I stared at the ingredients laid out before me, my mind racing. The worst had come to worst. I had only two options.
Through the window I could see the calamity unfolding outside, screams slicing through the air. I knew had to choose fast.
Thanks to my stupidity and naive choices, I have only two options in front of me.
Option one: Ritualistic Dark Magic. Option two: Alchemy.
With the ingredients I had now, I could easily go for Ritualistic Dark Magic. The problem was not the difficulty of the ritual - no, rather the problem had something to do with the future. The prospects for such a magic type were grim. Those who practiced it were prone to madness, heresy, and fanaticism. The magic itself was banned in most kingdoms. Choosing it would immediately label me a rogue and a vagabond - this was not something I wanted.
And then there was the requirement. The sacrifice of a virgin lady as part of the main ingredients. Conveniently, one was tied up beside me, glaring hateful at me with her mouth covered. Although I knew what to do I couldn't help but have an issue with this. Not that I pitied her. After all, she had slaughtered countless people, some of them were even my friends. That was not the issue.
The issue was twofold. First, I needed information from her. If she died, how could I get it? Second - and perhaps deeper than the first - was the matter of conscience. If I chose the ritualistic type and the first thing I did was create an elixir requiring the sacrifice of another human being, did that not mean I would have to do it again if I wanted to advance? Today it was a virgin lady, Tomorrow it could be a pregnant woman, or worse, an infant. That was not something I wanted to grow accustomed to.
This was one of the countless obscenities that followed the ritualistic path, the entire system was built on the notion of being immoral and depraved.
Of course, I could skip the ritualistic path and try Alchemy. But that would be as simple as putting my life in danger. The alchemical elixir was missing a key ingredient - one that could make or break the entire recipe. To get it, I would have to go outside. With the chaos erupting in the streets, my chances of survival were less than zero.
The only alternative was to use a substitute. But the probability of success was less than one in a hundred. If it failed, the entire elixir would turn into deadly poison.
In both scenarios, I was gambling with my life. Essentially betting everything on luck.
I looked at all the ingredients before me, then I looked at the girl, then outside the window.
In that instant, I took a deep breath and thought long and hard. Then I opened my eyes.
In the end, I had made my choice.
~ *90 days prior to the apocalypse* ~
I smiled at the mirror while brushing my teeth and wondering why my eyes looked tired
I felt mostly normal most days like any other sixteen year old boy
Sometimes strange thoughts surfaced and I immediately frowned at myself
'What am I thinking' I would mutter and then force my mind elsewhere.
For the past few days my nights had been filled with vivid hallucinations - dreams so life like I was almost convinced they happen.
Over and over again I told myself that they were just dreams to keep myself calm.
In those dreams I always found myself inside a dark unfamiliar room
A single bed rested in the far corner away from the window and door that we're on the right, there was another door inside the room on the side that was directly opposite the bed.
Further investigation has revealed to me that both doors were locked.
Looking outside through the also locked window I found out the streets stretched endlessly beneath a umbra dead sky
A community of silhouetted figures wandered slowly like lost townsfolk, They moved without sound and without purpose
Occasionally one would pause and peer inside, each time my chest tightened and cold ran down my spine
I would immediately hide myself in the corner where my bed was since whatever was looking from the outside would be blind to that spot.
And sure enough after a while they always left.
One lantern rested on a small table beside the bed, Its presence had an aura of intentional behind it that made me curious, once such curiosity overcame fear and I lit it.
Upon doing so countless figures rushed toward the room, their hands slammed against windows and doors relentlessly.
My heart raced and panic drowned all my thoughts.
I immediately extinguished the light and everything stopped.
I woke each time drenched in sweat as I would breathe out a sigh of relief.
This had repeated every night without exception.
I recalled it all while rinsing my mouth.
Mint-scented candles flickered softly along the stone wall, their flames burning a pale spearmint green. The cool aroma was sharp and refreshing, perfect for the early morning - such flavored candles had long since become commonplace.
Incense mixed with the morning fog drifting in through the open slit window.
I lived alone in a modest stone house in Yagov, a small town belonging to to the Telos Empire
I did not know my parents and rarely thought about them,
My uncle was a traveling merchant absent most of the year
I attended the school of Saint Octavia Sanctum owned by the major churches.
The bell tower looming over the town like a watchful eye - an eye of dread for those late students who would surely be punished by the local nuns.
On my way to school younger students greeted me eagerly
"Good morning Kenneth" one said brightly
"Good morning" I replied with an easy smile, thankfully our conversations did not proceed any further than this.
Unfortunately some girls lingered around me as they smiled and laughed nervously.
I noticed and felt a bit awkward.
'Don't overthink' it I told myself
At the entrance I met my usual group, firstly their was Lynch, he came across as composed to the point of detachment. His black hair was kept neatly in place, framing a slender, refined build that made him look more like a scholar than a nobleman. With his signature glasses rested lightly on his nose, sharpening the impression of what you could call a quiet intelligence. There was something cool and deliberate in his demeanor - he wasn't the type to waste his movements, and with those steady eyes of his - it was as if he preferred observing the world to participating in all of it.
He said "You look exhausted again"
"I didn't sleep well" I answered honestly
The painfully handsome Calvin approached grinning, Calvin stood in stark contrast to Lynch. Blond-haired and athletically built, he carried himself with an effortless confidence that drew attention without him having to try. I had a phrase I like to throw around that best described him and that was - if a lady was too beautiful she was handsome and if a man was too handsome he was beautiful, there was no better description for Calvin than this - the young man so handsome that the word beautiful fit him better. If that wasn't unfair enough he had the natural strength and grace to round everything up, with his warm presence like the evening sun.
If we counted local rumors and idol folktales by high school girls in love then legend has it: it was said that the Griffith and the Phoenix had fallen in love, that their bodies were united in intercourse to give birth to this singular specimen of a human being.
The flaw in that line of thinking lay in reality itself. I knew his father and mother. His father was no Griffith, nor was his mother a Phoenix - and though they appeared to share certain features with him, overall they were average at best.
Whatever the truth of his origins might be, none could deny it: he was undeniably striking.
I thought briefly how unfair some people were made
That's a strange thought I dismissed it immediately
He said "You should rest more"
Barvotov arrived last rings clinking sleeves extravagant
He looked like wealth stitched into fabric
He announced "Another glorious day of education"
Lynch sighed Calvin laughed
I smiled feeling normal among them
A nun struck the giant bell
Its echo swallowed conversation
Students began entering the building in orderly lines
I followed my friends inside
For a moment I glanced back at the courtyard
Nothing was there
I told myself that was good
And walked on