- Part I: Red Masks
- Chapter 1: Encounters
In this world, humans are born with a special power called a "Gift." This world is also full of monsters and legends. Throughout this story, we will follow the adventures of a young black-haired boy, Kayden Henildo. Kayden was born into a fairly wealthy family, he is 10 years old and has scarlet eyes; unfortunately, he never had a single friend due to the fact that his Gift could attract covetousness. Since his Gift is the Gift of Creation, he studied and trained only at home, which made him unsociable. He remains warm, generous, and kind to everyone.
Even his servants worry about the fact that he has no friends. One day, he went to the forest as he did every day, even though his mother had forbidden him dozens of times. He heard in the forest a girl's scream, screaming for help, he went to the source and saw that a young brown-haired girl was injured, he wanted to help her but she told him to leave at the risk or he could die. A beast suddenly appeared and Kayden deduced that it was this beast that injured her. So he decided to confront it but beat it without worry then healed the girl.
Kayden : "And there you are–you are healed."
??? : "Thank you but who are you ?"
Kayden : "Me ? Kayden Henildo and you ?"
??? : "My name's Anahita. Nice to meet you."
Kayden : "Me too."
Anahita : "Thanks again for saving me."
In addition of her brown hair which could remind him and anyone else the beauty of the nature and the earth ; this girl, Anahita, has green and blue eyes, that could remind a river through the field of a garden.
Kayden : "Oh, it's nothing. But why are you in the forest ?"
Anahita looked down and whispered something.
Kayden : "Can you repeat ?"
Said Kayden who didn't hear anything of what she said.
Anahita : "Ah ! I'm just lost !"
It sounds like fake and true at the same time in her voice.
"How did she end up here ?" thought Kayden and pursuited with a "Oh right !"
Kayden offered to drive her home, but she told him to only go as far as the forest exit and that after that, everything would be fine.
Once she was out of the forest with Kayden.
Kayden : "Is it alright ? Can you walk ?"
Anahita nodded at his question, him who just take care of her.
Anahita : "Thank you very much."
Kayden : "Don't worry, it's normal."
Anahita : "But I'd like to at least thank you properly."
Kayden : "Okay, okay, fine if you want."
Anahita : "Okay then, what time do we meet ?"
Kayden : "At 9:00, if possible."
Anahita : "And where ?"
Kayden : "Choose."
Anahita : "Let's say at the Big tree in the city center."
Kayden : "That suits me fine, so meet at the big tree at 9:00. Does that work ?"
Anahita : "Yes !"
They parted ways and the next day.
Kayden dressed as usual, effortlessly, while Anahita looked very well dressed for a little outing.
They strolled around town and visited several shops. They must have rested a little with all their walking.
Kayden : "Actually, what's your Gift ?" asked Kayden curiously.
Anahita : "Apparently, it's the ability to manipulate oxygen."
Kayden : "With that kind of Gift, you didn't need my help yesterday, so why ?" asked Kayden because of his confusion.
Anahita : "Actually, I don't know how to control my Gift very well. I don't know exactly where the oxygen atoms are."
Kayden : "But they're everywhere !" he exclamed as if he didn't understand the logic of her actions.
Anahita : "I said oxygen, not air. Air is 1/5 oxygen, and the rest is other atoms. With pure oxygen, we'd die." said Anahita, frowning.
Kayden : "Oh, yeah, I forgot." said Kayden like if he knew that, even if he just learns that at this moment.
"She must be learning a lot or have some knowledge to know that, but since it's related to her Gift, it's normal for her to know that." thought Kayden before he continued to talk.
Kayden : "Oh, but I have a solution !"
Anahita : "What are you talking about ?"
Kayden : "For your Gift."
Anahita : "Really? Can you tell me, what is it ?"
Kayden : "So—"
Kayden whispered something to her.
Two hours later, they continued their little walk. Suddenly, they heard a girl screaming, and they ran toward the spring and saw a young blonde girl with three boys.
"LET ME GO !" screamed the blonde girl.
Brute : "No, no, you're going to follow us nice and nice."
Kayden : "Let her go !"
Brute : "Who do you think you are ?" said the brutes to Kayden but it's also what Anahita thought about these bad guys.
Kayden : "I think I'm the one who's going to crush you !"
