"Three copla for a rum."

Said a tout but masculine man whose elbow was on top of a wooden counter. His grey dirty clothes stink of the pungent, sweet, and sour smell of beer while his hair is combed neatly, opposite of the state of his tavern. Muddy and disorganized.

Clack. Clack. Clack

Everyone in the room is watching every action of the man in front of him, as three pieces of thin, brown, and greasy metal fell from his hands into the countertop. If the tavern owner's appearance can be described as "nasty", then the man in front of him can be called "the amalgamation of filthiness". He wears sandals made from straw, his black pants beyond recognition, mud and blood from who-knows-what creature smeared on it. His breastplate, full of scars, and some parts have already been blunt due to constant battle. His alimodian arming sword was strapped to his leather belt made from the skin of a wolf he hunted last week. It shone from the blend of darkness and yellow flicker of light from the lamp situated at the end of the counter. He has immense mustache and beard that almost cover his lips and ears, and last of all, he stinks.

The townsfolk calls this mysterious man, "Lion", but still minority prefers the term "Plague", because he suddenly came to this town, and stayed. No one is happy, nobody wants him here.

"I've already told ya, I don't allow anything of that sort inside." Frowning, the tavern owner pointed at the huge black leather bag Lion was carrying since earlier. The bag couldn't contain the pungent and fishy smell coming from its content.

"Apologies..." Lion said in a deep and husky voice. "Let me use the room for a night."

"No." The man shook his head.

"I'll throw double. Let me sleep here just for the night." Said Lion as he took a couple of sibla from his pocket showing them to the man. The owner who's also serving as a barista hesitated when he saw the genuine eyes of Lion.

"Sigh... Look here, mate. I'm the owner, but I'm not the boss here. And besides, there's a lot more reason..."

"Come on. Just take this, it's on the house."

The owner poured beer into a big mug and shoved it. Lion looked into the owners' eyes for a few seconds, looked at the sides, took the mug, and chugged it in one fell swoop.

Haaah...

Lion took a deep breath after the drink and put it slowly on the counter.

"Thanks, Cole."

And then he left. The baggage making a scraping sound as it rubs on the floor. Only living the faint trail of blood on the breeze.

The oppressive atmosphere within the tavern disappeared as people in the room whispered and mocked the man whom they call the plague.

"I dare say we burn the plague! 3 months ago when he came here, endless misfortune has befallen us! More creature has been raiding our farms! More people have become sickly! What if he stays over for a year? What's next to be raided? My family? Our home? Our village?"

A man said in a drunken stupor as he started madly swinging his hands in the air.

"Ted is right! There's no other way to explain it besides a curse! That man is cursed and should be banished! I Ryan Olsgard shall convince the chieftain tomorrow." A young man named Golden Boy Ryan said.

Several men can be seen agreeing and cheering with him on the crowd, while some just decided to not partake.

Cole, the tavern owner on the other hand is contemplating while looking at the three coplar on the counter.

'Such a shame, he's a good man, a good hunter. But never is he accepted here. Not anyhow by Kyla, my wife...

+ + +

The cold autumn winds slapped Lion's face. Crunching sounds of orange leaves kept humming with every step he takes. On the road, some people looked at Lion and his baggage with curiosity, but others failed to hide their malignant gaze. A malnourished boy hiding in an alley threw a stone at him, but it only hit the bag.

All of these are ignored by Leo. At this point, he's already used to it. He circled and turned, and with another left turn at an intersection, he came across a medium-sized field. At the right is a small brick house, while on the left stood a stable, housing two dozen horses. Inside was an empty space enough for him to lay and stretch his legs a quarter. That has been Lion's abode since the night he came here, where he chanced upon this town...

'I wonder why I came here.' Lion thought. Since that fateful day, he felt like life is a continuous dream of never-ending uncertainty about who he was, and what led to this state.

"Hey! You're back! Huh, what's that now?" A skinny man around 30 years of age said to Lion. He's Jiro the stable master. He stopped digging and rested his weight on the shovel when he saw Lion.

