"Do not seek the end, for the end is but the beginning of creation once more.’’

  Damian gasped for air as he jolted awake, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He sat still against the tree, his mind reeling, but then he felt something wet on his hand.

  Bringing it to his face, he wiped his cheek, only to realize tears were streaming down uncontrollably. His fingers trembling as he tried to brush them away.

  In the distance, a small half-elf girl shouted his name. Her blonde hair cascaded freely over her shoulders, and she wore a simple light brown frock with a red scarf wrapped snugly around her neck.

  –”Damian! What are you doing? Get up!”, Irina said, her loud voice causing the cats nearby to run away.

  She ran towards him, carrying a basket full of freshly picked apples. But as she drew closer and saw the tears on his face, her expression shifted. Her emerald-green eyes softened, and a frown formed on her lips as she knelt in front of him.

  Why was he crying suddenly? She tilted her head instinctively, trying to understand.

  –”Damian…why are you crying? Did something happen while I was away?” Irina asked gently, taking his trembling hand in hers.

  –”I-I had a dream…” Damian murmurs, still in shock. –”E-e-eve…” His voice faltered, and he looked down at the grass.

  Irina pursed her lips, watching him quietly. Instead of pressuring him for answers, she simply held his other hand and whispered a prayer to soothe him.

  –"Be still in the Light, for it watches over you. May warmth calm your heart, may peace steady your soul, and may hope lead you forward."

  The warmth of the prayer surrounded Damian like a gentle embrace, and his breathing steadied. He lifted his gaze to meet hers, the golden hues of the setting sun cast a soft glow on his face.

  He was a thin eight year old boy with shoulder-length black hair and hazel-brown eyes. His dark brown pants and loose shirt matched Irina’s frock. Like her, he also wore a red scarf around his neck. A small sword rested at his hip, its hilt barely visible beneath the fabric.

  Damian tightened his grip on Irina’s hands and gave her a small, grateful smile.

  –”I’m sorry for worrying you Irina…I don’t know why I keep having these nightmares.” Damian muttered, his voice full of embarrassment as she comforted him once again.

  Irina chuckled softly, squeezing his hands. –”It’s alright Damian. If I won’t help you, then who will? I’m not your best friend for no reason.”

  Damian glanced away, his face heating up. –”Can you let go of my hands now? I need to pick up the firewood.”

  Irina smirked but released him. –”Sure, sure.”

  They were just kids, but the heart had a mind of its own. Falling when you least expect, for someone you never planned.

  Damian gathered the firewood, tying it into a bundle before slinging it over his back. Despite coming from Acton. A small town south of Wavecrest, one of the main cities in Ironvern. Both of them had dreams larger than life itself because they were still naive children.

  Damian had always been drawn to two things. The glint of a sword and the endless expanse of the night sky. There was something calming about both, something that made him feel like he belonged.

  The first time he held a real sword, bought from the local blacksmith with his saved coins, he knew it was more than just metal in his hands.

  It was a promise. A promise to his mother, the woman who had raised him alone, who had given him everything despite having so little. One day, he told himself, he would reach the stars and giver her more than she ever dreamed of.

  Every night, he looked up at the vast sky, tracing his dreams among the constellations, never wanting to forget them.

  Irina was his opposite and yet his reflection. A half-elf born from love that was never meant to exist. Her father had broken the sacred laws of his village by choosing a human, and for that, he was executed.

  Irina and her mother fled to Acton, seeking safety, but found only whispers and cold stares. To the elves, she was a disgrace. To the humans, she was something unnatural.

  Damian had been the first to truly see her, not as an outsider, not as a mistake, but as a person. He had taken her hand and, without hesitation, pulled her into his world.

  Over time, others followed, their prejudices cracking like old stone beneath the weight of his unwavering belief in her.

  *****

  The evening air got heavier as Damian and Irina walked back towards their. The world around them was quiet—-too quiet. Damian stopped in his tracks, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword.

  Above them, a flock of birds took flight, the sound of their wings flapping hastily was heard by both of them as they fled in the opposite direction.

  Damian’s stomach twisted.

  –”Irina…we have to run”, he said, his voice tense. –”Something’s wrong.”

  Without another word, he unsheathed his sword and bolted forward. Irina, seeing the fear in his eyes, ran after him.

  They reached the town entrance in a few minutes, but what awaited them was beyond anything they could have imagined.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  Bodies. Mangled. Torn apart. Some missing limbs, some missing heads. Some reduced to nothing but pieces of flesh and blood-soaked dirt.

  Damian staggered back, his stomach churning. Irina let out a strangled gasp before collapsing to her knees, vomiting. The stench of death clung to the air, thick and suffocating.

  Then, through the haze of horror, Damian’s gaze landed on two familiar houses standing side by side. Their doors were left opened, crimson streaks staining the thresholds. And there—lying lifeless in pools of their own blood—were their mothers.

  His breath caught in his throat.

  –”No…No, no, no”

  A scream tore from his chest, raw and broken. Irina trembled besides him, silent tears streaming down her face, her hand covering her mouth as if to hold in the unbearable grief.

  Damian crawled forward, his fingers brushing against his mother’s cold skin. The woman who had worked herself to the bone to give him everything. The woman who always smiled despite her hardships. Now, her face was frozen in an expression of terror, her eyes staring lifelessly at the sky she once admired with him.

  –”I promised…”, his voice cracked. –”I promised to protect you.”

  He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, drawing blood. His vision blurred, tears falling onto the bloodstained ground.

