On the morning of my sixteenth birthday, I wake up and I change into an everyday shirt and sweatpants before I leave my room and head into the small kitchen. As I walk in, my sister looks over at me.
"Good morning, Brutus! Happy birthday!" Kara says. She puts a plate of pancakes and bacon on the table. "I made your favorite breakfast for you. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold!"
I smile at her and sit down. "Thanks!" Kara sits at the table as I eat my breakfast. "So, what role do you think you'll get at your ceremony?" Kara asks. "I want something that'll help protect the village. I want to help as much as I can. If I can defend everyone, maybe they'll stop treating us like intruders."
Kara smiles. "I'm sure you'll make everyone proud, especially a certain friend of yours..." I nearly choke on a bite of my breakfast as she says that. "What're you talking about?!"
Kara laughs as my face turns red. "You know who I'm talking about. You should have an honest talk with her today."
I nervously stare at the table. "I don't know... Lorelei's my best friend. I don't want to make things weird." Kara gives me a serious look. "Brutus, she was going to leave the village after her birthday ceremony last year, but she didn't because she wanted to stay so she could see yours. She wouldn't have stayed if she didn't care about you, but she's going to leave tomorrow. You should talk to her today. Trust me, you shouldn't let things go unsaid."
I finish eating and stand up. "You're right. I'll talk to her after my training session with Master Yuri." Kara gets up and gives me a hug. "Good luck. I'll be waiting for good news!" Kara then takes my plate to the sink. I smile and wave goodbye as I grab my wooden training sword from our living room and head out the door.
I silently walk past everyone I see on the way to Yuri's training area, a large shed-like building on the outskirts of town. As I get there, I see him standing by the door looking at his watch. "You're right on time. Let's start." Yuri says. I bow to him. "Yes, Master!" Yuri opens the door and heads inside.
"Today is your final lesson. You are to use everything I have taught you against me. You will only pass if you can defeat me. Do you understand?" I nod and ready my sword. "Yes. I will use every ability I have. I won't hold back!" Yuri grabs his training sword and gets into position. "Good. 3... 2... 1... Begin!"
Yuri immediately slashes at my side but I easily block. I respond with a stab at his left leg but he quickly dodges away. "Surely you can do better than that, Brutus!"
I fake a slash at Yuri's throat, and as he falls for it, I quickly roll past him and viciously smack him in the back of his legs with the flat of my training sword. He staggers a little, but he doesn't fall. "You must be getting old already, Master! You can barely stay on your feet!"
I laugh as he quickly spins to face me. He glares and attempts to hit me with a flurry of slashes. "You should not underestimate me, Brutus. I have participated in many battles, and I have never lost."
I stumble backwards as I barely block his combo. Seeing an opening, Yuri attempts to stab my shoulder but I manage to duck and I use all my strength to stab at his stomach. He grunts and falls on his knees. I quickly knock his blade out of his hand and point mine at his throat.
"Do you yield, Master?" Yuri laughs and holds out his hand. "Yes. You've passed your test." I smile and grab his hand to help him up, but he suddenly uses his strength to pull me onto the floor. He then immediately stands up and pins me to the ground with his boot.
I struggle and glare at Yuri. "What the hell was that for?!" Yuri smirks. "You're far too trusting, Brutus. Never let your guard down, even for a second, or you will meet your demise." He puts his boot back on the floor and holds out his hand to help me up, but I smack it away and stand up by myself.
Yuri laughs and retrieves a certificate and a sheathed katana from a table in the corner. "Very good. Here is proof that you passed your final lesson and a special reward. I hope this blade serves you well." I roll up the certificate and put it in my pocket, then attach the blade to my belt and I shake Yuri's hand. "It was an honor to be trained by a powerful warrior like you, Master Yuri. I will take good care of this blade."
Yuri waves me off. "Go on, go make something of yourself. I expect to hear of your exploits all around the world. Don't disappoint me." I roll my eyes and leave the training area.
I walk through the village towards the main square and its shops, but before I enter it, I hear a very familiar voice. "Hi, Red! Happy birthday!" I turn around to face a smiling girl with long golden hair wearing a casual shirt and shorts. I'd recognize her anywhere. Lorelei, my best friend and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.
I nervously smile. "Hey, Lora! I was just looking for you!" I walk over and she gives me a quick hug. "Let's go check out the shops! I want to get you something!" Before I can insist that she doesn't need to get me anything, Lorelei grabs my hand and drags me to the main square.
As we walk, Lorelei notices my sheathed katana. "Whoa, where'd you get that?!" I proudly unsheath it and show it to her. "Master Yuri gave it to me as a reward for passing his final lesson!" I resheath the blade.
Lorelei smiles and we continue walking. Eventually, we stop at the bakery and Lorelei buys us both fresh cinnamon rolls then we sit on a bench to eat. As we eat, I overhear a couple of guys whispering about me.
