In the heart of the Seralfon Forest, where massive trees intertwine in silence, the night was darker than ever before. The wind howled between the branches, as if carrying messages from a bygone time. Amid these shadows stood Darius, a young man with eyes burning with rage and sorrow, fixated on a small fire barely flickering in the thick dampness.
The forest was alive with sounds, but Darius was in his own world. His thoughts still haunted him, and the images of his destroyed village never left his mind. He remembered the moment of the attack as if it had happened yesterday. The explosions, the screams, the black smoke filling the sky, and the tongues of fire devouring everything. His village had once been full of life, laughter, and warmth, but everything had changed in an instant. They killed his parents, and his siblings were buried in ashes that would never return. All that remained was this one grim goal: revenge.
"I won't rest until I find this bearer..." he muttered, staring into the campfire, his eyes focused on only one objective.
With each passing second, the memories of the past grew more blurred, and the more he looked at the sky, the darker it seemed. The moon, once turned red in ancient legends, had now returned to its natural state, but nothing in this world seemed natural to him anymore.
Suddenly, some of the shadows in the distance disappeared, and a mysterious figure appeared, approaching him with calm yet powerful steps. He wore a black cloak, and a mask hid his face, but one eye was visible. With every step he took, the shadows around him thickened, as if becoming part of his body. His eye, which concealed a deep secret, glowed with a faint red and purple hue, as if shaking the very dimensions.
"You seek Ragnos, don't you?" the man said in a low voice, as though each word carried weight in the dark air.
Darius's heart skipped a beat for a moment, but he steadied himself, closing his eyes for a brief moment as if trying to clear his mind of the emotions clashing inside him. "And who are you to know that?"
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The man smiled mysteriously, shifting the shadows around him. "I am someone who was foolish enough to search for the same thing you seek."
"(Name of the person) ******?" Darius whispered.
The man stepped further out of the shadows, moving slowly as the mystery around him deepened. "If you know my name, you know the consequences of this search."
Darius paused for a moment, studying his words, then replied, "I seek the truth."
The ground seemed to freeze at that moment, as if time had stopped. The wind blew from all directions, and the air was filled with something strange. Darius felt as though his feet were sinking into the earth, as if he were breathing air heavy with increasing density. The man took something from his cloak, something that appeared to be a strange stone not clearly visible, then said in a broken voice, "The truth... is a legend, as I once thought. Searching for it will drown you in its shadows."
He paused to look deeply into Darius's face. "No one comes out of this path unscathed. There is always a price to pay."
"I want to know who destroyed my village," Darius said, his voice full of resolve, his hands tightly gripping his weapon.
The smile on the man's face grew wider, but his eye remained glowing, as though shifting between shadows and lights unseen. "If you are determined to search, go to the Tower of Absence. But it is not a place for the weak."
The man took a step forward, now just inches away from Darius. "You will find things there that you cannot bear, and you do not yet know how much you will lose," he said, raising his hand and moving the shadows around him.
Before the man could say more, he disappeared into the shadows once again, as if he had never been there, leaving behind mysterious words echoing in Darius's mind.
"Be careful... because every step toward these eyes brings you closer to shadows you cannot see."
Darius stood still, pondering what he had just heard. His eyes were filled with confusion, as though he was testing something he couldn't fully understand. But something in his heart urged him to continue, an inner voice whispering that he had no choice but to go to the Tower of Absence. His eyes never left the sky, and the wind still howled around him, as if carrying an ancient message.
For him, there was no turning back. The resolve for revenge in his heart was unwavering, and the mysterious tower in the center of the continent, spoken of by all, was his next goal. But with every new step, he doubted himself more. Would he be able to face what this tower held for him? Was he ready to accept the consequences of this dark path?
And the moon, which lit up this dark night, watched everything, as if knowing more than it revealed.