It's early morning, the sun rises and the storm becomes silent. Now the whole sky is filled with red sunlight and fresh air and happiness starts running on the Veylor streets.
But the scene is different in the Graven household. Arin is still sitting beside his mother's corpse. His heart and eyes both are filled with grief and sadness.
"What will I do, mother? I don't have any reason to live. Please give me a reason to live."
Suddenly a message appeared in front of him.
[First installment: 10,000 lives is still due.]
"A debt." Arin wiped his tears. "Okay mother from now on this will be my only goal of my life."
It's not time to question anything, because It's already time to leave her, so Arin holds up himself. And pick up his mother's body with some papers and a red pouch.
Arin went to the graveyard with his mother's body. He enters the graveyard.
The whole graveyard is filled with graves. There he saw an old man, who was digging a grave for someone. His white hair and lean body is proof that he was doing this work for many years. Arin approached him.
"I want a grave for my mother."
That old man smirks while looking towards Arin because his clothes are torn, dirty and wet. "Do you have coins?"
"Yes I have." Arin said without showing any emotion on his face.
"Hmm, okay put the body in the grave."
Arin put his mother's body in the grave as the old man said then Arin and that old man threw mud on the body and buried her. After that, the old man asked for money.
Arin gives him a bundle of papers. "Take it, these are papers of my house. Those are enough for one grave."
"A old shabby house for a grave. Are you kidding me?" That old man's expression changed from a smile to anger. "These graves are very rare and expensive and you want me to give you this grave for an old house."
Then that old man pick up his shovel to drag out, Arin's mother's body from that grave.
"Wait." Arin said. "Let's make a deal. I have 10 silver coins. I will give you every coin but promise me you will not try to dig my mother's grave again."
That old man stops and starts thinking. "( 10 silver coins for one grave. Wow this will be my two month salary) okay give me that."
After that Arin put out a red pouch from his left pocket and gave it to him. Then Arin said.
"I want you to use your power on her."
That old man's expression suddenly became serious. Then he cast a spell on Selen's grave.
After that Arin left, he went to the market. He is hungry because he didn't eat for two days and now he doesn't even have money to eat.
He is wandering on roads both sides are filled with shops and fruit sellers. This is the main market of the Veylor kingdom. It seems that whole market is in its rush hour because whole place is filled with civilians.
"(What do I do now? I know, i make promise myself that I will repay my mother's debt but how. I have to pay him 1,000,000,000 to that man and 10,000 in the end of this month.)"
After that Arin starts looking at people. He starts seeing numbers on their head. "What are those numbers 29, 50, 26,38."
Then he looks at a man whose number is 0. Arin got shocked because this is the first time in the whole market, who have 0 on his head, Then.
Slice
Someone cut that '0' number man instant. Arin is standing there and he can't even see. From where that swordsman came. When head of dead man touches the ground, the whole market is disrupted and chaos happens.
"Stop running every one, I am a general of our king's Resistance force." That swordsman said while sheathing his sword.
After that more normal army soldiers came to that place and tried to calm down the situation.
Arin didn't understand what happened here; he just go away from that place and went in a dark narrow street. There he saw a basket of fresh bread. So he run towards that basket and then he pick up food and was about to eat but he stopped.
"I can't eat this food. This doesn't belong to me."
Then he put back food in the basket. Then a voice came from behind him.
"If you are hungry, you can eat this food."
Arin got shocked and fell on the ground while turning back there he saw a blond hair, beautiful nun standing there. She looks like as same age as Arin.
Arin asked while looking at her. "Who are you and are you sure?" Arin lowered his eyes and his voice got lower. "And really I can eat this."
"My name is Lyra vale and yes, you can eat it all ." She said
Arin and Lyra both sit down on the ground and rest their backs on the wall.
Arin starts eating bread from that basket. "Why are you in this dark street, Miss."
"There is no need for honourifics. You can call me by my name." Then she smile. "I am a healer from church and I am here to heal a little girl because she was suffering from a heavy fever but she is in good health now."
Arin ate all the bread. After that they stand up and then Arin returns the basket to Lyra. "Thank you, you really look like a good person. Or maybe these breads are already rotten."
Lyra got shocked and her eyes filled with tears. "How can you say that i am a nun and a healer? I serve God and…"
"I am just kidding. I know these are fresh breads because I know how rotten bread tastes like."
She is about to leave that street but suddenly a tall man with ripped muscles enters that dark street. His hair is red and his white shirt's upper two buttons are open and his both hands in his creamy colour pants, and he is carrying a sword in his waist.
