Slash!
"!!!"
Veric watched in horror as the king struck down his father.
The world around him seemed to freeze—gasps rippled through the crowd as they watched the terrifying scene unfold in front of them. The tyrant king threw his head back and laughed maniacally, his crimson-colored eyes gleaming as he aimed his sword at the lifeless body.
"The threat is finally gone!" he proclaimed aloud, his voice booming. "Now, I have become the strongest in this nation! I swore an oath to purge beastmen and their filth from our land. No longer do we, humans, have to bow to these creatures!"
People stared wide-eyed, their mouths hung slack in shock. It wasn't until the king's knights brandished their blades and shouted threats that the crowd began to cheer and hail him, their trembling voices forced to praise the fearsome king.
Veric didn't move.
He could only stare up at his father's lifeless body. His whole body trembled.
Why? Why hadn't his father fought back? He was supposed to live because he promised to stay with him forever. They promised they'll celebrate Veric's tenth birthday today.
He knew—everyone knew that his father, the lord of Ythra, was powerful enough to defeat that monster of a king. So why...
Why had he let himself die? Why had he left Veric alone?
"From this day forth, I will capture all beastmen in our nation!"
Knights surged into the crowd. Veric saw a dog beastman crying out for mercy as he got tackled down by two knights. There's a girl pup who started crying out for him, begging the knights to let her daddy go. The knights captured her, too.
Some other beastmen among the crowd tried to fight back when they were being held down, and some got killed on the spot after showing a sign of resisting. Others were beaten to the ground, and in the blink of an eye, panic spread like wildfire.
Veric felt his heart pounding in his chest, so he pulled his hood lower to hide his face and ran.
He ran, and ran, and ran, until the city walls were far behind him.
When he finally stopped, he turned around toward the city and took off his hood.
His fluffy ears, dark teal-colored hair, and golden eyes were revealed. He sobbed then collapsed to the grass, hands clawing at the earth as he screamed.
Black shadow laced with blue static spiraled around him, and the ground pulsed around him as he kept screaming in fury.
Now, he became the last of his kind—the last Ythra.
But right now, he's only a ten-year-old kid. His power does not compete with his father's, let alone the king's. He couldn't do anything.
The king's manic face showed on his mind, the replay of that monster plunged his sword into his father's heart kept repeating like a broken record, and it's tearing him apart.
His father... he wants his father back.
Veric took a deep breath and screamed. "I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN MYSELF, NETHIR!"
And suddenly—a pale glow blinked into existence in front of him. Rhys shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness, and he whipped his head upward, tears flowing rapidly from his eyes.
There's a box in front of him—a transparent one. And words were written on it.
[Conditions have been met.]
[System Activated: Build a city strong enough to destroy Nethir.]
"!"
Veric gasped and fell backward, his heart jumped in surprise.
What is that?
The little boy rubbed his eyes and sniffed before blinking, the box didn't disappear.
[Find and claim a land!]
"... I've finally lost it," Veric mumbled under his breath.