A warm summer night turned cold at the hands of a fool courting death.

Kael had never thought that he would step out of the mountain for the first time since his seclusion to find a missing person. 

Even then, he spared no time looking at his surroundings that had grown unfamiliar in the span of time. Heavens, he even had his eyes closed shut. He sped through the lush vegetation with his eyes closed, his trusted blade-his life and soul- clutched in his right hand. The rain poured on him, his every step followed by a splash.

What should have been the model of a descended god resembled an incarnation of hell. 

His features could be barely seen in the dark, so one may think that he was crying. However, it was just blood dripping down his face, mixed with sweat and grime. The white parts of his robes were dyed a dark crimson, which were hidden by the darkness. A devil shrouded in mystery, a spawn of absolute destruction, that was what he looked like in the darkness. However, the only thing the darkness could not hide was the putrid stench of death that exuded from him.

Looking at him, one would think that he was the grim reaper playing a game of hide-and-seek with an innocent mortal. 

After all, what sort of an idiot looks for someone with their eyes and mouth shut tight?

The running man came to an abrupt stop. He strained his ears, but the faint breathing he had been following had ceased. With a deep breath, Kael finally opened his eyes, the green tint in his eyes popping as more blood trickled down his face. He lifted his hands, found a white spot in his crimson-dyed sleeves and used it to wipe some of the blood on his face. 

“He’s dead.” he sighed, back straight, face the same as it was before. Perhaps one could delude themself into thinking that his tears were disguised by the rain and the dark.

However, it was clear as day on this starless night that he was unaffected.

He turned around, ready to walk back up the mountain and take a well-deserved bath.

Gasp

He whipped around in a flash, closed his eyes once more, and faster than the drops of water sped towards where that slight sound came from. 

Splash

Gasp

Splash

The sound of hyperventilating resounded in his ears.

Gasp

Splash

Where the sounds of raindrops sounded the most abnormal, where the gasps were at its loudest, and where the smell of death was the strongest, Kael found a pool of crimson next to a sturdy tree.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

However, he found that the moment he saw the blood pool, diluted by the rain, he heard no more gasps. 

But he still heard the sound of breathing. 

Drip

The patter of the rain disguised the sounds of a singular drop, making its way into the pool of crimson.

Drip

The translucent droplets disguised the singular crimson bead that dripped down like morning dew. 

Kael calmly observed the sparkly crimson beads drip down, face betraying no emotion.

He closed his eyes, letting the forest and rain envelope him for a while.

Hiss

He opened his eyes once more.

He craned his neck up slightly.

A branch extended right above his head, and in the cover of the dark it almost seemed like it was not there at all. In fact, the only reason Kael noticed this branch was because of the glistening crimson of the figure that lay on the branch, and the drops of blood from it.

Kael squinted, trying to make out its shape, when two azure beads emerged, looking him straight in the eyes. 

The beads moved closer and closer to him.

Kael just moved there, unflinching. 

The figure slowly uncoiled around the branch.

The beads ended up right in front of his face, a portion of its body still attached to the branch.

Kael moved at last, grabbing the figure with his left hand in a swift motion. 

Hiss

The figure struggled, but was clearly severely injured, so it was all futile effort in the end.

Something glistened, and Kael felt surging pain in the hand that held the figure. Even so, he stood there, unmoving. The azure glow was still looking straight at him, but it began to flicker. 

Eventually, the glow was gone, replaced by the darkness of the desolate night once more. 

Kael felt for a pulse and let it go, letting its half-coiled body dangle on the branch as he took his sword and rooted it on the ground blade-first. Then, he took a step and got onto the sword’s hilt. He then leisurely uncoiled the body on the branch. 

Bending down, he then took a vial from his coat pocket and bent down, collecting the bloody water before it was completely washed away by the rain.

After he was done, he took his sword and the half-dead creature and made his way back up the mountain for his well-deserved bath.

After a short hike, Kael jumped over the walls of the village and had to sneak into the clan headquarters through the back door. He had no intention of being bombarded with questions looking fresh out of hell.

Kael was used to sneaking into his own residence. 

He slid behind the trees, scaled walls like jumping hurdles, and broke into his house through the window. He found it easier to do than usual as the village and clan headquarters were devoid of people. Who in their right mind would come out after all that?

He sped through the garden and the pond outside his residence, scanning the surroundings for signs of people who may have come looking for him. 

When Kael climbed through the window, he closed his eyes once more, silently praying that his worst nightmare would not come true. 

He then sighed, sensing the presence of someone else.

“Kael…I see you’ve come back empty-handed.” The solemness in the voice could be told even in the pouring rain.

Kael turned around to look at the person in his house. He was one of the few people that he would turn around and look at, and he respected him very much. He appeared as a greying middle-aged man, but one look could tell one that he could snap their neck in an instant and do it a hundred times more. He was the Yerr Clan leader, after all. 

“Lord Felt, I deeply regret my incompetence.” Kael’s monotonous voice made it difficult for Felt Schradinger to tell if he was grieving or not. 

“Never mind that…we are all to blame.” His voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat, turning away from Kael. “Even the sky is mourning him.”

He tilted his head slightly and looked at Kael with a thousand words in his eyes that would not come out of his mouth. “I suppose you need some rest as well. It has been a terrible day. Rest well, Kael.”

In the blink of an eye, Felt disappeared without his usual dramatic antics. 

To see even the Clan Leader like that, Kael’s frown dipped a bit lower as he climbed into his house.

Looking out the window, even he could not help but sigh. 

The weather, the situation, it was all too depressing. 

Kael closed the curtains and lit a candle before he even removed his muddy, bloody boots. He was oblivious to it, leaving stains over the wooden floor of his abode. He then reached into the pocket of his jacket and took something out- the creature from before. 

Kael had his jacket’s pockets enchanted, so a wide array of things were in store within that small pouch. He took the creature out head-first, but as he tried to pull the remainder of its body out, he realised that it was taking way too long. 

He just kept pulling and pulling and pulling.

At long last, he managed to pull out the entirety of the creature. Its body sprawled across the entirety of the table. Kael tilted his head, blood rolling down from his crimson-dyed hair. He held the creature in his hands- tight enough so that it won’t wake up but loose enough so that it would not die. However in the process, the blood from the snake flowed onto the table and smeared on his hands.

Now that he was in the light, he could finally take a good look at his catch. 

“A snake…?” Kael thought out loud. He then quickly shook his head.

“What kind of demonic snake could take up so much space? This snake could be used as a rope to descend to the village…”

A/n: Hi, I’m a new writer planning to see if my works appeal to people. I’m sure there are gonna be LOTS of mistakes in both plots, grammar, and too many things I can’t even count…and I would deeply appreciate criticism as much as I would appreciation. I hope you guys enjoy this passion project of mine because I guarantee that you’re all in for a WILD ride.