– Quickly, bring a cart!
– Where do we put the tools?
– Put everything in that cloth and tie it up, then someone will come down to pick them up. Where is the water and the food?!
Bur was immersed in an organized frenzy. The inhabitants came and went like a swarm of bees, each contributing what they could: ropes, picks, empty sacks, pots of food, and even at the top of the mountain, a group of men worked chiseling steps into the stone to open a safe path. The entrance to the mine, barely visible, was hidden in a steep wall. From below, it looked like a simple crack, but in the darkness of the nite, it had revealed its secret, a faint and almost shy red glow that someone from the exploration group spotted purely by chance while stepping aside to relieve themselves during the nite.
That glow was enough to awaken the hope of the entire village. Now, after two days of effort, they estimated they would finish the access before nightfall and were preparing for a celebratory banquet. A large pile of meat, barrels of wine, and the first delivery of firewood that a group of young people had already gone to cut. This was a simple wood that could be found anywhere except in Bur. Due to the fog, all the wood was strange and could not be burned with conventional methods, so the young people had to embark on a journey to a lake near the fog where a type of tree grew whose bark burned easily.
Among these young people was Aka. Although her fragile body was not made to carry heavy logs, she was determined not to carry less than the others. When most were already heading back, she decided to stay a little longer, gathering small logs that were still on the ground.
"I don't plan to return empty-handed," she said to herself, pressing her lips together.
Before sunset, the calm was broken by a dry sound, the clattering of hooves and heavy wheels descending from the mountains. A caravan was approaching, unlike any the Moox had seen before. They were not horses pulling the wagons, but enormous beasts, resembling bears covered in metal plates that shone in the sun. On each side marched soldiers of the kingdom, armed and dressed for war.
The villagers found it somewhat strange to see such a military force sent to Bur; although they assumed the kingdom would send protection due to the mine, they began to think it was a bit excessive on their part. Before any of them could ask where the great elder was, the leader of the caravan advanced to the center of the village. His face showed weariness and fear, but his voice resonated firmly as he raised a scroll sealed with the royal emblem.
—For treason against the kingdom, the people of Bur have been condemned! In the name of His Majesty, all of you will be exterminated!
The silence that followed was brief. The soldiers drew their weapons, and the shouting erupted. Women, men, children, all ran in confusion, unable to understand what betrayal they had committed. The huts burned and blood stained the earth as chaos devoured the valley.
Behind the caravan, in a covered wagon, three figures dressed entirely in black stood motionless. With their faces hidden under hoods, they seemed more like shadows than people. When the soldiers began the massacre, the trio descended calmly and walked among the bodies until they reached the village leader, who trembled with fear.
"Where is the mine?" asked a cold, feminine voice.
The old man gritted his teeth without responding; it was evident that the shock made it impossible for him to form any coherent sentence at that moment. The woman grabbed him by the neck with one hand and, as she did so, her eyes changed color, shining with a strange gray glow. The leader's resistance crumbled in an instant, and the answer they had been seeking flowed from his lips.
—I-in... the mountain... behind the new path...
The woman let him go, dropping him lifeless to the ground.
Without another word, the three hooded figures ran toward the slope. Their speed was inhuman, with each leap covering dozens of steps, climbing vertical walls as if the air itself were holding them up.
The people working on the path saw them arrive like lightning.
—Who are you?! What do you want? —one managed to shout.
—The girl. "Where is it?" replied one of the hooded figures.
Before he could respond, the same hooded figure as before grabbed the man by the neck, after which he lost his momentum and replied without emotion.
"Follow the path... when you see the fork... keep going straight..."
The man barely opened his mouth to respond when a dagger pierced thru him. There was no time for more questions. Immediately, everyone in the group died without being able to resist the attack. Each encounter ended the same way, a brief interrogation followed by a group of corpses.
In a matter of minutes, they reached the summit.
Upon arriving, they observed a group of miners entering and exiting the cave using a rustic wooden bridge. Without hesitation, they exterminated all the miners who were outside the mine. The few who remained inside were captured. The leader of the trio advanced slowly, delving into the glowing crevice. The cave was narrow, damp, with walls that barely let the reddish light from the embedded stones thru. He walked at his own pace, touching the walls with both hands, as if trying to feel something until he reached the end. He placed his hand against the back wall for a moment before his eyes formed a faint smile, after which he threw a single punch that made the mountain tremble.
The wall gave way, revealing a hidden cavity. Inside rested a weapon, a long, dark spear that emanated a suffocating aura. Despite being in a cave, the weapon showed no trace of dust, imperfection, or rust; it seemed like a legendary spear. The hooded figure took it, and for an instant, the entire cave seemed to pulse as if it were alive.
He admired the spear for a few breaths and made it disappear. The hooded figure took one more breath, looking at his left hand before returning to the entrance of the cave.
– There's nothing. — The figure replied while walking without looking back.
Behind him, the others finished off the prisoners. None survived.
— Search the surroundings. Nothing must be left unchecked —he ordered as the trio separated.
