Our story begins with a young child named Enro, who was 10 years old. He grew up in an orphanage. He was used to the smell of soup and the creaking of the floorboards. Ever since he was born, the workers at the Red Eye Orphanage had cared for him. They found him in a broken down carriage with his parents' bloody bodies beside him and took him in..
It was there when he met a young girl the same age as him. She had dark red hair that flowed in the wind, her brown eyes staring at Enro. Her name was Lin. Everything about her, including the bruises all over her pale skin,but even then, she smiled. Enro found it strange that someone with so many bruises could still smile. But she was the only friend that Enro had in the orphanage. They would always meet up on a secluded hill behind a pine tree. They played there, taking in the air. Enro turned to look at her and felt his heart throbbing. A warmth spreading in his chest
“Why are you smiling?” Lin asked.
He didn't realize that he was smiling. “Oh, nothing,” he replied.
He noticed things in Lin that he had never noticed before, like the mole scab on her ear. They continued to talk about what to make of their lives once they left the orphanage, and how they would become knights of the order, to protect those who can't protect themselves,a group of elite warriors.
“How's your day going, Enro?” she asked with a smile on her face.
“It's going well. How about yours?”
“It's been great,” Lin replied.
Before Enro could talk to her more, he heard a loud shout. "You two, get down here! It’s time." They had to take their daily injections. He never knew what the injections were for or why they had to take them; he only knew that not taking them meant a severe beating by the workers. They walked back into the orphanage to take their injections. After that, they had to take an aptitude test. Enro always got the same score of 50, but this time he got a 55. He was improving. Lin was able to get a 95, the highest score she'd ever gotten. They took her to a room. Enro waited and waited for Lin to come out, but she never did. The workers told Enro to go to his quarters.
Enro went to sleep that night, hoping to talk more to her. He went to their usual spot, but she was gone. He looked all over for her, but he couldn't find her. She couldn't be found in any of her usual spots. Enro was afraid, anxious, and nervous. He couldn't—wouldn't—accept the fact that she was gone. He kept searching to no avail; she was truly gone. He went to the staff and asked where she was.
"That brat Lin? We sold her."
"What? This can't be," he replied.
"What, you had a crush on her?" The man's breath stank of booze. He had to be lying, but it was true. Enro clenched his fist in anger, but he knew it was futile. Even so, he didn't stop until his unkempt nail had cut him, but that was it. She had been sold by the owners of the orphanage.
Enro was reminded of the sick truth: they were truly alone in this orphanage. They were nonexistent to others. They could be gone just like that, and nobody would even cry. But he cried. He knew they existed. He knew they were important, but they were invisible to the world. They had dreams and aspirations. What did they do so wrong to be kept in this prison?
But now, Enro had found his purpose: to bring their dream to life and become a knight of the order.
As Enro went to bed that night, he was awoken by screams. He looked outside to see the masked men, who appeared to be one of the ignicel cultists the children at the orphanage had been taught about. As a result of their evil deeds, they were infamous all throughout the land and were taught about almost everywhere. They were killers who worshiped a virus called the ignicel in order to gain strength. He had to run; he had to survive. He couldn't let her dream die. The cultists were in the building. He heard the screams of children. He ran out into the hallway, seeing a cultist.
"We found one here!" the cultist shouted.
He ran and ran, the cultist chasing after him. He didn't want to die. But he couldn't run forever. He grabbed a small iron rod and hid behind a wall. When the cultist approached, he struck him in the jaw, disorienting him. He struck him once more, knocking the cultist to the ground making a loud thud on the ground.Enro grabbed the cultist's dagger and hid behind a cabinet on the floor, hoping nobody would find him. Tears filled his eyes as he saw children being kidnapped.
He knew his spot wasn't too safe, so he ran to the closest room and put a cabinet at the door. He was in the nursery. There was one other child there, crying. He heard banging at the door, his heart beating faster than ever and looked for a way out. He remembered what he wanted to do. He wanted to protect those you couldn't protect themselves so he ran to the child, a boy two years younger than him. He grabbed his hand and headed for the window, running as fast as he could to the wood ducking the branches as he ran making sure nobody saw them. He couldn't die—not yet. He had to stay alive.
Holding the dagger in hand, a cultist saw them and gave chase. They kept running and running. Hearing the sound of twigs snap in-between their feet The boy couldn't keep up and fell. Enro picked him up and hid behind a tree, his breath heavy. He could hear the cultist right around the tree. He grabbed the dagger and slashed at the cultist's arm. The cultist punched Enro to the ground. The child cried and cried.
