The snapping sound of twigs being broken rang out underneath. It was a noise that sounded out intermittently. Two young boys continued to travel deeper into the forest oblivious to the mistakes they made.
"Come on Cedric. We're almost there."
The first boy, who had brown hair and a jagged birthmark on his temple, uttered with anticipation. His maroon eyes glittered with excitement.
He wanted to show his friend the perfect hiding place he had discovered the day before.
"Nico, are you sure this is safe? We've never been this deep into the forest before. Remember what your parents said about not going too far into the woods." Cedric spoke with a hint of worry in his voice.
His black hair fluttered softly in the light breeze of the woodland. The boy's dark eyes cautiously scanned his surroundings.
"Oh, come on, Cedric. Don't be a worrywart. Look! It's right there." Nico pointed his finger in a certain direction. There, the tall trees that loomed over them parted and led into a vast clearing.
"Nico, wait!" The black-haired boy shouted. Alas, his over-eager friend did not listen and ran for the clearing.
Cedric cursed. He didn't know why, but ever since they had entered the forest, he had been getting a bad premonition. His gut was screaming at him to stop.
Something bad was going to happen.
All the noise Nico had been making only further strengthened the ominous premonition.
It was only then that something crucial dawned on Cedric. The noise. Or the lack thereof to be more precise.
The grass had stopped rustling. The leaves had stopped swaying and… the birds had stopped chirping.
The black-haired boy's eyes widened. Growing up, the lesson his father had drilled into him was to flee as soon as the forest turned silent. That usually only happened when a predator was nearby.
An extremely dangerous, one at that.
"NICO!!"
Cedric dashed toward his companion with urgency.
The boy with the birthmark turned around in annoyance. He had now reached the clearing and thought his friend would scold him. However, all his annoyance dissipated instantly once he gazed at the serious expression on Cedric's face.
Nico frowned.
To the brown-haired boy, although Cedric was a little overcautious, he still knew how to joke around and have a good time. Rarely did he have a solemn expression such as this plastered on his face.
Something was drastically wrong.
It was then… that he noticed it too.
The deafening silence.
His face paled.
Just then Nico heard a deep, baritone growl come from his left. His body trembled slightly as he slowly turned and discovered the source of the noise.
The boy's pupils dilated, and he began hyperventilating in a panic. Standing on all fours opposite him, a brown grizzly bear bared its teeth to reveal a maw full of sharp, deadly pointed canines.
A shiver crawled down the young man's spine. He backed away slowly to not agitate the animal any further.
However, it seemed as if his luck had run out as the bear inched forward every time he stepped back, not letting him retreat.
Nico cursed. The bear was now only a few metres away.
The pit of despair in his stomach deepened.
Just as the bear was about to pounce on him, Nico saw Cedric crash into the clearing.
It only took the young black-haired boy a second to assess the situation before he rushed toward him and the feral animal.
The brown-haired boy screamed internally for his friend to flee. Unfortunately, the complete opposite occurred.
Time slowed to a crawl.
When the bear's claws were within a metre of his chest, Nico felt a large force push him aside, knocking him out of harm's way.
The sickening sound of flesh being pierced streamed into his ears.
'N-No!'
A large cry erupted from Nico's mouth, turning his throat raw. Looking to his right, the boy found a set of claws protruding from Cedric's chest.
Blood flowed like a torrent from the wound.
"R-Run!!" Cedric gasped.
The pain had momentarily blinded him. It took nearly all his effort to not scream aloud in pain. Now, he only hoped that his childhood friend could escape and warn the village about the feral bear.
Nico scrambled to his feet and bit his lips until they bled. He couldn't leave Cedric to die there alone. He would die here with him.
However, one look at his companion's eyes and his conviction weakened. Those eyes he had gazed into… they were the eyes of a person who had already come to terms with their death.
"Go!"
Two streams of tears flowed down Nico's cheeks.
'Forgive me, my friend.'
With a mournful cry that contained all the sorrow in the world, he began running back to the village to get some help.
However…
…deep inside Nico knew he wouldn't make it back on time.
***
'Arghhhhhhhhh!' Nico screamed internally, reliving the events of the past.
After the crimson light bloomed, the spell had ushered his most painful memories to the forefront of his mind.
The most prominent one of course, being the demise of his best friend.
Grief flooded Nico's mind, sharper and deadlier than it had been in a long while. The pain was even comparable to the first few days after Cedric's death.
It seemed the intensity of his emotions were heightened under the sinister manipulation of the looking glass.
Nico groaned, his mind in disarray.
'I deserve to die.'
'I am responsible for his death.'
'How can a wicked person like me continue to live?'
'I hate myself.'
Inside Nico's head, he released an agonised scream, his senses slowly being usurped by the sharp pang of grief.
The memories of that fateful day continued to replay unabated.
'Why should I continue to resist?'
'That's right. Isn't it easier to give up?'
'Screw hope. What has it ever done for me?'
Just as the activity in Nico's brain dulled teetering on the edge of no return as he succumbed completely to the pressure brought on by the spell, a green pinprick of light suddenly bloomed.
The pin-prick grew brighter and brighter still, until eventually, its illumination cleared the depressed fog from his mind. Enough at least for Nico not to do anything rash.
The brown-haired boy's eyes lit up, their former glassiness all but gone.
Nico's pupils abruptly dilated. He didn't even have time to examine his surroundings, before adrenaline rushed through his veins, gifting his brain a momentary second of extreme clarity.
An axe cleaved its way toward him. Its owner, a fiery-haired noble who had a victorious smirk plastered on his face.
Nico's life flashed through his eyes. His earliest memories, of which included snuggling in the warmth of Cynthia's embrace. Then, the day Charlotte came into the world.
The duty and responsibility of protecting his little sister…
…his father struggling to get through the everyday.
Despair filled Nico's heart. The axe was too close. He couldn't evade it in time.
'I'm sorry, Mother, Father, Charlotte and Aunt Beverly. May you be able to witness the day our world is rid of the Demons. I guess... this is goodbye.'
Nico closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Maybe some part of him truly wanted to die.
The sound of flesh being torn streamed into his ears.
A feeling of peace enshrouded Nico's entire being. This blasted life of his would soon end.
Yet, strangely, there was no pain…
…pain from where his body should have been mangled beyond belief.
'Weird.'
Nico tried to open his eyes and found he still possessed his sense of sight.
His eyes widened once more, so high to the top of his head, that one would think he had fainted.
A guttural scream ripped his throat.
"HENRY!!!'