The end that sparks the beginning

A crimson moon hung in the night sky, as if the gods were casting their gazes down on the fateful event below.

Sounds of metal clashing disturbed the silence of the forest. The rancid smell of blood flooded the expanse, but no beast dared to venture close to the battlefield, as death would claim their lives as swiftly as the soundless wind. Corpses covered the ground, the streams were dyed red. Amongst millions of soldiers from the Holy Church that fought against the army of devils from The Blood Cult, only the Grand General and the Demoness, the two leaders, were still alive, even barely.

The general of the army was the man with a body famed to be forged by the Sun God, an executioner that knew no defeat. His armor and greatsword were two Holy Artifacts of the Holy Church. One could withstand the fire breaths of ancient dragons without suffering a scratch, the other could cut mountains, divide oceans with one swing.

That same man was kneeling over one knee, hand grabbing the broken sword, stabbing into the ground to hold himself up. The legendary armor was nothing more than scrap metal at this point. The Demoness had smashed it to bits, tore pieces by pieces apart from his body. One arm was cut off from the shoulder, exposed white bone mixed with crimson blood. Half of his abdomen was blown away,

"The man of all men could not feel pain," they all said.

How could he not feel pain?

He was in terrible pain, tired, hurt, exhausted.

But how could he give up now, when the end that he and his brothers and sisters had been fighting for was right here?

How many of his comrades had died in his hands?

How many had been reduced to dust without a piece left?

How many had lost families, friends, children?

How much suffering had the world seen for the last hundred years?

"This is your end, demon," Poisonous hatred poured out of his mouth, which was met with an equally exhausted laugh, "It is the same to you, general."

Even when choking on blood, the voice was still as enchanting as the songs of mermaids. It was the same voice that had commanded the demon race to massacre all living beings for hundreds of years.

"All the sin you have committed, all the innocent souls that were slain by your hands, I remember them all," said the old general. He summoned all that was left in his broken body to stand up and raise his sword. The blade was only one swing away from severing the head of the person in front of him.

The existence that haunted the darkness, the creature that appeared in the nightmare of all humans, the supreme enchantress, the empress of all devils, and every other name given to her, would lose their meanings after tonight. The queen's blood dress was sliced into a rag covered in mud. The graceful devil was no more, as lying on the ground was only a limbless torso still attached to the head, for now.

Her ultimate goal had been stopped. Her army was destroyed. Every one of her children had been beheaded, stabbed in the heart and burnt to crisp. Her magic was exhausted, her body was broken. Yet, her smile was just as brilliant as when she used to rule the world.

"May we meet again, general," The devil mumbled her last curse, before the holy sword fulfilled its final destiny.

Right then, the dark forest became bright by a flashing light. The night sky was sliced in half by its tail, a shooting star shot towards the horizon. By the time the star disappeared, it had carried away with it an ancient existence.

…

Kyren looked out the window of the classroom in a daze, listening to the clock counting down the final minutes of the lesson. The school year started when the yard was full of green vitality. Now, the foliage that used to provide shade during the summer was now left with only dried, crooked branches. His foggy grey eyes landed on an abandoned bird nest. The end of the semester had come before he even realized.

Soon, the awaited bell rang to inform the end of the lesson, all students ran out of the classroom in excitement, ignoring the homeroom teacher's attempt to ask for a few more minutes. Kyren did not immediately rush to the door with the crowd, but also did not have any intention to listen to the teacher. He chose the moment when the door was no longer jammed and sneaked out.

Walking his bike out from the parking lot, Kyren saw a familiar face waiting outside the gate. The girl wore the school's uniform, which consisted of a pair of dark blue pants, a white short-sleeved shirt and a navy tie. The uniform was the same for both boys and girls, except that girls' pants were a bit more tight, which was more of personal choices of fashion rather than regulation. She was a tad shorter than her peers, but it did not hinder her youthful charm. The long dark hair was tied into a simple ponytail by a plain string of rubber.

When her clear green eyes spotted him, Kyren greeted with a wave of his hand, "Hey, did I let you wait long?"

