The sun stood high, its warm rays of light raining down on me sitting sweaty and defeated on a stump after another failed match against my parents. The left side of my torso was still sore from the kick my mother landed on me.

"Aren't giants supposed to have metal like skin?" I mumble to myself agitated about another loss.

Three months had passed since I completed the second task. During those months the prideful feeling of being strong enough to defeat my parents slowly faded away.

I knew it would take time to beat them. They even told me It could take years to finish the last task.

I let out a frustrated groan at the thought.

"Maybe if I head down to visit Sebastian, I could feel better." I say as I get up from the stump to change into a new set of clothes.

I dressed myself in a white woolen tunic that I wore under a leather vest. I put on some brown woolen pants, my boots and just to feel safe I put my black sword into its scabbard and fastened it to my left hip. Putting on the black tinted glasses to hide my bright yellow eyes I start to head down.

As I start to get closer to Berkton, I notice how the gray tents belonging to Uranos seem to be less active. No smoke, no fire, almost like they aren't there. I continue down the path and eventually into Berkton.

As I walked the winding streets of Berkton I noticed that there were more and more of these gray hooded people from the end of the year celebration. I also start to notice that on the cloaks there is something embroidered. A hand and in it's center there is a wheel with four pillars protruding out of it. 

"Maybe it's some sort of festive clothing?"

I continue down the streets until I enter the strip of merchants and stores where Sebastian’s store is located. More and more of these gray hooded individuals start to appear the further down I go. Walking by Henry's store, the fisherman's dream, I see more of these hooded people standing by the door.

"Maybe he is selling some sort of festive toys?"

I quickly get distracted by the scent of something sweet and freshly baked.

"Freshly baked fruit cake 5 Oura a piece!" A tired old lady shouts out into the sea of voices.

"Maybe I should get Sebastian a piece."

Walking up to her, I took out my small coin pouch containing the money I got from selling the grizzly.  I pull out an octagon shaped coin with a "10" etched into its corner.

"Two pieces please." I say handing her the coin.

"Here you go" the tired old lady says, cutting the two pieces and handing them to me.

The cake is a piece of sweet bread with dried fruits and different nuts baked into it. It has a sweet but salty flavor leaving my mouth dry.

Continuing down the street towards Sebastian’s store I start to feel uneasy.

"Maybe it’s the fruit cake? Did she sell me something expired?"

I would soon find out what this feeling was. When I stood right outside Sebastian’s store, I could feel someone tug on my arm. Spinning around to see who it is I am met with a pair of green snake like eyes. The same eyes that greeted me at the end of the year celebration. The bald man with golden spike like objects piercing his skull with a gold chain going from spike to spike.

"Hello again." The man says in a cold emotionless tone.

The man holds my arm tight with his right hand while stretching out his left past my head and starts to say something.

"Open gate. Dreadful howl, scorching bowl, burn throughout pain, laugh throughout sin. Stand bright, fall cold. IGNIUS TOREN."  

Suddenly a large explosion can be heard from behind me. I feel how the burning flames from the explosion sear through my clothes and start to travel onto my skin.

I let out a painful screech that is quickly drowned by the screams of others. Behind me now stands a giant tower of flames that is burning down Sebastian’s store and quickly spreading and burning the stalls and people near it.

"Sebastian!" I screamed out in fear.

Another loud explosion can be heard up the street towards the fisherman's dream. As I look back at the man, I see a wicked grin start to form on his lips. The man starts to drag me into the crowd of panicking people. I could then again hear the man chant something.

"Open gate. Swallow tear, might heap, crying nature, falling steep. AERIS HOPE."

After that, I feel how I'm being lifted up. Looking down I realized that the man had jumped up to one of the rooftops using a spell. The man then throws me to the side where two other gray cloaked individuals grab me, ripping off my tinted glasses.

Looking around, I see Henry lying unconscious next to another pair of cloaked individuals.

"Hear me people!" The man then shouts into the crowd.

"Calm yourselves!"

Some stop to look up while others are still either running away or trying to stop the fire.

"I am Victor Von Valenta! I am a priest of the Uranos Church, and we have come to help you, people of Berkton." The man named Victor says pulling back his hood to reveal his face.

"You see citizens of Berkton. There is filth around you. Living its life as if it wasn’t filth. You see there is a giant amongst you! A develish creature who sits liek a plauge here in your simple town! But worry not! The Uranos council has asked me to help you to get rid of this evil." he shouts, his voice full of emotion.

"And when I now got here, I found out it was much worse. Not only is there a giant among you, not only are there some who claim the Uranos council is wrong, but there is a sin incarnate living among you."

Victor then points to me, and the two cloaked individuals then throws me next to him.

"This young boy is a colossus! A Hybrid! A criem agaisnt nature itself" He shouts, pointing at me.

Looking down I see that the crowd of people is now standing still. Looking up towards us.

"But then I must ask you people of Berkton. This child only hid with tinted glasses. How is it that none found it strange that he wore them in the darkest of days? Could it be that this child is just too unremarkable to notice? Or is it that you all knew? Freely living with a descendant of the giants. Are you, the good people of Berkton, not aligned with Uranos. Are you all sinners like this man here?" Victor asks, his voice sharp and accusatory, pointing towards Henry's unconscious body.

The crowd goes quiet. A crippling fear starts to hover over each and every one of them.

"What has he done?! What did a mere child do? And what did the giants and dragons do that was so horrendous?! We all know you aren’t preachers. You’re murderers!" The voice of a man breaks the silence.

"You ask of their crimes? Is it not obvious? They are devils born in the realm the gods gave us. The Uranos was formed to stop these devils from taking our given right."  Victor responds.

"So being born is their only crime. Thats absurd. They did nothing against us until you showed up and-"

Victor then nods to one of the cloaked people behind me. From under the man's cloak comes a dagger with a crooked blade.