"That guy and his sister don't belong here. They should've been kicked out."
"He can leave, but his sister can stay. She's pretty hot." I start to stand up, but Lorelei puts a hand on my shoulder. "Don't. It's not worth it." I sigh. "I'm tired of guys like that thinking they're better than me and Kara because we weren't born here..."
We finish our cinnamon rolls and we get up. "It sucks that I couldn't find you something, but I still have a present for you!" Lorelei starts walking towards her house and I follow her.
Along the way, we hear some girls talk about us, not caring whether we can hear them or not. "Ugh, there goes the tomboy and the outsider." "Those freaks deserve each other." Lorelei suddenly stops walking, so I go up to her and I see that she looks upset.
"Hey, don't listen to them. They can go to hell." I take Lorelei's hand and smile at her. "Yeah. I won't let them get to me." She smiles back, but she still looks a little sad.
We arrive at her house and I sit in the living room. "Wait here, I'll go get your present!" Lorelei hurries up the stairs to her room. While I wait, I examine my katana and I notice that I can take off the bottom of the hilt. Inside is a little secret compartment!
"Alright, close your eyes, Brutus!" I close my eyes and I feel Lorelei place a piece of paper in my hands. "Okay, you can open them now!" I open my eyes and I look at the paper. Sketched on it is a detailed portrait of me.
"Wow, this is amazing! I didn't know you were so good!" Lorelei blushes a little at my praise. "I've been practicing. I'm glad you like it!" I carefully fold the drawing and I put it inside the secret compartment of my blade's hilt. "I don't just like it, I love it. This is a great present!" I give Lorelei a big hug.
She smiles and then she checks the time. "Your ceremony's going to start soon. Do you want to go see Seraph for a bit?" I immediately get up. "Of course!" As we walk through the village to get to the outskirts, I look at Lorelei.
"Seraph's been getting big, hasn't she?" "Yep! If what the books say is true, she'll be fully grown by the time she's six." We walk towards a makeshift stable where we see a white dragon. "Look Seraph, I brought Brutus with me! It's his birthday!" Lorelei runs over to Seraph and pets her.
Seraph just snorts in my direction. "Ha... I guess she still doesn't like me very much." Lorelei gestures for me to come over to her. "She'll warm up to you eventually. Come and pet her!"
I walk over and I hesitantly try to pet Seraph, but she turns away. "Seraph, that's not nice!" Lorelei frowns. Seraph just grumbles and flies away. "Will she be back?" I ask. "Yeah, she's probably just hungry. Sorry about that. I guess she only likes me!" Lorelei laughs."Oh wait, I forgot! I had something awesome to show you!"
Lorelei runs inside the stable and brings out a strange rod. "I finished my secret project!" She presses a button on the rod and it suddenly extends into a spear!
My jaw drops in surprise. "How the hell did you make something that amazing?!" Lorelei grins and twirls the spear around. "I worked my ass off! I wanted to make a spear, but I also wanted something that I could hide. So I started working on this. It took a while, but I finally made it perfect!"
I realize what this means and I look at the ground. "Wow. You, uh... You're all ready for when you leave tomorrow, aren't you..." Lorelei sighs and walks over to me. "I guess I am. I wish I could stay, but you know I can't." She growls. "I need to kill that crystal bastard for everything he's done!"
"I know. I just... I'm really going to miss you." Lorelei hugs me tightly. "I'll miss you too. But before I leave, I wanted to tell you something important." "I wanted to tell you something too." I quickly check my watch. "But... I shouldn't be late to my ceremony, so let's talk after, okay?" For a split second, Lorelei looks sad, but she quickly smiles.
"Okay. I have something to do, so I might be a little late, but I'll make sure to be there!" I look into her beautiful green eyes and something tells me she's lying, but I don't bring it up. I wave and I quickly head back home.
I open the front door and I see Kara sitting on the couch wearing formal clothes with another set of clothes next to her. "So, did you talk to her?" I sit next to Kara. "Not yet, but we're going to talk after the ceremony." She starts to look disappointed, but she quickly forces a smile. "Good. I got this outfit for you to wear. Go hurry up and change so we're not late."
I go to my room and change into the new clothes, then I head back to the living room. Kara stands up and walks over. "Ready to go?" "Yeah. Let's do this." We leave our house and we walk to the main square, where most of the village is now gathered.
The mayor looks at us, and he looks annoyed. "Finally, you're here. Let's just do this already." Kara and I walk onto the makeshift stage and stand by the mayor. Surprisingly, Yuri is there too, wearing a cloak. "Master Yuri? What're you doing here? And what's up with that cloak?"
