The moon watched as Oryn skewered the young boy on his blade.
It went through the abdomen with no effort, piercing through his back as the blood dripped onto the sleeves of his black robes.
"I- I said I was sorry." The boy managed to mutter, with blood pouring from his mouth as his life slowly slipped away from him.
Oryn stared at him with his dark eyes before slowly pushing the boy off of his sword with a sickening squelch.
The body landed on the floor with a thud.
The scene took place on the rooftops of town Castonia, where the boy had climbed in hopes of escaping. Little did he know that regardless of where he tried to escape to, Oryn would ensure that he found him no matter what.
"I know you apologised." The killer said in a calm voice, as though he were trying to soothe a child. "But an apology does not take back what you did to my sister. Striking a defenceless girl for no reason is the worst thing you can do as a man."
A few moments passed before Oryn realised he was talking to himself.
The boy lay still on the rooftops.
Perhaps if you had a reason to strike her, I would not have hunted you down.
Oryn leaned over and used the boy's clothes to wipe the blood from his sword. It was a process he had done many times before, as this was not the first life his sword had taken.
Yet Oryn had never been caught.
The world of Earthus had a bounty system for all criminals, yet no matter how many crimes Oryn committed, he always managed to escape under the authority's radars.
And on the day that he murdered the young boy, he believed it would be another crime going unnoticed.
But how wrong he was.
Tap, Tap, Tap
Footsteps came fast behind him, forcing Oryn to turn towards their direction.
Instinctively, he raised his katana in a defensive position. Something crashed into it with force, sending him sliding meters backwards along the rooftop, almost falling into the empty streets below.
Oryn looked ahead at his attacker, and even he could not deny the jolt of fear that he felt in his heart at that moment.
The man wore a large white jacket that flowed down to his knees, and beneath them were black trousers and a black shirt.
The jacket was hooded, with black fur around the edges. His entire face was covered by an all-black mask with slits in the eyes to see through.
Most notable was the sword in the man's hand and the Shield Symbol on the white jacket's chest.
A Defender. I've finally been caught.
The man held a katana in his hand, testing its weight by spinning it around in a fluid motion.
"Murdering young boys of the town. I've never met you before, but I can already tell what sort of man you are." The Defender said voice muffled beneath his mask as he stood there menacingly.
Oryn tightened the grip on his katana.
The Defenders were the bounty hunters of Earthus. But unlike Oryn, who was a regular human, these men and women were said to be equipped with magic.
No one knew much about what they were capable of, as it was kept confidential by the Defenders, but avoiding their attention was something that all criminals tried their hardest to do.
"He attacked my sister," Oryn responded, voice confident and carrying across the rooftops. "Even young children should know to keep their hands to themselves."
The Defender let out a hearty chuckle that lasted for a few seconds.
"So what? He was a kid, he knew no better." He spat. "Will you kill every single boy that lays a hand on your sister during her youth?"
Oryn thought on the question for a few moments.
"Yes." He finally responded, probably not the response that the Defender was hoping to hear. "I will."
A few more moments of silence filled the air across the rooftop.
Then finally, the Defender reached a hand up and slowly lifted the black mask from his face.
Beneath the mask was a handsome man. His hair was white, and his eyes the same colour, which was abnormal. He looked like a ghost. His jaw was chiselled, and he seemed to be roughly the same age as Oryn. 18.
Most surprising though, was the smile on his face.
"I've been waiting to meet someone like you." The Defender said, discarding his mask to the floor beside him. "Vermin that are better off dead than alive."
Those fighting words forced Oryn to widen his stance and raise his blade in a readied position. The Defenders were known for being strong, but there was only one of them here.
This is a fight I can win. As long as I move strategically, and keep my wits about me at all times.
Then suddenly, the White-haired Defender chucked back his head and let out a booming laugh.
"You have things mistaken, murderer." He said once the laughs subsided.
Then, he grabbed hold of his katana with a two-handed grip and slowly began to point it towards Oryn.
"..."
"Widening your stance won't do anything against the Nightmares of the Defenders."
Oryn felt a dark chill tremble through his body, as something in the air began to change.
He had no idea what was about to happen, though his instincts begged for him to run away.
But he couldn't. Not only would he not allow himself to, but even if he wished to run, it was too late.
The Defender opened his lips, and for a moment, the only thing that could be heard through Oryn's ears were the words being spoken, as the blade was pointed towards him.
"Nightmare. Fated Field of the Black Flowers!"
Something travelled at the speed of light from the point of the man's sword after the words left his lips. It was like a string of power that was impossible to dodge.
It struck Oryn's chest, instantly blackening his entire vision.
He felt a nothingness for a few seconds, or perhaps a few minutes. His sense of time had been thrown out of kilter.
But once his vision returned, and his consciousness was handed back to him, he was no longer on the rooftops of Castonia.
He was now in a field of black flowers, with three moons hovering in the dark blue sky above him.
He had no time to take in his new surroundings, as the sound of footsteps on the floor came thudding towards him.
As he turned towards the sound, he was met with a sight that would startle him forever.
It was a shadowy featureless beast, standing twice the height of a man, running directly towards him on all fours with murderous intention.
Oryn had heard of this sort of magic before.
The Nightmares. An ability used by powerful Defenders and Criminals.
It was said that each user's Nightmare was unique, like a pocket-dimension. If they manage to get you inside of it, you are forced to live through whatever the realm has to offer.
And as far as Oryn knew, there was no way to combat a Nightmare, without using a Nightmare of your own.
The beast made its way towards him, and all Oryn could sense was his impending death.