- - - Raelith Graywet Pov- - -
I'm Raelith Graywet. I'm not a complicated guy; for me, if I get a roof over my head and three meals a day, that's enough. In these past few days, I seem to have lost myself. Lately, I have been having these thoughts that I didn't possess at all. It's as if some foreign force has gripped me. I feel tired, this place is so dark, so much dark, I want to escape, but I can't control my body like usual as the day passess I lose a part of myself.
'I wonder, have I gone to that place again, huh?' I muttered as memories of the distant past resurfaced.
It was eight years ago, back then I was just a child. That day it was raining, and the sky was bright red with an orange hue. That day, I learned about those creatures, the disaster dwellers.
"Raelith, why don't you listen to me. Again, you went to the forsaken forest!!" My mother shouted at me. She had scarlet-red hair just like mine, emerald-green eyes as deep as a jungle, wore a black gown, and had her hair tied in a ponytail. I clearly remember that day, and at that time, I should have listened to my mother because that event changed my whole life.
War broke out, and the titans swarmed the continent. As a great house, my father was dragged into the war too because we were the top power house besides the royal family.
That was the war of titans, one of the greatest turning points for humanity. I was beside my mother all this time, but at that time, we didn't realize how naive we truly were. The Titans weren't the main force that was our enemy; it was the third party. The vile entity, a filth beyond reason, the demons.
One day, I sneaked out from the mansion and went to the Forsaken Forest. Then I would go to the usual spot, where I had a friend, who wasn't the same age as me; he was older, he was in his late 30s. His name was Freyrith, just Freyrith. He had pale skin, red eyes, something identical to a horn, but they were too soft to be considered horns, so I ignored the fact. He wore strange clothes I had never seen or knew the name, but I knew it was a combat suit of some sort. He would teach me different things that people around me had any knowledge.
"Raelith, today I'll teach you a technique!" Freyrith spoke with his usual amused demeanor. He stated he would teach me some technique which was hard to come by, even though we were a noble family; it was still hard.
He stood up from his seated position and drew his long katana. Out of nowhere, black substance formed, and strange, thick red and black gradient color tendrils erupted from the earth, and Freyrith had no difficulty controlling them. The tendril itself was grotesque and looked like it came from hell itself. But regardless of the abomination, I admired him; He was strong, he had cool clothes which I didn't get to see everyday so naturally as a kid I was drawn toward him, who could blame me.
At that time i didn't think why war hadn't reached our mansion, despite we were the closest to casualties of the war. Before my mother could notice i would be back to the mansion without drawing suspicion. There was a specific time when my mother would sleep and wake late, so I had the chance to sneak out.
"Mother, look, my friend taught me a technique." Once I decided to show my mother the technique I had honed beyond perfection. Normally, one would need to spend years mastering a technique, but that particular technique was abnormally easy to master in a short amount of time. The more I honed the technique, the more I started to feel something stir within my soul itself. My scarlet red hair started to become paler, and my eyesight was weakening. The bright colors appeared dull. Unlike Freyrith, my tendrils were blueish black with sharp thorns.
I took my mother to an open field to show my technique. She had her own doubts but didn't ask about her concerns.
"Hollow-devourer: Abyss style!" I muttered, and cracks started to appear in the earth itself. Then the ground tore open as dark blueish black tendrils erupted. The thorns of my tendrils increased in size until it war one centimeter long each. They coiled around me; it was much more grotesque and brutal.
"Raelith…Where?" My mother's face darkened as she witnessed the technique I performed. Fear etched across her face; it terrified her.
"Who is this friend who gave you such a technique?" She asked me as if she recognized that thing clearly.
"It was Freyrith, he teaches things mother and father don't know," I replied painfully.
"Its true, saintess Lyra." A voice spoke, and it was chilling.
It was Freyrith, but unlike our previous encounters, he appeared way too different. Now his skin appeared ashen, pale gray, crimson eyes, four horns potruded fromboth side of his head. Instead of nails, he had sharp claws, beneath him a massive shadow stretched on as far as eyes could see. It was as if it were the abyss itself.
"Shadow Eater," Freyrith muttered, and the next moment we were swallowed. But what followed was a disaster no human ever wants to witness.
- - -
At that time, Raelith didn't realize how naive he was. The person he admired, deemed as a brother in arms, turned out to be disaster itself. But it was far from over because the real disaster was yet to begin.