The continent of Balarukh was the place that the heavens and hells envied. A place that not only saw prosperity but had witnessed an unimaginable amount of death. There lived many different species in harmony, or at least right now. It was not known to any when this world was formed and what happened after it did. The only history everyone knew and had any idea about was since the era of prosperity. Life flourished throughout the world. This world saw entire civilizations rise and fall.
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In the mainland, a small delicate looking figure was running through the dense forest.
People chasing that person seemed to lack agility and were being left behind. His speed was impressive enough.
The darkness that was eloping the wild seemed to be in that person's favour. Those who were chasing him were on the verge of losing the visuals on him.
.
.
After a while they stopped under a giant tree to get hold of their breaths, "How fast does that guy have to be to run like that?" asked one soldier.
"Must be someone who's familiar with the terrain", one of them replied to which all nodded.
.
After looking around a while and not being able to find even a clue around, they left that place cursing the thief.
Once it was clear that the soldiers were no longer around, the boy stepped out of the bushes he was hiding in.
.
…
"Damn, that was a close call. Though I managed to get my hands on the relic. I wonder what it actually does?" saying this he took out the relic that seemed to glow in the darkness, giving a bit creepy vibe.
Under the darkness, he suddenly sped up through the trees after casually putting the relic away in his sack again.
.
.
...
Back in Arboria, King Evan was holding a party, in which he had invited many nobles and royalties.
After all, this was his eldest son's, Nicholas's birthday and he also wanted to introduce him to the royalty.
.
"Sire, I apologize as we were unable to find the prince", one of the guards reported to the King.
"Where did he go, isn't this his brother's birthday.
I thought he would've grown tired of his plays and yet.."
before he could continue he was interrupted by a voice, "Can't help it father, if that's what he wants, we should just let him be." Merida replied while concealing a piece of meat stuffed in her mouth.
"You both really over exaggerate things.
My King, we should know he's your son and our brother Merida, no harm will come to him.
With that being said, I believe he never liked such events in the first place, right?
He'll come, we should be on our way as well My Lord" Nicholas, who was attending guests a while back, tried to relieve his father.
.
"There he is",
"whoa, the crown prince surely has the charm".
There was quite a chatter in the hall. People seemed to be enjoying the crown prince's birthday.
.
.
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With all the guests gathered inside the main hall, the castle was pretty much unoccupied and thus was left with fewer than usual guards. Everyone was guarding the main hall as all the important figures were there.
Using this opportunity a shadow sneaked inside the castle and rushed through the hallway until it reached one of the rooms.
Just as he entered the room he felt cold metal touching his neck, he soon realized the cold metal surely was a blade and gulped for a moment.
The person holding the dagger casually took his hood off, "Took you so long, were you lost?
Don't tell me you actually made it, The-o-dore?
That…"
before she could continue, he turned and twisted his body while jumping over her and landing behind her flimsy figure. That sudden twist in his motion made her twitch and lose the grip over the dagger which that buy elegantly caught and put again her delicate throat.
“You're losing your grip Vivian, sometimes it is better to stay on guard even around the people you know!" he seemed to grin a bit as he replied in low voice, almost whispering in her ears.
That close encounter surely was a bit unpleasant for her, his face was awkwardly close to her ear. She could feel his breath at that distance.
This made her blush with embarrassment.
She made a squeak as she grabbed him by his hands, and threw him off by lifting him in a way he almost lost his hands.
Thud!
A huge bang and the shivering shadow could be seen on the ground, "W… Wh... What the hell you think you're doing so close Theo?".
"Argh,
that could have killed me, Vivian.
Be careful with your strength Vivi, you want me dead or what?
And yeah I did get my hands on it. Seems like your sources are a bit reliable."
He said while standing up, shaking the dust off his clothes, and taking out the relic he had discovered.
"That's rude,
I helped you and you give such a rude compliment as thanks.
Huh!
Next time you come to me whining about Intel, I'm not going to tell even a single word. And why did you go right away?
Didn't I clearly tell you about the security is tight right now? Goodness, and moreover you kept me waiting on your brother's birthday too."
.
“Birthday!”
.
That sounded like news to him,
"Birthday?
Who's?
Nicholas's?
Is it today? Of all days!
God! Dad's going to kill me. Did it start already?"
He hurriedly started to look for suitable clothing set in one of the closets while asking.
"Yeah,
they surely would have finished up with the cake as well.
And you idiot, because of you even I am missing from the event."
