Crimson and Furs 2

Chapter One: Dawn

It has been a year since I was introduced into the Cursed[1] world. At first I was confused and afraid. I didn't know how to handle being a Cursed. It was so much fraught with danger that I thought I would perish at any given moment. But I'd been wrong. I didn't perish. Instead I was given salvation, climbing out of the abyss I would have descended into. This salvation wasn't gotten by my own accord. My friends helped me with it and I can't help but feel grateful.

But then, no matter how peaceful I think the world has gotten, I'm very much wrong. After saving the world once from Abyss, I thought I would have the chance to live a normal life. But that was fallacy. There is no normal life after becoming a Cursed. I wouldn't want anyone to even dream of becoming one. I'd been lucky to gain salvation but not everyone would be so lucky.

My name is Daniel Stark and I'm going to reveal to you more dangers of becoming a Cursed. It isn't a wish to yearn for. Desist now that it's too early before it's too late like in my case.

~

"Give us the money now!" a voice rang out in the dark night, causing the old couple to shiver in fear. They were lying flat in their sitting room, a man in black pointing his gun at them. There were three other men in black and they were ransacking the whole place.

"Please," the old man said in a shaky voice as he hugged his wife. "We don't have any money. We're bankrupt."

"You expect me to believe that?" the man who was pointing the gun at them asked, his eyes glaring at them. "Your son works in an oil company and you expect me to believe you're bankrupt?"

"Please, we're telling the truth," the old woman begged as she shivered the more. "Don't harm us please."

The three other armed robbers soon came out with various large bags. One of them said, "Boss, there is a lot of money."

When they heard this, the couple were shocked. Obviously they were at loss as to how they'd gotten so much money without them knowing.

Soon the phone beside them rang and a sunny voice said, "Dad, did you see the bags of money I kept at home? Wanted to surprise you."

"Indeed," the man who was pointing the gun at them said as he grabbed the phone and smashed it on the ground. "I knew you couldn't be poor."

"Boss, let's go," one of the men urged, his eyes darting around nervously. One of his hands was holding a revolver while the other was holding a bag of money which he had just stolen.

"Yeah," the boss said. "Let's go after we've killed this stupid couple."

The gun clicked and he immediately pulled the trigger under the shocked expressions of the other armed robbers. He didn't even leave any room for conversations.

Bang!

There were two loud gunshots, two bullets spewing out of the gun's muzzle. They would have hit the old couple, killing them instantly. But something strange happened.

There was this sudden blurred movement as the two bullets were slashed, a figure stopping in front of the couple. He wore a black hoodie and had his head bowed, darkening his face. His arms were spread apart, his hands opened as if trying to claw something.

"Who the hell are you?" the boss was obviously shocked. He hadn't expected someone to show up in front of the old couple out of the blues and save them.

The figure didn't reply as he slowly raised his head up, revealing a pair of brown eyes which were strangely glowing.

"What the—" the boss was very much terrified after seeing this and didn't even have the chance to complete his statement before pulling the trigger.

The other armed robbers looked at each other and decided to shoot at the figure but it had disappeared into thin air.

"Everybody move out!" the boss yelled and immediately ran out of the living room, firing several shots.

There was a flash of black and a hand grabbed one of the men, lifting him high into the air before tossing him like a piece of rag. The remaining two didn't dare stay behind to check what had happened to their comrade. They immediately ran out of the building like their boss.

"Get to the vehicle!" the boss yelled as he ran towards the SUV parked some meters away from them. "We need to get away from that monster!"

They had already gotten close to the SUV when they heard a loud thud. The figure had already landed on the SUV, causing it to shudder greatly. They watched in terror as the figure slowly raised its head and opened its mouth to let out a deep growl. What they saw caused them to be greatly terrified and they couldn't help but stagger backwards.

The figure had glowing brown eyes and was baring his four large fangs at them, his strong claws extended in readiness to slice through flesh and blood. There was this presence around the figure that caused the armed robbers to feel more terrified. They soon began remembering the urban legends that had been spreading lately in Crimson Springs.

Just lately there have been urban legends of several supernatural sightings. It was said that there was a group supernatural beings who went about in the dark stopping crimes and getting rid of evil doers. It was said that this group contained a werewolf, a vampire, a wizard, a witch, two specters and a zombie cat.

Like normal people they had dismissed the urban legends as mere superstitions. Little did they know they would actually encounter one today. And the feeling of facing one of the supernatural beings mentioned in the urban legends was very terrifying.

"I think I need to be more strict on you criminals," the figure said in a very deep voice. It then moved in a blur towards the armed robbers and their screams echoed through the whole place.

Soon the figure was seen standing in the midst of unconscious armed robbers. He soon turned sharply to look in a particular direction before running away. He dived into the air and landed on the wall before climbing across it, escaping into the darkness. After some moments police sirens echoed in the distance.

The figure kept on leaping from one building to another till it landed on the rooftop of a six floored building. Another figure was already waiting for him and it was dressed in a crimson shirt and pair of pants with combat boots. There was a large vial at his right side and he was playing with a strange liquid in the air. The liquid was glowing and emitting the scent of blood.

"You were much reliable than I expected," the charming male voice said. His voice seemed to have the power of sucking those who heard it to himself.

His red eyes sized up the hooded figure, his gorgeous face bearing a captivating smile. Interlaced with that smile was the expression of pride. It was as if he was looking down on everything around him.

The hooded figure stood up slowly before retracting his claws. He then gradually removed the hood, revealing a handsome and young but mature face. His hair was brown and curly, his lips narrow. Overall he looked very much like a teenager.

"I think we have to meet up tonight, Daniel," the red eyed boy said as he controlled the liquid to swirl into the vial.

"Tonight?" Daniel couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "Did you find something, Orpheus?"

Orpheus' expression became serious as he said, "I discovered something very terrifying. If we don't tackle it, another apocalypse is imminent."

At that time it dawned on Daniel that the forces of darkness had never died. In fact they had been secretly working to bring about the apocalypse which he and the other Curious Mythologists had prevented earlier. The dawn of unrest had begun.