"The death rune?"
interested, he draws it down and examines it
"Evren...?"
unknowingly, he wrote down a word he doesn't know the meaning of.
"ill look this up later" he notes
"now if I remember correctly, there was another rune on the top of the scroll... it should be exactly like this one, but flipped 180°"
looking around, he finds it"that's it! this one's called the life rune... so opposites? perhaps one signifies the end and the other the beginning?
I see" he writes down some notes" there a couple of obvious theories, the first being that it was an elaborate joke, the second is this being a sort of trap like a landmine, perhaps, and the third would be that this is some real magic or some sort of divination," he thinks, "considering dads reaction, this is probably not a joke, so let's take that out, it doesn't seem to be a weapon, since It defied the laws of conservation of mass by spontaneously igniting, and even more so when it left nothing behind after said spontaneous ignition but that's still not out of the equation"
after compiling his notes, he gets this:
runes the death rune the life rune reality of the scroll divination or magic some kind of trap or military equipment mysteries evren O great gods, let us in eternity call the earth our reaper, the seal of blood
-"I guess ill go to bed, today has been too long, I mean, I did research for multiple hours on a magical scroll that suddenly caught fire in my hand, started glowing, and even screeching completely out of nowhere and maybe even did a miracle or two by breaking the laws of conservation of mass & energy?? if I tell this to anybody, they'll probably think I'm insane" he speaks to himself, grinning" I gotta go to bed, as it's getting late anyway"
***
RIIIIIIIINGGGG--RRINNGGGGGGGG
hearing the dreaded sound of his alarm, he is conflicted on whether he should get up, or simply stay in bed. realizing that he would regret it later he gets up, wakes his brother, Fermin, tidies himself up for school, gets dressed, and walks there with Fermin.
-"haa, I really don't feel like going today, but eh, who wants to anyway?" he says, walking to school
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
-"yeaa, like, you must really hate humanity to make Mondays a thing"
the rest of the walk was mostly silent as both of the boys were still sleepy.
***
unable to focus on any of his classes, he was deep in thought about the meaning of the paper
" I still can't wrap my head around that quote... what does it mean? is it inciting the end of the world? perhaps a message from our ancestors? though it's still hard to wrap my head around the fact that that was probably magic"
"what are you mumbling to yourself about?" questions fer
"Nah, it's nothing" replies el
"Wooo so damn dry" snickers fer
"Takes one to know one"smirks el
"you little... " fer leans on el's desk
" just sayin" el looks away
hearing the bell ring, he stands up, gets his bag, and speeds out of the school, going home rather quickly considering his worry about his family.
on the way back, fer catches up to el, and questions him " why all the rush? is something wrong?"
"not really, just wanna get home and go to sleep"
" I might follow your lead for once"
-"Hey mom!" closing the door behind him
-"hey honey! you came at just the right time." she says, setting the table
-"so, how you doing, mom?" says Fermin, taking a seat
delighted by his mother's happy appearance, El smiles back offering help, while putting his bag down" can I help in any way?"
"it's alright honey, just relax, for now, you've just come back from school, after all" she fills in a plate
"no, I insist" he walks closer to his mother
"ill help too," he stands back up
"well if you rea--huh?" she stops
"Mom?..."
"what is this..." she says, shaking
fer gets closer and stays silent, as he was too stunned to speak, while el stayed where he was, not daring to take a step
-"MOM!" screams el, tears streaming down his face, "what's happening?!, Who is that behind you!"
he notices a tall hooded figure holding a wretched black scythe, which is stabbed through his mother's chest. fer doesn't seem to notice, so el attempts to call for him.
"... h-- a-" no matter how hard he tries, he couldn't get anything out of his mouth
-"i-i love you, baby," says the dying mother, with a hole in her heart"...be good"
slash
her head rolls, leaving her lifeless body to spurt out blood, covering the seeling and dying her children in a vivid red coat.
"no," he whispers, as his mother's head rolls towards his legs"moomm" he cries
fer, falling to the floor from the scene, gets bludgeoned by the wooden handle of the black scythe, starting from his limbs, slowly climbing up, but avoiding the lungs, heart, and brain just to prolong his suffering, eventually after what seemed to be an infinitely long amount of time, he swiftly crushes his throat with monstrous strength
"FER" el shouts, putting his hand forward.
the tall hooded figure steps closer, with its scythe stained with the blood of his family members, accepting his fate, he closes his eyes, ready to join his mother. But with a quick, swift move, the blade makes quick work of his left dominant hand. el quickly clasps it with his other hand.
the creature says, in a deep and grungy voice "the debt has been paid. the sealer has been spared. the head, his wife, and every single descendent of theirs, other than the sealer, have been sacrificed" and proceeds to disappear in a black mist.
Catching his breath, the boy in agony and grief, vows " SACRIFICED? DEPT? WHAT FUCKING DEPT? AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.... COUNT YOUR DAYS, YOU BEAST! I promise to get my revenge, stopping at nothing, not even if It costs me my life. I will make you pay back a thousandfold for the suffering you caused my brother and mother, you asshole."