A loud thunder strikes from the horizon, silencing the heavy rain, falling through the dawn lit sky. Two male in a seemingly soldier garment, covered in wounds, blood and dirt, standing in awe, mountaining the scattered corpse, of some were mangled beyond recognition.
The two soldiers can be heard breathing loudly in exhaustion, and with no more strength in their body, dropped their weapons, and knelt to the ground. A blonde haired male with with a face covered with scars, started to cry in pain and anger, as he pounds the ground.
“God. Damn. It! God damn it all!”
The other soldier, with a brunette, long and messy hair holds the other soldier as to comfort him. They both knelt in silence in the hard rain, washing the blood stains on their rusty and scarred armor.
In the darkness of what felt like mere seconds, Kido Haruki opened his eyes, as he stood there naked, confused at first, but quickly turned into fear as he saw the corpse surrounding him. He did his best to scream his lungs out, but no sound was made, all there was the deafening loud rain.
He kept on trying to scream a couple of times, but to no avail. He then notices the two soldiers on their knees, and quickly walks towards them. He kept on walking, but as the world had him on a leash, he kept on walking, but no distance was made. Panicked by the discoveries, he ran towards the foot soldiers as fast as he could, screaming for help.
Gravelling on the ground, clawing his way as hard as he can, to seek help, but alas, he was stuck. He started to cry as he muffled for help.
The blonde hair foot soldier was alerted. “D-Did you hear that? I-I heard something!”
He started to run towards the direction he thought he heard the noise.
Kido was excited, as he thought that his voice was finally heard. But the blonde soldier didn’t stop at him, he ran behind Kido, towards a pile of corpses. As the blonde soldier reached the pile, he started to rummage through the body, and push the mangled corpses to the side, as the cry started to get a bit louder.
Kido stood up, wiped his tears and stood still in silence, and watched the foot soldier digging through the bodies. The blonde soldier picked up something from the ground, and started hugging it tightly, as if trying to keep it warm. Kido was curious, so he got closer to look at what the soldier was holding, and to his surprise, a small baby was in his brace, crying ever so softly. Kido looked at the soldier’s face, and he was crying, as if it makes Kido forget about his abnormal situation.
The brunette soldier screams out to his friend, “What’s wrong!? What did you find!?” and started to walk towards him.
Filled with joy and relieved, he screams back, “A baby! I found a baby in this pile of corpses!”
The brunette soldier took a closer look and said, “You are right! This is a miracle! How did you even find him? I couldn’t hear anything in this damn rain!”
The blonde soldier replies, “I heard a cry, it was very quiet, but my guts were telling me that something was there. And before you know it, I found him.”
Thunder started to strike the sky and the rain started to pour down a lot heavier.
“Let’s go home for now, we can’t bury all of these bodies sadly, nor could we come back, we don't have the time nor energy.” The brunette soldier speaks out of concern.
They both took their leave, and limped out in pain while covering the baby from the rain.
Kido woke up from his short dream, and realized the hell he is in. As if he’s a ghost, he appears to be floating a certain distance from the soldiers. Noticing that he is moving in the same direction, at the same speed as the soldiers, he concludes that he can’t be farther apart from the baby. He accepted his fate, for nothing that he had done, resulted in anything.
What felt like hours of walking, and the heavy rain was no more than a drizzle. The sun started to rise from their direction, blazing Kido’s view of his surroundings, through the thick trees and forest, a run down makeshift house surrounding what seems to be an old, small abandoned church-like building.
“We’re here. Welcome to your new home little guy.” the blonde haired soldier pointed out towards the slum, and gleefully stated his thoughts.
Kido was taken aback by the image of the slum, but he can’t help but having the feelings of warmth and comfort, as the only thought that pops out in his mind was the sense of familarity.
Kido was startled by a loud scream of a female, “You idiots!”
A middle aged woman in an old medieval garb with an apron on top, rushed towards the soldiers in anger, and in the heat of the moment reached out for a slap towards the blonde haired soldier, but was pushed aside by the brunette soldier and received the blow.
“You two keep taking on dangerous jobs, and not coming back for days! Don’t you think how sick I am of anxiously waiting for you both to come back! You both always come back home with wounds and scars! Do you both think you’re immortal!?” The woman with an apron lashed out her anger and concerns.
