The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the magnificent city of Bartak. Towers of polished stone reached for the sky, adorned with intricate carvings that told tales of heroic deeds. Adomas, adorned in the armor of a captain, walked alongside his best friend, Kevin, through the bustling streets.
Kevin beamed with pride as he spoke, "My friend, I'm so happy to hear that you've been called once again as a captain of this ride to catch the legendary beast."
Adomas, his eyes gleaming with determination, replied, "Well, I'm happy too. Thanks, my friend. I can't wait to go and kill this beast. As legend says, no one ever killed that monster, so let me try my luck, hahaha."
Kevin chuckled heartily, "Hahaha, yeah, try your luck. You may end up the legend who killed the famous Zeralizion. It will be a great honor for you, I must say."
Adomas nodded, "Yes, it is. And that's why I hope to kill it. So my name will be written in the book histories as the first, and maybe the last, person to kill that legendary creature. But that's not all. With its death, we will not be afraid of it anymore, and we can live near the mountains in complete peace."
Kevin agreed, "I agree, my friend. That's why I pray to God that he will help you."
Adomas sighed, "Yes, I need the power of God to aid me in this and bring me back alive. I want to spend one more night drinking with you and see my son's smile again."
Kevin reassured, "Don't worry. I believe in you, my friend. You will come back, and, of course, we will drink again, hahaha."
As they continued their stroll through the city, Adomas couldn't help but express his wish for Kevin to accompany him. "Yeah, but it would be better if you came with me instead of sitting here protecting the city. I mean, who would attack us in this time after we defeated our worst enemies and conquered most of the kingdoms nearby? We live in peace, so why did the king want you to stay here?"
Kevin explained, "Maybe we are in peace now, but who knows what happens when you go with our brave soldiers from here? Also, the city needs a leader, right?"
Adomas chuckled, "Ah, yes, and what a leader they will get. Hahaha, the true hero of this city is protecting them now."
Kevin smiled, "Wait a sec. You are the true hero! They call you the hero of Bartak, not me!"
Adomas, grabbing Kevin's shoulders, insisted, "You are the true hero. If it weren't for you, who saved me many times in the battles and fought with me against our enemies, you were a brave and amazing fighter! I got the name of the hero because they only hear about my victories but never heard about the man who saved the hero over and over."
Tears welled up in Kevin's eyes as he said, "Thank you."
Adomas continued, "No, I thank you for everything. And now, I want you to be their leader. In case I don't come back, I want you to lead them in the right way, as God wants."
Kevin interrupted, "Don't say this, man. I'm sure you will come back alive and with the Zeralizion's head in your hands. I believe in you, my friend, so make it happen."
Adomas affirmed, "I will. And so now, I have to go and prepare myself."
Kevin wished him luck, "Alright, and good luck. I hope you will be the Zeral."
Adomas wondered, "Oh, the Zeral? What do you mean?"
Kevin responded, "Mhmm, it's a short name for Zeralizion, and you will be his killer, right? So I guess the word 'Zeral' will be good for you."
Adomas burst into laughter, "Hahahahaha, yeah, nice nickname. See you soon, my friend."
Kevin bid farewell, "Bye." Then, Adomas left, and that was the last time they talked.
(Back to present) Zeral walked and walked, the memories of his past conversation with his now-dead best friend, Kevin, echoing through his mind. He muttered to himself,
"So finally, those damned memories are getting back. Damn, I nearly forgot his face. If I had a heart, I could miss him. But I guess I'm a real Zeral after all. He failed in protecting my city! He died by those monsters. How dare he? How dare he die? How dare he fail? Damn it."
A surge of frustration overwhelmed him, and he started screaming, "DAMMMMM ITT! WHY DID YOU DIE? WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE THEM?" His roar reverberated through the empty surroundings, a symphony of anger echoing like that of an enraged beast
Just the memories of his family propelled Zeral forward, a man with no heart, no life, no fate—living for nothing, with no interest in fighting, neither with humans nor monsters. This is what makes Zeral the deadly ghost of the world.
The world is divided into two parts: the human realm and the monster realm. In the human parts, they have their own lives and gods, different from the monsters' existence and deities. There are two types of creatures, two worlds, and two gods.
