Chapter 0

"In the depths of despair, the mind is shrouded in darkness, and every glimmer of hope is extinguished. Happiness, that elusive mirage, taunts us with its siren song, beckoning us onward in a fruitless search. We crawl through the valleys of despair, willing to do anything, to endure any suffering, just for a fleeting moment of joy.

But the more we chase happiness, the more elusive it becomes."

----- some wise man.

Rays of sunlight beam upon the beautiful city of Akishima, the sound of tradesmen trading and horsemen horsing on their horse fills the atmosphere. A midst all this is a boy, walking home elusive of the world around him, constantly staring down to the brown of the earth. He was not so tall and had an average build, his hair as silver as whatever was silver. Whatever was he pondering about to bear to miss the beautiful scenery this splendid afternoon?

"I'm almost home..... why?" he asked himself. "why couldn't it be further away?" he continued.

He found trauma in the footstep that brought him closer to the house he shared with his father. He walked slowly to his house while purposely delaying his steps

He reached the door of a not so fancy house, it's size only meant to shelter only a small family. He opened the door to the house and is immediately met with an unsettling presence.

"I'm home!" he yelled, awaiting a response that never came. The boy made his way through to the living room, searching around the building looking for his father who is usually on the soft, large rumpled couch in the sitting.

"I'm home" his voice echoed through the room.

A strange feeling swelling in his chest as many thoughts ran through his head. While calming his troubled mind, he made his way to the bedroom where his father sleeps.

He knocked on the door, "I'm coming in" he muttered as he opened the door to the room. As he adjusted his eyes slowly to the darkness, and that's when he saw the reason there was no response earlier. It was his father lying motionless on the floor, his eyes fronzen in a permanent stare. His heart raced as he stepped forward, his mind trying to comprehend the scene that has just befallen him.

There, in the darkness, standing next to the corpse on the ground was a creature, tall and its body resembled that of a human but it was far from that. Its eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, fixed on him with an unblinking gaze.

His eyes darted back to his father, hoping against hope that he was still alive, but his chest was still, his skin pale and stained with blood. He returned his gaze to the creature that had just began to stir. Its flexed its claws, its eyes burned with intense hunger. Without a second thought the boy stepped outside shutting the door with all his might and bolted towards the door that led outside of the house

With his feet pounding the floor like a drumbeat his hand trembled as he reached for the door knob. He yanked the door open, revealing the bright sunlight and the safety of the outside world. Or so he thought. A loud sound came from across the house as the creature had just torn down the door of the room he had just exited. The eyes of the creature fixated on him again still burning from the yearn for his blood.

He stepped out of the house, his heart racing with fear, and closed the door behind him, as if that could contain the horror behind him. He didn't stop running until he was almost at the end of the streets, his lungs burning, all eyes of the people in the background watching as he sprinted away.

Another door broken down and the creature too was out in the open, ignoring the screaming civilians it resumed its pursuit of the boy with expeditious speed, closing the distance that was between them. He could hear its footsteps, heavy and deliberate, echoing of the floor. With every steps, it gained on him, its claws snapping with anticipation.

Suddenly, a strong hand clamped down on his arm, spinning him around. He was now face to face with the creature, its eyes glaring into his very soul, its grip like a vice and he couldn't struggle free.

"Arrgh!" he winced in agony as the monster's claws dug into his skin. His blood trickling from the wounds it was creating on his body. The monster's hot breath washing over his body as he felt the claws burrowing deeper into his skin. A wet, ripping sound filled the air as it tore a chunk of his flesh out from his body leaving a huge gaping hole in his lower abdomen. Blood pouring out like a river, and he screamed in agony as the monster's grip tightened.

As life was sipping away from his body, he thought to himself "is this how its going to end for me? In the hands of a Mokeru?" s he dangled between consciousness. The monster about to finish him off, began to stab its claws into his body again. The boy, not even being able to scream, stayed still awaiting death to come.

Just as the chapter was about to close for the boy, an object seemed to have struck the monster. Another one followed, hitting the monster with precision and sending it stumbling back and weakening the creatures grip on him. A figure burst out from the direction the objects where coming from, dashing toward the creature and with a mighty swing the figure had pierced the monster on the chest with a dagger causing it to let go of the boy.

"am I saved? Will I even be able to survive this?" the boy spoke to himself using the last of this energy. His vision blurring, his body limp and helpless. The last thing he saw was the figure that had come to save him battling the monster. Then, everything went black and he fell into a dark abyss like sleep.