The Beginning

Zed cried for half an hour.

Soon after everything went back to normal, the hurricane had stopped and skies were clear again.

Zed bottled up his courage. He stood up and started searching for the people who were alive. He walked past many dead bodies. The moon was red that night.

Zed covered his nose with one hand and one hand; holding the box. Even after covering his nose, the stench of blood didn't drop off.

He roared, "Anyone! Anyone here!"

No one responded. It was dead silence. He wavered; he was troubled, he didn't know what to do? Where to go? The night was very dark, he couldn't see anything clearly, only the light of the moon was with him. He ran through the village with his shattered leg; he looked for them in the forest's boundaries. He couldn't locate anybody.

While running, he stumbled over a dead body.

*THUD*

"Ouch….!!", his broken leg started bleeding….

(Oww… What is this....)

He peeked at the flat body on which he tripped over; closely….

"Aaaaaaa…!!!", he crawled back hurriedly.

"W-What is this? A d-dead body!!"

He felt nauseous and puked….. He was very frightened and puzzled because nobody answered his calls. He finally mustered up his courage and crawled to his parents' dead body. He attached a stick to his leg, with the help of a piece of cloth that he tore from his clothes so that he can walk for the time being.

He kept the box aside and tried to stand, but he fell down and hit the box with one of his hands. The box's lid got opened, and the things came out of the box.

"Ohh... The box!" Zed couldn't see the materials of the box in the dark, so took it in his hand...

(Hmm… What are these?)

He glanced over it carefully in the moonlight…

"Ooo… These are cards! Huh...! But this card looks unique."

The cards had skeletal kings and queens on them. Every card had a different skeletal design, according to the deck.

"All the cards are like this.... They all have skeletons on them."

(Umm…. They don't look bad; I think they are beautifully designed.)

Zed counted the cards…, "Ohh!.. It's a deck... But now I can't play with anyone."

*SNIFF*

"SHUT UP! DON'T CRY ANYMORE! How much do you humans cry in a day?!" A voice came out of nowhere... but whose?

"Gasp! W-Who is there?! Mister, where are you?! A-Are you heavily injured?!" he called out for the voice.

"HAHAHAHA…. Are you kidding me?! HAHAHAHAHA….."

(The voice seems beside me. But who?)

Zed glanced at the card…

"Gasp! Y-Y-You. W-Who are you?" Zed got alarmed.

"My name is Joker. What is your name, kid?"

"Why should I tell you my name? I don't even know who you are!"

"Hey, It's not a fair deal! I told you mine, so now also tell me y--…."

"I never told you to do that!.." he replied abruptly.

"Ughh… Ok fine! I was going to give you a piece of important information! But I think you are not in a mood for listening…."

"Huh…. What kind of information?"

"A very useful one…." Joker was being secretive.

"I don't think so…. First, give me the information, and then I will decide whether it is valuable."

"It's regarding tonight's in--.."

"Tell me! Tell me everything you know! I'll do anything for you!" he replied in an instant.

"Now you are talking business, Huh.. but tell me your name first!"

Zed replied, "I am Zed Arleen…. Ah- but today's storm… it was a natural incident, wasn't it?"

"No way you are still thinking of this as a natural incident! This was all caused by magic." Joker replied.

"What m-magic? But who-?". He was surprised after hearing that the cause of this massacre was a little box.

"Well, it's a long story..."

"Why the other cards are not speaking?"

"Because they can't, right now…"

"That means that they will start taking in the future!"

"Ughh… Why are you asking so many questions?! Sigh… Let me explain everything and you are only allowed to ask five questions after I finish...…"

Joker then explained the whole situation to Zed...…

"Long ago, there was a king named Eudaemon Von Latte. He was a skilled swordmaster and also a powerful mage. He was very kind, but money and power made him greedy, and the kind king became the 'Demon King'. He started practicing black magic. He lacked nothing: he had wealth, power, women, prosperous kingdom…. but he was never happy. When he saw people laughing, he always got angry and pissed at them. Time gradually passed... He had 10 children from his wives. They didn't have a huge age gap; they were all about the same age.

The eldest son was 11 years old; he was very skilled, kind, and promising. On his 12th birthday, they held a banquet. Even on Eudaemon's birthday; some nobles of his own kingdom refuse to attend the royal banquet, but on his eldest son's birthday many nobles, even some of the royal family members from the distant kingdoms, were part of his birthday banquet. They all praised him endlessly…. Instead of getting proud, the king got jealous of his own child.

