Prologue

Everything was fine, absolutely everything. Calm prevailed in my room as I slept peacefully. But against my will, this tranquility was shattered without any warning, without the slightest sign...

This silence, so soothing, a calm reminiscent of those found in monasteries. This silence that I loved so much was shattered by what seemed to be…

An explosion.

A noise, as sudden as it was unexpected, as powerful as an earthquake, a noise that violently pulled me out of my sleep. I woke up with a start, my heart pounding. I was overwhelmed by a sensation of stress that I couldn't explain. And as my eyes opened, a feeling of oppressive warmth, which I would even describe as suffocating, was felt. At the same time, a warm and subdued light filtered through my curtains, illuminating the room with a color that seemed almost unreal.

I decided to get up, intrigued by this strange light. My feet barely touched the burning floor of my room as I walked hesitantly, even trembling, towards the window, the source of the light. My hands, still numb from sleep, pushed the curtains of my room with difficulty.

And then I saw a fire, no, a veritable inferno spreading in front of my house door. The flames danced with wild violence, casting incandescent shards into the dark night. But, truth be told, it wasn't this fire, as fierce as it was, that shocked me the most…

What was most intriguing was that I saw three silhouettes…

The first silhouette, that of a woman, was in a combat stance. She didn't move, she was motionless, like a statue. Yet, in her hands, she held a sword, a majestic saber that seemed like an extension of her arm. It wasn't held by her hand but by a kind of attachment on her forearm symbolizing a dragon weeping blood, or at least a deep crimson liquid running along the blade. I couldn't explain why, but this saber, or whatever it was, felt strangely familiar to me. As for her hair, it flowed in the wind while being held back by a headdress above her right eye, symbolizing bronze feathers held by a chain. I could have described all of this as incredible, even unrealistic, but a macabre detail caught my attention. Indeed, her hair seemed to be engulfed in flames themselves, burning yet not consumed, giving her an intense aura and an extraordinary fierceness. The rest of her attire did not seem to withstand the fire. What appeared to be a charcoal-black dress with ruby-red stitching and gold accents was being consumed in the blaze. The only things seemingly resistant to this burning abomination were her shoulder pads and boots, which seemed to be reminiscent of armor worn by a valiant warrior from ancient times. But in my opinion, she would eventually remove them because the heat must have made the alloy used scorching. The woman must have also had a cape judging by the ornaments around her, but not seeing it, I imagine it must have been devoured by the surrounding inferno.

Beside her stood the second silhouette, that of a man. Unfortunately, he was no longer in a fighting position. His rib cage was pierced from side to side by the fist of the third silhouette, the one standing in front of them. What seemed to be his blood flowed abundantly from the yawning hole as the entity before the duo bore him on its arm, impaling him. He had long, icy white hair that covered his eyes, and his mouth was wide open as if he were attempting to let out a scream of pain. Unlike the woman, he still had his cape—a brown cape stained with splatters of his own blood. I would have liked to describe more of what he wore, but his attire seemed entirely torn apart by the impact of the enemy's fist piercing him. All that remained was a simple dark blue pair of trousers and greaves representing the face of a Lovecraftian creature.

As you have understood, the worst was this third silhouette. A vision of hell personified. She seemed to me like a source of this chaos. More precisely, she appeared to me as the very embodiment of terror. She was demonic, with her left fist still plunged into the man's chest, emanating an aura of power and malevolence. An immense, deep black entity, with a humanoid face sporting a smile reaching as high and far as possible. Teeth sharper and surely more cutting than the keenest of blades. But that's not all. As if this monstrosity wasn't terrifying enough, she had horns of the same color as her body in place of her eyes. Two horns, at their tips, split into three other horns, each going in an opposite direction. Two more horns pointing upwards from the top of her head seemed to be trying to join each other in place of her ears.But the worst was...

Her posture...

Her dominating posture...

Her dominating and self-assured posture...

Her dominating and self-assured posture that complemented the hell she had caused.

Her body was muscular, with only a dark, reimagined loincloth-like garment made just for her. She must have weighed at least a hundred kilograms, not counting the belt and the sapphire-shaped buckle that held it in place. Extending from the back of her body for three meters was a long tail adorned with spikes, and at its tip was a point that seemed capable of piercing anything the entity desired. 

Suddenly, the silhouette withdrew its fist from the man's body with an unparalleled nonchalance. The corpse fell. I could imagine the sound of the body hitting the ground with all its weight. A sharp sound, a dull thud causing a cloud of dust around the impact zone.

But despite everything, silence prevailed. The woman did nothing.

Well...

Almost nothing.

She straightened up, abandoning her combat stance, and planted her weapon in the ground beside her, the tip pointing downwards.

Apart from that, nothing else happened.

I didn't understand.

"Why aren't you attacking? You have a weapon, don't you? You could have the upper hand! He's already killed someone, what are you waiting for?"

Despite ranting these words to myself, it wouldn't change anything about the situation. So, I stepped out of my room, slowly but surely. I crossed the hallway leading to my living room, where the front door facing the confrontation outside was located. My legs trembled under the weight of barely contained fear, adrenaline pulsing through my veins, making my progress both urgent and hesitant. It was the only source of courage that propelled me forward, without which I would be alone in my bed. The floor burned my feet, as if the flames devouring the outside were trying to infiltrate the safety of my home.

Finally, I reached the living room, this familiar space now seized by a heat emanating from outside that had created a stifling atmosphere, making every breath difficult. I hid behind a piece of furniture along the wall to the right of the hallway; it was just tall enough to keep me out of sight but just small enough for me to easily observe the outside of the house. From this improvised hiding spot, I had a perfect view of the main entrance, allowing me to observe the outdoor scene without revealing myself. It would have been great if the situation were more pleasant.

