《The Fragment Of Death》


 Chapter 1 - The city of the past lights.

    The city of Balana shone in many colours, with crackers bursting in every side and lights lit up in every corner of the streets. Not only the land, but the sky too was luminated with cloud-reaching fireworks of every kind of colour. Because today, we people of the country celebrated the second day of the second moon. A day which we Balanians believed to be the most sacred day of the year. The day in which the country called Solace was created by the seven great Gods, it was exactly 500 years ago, on this exact day.


    It was believed to be a day for celebration for all, no matter who they were, where they belonged or where they came from, if you see the night lights today, then you celebrate with whatever you have.


    This was the story that my grandma used to tell me. The stories about how all the Gods came together, kept their differences away and fought the Timeless to bring back our country from the depths of the fire. And for the same reason, we people too forget all our differences and celebrate this day.


    When I heard it for the first time as a kid, it filled my mind with all sorts of wild imagination. But hearing it now, it sounded less astonishing. However, the everlasting cries and chatter of the Balanians had the same amaze on their eyes that I had when I was kid. It was hope filled in their faces. I could hear them from here, on the top of the watchtower, which was at least 50 feets from the ground.


    And seeing it all from this height made it even more spectacular.


    ¡°The grounds and borders are clear. No signs of any issues.¡± Henry, one of my trustworthy guards, reported.


    ¡°Good, keep an eye on the darker streets. The day of Reclaim turns out to be the most conflicted day of the year, even though it should be the day of peace.¡±


    Henry grinned at my words and walked up to me.


    ¡°There are people who finds celebration even in conflicts, and we make sure their fetish ends today.¡±


    It was my first time watching Reclaim day from the top of the watchtower. I dreamed of this day ever since I joined the Academy. As the General of the city, people expected me to do so.


    ¡°I will take my leave, sir¡± he nodded at him as he walked down the tower.


    Now, it was just me and the cold winds, observing the ever growing cheers of my people.


    Soon, a flash of light caught my eyes. It was not from the city, but from the sky. From the horizon, the yellow light seemed like the sun was about to rise. But there were hours left before dusk began. It was not the sun, but something else.


    The lights of the city made it harder to notice, but the horizon was definitely beaming with some kind of light.


    ¡°Guards, bring the glasses.¡±


    A man brought a telescope with him.


    But before I could use it, the light was bright enough for the citizens to notice. Some stuck their gaze to it, followed by others, and soon the entire crowd glued their eyes towards the abnormal sky.


    The light began to split into many vertical lines, each headed by a bright ball at the top.


    These are no mere lights, they are rock, molten rocks.


    The scriptures told us about the red hot rocks falling from the sky. But these were not from the sky.


    And the sounds made by the festive mood died as people just observed them. Many eyes were mesmerised, some in shock but none feared them. They possibly never have seen something like this and something as beautiful as this seemed no harm to them.


    But they were wrong.


    ¡°Guards, inform the army. Arrange possible defence. Alert the castle.¡± I called out the guard who was also stunned by the show.


    ¡°Defence? From what sir?¡±


    ¡°Falling rocks, size varies from 10-50 feets. Make it as quick as possible.¡± He looked confused, but followed my order.


    However, anything we do against it wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop it.


    It was not something that mere humans could withstand. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    But it is my duty to protect my city anyhow.


    Reminding myself, I ran down the tower to prepare the shields against an indefensible danger.


    After 1000 years¡­


    ¡°And that¡¯s what happened 500 years ago, which caused the destruction of the historic city, Solace.¡±


    Ms Daina closed the book after explaining the final verses of the page.


    ¡°That¡¯s all for today¡¯s lecture. Also, remember to complete the assignment before my next lecture.¡± She reminded us and left the class.


    ¡°Shain,¡± a call came from back, ¡°What¡¯s your plan for the weekend?¡±


    It was Rame, who was peeking his eager eyes towards me.


    ¡°Studying¡± I replied, what else would you do on the weekend before the exams?


    ¡°Ah, boring. Lets to the new building. Victor and his friends are planning to go there. We should join them.¡± Here we go again. It was always the exam time that he made plans like that, mainly because he didn¡¯t want to study. I could try to resist, but..


    ¡°But why should we go? Remember, we have exams coming next week. I have to study.¡±


    ¡°What, no! We have enough time for studying. Just come with us. It would be fine.¡± He said with the brightest of eyes. He never cared about my opinion to begin with. He didn¡¯t ask me, but just stated that I should go.