The brunette soldier stuttered his words, “W-We! W-We just wa-”
“If we don’t take those dangerous jobs, then how are we supposed to survive this hell! Those jobs you recommended couldn’t even feed me for a day! How do you expect me to feed all of these sick people!” the blonde soldier lashed out back, cutting off the brunette soldier’s words.
Angry and frustrated, she replied, “How are you even going to support these people if you are dead, you idiot!”
Kido stood in awe as they fought back and forth. Watching them fighting somehow pained his heart, and he’d wanted to stop them. He screamed out his vocal cords, but there were still no sounds made.
Disappointed with the outcome, Kido haruki felt sad, and made him cry out loud. Kido himself was confused as to why he was crying, but as if he’s becoming more sensitive and reacted easily to the emotions around him.
But it was not in vain, as a small cry can be heard in loosely wrapped dirty clothes. The lady in the apron stopped her lectures and was taken aback by the cry, and rushed towards the blonde soldier, grabbing the baby that was wrapped, and slowly uncovering the softly crying baby.
From anger, turns to smile, as she sees the baby, holding it tight in her arms, she softly begins to shed tears.
“H-He’s breathing! Thank goodness…” the lady in apron whimpers.
“I guess that’s enough of our bickering. I almost forgot about the baby. Let us continue our conversation inside, and welcome the kid properly. At least he’d be warm there.” said the blonde soldier with a relieved expression.
Kido was also relieved, and was delighted by the outcome. As they were all walking in, Kido noticed a glowing figure of a woman in a robe, watching them from afar, standing behind a dead tree. Kido doesn’t feel any fear or confusion, because the figure seems to be giving off a warm feeling inside of his heart. Kido tried to get a better look, but was dragged along inside, and as if he was a ghost, he easily phased through the walls of the building.
Shocked in fear, Kido saw the inside of the church’s hall. Makeshift bed of dirty clothings and sheets packed the floor, something that he’d only seen in illustration of something similar to the black plague. People’s coughing out blood on the floor, while some are screaming their pains away. Kido feels helpless as he watches the people suffering, and floats back towards the baby in the other room.
Stolen story; please report.
The room that the baby was brought in was a lot cleaner, not by much, but is more sterilized compared the two. There the lady in the apron was preparing warm water to bathe the baby in, as the other two soldiers helped carrying firewood and clean sheets. They were all very careful as to not mix the dirty sheets in with the other.
“Careful with what you touch! Don’t accidentally get yourself infected and bring it here with the baby! We still don’t know if he’s immune or not!” The lady in the apron lectures the two soldiers as they were preparing the bath.
“I know, I know, you don’t have to tell me everytime.” the blonde soldier complained back.
The lady in the apron pulled the blonde soldier’s ear and said, “Don’t talk back, just wash your hands already!”
The brunette soldier saw the commotion and went to wash his hand immediately. Kido’s mood was overturned after witnessing their optimism.
Kido phase through the otherside of the wall, facing the sick patients. He sat with his hands around his knees, in silence, as he helplessly watched the sick and the dying people on the other side moaning in pain. Something caught his attention, a little girl on the floor, with only a piece of cloth under her. Kido was surprised, as the little girl was reaching out her hand to him, asking for help. Kido reaches his hand out, in a way to ease her mind. Suddenly, the little girl drew her last breath, and went limp.
Kido sat there in silence, he clenched his fist and drew it back to himself, and continued sulking in his spot. His body language is clear as day, crying out all of his tears, but the only sounds that can be heard, is the painful moan, and the endless coughing.
As if his eyes had started feeling sleepy, he got up and went to the other side, to check out on the adults. The lady in the apron is teething the baby with a bit of milk on a piece of cloth, as the two soldiers were dead asleep on the floor.
“I know we can’t give you much throughout your life. But welcome to your new home… Ilumi.” The lady in apron whispered to the baby.
The sunlight shone through the window’s sill, hitting Kido in the eyes, blurring his visions, and the sleepiness had got worse. Couldn’t keep up with the sleepiness, Kido gave in and closed his eyes once again.