But as I looked outside again, I could recognize the most troubled silhouettes... 

« Dad! Mom! »

It was them... 

At least, it used to be them... 

I thought I wouldn't recognize them anymore.

Indeed, my dad, so valiant, this man, so strong and courageous, now lay motionless on the ground. He, who once possessed the power of ⌈Cthulhu's Blessing⌋  I thought him invincible... And my mother, what is she doing? I thought she loved him more than anything, why isn't she doing anything? Why isn't she acting? She simply stood there beside him, talking to the monster as if nothing was wrong.

« what… Mom…what are you doing… »

I couldn't speak... I just stood there, staring at them, but something seemed to emanate from my mother, at least one thing. It seemed to be... fear? No, rather doubt or confusion…

-Damn, if only I could hear what they're saying-

I thought desperately, aware that the words exchanged in this dialogue probably wouldn't be to my liking.

Suddenly, Mom got back into a fighting stance and lunged at the monster. Her demeanor was different from just a few minutes ago. She looked terrified. But in one swift move, the colossus pierced the woman's shoulder and tore it apart in a reddish spray. Without hesitation, the abomination grabbed her throat with its tail, impaled her with its spikes, and lifted her up. My mother's blood flowed freely. She seemed to want to scream, but no sound came out. Suddenly, she seemed to give up, resigning herself to her fate. She closed her mouth and let go of her weapon, letting it fall to the ground. She closed her eyes, and…

« MOM! NO! »

I couldn't stay hidden while my mother suffered. I had already lost my father; I couldn't bear the thought of losing my entire family. I rushed towards the creature, wanting to protect my family, and it was at that moment that my mother opened her eyes with a piercing gaze.

« GET AWAY! »

A violent aura emanated from her like a gust of wind, slamming me against the back wall of the living room. This same gust tore at the creature's tail, forcing it to let go. She picked up her weapon and said, staring at her opponent with a piercing gaze, « Dirty traitor. I did what you asked of me, why did I trust you? Bastard…

"̸̢̩̼͍̼̞̟̰͎̩̍̋̀͊͗̈́Ģ̵̛̝̠͍̤̮̪̭͂́́̏͆̿o̴̯̮͖͖͎̾̆̿̀́͘͝ ̶̝̞͔̗̭͑̔̈́̈́͐̉͋̉̈̈r̵̩̲̮̹̣͔̍͌́̈ȍ̴̊̓͂͜͠ţ̵͙̱͚͍͐̈̿̿̑̈̅͘.̷̢̨̟̘͔͙̊̓"̴͖̜̝̣̙̼̭͗̇͆ »

Her aura intensified, preventing me from getting up. The dragon's eyes on her forearm stopped weeping and turned into a crimson hue, chilling my blood. Her entire blade began to tremble as my mother's feet sank into the ground. Her aura exploded once again, reaching a power that seemed superior to her opponent's. The storm she unleashed extinguished the surrounding flames. With her hair and clothes billowing in the wind, I could hear her whisper…

«Final Requiem of the Crimson-Eyed Dragon»

And then, a terrifying scream, seemingly emanating from the blade, echoed. A scream that would have surely deafened me if I had been closer. My ears were bleeding, just like my mother's, except she seemed to feel no pain. The abomination in front saw its horns cracking, which seemed to displease it. In an instant, my mother lunged at the monster, plunging her blade into its belly. Then, while still holding her blade, she spun around, slicing the monster's belly to the right and tearing off its left arm in a bloody mess. Then, she plunged her blade back into the center of the creature, which grabbed the saber with its last hand. And as if in a dance of the most poetic, she spun her blade around, creating a tornado of blood belonging to her opponent, intermingled with pieces of flesh. And as there was almost nothing left of the enemy, she turned the sword downwards, grabbed it with both hands, and as she prepared to pierce the face of her opponent...

.

.

.

« Then? You're not doing anything anymore? »

I couldn't believe it. Just as my mother was finally about to kill the monster, just as all she had left was to plunge her blade, the beast had thrust its entire tail into my mother's belly, tearing her apart entirely.

« M-Mo... Mom? »

Her body no longer emitted any aura. I began to rise, slowly approaching my mother.

« Mom? Mom?? Mom??? »

I continued to approach, like a zombie, towards my mother's impaled corpse. The demon drove its horns into my mother's throat and face, tearing her apart. Empty, I watched the scene of horror while continuing to advance as if the world around me no longer existed. The monster continued until all the pieces of my late mother lay like shreds on the ground. The beast seemed to have been laughing all along, but I hadn't heard it. In fact, all I could hear was a buzzing that separated me from reality.

I arrived in front of what remained of my mother. I sat on my knees, plunged my hands into the shredded pieces of my mother, and cried. The monster's face turned towards me. I could detect an arrogant expression through my tear-filled eyes.

« I beg you, kill me, make me see my parents again, please... Whoever you are, you killed them, you might as well do the same for me… »

Despite my sobbing, the demon seemed to have understood my words.

« I wasn't told about you, so I won't do anything to you. You have her sword in front of you, just use it. »

Once this was said, grim wings emerged from its back, and with a sweep of its tail on the ground, the beast propelled itself into the air and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

As for me, I retrieved the sword from my mother's flesh, a weapon that had lost all its wondrous aspect. I cast a lost glance towards my father's corpse, then turned back to what remained of my mother.

With my body trembling all over, I raised the blade to my neck and said…

« Dad, Mom, I… »

To be continued...