    ¡°NO. Unlike you, I don¡¯t have the ability to read the book once and score perfect in the exams.¡±


    Rame¡¯s darting eyes told he understood I was referring to the countless times he got the best scores and I barely passed the exams. But just as I stood from the seat,


    ¡°Ok, I will help you for the exams. You can be rest assured.¡± He spoke in confidence, only to be broken by my next words.


    ¡°Rame, both of us know how bad your teaching skill was. Last time you taught someone, she failed even in the exam she was already good at.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s because she was stupid.¡±


    ¡°WHO are you calling stupid,?¡± A scream came from behind, then a thud sound. As I processed what happened, Heena¡¯s hands were already sticking to Rame¡¯s head.


    ¡°Hell Heena, who summoned you here?¡±


    ¡°Summoned! What do you mean by summoned? I came to talk with Shian and heard you bad mouthing me.¡±


    ¡°You know it''s a bad habit to place your ears between others'' conversation.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± she casually added and moved on, ¡°You guys are planning something this weekend, right? Count me in.¡±


    ¡°Wait, no. Listen, no one invited you. It''s just Shain and me having some private time.¡±


    ¡°Shut the hell Rame, why are you phrasing it like that?¡± Listening to his words, you can see Heena making a disgusted face.


    ¡°But am I lying?¡± Rame asked.


    ¡°Yes, you told me Victor''s gang is also going with us.¡±


    Oops.


    Hearing that, Heena¡¯s eyes turned to a sharp gaze. Rame winced and looked at me with the eyes of betrayal. But why brother? His eyes asked.


    ¡°No mister, you are not.¡± Heena turned towards him and started her lecture.


    ¡°Not with Vicky, the last time when all of you were together, you three got suspended for a week. And you even dragged poor Shain into your wild plan.¡±


    As she continued her lecture, I quietly prepared to leave, but was caught by Rame pleading eyes. Don¡¯t leave me alone. It begged.


    But what could I do in a situation like this? So I did what I could do the best, remaining silent.


    Minutes passed and all Rame did was to listen to her with his head bent, with occasional nods.


    ¡°I know you are going there anyway, no matter what I say, so I have decided.¡±


    ¡°Decided?¡±Rame rose his head.


    ¡°I will be with you guys for the entire weekend.¡±


    We both gasped, and Rame was the first one to protest.


    ¡°What? No, you have exams coming next week.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, So we have to study for that.¡± I added.


    ¡°Then we can study together. Not like it''s our first group session.¡±


    Rame and I looked at each other. We knew something should be done or she is going to destroy our weekend.


    ¡°How about this, I guarantee you that me and Rame will be studying in our rooms.¡± I made an offer, but she knew it was a hopeless one.


    ¡°Huh, do you really think you can do that, contain an excited Rame inside a room?¡± Her question brought some hesitation in me, but soon Rame recovered.


    ¡°Yes, of course, he can. In fact he is the only one who can do that in this academy.¡±


    Shit, here we go.


    Hearing that, I could see fumes releasing from her eyes.


    ¡°Is that so? Then I will definitely be with you for the entire weekend.¡± She seethed and left.


    Rame kept staring at her with confused eyes until she left the class.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± He pondered.


    I know exactly the answer to that. Mostly because of jealousy. They two were together from the very beginning in the Academy. I only joined them after a year. But he acted like he cared more about me than her. Of course it sounds childish, but everything feels wrong when love gets involved. She is jealous of me because she loves Rame.


    It was not something she allowed me to disclose, so all I could do was to maintain a baffled face like him.


    ¡°Sometimes, she is just plain annoying.¡± He exclaimed and left, with my bag.


    ¡°Hey, give me my bag, you idiot.¡±

 Chapter 2 - Me, You, and Us

    The plan was simple. We would wake up early and leave our rooms before Heena arrived.


    ¡°Should we take this with us?¡± Rame asked, holding a kitchen knife with him.


    ¡°For what, cutting apples?¡±


    ¡°We might face foes much stronger than us.¡± He told, while swinging the knife like he was fighting a rare breed Curas which only he could see. He even slammed himself to the wall as if it was the creature that threw him. For a duel with an imaginary enemy, he had excelled at his style. The grip he held, the way his hand moved, he could easily fool any of the common folks into believing that he was really fighting an invisible Curas. But not us.