Hirvan, the god of monsters, a druid who was once under the command of King David, now leads his army in a quest to conquer the world and exterminate all humans. Upon hearing about a figure outside that could help him achieve his goal, he spares no effort in summoning a monster—a being that once belonged to the city of Batrak.
Amidst the sound of dissent in the cave, the exiled monster stood firm against Hirvan's demands.
"Alright, don't force him to do something that he doesn't want to. This is freedom, humans used to have it before, and they didn't wield it responsibly. What if we use it in the right way?" the exiled monster questioned, his words met with a cacophony of dissent from the other creatures.
"What I think? I think you are delusional and a liar," a monster near him retorted, his voice filled with disdain. "There is no freedom in this! You took people's lives and turned them into disgusting beings like this," he added, his tone lowering to a whisper as he included himself among the transformed.
The crowd erupted in jeers and boos. "Booooo...Ewww...You Suck...Fuck off...Booo."
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Hirvan raised his hand, signaling for silence. "Everyone, stop this. Let him speak. I want to understand why he hates me, why this monster never loved us. That's why I banned him from entering this cave and forcing him to always have tasks to do far from here."
The exiled monster spoke defiantly, "And I will never love you or love your filthy creation, even love myself. You transformed us into these. All humans think that I'm their enemy now."
Hirvan retorted, "Just because I transformed you? If I hadn't, you could be dead. I remember you were injured so badly when we arrived in the city of Batrak. I decided to save your life by making you a holy being, one of us, just like I did with the other survivors in that city. Is this how you treat me? How dare you?"
The monster's reply was steeped in bitterness, "How dare me? The right question is how dare you? How dare you transform into these pathetic, ugly creatures? I wished to die there. I really wanted to! I would rather die a thousand times than live like this."
Hirvan's anger flared. "You keep disrespecting me, and your wish may come true in a bad way. If I want to, you will die and enter my hell in the other world for eternity."
The other monsters joined in, chanting, "YES YES YES, send him to hell, send him to hell..."
The exiled monster continued, laughter echoing through the cave, "Hahaha, what? Your hell? You really believe you are a god? Huh? Do you believe he is a god?" he asked the rest of the monsters. "This monster in front of you was a druid of my beloved great King David the 7th."
Hirvan's anger flared, and he screamed, "Who the hell do you think you are to speak badly about me in front of me and question my powers? Huh? You think I'm a liar? A fake god? How dare you?"
The crowd of monsters jeered and booed, expressing their disdain, "Booooo...Ewww...You Suck...Fuck off...Booo."
The exiled monster remained unshaken, his tone defiant, "Who am I? I think you forget who I am as well. I'm the priest of Batrak City, and I only pray to one god, which is my god was the human's god. I took an oath never to betray my human side, even though I'm a monster. But with my fate, I will never fight a human. That's why I enjoyed my time in exile -you ordered it- doing your silly quests because I was away from you and from humans."
Hirvan's rage intensified, and he shouted, "ENOUGH! What god are you talking about, mister priest? Huh? The god who abandoned you and left you to die? The god who watched his sons die one by one by us? Wait a sec, for so many years, you humans used to fight each other and kill each other. Where was your god then? Your god never existed in the first place; it was a lie."
The priest, now transformed into a monster, stood in shock, visibly shaken. He began to pray with desperation, "Please, God, help me..."
Hirvan, fueled by anger, mocked the praying monster, "Hahahaha, just look at him. Is he praying to his god? Hahhaha, what do you think? Will he answer you? Did he ever answer you? Because he never answered me. Did he ever answer or help any one of you?" he asked the rest of the monsters.
In unison, the monsters replied, "NOOO!"
Hirvan declared, "He never did because he does not exist. Well, as you see, I do exist, and I do help my sons, and I do care about them. That's why I will annihilate all humans in the world and destroy their god, so my era—hell, it's my holy son's era—will begin."
The rest of the monsters began chanting, "YES, YES, YES, YES!!!...
The priest, now a transformed monster, spoke through tears, "I hope you will fail, and you will die like the rest of those creatures. I believe in humanity. Somehow, they will win. They will defeat you! Our god will never abandon us! He is there above us, watching us and watching you as well. Believe me, you will see what he will do to you when you die."
Hirvan, his laughter resounding within the cave, retorted, "Hahahaha, die? I don't die! You see, I'm immortal, and I'm the only God that exists in this world. I will punish you for this, but first, I have a quest for you."
