The village of Black Hollow was a place where dreams went to die. Nestled on the outskirts of the Eryndor Empire, it was a forgotten speck on the map, a place where the weak and the powerless were left to rot. And Leon Drakenshade was the weakest of them all.
At eighteen, Leon was a walking disappointment. While other boys his age were training with swords or mastering basic spells, Leon could barely lift a sack of grain without breaking a sweat. His magic? Nonexistent. His strength? Pathetic. Even his name felt like a cruel joke—*Drakenshade*, a name that hinted at greatness but delivered nothing but shame.
"Leon! Hurry up, you lazy oaf!" barked Old Man Garret, the village blacksmith. "If you don't get those tools sorted by sundown, you're not getting paid!"
Leon gritted his teeth and wiped the sweat from his brow. The forge was sweltering, and the heat made his head spin. He glanced at the pile of rusted tools in front of him and sighed. Another day, another reminder of how useless he was.
"I'm working as fast as I can," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Garret snapped, his bushy eyebrows furrowing.
"Nothing," Leon said quickly, avoiding the old man's glare. He focused on the task at hand, trying to ignore the laughter of the other apprentices. They loved to mock him, calling him "Leon the Lifeless" or "Shadeless." The nicknames stung, but Leon had learned to swallow his pride. In a world where strength was everything, he had no right to complain.
---
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Leon finally finished his work. His muscles ached, and his hands were raw from handling the rough tools, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to go home and see his sister, Lila.
Lila was the only bright spot in his life. At twelve, she was everything Leon wasn't—bright, cheerful, and full of hope. She had a way of seeing the good in people, even in him. Whenever Leon felt like giving up, her smile was enough to keep him going.
"Leon! You're late again!" Lila called out as he trudged through the door of their small, crumbling cottage. She was sitting by the fireplace, stirring a pot of stew. The smell made Leon's stomach growl.
"Sorry," he said, forcing a smile. "Garret had me working overtime."
Lila rolled her eyes. "That old grump. One of these days, I'm going to march down there and give him a piece of my mind."
Leon chuckled. "I'd like to see that."
Their mother, bedridden and frail, coughed weakly from the corner of the room. "Leon… is that you?"
"Yes, Mother," Leon said, his heart sinking. He hated seeing her like this—pale, thin, and fading away. The healers said there was nothing they could do. Her illness was beyond their magic.
"Come here, my boy," she whispered, reaching out a trembling hand. Leon knelt beside her, taking her hand in his. Her skin was cold, and her grip was weak.
"You're a good son," she said, her voice barely audible. "Promise me… promise me you'll take care of Lila."
Leon's throat tightened. "I promise."
---
That night, as Leon lay on his thin straw mattress, he couldn't sleep. The weight of his mother's words pressed down on him, suffocating him. How could he protect Lila when he couldn't even protect himself? He stared at the cracks in the ceiling, feeling the familiar ache of helplessness.
Then the ground began to shake.
At first, it was just a faint tremor, barely noticeable. But within seconds, the shaking grew violent, rattling the walls and sending pots and pans crashing to the floor.
"Leon!" Lila screamed, her voice filled with panic.
Leon leapt to his feet, his heart pounding. "Stay here!" he shouted, grabbing a rusty dagger from the shelf. He burst out of the cottage and into the chaos outside.
The village was in turmoil. People were running in every direction, screaming and crying. The earth itself seemed to be alive, heaving and splitting apart. And then, in the distance, Leon saw it.
A massive structure was rising from the ground, its dark stone walls glowing with eerie, pulsating runes. It was unlike anything Leon had ever seen—a towering labyrinth of twisting corridors and jagged spires. The air around it shimmered with an unnatural energy, and a low, ominous hum filled the air.
"What… what is that?" someone whispered.
Leon didn't have an answer. All he knew was that it was dangerous. And then he heard Lila's voice.
"Leon! Help me!"
His blood ran cold. He turned and saw her—trapped inside the dungeon, her small figure silhouetted against the glowing runes.
"Lila!" he shouted, sprinting toward the dungeon without a second thought. The villagers called out to him, warning him to stay back, but he didn't care. He had made a promise, and he wasn't about to break it.
---
The inside of the dungeon was a nightmare. The walls seemed to shift and twist, as if they were alive. The air was thick with a strange, metallic smell, and the only light came from the glowing runes etched into the stone. Leon's heart raced as he called out for Lila.
"Lila! Where are you?"
"Leon! I'm here!" Her voice echoed from somewhere ahead.
He followed the sound, his dagger clutched tightly in his hand. The deeper he went, the more he felt like he was being watched. Shadows danced at the edges of his vision, and the low hum grew louder, vibrating in his chest.
And then he saw it.
A creature emerged from the darkness—a grotesque, humanoid thing with too many eyes and razor-sharp claws. Its mouth stretched into a twisted grin, revealing rows of jagged teeth. Leon froze, his breath catching in his throat.
The monster lunged at him, its claws slashing through the air. Leon barely managed to dodge, stumbling backward. He swung his dagger, but the blade glanced harmlessly off the creature's tough hide.
"Think, Leon, think!" he muttered, his mind racing. He couldn't fight this thing head-on. He needed a plan.
Spotting a loose stone in the wall, he grabbed it and hurled it at the monster. The creature turned, distracted, and Leon seized the opportunity. He darted past it, grabbing Lila's hand and pulling her toward the exit.
"Run!" he shouted.
They sprinted through the twisting corridors, the monster hot on their heels. Leon's legs burned, and his lungs felt like they were on fire, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.
Finally, they burst out of the dungeon and into the cool night air. The villagers stared at them in shock, their faces pale with fear.
Leon collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. Lila clung to him, her small body trembling.
"You saved me," she whispered, her voice filled with awe.
Leon didn't respond. He was too exhausted, too overwhelmed. But as he looked back at the dungeon, he felt something stir within him—a faint spark of power, a connection to the strange, otherworldly place.
And he knew, deep down, that this was only the beginning.
---
**To Be Continued.. **