Chapter 1: Through The Night

"Get rid of the stupid animal, you're not welcome back here till you do." The loud door slams behind me, following the voice of betrayal. Natos and I stand in the rain alone , and although he can't speak, his painful expression is screaming that he's losing hope. The only action I can take is one of reassurance; with a hug I can only hope he can still hold his head up high: "We'll have you cured, I don't care what realm I have to go through." I don't even know if my words will resonate with him, but he definitely knows I mean it. "We have to find shelter now though, our friends have turned their back on us, and the night sky isn't our ally." Natos slowly ventures on, but I can't help but look back at the home we've lived in for years. The longer I look, the more I realize that all the love I once had, is slowly turning into hatred. I can't remember the last moment I fought without allies, so even if I still wear my armor and sheathe my sword by my side, I pray that any god that cares will protect us in our travels.

***

After hours of walking, Natos' breathing noticeably gets heavier.

"We'll reach Droxville soon, so we can afford to take a break at least." I say, taking his fatigue into consideration.

Natos and I eventually find a large rock to lie down next to and protect us from the rain: "I'm sure the people of Droxville will welcome us, after all we've done they'll be happy to return the favor."

Droxville is a poor town with limited resources. My allies and I have saved them from their demise numerous times, whether bandits or vile beasts, they've always trusted us to help. I figured it would be our best bet at finding somewhere to sleep at night.

***

Natos and I finally arrive at Droxville after our long trip. The town is as gloomy as ever, I can feel the pain and sorrow in my blood. All the times I've come here as their savior, I could step into the town with no hesitation, but this time I'm overcome with a little fear.

We walk through the town, surprisingly not greeted by anyone. I would have thought that someone would recognize us. Maybe they don't recognize us without our allies, maybe they're just trying to get home out of the rain, or maybe they just don't care.

The more I walk through the town, the more I can see everyone's eyes. Other than the pain they're feeling, they also hold hostility in their eyes.

Unfortunately, all the times I've been here, I've never got an understanding of the layout of this city. As I keep searching for shelter, I come across a line of people who seem to be getting free food from a young man. Growing hungry after my journey, I decide to wait in line with Natos.

I wait a while for my turn, but when my turn comes up, the young man only looks at me: "Lady I'm gonna ask the question that we've all been itching to; Who the heck are ya and why are you here so late at night."

His unfriendly tone catches me by surprise, but as he speaks I start to recognize him from my previous endeavors:"I'm Aldith and I used to be with the Knights of Rejuvenation. I came here tonight searching for shelter."

"Knight Of Rejuvenation? I don't remember you with them, and if you really were with them, I'm sure you know we can't afford to give food to an outsider, now run along."

I stare at the young man, befuddled.

"Move out of line lady, you heard him!" The man behind me riles up

"Yea, I'm sorry."

I look down at Natos by my side: "Come on let's go."

As we walk towards the entrance of Droxville to leave, I can't help but feel betrayed once again. Droxville, the city that I've helped save more times than I can remember, doesn't even care enough to remember me.

"Hey lady!"

Behind me, a young high-pitched voice calls out. I turn to see a small boy dressed in ragged attire rushing towards me.

"You said you were a part of the Knights Of Rejuvenation right?" He asks.

"Yes, I was."

The boy's eyes sparkle and I can't help but smile. "Does that mean that you know Aerilyn; Can you tell her I said hi?"

I try to keep my smile, but my emotions do shake a little: "I'm sorry young one, but I can't converse with Aerilyn anytime soon."

The boy noticeably grows disappointed and walks away without saying a word.

Aerilyn was an ally of mine, her charm always managed to win over the people of Droxville.

"Well if it isn't Aldith." A soft and pleasant voice calls out from a nearby dark alley-way. Hovering in the alley is a woman I'm all too familiar with. Dressed in a long, hooded, black and purple dress, her smooth black hair glossing in the wind as she floats towards me: "What brings you to Droxville girlie; Surely I hadn't given you a notice of any kind?"

I can't help but smile at her, she's always been a great help to our group: "No Madam Flora, I'm here on my own accord today."

"Oh really?" Madam Flora expresses her curiosity and flies around me in a circle. She stops abruptly, right next to Natos: "So, it's time for your little friend's demise huh?"

Joy overcomes me: "You know about that?" "I've always known about it, Aldith; I've met his creator many times. Come with me to my place of residence and we can talk all about it."

"Yes, I'd love that."

"Let us travel then."

As Natos stands next to me, a dark but transparent force field appears around us. Madam Flora flies with us by her side, guiding us to her house in nearby mountains.

After only a few seconds of flying, we gently set down on Madam Flora's land. Unsurprisingly we're met by dangerous beasts, who are all chained up on different leashes.

Madam Flora grins: "Well then, let's go inside." She guides Natos and I up a long flight of stone stairs. We're led into her home, with a dark and spooky exterior. As we walk in, we all become completely dry, as if it hadn't rained at all.

