1 Chapter 1 (1/3) - Dawn, Alrkmard, the Little Girl and the Ghost.

"This is a Dream," I muttered as I woke up from my slumber. When was the last time I even had one? Days? Months? It didn't matter since I could now dream again then to me that was a 'curse', one I would have to live with, but at the same time one that told me that I was 'alive'.

And as I sat up on the bed, I could see the lights of daybreak illuminating the room, it was not that much bright but to me who had spent most of his days in the dark, it was breathtaking, a source of new hope, the foretelling that a new day was coming.

The window from which it entered was a hole left by who knows what, only thing was that it was big enough for me to use it as an entrance. It didn't matter to me that a huge hole was in the wall, after all, it had been a long time since I actually could be here, in fact, I couldn't remember the last time I slept on the bed if we weren't counting last night.

And as for the house, now that you mention it, it seemed to have gotten even older and before, it wouldn't have been strange if it was taken for an old witch's lair, now it seemed like a person from the old ages was living in it.

There were vines running across the walls, roots entering from the ground, branches grew from the roots, leaves falling on the floor, it was amazing how the furniture remained in place considering how the forest treated the house, maybe it was because the house was quite large and that we had little things of need, but no, it was more or less that we were too poor.

'We?' I could only mock myself for having thought that, for I could clearly remember that 'I' was the only occupant of this old house even before I left, and now, it seems she would take a long nap without being disturbed, maybe it wouldn't even be here anymore when I returned. I could only actually return after finishing my problems and though few in number seemed impossible for me

to actually accomplish them, but was I just going to give up? I couldn't afford to.

And as I thought about these the sum was now just visible on the horizon, a big blue sphere was visible with the eye, maybe anyone else's eyes would be burned if they stared too long at it, but definitely not for me, I was certain.

"Well, now its time to leave. Might as well get it over with." and with that, I left the house that had been my abode for as I could remember the past 10 - 12 years.

From the outside, it looked like an old cottage that was on the brink of falling apart any moment, maybe if it weren't for the vines it would really have fallen apart but this house was different from the rest, the vines were even part of it. The windows were just left open without any panes, the paint had faded like there wasn't any in the first place. The front door was quite big, but we didn't even use it, only one man did, other than him we would use the hole at the side to enter.

And with a deep look at the old house, so that I wouldn't forget it,

"Farewell, Granny Heil, I never knew if you were alive like Father Koft said but I'll at least send you off with these 'might be' last words of mine to you. And well, I really don't have anything to say, just that, make sure you stay strong and healthy so that when I come back I'll make sure to bring those two idiots along with me, and then we can live happily together again even if for a moment, so please don't worry about us and take better care of yourself."

I uttered what might be my last words that, if fate decides, I would ever speak to it.

And with that, I turned my back. Now it was time to head east, to where I was going, the only things with were would be the clothes that I was wearing, a faded white shirt, black pants, black shoes, a little wooden ring on my left little finger.

And a letter in my left pocket, one of the reasons that I had to leave would be because of this letter,

and to be honest, even though I would eventually have to set out from that old house, but I would have put it off until the last second.

"Well, now, let's head east, to Alkmard!" and with a stomp I ran, it wouldn't be wrong to say as fast as the wind or so. Why was I so fast? Well, anyone who went through what I did would undoubtedly be at least this quick and even better.

"Let's hope I can reach by the end of the day." Was my thought as I ran and didn't stop.

All I knew was there Alrkmard was far east, that there was a village just outside the forest where we normally got our supplies from, and that I had to cross the river past it to head further east, the problem was to which extent. And it gave me a bad premonition the further I thought about it. It wouldn't take long to just cross the forest, that I was sure. I could get to the village and back to the house and still see the sun in the same place, that was how fast I could go but it was exhausting.

I had to think of other things, like

"What kind of things would I see? What kind of people would I meet?" I wasn't really interested about going out of the forest and exploring from when I started living here, but now that I was finally back after a long time, I couldn't help but show expectations towards the 'outside' world.

"Would I really see them again?"

Right! Now I remember. Father Koft went to the west on that day as the sun set. Now as the sun rose I was heading east.

"Fate really is typical, ain't it?" and with no one to give an answer, my questions would drift with the wind. Maybe one day someone would answer them. Maybe I really would see them again.

"Maybe I really will meet her again, right?" Yet another question drifting with the wind, I hoped for someone to answer this the most.

But not in this forest, no, not here, it was literally impossible to get an answer here. No one lived here, not even a single human soul and the beasts were nowhere to be seen, it was supposed to be full of beasts and animals of all kinds, but I hadn't even seen one since I lived here. But as for the other part, 'no human could live here, no human would be able to live here', was what they thought, yet three idiots lived in it.

"Well, we weren't exactly human after all."

And that hope of it happening was like a kindling fire that could not be put out. Of course, I understood, it would be like hoping to find a needle in a haystack, but that hope could no longer be put out. I could only hide it in the deepest depths of my heart, where even I myself would eventually forget the hope existed until it was brought to light again.

And with that I kept on heading east, this would be the start and as for the end, though unclear about how or when, the end was definitely near, waiting to strike at the worst moment, whether I could survive or not would all depend on me, after all,

'This' was how the life of a Murk Veil was supposed to be, death was always at the door waiting to knock.