    Rame was the most talented in our class, whether it be in theory or practice, none of us could beat him. And the funny part was, Rame was not even trying his best. It was normal for him to top the class, like how breathing was for us. I would be lying if I said I was never jealous of him. Although, that was simply the truth. He belonged to the most powerful family in our country, the Karians. His genes were meant to be at the top.


    The same was true for Heena. She was the eldest daughter of the Bloodvanes, one of the direct descendants of the royal family.


    ¡°Just take whatever you like. We need to leave before she comes here.¡± After putting on our uniforms, we left.


    Victor and his party will meet us in front of the new building. We intended to make our adventure hidden and leaving the dormitory in a group will only gather unwanted attention. So we decided to leave in two parts.


    ¡°All clear¡±, Rame signalled with his hand and started moving out. Being careful to avoid any of the faculty¡¯s attention, we left the gate and rushed towards our destination.


    According to our plan, Victor would reach there first and we would see him near the gate of the new building along with his minions.


    And there he was, Victor and his three minions.


    What, three? It should be three including Victor. Why was there an extra person? His new friend? No way! Wait, it was no new friend of his, it was..


    ¡°Heena!¡± Rame shouted.


    Great. What a wonderful plan we had! So simple and so stupid.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Me, oh I was just taking a morning stroll and was surprised to see your friend Victor here along with his friends. We were just talking about you guys.¡± She smiled with victorious eyes.


    ¡°You know it is forbidden for students to come here and..¡±, before he completed his worthless words, I stopped him with my hand on his shoulders.


    It was clear as day in her face, ¡°No matter what you say, I was coming with you guys.¡± Arguing was just futile.


    However, another problem was the annoyed face of Victor. He came forward and warned in our ears,


    ¡°She came here for you guys. No matter what happens to her, I will not take any responsibility.¡± He and his gang started walking towards the entrance of the new building, leaving the three of us.


    ¡°Why, why are you following us? ¡±


    ¡°I am following no one. I came here myself and plan to be myself until this ¡®adventure¡¯ of yours ends.¡± She stated. Now, Rame was the one who was annoyed.


    ¡°Shain, make her leave.¡±


    ¡°Me, how am I supposed to do that? You know she isn¡¯t going to listen.¡±


    ¡°Shain¡¯s right. You can¡¯t make leave, that is, unless..¡± She paused.


    ¡°Unless?¡± Rame asked. To which she replied hesitantly.


    ¡°Unless you guys decide to go back to the room and we can all study together.¡±


    That was not gonna happen.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t gonna happen. You can do whatever you like, however we will not be responsible for any of you.¡± He snarled and left.


    ¡°Do you really think it was worth it?¡± I could not help but ask. All I could see was her trying her best to annoy Rame and succeeding in it.


    The won-like expression faded away from her face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what else to do. You know how bad Victor¡¯s influence was. The last time it got you three suspended.¡±


    ¡°Yes, still that''s what he¡¯s like, Heena. You want to keep him away from trouble and he wants the same thing for you. We don¡¯t want you to get entangled in any of the trouble which we might face.¡±


    ¡°You are telling me as if I am the only one who¡¯s wrong here.¡±


    ¡°All I am saying is that Rame doesn¡¯t want anything bad happening to you because of us.¡±


    ¡°That you can be rest assured, I am more than enough to take care of myself.¡± She said with her chest high.


    ¡°If you say so. And try to walk close to us. You might want to keep your distance from us after all that show, but now is not the time.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± She started waking with a nod. I also followed them, leaving the entrance empty.


    ---


    ¡°Why would you even come to this deserted place?¡± Heena asked as we wandered through the hallway of the new building.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The question was not directed at anyone so I expected Rame to respond, however, he didn¡¯t. Victor and his gang were taking the lead and we three followed them quietly. All of us were silent until now, and Heena was the one to break it with her question.


    ¡°This is the tallest building inside the Academy. That¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I tried to find out more about this building, whereas most girls from our dormitory weren¡¯t even aware that a new building was under construction. Isn¡¯t it weird, like the Academy was purposefully trying to hide the info?¡± She asked.


    She was right. We only got to know about this from Victor and the Academy didn¡¯t even release any official statements related to this new building. But, so were many things here. She was asking these questions because she wasn''t aware of all the other secrets that the Academy was hiding from the students.


    ¡°Look,¡± Victor turned around and started speaking in his resounding voice.


    ¡°If you are afraid, then say so. You can leave if you want, and no one stops you. Even so, if you desire to walk with us, then shut that babbling and follow us in silence.¡± He warned her.