The priest, defiant despite his tears, declared, "I will never accept it. So go ahead and kill me! Kill me now! Send me to your hell! finish my pathetic life now! Do it, Mister God!"
The other monsters joined in, screaming, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!! BOOO... Kill this traitor..."
Hirvan, with a wicked smile, responded, "I knew you would refuse, but I will not kill you now. I will, but not now, because I want you to meet someone. Whether you accept the quest or not, by meeting this man, my sons will speak with him for me."
The priest, with a mix of fear and defiance, said, "I have no intention to meet anyone, especially a human. I can't bear to see a human looking at me as a monster."
In the dimly lit cave, Hirvan's voice heard with a sinister edge. As he revealed the news of a survivor from the city of Batrak, the atmosphere in the cavern grew tense. The priest, caught off guard, couldn't conceal his shock, hastily questioning the feasibility of such a survivor's existence.
The priest get shocks from the news and ask quickly "What? that's impossible? a survivor? who is he? and where is he now?"
Hirvan, relishing in the revelation, responded with calculated indifference. The priest, his mind racing, sought more information about this mysterious survivor and his current whereabouts. Hirvan, reveling in the intrigue, disclosed that the survivor was now on the western side of Palin's city.
The priest, now both bewildered and intrigued, questioned the wisdom of meeting this survivor, expressing fears of a swift death at the hands of a former warrior from Batrak. Hirvan, however, dismissed such concerns, explaining that the survivor was not aligned with Antorya's forces and seemed uninterested in engaging with either side.
As the conversation unfolded, Hirvan's cryptic interest in the survivor became evident. He urged the priest to approach the mysterious man, emphasizing the importance of revealing the truth about Batrak. The cave, filled with an ominous silence, seemed to absorb the weight of this clandestine mission, leaving the priest to contemplate the enigma that awaited him in the form of the lone survivor from Batrak.
The priest, torn between duty and his principles, hesitantly agreed to meet the survivor from Batrak. His words carried a mixture of determination and reservation as he vowed not to manipulate the survivor into joining Hirvan's cause, insisting on sharing only what he remembered of the city's tragic fate.
Hirvan, amused by the priest's sudden compliance, issued a dark chuckle that reverberated within the cave. He granted permission for the priest to embark on this mission but not without a sinister warning. Hirvan, revealing a trace of lingering disappointment, reminded the priest of a past failure related to the quest for a mysterious book.
"So finally you came to your mind, okay I will give order to some of my sons to accompanies you and make sure that you reached him alive, after all, humans can be dangerous to you hahahaha so you can go now to prepare. Don't fail like you did when I wanted you to find that cursed book I'm seeking for"
Hirvan halted the departing priest with an air of urgency. His questions hung in the air like an unsolved riddle, seeking the key to unravel the mystery of Batrak's tragic fate.
"Wait a sec before you go I want to know something mister priest, just tell me what the hell happened in that city before we arrived? is it true it was the king orders to kill you all or is it was one of my people came before me and attack you before I arrived? which make me wonder who was it and how?"
The priest, now facing Hirvan, spoke with a mix of uncertainty and conviction. His recollections painted a picture of a city besieged by an unimaginable force, leaving chaos and devastation in its wake. The atmosphere in the cave grew tense as the priest grappled with the fragments of his memories, unable to comprehend the sheer power that had befallen Batrak.
"Not sure what happened,it was sudden attack." The priest answered.
Hirvan's laughter repeated once again, this time tinged with a note of disbelief. As the priest recounted the catastrophic event, the cave seemed to absorb the weight of the unsolved enigma, casting shadows that danced with the uncertainty of the past.
Intrigued yet unsatisfied, Hirvan pressed for more details. The priest, caught in the swirl of memories, admitted his inability to decipher the true nature of the inexplicable force that had decimated Batrak. The air in the cave became charged with an aura of mystique, leaving unanswered questions lingering like phantoms in the minds of both druid and priest.
As the priest departed the cave, a sense of foreboding accompanied him. His prayers and wishes for the survivor from Batrak to sway the tide of war carried a weight of uncertainty, simulating the intricate complexities of a conflict that spanned both humans and monsters. The unknown loomed large, leaving Zeral's potential reaction to this revelation shrouded in mystery.
The end.