A crimson sky, showered a bloody battlefield. Corpses of many different species littered the ground. Their mixtures of different colored blood and entrails stained the once green ground, a horrific hue of red.
At the centre of this stomach churning scene, a young man kneeled. His head bobbed up and down, he barely gripped the handle of his oddly pristine sword. Gasps came from his mouth, every breath he took made his lungs nearly explode.
"LUCIAN! We have to leave! There's no poin-" Another man shouted, but was interrupted.
"We have to stay here. IF we leave now, everything… Everything we know and love will be ruined." The young man said as loud as he could, only barely managing a pitch below a scream.
The older man looked at the carnage surrounding him, his eyes fell. Although he has seen so much brutality over his life, he felt his heart physically ache. "Lucian… Please, even if we stay here, everything will just… Be destroyed."
"SO WHAT?! What if we stay here, what if we retreat?!" Lucian yelled. "We have to stay! We have to defeat 'that'!" He raised his head, glaring at the bloody being in his sights. It hulked over the battlefield, each of its six arms wielded greatswords that towered over Lucian and everything around them. Scars littered its body, a dark liquid seeped out of each cut and gash.
"WE CAN'T DEFEAT HIM, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?! THAT DEMON DID ALL OF THIS!"
"I know that… But I would rather die trying than to tu-"
A guttered laughter shook their eardrums; their entire bodies felt as if a bucket of frigid water washed over them. Lucian's eyes widened, fear and dread occupied the once confident and brave fire in them.
"How amusing~ You, one so filled with confidence and bravado, can still find the will to fight~? Yearning for a death wish aren't we? Even for your companions? How amusing!" The demon cackled, its deep and hoarse voice froze everyone still standing. It licked its lips, and a ferocious glint glistened in its eyes. One, one arm reeled back. "I would LOVE to douse that spark you have…" It exclaimed as its arm shot out like a whip.
An arc of what could be described of blood shot out once it hit its maximum distance.
In an instant, Lucian wobbly stood and raised his sword to block it.
"LUCIAN-! GET OUT OF-"
CLANG~!
Metal screeches reverberated throughout the battlefield. Sparks flew in every which way, once metal and arc met.
"THE… w-"
Lucian mouthed the word "What…". Scraps of metal shattered from his sword. He felt a cold whoosh pass through his stomach. Within an instant, his body cleaved in two. His upper half rocketed towards the ground.
There was no pain, no agony. He just felt his body grow weaker, and weaker. His hearing buzzed, which grew by the minute. Only a voice broke through it, barely.
"LUCIAN! NO, NO NO!" His companion, a white haired demi-human screamed. She scrambled towards him. Her crystal tears sprinted down her pale skin. "STAY WITH ME, PLEASE LUCIAN! YOU HAVE TO!" Her vocal cords shattered, whilst screaming to the top of her lungs.
He stared at her, feeling a deep cut of pain in his heart. Slowly, his arms raised to their capabilities. Watching her tears caused his own to well. 'I'm so sorry… Fei.' Lucian wanted to say to her, but blood began to fill his throat.
"Lu…Cian?" She muttered his name, feeling the warm, yet cold hand touching her cheek. It quickly turned to pure ice, her eyes quivered. Never in her life had something felt this cold.
'Please… Live on, get out… Of here.'
"L-Lucian…? No, no, no, no! Don't close your eyes!"
"Haru! Take Fei and leave. I'll buy you two some time."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Fei, we need to get away from here now!"
"WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!"
"NO! I AM NOT L-"
From that very moment, everything around Lucian turned dark. Fei's shouts, deafened, gone. The cold feeling of death embracing his body, disappeared. Nothing, just a weightlessness of nothingness enveloped his body.
"Lucian…"
"Lucian… Wake up…"
An audible sigh pierced this void, followed by a freezing sensation pressing against his cheek. Then, a bolt shot down his spine.
"WHA?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, shooting up from the bed he was just in. Reactively, he twisted his entire torso at the culprit of that frigid wake up call. The same white haired demi-human sat there. Her lips carved into a worried frown. "Wh- Why the heck did you do that?!" He asked in a frantic manner, that cold sensation he rubbed with his hand.
The sudden movements he made, caused her to retract her hand instantly; at the tip of her fingers glowed a bright white. After a moment passed, he again asked in a calmer manner. "Wy did you do that?" This time, her fox-like ears flattened, in such a manner it looked like she was afraid of what was to come.