    One could see why half of the class was afraid of this kid. Having a big grumpy body with a terrific and intimidating voice like that made most of us judge him even before we spoke with him.


    The pale face Heena held was the same one Rame and I had when he talked to us first. Although, being together for almost two years with him, we have certainly learned to not judge a book by its cover. He was like a sheep, in fox¡¯s skin.


    You can¡¯t expect one to know that just by looking at him and his attitude towards Heena only made it worse. The tough girl who walked closer to him, now slowed down her steps, keeping enough distance from him. We also had no choice but to keep our steps with her.


    ¡°He might look like a Rhino from outside, but he is a nice guy.¡± Rame said.


    ¡°Really? Doesn¡¯t look so nice to me.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, you should use that empty shell of a head to understand people rather than just relying on eyes.¡± Rame brought the long lost philosopher in him just to make her look like an idiot, and from her baffled expression, he really succeeded in doing so.


    ¡°Yes, like the first time Victor approached us and you punched him in the face out of fear. He really was a nice guy to forgive you for that.¡± I added, knowing that it will crush the short spanned success of him.


    ¡°That was out of reflex. You can¡¯t help it when you turn around and see a big guy blocking your entire field of view.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Rame. What if he hears you?¡± Heena turned to look at Victor in concern of his hearing, but he was just walking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are already over that stage.¡± I reassured her by putting my hands around her.


    The aim was the roof. The tallest building meant that it might have the best rooftop view. Though, it was forbidden for students to roam around the roof. Even entering the new building was forbidden. And since we already broke a rule, it would be the same if we broke one or two extra.


    ¡°Are they both like servants to Victor¡¯s?¡± Heena again started her series of questions. We still had three more floors to climb before reaching the roof.


    ¡°No of course not, like I said, he is a nice guy. Might be the nicest of us five. Why would you even ask that?¡± Rame widened his eyes at her.


    ¡°Well, surely you can see he was the only one doing the talking and the other two did just as he told them to do. Wasn¡¯t that weird?¡±


    ¡°The only one being weird was you, Miss Heena. Please quietly walk until Victor throws you out of the window.¡± Rame hastened his steps, reaching the leading gang.


    ¡°I was just asking.¡± She whined and bowed her head.


    ¡°You remember the time last month when we got suspended?¡±


    ¡°Yes of course, the whole academy remembers it.¡±


    ¡°Well, on that day, it was only us three who got suspended.¡± She frowned.


    ¡°Yet that day, all five of us were present when we did that. Victor made sure to keep those two¡¯s names from popping up. We respected his decision and did the same.¡± The frown turned to shock after she heard that.


    She kept her down looking guilty and continued walking in silence.


    Beyond that, she didn¡¯t ask any new questions and followed us like a kitten. Maybe she purposefully kept silent for being less annoying, or her thoughts kept her busy. Her calm walk with limited movements made it hard for me to judge her feelings. Anyway, I did not hate the silence between us.


    The building was very much similar to our old buildings. The hallway that started near the staircase and branched into different sections as we walked, the huge wooden door for each classroom, and even the colour and design of the walls were the same. I was a little disappointed to see the same old works. One would expect to see novelty in a new building, but for some reason, the director decided to go with the same old design.


    However, something was off, or different from our old buildings. Victor was the first one to say that aloud.


    ¡°Stop.¡± He raised his hands and blocked us. It was a junction where he halted his steps. He looked either side of the hallway and stared out of the window.


    ¡°Did you notice?¡± He frowned. I turned my gaze in the same direction. He was looking through the window. The sun rose almost an hour ago and the rays entered the hallway through that window. But what did he notice? The window, the rays, the light¡­.


    The light was weird. We could see a huge open garden in the middle of the building yet it was dark there.


    The sun already rose, and it was still dark there. I checked the upside of the open garden and could clearly see the sky, still no light entered through that opening.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a huge barrier blocking the light entering the building.¡± I spoke.


    ¡°Yet it allowed us to see the other side from inside.¡± Heena added.


    ¡°A one way light barrier.¡± Victor named it.


    ¡°What, is that even possible? Nothing like this was mentioned in the textbooks?¡± Heena frowned and walked closer to the edge.


    ¡°The text doesn''t always tell you the full story, miss Heena. You have to find it yourselves, like how we are going to do it now.¡± Rame grinned at her and continued to walk. So did the others, except me.


