Chapter 1.5 - Coincidence

Many call Hedt 'freak' and 'the demon's child.' Though they're comments are vulgar and anger the Gods, they're not that far from the truth. Hedt formerly had just one pair of arms and lived a peaceful life in the kingdom, but since a large unconquerable rift broke loose, the kingdom was swarmed with all kinds of monstrous demons.

Flying bats with 10 eyes, three headed beasts and all other kinds. When they mutilate a human they lay eggs in their carcasses, giving birth to even more monsters. But some eggs would fall into the river and spread its contents to a far away town's lake, which happened to be the very town Hedt and his family went for a vacation.

They bathed in the lake, drank from it. Washed with it. The eggs were exploding and. brimming with potential. All hell became free, when the eggs all hatch at the same time. An entire town flooded with screams and flames. Men, Women and children turning into mindless demon spawn. Though not perfect, being mixed with live human flesh made the demon thrive and rapidly grow. In just a blink, the entire town went to ruin, houses that once inhabited happy families rend to become a mess of debris and ash…

Heavy breathing through dust-filled lungs, desperate coughs trying to save itself. Hedt ran and ran looking for his family. But this was a hopeless decision, stupid at best. But a child is but a child, you can't blame them for being one. His eyes blinded with fear, he stumbled repeatedly on the uneven, rubbled ground.

His four arms slowly grew as he ran around, his flesh mutilating and threading itself like a crochet, hearing the marching of horses along with the clanking of armor. He knew the royal guard had come, but they weren't there to save, but to kill. His heart clenched, skipping several beats, his entire body started to rush, his pupils shrink rapidly. The dust getting into his eyes wasn't the problem anymore.

A storm of arrows whistles through the air, cutting through air and through the hordes of demon spawn just ahead. Hedt ran once more, blistering his feet, until arrows rained once more. It was hopeless, they didn't care about who they're shooting, just what they're shooting. And it's not a child, but a demonspawn. And as an arrow flies towards Hedt, a feathered monster runs to its path as if to protect him.

Its feathers were beautiful, fuzzy and soft. A strangely calming red with a golden tip that glistens in sunlight. It had little to say, besides its heavy breathing as it tries to speak once more: "Run, child. We will rise eventually…" The monster speaks, its voice hissing and snarling just barely audible words. But it wasn't the common language, was it? Hedt can commune with fellow demon spawns, but why isn't his body fully committing to be one? These questions flooded his mind but adrenaline spiked his legs as he fled the scene as the monster fought the men off.

He ran through the trees and rivers, ivies and thorns hanging from branches and walls. He is driven to a beach with no other path to take, he is surrounded by the royal guards. As they draw their bows, a singular feather appears before Hedt, a feather that bears the same features of the monster. An arrow flies through the air, through the feather and to his chest. Pinning the feather to him. Hedt falls over with his eyes rolling to the back of his head, the light is just a mere grasp away as his seemingly dead body rides with the waves of the waters.

A trail of red is left behind him, floating through the ocean. The royal guards leave on their horses, putting away their bows. Hedt floats across the ocean before being washed ashore upon a freak village. The buildings are all but clean, filth and dirt on the walls, ground and by the windowsill. The well is blocked off with planks and rocks resting on it. Several cauldrons with water boiling to filter out the dirt. The grass was so overgrown that pests could live without being found.

A little girl at the time, Sohn with her hand rubbing the other, trod toward Hedt with careful steps, the sand shifting just barely. "Err… Are you alright?" She asks, but Hedt remains unconscious. She was reluctant, but eventually dragged him back to the village.

"I found him by the beach," She says, twiddling her thumbs. "Another mouth to feed…" A man snarls, "You might as well just stab me. That boy better get his own food." The villagers then ignored Sohn and Hedt everytime they needed help from then on. Hedt and Sohn grew up together in a small house crudely built on a large tree's branch. The ladder haphazardly nailed in with rusty iron scraps and brittle wood, with just a little cloth over each step to avoid splinters. They had to make traps and use makeshift bows to hunt small game from the forest.

The forest… It's filled with small monsters that should be no problem to trained folks but to small children they might as well be a lion waiting for its next prey to pop up. The game there only appears when the monsters appear, for protection and security. After facing an almost accident where Sohn would get her right ring and pinky finger bit off, they met John and Belle, fellow kids from the village. John treated Sohn, and Belle in the span of a few months made prosthetics for her fingers, though they don't work as well. It's still a great replacement, better 5 than 3.

Hedt faced many struggles, like getting used to his extra arms and the pain in his chest, bearing a burn scar of the feather pinning to his chest. Sometimes the pain would be so much that he'd isolate himself by the beach until it went away. Other times he'd pass out right then and there.

John's mother was sick of a disease untreatable by those plagued by poverty, Belle and Sohn had the same situation, their parents died when they were born. As they grew up to teenagers, they started to clean up and eventually took charge of most of the village's activities. Hedt became the new chief when he reached 18 as he had the most education out of all of them, John was the main hunter, Belle fixed technical problems around the houses, Sohn practiced medicine and prepared meals for the village.

Everything is tiring, the hunting, tax, managing the incompetent villagers and trying to live without worrying about dying the next day. But, Hedt will always keep that bright smile on his face, right?

Chapter 1.5 - END