Brute : "Don't show off."
Kayden : "I warned you."
The street fight had barely begun when Kayden defeated their leader with a single blow.
Brutes : "Let's run away, he's too strong for us !" exclaimed they in their run away.
Kayden : "You'd better, if you come back, make sure your arms are strong enough."
They left in fear, Kayden sighed and held out his hand to the blonde girl on the ground and began to talk.
Kayden : "These brutes are annoying. Are you okay ?"
??? : "Yes, thank you very much for your help."
She was embarrassed.
Anahita : "What did they want ?" asked Anahita very seriously.
??? : "In fact, I wanted to buy some bread for the orphanage."
"But there's no bread on her !" thought Kayden.
??? : "Those boys told me that if I followed them here, they'd give me free bread." she said that too easily with an impressing innocent expression.
"Is she incredibly naive or stupid !?" asked Anahita and Kayden to themselves, shocked by her answer.
Yeah, that's right, she's naive, her blonde hair is like the gold's color of her heart. And her eyes are like the sky, a perfect blue reflecting the purity of her soul.
??? : "I'm naive."
Kayden : "You're definitely naive, you should be a little less so."
??? : "I know, I know, people tell me that all the time."
Anahita : "But by the way, what's your name ?"
??? : "Erica."
Anahita : "My name is Anahita and this boy next to me is Kayden. Nice to meet you."
Erica : "Me too."
Anahita : "Next time, never follow strangers again. Even if it doesn't seem suspicious."
Kayden : "Even if here, it's clearly suspicious."
That's what Kayden thought by listening to her.
Erica : "I understand."
Kayden : "Be careful who you talk to."
Erica : "I know, I get it, no need to repeat it. Thank you for your help, I'll be careful in the future. Good bye !"
They split up, but Kayden and Anahita were worried about her, so they decided to follow her so she wouldn't find herself in that situation again. Kayden and Anahita are bad spies and were quickly spotted, but they used the "coincidence" excuse, and given her naivety, Erica believed them. But as mentioned before, they are bad spies and were spotted dozens of times, and afterward, Erica finally understood and reprimanded them. Erica finally told them that if they wanted to continue protecting and watching over her at the same time, they had to become friends, and that was it, they became friends.
They ended up spending time together. One day, they decided to have a picnic in the forest, but before they entered, Kayden saw a white-haired little boy on a tree branch. He asked the girls if they knew him, but he had disappeared before Kayden turned around. This event was quickly forgotten, they continued and had a picnic, but a rabbit stole their food and they demanded it back.
Kayden : "You, the rabbit, I'm going to kill you."
Kayden summoned a bow with arrows and knives to throw at the rabbit, but the girls intervened.
Kayden : "Why are you stopping me from killing him ?"
Erica : "Because it's not right to kill animals."
Anahita : "Because it's so cute !"
Kayden : "You win, I won't kill him ! But we'll have to find a way to catch him."
Kayden exhaled.
They really tried different solution without any success but one moment, they went to success but there, they fell in a vicious trap. But at the same time, a mysterious man only dressed in black appeared. This mysterious man is obviously the origin of this trap. Kayden and his friends fell into this trap, which is just a big hole, fortunately they managed to land safely. In this hole, there was too many monsters to defeat them all, and moreover, the wall was so smooth they couldn't be climbed, so there was no escape.
At the same time, a young little boy appeared and he looked like–no, he is the one that Kayden saw on the tree branch. He looked cold, emotionless with his white hair – like the blank of a canvas or the silver shine of a blade ; and his eyes were a deep purple, reflecting the dignity of a noble blood flowing in his veins.
??? : "It's you who has put this trap here, I suppose ?"
Asked the silver haired boy.
Black : "In your opinion ?"
??? : "Sorry but I have to arrest you, please, follow me."
Black : "And if I don't ?"
The little boy attacked the man in black.
??? : "You will follow me by the force."
The fight began but Black gave him a kick with a hidden blade that got out of his left shoe. Then, he put out a purple blade.
"Purple blade ?" thought the little boy.
??? : "A purple blade ? I've never seen that. It could poison or something else, a cursed sword ? No I don't think it's a simple blade with poison but which poison ?" thought the little boy."
After, Black showed a green blade.