The cultist was distracted. Enro got up, clutching his dagger, and went for a swing, but missed. Enro went in for another swing, this time grazing the cultist's shoulder.
“You brat,” the cultist snarled, grabbing Enro, slamming him to the ground, and holding a knife to his throat. The child threw a rock at the cultist, hoping to save Enro. Enro's heart beating even faster than before he pushed the man off, punching him.
The cultist got up and was preparing to throw his knife into Enro, but he had missed the pair ran further and further
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Enro grabbed the child and ran for safety. They ran far away and set up camp at the bay of a river.
“Why did you help me?” the child asked.
“I don't know,” Enro replied.
“Thank you, mister.”
“My name is Enro. What's yours?”
“My name is Ken. “
He could see the shivering. “Let's set up a campfire.”
“Okay,” Ken agreed.
. They walked around, looking for sticks and logs, and placed them near the bay. Enro could hear Ken's belly rumbling. Once they got enough logs, they now had to worry about food. They looked all around, only finding snakes. Eventually, they found a kady, a small creature that relied on the trees to stay alive, a fast creature. Enro used the dagger to climb up the trees and grabbed the creature from behind. The creature escaped his hands. He gave chase, throwing his dagger into the kady, killing it. They went back to the river where they lit up their campfire. They huddled together for warmth.
“ this tastes horrible,” Ken complained.
“It's the only thing we have, ken.”
They had both fallen asleep. Enro put his hands over them. Maybe they could be a family; they could experience the love they never had before. The night came and went. The next morning, they kept moving. They couldn't risk the cultists catching up to them. They walked by the river, hoping to find a bridge to cross, but it was then that they met a boy. He had brown skin, dark puffy hair, and looked to be the same age as Enro.
“Who are you?” Enro demanded to know, readying his dagger and preparing for a fight. Ken hid behind him.
“I’m one of the kids from the orphanage. I’m scared. I can’t take this anymore.” The boy waved his hands and jumped into the river. Enro rushed in to save him, but it was too late. They continued on their way.
As they walked by the river, they heard the sounds of swords clanging. Enro looked to his left and saw a cultist fighting a child the same age as him, wielding a sword. The cultist slammed the child into a tree, picking him up by his throat and pressing his ax into him. “I’m going to enjoy this,” the cultist said, ready to kill the child. Enro had to save he couldn't let me die
Enro dashed in, holding his dagger, ready to save the child. He cut the cultist across his face, forcing him to drop the child, who scrambled to pick up his sword, ready for an attack. The cultist threw his ax at Enro, causing him to dodge, only grazing him. The cultist dashed in, punching the child in the stomach and sending him back. Enro threw his dagger at the cultist he missed, the dagger embedding itself in a tree. The cultist picked up his ax and charged at Enro. He swung his ax, and Enro tried to dodge but ended up being cut on his arm.
Enro screamed in pain. "It hurts, it hurts," he thought to himself. He couldn't afford for something like that to happen. While the cultist was distracted, the child swung his sword, cutting the cultist's back. The cultist turned around, only for Enro to kick him in the back. The cultist fell to the ground, and the child stabbed him in the head before he could get up. But that wasn’t it. It seemed like the cultist was transforming into some kind of monster. He grew horn and fangs; his body turned purple, and he gained muscle all over his body.the smell of decay spread
"You brats shall witness the power of rot," he growled. He grabbed Enro and slammed him into the ground.
"ENRO!" Ken screamed.
Enro thought to himself, "I'm going to die here, aren't I?" The child's knees started to tremble. He grabbed his sword and tried to stab the cultist to no avail. The cultist punched the child, sending him into a tree. The cultist began to squeeze Enro. The sound of bones cracking echoed through the forest
"Ken, run far away with Light. Don't stop running."
"No, no, this can't be. This can't be. Stop it, stop it. I said STOP IT!” Ken cried out. He had no power, just like in the orphanage. He needed the help of Enro, and when Enro needed help the most, he couldn't do anything. Ken's mind echoed with the voice, "Do you choose power to save your friend, or shall you watch as he dies, suffering in pain and anguish?”
"Yes, I choose power," Ken replied.
Suddenly, a black mist engulfed him and his brother. He was starting to transform; he grew taller, wrapped in mysterious black bandages. The cultist looked to Ken, only for both of his arms to be gone in a flash, releasing Enro. He began to gasp for air, looking to see Ken holding both of the cultist's hands. Ken went in for his next move, only to pass out in the midst of his attack. The cultist screamed in pain, “You bastard children! Do you think you can defeat me? I am a member of Ignicel. None shall stand against us! Now die as you lived, nameless children!”
