Turmoil

Evryn turned his head toward the voice that called his name.

It was Garran.

"That is your name, right?"

"Yeah."

"Haha, my friend Cyrus was just talking about you." Garran placed a firm hand on Evryn's shoulder.

Evryn glanced at Cyrus, who gave him a small smirk.

What the hell did you do? Evryn thought to himself, already dreading whatever this was about.

"He told me you're a good fighter, so I was thinking… you should come with us tomorrow for a hunt."

"A hunt?"

"Yes. You'll join us in hunting down a beast."

You gotta be kidding me. Evryn's stomach dropped. First, I meet Razek, I immediately get dragged into a mess that gets us chased by authorities, and now I'm being thrown into some hunt? You've gotta be kidding me.

He felt like he was going to die inside.

I could really go for some coffee right about now.

"Sure, sounds fun!" Evryn said, forcing as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"Haha, that's the spirit!" Garran smacked Evryn's shoulder again.

This guy really needs to keep his hands to himself.

"We leave at sunrise, so be ready!" Garran grinned before turning back to his conversation with Cyrus.

***

A few hours passed, and night had fallen.

Evryn and his friends were taken to an inn to rest for the night.

Stepping into his room, Evryn closed the door behind him. The space was small but functional. A twin-sized bed sat against the far-left wall, while a coat hanger stood to his right, just beside the door. To his right, a wooden desk and chair were positioned beneath a closed window, with a single candle flickering atop the desk, casting a dim glow across the room.

A candle? Evryn wasn't used to seeing this. He knew there were other planets, but he didn't realize that some people still used candles instead of electricity.

I guess some people aren't that fortunate. Evryn took off his coat and hung it on the coat hanger. As he walked across the wooden floor, it creaked beneath his boots. He removed his boots and gloves, tossing them onto the desk. He blew out the candle, cutting off the light in the room and leaving it in darkness before crashing onto the bed.

Evryn lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mind wandered, lost in an endless loop of questions he couldn't answer. What defines me? he wondered, What makes me who I am? He stared at the wooden ceiling, as if waiting for some answer to fall from the sky.

His body felt empty, like it was just a shell, carrying the weight of a world he didn't belong to. His bottled up feelings coming out, anger, sorrow, despair, self-hatred, the disgust. His feelings all coming at him at once, It festered in the pit of his stomach, gnawing at him, pulling him into a darkness he wasn't sure he could escape.

The emotions were too much, even for Evryn to handle. He felt like he was suffocating in his own skin, his emotions choking him.

When will it end? he kept asking himself over and over, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Evryn's sleep was restless, his mind swirling in a dark, suffocating void. The familiar sounds began to creep into his consciousness—louder, clearer, until they consumed him.

The scream of his mother: "Evryn, look away!"

His father's voice, low and threatening: "Look what you did, Evryn."

Evryn's breath grew erratic, his heart pounding against his chest. The sound of his father's angry mutterings, his mother's cries, and the quiet whispers that followed every confrontation echoed in his ears.

Running footsteps, small and quick, skittered across the floor.

"Evryn, no!" His mother's voice cried out.

"No!" Evryn shouted, jolting himself upright from the bed. Sweat poured down his face, his hands shaking, his breathing shallow and panicked.

He ran his hands through his brown hair, trying to calm himself, trying to cool the heat of the nightmare still burning in his mind. His breaths began to steady as he paced them, fighting to control the storm of emotions tearing at him.

With a heavy sigh, Evryn slumped back into the bed, his body taut with lingering tension. "Why can't it just leave me be?"

Evryn was finally beginning to calm down. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at his feet.

Then…

Disoriented whispers filled his ears. He couldn't make out the words, but they were there—persistent, drawing him toward something.

He grabbed at his ears, trying to block the sound, trying to stop the noise. And then, one clear voice cut through.

"Find me."

The whispers stopped, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.

Evryn dropped his hands from his ears after hearing those words.

He didn't know what to make of them or what to do.

***

Morning light filtered softly through the cracks in the casement window.

Evryn opened the window, allowing the sunlight to spill into the room, the soft breeze brushing against him.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air.

With a sharp exhale, he opened his eyes, then began to put on his gloves and boots.

Grabbing his coat off the coat hanger, he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. 

He glanced to his right, toward the end of the hallway, where doors lined both sides, opposite each other.

Then, he turned left and walked down the hallway.

Reaching the far right side, he arrived at the railing, where he could look down into the hub area below.

He continued, his hand sliding across the railing as he descended the wooden stairs. Each step creaked under his weight.

Looking around, he saw that no one was around.

Makes sense, it's still pretty early in the morning…

With a soft sigh, he opened the two main entrance doors with both hands and stepped outside.

Stepping outside, the soft breeze hit him again, feeling almost refreshing.

He stood underneath the roof of the porch, with a small fence surrounding the front entrance of the building.

Evryn stepped forward, walking onto the pathway that led toward the center of town.

Garran didn't exactly tell me where I needed to go to meet up with them… so hopefully they're here. It seems logical, I pray…

Evryn looked around at the buildings. Not many people were out—just a few elderly folks, but that was about it.

I guess people here like to sleep in. Back on Sythar, everyone was up and about, especially at dawn…