In a dark, cramped space of a cupboard, a young girl hugged her knees tightly, trying to make herself as small as possible.

The cupboard rattled along with the vibrations that permeated through the ground.

The girl heard the drumming of hooves, the muffled shouts, the whistles of arrows, the clashes of steel, and the sporadic shrilling screams that made her body shudder uncontrollably. She squeezed her large eyes shut as if trying to force the horrible sounds out of her head.

Eventually, after who knows how many hours, the noise in the village eventually died out, except for the occasional voices outside.

Voices of vulgar men who invaded her village.

She heard a splintering crash and footsteps getting closer from the front of her house. Paralyzed in fear, she forgot to breathe, as the footsteps of men reverberated through the wooden floorboards. She hugged her knees tighter as one of the men took heavy steps towards the cupboard she was in. Through the crack of the cupboard doors, she saw a figure of a hand, reaching out towards her as she protested silently in despair—

—Until there was a deafening sound of explosion and screams of men that pierced her ears.

Surprised by the sudden clamor, the man turned around from the furniture and ran outside the house in a hurry to check the commotion.

The sound of the man’s footsteps got further away outside, until it was replaced by more screams and terrifying cacophony of things crunching and ripping. The girl flinched every time she heard another howl of pain suddenly stop with a snapping noise.

This went on again and again and again.

And again.

And again.

And...

Silence.

The girl, tucked inside the furniture, was more frightened than when the bandits attacked. Unlike the time the bandits attacked, not knowing who or what was rampaging around terrified her.

However, she was still a fickle little thing. Her fear slowly faded away as another emotion crept up in her mind: curiosity.

After gods know how many hours of silence, the crack of the cupboard door slowly widened as a single blue eye peeked outside warily. After scanning the surroundings, the girl pushed open the door and dragged her stiff body onto the floorboards.

She trotted towards the front door, and after a slight pause, creaked opened the door.

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Far off in the distance, the sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the world that was shrouded in darkness with a warm, soft glow. This scene would have been awe-inspiring, if not for the trail of corpses in front of her, soaking the ground with blood and guts.

One look at the bodies would be enough to determine that their deaths were far from pleasant. Most of them had their limbs bent in impossible angles or missing, either sliced apart or torn, and all of them were brutally disfigured to the point where it was impossible to determine what they looked like beforehand.

Those only applied to the bodies of the bandits though, as she noticed that the bodies of the villagers were still intact.

It was not the scene appropriate for a little girl such as herself, but whether by trauma or by a strong heart, the girl found herself moving onwards, following the crimson trail.

Her eyes followed the path until the end, where she found Him. In the middle of the village, stood a figure of a man, his overcoat gently fluttering in the morning breeze. The moment she locked her eyes onto his back, her body suddenly froze up. She felt her whole body being pressured down by an overwhelming presence, so great that even her lungs stopped working and begged for air which she desperately tried to breathe in.

Her muscles spasmed without her consent, and she felt cold sweat on her back as she instinctively took one step backward. Unfortunately, the twig underneath her foot let out an unexpectedly loud crunch. Feeling her heart drop, the girl slowly looked up to the man, despair evident on her face.

The man nonchalantly turned his neck over the shoulder towards the source of the sound and gazed upon the terrified young lady. The girl cringed as her blue eyes were met with the gleam of his eyes. It was brilliant gold, beautiful and enticing, but at the same time, the girl could instinctively feel that there was something feral within it.

Something ancient.

Something Primordial.

Something no mortals should ever dare to trifle with.

When the man noticed that the little girl was shivering in fear, the immense pressure that has been tormenting the girl abruptly faded. The girl felt her little legs buckle from the sudden release of encumbrance, causing her to fall to her knees. She gasped frantically as she gulped down fresh air into her lungs. Air never tasted so sweet in her life.

The man walked up in front of the bewildered girl and crouched down to her eye level. When she looked at him up-close, she silently gasped once more, but for a different reason: he was the most beautiful man she has ever seen in her short life. His handsome face was perfectly symmetrical, his jet black hair with greyish highlights was slightly curly with it being just the right length at the right places, and his mesmerizing golden eyes threatened to bewitch the girl’s soul. His looks had the perfect balance between beauty and masculinity.

The man gazed at her for a couple more seconds before he opened his mouth, A deep melodic voice came within it, which was soothing to the ears but domineering at the same time.

“You’re one tough little cookie aren’t ya? Not many are able to stand up in the presence of a dragon...let alone a child.”

The girl stared back at him without any response, causing the man to chuckle. He then looked around at the gory scene that lay throughout the whole village and furrowed his brows slightly.

The corpses were starting to let out an unpleasant smell as the group of crows cawed above the village, waiting for their turn to feast.

He turned towards the girl smiling once more, and for a brief moment, his golden eyes shined, or at least that was what the girl thought. The girl gulped as an unfamiliar sensation crept throughout her body, but soon unconsciously relaxed as sudden relief washed over her. The strange feeling drove away all the fear in her heart, replacing it with comfort and familiarity.

After seeing that the girl has calmed down, the man, still wearing a gentle smile, asked a question in the most gentle tone possible.

The question that would change her life forever.

“Hey little one. Do you want to come with me?”