It was midnight and eerily quiet; Rhen dreams of his family's demise when he was young; it doesn't happen very frequently, but he notices it becoming more vivid as time passes.
He lays on the chilly castle floor, crawling on the blood of his two dead mothers and his five-year-old sister.
They gaze at him with their dark ghastly eyes as if they were still alive, poised as if attempting to reach out to him for salvation.
In front of Rhen is his father, who is facing assassin after assassin in a agonizing gladiator-style death match.
Despite the fact that his magic is being limited by Anti-magic, he tries his hardest to kill another enemy soldier one after the other.
*Ching! Clang! Clang! *
Steel striking steel can be heard in the caste's backdrop. The assassins are not your usual slender and nimble men; they are mutants.
A Chimera is created by combining the DNA of an Orc, Ogre, and Human.
They are clad in thick armor and have bulging muscles all over their body. The chimeras lack brains, but that doesn't matter because their prey is merely a single wounded father guarding a boy behind him.
"(Father!)" Rhen tries to call out his father, but his voice never came out, as if it were sewn shut.
A black-haired Wood Elf emerges from the sea of Chimeras; he is the commander of these murderers.
His smile is deranged, as he walks toward Rhen's worn-out and injured father. In one swift movement, he raises him and stabs your father in the heart.
"(Noooo!)" Rhen reaches out in vain, but his body, like his mouth, is immobilized from head to toe.
The commander's elven blade went through Rhen's father's body and out the other end. The commander then rips it out, and a river of blood flows from the father's gaping chest.
The father dies, lifeless, like Rhen's family in a pool of blood and guts.
The tragic scene in front of him changes. The sky is orange, and a black sun casts an eerie light overhead.
Rhen sees a sea of impaled bodies of castle warriors and maids before him.
His father, mother, and small sister are perched on top of a pike being pecked by crows.
He watches as a crow gouges out his young sister's lifeless eyeballs, then flees when the assassin commander arrives.
Overnight, the once powerful kingdom that ruled over Kadwein millennia ago is destroyed in a sea of blazing inferno.
The commander has a jester-like cruel grin on his face and is grinning from ear to ear. He approaches Rhen gently, holding a bloody elven blade in his hand.
Rhen tries to move, but his body is paralyzed again on top of a ceremonial table.
The commander now approaches him and says. "Glory to the Black Sun!" And stabs Rhen's chest slowly, cruelly. He feels the dagger pierce into your skin inch by inch as he watches you die in agony.
"(AAAAAAHHH!!)" Rhen screams in his head, he wants to pass out from the pain, but he can't and is forced to watch as he is gutted alive.
Blood flows down to the ritual table, filling every rune and inscription to summon whatever unholy being from beyond to this dimension.
*Gasp!*
Rhen awakens from his nightmare only to find Claire yanking on his body. His breath is ragged and heavy, his eyes are disoriented, as if he's overdosed.
The things he saw were so clear that they seemed so real. Even the pain in his chest tingles, as if he were stabbed.
He glances up to see Claire's concerned expression.
"H-hey are you okay!? I tried to wake you up it looks like you're having a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?" She said worryingly.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Ughhh, my head... It's fine." Rhen looks at her, his fingers pressed against his brows. "It doesn't happen a lot, but I'm kind of used to it."
Rhen rubs his chest where he felt the blade go in. Although the black-haired elf didn't stab him, for some reason, his dream plays as is. The truth of the matter is that he survives the ordeal and were never stabbed in the first place.
"Maybe you should talk to someone." Claire is truly concerned about Rhen's current state.
He shakes his head and dismisses it, claiming that it happened in the seventh century. More than a millennium ago where Eternia is still ruled by the era of swords and magic.
There is no use in bringing up the past for Rhen, because he knows that everyone save him and his brother is dead.
It's still 3 a.m, feeling sleepy, Rhen keeps Claire in his arms till he falls asleep; his nightmares never returned after that.
He's not sure if it was a placebo effect, but a woman's touch does not bring back his nightmares he thought.
***********************
Morning
Hunnies Bunnies, City of Frendon, Kingdom of Kadwein.