Yuri smirks in a weirdly suspicious way. "It's none of your business. Besides, you didn't think I would miss this, would you?" The mayor shushes us, then he looks at the audience. "People of Virkom, today is a special day for Brutus Crescent. Today, he is to discover his true purpose in life, and he will serve this village with everything he has."
As the mayor talks, Yuri starts muttering something under his breath. I look at the crowd and I don't see Lorelei anywhere. "She said she'd be here. I hope she's okay..." The mayor turns toward me. "Brutus Crescent, please come forward!" I nervously walk forward and stand in front of him.
"Do you swear to always serve the people of Virkom?" "Yes." The mayor nods. "Do you swear to commit to making this village an even better place?" "Yes!" "Do you swear to always protect this place?!" "Yes, sir!" The mayor smiles. "Good. I shall now start the portal spell." The mayor starts chanting, and I look out at the audience. "Still not here..." I look at Yuri, and he's still muttering under his breath with a frustrated look on his face.
"I wonder what he's doing..." The mayor stops chanting and he looks towards the empty space in the center of the stage. "And now, Brutus Crescent, your life's purpose shall be revealed!" The mayor points at the empty space. Instead of a small white portal appearing like at all the other ceremonies I'd seen, nothing happens.
"What...?" Then suddenly, a rip appears where the portal should be. It opens and a wolf with dark red fur walks through the strange portal before it closes. The mayor points at a strange emblem on its head and yells. "By the gods! It's a servant of chaos! This boy is cursed!"
The people in the crowd start screaming and running around in terror, while Yuri stands in front of the audience with a weirdly gleeful smile on his face. "People of Virkom, I am not the man you knew before!" He rips off his large cloak, revealing two sheathed katanas on his back, and a set of unmistakable black armor.
"I am Yuri Solaris, the Emperor of Solaris! I am here to command you to execute this boy, for he has always been an agent of chaos! This wolf is only the beginning! If you let him live, he will call an army of chaos creatures into our realm and kill you all! What do you say? Will you join me in purging this evil from our world?!"
The crowd roars. "Kill him!" "Save us from this accursed boy!" Yuri turns toward me with an evil smirk on his face. "Well, you heard what they think! Any last words, spawn of chaos?" Yuri draws his two black katanas.
"I..." Suddenly, Yuri charges at me. Terrified, I'm unable to move out of his way. But then, Kara snatches the mayor's staff and leaps in front of me, blocking Yuri's katanas. "Ugh...Brutus, get the hell out of here now!" "What?! No! I'm not leaving you!" Kara growls. "Just do it! As long as you're okay, I don't care if I die! I love you! I just want you to be safe, damn it!"
"I love you too, Kara..." I run through the back alleys of the village as fast as I can. I look behind me and notice the wolf following me. "What the hell are you here for?!" The wolf whimpers and runs up to me. He lowers his head, as if asking me to pet him.
"Ugh..." I hesitantly place my left hand on his head. Suddenly, I sense what the creature is feeling, as if a connection was created between us. "You...don't want to hurt me?" He shakes his head. I sense that he feels...protective. "You want to protect me, don't you?" He nods. "Okay then. I'll call you... Spiritus. Now let's hurry before -" I hear a scream of pain coming from the main square and I feel like a piece of my soul is breaking. Spiritus howls. "No..."
As a few tears fall out of my eyes, Spiritus and I run as fast as we can until we get to the outskirts of the village. I see Seraph's stable and go towards it. As we get there, Lorelei comes out and sprints over to me with her spear at the ready. "Brutus, be careful! There's a monster chasing you! I'll get it!"
She tries to attack Spiritus, but I grab her arm. "Wait, don't! He's good. He wants to protect me." Lorelei taps the button on her spear and attaches the rod to her belt. She looks at my face and sees the tears in my eyes. "Brutus, what happened to you?!" "At the ceremony, Spiritus appeared and Yuri convinced everyone I had to die! He tried to kill me, but Kara...I..." I look at the ground, not knowing what I'm supposed to do. Lorelei hugs me tightly. "This is terrible..."
Suddenly we hear a loud roar. "BRUTUS CRESCENT! STOP RUNNING LIKE A COWARD AND ACCEPT YOUR FATE!" I freeze where I am. "What am I supposed to do?!" Lorelei gives me a determined look and I follow her as she starts running.
"Seraph's not back yet, but if we can make it through the forest and onto the mountain path, we might be able to lose him in the caves! If we do that, we should be able to get down the mountains and escape somewhere he can't find us!" The three of us manage to get to the forest and we carefully sprint through it.
"Why weren't you at the ceremony?" Lorelei sighs. "It's not important right now. I can tell you after we get out of here!" We start to hear footsteps behind us as we get towards the end of the forest. "Damn... He's getting closer..."
