Timothy approached the wounded girl with his hands raised. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here to help," he assured her softly.
The girl, possessing penetrating blue eyes, nodded in acknowledgment. Kneeling beside her, Timothy inspected the wound, his concern growing as he observed its severity. A silent question echoed in his mind: So, you really bleed blue blood, huh? What are you?
It was his first time seeing such a thing. Yet, regardless of the mystery, his compassion prevailed. He offered to take her to his home, where his mother's knowledge of medicine could help.
But as Timothy leaned in, the atmosphere shifted abruptly. Without warning, the little girl launched at him, sinking her teeth into his neck. Panic set in. Timothy struggled to push her away, but her grip was unyielding. Slowly losing consciousness, he felt his vitality draining away.
When he regained awareness, the first thing he saw was the little girl, staring at him with a complicated expression. The memory of the attack rushed back. Timothy recoiled, scrambling backward, his eyes never leaving the enigmatic figure.
"You—you bit me," he stammered, his hand instinctively reaching for his neck.
To his astonishment, there was no wound. Confusion escalated to fear as he retrieved a dagger from his boot and examined his reflection in the blade. Strange symbols, forming a chain, glowed faintly on his skin, emitting a purple light.
"What is this? What did you do to me?!" Timothy exclaimed, his voice filled with a mix of fear and bewilderment.
The girl, seemingly amused, brought a finger to her lips, cautioning him to be quiet to avoid attracting predators. She stepped toward him. Timothy raised his dagger defensively.
Contrary to his expectations, the girl knelt, placing her own neck against the tip of his dagger. She locked eyes with him in a silent, mysterious exchange.
"Little boy," she said, revealing her fangs, "don't you think that if I truly wanted to kill you, I would have done it while you were unconscious?"
"Wha—what are you?" he asked, his voice shaking. "A monster? A ritualist?"
Timothy was a smart child, but facing the unknown, he lost his composure. He frantically thought of ways to escape, but his hopes crashed a second later when he heard a sigh. But where did it come from? The girl hadn't moved her lips.
Do you really think you can escape from me?
The voice was in his head. The girl wore a smug look, taunting him. He instantly gripped the dagger tighter, intending to slash at her—but his hand wouldn't move. No matter how hard he tried, his muscles refused to obey.
"You fool," she spoke aloud this time. "You can't kill me. We are now bound to each other."
Timothy's thoughts raced. He didn't know what to do. The monster in front of him could read his mind, and he had nowhere to run.
"You wanted to know what I am?" she interrupted.
She turned around, her back facing him. Slowly, she lowered the bands of the chemise she was wearing, exposing her small back. It was covered in strange markings that looked like floating chains. In the center, two cuff-like symbols emitted a purple light—identical to the mark on his neck.
After the demonstration, she quickly covered herself and looked at him expectantly, as if he should now understand.
"You're a... 'Chained'?" he whispered. "But those are legends used by parents to scare their children. How can they be real?"
"Mmh, is that so?" she scoffed. "You humans are much more naive than I initially thought. In every legend, there's a tiny bit of truth."
Timothy's mind was a mess. He couldn't believe her words, even with the proof standing right in front of him. His denial stemmed from the innate human fear of the unknown. Just a few hours ago, he was on his way to get water, and now...
"Damnit, you're an idiot, Mí'tûr. Mother's probably worried sick," he muttered with a pained expression as realization dawned upon him. Mustering the courage to stand, he spoke up. "I have chores that need to be done. So, if you're not going to kill me, I'll be on my way."
He picked up his sword and walked toward the entrance. One thing the stories emphasized about the Chained was their ruthlessness, but this little girl had directed no killing intent toward him. He took his chances. After all, he had nothing to lose. He simply walked out of the colossal tree, following the trail of dried blue blood back to where he had left his buckets.
On the way back, he tried to forget what had happened, but deep down, he knew his perception of the world had changed forever.
He found his buckets and took the path leading to the river, planning to go home quickly. The river ran along the side of the outer city wall—or to be precise, the magnificent city wall was built directly on the riverbank. How that was possible, no one knew.
He quickly approached the water and filled his two buckets. As he was about to leave, a cheery voice called out.
"Oi, you Mesa bastard! How dare you leave without greeting your river pal?"
