Memory

I felt repeatedly warm comforting tears dripping down my cheeks while I looked at the wild heroic man who gave off an odd feeling of déjà vu. 'Why am I crying' I thought to myself and wanted to ask him who he was, but everything stood still as if the world was sobbing along with me. I opened my awfully dry metal tasting mouth and glared at him with wet eyes. I desired to learn who this demon was. No, I would die to know.

His attention eventually landed on me, and as he stared for what seemed like ages, his eyes suddenly popped out, as was I the last thing he expected to encounter. He said something, but it was a mime, as if neither he could get any words out. I felt like the world ignored us and the tense stare-off between the two groups was in a different dimension, as if I and the unknown demon had unlimited time together. It felt nice, almost outstandingly so, but amid my emotional outbreak another eerie, yet homely feeling exploded within me, and the known mood of anger and betrayal conquered back its rightful place in my head.

I heard a deep and stinging voice in our own little bubble, I could recognize it but not pinpoint where I had picked up it before. "Zedrel?" The foreign man let out as he lowered his guard slowly, the completely unexpected confrontation obviously took him aback, and I swear I even spotted a teardrop extruding from his narrow and sharp eyes. His body was trembling and had a tough time upholding his hardcore facade.

As if time broke, our little dimension shattered, filling my view and took me diving into a psychological tornado of memories. I was twisting and screaming, but my head was underwater, and I felt drowned in forgotten thoughts as pictures flashed before my very eyes. They all each brought back a piece of an unlimited puzzle.

And in my little private space, I was alone, sitting on my scarred knees, as I had my face buried in my quivering and uncontrollable hands. I glanced up slowly and felt incomparably small in front of a large dominating woman. She had brown eyes and looked tired from the harsh environment she was living in. However, everything else was shadowy, so I kept looking in her beautiful eyes as she did in mine. "Zedrel, Don't let your dangerous side take over you" She had wet eyes and was obviously heartbroken. I couldn't reply, the motherly feeling I got from her stunned me.

She reached out to me and caressed my cheek as another wave of tears showed up.

An additional figure lighted up at her side, this one was a male and had domineering majestic black wings protecting his back from any danger, I felt a pressure coming off of him, and he looked at me with an embarrassed yet hateful glare as he said. "You are not fit for being a son of a demon noble! I have Alaric who is stronger and more promising than you, begone from my sight and take that dirty housemaid with you!" He spits out and with the end of his sentence vanished from my view again. Back stood the so well known yet distant female figure, I could now see that she was indeed wearing an old and scarred maid outfit.

Her hands were shaking, and I reached out towards them aiming to provide comfort. Yet she pulled them back, and I could detect a look of regret upon her face. "I had to do it Zedrel... Ple... please forgive me, I needed money and a slave trader told me he would give a lot for you, so please, forgive me..." She cried out and vanished from my sight as well.

I felt weak and abandoned in the subspace as I cried out my hopeless feelings.

At last, I looked up to see my half brother Alaric reaching out to me with a steady and warm hand.

I accepted and was pulled in for a hug. Encompassed and cared about was the feeling I got from my half brother as the touch of our skin felt nice and warm. He patted me on the back comfortingly as he told me it'll be okay. I screamed with a shaking voice that he'll leave me and I know it.

I felt his presence fade away in my very embrace, and as I screamed wildly for this to never end, I fell back on my knees sobbing as the world began to reform around me. Once again I was in sync with everyone else a wild fight was being taken in front of me, yet I felt as empty as never. I didn't understand how I had forgotten such important memories of my mother, father, and half brother. But this tremendous hatred towards my mom and dad was overwhelming, and once again I was back in my comfortable shell that protected me against any emotional disturbances.

--> Alaric's POV <--

I could hear a loud thunderous explosion as the electrifying ball flew from my hands and smashed the brick dungeon wall to thousands of pieces, as we entered the large hole and stood in the smokescreen ready for anything coming at us, I heard a dry cough to my right.