    ¡°What, you''re not coming?¡± Rame asked as he noticed me standing still. I remained silent and scanned the entire hallway.


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡±


    ¡°What? Yes we know that and we are going to find that?¡± Rame frowned. It was not the first time we went into danger. Then again, something about this building was not right.


    ¡°What is it, Shain?¡± Victor turned and I could see it in his eyes. He also felt it.


    ¡°Someone made a barrier that detached the inside space from outside. See, the sky above the garden was not the real sky. It¡¯s been the same ever since we arrived here. It was not a one-way barrier, but an illusion of a false sky.¡±


    ¡°Illusion?¡± Heena raised her concern.


    ¡°But why would the Academy do something like that?¡± Dwell, one of Victor¡¯s minions, spoke for the first time after entering the building.


    ¡°Maybe to prevent someone from seeing the real time outside.¡± Runne, his other minion answered.


    ¡°To prevent who? Wasn¡¯t it weird that we have not encountered any other person other than ourselves.¡± Victor continued,


    ¡°This was supposed to be a new building yet we didn¡¯t see any workers or builders here. And look around us. What part of this building seems under construction to you? The windows are made, the walls painted and even the classrooms were filled with desks. This place looks more like an abandoned building than a new one to me.¡±


    He was right. Yet there were no signs of abandonment. Everything looked new and unused, just like a new building. It was as if..


    ¡°The time has stopped here.¡± Rame stated my exact thought.


    ¡°We should leave.¡± Victor ran towards the downward staircase, from which we reached here.


    However, the stairs were absent. Instead, the place turned to a dead end.

 Chapter 3 - Dead End

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Heena turned her eyes between me and Rame. We had the same question. Victor quickly turned his body and ran towards the other end of the hallway. If this building had the same blueprint as others, then there should be another staircase at the opposite side. We followed him, only to bump our heads to another tall wall. With the two staircases absent, we had no other way to descend other than jumping into the central garden. Although, jumping from this height even with our shield on would definitely kill us.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡± Rame asked. Even the all knowing Victor was confused by these turn of events.


    ¡°We should find the cause and eliminate it.¡± Dwell said in a calm tone as if he knew what all of these were. But inside, he might be just as frightened as we all were. Being very bad at expressing himself, made him seem calm.


    ¡°But who is causing this?¡± Heena looked around widely to find any clue, any noise or movement that could help us. However, none was found.


    And then, everything around us paused for a movement. The air between us froze. Our steps felt immensely heavy and our heartbeats halted, just for a second. We were in the presence of something. That thing was watching us from above, then from behind, as if it was glaring at us with its thousands of eyes from every direction.


    We had no place to run, no place to hide. It was present everywhere around us. So all we could do was stand still.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The brave boy Victor asked. He could open his mouth even under this pressure! He truly was a remarkable one.


    Instead of answers, Victor got a powerful hit from an invisible force, which threw him to the wall. Yet he didn¡¯t fall to the ground. Something kept him straight up.


    Runne and Dwell ran towards him, however, an invisible wall stopped them from nearing Victor.


    ¡°Fuck, what is this now?¡± Dwell cursed and took out his plated gloves. As he wore it, the gloves started to radiate a faint green glow. He activated the gloves and started punching the invisible wall. I could see and hear the impacts his punches were making, confirming the existence of a false wall, even though his punches made very little effect.


    Runne started to summon red mana into his palm, concentrating them until his skin started to burn, and blasted it into the wall. They also had the same effect.


    Rame started helping them. He started to follow along the invisible wall to find its origin. But was met with a real wall on his path. This false wall seemed to originate from beyond the real wall and hence, the origin was also unknown. Heena helped Rame to enhance his weapon, but that too failed.


    While all were busy trying to break the wall, I simply gazed inside.


    There was Victor, unconscious, yet was standing due to some unknown force. And his body was gathering mana from around him.


    ¡°Runne, is that normal for him?¡±


    Runne stopped his futile attempts of breaking the wall and turned towards Victor, whose veins were faintly glowing in red. It was like his whole body was gathering mana from the surrounding, all his body parts absorbed mana at the same time, which should be impossible for any Academy student.


    ¡°How is he doing that?¡± Heena frowned as everyone halted their action.


    Victor opened his eyes. It was glowing red, like a metal piece kept inside a burning furnace. The wall around him disappeared as Runne quietly stepped toward the red hot Victor.


