The village of Dosfros was burning. It burned so fiercely that the flames could have been seen thousands of meters into the sky. The moon shone down on the dancing fire, giving the destruction an almost eerie beauty.
The great house at the center of the village had begun to burn as well. It was known for housing the royal family of the village. It was complicated. They had the right by blood, yet they were not allowed to reside in the royal castle of the main lands. So they lived here instead.
Pyal, the father of the two boys, Lux and Friel. In the village, they were known as those of royal blood.
In Lux's room, the fire began to spread. The brown haired fourteen year old slept peacefully in his white fabric bed, unaware that the dancing flames were creeping closer. The wooden floor was already burning.
Suddenly, the wooden door burst open.
Friel, his older brother who had just turned seventeen, stood there with two swords in his hands.
"LUX!"
Friel stood in the doorway, unable to cross the flames. "Lux! Wake up!"
The fire had nearly reached the bed when the boy finally stirred.
"Huh? What is..."
Lux opened his eyes and saw his burning room. No, more than that. He saw his entire world in flames. Yet instead of panicking, he calmed himself instantly. His blue eyes moved quickly through the room.
There.
A gap in the fire.
"Friel, I am going to jump through!"
Friel nodded.
Lux leaped from his white bed and dashed through the flames. By some miracle, he did not suffer a single burn. He ran to the doorway and stopped in front of his brother, a hint of panic now on his face.
"What happened?"
Friel looked down at him, his expression grim. "It is the royal guard. They say General Black is in the village."
Both names were familiar to Lux. His face twisted with anger.
Friel threw him a silver sword. Now both of them were armed. They had been trained as royalty after all.
"That damned bastard..." Friel cursed.
Lux nodded, then suddenly stiffened. "Where is Father?"
Before Friel could answer, they heard a door crash somewhere in the house. Someone was forcing their way inside.
"He was not here!" Friel answered quickly.
Then they saw it.
The wooden door in front of them exploded into splinters. A large knight stepped inside, clad in black armor, an axe in one hand. The royal guard was known for their dark armor.
"So it is true," Lux muttered, raising his sword.
Friel moved into position as the knight stomped toward them.
Without warning, the knight hurled his axe at Lux.
A flash of white.
Friel parried it at the last second.
But the knight had already charged forward. Before either of them realized it, Friel was grabbed by two black gloved hands and thrown across the room. Tables and chairs shattered as he crashed through them.
"FRIEL!" Lux screamed.
The knight seized Lux by the throat and lifted him into the air.
"Argh... F...ri..."
The grip tightened. Lux's sword slipped from his hand. His vision began to fade.
Then—
A sharp howling sound pierced through the window.
An arrow, as fast as lightning, shot straight into the knight's head. With a brutal impact, the armored giant collapsed. The arrow had buried itself deep into his skull.
Lux dropped to the floor, coughing.
"An arrow? From where?"
Pyal stood beside him, hand still extended.
"Lux, are you alright?"
Lux grinned with relief and threw himself into his father's arms.
"Father!"
Friel joined them, nodding gratefully to Pyal.
Pyal remained silent. He leaned close to Lux and whispered something.
Lux did not fully understand it. It sounded like, "It was not me, Lux."
Lux was about to ask what he meant when—
A massive blade tore through Pyal's body.
Lux, standing beneath him, was drenched in blood. His hands trembled as he looked up.
His father's upper body was gone.
Before him stood a far larger knight in thick black armor.
General Black.
It had to be him.
Black reached for Lux, but Friel was faster. He shoved Lux away from the flames. Lux fell through the window.
Time slowed.
The last thing he saw was Black slicing through Friel's hand. His brother's scream echoed through the burning house.
Then Lux hit the muddy ground outside.
Cold night air touched his skin, but inside he felt nothing.
He had lost everything. In seconds.
He lay there in the mud.
I do not want to move. I just want to stay here.
He decided to give up.
Then he heard a voice. It came from nowhere and faded into nothing.
"Stand up, Lux."
It sounded like his father.
"But Father... I do not want to."
No answer.
If he stayed here, he would die.
"No. I cannot die yet!"
Lux sprang to his feet and looked at the burning house. It was moments from collapsing. The entire village was in flames. Screams and the clashing of armor filled the air.
He turned—
General Black crawled out of the burning house behind him, swallowed by fire.
He looked like a demon.
"You damned bastard! I will kill you!" Lux shouted.
He turned and ran.
Black followed.
Lux sprinted past burning houses and corpses. If another knight spotted him, it would be over. Black was slower due to his heavy armor, but still unnaturally fast. He would catch up soon.
"The river!"
If he crossed it, Black would not be able to follow.
Suddenly something grabbed Lux's leg and threw him forward. He slammed into the rocky ground. Blood splattered. His nose was likely broken.
"Damn it!"
He staggered up.
Black stood behind him, laughing.
"Pathetically weak."
Lux noticed Black was not moving.
He ran again.
Why is he not chasing me?
When Lux reached the edge of a cliff outside the village, he stopped.
In the moonlight, a black figure approached.
Black.
With a long sword in his hand.
Without warning, he thrust forward.
A massive wound tore across Lux's stomach.
This was it.
He was going to die.
Cruel laughter echoed.
But it was not Black's voice.
"I am sorry, Friel... Father..."
Lux fell from the cliff.
Blood followed.
He closed his eyes.
That was it. No revenge. No justice. Just an unfair end.
UNFAIR.
Why today? Why did the royal guard betray them now? If only it had been years later. He would have been strong enough to fight.
Instead, the two most important people in his life had sacrificed themselves.
Lux was pathetic.
Pathetic.
He shook his head.
Why can I still think? I am—
He opened his eyes.
A throne room.
Lux was bound in chains, kneeling before a throne.
On it sat—
Him.
A version of himself, twisted in black shadow.
"Do you not find yourself pathetic, Lux?"
The shadow spoke.
The figure on the throne looked like a king of shadows.
A king?
What is a king?
Suddenly the chains shattered. Strength surged through Lux's body.
"Yes. You do think so, do you not?" the shadow continued.
Despite the power within him, Lux was forced to kneel.
"Who are you? What are you?"
"I am a shadow. Or no..." The figure grinned darkly. "I am the shadow."
"But who I am does not matter. What matters is who you are. A weak boy who died in battle? Or a demon who rose from endless flames and claimed his revenge?"
Lux looked up.
"Revenge... Revenge."
Without hesitation, he nodded.
The shadow rose from the throne.
"Good. Then let us make a deal."