At that very moment, at the foot of the lake, Aka continued gathering logs. Her thin arms trembled from the effort, but she still insisted on filling her pile. The echo of distant screams did not reach her clearly; to her, the glow on the horizon still seemed like a festive bonfire.
Unbeknownst to her, as she piled up dry branches, the fate of the valley was already sealed.
The sun was already hiding behind the mountains when Aka picked up the last piece of firewood. His hands were dirty with gray sap and his fingers, numb, could barely hold the logs. The nearby lake reflected a purple hue, tinged by the mist that always surrounded it. It was a dangerous place, but its purple and green tones reflected on the surface of the lake gave an indescribable sense of peace and beauty to anyone who saw it.
He straightened up with difficulty, adjusting the load on his back. He took a deep breath, longing for a big piece of meat and soup by the warmth of the campfire, and had barely taken a step when a voice boomed behind him.
—It seems there are still people here.
– This is my firewood! If you do something to me, I'll tell the elder that...
Before finishing her response, Aka's heart stopped. His body tensed, and as he turned, he barely managed to distinguish the silhouette of a man covered by a black cloak. She wanted to ask who he was or what he wanted, but her body wouldn't respond. She didn't understand what was happening, and that began to generate a fear within her.
The man in front of her seemed completely normal, even immaculate without a single speck of dust on him, but the moment their eyes met, she was left utterly paralyzed. Just then, the man lowered his gaze and slightly bowed while retracting his hand, Aka was able to say the only words that were stuck in her throat.
– Who…
Before finishing his sentence, Aka felt time seem to slow down. The figure disappeared for a moment and before she could react, a sharp blow struck her chest.
The world spun. The air escaped from his lungs and the firewood scattered in all directions as his body was thrown against the edge of the lake, sliding dangerously into the mist. Her vision blurred, a buzzing filled her ears, and the taste of iron flooded her mouth.
Aka tried to sit up, but she could no longer move.
The hooded figure remained standing, watching her with disdain. He murmured something she couldn't understand, extended his hand into the air, and out of nowhere, a black bow with intricate details appeared. Without nocking any arrow, he drew the bow, and instantly a flame formed between his fingers and the arrowhead of the bow. The hooded figure drew the bow, and the flaming arrow soared thru the air toward the girl, but as soon as it touched the purple mist, it extinguished, disintegrating into ashes.
A growl of frustration escaped his lips. He lowered the bow and his eyes fixed on the logs that Aka had gathered. He unsheathed a short sword from his waist and, with quick movements, carved a long, pointed wooden spear. He looked at Aka as if she were a practice target, held her ready to throw, and just before doing so, he stopped abruptly.
The air changed.
A chill ran thru his body, and the hand holding the weapon began to tremble. Something was moving within the mist, something that shouldn't exist. A pair of giant red eyes emerged from the mist, fixed entirely on him. The pressure of that gaze left him breathless, and in his mind, only the stories of ancient monsters that even the immortals dared not face echoed.
—I-it can't be... —whispered the hooded figure, backing away little by little.
His breathing became erratic. Instinct screamed at him to flee, but the mission was not yet complete. He gritted his teeth, and in a movement so swift that the human eye could not follow, he tried to finish off the girl in a single blow before disappearing.
It was then that the mist roared.
A deep, guttural, and heart-wrenching roar shook the air. It was not just a sound, but a violent wave that swept everything in its path. The hooded figure barely managed to turn his head before the invisible force struck him head-on. His body was hurled like a doll, crossing the entire lake until it crashed against the opposite shore.
Aka felt the world explode inside her. The roar shattered her ears into a thousand pieces; hot blood began to trickle from them, and her head vibrated as if it were about to burst. He wanted to scream, but barely a whimper escaped his lips.
On the other side of the lake, the hooded figure staggered to their feet, with a pale face and a chest sunken from the impact. His eyes, hidden under the hood, looked down to see the severity of the damage before widening in terror. That simple roar had made a deep hole, revealing a great wound that for some reason wouldn't heal. This quickly made him realize an indisputable truth: what dwelled in the mist was far above him and anyone he had ever known.
—D-demon… —he murmured, spitting blood.
With superhuman effort, he planted a foot on the ground and, as soon as he found stability, he vanished. His escape was immediate, leaving a trail of blood on the grass behind him.
The silence returned, broken only by the distant rumble of heavy footsteps. Aka, barely conscious, felt the vibrations travel thru the ground beneath her body. He couldn't move his neck, barely his eyes, but at the edge of his vision, he managed to distinguish a colossal shadow hiding in the mist, too large and strange to describe with certainty.
The monster stopped. For a moment, the mist seemed to envelop him and drag him back into the depths of the forest. The vibrations slowly faded away, until everything returned to calm.
Aka was breathing with difficulty, each inhalation weaker than the last. The pain in his chest was unbearable, and his consciousness was fading little by little. He could barely see, but before his eyelids gave in, the mist opened up again.
From it emerged a solitary figure, an old man with a bare torso and a scar that stretched from his eye to his chest. His red eyes shone with a strange brightness, and a serene smile formed on his lips, impossible to comprehend in the midst of this situation.
That was the last memory of Aka before fading away completely.