I stop and look at Lorelei. "Why are you helping me like this? I'm the only one he wants." She looks into my eyes. "I would never abandon you to die. You're important to me." "But still, you could've hidden and saved yourself. Just because we're best friends doesn't mean I'm important enough for you to risk your life for."
"You're more than a best friend to me. Brutus, I-" Out of nowhere, a black katana pierces Lorelei's shoulder. "You should've kept moving, you pitiful fools." With his extreme strength, Yuri lifts his katana with Lorelei on it, and flings her at a nearby tree. She crashes into it and falls to the ground. "NO!" I quickly sprint over to her and I notice that she's still breathing. "Thank the gods..." I turn to Yuri and viciously glare at him. "You bastard! Why the hell did you do all of this?!"
Yuri laughs. "Because your death will take me one step closer to the ultimate power. Once I have it, no one will ever underestimate me again." "What the hell are you talking about?!" I angrily draw my katana. "I'll cut the answer out of you!" Spiritus growls at him and prepares to lunge.
I furiously swing at him, but he quickly sheathes his katanas and snatches mine. "You are truly pathetic. Do you remember anything I ever taught you?" He snaps my katana in half like a twig. "How...?" He starts to throw the pieces to the ground, but he pauses. "Hmm...The weight of the hilt is different." Yuri tosses aside the blade but opens the secret compartment in the hilt and pulls out Lorelei's drawing of me. He unfolds it and smirks.
"How adorable." I stare in shock as Yuri makes a dark orb appear in his free hand. He touches it to the drawing and it disintegrates. I growl and charge at him as Spiritus somehow spits a fireball at him. Yuri immediately draws his katanas. He cleaves the fireball in half with one and slashes me with the other. Unable to block, his blade deeply cuts into my chest.
"Damn..." I collapse to my knees as I try to put pressure on my wound, but it's no use. Yuri laughs at me. "You bleed because you are weak. The weak deserve death. Only the powerful may live in my world. I-" While Yuri is gloating, Spiritus manages to leap onto his face. "Get off me, you disgusting beast!" Yuri falls on his back and he lets out a horrifying scream as Spiritus bites at his face.
Yuri manages to shove Spiritus off of him and he stands up, missing his right eye. He immediately grabs his katanas and throws them both at Spiritus. Unfortunately, Spiritus doesn't get away in time and he is skewered with both. "No..." As my vision darkens, the last things I see are Yuri walking towards Spiritus, and Lorelei's unconscious body, knowing that Yuri will surely kill her if she still lives…
I awaken in a strange void. I quickly check myself over and I realize I have no wounds. "What in the gods is this place?" I hear a booming voice that sounds like it's coming from everywhere. "I wouldn't take our names in vain, if I were you." A man with long white hair wearing a strange mask and white armor appears in front of me.
"Who the hell are you?" The man laughs. "I am known as Xerkhon, God of Revenge. I am here to offer you a chance to defeat the one who murdered you and your sister."
"What's the catch?" Xerkhon summons a red katana. "If you accept my offer, you will be brought back to life as my champion in the human realm. I will give you this weapon, The Blood Katana. The more things it kills, the stronger it gets. I will also provide you with many other benefits, such as increased strength and endurance. But in return, you must do missions for me. The missions I give you will give you the chance to aquire even greater strength. What do you say, Brutus Crescent?"
"I accept, Lord Xerkhon." He grins and tosses me the katana, then he snaps his fingers. We suddenly appear inside of a palace. Xerkhon sits on the throne. "Am I alive now?" "Yes. You were actually already alive from the moment you awoke. I knew you would accept my offer!" I go up to the throne and kneel in front of Xerkhon.
He places his hands on my shoulders and I feel power rush into me. "You now have enhanced strength, endurance, and agility." Xerkhon summons a set of red armor and a bracer. "This armor is enchanted. It will protect you very well and will constantly change size so it will always fit you. This bracer will allow me to send you details about your missions." He points to a button with an X on it. "That button will transport you to me immediately, although I recommend only using it when I wish to summon you."
I put the bracer on my left wrist. "These gifts are very generous, my lord. But where is Spiritus?" Xerkhon looks confused. "Spiritus? Oh, your wolf. He is in his dormant form right now. Check your left arm."
I pull up my left sleeve and notice a tattoo of a wolf on my left arm. "How do I make him appear?" "Concentrate on making him appear in front of you." I concentrate and then Spiritus appears in front of me! "It worked!" Xerkhon smiles. "Yes, it did. As you practice, it will soon be effortless to summon and de-summon him." Xerkhon points out of the throne room. "Now, go find a spare room and equip your armor. I wish to train you before you go back to the human realm." I bow and I leave the room with Spiritus following me.
"With Xerkhon's help, I might just be able to defeat that bastard. I'm coming for you, Yuri Solaris. The name Brutus Crescent will one day strike fear into your dark heart!"