  Damian’s head snapped up as he heard wood creaking. His hand instinctively reaching for his sword. Through the darkness inside his home, a figure emerged, blood splattered across her clothes and face.

  Then a voice, shaking yet familiar came. –”D-Damian…Irina…”

  The tension in his shoulders loosened as recognition his him.

  –”Big sis Raha…?”

  The older girl—the sister to every child of the town—rushed forward and pulled them both into a trembling embrace.

  –”Thank the gods you’re alive…”, she sobbed. –”I-I’m so sorry. They…they gave their lives for us…I couldn’t do anything…I was too weak—”

  Damian swallowed back another wave of tears, resting his forehead against her shoulder. –”You’re alive. That’s what matters.”

  Behind Raha, more figures emerged—survivors, barely a handful of them. Some were children, their face full of shock. Others were older, but their eyes held the same emptiness.

  –”What happened here? Damian asked.

  Raha wiped her eyes, swallowing hard. –” Monsters attacked. They weren’t normal. Goblins, Wolves…they had multiple mouths all over their bodies. Among them there was a weird, humanoid monster with grotesque appearance and the same multiple mouths.

  Damian stiffened. A chill ran down his spine.

  He had seen this before.

  In the dream he had a few minutes ago.

  A sicking realization washed over him. He knew this would happen. He had seen the town in ruins. He had seen his mother die. And yet, he had done nothing.

  No one did anything. Neither the foot soldiers of the Ironverns and neither the small time adventurers of Acton. All of them lay dead.

  His stomach twisted, and he turned away, doubling over as he vomited.

  A piercing screech alerted them, it was unlike anything they had ever heard.

  THUD. THUD. THUD.

  Heavy footsteps echoed through the night, indicating that something was coming.

  –”Everyone run!” Damian shouted. –”Get out of the town, now!”

  Raha gathered the children, her face pale with fear. –”Come on, stay close to me!”

  –”Irina go with them”, Damian urged, gripping his sword tighter. –”I’ll be right behind you.”

  He quickly dragged the dead bodies of his mother and Irina’s mother inside his house and closed he doors.

  Irina hesitated, her eyes searching his. But before she could protest, Raha grabbed her hand. –”We have to go.”

  They ran. But Damian stayed behind.

  The creature stepped into the dying light, it was tall, hunched, its body covered with multiple mouths all over its body and writhing tentacles, its face grotesque. Even though it looking like a human, its fanged mouth opened in four directions, revealing endless rows of teeth. Its blood-red eyes locked onto him.

  Damian looked back to see if the group was far enough for him to engage his monster. He was a normal eight year old boy but the adrenaline was making him fearless of the monster in front of him.

  He gritted his teeth and charged. He swung his sword, but a tentacle intercepted it knocking him off balance. Another lashed out, slamming him into the ground like a bug.

  Pain shot through his ribs, but he forced himself up, dodging the next strike. With all his strength, he drove his blade into the creature’s thigh, slicing upwards.

  A shriek of rage came form it. More tentacles came at him from all direction. He dodge some, but some grazed all over his body, but two implanted into his shoulders. His vision blurred. The creature lifted him off the ground, bringing him towards its gaping mouth.

  –”So this is how it ends…” Damian mumbled.

  He thought of his mother. Of Irina. Of the life he lost in a single night and of his father, who he never saw.

  Then, thick vines shot from the ground, piercing the creature’s mouth, but it didn’t release Damian. More tentacles lashed towards Irina, who had rushed back to help him. A powerful swipe sent her flying like a mere insect.

  She hit the ground hard, coughing up blood, her breaths coming in shallow, pained gasps.

  The creature screeched, tightening its hold on Damian, its tentacles constricting with bone-crushing force. Pain shot through him as he screamed, his ribs threatning to snap. His vision blurred from the pain, and for a brief moment, he thought this was truly the end.

  Then, without a warning, the creature’s head exploded. A rain of thick, dark blood splattered over Damian as the tentacles suddenly went limp.

  Gravity took hold, as he dropped on the ground with a thud. Without wasting a second, he staggered towards Irina, scooping up her unconscious form onto his back before running towards the outskirts of the town.

  As he ran, he glanced over his shoulder. The monster convulsed violently, its body spasming as its head began to regenerate. And just like its head, the tentacles, one by one, burst apart in a grotesque display. A brilliant light illuminated the chaos, revealing a lone figure standing in its glow.

  A man, tall and broad-shouldered, stepped forward. He had dark brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and sharp features. His silver armor gleamed, and a golden cape flowed behind him. Though his longsword remained sheathed, a radiant golden aura pulsed around his hand.

  Damian’s eyes widened. This man had brought down such a monstrosity without even drawing his sword. The sight left him speechless, but he had no time to dwell on it. He kept running.

  By the time he reached the safety of the forest outside the town, Irina’s breathing had steadied. He laid her down gently beneath the shelter of a thick tree and collapsed beside her, exhausted beyond measure.

  For the first time in his life, Damian did not look up at the stars. His gaze remained locked on the dirt beneath him, his mind racing through everything that had happened.

  His town was gone. His mother was gone. The people he had known, the life he had once lived—it was all over in a single night.

  He glanced at Irina. Her face was pale, her body weak but alive. He reached out with trembling fingers, wiping the blood from her cheeks and arms, ignoring his own wounds.

  A sharp wave of dizziness hit him. His strength drained, and before he could fight it, his arms gave out. He slumped against the ground, eyes fluttering shut as exhaustion overtook him.

  Damian didn’t know that this was only the beginning of his misfortune. Nor did he realize that this would be the last time he ever slept so peacefully.