A loud ring echoed through Kido’s ear and woke him up for the second time. He found himself deep in a forest, he looked around still confused, and he saw a kid, not older than 3 years old lying on the ground with blood coming from his head on the ground.
Kido looked for the baby’s location, and wondered why he strayed away from the baby. Not giving it too much thought, he tried to scream for help, but remembered that he couldn't, so he ran around to look for help. It was somewhat dark in the forest, and thought that he had run pretty far, he’d find himself back to where the kid was lying on the ground.
Kido had his suspicions, but it was quickly cleared by a loud shouting.
“Ilumi!!”
A few people sprung out of the forest and found the kid. They quickly turn the boy around from lying flat on his stomach. Kido couldn’t help but to be dumbfounded by the situation, but it was all blown out of the water, as one of the female rescuers put her hands above the little boy, and a ray of light surrounded him, and the bleeding slowly stopped, and the wound is no more than a scar..
Speechless, Kido standing still without any reaction, and once again, his visions blurred, and he felt sleepy. Kido tried his best to fight the sleepiness, and slammed his head on the nearby tree, but it was for naught, as his head only went through the tree. His mouth whispered out a soundless void. “Please… not again…” Everything faded back to black.
Time and time again, Kido couldn’t help but gain consciousness, over and over again, albeit short. Almost as watching someone’s life through a picture, though there were barely a dozen of them. He had no time to react to the situation he was in everytime, as his consciousness quickly faded away, as fast as he regained it. His frustration had reached its limit.
With no warning, or a heads up, Kido once again regained consciousness, and the only thing in his view was somewhat a familiar place, but it was nothing more than rubles. A really loud howl echoed through the sky, and everything stood still in silence. Kido turned towards the sound, and saw a horrifying scene that was etched into his head. The people that to him looked familiar, were nothing more than body parts, scattered on the floor, as a big monstrous wolf devouring the remains of dead bodies.
A ruffle was heard from the ground, Kido stared down a pile of rubles, and saw a young boy, pinned by a heavy stone wall, crushing his body. As his last moment in life, the little boy’s life is flashing in Kido’s mind, as if he’s been living the little boy’s life. Emotions ran down his head, anger, sorrow and frustration felt by the young boy, as if it were his own.
“Save them… save us… all…” a voice whispered through Kido’s ears.
The boy’s reach felt short, and fell down to the ground, as his body went limp, signifying his death.
Something felt weird for Kido, his vision was darkening, but he didn’t feel sleepy.
The blazing hot air, blasting through the atmosphere, and the bright light from the moon shone down on the grim scene. Kido could sense them all.
“It’s so hot…” a voice moans its anger.
The air felt still, a pile of rubbles that pinned the little boy started to float and the lifeless body of the little boy started to twitch.
The little boy struggles to get up, and the giant monster is alerted of what’s happening, as it faces the little boy and growls as if it’s about to attack.
“What’s happening…” The little boy looked at his hands and feet.
“Am I… in the boy’s bo-” his thought was interrupted by the monster, as it charged towards him, opening its mouth trying to bite him in half.
The little boy dodged just in time, but his confused expression stated that it was not on purpose. The monster didn’t hesitate to attack, and quickly charged for an attack. But the little boy wasn't able to fully dodge the second time, and the monster’s clawed attack broke the little boy’s arm.
Extreme pain made the little boy kneel down, screaming in agony.
“Shit, shit, shit… what is happening! What is any of this shit! I need to do something, or that thing will bite my head off… I have to run, but how the fuck am I supposed to run from that beast!” the little boy thought to himself, panicking.
“Attack it…” a voice whispered.
“Are you fucking crazy!” the little boy replied promptly in anger.
Deafening barking soars the sky, as the monster signifies its killing intention. Its claws burrowed the earth, positioning its body to attack.
Faster than the little boy can blink, the monster closed the distance in mere seconds. Everything felt slow at that moment. In between the little boy’s final moment, he instinctively lifted his hand towards the monster, his thoughts were empty, but the only thing that was clear in his mind was the image of fire, a burning hot fire, a sun. Jumbled between those images, a memory stuck out from the rest, verifying his guess of the world.
“FaRe!” the little boy chanted, as a ball of light appeared in front of his palm, and turned into a burning ball of fire, and shot off towards the monster’s face.
