The warm, yellow sun blanketed the landscape with a soft orange. The clouds above were changed from a clear white to a deep purple as they drifted across the dimming sky. Situated on the edge of a large, dense forest was a rather expansive village. It had almost developed enough to be called a small town, however, the residents still had to patiently wait until the day their village was promoted.

People paraded around the village in a festive manner. They lifted small lamps attached to rope from rooftop to rooftop, making a circular pattern of light through the village. Everyone was preparing for the night they celebrate the 'birthday' of their growing village. Cooks brought out platters of freshly cooked food; they grilled large chunks of Spalaur meat on their barbecues, stir-fried vegetables and small bits of Pamite meat, and boiled fresh Pamite eggs so the egg white was firm while the yoke inside was a thick liquid.

The aroma of so many delicious cuisines wafted throughout the village. The villagers merrily spoke with one another as they busily prepared the finishing touches to the decorations. Children ran through the winding houses and paths playing tag and hide-and-seek. One such child was Jura Hyde.

"Hey, Halira, you're too good at hide-and-seek! I can't find you!" Jura exclaimed.

"Hehehe, that's the point!"

Halira's voice bounced off the walls of several buildings around Jura as he searched for his twin sister. He ran past building after building, looking behind every crate that was placed against each wall. He called out to Halira again with a hint of urgency in his voice:

"Halira, I give up! Besides, we can't be out here for too long! Mom will get mad at us!"

As he rounded a corner, the first thing Jura saw was a sight he wouldn't forget. A large, cloaked man held an unconscious Halira in his arms. A long, thin sword was strapped to his back and its sheath lightly gleamed from light provided by the lamps.

"Halira!- You meany, what did you do to her?!" Jura yelled.

At that moment, a large boom sounded further away. It sounded like the sound originated from the center of the village where most of the people were located. Jura was shaken by the sudden explosive sound, causing him to naturally look back toward the source. He saw a giant fireball rise into the air followed by a cloud of smoke that billowed upward. The force from the blast rushed outward, however, the energy gradually depleted the farther it spread. Jura was far enough from the original blast to not be injured by the shock wave, though he was still knocked off balance.

"Guh!"

He stumbled backward and fell to the ground. His left elbow slammed against the dirt, causing pain to spark through his arm. He quickly turned his head around to look at the man behind him, however, he only found empty space. The man was gone, and so was his sister.

"Halira! Where'd you go?!"

Jura got up, trying his best to ignore the pain in his arm. He heard screams coming from the area near the explosion which caused him to remember his parents.

Mom and Dad! I need to find them, then we can search for Halira together! Little brother Lami is with Mom so he has to be safe as well.

Jura forced himself to travel toward the center of the village. He could see giant flames dancing wildly across multiple buildings and the heat itself caused the center to be a no-man's land. Hot air blew against Jura's body as he traversed through broken walls and debris. The large orange flames seemed to be the only source of light in the now dark night, which caused strange shadows to display on the surrounding walls and piles of rubble.

Occasionally, because of the destruction, Jura wouldn't notice a few pieces of debris which caused him to trip. He would fall onto the ground, which caused small cuts and bruises to appear on his skin. However, because of his frantic mind, Jura failed to notice such injuries. He climbed over a larger pile of rubble to witness the destruction around the center.

Charred bodies lay within the sea of violent fire. Most of the corpses had missing limbs; arms and legs lay about the area, engulfed by the flames. The smell of burnt human flesh filled the area, causing Jura to lift his shift over his nose.

All of the bodies seemed to have surprised or astonished expressions upon their faces. They never knew they would die by an unexpected explosion, especially on the night of their celebration.

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The scene was instantly imprinted within Jura's mind. Tears glided down his cheeks and he just stared at the mayhem. Even if Jura didn't understand the world of adults, he was still friends with just about everyone in the village. Seeing those same people killed caused him to be filled with endless grief.

He looked down at his hands. He could barely feel his legs as he moved to the left of the pile of rubble. He still felt the need to find his parents and little brother. He wasn't able to recognize any of the people that died within the fire, so he hoped his family was still alive.

As he landed next to an intact wall, albeit greatly burned, Jura saw what he didn't want to see. The thing he feared most had become a reality before his eyes. He instantly fell to the ground, unable to tear his eyes away from the three figures leaned against the wall.

There sat two people. Their bodies were burned black, showing that they were no longer living. One, the bigger of the two, seemed as if it was tried to block the smaller one from the blast. However, that attempt was futile as the whole left side of the bigger corpse was gone. Black bones protruded out from the destroyed rib cage as smoke lifted off the charred flesh.

The muscles on their faces were completely destroyed, causing Jura unable to identify them solely based on their visages. However, the smaller corpse's arms were in a position that signified it was holding something. There was a bundle of cloth in its arms, as if it was cradling something. The bigger corpse seemed to have successfully blocked most of the cloth from the blast. On the smaller corpse's left ring finger was a golden ring. It had a single blue Nelsolite gem embedded on it, which signified the bond of marriage. It also had the symbol of a White Mutoda, which was a single white circle with a pentagon inside it.

There was only one person Jura knew that had such a ring. He had seen it so many times throughout his years that he wouldn't be able to forget it. That ring was given to his mother by his father on their wedding day. He knew because he asked his mother about it. He kind of regretted it at the time because his mother talked about the story for about an hour until she let Jura go. Now, he saw the same ring on the finger of the corpse before him.

Jura felt as if his entire world had collapsed. His mind spiraled as it tried to keep itself sane through that tragic event. So many tears had escaped his eyes that he didn't even know if they were still appearing. His eyes bloodshot, Jura reached out and tried to grab the ring. However, he instantly pulled his hand back at the moment his finger touched the ring. It was incredibly hot, causing Jura's finger to be burned by touching it just for a split second.

He also noticed that the bundle of cloth within his mother's arm was empty. That either means that his little brother was taken or the blast completely disintegrated him. However, there were no ashes within the cloth bundle, so Jura immediately assumed his little brother had been taken.

His two siblings taken, his parents and friends murdered. Jura could barely comprehend the situation. He tried to keep himself awake. He tried to keep himself sane. Everything had happened so abruptly that he barely had time to even understand the reality of the situation. Grief turned into loneliness. Loneliness turned into despair. Despair transformed into anger.

Jura softly gripped the cloth bundle in his hands. It was white in color, and, because of his father protecting it, most of it still retained its original color. Jura used it to take the ring off his mother's finger before he wrapped the cloth around the ring. He stood up and traveled toward the outer section of the village.

He stood in-front of the boundary separating the forest from the village. He knew there was nothing he could do. As far as he knew, everyone else was dead. His skin felt burned and he looked as if he just exited an underground mine. His brown hair was disheveled, his face was black with dirt, and he held the cloth within his fist. Anger filled his eyes, accompanied by a mixture of determination and fear.

After taking one last look at the burning village behind him, Jura walked into the forest.