Because of the difference in height, the girl had to look up, "Not really, I just came out as well. Let's go."

Their houses were in the same direction so Kyren usually accompanied the girl home before getting to his own. He walked the bike and the girl followed on the other side of the vehicle.

"Nora, do you really want to go with me tonight?" asked the boy with concern in his voice.

Nora threw at him an annoyed gaze, "You have asked that question a dozen times already. I'm not answering that again. Ask something else."

He nodded matter-of-factly, "Alright then. Are you mad?"

The girl answered through gritted teeth. "No, I'm not."

Kyren ignored her attitude, messing with her on purpose, "But you sound mad. Is it because of the place I'm going to?"

Nora frowned, then she punched him hard on the shoulder and raised her voice, "You know that then why the hell do you have to ask?"

Nora used to do karate in middle school, so her punch was nothing to be scoffed at. Kyren rubbed his sore shoulder and deliberately walked further from her.

"Come on, it's not so bad. I'm just gonna go in and out for a bit, fifteen minutes tops," his voice was soft, trying to appeal to her pity.

However, her anger did not dissipate, rather, it became more fiery, "Fifteen minutes? Is that supposed to make it any better? I know you do a lot of stupid things, but to go to the middle of nowhere that's two hours from your house? At midnight? For what? An old temple?"

Then suddenly, Nora stopped, bent down and started touching the ground as if searching for something.

"What're you doing?" Kyren asked, confused. Her sarcastic voice replied, "Looking for your brain. It's obvious that you already dropped it somewhere."

The boy could only shake his head as he spoke, "Dude, if you don't like it, then just don't go, it's not like I force you to go with me."

As Nora stood up, her speech was a tad milder, "I don't hate going with you. But it's too far away, and the time isn't right. Don't you listen to the news? Lately more people are being reported missing in our town. It's dangerous at that hour. Can't we just choose another temple that's closer?"

Despite her persuasion, Kyren was firm in his decision, "It has to be that place."

He did not explain further. Nora felt like punching that stubbornness out of the boy, but managed to hold back. Her fists unclenched as she said in defeat, "Fine. I'll wait in front of your house at midnight. Bring what you need."

Then, Nora increased her pace and soon went inside her house that was not too far away. Kyren headed further down the road on his bike, took a right turn at an interception, then got off and walked into an alley. The path was only wide enough for one vehicle to go through, whose surface was rocky and filled with potholes. At the end of the alley, there was a dwarfed shack squeezed between the three-stories houses on either side. The door was so old that it could no longer shut tight, and had to be held together by a chain so that it could be locked.

The inside was illuminated by a single light bulb for the entire twenty meters square. There was barely any furniture. The mattress was laid on the cold floor, next to a wardrobe that seemed to be built into the wall. At the corner was a low table made from rough pieces of wood, a glass jar that contained pickled vegetables, and a cooker. A rusty metal tray that held a pot, a plastic cup, a spoon, a single bowl and one pair of chopsticks. Books and notes were stacked into a pile at a corner.The house only had one room, with a curtain that separated the toilet from the rest of the house.

Kyren quickly took a shower, had dinner, and took care of homework. For today, he had called in sick at one of his part-time jobs. The preparation consisted of a few candles, an empty glass bowl, a small bag of rice, three incense sticks, a cup, a flashlight and a razor knife. After making sure that everything was nicely put into the backpack, Kyren saw that it was a few hours until midnight.

Within the wardrobe, there was a loose brick at the back. He took out the brick, which revealed a hidden compartment that contained an old box. It was one of the cookies metal boxes sold everyday at grocery stores. As he blew the dust and opened the lid, a stack of old photos and a letter came into sight. In every picture was a stern old lady and a smiling young child with grey eyes. The lady had a head full of white hair, a straight back, a bony figure and veiny hands. The child was just as thin, but the smile on his face was honest and lively.

His fingers caressed the face of the old lady in every picture he flipped through. Then, he closed the box, let out a long sign and gazed into empty air. It was a lonely night.