A moonless sky in a barren land where silence enveloped the night, not even a single sound could be heard. A man, barely in his twenties, walked with just a stick in hand, using it as a guide for each of his steps.
His clothes were tattered beyond repair, his cheeks shrunken, and his eyes were squinted as if they would close at any moment in time.
However, despite his circumstances, he continued wandering the endless land. His breathing became rougher each second that passed; even his strides were getting slower and smaller.
Then he came to a sudden halt as a faint growl echoed across the horizon. Though blinded by the extreme darkness, he still tried to look around.
'A fiend?' He thought, raising the stick in front.
The horrifying screech reverberated once more. It gave chills in the young man's spine, making him gulp in fear.
His heart raced, pounding on his chest as the sound of footsteps came closer. The young man stood there in silence, while cold sweat started to form on his forehead.
The next second, something dripped on top of his head—a sticky feeling with a foul stench—this made him step a little backward. The fear of the unknown struck him hard while his mind began to play tricks on him, imagining his death looming around the corner. Then, he shook his head and cleared his thoughts; he turned around bit by bit, doing his best not to make any noise. And the moment he did, he saw a large silhouette standing behind him. Despite the dark surroundings, he saw its eyes glowing with a crimson hue, staring at him like how a predator looked at its prey.
'Should I run?' he asked himself, thinking about his next course of action.
Even though he already knew that it would be a useless struggle, he didn't hesitate. Without wasting another breath, he ran for his life, summoning all the strength he could muster at the moment.
Then, the monster growled once again and entered into its hunting stance. It charged towards him with its wide open mouth. The young man didn't dare to look back; he focused on fleeing, hoping that he would be able to outrun the dangerous creature chasing him behind.
However, as if his fate was already decided, he stumbled rolling on the ground upon tripping on a rock.
"Damn it!" he cussed, slamming his fist onto the solid soil several times.
The next second, he felt a cold touch, grabbing his left foot before lifting him in the open air. Then, with a loud bang, he found himself kissing the dirt as the monster slammed him on the ground.
His left eyelid burst open while blood splattered on his face. He moved his feet, kicking, trying to free himself from the monster's clutches; however, as if it found his resistance annoying, the creature slammed him once more, back and forth, before tossing him in a large boulder nearby.
The young man felt excruciating pain, blood gushing out from the back of his head. It painted the boulder with a red tint hue as he slid down on the ground.
His eyes, partially open, stared in the endless darkness. He tried to lift his feet to stand, but having no spare strength to even move a muscle, he gave up on the idea. If not for the lack of sleep and extreme hunger he was in, maybe he would have sufficient energy to flee.
"I-Is this it? I don't want to die yet," he stuttered, his voice escaping like a choke whisper.
He wanted to scream and beg for mercy, for someone to save him from the imminent danger. However, his current location was not a place for people to wander, so being rescued would be a fleeting dream, a hopeless wish in that desolate land.
Then, the sound of footsteps came knocking on his ear once again. Without anything left for him to do, he closed his eyes.
'I'm dead anyway. Come! Let this abandoned one satisfy your hunger at the least,' he expressed inside his mind.
As if the fiend heard his thoughts, it rushed towards him with its mouth wide open, showcasing its razor-sharp teeth.
However, a few meters before the monster reached him, a series of thunders rolled above the clouds, then a sudden flash of white jolted downwards, disintegrating everything on its path. It struck the ground, creating a deep fissure in between.
The young man was startled by the thunderstrike, making him open his eyes in amusement. It was only a fracture of a second, the fiend that was charging at him was caught in the incident, turning the entirety of it into nothingness.
"Are you mocking me?" The man exclaimed, shaking his head before diverting his gaze above.
He was frustrated and wasn't thankful at all. Then he summoned his strength for one last time, trying to stand up despite all the pain he had been suffering, and as soon as he did, he walked towards the fissure. He stared into it; it was dark, darker than the darkness around him. Staring at it looked like looking at a bottomless abyss.
"At least I won't end up being eaten alive," he uttered with his lips so dry.
He was deep in his thoughts when several growls came out from all directions. It was followed by the appearance of hundreds of hungry-looking eyes staring at him, their mouths drooling for his flesh and blood.
As soon as the young man heard and saw this scene, he sighed; it was the result of the flash of lightning, attracting all the fiends present in the area.
"To the hell with all of you," he yelled, raising his hand while clenching his fingers except for the middle one.
With the thought of ending his own life, he closed his eyes and let his body fall onto the fissure. Then, after a few moments, the young man found himself drenched in a pool of his own blood.
Most of his bones were now broken, his right leg facing in an awkward direction while his left arm was scraped all the way to his elbow. But despite all of this, he felt no pain; his body was already numb from injuries.
'Still alive, huh?' He contemplated.
He didn't know how further he fell, but the darkness vanished as crystals glowing with a purple hue lightened up the place. It was not that bright but not that dim either; if not for his current state, he would like to check those glowing pieces of rock.
He tried moving his eyes, and upon looking at his left side, he noticed an unusual thing several meters away from him.
"A casket?" he uttered with a dying voice.
"The heavens are really making fun of me," he added, coughing between each word.
A wooden white box, large enough for a person to fit, was in a standing position, facing the young man. On its lid was a black cross and a note, written with blood.
'If the world's destruction... would be put in the palm of your hand, how will it end?' The young man read it through his mind.
However, he didn't have the time to process and answer the question when, all of a sudden, he felt shivering chills, making him tremble for seconds. His vision started to blur, and a mouthful of blood came out, rushing from his mouth.
Afterward, he began convulsing, his muscles contracting, making him twist in pain. Then he started catching his breath, and after exhaling a deep one, his heart stopped beating, taking all the pain away.
Without anyone on his side, he died with his eyes still open. Then, as if heaven were being sympathetic to his death, the rain fell down, followed by a clicking noise as the casket's lid opened.
Coming from the inside of the wooden box, two sets of white-colored chains were hurled to the young man's corpse, wrapping around his arms and neck before dragging him inside the casket.
As the rain continued to pour, the deep fissure was soon filled with water, sinking everything underneath and erasing any trace of the unusual phenomenon.
. . . . .
Two years later, in a small town near the borders of Graphite City, several individuals were preparing for an expedition, a journey to investigate the remnants of a criminal organization.
"Is everyone already here?" Asked an old man. The wrinkles on his face gave out how hard his life was, though his voice was still sharp and firm.
Upon hearing him, people began to line up. They were clad with leather armor; weapons were strapped behind their backs.
"One, two, three... four, where's the other one? Lindsay, I thought we had ten people in our group," the old man exclaimed in anger as he faced a woman standing beside him.
"Ahmn, I notified him about the location and the time; there's still two minutes left. Let's wait for a bit, captain," the woman replied with calmness, her voice filled with respect.
She was dressed in a red battle gown while a long, black staff was resting on one of her palms. All the men's eyes looked at her with interest. After all, her beauty was enough to captivate everyone's hearts.
Her black hair, braided like a waterfall, was a deep contrast from her porcelain skin, while her eyes were dazzling gold like the morning sun.
The old man looked at her and inhaled a deep breath, his left foot tapping on the pavement in a continuous motion. Then it came to a halt when a man with hair darker than black showed up.
"I apologize for the wait," he said with a smile.
There were two swords strapped each on both of his legs; however, it was not those that captured everyone's attention.
On his right ear, there was a tiny, little white casket dangling as an earring.
. . . . .