??? : "Green ? Are you going to show me all the colors of the rainbow ?"
Black : "Who knows ?"
"I'd better dodge all his attacks, his vicious hits and his strange weapons scares me a little. They don't give anything good." thought the little boy.
It continued.
Black : "So, that's all that can do the knights' prodige, Christian."
The boy, named apparently Christian, was disturbed and let an opening to Black.
"What a mistake !" thought Black and Christian.
Suddenly, a powerful wind pulled Black. He was surprised but stayed calm.
Christian : "Where did you get those informations ?" asked Christian, curiously.
Black : "Oh you know, rumors and informers."
Christian : "I'll catch you and then, you'll say all I need to know."
Black : "So, this is your Gift, the « Summon Gift »."
The « Summon Gift » of Christian is special, he can summon beings from another world or stock and teleport objects.
Christian : "It doesn't work ?" he thought and gave the order to the Sylphide to send a gust of wind's blade.
Sylphide – a wind fairy with a certain angel's look – attacked with a « Wind Slash » but Black parried it.
Christian : "It doesn't work ?" he thought and gave the order to the Sylphide to send a gust of wind's blade.
Sylphide created a gust of « Wind Blades ».
Christian : "{It's the moment.}Come, Fenrir !"
A majestic purple and blue wolf, called Fenrir, appeared, his fur looking soft. The Fenrir began to attack Black with lightning and tried to create a smoke screen. And this worked.
Christian took advantage of the smoke screen to send Sylphide to fetch Kayden and the girls. Sylphide left.
Black (a little surprised) : "Oh, the smoke screen is just to let them help, but well, I don't really care about them."
Christian : "If you don't care about them, why trap them ?"
Black : "That's none of your business."
Sylphide found them and brought them out. Afterwards, Kayden went to help Christian. Facing Black, who still hadn't revealed either his Gift or his true strength, Christian was still struggling. The fight between Black and Christian was intense — it didn't even give the other a moment to breathe, though it was mainly Christian who couldn't breathe.
Even Kayden thought : "They are strong, I can keep up slightly, but this boy won't beat the man in black — he clearly outclasses him."
Christian : {Damn, he's too strong, I already unleashed a Fenrir, my black serpent and my white serpent, I need Sylphide but I don't even have enough time to use it.}
Black : "You are really strong, but not enough against me."
Christian : {I'm in trouble, I would need…} "Hey Kayden, come help me !"
Black : {I hadn't even noticed him.}
Kayden : "How do you know my name ?"
Christian : "It's not important right now! Come help me !"
Kayden (confused) : "Alright !"
Kayden began to join the fight by throwing knives at Black, but Black deflected them effortlessly.
Black (sarcastic tone) : "Oh, so you have the power to make knives appear ? Terrifying !"
Kayden : {He said that sarcastically, is he mocking me ? At the same time, that's not enough against him.} "I'll show you if it's just knives."
Kayden threw more — shurikens and needles — but Black dodged them all. Christian used his Fenrir to attack with lightning while Kayden continued with bursts of projectiles, but Black avoided them. Kayden found an opening and wanted to try his luck, but Christian stopped him.
Christian : {At close range, neither of us stand a chance. I tried at the start of our fight, but I wouldn't have had any chance.}
They focused on ranged combat, even though Black hadn't revealed his powers. After a while, they decided to corner him. First, they continued with ranged attacks, but then they intensified the number of attacks, forcing Black to dodge and parry simultaneously. Christian used his Fenrir, his two serpents, and Sylphide. Kayden continuously produced ranged weapons. Fenrir continued with lightning; Sylphide, wind; the black serpent, venom; the white serpent, scales. Kayden threw about 60 projectiles in less than five seconds. Black, still unharmed, began to counterattack, and really, they had wanted to keep their distance but it didn't work — closing in, Black easily defeated two familiars. Christian took the opportunity to electrocute him with Fenrir; he hit him.
Christian (pleased) : {That should have hurt him.}
Black : "OUCH ! That hurts !" [Charges toward Christian]
Christian (surprised) : {That's all !? He's just a bit stunned !? And he charges me! What to do !?}
Christian then decided to protect himself with his white serpent. Kayden, this time, threw a mace, then a spear, then an axe, then a sword — basically everything he could find since he didn't know what to do. Black deflected all projectiles.
