Darkness.
Drowning in the shadows, Cael's eyes unfocused, his mind wandered far, too far for it to form any coherent thoughts.
He wasn't able to think about his situation.
It didn't even occur to him that he was in danger.
All that he knew was that he only needed to take a break.
A long rest, one that he waited for, one that he deserved.
Cael lived with his parents in a humble hut.
It sat close to The Solar Sanctum, close enough to let him hear all the hymns and anthems each dawn.
Songs of legendary Heroes, battles to save the world and of its people, stories of sacrifice and glory.
Cael was enamoured.
He wanted to be a Hero.
He wanted to save the world.
His world wasn't big. Everything he knew existed within the hut, in his parents' words, their laughter, their warmth.
Their status as slum dwellers, their poor living conditions, his father's thieving, his mother's begging…
None of it reached him.
The smile his mother would show him when feeding him the moldy bread, his father's gruff laugh as he played with him.
That was his world.
And he wanted to protect it.
Cael dreamed of wielding a wide sword, it shone with a golden light, the sun's emblem acting as the guard one of its rays acted as the hilt.
It was called Vigil, a legendary sword that the Hero would wield, slaying Ashborn after Ashborn, monster after monster leaving only their ashes scattering with the wind.
He was the Hero in this dream.
Defending his house from the vicious monsters while his parents hid behind his broad shoulders.
This dream came almost every night.
And this night was no different.
Only he wasn't able to defeat them all, and some slipped past him.
"Gasp!"
Waking up on the cold hard floor, Cael took a deep breath while looking around the room.
He was soaked.
The cracks in the wall let in the rain.
Shaking the blanket and his clothes, to dry them from the rain, he looked around once more.
"They're not here…"
His parents were gone.
They had to be out of the house for longer before the winter so they could get as much food as they could. Cael understood this but that didn't mean he wouldn't be sad.
On days like these, he felt lonely.
The walls of the hut would shrink, his comfortable corner would hurt his back and the usually scary outside would become tempting.
However, he was not a bad child. Matter of fact he was the best child.
He swore to his mother to never leave the hut.
He swore to his father to protect it from the monsters.
But the monsters could never scare him as much as the loneliness.
Hours passed, and nothing happened.
He started to feel anxious but he always did when his parents were late.
So it should be fine.
Time felt slow.
This is normal.
Night fell.
That happened once before…
Morning came.
Is it fine?
His stomach complained.
"I'll wait for mom."
He was thirsty.
"They should be any minute now…"
He couldn't wait any longer.
"I'm sorry, mom…"
And became a bad child.
Opening the creaking door ever so slowly.
A putrid smell assaulted his small nose.
A layer of smog obstructed his sight.
It was his first time outside.
Walking carefully through the muddy street, his eyes opened wide.
Not in disgust, but in awe.
He never saw the sky. Even with clouds hiding it, the sun rays fell on the crumbling buildings.
Cael walked with no destination.
His only goal was to find his parents.
To save his world.
"Stop this! Unhand her!" A familiar gruff voice reached his ears.
"Father!?" Discarding his awe, Cael broke into a sprint.
Not being used to doing such a thing, he fell.
But he got up.
And fell again.
His ragged clothes got covered in mud, but he didn't care.
He got up again, and this time he ran until he reached the voice.
"How did you rats manage to get away?" Another man's voice made him stop.
It was one he didn't recognize, one that made him unimaginably scared.
Hiding behind a wall, Cael listened in, struggling to keep his body still.
"What have we ever done to you!?" It was his mother. "Why would you imprison us?"
"You vermin don't deserve an explanation. Frankly, you too are bothersome…"
"Wh–"
Slash
"Too bothersome."
A sound Cael didn't recognize cut his mother's words short.
And two heavy thuds followed right after.
Something hit his leg.
His instincts screamed to not look down.
But his head moved regardless.
Black hair, the same color as soot.
Deep violet eyes.
Snow white skin.
They were his features, the ones he got from his mother.
The same features as the bodyless head that stared at him.
His mind shut down.
His breathing quickened.
His heart rate spiked.
His pupils dilated.
The knight noticed breathing from behind the wall, yet didn't bother to look.
Brandishing his silver sword, he sheathed and didn't even look back.
He left towards the grand building at the other side of the road.
That day, the world ended for the first time.
Cael had nowhere to go.
He walked through the streets without purpose, destination.
Till his legs gave out.
Hunger had caught up to him.
His unfocused eyes let in no light, only gray and shadow.
"...y! Hey! Hello!" A young voice woke him up.
"Uhh…" His voice cracked from thirst.
"Oh! Drink this!"
The boy grabbed Cael's cheeks and forced his mouth open, pouring water from the worn sack.