"Ohh, Miss Lyra, you are here and I am searching for you in whole market."
"I am sorry Mr. Kyris, that time I have to leave church in an emergency."
"I know that because a kind person like you can't make a person wait. And leave a patient for yourself." He walks towards Lyra and stands up in front of her then he leans towards her. "So what's your answer? Miss. Lyra."
"I understand your situation Mr. Kyris but my answer is still the same. I can't join you, because I already dedicated my life to God and people's of Veylor."
Arin is standing a little far behind her. He murmurs. "Is this her default line?"
Then she started walking outside from the street. When she is about to cross Kyris he hold her hand forcefully because of that her basket falls on ground.
"So you dedicated your life to God and people then what about me." He licks his lips. "I am also a citizen of Veylor. Can't you help me."
She looked into his eyes with a gentle look and a smile."Of course you are the citizen of Veylor but God is above everyone. So I can't join your guild."
"Then what about joining me?" He shouted.
"What do you mean by joining you?" She looks confused.
"By becoming my wife." He said.
"Sorry Mr. Kyris, I can't become your wife because I already promised my life to someone else."
Arin again mocked her in his mind. "Ofcourse to her so-called God."
"I promised myself to not touch another woman today without her permission." Kyris looks with leech eyes towards her. "But I think I have to do it again."
Then Kyris put her on the ground and captured both of her hands with his left hand. He tears her upper cloak and smiled.
"Woah, you really got the angel figure miss. Lyra."
She start crying and yelling 'help, please someone help' but whole street is empty. There is not a single life form that can help her. Her tears are falling down on that dirty road. Then he hold her mouth with his right hand. And about to kiss her.
"You will be my slave, Lyra."
Dump
An iron rod strike on Kyris' head and a lot of blood starts falling down from his head. His grip loosened on her. So, she pushed him and then she run towards Arin and hide behind him.
Arin is standing there holding an iron rod in fear. Lyra hides behind him while covering her upper naked body.
Kyris saw Arin with a rod. He understand that he is the one who attack on him. So, he pulled out his sword from his waist. But his vision is still blurry and can't see Arin properly.
Still Kyris attack on Arin, but Arin moves backwards and Kyris miss. He did again he swing his sword left to right. But this time Arin barely dodged that sword by moving backward. Then Arin look at Lyra that was hiding behind him. She is still crying and hiding her body with her hands.
***
Arin got a flashback of her mother when he was eight years old. "Dear, why did you fight with those boys? Look how injured you are."
He wiped his tears. "They were harassing my friend Nina. So, I beat them but because of my weakness, I lost. I can't even save her properly."
Selene graven laughed and her eyes filled with tears. Then she hugged him. " I am proud of you, my son. And you don't have to look down on your weakness. Because your pure heart is your real power."
"Really mother." A smile came on his face.
"Yes my dear."
Then he hugged her through her neck.
***
Arin holds that iron rod with full force and then strikes at Kyris' chest. Whole iron rod passes through Kyris. While Kyris holds his sword above Arin's head. Arin's eyes filled with fear then Arin pushed him back. Kyris falls to the ground but he is still breathing.
Then Arin removes his torn shirt and gives it to Lyra. She wears his shirt and covers herself.
"Th..Thank you Arin, you really saved me today."
Then she kisses Arin cheek, picks up her basket and runs away while crying from that dark street.
"I hope you won't think I am dirty now." She murmurs while running away.
Arin got flushed because this is the first time when someone other than his mother kissed him, then he heard heavy panting. His flushed face turned serious and scared because Kyris is still alive and panting there on the ground. Arin came closer towards him. There Arin saw Kyris' sword lying on the ground. So, he picked up and put that sword point exactly on Kyris' neck.
"You insult a lady. You disrespected her. Now you do not deserve to live."
Arin presses the sword. It passes through Kyris' neck and now Kyris is dead.
[Congratulations on first kill]
[First installment: 9,999 lives]
[Blood Ledger → Life drain.]
[Touch corpse to drain life force.]
"What is it? it means this debt is not a coin but someone's life."
Now Arin's adrenaline went back to normal and he realised that he killed someone. He fell on his knees in front Kyris body then he saw Kyris lifeless body pierced with a sword in neck and with iron rod in chest. He falls back and starts vomiting.
"What have I done?"
And then he faints on ground in a dark street of Veylor.
To be continued…