"Let's sit down, and I'll bring us some tea." Madam Flora sits in a soft looking purple club chair. I sit in one directly across from hers, and Natos lies down next to me. I feel as comfortable as I've ever been, but that doesn't distract me from taking in the new atmosphere. I observe the room as tea flies through the air, towards Madam Flora and I.

On her walls are different paintings of her and what I assume to be her relatives from ages ago. By her campfire is a giant spellcasting book that she's actually used in my company before. Sometimes the book makes me wonder why Droxville ever needs our help if they have Madam Flora, but even she herself has stated she isn't as strong as she could be. The tea lands on my lap, hot and obviously recently brewed. I sip the tea, and can't help but smile at the luxurious taste. Madam Flora takes a small sip herself and sets it down next to a nearby table.

"So Aldith, did your friends not care to join you on this journey?" Her question shakes me, I hadn't thought about their wrongdoing this entire time: "They kicked me off the team; they didn't want anything to do with Natos." "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, not even Zade offered a helping hand?"

Zade is the only one of us that actually served as a royal knight. He's always there for any of us when we need him, but even he didn't want to be a part of this: "Madam Flora, there's more to it than you know."

"Oh really, do enlighten me." Madam Flora smiles as her curiosity grows.

"When Natos came into our hands, his creator told us about his inevitable death, but he promised that our deaths would come with it."

"Intriguing, and now that the time has come, nobody wants any part of it?"

"Of course not, we're heroes who want to protect the people we can, we can't let a God Of Death kill us, especially not just because he wants to."

"So they want Natos away from them, because they think they will be out of Thanatos's reach huh?" Thanatos, the name makes me sick to my stomach. Thanatos is the creator of Natos, he's the one who cursed Natos to die. "Yes, but deep down we all know, when Thanatos comes, if he wants us to perish, we will."

"You know that deep down, but you're here because you still feel like there's a way?"

"Yes, I do Madam Flora, I felt like we all could save ourselves together, but they gave up on it, they gave up on me."

Madam Flora holds out her hand, and a black book flies towards her: "None of you have to die, Thanatos obviously hasn't gotten permission from Lucifer to travel to our realm yet." Madam Flora slows her speech and wanders her mind: "Wait… I think Hades has taken control of the underworld right now." Madam Flora mutters to herself for a while.

"Madam Flora?" I say out of concern. Her mind finally comes back to earth: "I'm sorry, who's in charge of the Underworld isn't important; My point is that Thanatos can only come to our realm through Natos, and we just have to prevent Natos from dying."

"Can we truly stop Natos' death?" I was always optimistic about saving Natos from dying, but hearing Madam Flora say it, shines a new light. "Well, you aren't the first who's tried to stop Thanatos' curse." Madam Flora's book opens and instantly flips its own pages.

"Many centuries ago, a brave warrior traveled to the Underworld, and demanded battle with Thanatos." The pages in the book stop flipping and Madam Flora analyzes them.: "Thanatos admired the Warrior's courage, and ultimately agreed to battle." "How does this help; I can already tell that the warrior lost."

"Oh he lost of course, and the beast he ventured to save, eventually met his own demise."

Madam Flora shows me the page in her book. All I can see is a picture of a giant pool of black goo, and some scripture that I can't even hope to read.

She points at the goo in the picture: "See this? It's Thanatos' blood, the warrior didn't die without a fight." "Wait, all of that is his blood?" It's hard to believe that one being can hold that much blood in his body. Madam Flora grins, obviously enjoying herself: "Surprised are ya? Some Gods and Demons have a monstrous amount of blood."

"So, would Thanatos' blood cure Natos," I ask. "Precisely it will, but it isn't easy to get to;It's in depths of the Underworld and heavily guarded by high-ranking demons."

"How dangerous are they," I ask. "On your own, it would be extremely difficult to defeat one." "I'll do it." Determined to save Natos, as well as my abandoned allies, I eagerly agree to the dangerous expedition.

Madam Flora laughs hysterically: "It seems you've indisputably found your resolve."

"Of course I have," I say. "Nothing can stop me from saving both us and Natos."

"Oh Aldith, if you go in at your level of strength, you'll surely meet your end." "You haven't shown any other solutions, Madam Flora, surely this is the only way."

Madam Flora hops out of her chair and stretches: "Tomorrow we'll set out to raise your power, but I want you to rest for tonight."

I look down at Natos who looks as if he'd gone to sleep ages ago. A glance out of the window and I can see the rain pouring down, and I finally remember why I came to Droxville in the first place.

I look back at Madam Flora who's waiting for my approval: "Do you promise you'll take me to get stronger?"

"Of course I will," She says

Madam Flora guides me to a guest room, and as the fatigue from today instantly catches up; I fall asleep in the comfortable bed that she has set up.