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chatter*

*chatter*chatter*

The bustling sounds of the people moving about in the streets, paved with stone and tiles, the vendors at the sides were busy tending to their customers, there were people passing by the stores and wandering around, filling the place with life. Sounds of laughter rang out from the day bars, the sound of metal hitting metal in the forges, the wind fluttering about as it passed through the city.

It was noon and the sun was up high in the sky, the blue sun made the sky appear even more clear, giving it a light blue colour, with clouds scattered around.

And amongst all these was the sight of a haggard youth who was walking down the middle of the street from the west, his clothes were soiled with dirt and though not torn, no one would wear clothes like these, except in the slums but in the city, there were no such places.

His black hair was a mess and it covered his face, leaving gaps so that his eyes could see, he was walking with weak steps, tilting to the left and the right, like he could fall down any moment.

And yes, that same youth was me, as for how I was in this state, well anyone would also be in this state, much worse, if they went through the same thing I did.

So here's how it goes, I did travel east, and I didn't stop until I exited the forest and saw the village, Phallay, inhabited by humans of course. And then my troubles started from there, I didn't know to which extent I would have to head east, so after a good meal I kept on moving and this moving,

went on for what seemed like a month.

"No, not seemed like, it 'should' be a month," I mumbled out with my weak voice, I'm sure no one heard me.

Throughout the journey, I was counting the number of days that passed and it took me a month to get here. A whole month of running around, of course, I was exhausted. In fact, it might have taken me even longer to get here if it weren't for those 'troubles.

I didn't even remember everything clearly but what I did remember was first being chased by land hawks, then spiked rats, horned hares, demon-toothed bugs, winged boars, fanged lizards, striped snakes, evil-eyes foxes and even a rare crystallised armadillo.

Not to mention being attacked while I was minding my own business, while I was hunting, trying to get a nap, especially the bug bites, they itched a whole lot.

So technically I didn't stop much, even if I did it really was only for a moment and whose fault was it all this happened to me? First it was the damned world, secondly it was because of that old man or something, and lastly because of that old hag.

'I will definitely remember this!' I took these words to heart, etched them even.

But right now nothing mattered more than finding a place to rest, and as I was thinking of this I saw it.

A square, probably one of the many in the city. There were streetlamps at appropriate places, there were also flowers and grass as decorations, this one also had a fountain at the centre, but most importantly there was no one here. This meant the square was empty, that the benches in it were vacant.

I could finally collapse and take a rest, a hard-earned one. My legs were wobbling from the strain, they almost gave away, I could feel them tearing and grounding, it almost made me stop when it was right there. But I could reach it, barely, but I reached it. The bench by the fountain seemed like a garden of paradise to me.

*Thud*

I could finally rest, even if it meant collapsing and falling face first on the bench. I could now enter sleeps embrace.....

*Haaaah*

And with a relaxed sigh, the world went dark, the last thing I saw was the square's entrance, the gates, with old archaic lamps at the sides. How I wished that I could rest here for as long as I wanted, to only see the light again when I felt like it, to do whatever I wanted.

*swoosh*...*crash/thud*

*swoosh*x4 *thud*x4

But I guess fate would never let it happen, it was just not meant to be.

Woken by the sudden sound I scrambled to get up, but as I tried to move,

"Ouch!" A wave of pain assaulted me, the strain from the journey was still there, in fact, it was already amazing enough that I was still in one piece, a month long of running for dear life if it were anyone else in my place then losing a limb would be getting off easy. Thinking back, an experience like that would be hard to forget yet hard to clearly remember what happened. With fear gripping your heart, there was hardly time to think and ever less for mistakes, and all thoughts were spent on ways of escaping. If people asked me how I could survive then I would answer, 'Instinct'.

Yes, 'Instinct', 'instinct' to cling for dear life, 'instinct' trained from years and years of escaping the jaws of death, it left a thin line between life and death but it was this 'instinct' that now saved me.

First, it was 'luck', now it was 'instinct', I only yearned for the time when it could be 'myself' that saves me, but that, even if it was possible, would be far in the future.

And now that same 'instinct' was calling me, telling me to act, and so I did.

Ignoring the pain I sat up and scanned my surroundings, the same sight of the square greeted me, how long did long did I sleep for? It should be evening, the sun planning to set was moving closer and closer to the horizon. And also,

*gush*

The fountain was broken, though not enough to call it demolished It was broken on one side, my side. Wait! That meant whatever that was, it went right over me. Just thinking about it gave me the chills. If it could break the fountain made of hard stone then it could definitely break me who was defenceless.

Water was flowing down, wetting the stones, the pebbles inside the fountain were also flowing out, but the sewage system of the city was amazing, the water sank through the gaps of the tiles, probably getting recycled, and water was also still being poured in the fountain so it probably wouldn't dry so easily.

"Heh! Right now even sewage could amaze me."

But more importantly..."Huh!? No one's here?" I scanned my surroundings but I couldn't find anyone here, there were many things I wasn't confident in, but detecting presences was not one of them.

This only meant that the projectile came from quite a distance, and as for it to leave no debris, there was only one explanation.

"It's magic. isn't it?" Yes, there was magic, in this world, Omera, there were a lot of resources and things that would baffle someone, Omera was especially rich in resources, some of the resources were even considered inexhaustible, magic was one of them.