outpost belonging to an ancient kingdom.
The king rewarded them with various prizes.
Trystan's reward was a bit special.
It was one of the cursed weapons found in the outpost. Since it could not be used, the king gave it to Trystan, along with bags of gold.
Nonetheless, the chain was just like a medal of honor. Its value lies in its uniqueness.
It wasn't every day that one discovered a cursed weapon.
While in thought, Keiran found his way to his room and lay on his bed.
He picked up the books on the nearby table.
Keiran was a lover of books. Apart from the routine training and chores, that was the only thing he did all day.
Someone knocked on his door after a while.
"Yes, ma," answered Keiran.
The only one that would disturb him at this time was his mother.
Opening the door, Amelle walked inside pompously.
She sat on the bed, revealing the rather large book in her hand.
"It is storytime," smiled Amelle.
"Huh?"
"Storytime!"
Keiran's face formed that of disgust.
He face-palmed, "Ma, I'm too old for that."
"One is never too old for storytime! Come on, move to the side of the bed. Let me sit beside you," commanded Amelle.
She muttered, "Shevani help me. Puberty seems to be affecting you negatively."
"Ma, I'm already an adult," protested Keiran.
'What was wrong with these people?' thought Keiran.
Every day, he would be harassed by them. Was there such injustice in the world?
"Adult, my ass. You are still my cool little boy. Weren't you the one that begged me for storytimes back then?"
"I-I–I-" He couldn't refute that.
Looking back at that particular moment, that was possibly the darkest moment in his life. He practiced for days before he was confident of flashing the most innocent child-like face just so he could request for the arrangement of storytimes.
Hanging his head down, Keiran moved to the other side of the bed as Amelle comfortably lay on the opposite side.
Keiran was able to get a good look at the book she currently held.
'It is another weird one,' mentally sighed Keiran.
In the kingdom of Gretai, the storybooks for children were too gory.
The authors would vividly paint scenes like decapitation or mass murder. Even when this issue was brought to the king, he didn't do anything. Instead, he applauded the authors.
It became a common thing for parents to hide storybooks from their children. Only the harshest of parents would prefer to introduce them to such goriness at a young age.
As for Amelle and Trystan, while they weren't harsh, they were hardened warmongers who wished for their only child to continue this legacy.
After spending years with them, Keiran was already used to books like this.
He asked out of curiosity, "What content does that one cover?"
"Mhm. Starbornes. Hehehehe, I bet you are not familiar with that one," grinned Amelle.
There was a hidden treasure in the hearts of storybooks.
They contained stories that were fantastical in nature, even for the current world.
That was why Keiran was in love with them.
Amelle began reading.
"It is said that when the stars align, a new constellation will be born. This periodic event is known as the Abyss Gazing.
When the time was right, the mortals would be summoned to participate in the trials of the abyss.
Keke was just a young farmer.
He would tender his crops every day and help his farmer-parents during their stressful activities.
One day, he was summoned by…."
A few minutes passed...
Amelle concluded the story, "Moral of the story: Don't be greedy, kids."
Noticing that Keiran was sleepy, she slipped out of his bed with a smile.
"Have a good night, 'cool boy'!"
.
.
.
.
Darkness…
Keiran's dreams were always like this.
Today, he expected them to be the same, when, all of a sudden, an ethereal wave hit him and he fell asleep inside his dream.
Silence ensued for what felt like eras.
His mind was quickly aroused as harsh lights hit his face.
'Hmmm… did Ma carry me off my bed again? I don't think I slept too long for her to get angry.'
Keiran felt a sense of weightlessness around him.
He felt vulnerable, as he was not supported by any object.
Instantly, he opened his eyes to take a look at his surroundings.
Truly, just as he thought, there was nothing around him.
The wind brushed against his face as he constantly fell… he constantly fell in the air!
'What the hell?!' mentally screamed Keiran.
'F*ckery, why am I falling from the sky? How did I get here?!'
He looked down to see the brown earth that was about thirty feet below him.
With the speed of his decline, he would soon reach the ground.
'Damn, I'm going to die!'
In his view appeared multiple trees, which gave him a crazy thought.
'I can land on one of them. I can't possibly die, can I?'
However, before he could act on this thought, his speed of decline increased.
He was too late to think about what to do. All he could do was prepare himself for the moment of impact.
Keiran brought his weak arms in front of his face.
'3… 2… 1!'
'Huh?'
There was no pain. Instead, he felt nothing.
Keiran opened his eyes that he had closed in reflex.
'Huh? What is this feeling?'
There was a string on his back that seemed to be attached to the sky. It protected him from touching the ground. Furthermore, it protected him from any shock damage, or else, he should be dead right now.
*Snap!*
The string snapped apart and Keiran fell to the ground safely.
By the time he turned back, he could catch glimpses of the string as it disappeared.
'What was that?' Keiran was in shock.