"Y-You, you were moving around, and mumbling in you- Your sleep…" She replied, her ocean blue eyes, that withheld a tinge of purple lowered to the bed they slept on. "S-Sorry… I-I thought you were having a bad dream…"
He let out a sigh, covering his eyes with his hand. "It's fine! It's fine, I don't even remember what I was dreaming about…" He shook his head, his heart finally laid still, and he tried to recall what it was about. 'She really needs to worry less.' Inside his mind, he commented.
Both looked towards their bedroom door, witnessing rays of sunshine illuminating their small room. At the furthest corner, sat a dresser. Due to their financial situation, they could afford to rent a tiny home that only had one bedroom. Thanks to Fei's stubbornness, they slept on the same bed.
"Oh, right!" Lucian shouted suddenly, his brain finally registered what day it was. "We should get ready, I'll meet you outside!" He said to her whilst practically jumping off the bed, rushing to the closet. His mind raced, after so long they were able to save up enough. His thoughts bundled up into incoherent thoughts as he rummaged through the dresser.
Without another word, he sprinted out of their bedroom door. In mere minutes, he switched into a plain old grey shirt, and pants. Thus, he went straight out of the door. Frigid morning air struck his skin at just one step, but none of it dampened his grin.
A few more minutes lapsed, and many circles were made by him. Alas, the door to their home opened. Fei, now in a blue dress, which the top was covered by a long sleeved shirt walked out. She wore brown boots that stopped past her calves.
"Are you ready?" Lucian asked after the door had closed.
"Y-Yes…"
"Alright!"
Instantly, they set off. Lucian was in the front, leading Fei who followed at a distance. Countless glances shot at them, many were filled with disgust, hatred and more. Some just glanced and went on their way. These did not bother him, he had gotten used to them over time. As for Fei, she kept her eyes stuck to the ground, as the eyes directed towards her, she lowered her head further.
As they got closer to their destination, she slowed her pace even further. But Lucian slowed his strides to match hers.
"Just ignore them, okay?" He whispered into her ears, now walking shoulder to shoulder. Seeing her head bob up and down in a nod, he smiled. But, in his gut he knew it was near impossible for her to ignore it.
Sooner than expected, they stopped in front of an incredibly old building. Just above the entrance, there was a sign that had an anvil being struck by a hammer engraved onto it. Under that, the word open was scratched onto another sign.
Lucian turned his head slightly, from a mere look at her, she was incredibly nervous. Her lips were distorted into a frown. "C'mon, don't be nervous alright? We're just buying equipment, it'll be quick! Everything will turn out alright!"
"A-Alright…" Fei responded after a brief pause.
As soon as they entered, a booming voice resounded from the front. "Ay! Welcome to my shop!" He sounded cheery, and gruff. In the distance, a stout man stood behind a counter. Countless miscellaneous items, and weapons littered his counter. He held his arm up high as if to wave at them. "O-Oh, it's- Ahem, I mean if ya need help with anything, come and talk to me alright?!"
"Thank you, we will!" Lucian shouted back whilst returning his wave. 'Thankfully he did catch himself." He thought with a stiff smile, replacing his grin. 'Thank the gods, she wasn't paying attention.'
Fei's eyes were attached to the countless armors that stood in line to their right. Panning slowly to the left, were the weapons that littered the walls. They ranged from greatswords to small daggers, whilst some bows were hidden amongst them.
"Let's go check what he has over there." Lucian said to her. His expression made Fei feel something was off.
"O-Okay.."
She followed him like a lost puppy, watching him slowly creep along the wall. Seemingly, he "looked" at the weapons, but something ate at her. 'He's looking for something.' Fei thought.
In the next moment, they both stopped in front of a dull looking staff. It was carved from a pale, birch type of wood. Melded to the tip of it, was a clear, but cloudy crystal.
'That's… So pretty.' Her mind completely switched from mesmerization to shock once Lucian grabbed it. "L-Lucian we can'- can't Buy this!" She cried out seeing his now smug smile. Her attempts at pulling his arms down were in vain. Of course, there was a temptation in her heart to get it, but it was definitely pricey.
As for Lucian, he turned his body, pulling her on his arm. "Fei, we're buying this."
"St- Stop! I don't need it! I can-!"
"Hey, boss. How much would this cost?" Lucian asked loudly, presenting the staff high into the air. Fei was almost dragged along with this, still latched onto his arm she stood on the tips of her toes.
"l-Lucian! Stop! I don't need it!" She cried out. Her final attempt failed, he just scurried out of her grasp.