With a slight blush, Vivi replied.
"Which one's better?
This one's a bit flashy right?"
Theo asked to which he received a sharp glare from Vivi.
"I think I'll put this one on." He hurriedly changed his clothes and came out of the closet only to find Vivian standing with a red face.
He hadn’t realised that he changed before her, that much cosy he was around her!
‘Gosh, how can he even change in front of a girl! Idiot’
.
Without looking at her flustered expression he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, in his hand, he held a gift that he had prepared long ago.
In the hall, everyone was greeting the crown prince for his 25th birthday. Nicholas was now a full-fledged grown-up,Many girls were trying to eye on him, no wonder there, he'd definitely become a king one day and he was extraordinarily handsome as well.He had the charm to make any girl fall for him.The nobles were also trying to gain his attention for future relations to get stable.."Nicholas,forgive me if my taste is bad but, I tried to score the best sword our blacksmith could produce.Here take this, I call 'Raḯa', a sword forged to slay evil, or so.Do you like it?"
"Theo!The-o-dore!What happened?Wait a minute!" Vivian was running to catch him along with Nicholas.After Theo left the dine abruptly they both chased him to his room.They both ran behind him shouting out to him, even the guards tried stepping in but he was too agile to be caught, "Brother,you know our father, please don't get upset by his words.Besides, what can even harm any of us?"Nic tried to pursue Theodore with his words but Theo kept running towards his room with tears in his eyes."I knew he'd pull such a taunt, he knows I d
"Theo!Let me in.Don't shut yourself." Vivian asked through the door."Go away!If you are also going to persuade me into this, just leave." His reply made her skip a beat. She felt rejected but she wasn’t ready to give up.She remembered the first time she met Theodore.Theodore was 8 years old when his mother passed away. That tragedy left him with a deep scar.He had shut himself from the world. He wouldn't even eat properly.He also stopped talking to people. Everyone was worried to the bones, he looked like the saddest figure alive.
"I'm sorry for leaving with such rude manners,I hope I am not being a bother to you all." Vivian apologized to all at dining with a bow.She looked no less beautiful than a goddess. The posture and her manner almost blushed everyone.With her charm, she was able to pull Jason out of the awkward situation."Don't let it concern you, Lady Vivian and even your father have been attending us.What more could we ask?"One of the nobles replied to which she nodded."With that being said, Brother Nicholas, what did he gift you?What good luck charm you talked about?" Vivian asked while sitting on her chair.
The following day, before anyone could wake, Theodore tried to sneak out of the palace.He quietly left the room and walked towards the end of the hallway.He pushed the door and tried to peek,but just as he thought he was clear, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed him from behind and pulled him back."You think you can make a fool out of me?You are still a kid to me, stupid." He was startled by being found out by his sister,again."Theo, you need to find something new to try.Well,I assume your ‘Great Escape’ is unsuccessful
In the forest, Theodore was running hurriedly.Something big was chasing him."Damn these beasts,weren't they supposedly dead?How the hell…?".As he complained the creature that was chasing him was closing in. Its roar trembled the forest with fear.That creature was none other than an 'Astral Beast'..As it suggests, the 'Astral Beasts' were life-forms from another plane. Encountering one into one battle was no joke as the creature was extremely powerful. Life beyond the mortal realm was really twisted and no one had a clear idea about anything.
As the stranger said 'Death', all of the soldiers burst in laughter."Captain,death…Ha Ha Ha,death he says…" One of them tried to humor the caption while controlling his laughter.Theodore, who was on the ground, felt his threat a bit weird, no one in their right mind would willingly go against the soldiers who were trained to kill."Let me relieve you of your misery poor bastard." The one soldier who put the blade on his neck said with a sinister look.Others were also not at guard as the person seemed just like any stranger.Without giving much thought, he raised his sword in the air again to chop his neck.
In the Dungeon, two shadows were speedily running through the caves.From the outside, it looked like a normal cave.The sturdy ruins spoke for the entrance but it was just an entrance, inside the Dungeon wasn’t lined with stone walls but was kept rather raw. As they went further inside, they came to understand that it was by no means any ordinary Dungeon.It was dark and cold inside, and the walls were moist. The wall was lined with crystals and they shone vibrantly in a dazzling way, but that shine wasn’t a lot to guide anyone through.They also encountered various traps, then there was a complex maze-like formation with drywalls and also had a relatively high temperature..After walking for about an hour