Melvin ran, his heart racing against his chest, threatening to explode. The path in front of him was filled with nothing but dark trees and twisted roots. But he knew it was better than the five hooded figures chasing him from behind.
He thought back to how he had gotten into this situation and grimaced at his stupidity. He smelled the savory scent of a chicken being roasted over a fire and approached a camp full of bandits to try and snag a piece; little did he know it would end up like this. The country he woke up in was one of the worst of the five on the continent, considering how it hadn't had a ruler in years. Everyone was in need of food and money. He thought he would get reincarnated as an all-powerful being or something. Instead, he got sent to this dump with almost no memories of his past life. He had no recollection of any parents and was raised in an orphanage that had burned down long ago.
His mind wandered back to his current predicament as his foot snagged on a root, and he went tumbling down a hill, eating dirt along the way. His ankle twisted right before he came to a stop, causing him to shout in pain before crashing into what felt like a rock. He looked around, dazed, noticing the five bandits getting closer and closer, and decided to limp to try and distance himself from them. Unfortunately, he tripped on his twisted ankle and fell again, knowing they would be upon him any second.
He wasn't wrong as he felt a sharp kick in his ribs as one of the men spoke. "you think you can get away after stealing from us, you little bastard," a ruff voice said while melvin spat out some blood.
He knew there was no point in responding; it's not like they would care about his reasons or if he was starving. But his silence only enraged them as they all took turns kicking and stomping on his frail, skinny frame. He groaned in pain and tried using his hand to crawl away, but it slipped on something cold, and he fell again. His life was slipping away from him as he could feel his internal organs bleeding, and the pain was the only thing he felt. Everything was silent again, so he assumed the bandits knew he would die and just left him as he was. He crawled forward again only to feel that same wet slippery sensation on his fingertips.
Looking up with his fading conscience, he realized he had stumbled upon a small creek. Despite his situation, he thought how beautiful of a view it was to die too. That's when he noticed something shining in the water; a ring was hidden underneath a few pebbles. He picked it up and examined it thinking about how much money he could get for it. So smooth and black that it could reflect the stars with a polished, simple ruby encased inside. Only if he could live long enough to sell it, he let out a small chuckle to himself. He coughed out more blood, smearing some on the ring before he dropped it and fell again, his eyes on the verge of closing forever. That's when he heard a voice speak to him; it sounded ominous but playful simultaneously. "Would you like power?' it said as a hand appeared in Melvin's view. Melvin reached his hand close to the one offered, hesitant to trust the voice. Although he knew, in the end, it all wouldn't matter since he was at death's door. He lowered it with his last breath and grasped the hand firmly. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was the man speaking while chuckling, "Don't worry, King of Shadows....It will only hurt a little".