My eyelids opened very slowly. At first, everything was just flashes of white and black light. They blurred together and hurt my head. I tried to blink, but even that felt hard. My whole body ached like someone had beaten me with rocks.
"Argh," I groaned. My voice came out weak and rough, like sandpaper. "Am I in heaven?"
A deep laugh came from somewhere in the dark. "Hahaha! You're not in heaven yet, my friend. You're alive…" The voice echoed off the walls around us. "You're still within the walls of Aslan."
I tried to sit up, but nothing moved. "Argh, why can't I move?" I asked. I wanted to lift my right hand to rub my eyes, but it refused to budge. It felt stuck. Tied. I pulled harder. Still nothing. Something rough and tight held my wrists behind me, wrapped around a cold, hard pillar.
"Don't bother moving around too much, my friend," the voice said again. It sounded closer now. "I tied you up very well to that pillar behind you."
I turned my head as much as I could. Pain shot through my neck. "Who are you?" I asked.
The man stepped out of the shadows. He was huge. Taller than any man I had ever seen. At least seven feet. His body was wide and strong, covered in dark armor that gleamed faintly in the dim light. The armor looked heavy, but he moved easily. Only his face showed. Fair skin. Sharp eyes. A short beard. A big sword hung on his back, longer than my arm. "When I found you buried in the rubble," he said, "I dragged you out. I didn't know if you'd survive. Your bones were cracked in many places. You had lost so much blood. I had to do a little treatment on you to keep you alive." He paused and smiled a little. "Call me Jacob."
I took a deep breath. My chest hurt. "Call me Alucard," I said. "Thank you for saving me… but I would have preferred you left me there to die. At least I would have been with my family by now."
Jacob shook his head slowly. "Heh, don't be foolish, friend," he answered in a calm, gentle tone. "You survived this Horde. That means something greater awaits you from here onwards. The gods don't let a man live through hell for no reason."
I didn't answer. I just stared at the ground. It was cracked stone, covered in dust and ash. The air smelled bad—blood, smoke, burned wood, and something worse. Death. I closed my eyes for a second and saw Lily's face. Elias's tiny hands. Then I opened them again.
With a sharp twist of my wrists, I pulled hard. The ropes snapped like dry twigs. They fell to the ground in pieces.
"Ah," Jacob said. He didn't look surprised. Just interested. "Seems my eyes were right about you. You're not ordinary, are you?" His focus locked onto my face. His mouth smiled, but it was the kind of smile that hid a secret.
I rubbed my wrists. They were red and sore, but the feeling was coming back. "You tied me up," I said. "Testing me? Or afraid of what I might do?" I stood up slowly. My legs shook, but they held. "Though I'm not bothered about that."
Jacob didn't answer my question. He just asked another. "My question remains unanswered. Tell me, friend—who are you? Are you ordinary? Or extraordinary?" He pushed a big clay jar toward me with his foot. It slid across the floor and stopped at my feet. Water sloshed inside.
I picked it up. It was heavy. I lifted it to my mouth and drank. I drained the whole jar in one go. Cool water ran down my throat. Some spilled on my chin. I wiped it away with my sleeve. The dust on my clothes fell off in clouds as I moved.
"I'm Alucard of the Blade Arts," I said. I looked around the destroyed tower we sat in. The walls were broken. The roof was gone. Only a few stones still stood. "I'm as ordinary as they come. Like you." My voice was flat. I didn't feel ordinary. I felt empty.
Jacob nodded. "I'm Jacob, a swordsman," he said. "I used to be the commander of the king's guard. Or what's left of it." He looked sad for the first time. His eyes went to the ground.
"But my, my," he continued, "I must confess, though—it is rare to come across a Blade Art user. Fate has a cruel sense of humor, don't you think?" He smiled again and stroked his chin with one big hand. His gauntlet made a soft metal sound.
I didn't smile back. "Jacob," I said, "once again, thank you for saving my life. Now tell me—how many days has it been since you found me? And what's the current situation of the kingdom?" I tapped my clothes. More dust fell. It floated in the air like gray snow.
Jacob looked up at the sky through the broken roof. It was blue, but filled with smoke. Vultures circled high above. "It's been a week already since I found you in the rubble," he said. "A week since the destruction of the kingdom." His voice got quieter. "The king is dead." His gauntlet fists trembled. The metal creaked under his grip. "Thousands of swordsmen—gone. Hundreds of mercenaries—dead. Many others I cannot name right now."
He took a deep breath. "I lost my wife, my child, and my brother. Before I got to where they were, the Horde had already gotten to them. I found their bodies in our home. I buried them myself. In the ruins. Then I went back to the palace. The king's personal guards had all been wiped out. Along with the king. And the royal family."
