Chapter 0: Prologue

“Try and look over there”

“My lord, there’s a creek down on the far right, it might be the one we’re looking for. It leads to a cave.”

“Have everyone gather themselves”

Lord Reynold Devine had all his men on stand by, their swords drawn and their familiar beast at their side, brewing in excitement.

“Augustus!”

A bird-like beast flew past all their heads and with a wave of his hand, they all charge. The adventurers all followed him, his eyes narrowing to look ahead for an enemy.

Please be alive.

Reynold was the first one to arrive inside the cave.

He expected a bandit to attack him the minute he stepped inside but only found darkness and silence. He did not let his guard down and had his men stop at the entrance of the cave least it is a trap instead.

“Hold!”

“My Lord, it’s dangerous to be in the front.”

Maj spoke and disobeyed his orders as he entered inside and guarded him with intent.

They waited for a minute and then more but there was no one who greeted them.

Was this perhaps another dead end?!

But then he took a few steps forward, it was then he smelled something horrible.

“Maj, draw a fire.”

His guard did as he was told, as fire appeared in his hands. The cave was illuminated but the contents inside were horrific and baffling.

The floor of the cave was littered with bodies all splattered with blood and dirt and clearly decomposing from the forming larvae on their body. Just by their eyes could see there were already 6 bodies, they were afraid of what they would find the deeper they go in.

“What can you report?”

“Well, they died most probably by stabbing, as their bodies have holes in them but holes are too thick for any thrusting swords. If I could guess, a monster could likely have caused this.”

Lord Reynold took a closer look for himself. He noted that the entry wounds were

from their backs and the blood spatter was pointed towards the exit of the cave.

“These bandits were attacked while they were attempting to run away. So there’s a possibility that if we continue to enter, we might meet this monster as well.”

Knowing this, he still cannot let himself go back empty-handed.  He was so close. If the bandits are present then that means she’s here.

“We will continue. Form a pair and look out for each other’s back. Expect to fight a monster. Those who wished to back out should go now.”

Those who heard his word all let out a firm grunt and stayed to support him. Because of this, they set out to go deeper into the cave.

More and more bodies were found. All dead with all the same puncture wounds.

Finally, they arrive at the main dwelling. The smell was ten times worse than the tunnels they just passed. On the air flew, a feast for them as more than 20 corpses lay on top of each other.

“My Lord, Do you think she could have survived?”

He glared at the man who tried to test his patience by uttering those hateful words. The man quickly knew his mistake and bowed in grievance.

“I apologize for my words, duke Devine. I mean no disrespect.”

“My Lord, we should start looking.”

Maj had managed to stop him from going after the adventurer, who spoke out of turns, and only glared before yelling for everyone to look around.

The room was bigger than they expected so they have to split up into two groups, putting up lights in front of the corpse in the chances that she was hidden under the dead bodies.

The more he could see the lifeless husk of these bandits the more scared he was over the reality of losing her.

“Lord Devine! We’ve found her!”

His heart swelled, his feet quick and alert as he quickly sprinted in the direction of Maj’s group. In just a flash, he arrived.

“Where is she?!”

Maj’s expression was grim, if he looked closer, he could determine a bit of fear. When Maj pointed in the small crevice of a hole in the wall, Lord Devine had to poke his head inside and draw light to see.

His heart stopped at what he saw. His daughter, Evelyn Regalia Devine, was sitting on an earth-made throne, her body stripped bare naked, her skin full of scars and marred with dried blood, and her cheeks a shade of red.

Using his burst magic, he open the hole and entered inside. He cradled the body of his daughter in his arms and felt them cold to the touch.

“Evelyn. Wake up. Please wake up.”

He couldn’t breathe properly, as his cries overburdened his lungs.

Maj came around him and looked over his daughter’s body.

“My Lord. I think she’s still alive.”

“What?”

Maj moved his hands and touched her neck before closing his eyes. Lord Devine waited, his own emotions hoping that he was right.

“I can feel a pulse. It's small but it's there. We need to have a physician have look at her.”

He carried her body back to their estate, whiled Maj had to go look for the physician in the city. When he arrived he hurriedly asked the maids for clothes and hot towels to clean and warm her body.

The physician arrived no later than 10 minutes and quickly looked at her daughter’s condition.

“This is bad. Her core is very unstable and she seemed to have sustained several injuries.”

“Can you still heal her?”

“I can try but there is no guarantee. Even now, she’s barely breathing.”

“Do everything you can. That is all I ask.”

“Have everyone vacate the room.”

“Can I stay? I know a few healing incantations. Maybe I can help.”

“Vivian…”

“Please.”

“Then you can stay. Everyone, please leave us.”

Lord Devine waited in his office, his body could not stay still as he paced back and forth, thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

As if everything wasn’t already in the worst state!

“Where did I go wrong? Where?”

“I don’t think you should be blaming yourself, my lord. You couldn’t have known that

they were planning to kidnap Lady Evelyn.”

“But they did it to get to me! Doesn’t that put the blame on me?! I, her father, should have been able to protect her!”

“Of course not. I also believe Lady Evelyn thinks the same way.”

His face turned even more depressed at this thought. “Then you don’t know my daughter at all. ”

Before plopping down on his seat, his mind returned to the Black room and thought how much of a pathetic father he had become.

“Is she okay now?”

The physician finally met up with him at midnight. His face doesn’t look optimistic, further throwing him in a loop.

“I closed up all the wounds that I can. Yet, there’s nothing I can do for her internally. Her pulse is still weak and her core even more unstable than before. I don’t want to tell you this but I suggest you prepare for the worse. I’m sorry.”

He walked past the physician to visit her daughter. The room she was in held a deeper meaning to him and now with her daughter on her death bed, it somehow had an opposite effect. He could see Vivian sleeping at the foot of Evelyn’s bed, exhausted from helping her daughter.

Reynold wanted to thank her but let her sleep for now. He took a chair, put it beside the bed, and reached out a hand on his daughters. He gripped it tight and held it close to him.

Suddenly, he couldn’t keep his tears from falling.

“Please wake up. Wake up. I don’t want to lose you like your mother. I promised her.”

There was no movement but he still pleaded until morning came.

“My Lord. I hate to tell you this but a messenger from the capital had requested your presence. What should I do?”

Reynold gave his daughter’s hand a soft kiss and laid it by her side. He can’t do anything for her now. Even if he waited, he was more afraid of actually staying and waiting for her heart to stop. He was too selfish to admit that he didn’t want to stay for it.

So he followed Maj to meet the messenger and failed to see that Evelyn had moved her hands. Ever so slightly.