The night sky was filling with these light spheres, like stars, but stars don't get bigger over time.
“Is that…” Aryn trembled as he spoke. “Is that…?” The sight was unbelievable to Aryn. As a shut-in, he only saw his window as a way to look at the neighbors’ house wall and nothing else. Looking outside his window could never be more surprising than seeing a bug trying to get in or hearing raindrops tapping against the glass in winter, so the fireballs falling from the sky left him paralyzed with fear.
“Oh,” said Leheen calmly. “How lucky. We’re just in time to go to the cellar. Let’s go.” She walked a few steps out of the room, but when she looked back, Aryn was still staring at the window.
The quiet life that I was looking for… is impossible.
“C’mon. We should go downstairs.” Leheen pulled him by the arm out of the room.
The entire city is getting bombed, and she looks like nothing is happening at all. She even looks happy. Her smile is so pretty. Leheen is so brave.
When they got to the cellar, Erivertz and Casia were waiting downstairs.
“What took you so long?” asked Erivertz.
Leheen laughed as she held Aryn’s arm and guided him down the cellar stairs. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide open.
“Aryn’s scared! Hahaha. Just look at your face.”
The ground shook, and blasts could be heard in all directions as the fireballs landed on the city.
Angels, demons, humans. Those were the most predominant races on this planet, all seeking to become the conquerors of the old world, but only one could be named the owner of everything.
More than 150 years ago, Capar, a human, led the conquest of all the land that belonged to angels and demons and made it his own under the name of Kinsatin, the land of the three united regions.
Capar began producing heirs by mating with hundreds of demons and angels whom he considered the most beautiful and lustful. His two most powerful and intelligent sons, who would control the land as a whole, were a demon and an angel. Paathan and Keerkhe.
But everything changed when Capar had his third powerful son, Ru’Naan, a demon-angel hybrid.
He looked like a human, but at birth, he emitted more magical energy than both his brothers combined. He grew up to become the most powerful creature in the world at just 10 years of age.
Jealous of their brother, Paathan and Keerkhe maliciously warned their father about Ru’Naan, claiming that he would grow up to destroy the world because he would be unable to control his power in the future.
Capar, deeply worried, went to the diviner, who told him that a great war would unfold over the conquest of the world and that the three regions would be separated, with brothers fighting to the death.
Capar had no other option but to deceive Ru’Naan into sealing his power inside an artifact and sending him on an expedition into the unexplored world to hide it where no one could find it.
Still, Capar was overwhelmed with sadness.
He became bedridden, and soon sickness took his life. He was deeply depressed by the premonition that his three beloved sons would fight over control and power, destroying everything he had built.
After Capar’s death, the kingdom of Kinsatin was taken over by Paathan, Keerkhe, and an underpowered Ru’Naan.
Each would control one of its three provinces, named after the celestial bodies that Capar had used as his guide for conquering the old world.
Sovil, the land of the burning sun.
Chanderay, the land closest to the moon.
And Aral, the land of the stargazers.
Angels, demons, humans. All coexisted in peace in the kingdom until the third generation. The current kings of Sovil and Chanderay were plotting to conquer the world.
The provinces eventually separated, beginning expeditions into unexplored lands with the intention of gaining more territory and military power. However, the conquests were failures at best. The only thing they gained was some influence over the nations that resisted them.
Their greed led them to learn about the story of the strange artifact with immeasurable power, and they saw it as an opportunity to gain control over the entire world.
And so the war began. Both the kings of Sovil and Chanderay attacked each other and the third region, Aral, to prevent its king from getting involved in the race for the artifact. On the other hand, the king of Aral, warned by his father about the sealed power that had to remain sealed, was doing his best to reach out to both of them and stop the war, which was causing the loss of thousands of lives.
However, the attacks never stopped, and the king, as much as he hated it, was forced into the war to repel his former allies, defend against their attacks, and try to reach a ceasefire. All his efforts were in vain. Because of his father’s warning, he believed that to prevent the prophecy from bringing about the end of the world, he had to seek peace without violence.
Oyanto was a city in Aral that was constantly attacked by both Sovil and Chanderay because it was close to their frontiers.
A large chain of cold mountains kept the terrestrial troops at bay, which led to most attacks being airborne, whether by fireballs, dragons, or, in some cases, specialized terrestrial troops that could easily withstand the extreme climatic conditions of the mountains.
Erivertz locked the cellar door and walked down the wooden stairs.
“Another attack. I don’t know how much longer we can take this. I think it’s time we finally get out of the city.”
“Erivertz! Don’t be blasphemous. We need to be here for the people who have nowhere else to go. Only Zho Taath can decide if we live or die.” Casia said.
“Are you blind? Are you out of your mind?” Erivertz said, raising a hand and making Casia flinch. However, he soon lowered it. “We have the means to leave. That is her signal for us to go somewhere else. We serve more alive than dead!”
“Then I’m not going with you,” Casia said, looking away from him. “You can go wherever you want, but I will remain true to my faith.”
Erivertz sighed, putting his hand on his forehead.
Suddenly, the ground trembled again, knocking over several jars of preserved food and shattering them on the floor. A loud blast followed, leaving everyone deaf for a few seconds.
“Whoa!” said Leheen, covering one ear and holding Aryn’s hand.
Erivertz lunged at Casia to embrace her as she shrieked in terror.
Aryn fell on his ass and covered his head with his arms, anticipating the stone floor collapsing on top of them. Leheen stood beside him, patting his head.
“Hmm, that hit a bit close, huh?”
“It may have been the Aster’s house,” said Casia.
The bombardment ended, but that wasn’t the end of the attack. A small group of a hundred demon knights galloped through the streets on their Cerberuses, rushing at anyone who was outside their homes and killing them while letting out screeching battle cries.
Luckily, the Aralian royal forces were deployed. What humans lacked in strength and magic, they made up for in numbers and tactics. The advance of the demonic troops was quickly stopped by a relentless counterattack from skilled knights riding their horses at blinding speeds. Their long swords were just as fast, decapitating some of the demons and slashing through their creatures’ bodies.
The remaining demons quickly retreated to the mountains, blending into the fog. The 100 demon knights had been repelled, but 140 human soldiers had lost their lives.
When the city fell silent, they all went outside to see what had happened. They saw many buildings on fire and others demolished. Some women and men screamed and wept as they held the bodies of their relatives, who had had no time to reach a safe place.
“What a massacre,” said Erivertz. “This is what we get for having such a cowardly king who won’t attack back.”
Another window popped up in Aryn’s head.
[The king and his son have been killed. First awakening: The King’s Mark
Mission:
Retrieve the divine relic and save the world 0/1
4 years : 364 days : 23 hours: 59 minutes: 58 seconds]
Aryn’s right rib began to hurt so much that it felt as if someone were branding his side with a hot iron. He fell to his knees, writhing in pain.
“Aryn!” Leheen turned toward him.