Tragedy

It was nighttime, the villagers were all sleeping peacefully. Luka was no exception. He may once have been an adult, but right now he's a boy. A child needs their sleep if they want to grow healthy.

It has been 2 years since Luka has learned aura. Nothing much has happened in these years. The village is quite peaceful, too peaceful in fact.

Well... that peace is about to end soon. This will be the night that will change everything for young Luka.

...

On the outskirts of the village, a hooded figure appeared out of thin air. Its arms looked like dry branches, as if they'd crumble to dust with just the slightest touch. The hood itself was in tatters. It was holding a long branch-like staff with an embedded red crystal on top.

It looked around, then it muttered under its breath; "K̷̨͙͉͖̈́i̷̛̩̔l̸͎̲̜̪̿̚l̶̘̘̦̀͊͝."

Several shadows shout out behind the hooded figure. After receiving the orders they immediately complied. These shadowed figures had red glowing eyes. There were many of them and each wielded a different weapon.

They rushed towards the village. Just before these shadowed figures reached the village, the hooded figure summoned a giant ball of fire and launched it towards the middle of the village.

BOOM!

A loud explosion sounded and the earth trembled. It immediately woke up the villagers. Some quickly went out of their houses to check the situation. However, the moment they open the door, the shadowed figures attacked. Some sliced the necks of their victims, while some stabbed. They did various ways to kill the unsuspecting villagers.

The screams of the victims echoed. The ones that didn't immediately go out realized what had happened. They were being attacked.

They were confused. Why? Did they offend someone? Why now of all times? What did they do to incur the wrath of the assailant?

They had questions but no answers. They could only fight back or flee. The hunters picked up their weapons. They warned their families to stay inside the house. They went outside and defended against the shadowed figures.

The shadowed figures didn't have much fighting power so the hunters killed them easily. However, the threat lies in their numbers. There were too many.

Dorian was also fighting outside. Protecting the villagers and cooperating with the other hunters. They wanted to evacuate the non-combatant villagers but discovered that the entire village was surrounded.

More fireballs came from nowhere and exploded in the village. Multiple people died and many were injured. More and more houses and buildings are being burned underneath the night sky. Dorian realized they can't escape.

Just then another fireball was shot out. It hit the house where Luka and Linda were hiding. Dorian panicked and ran to where his family is.

"LINDA!! LUKA!!"

However, he was too late. The fireball damaged the house significantly and it collapsed.

"No..."

Dorian fell to his knees and immediately started to dig up the rubble with his hands.

"No no no no no!!"

The shadowed figures noticed Dorian had dropped his weapon. They took advantage of the situation and stabbed his back.

Blood dripped down from Dorian's back. Multiple swords and daggers protruding from his back like a porcupine slowly whittled down his life.

Dorian however didn't care. He picked up his sword and swung it towards the shadowed figures. The figures died quickly but more and more were replacing the dead ones.

Exhausted, Dorian had his guard lowered and got hit again by the barrage of the shadowed figures.

Dorian fell. Seeing that their victim is dead, the shadowed figures switched their attention towards the other villagers and attacked.

Dorian was still holding on to the last embers of his life. He crawled towards the rubble of his house and started digging. He knew deep down that this is useless. His family is probably already dead and were already waiting for him in the afterlife. He knew it but he didn't care, if there's even a slim chance that Luka or Linda is alive, he'll take it.

Unbeknownst to him, his efforts were not in vain. Underneath the rubble, Luka could finally breathe as the weight of the rubble was reduced by Dorian's effort.

Sadly, Dorian lost too much blood. He took his final breath as he saw a child's hand peek out from the rubble. "Luka...."

...

It was in the middle of the night yet the village was burning brightly. Dead bodies littered everywhere. Old, young, men, women... none were spared. It was a massacre. The village that has been blessed with peace for decades is now in ruins.

"F̸i̸n̵d̶ ̶t̶h̴e̸ ̸c̶r̶y̶s̶t̸a̴l̷.̴" The hooded figure ordered the shadowed figures.

The shadowed figures immediately spread out and started looking for something.

30 minutes later, one of the shadowed figures seemed to have discovered something in the middle of the village. The hooded figure went closer.

"H̴m̴m̷.̷.̷.̷ ̶u̴n̴d̵e̸r̷g̶r̷o̸u̴n̴d̴.̶.̸.̸ ̴I̴ ̸s̵e̴e̵.̵.̶.̵"

The hooded figure started chanting. Runes manifested from the void. It then started morphing and merging into the ground. The soil was instantly dug out by a mysterious and invisible source.

The ground was dug 10 meters deep. A green crystal as big as a fist appeared. The hooded figure gestured and the crystal floated and sat atop the hooded figure's hand.

"F̷͕̿i̶̍ͅṉ̴̈ä̶̖́l̸̡̉ĺ̶̳y̶͖͠."

During all that, Luka was still underneath the rubble. He could breathe again and woke up. He could peek outside the rubble and saw everything. He didn't dare to move, however, fearful that he might attract the attention of the suspicious figures.

'What is that? A green crystal? Has that been underneath the village the entire time?'

Luka stared at the green crystal. It was alien to him, yet it felt familiar.

The green crystal reacted with Luka. Luka didn't know it or even noticed it but the crystal awoke something deep within him. This wasn't noticed by the hooded figure either as it kept admiring the crystal.

"L̴e̴t̷ ̷u̵s̷ ̸d̷e̸p̷a̵r̸t̸."

The hooded figure started chanting and it—along with all the shadowed figures—disappeared, leaving the ruined village.