Chapter : Prologue

𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄

A man stood in a funeral parlor, surrounded by many faces, both living and dead, as the breathing members of the small congregation that had entered the shop that day were mixed with the many lost souls he was tending to, before they made their final journey into the ground. In his hands were three books, gifted to him by an old friend so that they may be shown that day. Each had a name on the cover, in swirling gold calligraphy.

He set them aside for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a single page. Reaching for his dagger, he struck the point down onto the page, bringing it to life and unleashing the record it held.

Before the patrons' eyes, they found themselves in awe at the recording before them.

𝘈 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦. 

𝘈 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘈 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘖𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵, 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.

"𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴."

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴.

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨."

"𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭."

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭. 𝘜𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥  𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴... 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦..."

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴...''

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥.

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴."

"𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵." 

"𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥."

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥."

"𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦."

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥."

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴."

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩."

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝖚𝖓𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜𝖓 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 "

                                      ☯︎

It was a seemingly normal night, with the mood high up in the sky, accompanied by millions of stars that shone bright in the dark, twisted world. However, in the midst of this peaceful night, there was something happening beyond human comprehension, something unknown to the world.

[2:33 am]

a man well into his thirties stumbled through the deserted streets, his mind addled and his body saturated with alcohol and exhaustion. He was barely able to walk in a straight line and found himself desperately seeking a shortcut through a dark alleyway. It appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time, scattered with trash bins, dirty cardboard boxes, and the overpowering smell of decay.

But as he walked deeper into the alley, he heard a terrifying growl. He observed a dog-like figure with glowing red eyes coming towards him, growling menacingly. Stared deep into the man's soul. Some part of Its body was rotting, and its jaw was hanging by just a few pieces of flesh attached to its upper jaw.

The man was thrown onto his back, and the canine figure attacked him, glowering fiercely with its red eyes. As it was about to bite into his flesh, an unexpected force slammed into the monster, hurtling it into the concrete wall and leaving a dent behind.

A new voice came through the darkness, interrupting the altercation. "Oh, here you are, already found your next victim?"

A cloaked figure materialized before the man, only showing its back to the man. That person was wearing a long, black, cloak that reached their calves. Sporting it with black, short pants peeking from underneath the cloak and thigh-high white socks with black boots. A hood was over their head, a black mask that concealed everything except for startling eyes. You can tell it is a female by looking at its figure.

There was a white symbol gleaming on the back of her cloak, seemingly ethereal, and the air buzzed with a sense of power, and the man could sense an intense aura emanating from her.

A rustle of fabric and a crunching footstep was heard, and suddenly the monster turned its head, its red eyes blazing with rage. The female was seen behind the monster as the wind blew that person's cloak.

It roared and growled loudly, saliva pouring out of its jaws.

The female let out a sharp breath, and she confronted the monster. The monster let out a roar as its eyes became widened and glowed in the dark. The female's eyes turned a shade of Crimson color as she glared at the monster.

The creature lunged forward and surged towards her, but she leaped back skillfully, preventing herself from falling over. The monster roared uproariously again, as it attempted to attack the girl for another time.

The monster let out another roar as its eyes glowed. The female glared at the monster as she prepared herself to jump and attack the monster.

The moon hung high in the sky, casting its silver glow on the desolate alleyway. She stood in the shadows, her eyes fixed on the creature in front of her. The monster's eyes glinted with an otherworldly hunger.

"Looks like this is the end for you," the female said, her voice low and steady. She reached into the ring on her left hand, retrieving a small needle. With a quick movement, she pricked her finger, and a thin line of red blood emerged.

The girl's crimson eyes glinted as the droplet of blood grew, coalescing into a long, thin blade. She lifted the makeshift blood sword, pointing it towards the monster as her glare became hard.

It let out a guttural growl, the creature charging towards the girl with incredible speed. But she was ready. With a swift movement, she dodged the creature's attack, expertly maneuvering around it.

The girl's blood katana glinted in the moonlight as she charged towards the monster, the blade slicing through the air with deadly precision. In seconds, the monster's head was severed from its body, and it let out a final screech before the corpse of the monster disappeared into the night.

The woman watched as the blood of the monster dripped down her katana, splattering on the concrete ground below. She took a deep breath, her focus unwavering.

"Are you okay, sir?" she asked, turning to the man lying on the ground.

The man trembled in fear, his eyes wide with terror. "No, don't come near me!" he yelled, scrambling away from her.

'So annoying,' she thought but she kept her expression neutral. She retrieved a small pen, clicking it once to activate its power.

* Click *

A beam of light shot out from the pen, illuminating the alleyway. The man's eyes flickered, and he began to lose his consciousness, his memory of the night fading away.

"There you go," the girl said softly, pocketing the pen. "You won't remember anything of this ever happening."

With a sudden gust of wind, the leaves and dust on the ground were swept up, obscuring the girl from view. When the wind passed, she was gone, leaving behind no trace of her ever having been there.

The man on the ground slowly regained consciousness, feeling a bit disoriented. He looked around and saw that the monster was gone and there was no sign of the girl who had saved him.

"What happened?" he muttered to himself as he tried to piece together the events of the night. He had just been walking home from work when he was attacked by a monster, and then...what? He couldn't remember anything after that.

Shaking his head, he decided to head home and forget everything that had happened. Little did he know, the girl who had saved him was still watching from the shadows, making sure he was safe before disappearing into the night once again.