Enro rushed to grab his dagger, still teeming with pain. The cultist, with his newly regenerated arm, swung at Enro. He backed up, thinking, "I can afford to lose this. He still only has one arm. I got this." As the cultist focused on Enro, the child picked up his sword and slashed across the cultist's chest. "You disgusting children," the cultist spat, enraged. "Now that he's here, we're sure to win," Enro thought. He rushed in, gaining speed that he thought like no other. He didn't think he was capable of going that fast before the cultist could react, climbing up the cultist's arm stabbing him in the eyes. Suddenly, he realized the cultist's weakness. "STAB HIM, DON'T SLASH!" He shouted. The cultist roared in rage; instead, He grabbed Enro and threw him against a tree.
"Argh," Enro gasped for air, only to be met with blood. The cultist searched for the child, only to have the child appear behind him, stabbing him in the chest. The cultist staggered, unable to believe he had lost. He fell to the ground. It was over. They had won.They were tired and exhausted. The boy tried to pick up Ken and Enro, but his legs were weak. He still had to move before more cultists came for them. Then a mysterious figure appeared from the shadows in front of the boy. He held his sword, still shaking from the battle with the cultist.
“Who are you?”
“what a strange trio” with a soft and soothing voice
Before the boy could respond, he passed out. When they awoke, they were inside a hospital. Enro heard the floor creaking as he searched for Ken, pulling back the curtain only to find him eating an apple. He rushed in, hugging Ken tightly. He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of the boy they had fought alongside.
"What's your name?" Enro asked.
"Reni," he responded, looking at his cast on his arm.
Enro remembered how Lin would always smile, so he responded by giving Reni a smile. “It wasn't your fault. Besides, you got hurt too, and we're still alive.”
An examiner walked in through the door holding a clipboard. “I didn't expect each one of you to be up. You came in here a wreck—”
“What do you mean we came in here a wreck?” Enro interrupted.
“A strange man in a cloak brought the three of you here.”
"It's true, I saw a man before I passed out," Reni added.
“You all should be healed by tomorrow,” the examiner said.
“Really, tomorrow?” Ken exclaimed.
“You've been given the best treatment. A member of the order paid for you.” “you all take proper rest now”the examiner said as he left
The order? Enro thought to himself. Who was that mysterious man? Enro went back to his bed, lying down. Suddenly, a mysterious man sat on the window.
``It's him, the mysterious man!” Reni shouted.
“Don't shout. People can't know I'm here. Go to the order's base. They're taking people, and you're qualified. Don't go anywhere else. Tell them Jin sent you take this card with you."
He jumped out the window, and they rushed to catch him, only for him to disappear.
"What a strange man," Enro thought to himself.
They all needed a rest after the events that had transpired. They lay on their beds, tired and fatigued, letting the day pass them by. The next day, they awoke to the dim rays of the sun. Enro's arm had healed, so they packed up their things. They discussed whether to go where the mysterious man had told them.
``We shouldn't just follow what this man says," Reni argued."
We have no other choice. We're in the middle of what appears to be a capital with no one to help us. What do you think, Ken?" Enro replied.
``I'll follow where you go," Ken said.
"Fine, let's go to the order," Reni agreed reluctantly.
Making sure they had their weapons, they placed them in the bags they had been given. They walked out of the hospital cautiously, making sure Ken didn't wander off. They held his hand as they made their way down the streets of this mysterious city. As they walked, they were bombarded by the sounds of vendors and the smell of peppers and foods they were not used to. They stood together, heading toward their destination.
As they arrived, Ken exclaimed, “It's massive!”
“Make sure to stick together,” Reni whispered, awestruck by the towering building.
They walked toward what seemed like a hut. As they approached, a tall man noticed them. “Away with you,” he shooed them away, taking them for beggars.
“"We're here on the recommendation of Jin," Enro interjected.
The tall man grabbed Enro by his collar, face filled with anger. "Who the hell do you think you are? Jin’s been dead for over three years."
Reni grabbed his sword. "Let go of him!" Reni yelled.
"Reni, calm down. It's okay," Enro tried to reassure him.
"Oh, you think that dull sword will hurt me?" the tall man growled, tightening his grip on Enro.
In a flash, he appeared behind Reni, Enro's body dropping to the ground. "Ahhhh," Enro gasped, looking for air. The tall man kicked Reni to the ground. "STOP!" Ken yelled, hoping to access the same power.
"LOOK!" Enro yelled, showing the man the card Jin had given them.”wait here while I contact my higher ups do not move or else you will be killed “