Chapter 1

He was a strange man who was mysterious yet serene. He identified himself as a lone traveler who wanders around the world. He was proper and curious but not a soul knows his reasons.

It is said that he often appears while riding a horse as dark as the night sky and that there will always be a raven nearby. He wears a black, gothic-style cloak wrapped around his torso and a mask that hides the upper part of his face.

It has been noticeable that he uses items with a darker color so when asked why he likes the color black, he would say, "It can hide things that are unpleasant when seen."

People couldn't help but agree since dirt and stains aren't very pleasing to the eye.

Currently, he was staying in an inn, famous for its delicious cuisine. Inside his room, he sat on a simple high back wooden chair while facing a small desk, he was writing down the details of his travel on his leather journal.

A quill pen, made from the feather of his pet raven, was on his hand, moving swiftly and occasionally stopping for a while. When finished writing an entire page, he placed the pen on the side and began to read the contents to make sure there were no details he missed.

'Day 216, Wednesday

     After traveling for seventeen days, I arrived at White Rose Inn. It was quite famous among travelers and mercenaries due to the food they serve and I can't say I didn't enjoy the dishes. I will be resting here for a while and if everything goes well, I can leave in two days.

Fortunately, there was no trouble, and no one came to pick a fight earlier. Rather, it is peaceful around here. Very few houses are on sight, I have only seen three. As expected, this is a rural area. The next destination will be the notorious White Stone City known for its beauty.

Before I sleep, I would go and visit my trustworthy friend, Walker. I hope he's doing well, he's very noisy when we're separated. I also hope that he's not bothering the other horses.

I would take a stroll later and hopefully find some locals I can chat with. It would be wonderful to know a bit of this village's history.'

As it ended, the traveler closed his journal and placed it back in his leather sling bag along with the quill pen and ink. He leaned his back on the chair and relaxed.

His pet raven made a slight noise as it watched him, tilting its head for a bit while sitting down on the right side of the table beside the candle on a metal frame.

It was still two in the afternoon because he arrived in the inn early but the room was dim, possibly because the windows were shut and the light is blocked by the thick velvet curtains. The rooms provided by this inn were not big but it had a bathroom, a proper bed, and a desk so he was not upset.

It was clean as well and the sheets on the bed were neat. Though he could still hear the snoring and bickering of his temporary neighbors, he was satisfied.

As time passed, he grew bored of sitting down. He fixed his cloak and prepared to leave as he decided to take a walk. When he was ready, he opened the door and the raven soon followed.

On his way towards the exit, he greeted the people who passed by him respectfully and observed the lively atmosphere in the inn. Despite it being two in the afternoon, there were some who were already drinking beer and rum.

"What a lovely day." He said softly. His voice sounded calm and peaceful, almost like an angel. It was gentle and kind.

When he left, he noticed a family of three heading towards the inn. They didn't look like they were travelers since they wore simple and casual clothes. The man wore a green tunic, some pants with a belt, and brown boots. The boy with him had the same attire while the woman wore a green linen long-sleeved dress.

The atmosphere around the family didn't look bad so when they almost passed by, the lone traveler greeted them with a smile.

"Good afternoon, are you perhaps residents of this village?"

The woman responded quickly, "Yes, and you must be a traveler?"

The traveler nodded, "Certainly." He answered before changing the subject to prolong the talk, "I admire this village for being so peaceful. It must be nice living here."

The man on the side put on a relaxed and friendly expression. He was pleased by the traveler's attitude.

"Absolutely! It isn't easy to find such an untroubled place. Unlike the bustling cities, it is much calmer around here and you get to enjoy the beauty of nature."

Before the traveler could respond, the boy beside his parents looked at him with curiosity and asked. "Mister, you're a traveler? Is it fun to travel?"

The traveler's expression then turned softer, "Of course, while traveling, I would see and learn things filled with wonder."

The boy became excited, "Learn? What kind of things can you learn? What kind of things will you see?"

The woman on the side chuckled, "Now, now, Charles don't bother the mister!" She turned to the traveler, "I'm very sorry, he is a child curious about everything, haha!"

"Oh, no, it's okay!" He said, "Ah, I should leave now, I apologize for taking too much of your time."

The man smiled, "Not at all! It's nice to see such a kind young traveler."

The traveler thanked the family before turning away but before he walked away, the woman told him not to stay too far from the village. She said that there is a rumored beast somewhere in the forest, it is active especially during the afternoon and nighttime.

