Prologue

Darkness ... I want to close my eyes, don’t want to see anything anymore. My legs went weak as I fell to my knees, my eyes wide open while my breath stopped as if my heart had ceased to beat.

Cold ... my whole body felt the temperature dropping, making it hard to breathe. My body stiffened as tears fell to the floor, though my mouth couldn't utter a single sound. The voice was stuck, trapped in my throat.

In front of me stood two young men with glowing blue eyes in the darkness of this unlit wooden house, each holding a sword. Right before them, two corpses lay, blood splattered everywhere.

One of the sword-wielding youths stared blankly ahead, saying, “So, it's you, Ars....” He paused, sheathing his sword. “Sorry, but the Beast from Father and Mother is just enough for me and Philip.”

“Nick is right, Ars,” said the other young man. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness, showing a thin smile as if nothing had happened. “You were late, Ars, so you get no share. Besides, Father's and Mother's lives were only enough to be exchanged for one Beast each. Sorry, but your brother here can't help you with this.”

They both spoke casually, while I remained silent with my body frozen stiff. This is horrifying ... even though I knew this would happen one day, when facing it and seeing it with my own eyes, I didn't know how to react. I want to run, I want to go away, I don't want to be here, Father, Mother....

***

“It feels terrible when I recall what happened that night,” I murmured while slowly opening my eyes. The wind blew gently, letting my hair loose and brushing against my body, as my eyes were presented with the view of dense trees below the cliff where I sat. “By the way, Neville, where else do you think we should search? I'm out of ideas and don't know where to go.”

The young man with a scar on his left cheek, sitting beside me, replied, “I'm out of ideas too. Besides, we don't have any clues, so what do you hope we can do now, Ars?” He exhaled deeply.

I then lay down, gazing at the blue sky. “I hate to admit it, but you're right. We're out of clues, so how are we supposed to find them? It's frustrating.”

“So what are we going to do?” Neville glanced at me for a moment.

I stood up, stretching my back. “What else can we do but look for clues everywhere?” I slowly exhaled. “But there's nothing we can do in this forest. Unless you can talk to animals, then it would be a different story.”

“So what's the conclusion?”

“Isn't it obvious? We're going to the village or town to get at least a bit of useful information. Though I think it would be much better if we go straight to the town for information.”

Neville immediately stood up after hearing my words. “So, it's decided that we're going to the town to get information, right?”

Ignoring Neville a bit, I walked slowly toward our destination. “It would be much better if we got a job and earned a salary to buy some better food ....”

“Have you given up on chasing your brother, Ars?” Neville asked, slightly sarcastic.

“Impossible! They are my main course!”