"Wraes." Lion said. The scarlet gleam of the sunset shines upon him. Lion slowly walked over to the stable master.

"Wraes?" Jiro asked, puzzled.

"Where should I put it?" He said in his husky voice.

"Maybe at the back. Wait, let me see first." Curious, Jiro said as he drew closer.

Lion nodded and with great speed untied the rope holding the bag. What Jiro saw was a monster, the size of an adult male but with a few dozen sharp bones protruding from every corner of its body. Its black skin was covered by rust and magenta blood and its horrifying face was separated from its body. Its pure black eyes were looking at Jiro. This is a Wraes, a creature of great chaos.

"Hoooh..." Jiro paled with what he saw... and smelled. His left foot moved backward in repugnance.

'Calm down, there's nothing to worry about, It's already dead. But just how did Lion manage to kill this thing?' Jiro thought.

"Just, just how did you manage to kill that thing?" Jiro said while hurrying Lion to tie the ropes again.

"Cut its throat," Lion said, indifferent to the amazed expression on Jiro's face.

"Well that's, errr cool... Anyways you can put that thing at the back. Sorry, but tonight you can only sleep with that." Jiro said, hiding his annoyance at Lion's lack of communication skills.

Lion just shrugged in reply.

"Whom would you sell it to?"

"The Witch."

"Good choice." Jiro nodded. Helped Lion lift the Wraes. And continued with his task of digging holes.

+ + +

Creak.

Another tally was engraved on a wooden plank using the tip of the short sword. When counted, that's the 98th line.

"98 days..." Lion softly muttered.

"It's been that long but I still don't know what I'm doing." "Chuckle"

"Pshhhht" Opposite Lion, a horse named Lucy snorted. Like mocking the case the man was in.

"Haha." Lion again chuckled.

"Oh dear Lucy, if only my life can be as carefree as you."

Lion lay on the square of brown hay which has been his bed for the past 3 months. The ambiance of the stable is only coming from the door and the roof. The door locked but its old frame couldn't suppress the cold night air from entering. The hole in the roof made it so that Lion can pass time looking at the stars, drawing him to the fantasy of another land far away, like he's floating. Seconds turn into minutes and minutes turn into hours as little by little his eyelids slowly shut. Until the scene he dreamt every night entails...

~ ~ ~

Darkness, space, translucent blue. It's like the river of time constantly pulling me with its hue. No matter how I resist, the force turns into assist as I fall, millions of meters high up on the floor. Puzzled and disoriented, I get up, then 3 wolves rushed at me. I killed one with a stone, one I took a blow, on my ribs and my torso. I cried, and I noticed a faint trail of light. I fought and fought for days. The first set has long been forgotten. Countless of them have died from mine, yet when I saw "that" thing, with its gigantic purple eyes looking at me, I run, and run, until I have none. My clothes, my skin, my bones, all turning into fragments.

[AND THE DREAM SHOULD HAVE ENDED AS WELL, BUT NO, I FEEL SOMETHING ANCIENT. SOMETHING THAT SHOULDN'T BE SEEN. I STRUGGLED TO WAKE UP]

The feeling of freedom, as I saw a town burning in fire, the tavern owner, Jiro and his family, and his daughter Abigail. Every single one was burning. Their bodies were rotten and maggots coming from their eyesockets and mouths. They are all looking at me. Looking at me with hatred.

[IT'S TOO LATE, "HE'S" ALREADY BEHIND ME]

Without warning, a force suddenly pulled me from behind. Back to the darkness, the space, the translucent blue. I froze, feeling a warm embrace caressing my soul.

"Have you missed me-"

~ ~ ~

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" An eardrum-piercing shriek coming from outside woke Lion from his dream. He's full of sweat and his face pale. Still, the first reaction is to grab his partner "Finger", which is what he calls the alimodian arming sword 30 inches in length, shout out the word "F*ck!" and rushed out of the room. The dream has awakened something within him, something unknown. But he focused on something he definitely know, the owner of that shriek earlier.

"Abigail!!!"