A lean, yellow-skinned boy with long, curly ebony hair approached him, a huge smile plastered on his face.
"Oh, I didn't see you there, Jake. How come you are still here this late?" Timothy responded with a smile of his own.
Jake took one of the buckets from Timothy, and they started walking back toward the house.
"Well, have you forgotten that it's your birthday today? I wanted to wish you a happy birthday in person. Ver was also here, but she left. I've been sitting here since dawn, and you showed up midday! Mind you, you've never been late before. And here you are, late and distracted. What is going on with you?" Jake asked, noticing Timothy's unfocused gaze.
"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about the Knight Exams," he responded with a shake of his head.
As the two boys talked, they remained unaware that they were not alone on the narrow path. A pair of blue eyes were fixed on the dark-skinned youth with grey hair as he walked home with his friend.
A few hours later.
It was midnight; his birthday had passed. Timothy found himself immersed in the silent hours, grappling with the memories of the events inside the colossal tree. The weight of the mysterious encounter lingered in his thoughts.
Determined to quell the haunting images, he rose from his bed, the wooden floor cool beneath his feet. The room was bathed in the soft glow of a lone candle, casting long shadows on the walls. He practiced sword forms until his body quit on him, and he eventually fell asleep on the cold floor.
While he was in dreamland, a heated conversation took place between his mother, Gabrielle, and his father, Edward.
"The boy is old enough, Gabby. We have to tell him the truth about this world of ours, about where we came from," Edward said in a soft tone.
His mother lay down, looking at the ceiling with a complicated look in her eyes. "But, Ed, we said we were going to give him a normal and happy life. Not a life filled with ancient dangers and horrors," she said, her voice shaking as if recalling bitter memories.
Seeing his wife's expression turn bitter, Edward pulled her close. "I know, Gabby, I know. But the world is in turmoil. The kingdoms are about to go to war against one another. Many secrets buried in the last war will be revealed to the whole world. It's best if we give our boy a head start and a fighting chance. Plus, he's training to be a knight, which means he'll be on the frontlines facing powers he doesn't know or understand."
Gabby knew Edward had a point. If their son was to survive the impending war, he needed to know what this world truly was.
"Have you heard from Carol? She's been gone for three years now. I tried connecting with her astral form, but I couldn't establish a connection, which means she's very far away," Gabby said, skillfully changing the subject.
"Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you. She sent a handwritten letter this time." Edward got out of bed and went to his table. "Here it is," he said, passing the letter to his wife.
"Hmm, why did she write using Ancient Kafey?" she asked as she started reading.
Dear Family,
Forgive me for not updating you on my whereabouts for the past three years. I have traveled from island to island trying to find the Tablets of Ancient. For the first two years, I found nothing. I had even planned on returning home, but then, one day on an island named Xoj, I overheard a bunch of pirates talking about a place where many ships are lost as soon as they enter its calm waters, never to be found again.
I went to the pirates and asked for the coordinates in exchange for a God Coin, but they refused the payment and gave me the coordinates for free. And guess what? I went there and found out that this place is the rumored Emerald Sea, home of the Cursed. The sea here is dead; the water is acidic. It corrodes the ship before it even reaches the dark island. That's why the pirates said many ships were lost here.
It is here I found the first Tablet of Ancient and the last of the Cursed. But the Cursed said that I can't leave the place with the tablet until she has imparted all her ancient knowledge and power unto me, since she's the only one left out of the four ancient beings. I think I'll be back in a year or two. Please apologize to my nephew that I've missed three of his birthdays. I love you guys, and please take care of yourselves. War is coming.
Love, Carol.
After she read the letter, Gabby understood why Edward was so anxious. "She's found it, huh? But what did she mean that the Cursed wanted to impart her knowledge and power unto her first?" she asked her husband.
"That, I do not know," he answered with a shrug. "It's already past midnight, love. You need to get some rest," he said with a warm smile.
"Okay, but let me go check on him first."
She got out of bed, wearing nothing but a chemise. She went to her son's bedroom and opened the door slowly, only to see the boy sleeping soundly on the floor with his sword by his side. She stared at him for a few more minutes, then closed the door and left.
After the door closed, the figure of a little girl appeared in Timothy's room, hovering above him as he slept.
"Your family is interesting," she said before vanishing, leaving the room as quickly as she had appeared.