The world, a once beautiful, peaceful and tranquil place had suddenly plunged into darkness. Days and nights couldn't be distinguished. Otherworldly and mythical creatures took over towns and villages, destroying those places, along with the human residents. These creatures possessed the ability to tempt and make a human go astray, throwing them and their souls to an eternal darkness, from which they could never return.
These creatures were classified into four types of monsters, the Beasts, the Mythics, the Fallens, and the Demons. Beasts were typically animal like, sometimes looking like a human and animal hybrid. They possessed dangerous, lethal and unparalleled strength.
The Mythics possessed magic and abilities to stray humans' soul to darkness. In certain aspects, they were like demons and were capable of using magic to some extent, which were mostly illusory in nature.
The Fallens could be called a hybrid between humans and Demons. They were former humans who had fallen into the darkness and the souls of whom couldn't be brought to the light again.
The Demons, the strongest of the three kinds were masters of magic, tempting and destruction. Ultimate beings against which humans couldn't fight.
Saddened by the world's condition, the Goddess bestowed fragments of her power to mankind. That's how magic came into existence. The fragments of her magic were sealed into "Power Stones." However, people called those stones "Mana Stones."
They were merely a source of "Magical Energy." Not all people possessed magic. Only "Chosen Ones," the Goddess' very own children, as the Priests liked to put it, possessed magic. They were scattered all over the Great Continent of Nexia.
One of the "Chosen Ones," a young boy, along with his friends looked at the dark sky which was illuminated by Magic Fragments blessed by the Goddess. They were like stars and were the only natural source of light, since the Sun and Moon and the Stars were not to be seen, as a dark blanket had engulfed the world.
Three kids, friends, were lying on the grass and looking at the sky.
A blonde haired boy, seemingly older than the other two, Ezekiel. A younger boy, Silas, having messy chocolate coloured hair, and eyes which looked like forest pools, a beautiful green colour, and the youngest, Clarisse, having short brown hair and large brown eyes.
"Do you guys think that the Sun, and Moon, and the Stars which gramps talked about can be seen again?"
"I wonder. He'd said that Stars looked like the Magic Fragments... But what did the Sun and Moon look like? What was day like?"
"I bet that Night looked like Aizen's eyes. Dark black with the Moon and Stars shining," said the younger girl with who was with them.
"I guess you're right. Aizen has beautiful black eyes. It makes me think how black could be so beautiful."
"Hey Ezu, Aizen hasn't left his house for a couple of time now. Shouldn't we check on him?" asked Clarisse. She found the name Ezekiel hard to pronounce and had just shortened it to "Ezu."
"How about we go to see him after seeing Gramps?" asked Silas. "He'd said that he'd tell us something new and interesting."
"Yeah. We should do that," Ezekiel replied with a nod, before standing up from the ground and helping Clarisse to stand. Silas hopped up from the ground like some weird animal, after which the three of them made their way to the Village Church.
Upon reaching the Church, the three kids joined the other children, most of them orphaned after a recent attack on the village by Beasts. Ezekiel walked up to the Goddess statue and prayed until the Priest arrived.
The Priest would tell the village children stories in order to encourage them and teach them values, so that they would not fall into darkness and become a Fallen.
The moment the Priest arrived, all the children flocked to him, and asking him to tell them something interesting again. One of the kids said,
"Grandpa, you said you would tell us something interesting today! What's it?"
The Priest caressed the hair of the curious child and smiled before speaking,
"Yes. I will tell you something interesting. But why don't you all take your seats first? It will be long story, so you'll get tired if you keep standing."
The children nodded and settled down, sitting on the ground, in front of the Priest. They never sat on the chair. The Priest was like a father figure and the children would always stick really close to him.
Once all the children were settled, the Priest glanced at all the children before speaking,
"That boy, Aizen... He isn't here today either it seems..."
He sighed before telling the children something interesting, which he had promised them.
"How many of you know about the Fallen?"
"Gramps, do you mean the former humans?'
"Yes."
"What about them?"
"Do you all know how humans turn into Fallens?"
A brief moment of silence fell as the children were unable to answer.
"You see," the Priest said. "Humans become Fallens when they fall into the darkness."
"What do you mean by darkness? Stuff like falling into temp... temptretion....."
"Temptation, yes. But it's not just temptations which lead people astray."
"There are things other than temp... tempt... temptation which turns humans into Fallens? Really? What are they?"
"Humans are complex beings. We all possess something known as emotions. Those emotions sometimes lead the human mind and soul astray , leading them to the darkness."
"Emotions?"
"Yes."
The Priest sighed before continuing...
"I came across a lady while I was in the neighbouring village. She had a child. However, when the child was killed by Beasts, she went insane, and the villagers had to lock her up in a hut. They'd give her food, water, clothing, everything. They even tried to talk to her, but nothing worked. The lady fell silent and stared at a photo of her child."
"What happened to that lady? Is she alright...?"
"Unfortunately not," the Priest replied after closing her eyes. "Instead, she took a horrendous form..."
"Horrendous form...?"
The younger kids got a bit scared upon hearing that, but were comforted by the older ones.
"Yes. She had taken the form of a monster, in the shape of a human child. It is impossible to put it in words..."
Ezekiel remained silent upon hearing that. Clarisse clutched onto Silas' clothes, seeing which, Silas had to stroke her hair.
"What I am trying to say is that humans become Fallens when they lose control over their mind, and chooses to follow the heart instead."
"Isn't that a good thing though?" Ezekiel remarked. "Following the heart?"
The Priest looked at him, smiling, before speaking,
"No son. It isn't entirely correct."
"How come?"
"Say son, if you see a child surrounded by Beasts, what would you do?"
"I'd try to save that child. Isn't that obvious?"
"True, it is. But in such a situation, the emotions residing in your heart is positive, guided by the light."
"I can't quite catch it..."
"I'll make it simpler than. The lady about whom I just said had fallen into an emotion known as "despair" son. Powerful negative emotions such as obsession, unhealthy wanting, guilt, despair... All these emotions can turn a human into a Fallen."
"So what you are trying to say is be guided by the light, not the darkness."
"You are as usual quick to catch on," the Priest said.
"Yes, that's precisely what I wanted to say. No matter what happens, do not let your heart doubt the Goddess or fall into the darkness. It's impossible to turn a Fallen back to a human."
"Fallens..." Ezekiel mumbled softly to himself.
"Fallens are nothing but the lump of desire which led the human to become a Fallen. Their form represents their desire, or emotion, which had resulted in them turning into those monsters."
The Priest continued to tell the children about the various Fallens whom he had encountered. He said, "If you see a Fallen, do not hesitate to flee. However, if you're confident in yourself, take the name of the Goddess and put them out of their misery."
After a long story session, some of the children returned to their homes, while some remained at the Church.
"Man, it was really interesting, wasn't it Ezu?" asked Clarisse as she walked ahead.
"Yeah. I didn't know this much about Fallens. All I knew was that they were former humans," said Silas.
Ezekiel remained silent before shrugging and speaking,
"Well, let's now get to Aizen's hou---"
His voice was drowned by the sudden sound of an explosion. The sound of which made him turn towards the place from where it had just come. Villagers panicked and ran towards the Church, fearing it might be the work of the evil beings.
From the flames, the silhouette of a boy was seen. He was steadily approaching the Village Church. Ezekiel immediately covered for Clarisse and ran towards the Church with Silas.
"What is that thing?!" he thought as he glanced the silhouette. It was probably a child, just like them. But the immense power. It definitely wasn't a human.