Some light returned to his eyes, but his stare remained hollow.
"What's wrong?" The boy asked, his cheerful tone faltering.
"Mom…" That image was burned into his retinas.
The blood, the mud and her eyes.
"Oh…" As if realising something, the boy's expression darkened.
"I know how you feel…" He forced a smile and helped Cael to his feet. Then, pointing to his own chest, he said, "Everything is going to be okay! Your big brother Lenar will take care of you!"
"...Big brother?" Cael echoed, he never heard of such a thing.
"Mhm, That's me! You don't have to worry, little brother."
Although not much older, Lenar took Cael in.
He taught him how to defend himself, how to steal, how to eat when there was nothing left.
He taught him how to survive.
That boy became his world.
There was a game that the older kids would play.
They would tie a younger child to a tree.
Then they would "Toughen them up".
Beating them with their hands, sticks, rocks, whatever they could get their hands on.
And wouldn't stop until the unlucky child stops moving…
"Why…" Cael bit his lip until it bled.
Lenar hung limply against the dying tree.
His head slumped down, his body stiff.
He wasn't breathing.
Blood soaked his tattered clothes, pooling in a puddle that reflected his mangled figure.
The second world died there.
Time didn't stop for him, dawn broke again.
And with every sunrise his cynicism grew.
Every time he failed, his world changed.
But his goal remained the same.
He grew up. He learned how to wield a dagger, how to fight Ashborn, and how to kill.
He became an adventurer, a name among thousands.
One of his first missions was to take out a notorious criminal.
Cael aimed to become an assassin, so he relied on trickery to take out his human targets.
And his plan this time was to act as his escort.
In the pretense of protecting him, he would have chances to launch a surprise attack.
It sounded simple in his mind.
Yet when it came time to execute it.
It failed miserably.
He overestimated his strength, and underestimated his opponent's.
Instead of his attack being a surprise, it was seen through almost immediately.
And the hunter became the hunted.
Cael, who had just reached copper, was fighting an iron ranked adventurer to death.
What started as an exchange of sword and dagger quickly descended into a primal fight for survival, Cael used anything at his disposal.
Throwing dirt into the man's eyes, biting, kicking, hitting under the belt.
He had no pride and he did not care for honor.
All that mattered was for him to survive.
But his chances were low.
And with each exchange they dwindled further.
His nose was broken, his right shoulder dislocated, his ribs shattered.
Cael was beaten to a pulp.
Still even in that condition, struggling to breath, struggling to keep his eyes focused.
He got up.
Time after time after time.
He refused to stay down.
But in the end, his efforts were in vain.
The criminal, bruised but still standing, heard approaching footsteps.
And fled.
Leaving the copper adventurer sprawled out in the mud, broken and breathless.
"S-shit…" His voice trembled through clenched teeth.
"He got away." The sound of his teeth grinding echoed through the dark alleyway.
Clap Clap Clap
Applause resounded from the open street.
Cael looked up through the blur of blood and dirt, and saw the Hero's silhouette framed by sunlight.
The Lightbearer stood tall, the criminal that just fled caught by the throat.
The people surrounding him were washed in his brilliance, their expressions full of awe as they clapped and cheered.
In that moment, he vowed with what little voice he had left.
"I'll surpass you."
He didn't know it then, but the Hero became his world too.
And the world would end once more.
***
Cael opened his eyes.
For a second, the silence made him think he was still dreaming.
Then he smelled it; iron, rot, and smoke.
He was in a cave, water dripped rhythmically from the ceiling, each drop echoing like a heartbeat.
The fire near the wall had almost gone out, its dim glow revealed the scattered bodies.
Tens of them.
More cultists that hid underground, he almost couldn't tell.
Their bodies were torn open, their faces mangled beyond recognition.
Their faces locked in expressions of terror,
Their wounds too savage to be done by a human.
Cael stood slowly, his clothes soaked in blood that was not his.
"A dream?" He muttered. His voice echoing off the stone.
He noticed an opening further inside and decided to move deeper.
His boots crushed charred remains of weapons and bones.
The air felt heavier with each step.
Both damp and dry.
At the center, a huge opening revealed the night sky.
Looking around he found the other two adventurers.
Aven sat with her back against the wall, hugging her legs, her hair streaked with mud, blood and soot.
Eryndor stood beside her, his head lowered, his clothes torn and wet with blood, water circled his wounded arm.
They both looked terrible.
Sensing his approach, Aven opened her eyes and stared at Eidolon for a long moment.
"What the hell are you?" Her usual sarcasm disappeared, replaced with caution and confusion, maybe even fear.
Eidolon blinked a couple of times. "What?"
"You're not human." Her voice trembled slightly.