Black : "Throwing so many objects, and some heavy ones too — do you still have the energy and strength for this ? Impressive ! You deserve congratulations, bravo!" [Applauds]
Kayden : "{He's looking down on me and mocking me while disarming himself — he's applauding me ?}"
Christian : "{We're screwed, he's too strong.}"
Kayden : "I have an idea."
Kayden jumped and threw several iron bars to the ground.
Black : "{What is he doing? He's not aiming at me. Well, let's wait and see if it's interesting.}"
Kayden : "CHRISTIAN, SEND AN ELECTRIC ATTACK ON ALL THE BARS !"
Christian : "Ah, I understand, but it won't work, you've seen that lightning didn't hurt him."
Kayden : "Don't worry, I have another idea."
Black : {Alright, you're using the conductivity of these bars and the lightning to electrocute me, clever, but it won't do much! Still, I'll let myself get caught in the trap to see what you'll do.}
Christian attacked as planned and eventually hit Black thanks to the bars. Black was electrocuted and could barely move — Kayden took advantage to create a barrel of oil and set it alight, throwing it. This created an explosion.
Kayden : "It's done, we got him !?"
Christian : "No, unfortunately, he came out unscathed.{What to do !? Despite this explosion, he's not dead, this man is incredibly resilient — but is he even human?}"
Black applauded.
Black (sarcastic) : "Impressive ! You surprised me. Honestly, hats off !"
Kayden : "It's impossible, you should be wounded."
Black : "But I'm not."
Christian : {We must flee, he's too strong for us.} "Kayden, we have to..."
Black : "Flee, is that it ?"
Christian (desperate) : "{Even if we tried to run, it wouldn't work, he's too fast and too strong.}"
Black : "I think you should give up. My mission is to capture Kayden and possibly Christian alive, but Christian is secondary."
Black : "Well, I'm going to cap–"
… : "Wait !"
Kayden : "{A woman in white ?}"
Christian : "{It must be one of his accomplices.}"
Black : "What ?"
White : "We don't have time."
Black : "Why ?"
White : "Soldiers and knights are coming."
Black : "And then? We'll just eliminate them–"
White : "It's Commander Number Four who leads them, followed by the Blade of Blood and the Sword of the Sun."
Christian : "{They are Kayden's parents.}"
Black : "In that case, we must retreat. Next time, you won't be so lucky !"
They fled in haste.
Christian : "Phew ! We're saved."
Kayden : "But how did they know where we were ?"
Christian : "It's simple — when I summoned Fenrir and Sylphide, I also summoned two small familiars. The first sent my message to a commander of the army, and the second sent one to your parents. From the start, I knew he was stronger than me, but being unsure, I asked for help. {Should I tell him he's their target ? Or not ?}"
A little later.
Cynthia — Kayden's mother — (crying) : "I'm so happy you're alive !"
Kayden : "No need to cry, mother."
Cynthia : "But you're my beloved son !"
Kayden : "You mean one of your children ?"
Cynthia : "It's a metaphor, and I'd say the same about your other siblings in this situation."
Kayden : {Luckily, she doesn't remember I disobeyed her orders.}
Cynthia : "Well, it's settled. Let's go home, and you'll explain what you were doing with two young girls in the forest."
Kayden : "O–okay. {Seems she remembers.}"
Anahita and Erica saw Kayden and jumped at him.
Anahita (crying) : "We're so glad you're okay !"
Erica (crying) : "It's true, we were worried !"
Kayden (smiling) : "Sorry for causing you worry."
Anahita (crying) : "The important thing is that you're okay !"
Kayden : "Yes. And you too, it seems."
Cynthia : "You've made friends, I was worried, but to think it happened so fast — you surpass my expectations."
Anahita : "Kayden, who is this woman? Is she your mother ?"
Kayden : "Ah sorry, yes, she's my mother."
Erica : "Really ?"
Anahita : "No wonder, you look alike."
Kayden (surprised) : "You think so ?"
Cynthia (smiling and reassuring) : "It's normal, you inherited your mother's beauty."
They continued talking, but at the same moment Christian went to speak with the commander and Kayden's father about the incident.
…To be continued...