Awaken Hero

"What is this?" The man in black armor said. His voice was deep and commanding and yet made both Zeke and Lucy sick to their stomachs. "Two small lambs waiting to be slaughtered?"

Lucy wasted no time talking and pulled her sword on the man. "Mana Art!" She yelled. "Flash of everlasting fury!" Her blade lit up in a raging blue flame and she swung it at the man.

To her surprise she found her blade stuck, resting between two of the man's fingers. The flames not burning him. "Oh, my what an adorable little attack you have here." He laughed as he bent the blade between his fingers. "You country bumpkins must not know who I am. Otherwise you would have run."

"No, we don't!" Lucy said fiercely. "Why don't you enlighten us as to who you are?!"

"That could be fun." The man agreed. "I am he who conquers kingdoms. HE who spreads death and despair where he travels. I am the end, the apocalypse. I am chaos incarnate. I am the demon king Galendor."

"The demon king?!" Both Lucy and Zeke yelled out in unison.

He took joy in the looks of horror upon their faces. "That's right." Galendor laughed. "I am your undoing, your death. This woman seems to be protecting you boy. Should I kill her first and fill you with despair or kill you and break her spirit! Have no fear though, both your corpses shall join my army of the damned!"

Not knowing what came over him Zeke jumped to his feet and charged the demon king. He grabbed his body as tightly as he could. "Run Lucy!" He pleaded. "I will hold him as long as I am able!"

"Oh, a volunteer?" The demon king smiled. He grabbed Zeke by his neck and lifted him up. He then turned him so he could see Lucy who was running for her life. With his other hand the demon king formed an orb of fire that changed into a lance and pierced Lucy's heart. She fell to the ground dead.

"No!" Zeke cried out, having lost his mother and the woman he secretly loved all in one night. Tears ran down his cheeks as he wallowed in his own self-pity. The demon king's grip kept slowly tightening around Zeke's neck, slowly depriving him of air. He could feel the world darken around him as he began to lose consciousness.

"Don't sleep yet boy." Galendor commanded. "You will miss the best part if you do."

Zeke watched in horror as Lucy's corpse stood up. She began to walk over, her flesh pale and her eyes replaced with a dull green glow.

"See isn't she far more beautiful this way?!" Galendor said. "I may even have a spot for her in my bed tonight. How do you feel about that boy?!"

Zeke's consciousness was fading fast, his mind flooded with thoughts of sorrow and hate. He hated the demon king for taking everything from him, but he also hated himself for being unable to do anything. He felt completely powerless, and he hated it.

As Zeke lost consciousness the demon king let go and discarded him on the ground.

"Go now my minions!" Galendor triumphantly screamed. "We shall turn all this world into ours! We shall end life wherever it exists! We shall have victory!"

Zeke laid there, the entire world darkening around him. All he could do was think to himself, he lacked even the energy to speak. [If only I could have another chance.] He thought. [If only I could live, I would be different. I would strive to not have fear, I would not let my loved ones die! I would be a hero! I would stop that monster no matter what it took! Please if any god or goddess is hearing my thoughts, please help me. I am resolved to be a hero! Please!] Then his world went black and the sounds of fire rumbling and people screaming stopped. The world was dark and quiet.

To his surprise he woke up the next morning. He could feel the warmth of the sun upon his skin. A bird had landed on his head and was pecking him. He shot up with a gasp, as if he had not breathed all night. He looked around at his surroundings. The earth all around him had been scorched. No building remained in his vision, nor did any person or corpse. The giant ship that brought the demon king was gone.

"How am I alive?" Zeke asked himself. "Did someone hear my prayer; do I have another chance? Status!" In this world one was about to bring up a status screen, displaying their stats, class, and skills. He was amazed, he was no longer a level fifteen merchant. Instead, his status screen is a different color than it used to be. It used to be green, but now it is blue. He was back to level one, but his class had changed. He was now a hero.

"I am a hero?" Zeke said softly. "They did hear me! I will not let you down, whoever did this for me! Thank you! Thank you for this chance at revenge! Now let's see, what are my skills. Oh wow, looks like I get triple experience from monster slaying, I am also immune to poison, mind control, and decay. Oh, nice I have a proficiency in magic now! I always wanted to be a mage! Mom would be so…" Thoughts of his mothers death filled his mind and took away his happy moment. "I will kill that monster, no matter what it takes." He fumed for a moment and then continued to check his stats.

"Looks like my base stats are higher now as well." Zeke said. "Even though I am back to level one, a hero must get a lot more base stats per level than a merchant. I don't need to waste any time."

He walked to the rumble of his old place of employment and shifted through the debris. He found himself a suit of armor and a sword. "Time to go level up." He said as he left town and headed to the nearest labyrinth.