A Night of Nightmares
After Liora curled up next to her, Lua closed her eyes with a faint smile. Maybe the warmth of the little girl reminded her of those distant nights when she used to sleep embraced by her mother. It was a memory so far away it felt almost unreal. And yet, there in the darkness of her room, that past returned with the same clarity with which she had dreamed it countless times.
...
Two Hundred Years Ago
"Mama, are you very busy today? Why don't we go for a walk?" little Lua asked as she clung to her mother's leg.
Silvia, the chief of the village, barely lifted her gaze from the parchment she was studying, covered in dozens of notes about the defenses, supplies, and the watch rotations. Running that place—so isolated between the sea and the most dangerous forest on the continent—meant never knowing peace. Even if there were no more than five hundred inhabitants, keeping them alive demanded every breath she had.
"I'm sorry, Lua. Mama is busy today," Silvia said with a gentle smile, reaching down to stroke her head. She was a woman with pale blue hair and features so beautiful they seemed unreal. From her forehead grew two black horns, split down the middle, broken so long ago that they looked as if they could fall off at any moment. Yet the dignity of her bearing and the warmth of her voice kept everyone's respect intact.
Silvia was fragile; her power had been extinguished when she had nearly died as a young woman. Those broken horns were the mark that her magic could no longer protect anyone. That was why she had accepted being the link: the spiritual connection that bound her entire race into an invisible web of care and responsibility. One for all and all for one. And she repaid that bond with every day of tireless work.
"All right… Mama," Lua murmured, lowering her eyes as she stepped away from the office.
She wandered aimlessly through the house until she saw the neighbor she always called Uncle Lars. He came in without knocking, his face pale.
"Hi, Uncle Lars," Lua greeted.
"Hello, little one. I'm sorry, this is urgent," Lars said, barely looking at her before disappearing into the office.
Moments later, Silvia and Lars came back out, worry etched across their faces.
"Lua… stay here and don't go outside, no matter what happens," Silvia ordered, her voice trembling. Without waiting for an answer, they hurried out.
Lua, a knot growing in her chest, crept to the window. She saw dozens of villagers running, some already pulling on ornate armor covered in runes while others conjured magic circles that lit up the night like beacons. In the distance, the echo of explosions began to rumble.
The door burst open. A woman with black hair and a robe so dark it devoured the light materialized on the threshold.
"Aunt Vin…?" Lua asked, unable to understand what was happening.
"Your mother sent me. Stay away from the windows," Vin commanded in a firm voice.
Then she raised both hands… no, each finger began tracing different runes, with a precision so impossible it looked like she was a crazed puppeteer. Ten symbols of shifting colors emerged, each absorbing a separate spell. In a single second, Vin conjured ten major incantations that normally would have required an entire ritual.
The runes burst into radiance, and the whole house was wrapped in a series of shining barriers, layered upon each other like living armor. Vin barely turned toward Lua and extended her hand: from the floor, a trapdoor and a staircase descended into darkness.
"Listen, Lua. You must hide down there. Don't come out for anything in this world," Vin said with a calm that fractured in her eyes.
"But… Mama is outside," Lua whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
"Your mother will be fine. Lars is strong. Don't be afraid," Vin replied, then raised her voice in a tone that allowed no argument. "Go!"
Lua ran. The hiding place was a cellar with torches, a table, and piles of food that looked as if they had been prepared long ago. When she looked back to ask what was happening, the trapdoor slammed shut with a dull thud.
She waited… hours that felt like years. Until she couldn't stand it anymore and pushed the lever.
The trapdoor opened, and a colossal tremor shook the house. Lua clung to the ladder. Half the roof was gone. Through the gaps, she saw the sky burning in an artificial twilight.
Vin floated above the village. All around her, a hurricane of black fire devoured the air. Every spell she wove seemed to steal a fragment of light from the world. In front of her, a man with blond hair raised a golden sword. From its blade erupted a beam so vast it split the heavens.
Before it struck, Lars stepped in front of it. His body swelled, his armor cracking apart as he transformed into a dragon clad in scales red as burning coals. With a roar that split the walls, he caught the golden beam in his claws and hurled it skyward. The lightning tore the clouds asunder, and the storm of fire split in two, as though the sky itself had yielded to his will.
But then, farther away, another man raised both hands. Above him, a colossal sword began to form, as large as the entire village. Every meter it grew made the earth quake.