"Blooming lily" The cloaked man says while pointing the knife towards the man in the crowd. From the dagger a dark green arrow shoots down towards the man piercing his chest, killing the man. From his chest a bouquet of black lily’s bloom.

The crowd screams in terror, all starting to move away from the corpse.

"Now people of Berkton we wish not for you to fear us. We are here to help. Only taking care of the problem and its supporters. As you can see the fires raging behind you are the doings of this boy and the people who support him. The ones who wish to aid the giants and dragons in their corruption of our world." Victor says pinning the blame for the fires on me.

Victor then points towards the fires where now other gray cloaked individuals are "trying" to put out the fires.

"As you can see, we only want to help. So, I think it necessary to punish the ones who wanted to hurt you, people of Berkton. Like the man who spoke against Uranos, like the toy maker behind me and like the hybrid filth next to me." Victor hissed.

Victor brandishes himself with a knife and starts to pierce my flesh. Cutting down on my arm and slowly start to move the dagger up my arm and up to my neck. Scaring my skin.

I scream out in pain as the wounds he leaves on my arm burns. Like if his blade was covered in salt. He then moves the knife to my thigh and quickly stabs me there as well. He then lifts me up by the arm and slashes my burnt back. Victor slams be down on the roof before throwing away his knife.

Victor then pulls out a curved sword from under his cloak. He slowly raises his sword up and as he is about to slash down on my neck, I hear a voice scream out.

"Move Adam!" I hear Sebastian scream. followed by a chant.

"Open gate. Clearing streets, lingering hope, burning castel, screaming folk. IGNUS WAHAL"

Suddenly between me and Victor, a burning wall of fire appears. Sebastian then comes running towards me, grabbing me and jumping off the rooftop. Landing on the fruit stand.  

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asks me as he helps me up from the now destroyed fruit stand.

"If it isn’t the swallowtail's little info broker." Victor says, looking down at us.

"And you are?" Sebastian asks.

"Victor Von Valenta. A priest of the Uranos church." Victor replies.

 "Valenta..." I could hear Sebastian whisper under his breath, a hint of teror in his voice. 

"Why kill the boy?" Sebastian asks.

"Oh Sebastian, don’t take me for a fool. We both know that the boy isn’t human. Or are you perhaps that dumb not to realize it?" Victor says.

"Well, then I believe cats out of the bag. But I still won’t let you hurt him." Sebastian says.

"Believe it or not, I can handle myself quite well in a fight." Sebastian says.

"Oh, I’ve heard of your arcane arts." Victor says jumping down and landing in front of us.

"So, I made sure to prepare my own." Victor says, stretching out his arms.

Sebastian places his thumb on his ring finger and puts up his hands ready for what is about to come.

"Run Adam!" Sebastian shouts, not breaking eye contact with Victor.

I do what he says and run away. However, I don't get far before I'm surrounded by three cloaked individuals. The crowd of people surround us fearing what Uranos might do if they act up.

The first cloaked person, who seems to be a man, pulls out a claymore and swings at me. I jumped to the side to dodge it only to be met with the second cloaked figure, who seemed to be a woman, coming at me with a broadsword. Slashing at my chest.

I run backward just to get some room to draw my sword. However, an arrow from the third cloaked person hits me in the shoulder, making me almost fall down. But I pulled through and ran to the side to hide between the other two fighters while still keeping my distance from them.

I finally am able to draw my sword just in time for the cloaked woman to strike at me again. Blocking her sword with mine I move my sword to the side forcing her to do the same. While she gets moved to the side, I kick her in the stomach with all my might, in order to focus on the other two. Whilst running towards the cloaked man with a claymore I start to think.

"Could I really kill someone? I can kill beasts but...another person? Even if it's just to protect myself. Could I really handle killing the man in front of me? What if he has a family? maybe even children? Why should I be the one to take a father away from his kids? But why should he be allowed to kill me?"

The thought continues to grow larger and larger with each step I take towards the man in front of me.

Even when I slash through his skin with my sword the thought only grows bigger.

Even as his sword tears my flesh, I still wonder what right I have to kill him.

I avoid a sideswipe that the cloaked man performed, and he dodges my attack from below. The man raises his sword and runs towards me. I run towards him and strike at his stomach. This throws him down and leaves me the perfect opportunity to take his life.

"If I don’t, they will just get back up and kill me or my family. Fuck, what do I do!?"

I feel my heart start to beat faster as I raise my sword to swipe down on his skull.

As I prepare my sword to fall, I get a feeling of being watched and just as I’m about to strike down at his skull I stop. Or more like I couldn't move. In fact, nobody moved. All the noise of screaming townsfolk and explosions were gone.

It's deafeningly quiet and then everything goes dark. I feel how I am moved. Not physically moved, but moved nonetheless. When light returns, I am no longer in Berkton. I'm in a throne room. One made of a mix of marble, steel and stone. Torches lining the wall being the only form of light. I still can’t move, but not because I don’t want to move but because I have not been granted permission to move.

In front of me stands a giant throne. On it sits a figure covered in shadows, the only visible thing is his shining white eyes looking down at me.

"Not only have you been given my lineage, but you have struck with it, practiced with it, hunted with it and now you wish to kill someone with it?" an echoing yet quiet voice originating from the figure on the throne says.

"Speak your mind blood of Zalaar." The voice says to me.

With that, I can feel my mouth being able to move.

"Eh...Wh-who are you? and how d-do you know me?" I ask my voice quivering.

After asking It felt like I had just asked a bug to eat a lion. for some reason, my question felt so dumb to ask yet also obvious. but it also felt horrifying. The pressure the silhouette gave off combined with the fear of asking what felt was a stupid question made my body shake in fear.