"Ah? That ol' thing? You can buy it for roughly fifty coppers."
Lucian's hands clenched, perfectly into their budget! They brought just around seventy coppers. Of course, that'd leave them nigh to nothing, but he felt it was worth it.
"L-Lucian… I, I don't… I don't need it- I- I can just…" Her voice got quiet after witnessing his expression grow. At this point, no matter what she said, or pleaded he was adamant on his decision.
"Now… It's time to find myself a weapon."
Scanning the wall of weapons again, he found a rather dull looking dagger. The blade was a dim sheen of iron, one a blacksmith could easily craft. It was fine with him, his eyes weren't focused on himself.
"Can we purchase these?" He inquired, laying both weapons on the counter.
"The dagger will cost ya, ten copper. While that staff already told ya."
Without a second thought, he pulled a small brown sack from his pants pocket. Next, he fished for six copper coins. Its value correlates to its size, each coin that he brought out snugly fit onto his thumb. Meaning each one was worth ten copper.
For a few minutes, the shopkeeper inspected each coin. Then with an extended hand, he said, "alright, they're all yours! Pleasure doing business with ya two."
"Pleasure doing business with you." Lucian said, returning the handshake. A loud and shocked noise left his mouth as he felt his entire body shoot forward towards the shopkeeper. After a few moments of intense whispers and threats entering his ear, the shopkeeper released his body with a shove.
"Now, get yer arses out of here!"
"F-Fei! Let's get going!" Quickly, Lucian gathered their newly purchased weapons and ushered Fei to the entrance.
'What the heck did he do?' Fei could only question, she could hear what was said between them too, but she couldn't process what was told to Lucian nor what he did. It-It's weird, the shopkeeper was so… Nice and friendly. But shooed us away… Was it because of me?
"Here, take it." Lucian's arm was outstretched with her new staff in his grasps. Small beads of sweat drenched his face. 'I seriously, I seriously hope she didn't hear what he said.'
"T-Thank you… Although- I don't need it…" Fei thanked him, taking the staff and bringing it close to her chest. Following that, some warmth entered her heart whilst looking at it. "I can- I can just…-"
"Fei… I can tell you wanted it, and once we work with other people, you'll need that so you can hide "that" part of you."
"A-Alright…"
'Despite "that" she looks super happy with it!"
On the outside, Fei looked disheartened. Underneath that, he could see the slight movements in her tail, and the small twitches of her ears. This joy spread towards his own heart, leading to him smiling despite the sweat. "You ready to go?"
"Yes… I am."
Once again, they set off to their next goal. However, this journey was different. The looks from bystanders and others bounced off them entirely. Fei, too mesmerized by the staff in her hands, was finally capable of ignoring this. But, halfway there, she nearly tripped over air.
"Haha… Maybe you should pay attention, at least slightly, to where you're going…" Lucian commented beneath his laughter, he covered his mouth whilst watching her cheeks turn slightly red. 'I'm glad, she really does like it.'
Eventually, their journey had ended after half an hour of trudging through the slums. They firmly stood in front of an extravagant building, towering over them and the surrounding homes. Cut above the entrance, the words, "adventurers' guild." stood. Nervousness, excitement and a hint of fear engulfed their bodies.
As Lucian's hands gripped the handles firmly, it felt as if something gripped at Fei's heart. It squeezed with each moment his hands stayed glued.
I'm just going to hold him back…
I've always done that…
He sacrificed everything for me.
Her mind wildly remembered the past. For years, Lucian had talked her ears off to become adventurers. She only agreed to come with him at his request.
Eventually, today came. She could only feel her heart eat at her throat, her legs felt like jello. Her fears of the future enshrouded her mind. But, she couldn't back out now.
He had already bought her the staff. It would take months to make those savings back. He'll abandon me after… After seeing how useless I am. This plagued her mind when the date enclosed. Dark thoughts ceased, hearing the screeching of the doors opening.
So deafening, to the point many gazes of annoyance shot directly at them from outside and within. Yet, Lucian's thoughts stayed optimistic. 'We can finally become adventurers! It took so long, but we can!' He looked at Fei, someone who had been there for him for most of his life.
'I'll make sure she doesn't need to worry.' He thought, a bright and warm smile plastered itself on his face. This time, he felt he could support her. She always did for him, being there if things had gone wrong. 'I wouldn't be here without her, let's go finally.' No words or actions could determine his joy.
With their first step, they walked to their future.