As soon as the blinding light shone down, I dropped to my knees. My entire body felt heavy, like being crushed beneath a large boulder. My bones were squeaking as I struggled to get on my feet. This was a nostalgic scene. My vision was fuzzy, and I was losing strength throughout my body. If this goes on for another minute, I'm going to pass out. I heard water flowing amid my misery. I inhaled the scent of fresh, damp earth borne by the breeze. My skin was tingling... not in a horrific way... but because my hair was standing up.

All I could see through my blurry vision was something protruding from the ground... and it was green...? at the very top.

"Is that a tree?" That's all there was to it: a tree. Not just one, but a slew of them.

I was in the middle of exclaiming my emotions when I heard a "Tap..." sound.

Perhaps a rock fell to the ground somewhere? I thought, still attempting to figure out where I was.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap..." The sounds became clearer.

Is it an animal? I tried to make out the sound as it got closer and closer. My heartbeat was escalating.

To me, the sudden feeling of surviving till the end felt like an enormous triumph. I never imagined I'd make it out alive. I tried to turn around, but my body was frozen in place, immobilised. I couldn't feel any pain; I was just a numb body being crushed by peer pressure.

"-Will we... have money?"

"-Shut up... Greedy yank."

My cautious self changed into one of astonishment, which quickly turned into one of happiness. People's voices could be heard amid a clamour of sounds... That's more than enough for me at the moment.

So there were some survivors, huh? I believed I was the only one till now. Tears welled up but never fell. I tried to scream to show my location, but no voice came out. If I speak more than a mutter, my throat would fall out.

I could hear footsteps getting closer to me. It made me want to cry, but I wasn't in the mood for that right now. But there was a sign of life, and the survivors must have been looking for other survivors.

"I'm not alone," I exclaimed in excitement as I pondered aloud.

As I was in a perpetual state of enjoyment, the sound of footsteps came to a halt.

"-A child?"

"-Middle of nowhere?"

"-The heavens must be... us."

"Call... Captain."

Another pair of footsteps approached me. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but more people were approaching me by the second.

"-Captain, what should... do?" What appeared to be a question was met with silence.

"-Throw... together with others."

After saying that, "Ah!?" Someone grabbed me by my hair from behind. The yell from my mouth died before it even reached my ears.

"You little bastard... Why don't you come with us, eh?" He murmured in my ear, and even amidst my distress, I could smell the stinking odour of his breath. If he spoke just once more, I'd pass out.

What is going on here? My confusion with anguish increased. I assumed they had come to assist me, but I couldn't get a good look at them. They were behind me, and I was facing the ground. Even if I faced them, my vision was hazy, with rings of colours flying all over the place. I won’t be able to see anything.

He put his hand on my chest for a moment before removing it. At that moment, a sharp pain at the back of my neck caused my consciousness to wither away. All I could feel in that last instant was a flood of pain surging from my chest.

"-Black." It was the last thing I heard before my clenched teeth loosened.

Dravid Butcher

Another black core? These lowly mutts are everywhere these days. The business is declining day by day. I need to find some healthy ones as soon as possible. If this situation continues, I won't be able to reach my goal any time soon.

As I pondered the solution in my mind, "Captain!" Stan called out as he approached me hurriedly. I was riding at the back of the group on my horse.

"Captain, captain!!" Until he was under my feet, he never stopped calling out to me.

"Captain!!" He yelled once more.

"Stop shouting and spit it out already." With a firm voice, I stated

"The scouts have returned," he said. "So, what news did they bring now?" I inquired, curious..

"There appears to be something strange going on in the town of Vanora." He concluded, looking back at me with a tense look on his face.