The nobles were chatting with each other in a corner….

"I think he will make this kingdom more powerful!"

"Yes, everyone thinks so."

"I think he is going to surpass his majesty!"

"Indeed! He is already so much powerful at a young age."

"Yes, we don't know how far he'll go!"...

The king heard them…. He became frustrated and insecure because he thought his son would kill him for power and wealth and he is going to snatch his throne from him. He loved his throne, his power; more than anyone else.

After a month, there was news that the king killed all his sons. There was an uproar in the kingdom. Many people were cursing the king... To clear all his obstacles, he started killing everyone who went against him. Only a handful of powerless nobles were left. The kingdom was doomed!

After watching the condition of his kingdom, he came to his sense. He felt guilty for all he has done. He wanted to revive the kingdom again, but how? Many people attacked him up-front. For the sake of survival; he killed them all. He was left alone.

So, the people of the magic tower locked him up inside his castle and distributed his soul fragments to the different parts of the world. These cards are the key to unlock his soul fragments, they contain powerful magic and magic suddenly forced out because you opened this enchanted box after so many decades. And whoever revives him he or she can make a wish from him."

"Is it over?!" Zed asked.

"I was not a bedtime story, you idiot!"

"Huh! No, I mean; now can I ask you some questions?"

"Yes, but only 5 not-more-than-that."

"Ughh! Okaay!"

"So, I can make a wish for my parents to come back to life, right?"

"Yeah, most probably."

"What if he kills me after I revive him?"

"We won't know unless we try!"

"Why would someone make these keys in the first place if he was as bad as you described him?"

"It was his eldest son; whom he tried to kill... He was heavily injured on that day. The king thought he had already died, but he was still alive. With the help of magic, he healed himself and ran away. When he heard that his father's soul was being scattered in this world, he made the keys hoping one day his father could realize his mistakes and turn his wrongs into rights."

"But his father tried to kill him, so why-?" "Because he was his FATHER, that's why. He was that kid's inspiration from the start. Even though he tried to kill him, he never hated him for that. He thought he was just a weakling. He didn't have the courage to confront his father, so he made these keys...You know what… His father gifted these cards to him!..."

"So, now where is he? The maker of the keys…"

"He died after some years; because he had exhausted all his powers in making these keys and his organs were internally damaged."

"Wha-..."

"Ahem… The question time is over now buddy."

"WHAT! No! I didn't get to ask the most important question!!" Zed got flustered.

"That's not my problem!"

"Hey! You're mean!". He was sulking.

"Oh, SHUT IT!"

*SNIFF* *SNIFF*

Zed filled his eyes with tears….

"Woah! Woah! Fine! Just one question. Okay." To calm him down, Joker gave him one more chance to ask only a question.

After hearing that, Zed's face was beaming with joy, and his eyes were sparkling.

(Hehehehehe…. I'm good at acting!)

"So how do I find the trails of the soul fragments? You know… The world is very huge!"

"Hm…. GOOD QUESTION INDEED! The one who gave you these cards will probably also have a book with him. It's like a manual for these cards. You'll find the trails in that manual." Joker explained.

"So that's how it is….."

Zed thought it would be better if they leave the village as soon as possible so he said, "First, let's make some preparations and we'll depart for the city when the sun rises."

"Fine with me. I don't need preparations... Oh... but let me fix your leg as a return gift." Joker started fixing Zed's leg...

"What did I do to have this honor, sir?"

"You gave me freedom! Freedom after so many years!" Joker exclaimed.

-- --

Zed then cleaned his parents' bodies and made a coffin for them, and placed their bodies in it. He then buried the coffins underground and prayed….

(God, please lend me the strength to revive my parents back. Let their bodies be in good shape until I come back…)

He then looked around the village for the last time. He found a bag made of cloth and collected some money from the ground and debris.

-- --

Soon the sun rose, he didn't have the courage to look around his village because in the morning; the village still was red.

He kept the box in the bag and Joker in his pocket and set out for a new adventure...

It was The Beginning of his journey!

-- --

When he reached the capital, he was not surprised because it was the same as his father described it to him. A joyous place with many things to explore. But little did he know that someone was trying to approach him from behind his back….