The smokescreen faded and revealed a party of 4 standing ready for anything before us. 'I knew it' I thought to myself as I cussed repeatedly in my head over having trusted that damned spy. I thought through several scenarios in my mind about how this would end up, but only some lucky ones would end in my favor. Calculated upon their weapons, we had to deal with 2 fierce warriors, one being Amon, an assassin of sort, and a ranger with a small bow in the back.

My attention ended on one unlucky guy who had been caught up in a battle between demons.

He was in a terrible state, and by the looks of it he would probably die soon. Poor bastard, I thought.

There were scratches and scars on his pale unhealthy white legs, they were unusually thin from eating practically minimum in the last years. He bore a loose fabric around his genitals; it had been marked throughout the time with holes and ripped off parts. Elevating up of his torso was more scars and signs of starvation. His right arm was missing and his left arm looked as it would break if you dropped a paper on it. His lips were cracked and blood was exiting his mouth, yet he had given up on trying to wipe it off. The man's cheeks were thin and tight, and his long unkempt hair had turned snowy white because of extreme exhaustion, both psychological and physical wise. His depressed stare met mine and I could see his discouraged blue eyes shine.

A sharp dagger stung my heart as I realized just who it was who sat in despair chained to a wall.

'Zedrel' I thought, unable to release any sound, I felt a forgotten feeling when a tear rolled down my right cheek. Suddenly a wave of secondary feelings came with the grief of seeing my once lost half brother, how dare he and his low life mother abandon me to my abusive father alone, all those years I fought my nightmares solo, he was gone. My expression took a shift for the worse as I let my anger take over me and focused back on the more pressing matter at hand.

"You have captured my half-blood to intimidate me, you lowly bastard." I spat at The Mad King, who stood nothing over 3 meters away from me. "You have wasted your energy, Amon, this brat means nothing to me". An eerie, disagreeing feeling came with those words as I prepared for the incoming fight.

"Cling" Sword clashes were made all around as the 4 demons stood head to head in heated combat with each other. Sweat patrolled down their intense faces as they were at max focus, trying to overwhelm their enemy in strength and technique. In Alaric's party was a demon with a rare support ability. He had empowered Alaric as he was facing The Mad King who was naturally superior in power. Each time their blades met, sparks erupted. Everyone was gritting teeth in frustration of not having taken a single enemy down. That resulted in rash moves by Alaric's party as a thought ran through one of the demons. He enforced his legs with his powers and dashed towards the ranger, and with one quick strike he layered his sword in red. He looked up and met the eyes of a young boy at the age of approximately 15. Hesitation was visible on the man's movements for a moment before drawing the sword back again and turned around to take part in the hectic battle yet a kick on the right side of his chest made him bash into the rough stone wall of the dungeon, he had dropped his sword upon the sudden impact of the powerful kick, and was now lying around somewhere in the dark dungeon.

Another demon on Amon's party fell to the vicious swing of a sharp blade as they were now fighting 2 against The Mad King. Alaric was panting and sweating hard since it was hard to keep up his technique considering the sudden boost of extra power he felt rushing through his veins. Yet another demon was slain on Amon's side, and he was receiving more and more cuts as he tried to parry the fatal ones with his greatsword. He did one last thing as he stepped back and created some space between the heavily panting men and him.

'To think it has come to this' he thought as he planted the end of his mighty sword in the ground.

Confusion had filled the atmosphere in the room as everyone was paying acute attention to Amon, they knew they should attack now, but their stomach kept screaming 'RUN', yet as determined as they were, they stood their ground waiting for something to happen.

"If I can't live, none of you can!" Amon Yelled as Alaric's party dashed forward to the injured and cornered Mad King. The swords were swinging viciously through the air, all aiming for deadly spots, but Amon released his 'last struggle' plan before anyone hit.

He roared as he let out a colossal amount of pure explosive power. Everything went from a normal dungeon to the collapse of a whole cliff spike. It blew away everyone to each side, and they fell either unconscious or dead down in the large hole. And that included Zedrel.