Beast? The traveler had already expected that since there are plenty of them that lurks in dark and quiet places like the forest.

The traveler looked up, the bright sun was still high up in the sky, surrounded by dense clouds. Despite it being the afternoon, the heat was not felt, all because of the cold breeze passing by from time to time.

The trees and the green tall grass that surrounds the area would sway and dance with the wind. A variation of leaves would fly and land back on the ground.

The sound of the breeze passing, fluttering of leaves, and chirping of the birds was soothing to hear.

As he was submerged in his thoughts, the raven slowly landed on his right shoulder. The bird has been flying around, looking at the beautiful sight of this place from above.

The traveler walked around leisurely, scouting and making himself familiar with the terrain, stopping to rest from time to time. He sang with the birds and hummed while he walked happily.

When the sun was nearly setting, he turned back and returned to the inn. He was hungry therefore he headed towards the woman behind the counter and asked for some food.

Sitting on a chair in front of a small circle table, on his plate was a well-cooked steak with rice and sauce. There was a slice of cake on the left side while a glass of red wine on the right.

He finished his meal quickly so he can visit his friend Walker and head back to his room to sleep. But before that, he went to the counter to say thank you and express his appreciation for the food. After he did, he was ready to leave, however, his attention was suddenly pulled to the old newspaper on the counter.

- Cursed Village burned down to ashes, evil witches finally exterminated?

People of the Cursed village are proven to be demonic witches who worship the devil. They were cut off from the kingdom because of their vicious deeds of sacrificing children to demons. 9 years later, the village was suddenly on fire and no one was left alive. This could be their punishment, God has punished them.

The traveler was confused. This news was released fifteen years ago, why is it here?

"My grandfather's the one who's been reading that." The lady behind the counter explained, "It was about an incident twenty-four years ago. The cursed village was proven to be home to witches so it was cut off from the kingdom. Nine years later, the village was burned down."

"It said no one was left alive, is it true? No survivors, none at all?"

"Yes. At least that's what the news said but even if there was, it's not gonna appear on the news. The people from above always alter it anyway so not everything on there is true."

The traveler didn't say anything though he was quite interested in this topic. Twenty-four years ago? He wasn't even born then. It was burned down nine years after it was cut off from the kingdom, he's twenty-two now so he was probably seven at the time it was burned.

"I see, thank you for the information." He thanked the woman before walking back to his room, forgetting about his horse whom he's supposed to visit.

He entered his room, locking the door behind him. He removed his boots and his cloak that was wrapped around his torso, revealing his black linen shirt and dark brown hair. His hair was wavy, the right side was slicked back but the left was unkempt and messy, covering almost the entire left side of his upper face.

The features of his face could finally be seen clearly this time. He had high cheekbones, L shape jawline, thin pink lips, and he had a high bridge nose. Still, it was impossible to tell if he was one of the lucky ones to have been born handsome since his face is covered from his eyes to his forehead by the mask.

He lay on the bed, feeling tired because of all the things he did the entire day. He relaxed his body and as he did, he felt his consciousness beginning to fade.

When he had fallen asleep completely, his consciousness that had faded returned but he seemed to be in another world. Everything around was blurry, nothing was clear. He felt anxious for a second but in the blurry atmosphere, a distant memory appeared.

It was when he was a teen, where he lost to a spar with an older person. He couldn't identify who it was but he didn't like the idea of losing. Then at that moment, the scene was replayed. This time, instead of losing, he won the spar. Winning. It always made him feel satisfied.

A new memory appeared, it was when he failed a written test. Failure is something he had always been afraid of. It was a disgraceful feeling though he knew that failure is necessary for improvement. The scene was replayed once more and this time, it showed that he had passed the test.

For the third time, a memory popped out. This time, he was familiar with it. It was when he approached the counter in the inn and saw the news about the cursed village. The cursed village was interesting but for some reason, he didn't like the idea of knowing more about it. The memory replayed again. This time, it showed that he simply passed and didn't look at the newspaper at all.

At the end of the memory, his consciousness faded and returned to its original place. He awoke from his sleep and sat up immediately. He looked around his room, possibly confused about his odd dream.

He stared at the velvet curtains and the light that slipped through the gaps. He searched for his pocket watch and found it on the nightstand next to the bed. It was seven in the morning.