    ¡°Victor, what is happening to you?¡± He asked. Victor turned his head and examined Runne as if he was seeing him for the first time. His eyes moved to me, then Rame and scanned each one of us.


    He raised his hand towards Runne and released his mana, turning Runne into ashes.


    ¡°Weak¡±, the creature that killed Runned said.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Maybe it was the heat that burned him and turned him into dust, or he used mana to turn him into dust, which was impossible in theory. Though it happened so fast that no smoke or light was there before he was ashed.


    ¡°AHHH¡­¡± Heena screamed. I too wanted to do the same, yet the fear in me caught any voice that tried to escape my vocal and pushed it back into my throat.


    ¡°Run¡±, before any of us could process it completely, Rame started to run away. We followed him. However, it turned to be futile as another invisible war appeared right in front of us.


    ¡°Shit. Shit. Shit..¡± Rame blurted as he used everything under his ability to break the wall.


    Degradation may work, but we don¡¯t know what this wall is made up of. Maybe Dampening will work,


    I tried everything I know to, however none could destroy it. We didn¡¯t even know if the wall took any of the damage.


    Even in this cursed situation, I could clearly hear its steps approaching.


    It was there, standing just behind us, with the same curious face.


    ¡°You came for me?¡±, it asked.


    It was staring at me. It was asking me.


    "Knowing this was destined to be our final meeting, still you came, Niphreal."


    What was it saying? Other¡¯s eyes filled with fear and confusion, just like mine.


    ¡°May the land of Solavel turn our fate¡±, it said and appeared ahead of me, like a magician.


    With a spike of pain in my abdomen, my vision went black. The taste of bloody iron sickened my tongue before I lost my consciousness.


    My body was burning like I was standing below the rays of hundred suns, naked. The ache under my skin killed me every time I tried to move. My head felt like it would explode just by having any more thoughts.


    I steadily tried to open my eyes. The eyelids seemed hard, as if they were glued using mana binds. Yet, I forced it open. Something inside me made me do it .


    What was it?


    There they were. Rame and Heena, together. She was behind him while he covered her under his arms.


    They are alive, oh god. I sighed.


    Suddenly, the memories of pain started appearing in me.


    Yes, Victor, he killed Runne. Then he struck me. Then¡­


    Then what?


    Why was I still alive? Where was Victor? Dwell?


    I pulled my body up using every bit of remaining strength I had. My eyes gazed around and caught Victor standing many feets behind me. He was facing the other side.


    My weakened body pushed me away from him. Though, for some reason, Victor didn¡¯t move.


    Each step, less distant than the last one, nevertheless I walked towards my friends.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come near me¡±, Rame shouted.


    In fear, my body turned around to see Victor, who stood exactly at the same position.


    ¡°If you take any more steps, I will kill you.¡± He held his kitchen knife pointing at me.


    ¡°Wh¡­.at..?¡± Words barely escaped my mouth as my cheeks were dead. My jaws felt like they could detach and drop any moment.


    But Rame was pointing his knife at me. I again walked,


    ¡°I said DON¡¯T WALK,¡± he threw the knife at me. It whizzed past, grazing the edge of my ear, leaving a sharp sting.


    The knife he threw landed on a lifeless body. It was not of Runne, but..


    ¡°Dw..el..!¡±


    Both Runne and Dwell were dead. Victor killed them. But why was Rame acting like that?


    As I regained my limbic senses, I felt a cold liquid on my hands. It was blood.


    It was Victor¡¯s blood.


    How did I know that?


    The waves of memories again started to hit.


    Dwell was there. In front of me, however, there were hands around his neck. Whose?


    The hands gradually rose his body above, suffocating him. His body was shaking and his soul was leaving him.


    The grip tightened as the fingers pierced into his flesh. Blood poured out and soaked the hands in red.


    His movements stopped. Drops of blood dripped through the fingers of the gripping hands. Even after death, the hands didn¡¯t let him go.


    And then, I saw it. In Dwell¡¯s lifeless eyes, I saw a face which was familiar. A face that I have seen countless times in my life. A face which I would see every time when I was in front of a mirror. The killer was Shane Ryder. Me!


    Yet, the expression he had never belonged to me. The grin which extended between his ears, the eyes that lusted for more death. He was demonic. A Shane that this world had never seen, and never should have.


    The reality pulled me back. Rame was there. Heena too. Her eyes were dreadful. Probably because of me. Her face told me she was hiding from a monster. The monster that killed Dwell and Victor mercilessly. The monster called me.