The shadow that has come down

It had been years since Lear had fallen into the river, and apart from occasional nightmares, no troubles had troubled him. In this quiet and tranquil place, life went on in its steady course.

One evening, however, changed everything forever.

In the light of the moon, descending on the ground like a black shadow, the demons attacked the village.

The ground shook with the weight of their footsteps, and the air filled with the screams of their victims. They brought destruction and death, killing adults, they dragged their children with them. The villagers rushed to defend their homes and loved ones, but the demons were incomparably stronger and nothing could stop them.

Lear and his mother were in the temple when chaos broke out and they witnessed how quickly the temple began to fill with people seeking refuge there.

When the temple servants learned of the imminent threat, they hurriedly tried to hide the children, but alas, they did not make it in time - the storm blew the shutters apart and the demons tore through the temple gates.

In the darkness of the temple, lit only by a few torches, all hell broke loose. Screams and screams pierced the air, and the sound of tearing flesh and shattering bones echoed in everyone's heart. Some tried to run, some tried to pray, but death was inevitable, and everyone's heads flew off their shoulders the same way.

Rivers of blood spilled onto the floor from the tattered bodies of the dead.

At the center of all the chaos stood Lear. His mother stood in front of him, shielding him, she begged her son to leave the place as soon as possible. Yet Lear refused to leave without her, but eventually Hina persuaded him to run, promising he would catch up.

With tears in his eyes and a heavy feeling in his heart, Lear still listened to his mother.

His feelings were tearing him apart, but even stumbling with fear, he continued to run as fast as he could until he heard his mother scream... He turned around just in time to see the demons tearing her body apart.

Unable to comprehend what had happened, Lear fell to his knees. Unseeing, with trembling lips and a pale face, he stared toward the temple, asking himself a single question-"Why?"

The memories of his peaceful life, of those happy days he had spent with his mother, came to his mind by themselves. Now, those warm memories literally tore at his heart. He remembered going to the temple, praying together, and couldn't understand why all this had happened to them: "We didn't do anything wrong to deserve this... So, why?"

Suddenly the demons inside the temple saw Lear and he knew it from their burning eyes. Frightened, he backed away and fell to the ground. After a little hesitation, he crawled backwards in a hurry, and then, with difficulty, forced himself to stand up, he began to run again. His heart was beating frantically with despair, and his breath came out in intermittent gasps; he didn't know where to run. But at some point, he noticed a small building somewhere in the distance. It was a humble barn, but in the darkness that surrounded it, it offered the only glimmer of hope. It was as if Lear had a second wind, and with a renewed burst of energy, he sprinted toward it. Reaching the barn, breathing heavily with excitement, he ducked behind a stack of logs.

Hiding, trembling with terror, he covered his mouth with his hand to keep his emotions at bay. Feeling the demons closing in on him and their claws scraping against the walls of the barn, all he could do was hope for a miracle and pray.

However, his prayers were not answered... One of the demons found him and caught him with his paw, as if in a strong trap, and then lifted him to the level of his muzzle.

Pale with horror, Lear stared straight into the mouth of this monster, and though his eyes were wide open, his consciousness had already left his body.