The little boy dropped to the ground scared for his life, watching the monster burning in agony. The monster drops and rolls on his body to put out the fire, and quickly puts the fire off.
The air suddenly felt thin, and the bright moon was blocked by the clouds, covering the ground with total darkness, with only a few burning spots on the ground as a light source. The attack did nothing but pissed the monster even more, and the monster thumped the ground heavily with its paw, slowly pacing its way towards the little boy.
Bracing himself, the little boy got a little confident, as he found a way to fight back. Gripping his hands tightly, preparing for the monster to strike, the little boy didn’t have time to think of how the magic works, as his only guide is a flashing memory.
A loud thunderous thud echoes, as the monster charges with a full on rage. His heart skipped a beat, but somehow, his body moved automatically, dodging continuous attacks that were thrown to him. But his body couldn’t dodge them perfectly, so he counters with his fireball, so as to not get himself gravely injured.
The monster barrage of attacks was quick and heavy, almost as being attacked by a very fast, large machinery.
The fight didn’t go on for long, as the attacks that couldn’t be dodged, wounded the boy indefinitely. With half of its body burned, the monster is weakened, and doesn’t seem it would stop, unless one of them died.
The continuous use of the skill, had made the little boy custom to the way it worked. Preparing an image of his own, on how the magic works, he steady himself, for the risk of the final blow.
Both the little boy and the monster’s panting slowly steadied, as both were getting ready to attack. The little boy focused on the image he’s conjuring, imagining the sensation of a fire that is hot enough to harm the monster, a ball of fire so hot that it would melt steel.
In half a blink, the wolf leapt with a great force towards the little boy, closing the gap between them. With one of his hands up, and pointing towards the wolf, from a single point of light, it turned into a ball of fire, no bigger than a baseball, but was hot enough that it started to burn the little boy’s hand a few centimeters away.
His eyes turn sharp, focusing on only the monster that is charging towards him. He screamed, but in the instant of the fight, nothing was heard, other than the explosion of the fire ball after impacting the monster. 18
The monster tried to dodge, but the fire ball pierced it in its body, leaving a giant hole on its side, revealing the burnt guts that spilled on the ground. The monster collapsed, landing on its burned inside. The little boy gasped for air, as the air wore thin from his magic.
Only a few minutes passed, but what felt like an eternity, had tired down the little boy’s body, and he too, collapsed to the ground. Wheezing on the ground, taking in on what had just happened, trying to keep himself calmed. Everything was silent, not a single chirping of crickets, nor a hoot from an owl, and even the wind was calm.
A slight breeze of wind blew towards the little boy, and the smell of blood and guts awakened the little boy’s calm moment. He tried his best to get up, but only got to a kneeling position. His eyes gazed on the surrounding, scattered with bits and pieces of human flesh and the destroyed makeshift buildings.
His vision suddenly changed, as he’s seeing a memory of the place from someone’s perspective, of the people that were living there, the hardship they went through, the sorrow they shared, and the happiness they felt. All seems like a dream, like a cutscene, rushing from the start, to the end.
“Not yet…” a whisper was heard.
Pulled from the dream he was having, back to reality. The monster had just moved without him noticing, as it is now behind him, as though the monster itself is not in control, and in an enraged state. The little boy’s head is already in between the monster’s mouth, waiting to take a bite.
The little boy couldn’t think of anything at the moment, the only thing he can think of is the hatred he has for the monster, the annoyance of him having to fight it again.
He looked at the monster full of rage.
“Disappear.” the little boy said
As though its body is being ripped atoms by atoms, the monster’s body dispersed in an instant, blown away by the wind like dust.
The little boy collapsed, drained of all the energy he had. His breathing slowed down, as if he’s dying.
“Not again… I had enough of this… I don’t… want… to fall asleep…” the little boy said. His vision blurred, and everything started to fade away once more.
The little boy lay down on the ground, unconscious. A vague figure made of light, of a woman in a robe, walks towards the little boy. The mystery woman put one of her hands on the little boy’s body, and it started to glow golden. All of the wounds, broken bones, and scars, heal away in a mere instant. And the little boy’s breathing started to steady, and was able to breathe normally.
Finished with her task. The figure vanished into the air, fluttering like a dust of lights