"It's useless, filthy spirit!" the warrior fighting Lars shouted.
And in that instant, a third enemy appeared behind Vin—a shadow in human shape, driving a dagger of black bone into her chest. Vin spat blood but snapped her fingers. The black fire surrounding her surged like a living sea, consuming the assassin. He screamed as the flames devoured him and, still burning, stabbed her back again and again. Vin fell, and the black storm slowly died.
"Your Majesty, do it!" the burning assassin roared, his voice ragged.
The giant sword finished forming, floating with a power that froze the soul. The man controlling it lowered his hands with a mocking gesture, and the blade began to descend—slowly, deliberately, like an executioner savoring his work.
From every direction, hundreds of spells rose to meet it: spears of light, lightning bolts, meteors. The sky exploded into impossible colors. For a moment, the immense sword cracked, fissures running along its length as the demigods stared in surprise that those villagers could wound their creation.
The man made a gesture, and the sword sped up its descent.
Lars, still in his dragon form, turned his head and unleashed a torrent of fire so dense the air itself exploded on contact, tearing into the enemy's back. But as he did, the golden swordsman drove his weapon into Lars's chest.
"I can simply create another," the summoner muttered with disdain.
Beside him, a tornado burst into existence, leveling houses as if they were made of paper. Another whirlwind formed in response, trying to push it back. The two cyclones collided with a roar that shattered windows miles away.
"You're a plague. Three demigods should have ended you in an instant, yet you still cling to survival," spat the golden warrior before plunging his blade into Lars's heart.
As his dragon form dissolved, Lars lifted one bloodied arm and, with a final roar, clawed open the enemy's chest, leaving a glowing wound.
The demigod, enraged, began slashing golden arcs in every direction. Lars fell in tatters in front of Lua's house but somehow still managed to rise, trembling.
It was then that Silvia appeared among the ruins, her body covered in blood.
"What… what did we ever do to you…? We were living in peace… Why did you come…?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Where is your goddess?" the leader roared, his power wrapping the air like an invisible hurricane.
"We don't know… She disappeared centuries ago," Silvia said.
"Lies. We felt her essence. Tell us where she is, and you will die without pain."
"No… we don't know," Silvia repeated.
A finger rose, and the burned assassin appeared in front of her. With a single motion, he kicked her, sending her crashing into the rubble.
Lua, trembling, covered her mouth as she saw her mother collapse. Lars saw her too. His fading eyes opened, and with the faintest movement, he pleaded silently for her to hide.
"Then all of you will suffer until she shows herself," the leader said. Seeing the spells flying toward him again, he raised a hand. A golden shield formed, and though it exploded under the impact, his smile didn't fade.
"You are strong… If we'd let you grow, maybe one day it would have been you coming to hunt us," he murmured with contempt. Then he made another gesture.
On the horizon, an entire army ignited the sky: arrows, fire, and siege stones rained down on the village.
"Let's see if your goddess stays hidden while all of you burn," he said before turning away.
The other two demigods moved apart and formed a containment dome that sealed off any chance of escape. The bombardment began. Every impact was an earthquake. Every scream was a blade in the heart.
Lua stepped out of her hiding place as Lars collapsed to his knees beside Vin's body, which no longer breathed.
"Mama…" Lua whimpered, running to Silvia.
Silvia barely managed to open her eyes.
"My little star… go to the hiding place… don't come out…" she murmured, her voice breaking.
"I'll take you with me… we'll hide together… and Uncle Lars too…" Lua cried, sobbing.
But Lars no longer moved.
"No… Lua… it's over… everyone… is lost…" Silvia whispered before falling unconscious.
Lua ran into the half-destroyed house. She grabbed a healing potion and carried it back to her mother. With superhuman effort, she dragged her to the hidden chamber. When she came out to look for Lars, where he had stood there was only a colossal stone.
Weeping, she ran back inside and closed the trapdoor. And she waited. She waited for years for her mother to wake up.
…
Lua jolted upright. For a moment, she couldn't understand that she was in her room. The ancient pain flooded her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe.
Something shifted beside her. Liora, unsettled by the tremors of her body.
Lua took a deep breath, and with hands that wouldn't stop shaking, she hugged the little girl tightly, as if clinging to her could erase the horror of that night that had never really gone away.