> "The shadows only exist to run from the light—that's what they always said. But in truth... it's always the darkness that consumes the light, swallowing it whole, until the world becomes a pond of endless despair."
—Leornars
Leornars stepped forward, eyes fixed coldly on the trembling mayor before him.
"You can't do this and expect people to accept you!" the mayor shouted, voice cracking.
Leornars didn't flinch. He knelt down, slowly placed his palm on the mayor's face—then slammed his head against the wall with a deafening thud.
"This world rejected me. You treated my very existence like a curse," Leornars muttered darkly. "I only ever wanted a normal life… with my mother. But you and your dogs took everything from me."
His voice cracked—not with weakness, but with wrath. He grabbed the mayor by the hair, yanked him forward, and hurled him violently across the room. The man crashed into a desk with a sickening crunch.
"I promised I'd send you to the depths of hell. I always keep my word," Leornars said as he picked up a broken shard of glass.
He began cutting the mayor's face—slowly, precisely—until it was unrecognizable. The man screamed, writhing in agony as Leornars moved to his legs, using the jagged fragment to carve into flesh. Blood pooled. Hours passed. The mayor's feet were torn off with brutal patience.
"Don't worry. It's just you and me," Leornars whispered. "All your precious guards... are somewhere far more peaceful."
The lights outside flickered. Someone was approaching. Leornars frowned.
"Tch. I can't even catch a break... filthy dogs."
He turned back to the mayor. His coat now gone, he seized the blunt sword and drove it through the man's chest. With a sick grin, he dug his bare hands between the ribs and ripped them apart.
The mayor screamed again—less human now, more animal.
Leornars found another glass shard, pried the man's mouth open, grabbed his tongue—and sliced it out.
"Finally. Some peace and quiet."
He began removing the mayor's organs, arranging them around the floor in a twisted display—part rage, part ritual. Then he turned to the barely-conscious husk of the man and stabbed both of his eyes with the sword.
"…That's for my mother."
He sat beside the mayor's body for nearly an hour, staring into nothingness.
Finally, he stood, picked up a glass fragment—and carved out the man's heart. He tossed it into a corner without looking back.
Still soaked in blood, Leornars left the mayor's manor and made his way into the village. He entered a nearby house.
Inside was a familiar face—the town's baker. The man who had stood silent when Leornars' mother was taken.
Without hesitation, Leornars lunged. He plunged a shard into the man's eye, then grabbed a fork from the table and stabbed him in the neck. As the man collapsed choking, Leornars spotted a kitchen knife and drove it deep into his chest, ending him.
Then he heard them—a woman's gasp, and a child's cry.
A boy stood in the doorway, staring at his dead father. Rage overtook him. He grabbed a dagger and charged.
Leornars sidestepped easily, disarmed him, and kicked him in the jaw. The child flew back into his mother's arms.
"Stay out of this, or I'll cut you down too," Leornars warned, voice devoid of emotion.
"You killed my father! And you expect me to let you go?!" the boy shouted.
Leornars turned away, walking toward the door. "Then grow stronger. Stronger than your pathetic dog of a father. And come find me."
With that, he vanished into the forest.
A group of villagers gave chase, torches in hand. But just as they reached the edge of the trees, a blinding white light shot down from the heavens and engulfed Leornars—then disappeared.
He was gone.
"…What just happened?" one of the villagers murmured.
"The gods," another said, eyes wide. "The gods descended... and killed the demon child."
They turned back, fear silencing their footsteps.
The forest clearing where Leornars once stood was now barren—scorched, silent, and lifeless.
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