Three-year-old Hildebrant watched his father and mother hunt antelope in size of a bull. Their bodies standing next to each other observed their prey while he calmly sat under a tree and watched an arrow leaving his father's bow and embedding itself into the antelope's head.
The moment it took life to leave the beast's body was almost surreal when he thought about it. It was as if the creature was meant to be slain and not meant to roam free around the world that gave birth to it.
Picking up the dead body his father and mother came to him and together they came home where while his father skinned the antelope his mother began to heat the stove.
Together it took them less than two hours to prepare dinner and sit at the same table after that they ate.
Antelope's tender meat melted on his tongue and various thoughts entered his mind.
Questions like where he was and what he was doing were already gone and the only thing remaining was food before him.
When one memory passed another came where he observed a raging storm with his father. His silhouette was still blurry and hard to remember but his touch on his head was warm and full of strength.
"Don't worry little one. The storm will pass, and the tree you took care of will become even more powerful."
His voice was even more calming than a hand on his head and Hildebrant's wildly beating heart calmed down. Then together they watched lighting fall on the ground and cloud disappear.
At that time his father smiled.
"Look at your tree don't it look more powerful now?"
Like any other, even this memory was shrouded by another in which his father argued with his mother. Hildebrant hid behind the door and listened with perked eyes not knowing what was happening but being sure it was nothing good.
"Why are you going when you don't need to?!"
His mother cried and his father held her hands close to his chest. Even while her eyes were full of tears his smile never disappeared from his face and even became more somber as he caressed her face and hair.
"You know I don't have a choice this is what I need to do for us and my children."
His surroundings again changed to that of his mother sitting behind the table while the sun began to shine in. She had her head laid down on her hand while she absentmindedly watched the sun ascend above the horizon of various mountains and trees.
Slowly walking to her Hildebrant tugged her sleeve and she immediately woke up and turned to him with a smile.
"What is it little one?"
Hildebrant titled his head.
"Where is Father?"
His mother's eyes became red, but she immediately hardened her face and picked him up into embrace.
"He went to do something; he will soon come back."
But he didn't and his memory changed into another where his mother screamed while nannies from the village were running all around. They were frantic and afraid but none of them panicked just picked up towels and bows to take into the room.
Trembling Hildebrant asked one of the aunts.
"Is mother all right?"
Stopping in her tracks aunt just smiled and patted his head.
"Don't worry Hill, your mother is just trying to get your sister out of her."
With these words, a new scene showed one after another.
At one time he played with his sister, in another his mother scolded him for what he did to his friend, after that he caught a dog, he found in the wildness and let it die outside in winter.
Scene after scene he lived through them all remembering things his memory would have long forgotten if not for his brain taking them out for him to see and then came the last scene.
He sat on the bench outside his legs swinging up and down. His mother just come from harvest he could watch her from a distance coming back with basked full of food while his sister sat inside of house.
"Hill come play!"
She shouted at him, but he ignored her.
If he played with her now, he would not have peace for the rest of his day and he wouldn't be able to go to the forest with his mother.
As he waited for his mother to come his eyes were involuntarily drawn up to the sky. For some reason, it looked as if the sun was coming closer but was it even possible? It took not even a second to answer his question as just after he thought about it flash of light blinded his eyes and a wave of heat passed through the entire village.
Then the sun fell, mountains melted, rivers evaporated, and even though the light was so far away, its flames and heat traveled fast and reached him almost instantly.
Without him knowing screams escaped his lugs, not just from his but the entire village turned into a yellow hue leaving screams of unhuman pain from their inhabitants and the weird feeling of being invaded by something in his chest.
Hildebrant screamed most, suffered most, and sensed his skin burning away but before flames could get deeper into his body entire world crumbled and revealed two fleshly corpses taking a step away from him and letting his hands go.
Their eyes were burning emitting fierce flames and even the blood vessels on his hands began to disappear slowly being consumed by an unknown whisp of white flames that consumed them the same way they tried him.
Hildebrant was blankly staring at his hand until a scream escaped from darkness and a crimson hand let go of both human corpses.
The girl and boy both fell to the ground but even then, they did not stop wriggling.
Taking this opportunity Hildebrant turned around and ran.
He did not know what saved him, if some deity helped him to fight against the crimson monster or if it was his own natural gifts but even he sometimes would stumble just from remembering the pain that went through his body.
Water splashed on his armor but not even when his feet stepped on something that was surely flesh did he not stop running.
After hearing another scream, he was sure his choice was right and continued to run with all his might until he stumbled again, and with a ragged breath, he fell on the floor and stared at the puddle of clean water.
In it, he saw a boy with long black hair, blue eyes, and olive skin staring at himself.
The boy's face was covered with dirt and blood but none of it mattered as he continued watching, until a lonely tear fell from his red eyes.