-----------------------------------------
*alarm* 3x
Rhen awakens to the sound of his phone alarm, reaching out to snooze it out of politeness for Claire, who is still sleeping sweetly in his arms.
He pulls away slowly so as not to wake her up.
Rhen calls Felipe, his chief butler, to get him from his nighttime adventures.
"Pick me up in the usual place," Rhen said sternly.
"Right away, sir." With a thick accent, a gentleman's voice replied.
*beep*
Rhen hangs up the phone and heads down to the reception room to meet with the lovely receptionist after taking a shower.
"I hope you enjoyed our service, Mr. Straza, and I hope to see you again." The receptionist smiles seductively at him.
Rhen has encountered many Succubus in his life, but she is the one Succubus he finds difficult to woo despite his status and handsome looks.
He wanted to continue his talk with her, but Felipe would arrive shortly. Rhen kisses her on the back of her hand out of politeness.
"Claire was a pleasure to talk to, tell her I gave her a rewarding tip."
"Will do Mr. Straza." After that, the receptionist does a curtsy.
Rhen leaves a handsome tip for Claire to pick up later and heads towards the parking lot.
Moments later, he hears the sound of a car engine.
*vroom*
Felipe, a human, perhaps 65 years old with swept-back white hair, steps out of a black Rolls Royce in front of him.
He is still robust and healthy despite his age. He's dressed like the usual butler, a black coat and tie with matching black leather shoes.
Rhen has no idea what generation Felipe belongs to, but his family has been in Rhen's service for as long as he can recall.
He has no idea how Felipe survived that terrible night and continued the Felipe bloodline.
Some believe his ancestors slipped by the assassins or hid in the cellar, but no one knows for sure.
Felipe bows and opens the back passenger door.
After making sure, Rhen is comfortable in his seat, Felipe drives away without questioning his nightly activities.
Instead, Felipe asked Rhen a different question as if this is his master's normal routine.
"How was your mission, sir?" Felipe's voice is smooth and soothing. He carries himself more like a noble than any noble High elf Rhen has ever met.
Rhen owes him a great deal; when he was a child, the previous Felipes looked after him around the clock, to the point where Rhen may comfortably refer to him as a member of his family.
Rhen, as a man, is now the one defending Felipe from any harm that may come his way.
"The usual Crimson blood goons, nothing noteworthy. Did anything interesting happen while I was away?" Rhen inquires, leaning back against the passenger window.
He then peers out the heavily tinted window to observe the lively city life of Frendon, Kadwein's capital city.
The city has transformed from a starting town where travelers pause for a rest, to a booming modern metropolis packed with different races and job opportunities.
"No, sir," Felipe answered, then hands Rhen a sealed envelope. "But I received a letter from the Chief of Police, and it appears he has something to say to you in person."
When Rhen opens the envelope, he finds a note with four words inscribed in the center.
"My office, now. Boy."
"Cazzo! (Shit!)" Rhen can't help but curse.
"Alright, I'll talk to him after I check on the others." He crumples the letter and throws it in the car's trash bin.
"Gladly sir, I have informed everyone of your arrival."
"Grazie Felipe. (Thank you Felipe.)"
"Vostro gradito, Giovane Padrone. (You're welcome, Young Master.)" Felipe's gentlemanly smile is visible in the rearview mirror as he thanks Rhen for his kind remarks.
Rhen crosses his legs and checks his phone; it appears that the state has assigned him further assassination missions following his encounter with the Crimson Blood's.
While stuck in traffic, he goes through each of them one by one.
This is Rhen's typical day. He is the Young Master of some unknown forgotten kingdom by day and the state's trash collector by night.
Because the state pays Rhen based on how much a person is worth, the assassination target's head is worth every penny. Rhen earns two hundred thousand Kadweinan Dollars for last night despite the fact that it was not an official black operations mission. A pocket change for Rhen as an official black mission can go up to millions.
Felipe plays some quiet jazz music while pouring Rhen a glass of 15-year-old wine.
He swirls it in his glass and takes a sip before relaxing on the back seat of the luxury automobile and listening to music until he reaches his destination, the Head Quarters.