He looked at me. His eyes were hard. "This Horde came to pass judgment on everything."
I felt the pain rise in my chest again. Like a knife. "My wife and child—gone," I said. My hands clenched into fists. My nails dug into my palms. "I couldn't save them." I looked at Jacob's fair face. His body was bigger than mine. Seven feet tall. Strong. His dark armor covered everything except his face. That big sword on his back looked heavy enough to cut a horse in half. "I tried to save them. But fate had other plans for me."
Jacob nodded slowly. "Seems we all went through the same fate," he said. "Though it feels like you're keeping something away from me. But don't bother about it much. I too have my very own secret."
I looked down at the dust on the floor. "We had one of the best militaries in the world," I said. "Still, the Horde slaughtered us like our numbers and strength meant nothing to them."
Jacob agreed. "We had numbers, yes. Strong men, yes. Mercenaries, yes. But you cannot compare it to what we were up against." His face turned serious. "I have never in my long life seen demons, monsters, and beasts work together in perfect unison like I saw when they invaded."
I walked a few steps. My legs still hurt, but they worked. "It's also unknown to me," I said. "We Blade Arts users have gone on too many missions in and out of the kingdom to keep count. We've killed monsters for their materials. Slaughtered beasts for their powerful blood. Fought demons to learn from their unmatched savagery and killing intent. But this sudden invasion—it was a shock down to the bone."
Jacob looked up again. The vultures were closer now. "The Horde will reach the Kingdom of Sparta soon," he said. "Their walls won't hold long. But they'll buy time. Time we need to rally survivors who can still fight."
I stopped walking. "How many do you think will be enough to stop this abomination?" I asked. "We couldn't stop the Horde even with our different talents and skills. And we lack enough information about this unprecedented event." I stood up straight. My body still ached, but I was steady.
Jacob shook his head. "We don't need numbers right now, Alucard," he said. "What we need right now is individual skills. Will. Talents. Like you and me. Numbers will only feed the stomachs of the Horde." His eyes burned with fire. "I vow to end this disaster."
He stepped closer. "Tell me one thing, Alucard. How is it that the Blade Arts still exist?"
I looked at him. He continued. "According to the stories, out of the many talents and skills the world was blessed with by the gods, Blade Arts was the rarest of them all. Only a handful of ten persons were blessed with that rare talent and skill. And during the first war of the kingdoms, they all died. Their death brought an end to the greatest war in the world. Or so the stories say."
I started walking again. Slowly. In circles around the broken tower. "That is true," I said. "And wrong at the same time. The stories lie on one end. And speak the truth on the other."
Jacob watched me. "How?" His voice was cold, like the dead bodies outside. His eyes studied my every move.
I kept walking. "The kingdoms went to war," I said. "Not against themselves. But against the Blade Arts. Because they feared the power those ten ancestors of mine possessed. They tried to control it. But the Blade Arts resisted. Then the kingdoms came together under a treaty. They brought a war never seen before—on just ten persons. They succeeded. But not without a heavy loss. My ancestors did not die alone. They slaughtered tens of thousands of different talents and skills before dying on that day."
Jacob rubbed his chin. "The stories lie after all," he said. "But they have one thing in common—death. And how do people who died pass on their talent and skills?"
I stopped walking for a moment. "One of them did not follow the rules," I said. "We Blade Arts users are meant to wait until we age fifty before we marry or have sex with anyone. But one of them did not abide by that rule. And here I am today."
Jacob smiled. A real smile this time. "I see. Well, that is a believable story compared to what I've heard over the years." He paused. "So how many of you are out there right now?"
I pulled my blade from my back. It was still covered in dried blood. I swung it slowly around as I started walking in circles again. "We are ten," I said. "Same number as our ancestors."
Jacob watched the blade. "Join me on my quest, Alucard," he said. He stretched out his right hand. It was big. Strong. Covered in metal. "I will need powerful men like you who would aid me."
I stopped walking. I stood right in front of him. His eyes looked down at me. Serious. Waiting.
"Your quest, Jacob," I said. "Not mine. Find those who are interested in saving the world like you. For now, I just wish to do my own thing." I looked deeply into his eyes. They were blue. Sharp. Full of pain and fire.
Jacob's smile faded. "Healing your body until it recovered wasn't cheap, Alucard," he said. His tone changed. It became harder. Arrogant. "And you were bestowed with the talent and skills of Blade Arts. Don't think I'm letting you leave just like that." His hands clenched into fists. The metal creaked again. Louder this time.