SPLASH!

Startled by the sudden deluge of cold water, Elric jolted awake, his senses jarred as he found himself soaked to the bone. Remaining on the ground, he hastily sat up, his hair dripping wet and plastered to his forehead. 

“Wha…” he started in confusion.

“Aye kid! Get outta the way! This is my turf to sell!”

Elric looked up at what seemed to be a middle-aged commoner man holding an empty bucket. Behind the man stood a rickety cart laden with small, expensive-looking trinkets. 

He must be a merchant, thought Elric. He weakly stood up and moved out of the merchant’s way before wiping away the water droplets clinging to his face. As the merchant busied himself to set up shop, Elric overheard him grumbling under his breath. “First, that blasted execution delays me; now beggars think they own the place…”

Execution…?

Elric’s eyes suddenly widened in realization as the memories of the prior harrowing events flooded back into him. The image of his parents’ rolling heads and the feeling of their warm blood getting splattered onto his face were seared into his mind. 

“Mom and dad are…” Elric looked down at his hands, which had previously wiped his face, and observed the remnants of his parents’ blood. “They’re…”

The merchant sighed in annoyance. “If I give you a little something, you’ll leave, right? Take this and get out of here. You’re hurting business.” He finished his statement by tossing a copper coin that landed in front of Elric’s tattered shoes. 

Elric glanced downward, and instead of reaching for the coin, his hand closed around his spear, which lay surprisingly close by in its partially fractured state.

“You damn beggar! Shoo! Get outta he—Ah! Greetings, dear customer!” The merchant’s tone shifted greatly as a potential buyer appeared. Ignoring the merchant, Elric walked away with his spear tightly held against his chest.

Sadness. Despair. Defeat. It was pointless. He no longer had it in him to cry. 

He was numb. 

* * *

Four days had quickly flown by. The capital city was now shrouded underneath a dreary gray sky, enduring a harsh downpour of rain with echoes of thunder ominously rumbling in the distance.

Amidst the gloom and rain, Elric was huddled in one of Calith’s dingy alleyways. The last loaf of bread he had bought with his bronze coins had become mushy as a result of the rain. 

“Ha…” He let out a deep sigh as he dropped the remains of the bread onto the ground. He was both cold and hungry—the very things his parents and aunt had tried so ardently to avoid. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t frustrated. 

“The weak will always be under the strong.” 

Leonard never failed to make Elric remember these words. 

“In the end… he was right,” Elric admitted, his tone resigned. “The strong do decide morality, and they ruled that my family committed the worst sin of all—to exist.”

Elric shut his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the alley wall. Just beyond the alley’s entrance, the clamor of two passing pedestrians persisted.

“Being the sole apostle of the sky goddess now, the princess must be grieving extremely hard. Just look at this weather!”

“Yeah, the king’s death must have greatly shocked her. Ah, this thing is useless…” 

The second pedestrian flung a soaked newspaper that shielded the top of their head onto the ground.

Elric absorbed their words as the two walked away. The newspaper lay as a sodden mess on the wet cobblestone, and he couldn’t help but stare at it in disbelief. Did I hear them correctly? he asked himself.

With an incredulous look in his eyes, he pushed himself away from the wall and stepped out of the alley, picking up the newspaper. His fingers traced over its damp edges as he scanned the headline for confirmation of what he had overheard. 

“KING ANSELM’S UNTIMELY DEMISE SENDS ENTIRE KINGDOM INTO MOURNING.”

Elric’s eyes traveled to the black-and-white portrait of the former king and then proceeded to read the first sentences of the article next to it.

“King Anselm II sends shockwaves through the kingdom with his sudden demise, attributed to an unidentified illness. His passing comes merely four days after the execution of neric traitors. The lingering question remains: Were their schemes successful?”

Elric covered his mouth. “Haha….” His laughter began as a soft, almost hesitant chuckle. But then, as the absurdity of the situation fully struck him, his laughter erupted into boisterous peals. “HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

He couldn’t believe it. His parents’ existence was worthless after all. Whether it was the rain or his own tears, Elric’s vision began to blur. 

“This kingdom… this city…”

He ran.

Steeling himself against the chill of the rain, Elric set off through the streets of Calith and ran as far as he could. 

He had to get out of this city. 

Before he knew it, Elric had entered a forest outside of the capital. He continued to run, too anxious to confront the surge of emotions overwhelming him. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest as the trees blurred past him, until eventually he stumbled and fell amidst the dense foliage.

“Gah...!” Elric’s frustration boiled over as he pounded his fist against a nearby tree. “Just what… am I supposed to do?!”

His question was met with a low growl that reverberated through the underbrush ahead. Jerking his head up, Elric’s eyes widened at the sight of two glowing yellow orbs. There, looming before him, was an adult Shadow Panther, its sleek black fur blending seamlessly with the darkness of the forest.

Instinct kicked in, and Elric swiftly assumed his defensive hunting stance, clutching his damaged spear.

GROWL! 

The massive beast lunged forward with astonishing speed, its claws extended in a deadly arc. Elric braced himself, driving the broken spear forward with all his might. The makeshift weapon grazed the panther’s side, eliciting a fierce growl of pain as it recoiled. Seizing the momentary reprieve, Elric swiftly maneuvered a few feet from the panther’s flank.

The panther paused for a moment, sensing the change in Elric’s demeanor. Emitting another fierce growl, it surged backwards, deftly manipulating its shadow to obscure its movements and confuse Elric. By the time Elric could grasp the deception, it was already too late.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

The panther’s claws deeply sliced Elric’s arms, back, and torso. “AARGHHHHH!” he yelled. Despite his tattered clothes and bloodied wounds, Elric pressed on with grim determination, launching himself towards the panther and attempting to strike its underbelly. However, the rain made the forest floor slippery, causing Elric to lose his footing and barely graze the beast once more.

“Shit!”

Enraged by the attack, the panther roared fiercely, its eyes filled with fury as it raised its large paw and hurled Elric across the forest.

“Ugh...” Elric moaned, struggling to raise himself up. He felt the pangs of hunger, the chill of the night, and the weight of exhaustion all bearing down on him. In his current condition, he stood no chance against the Shadow Panther, let alone outrunning it. His eyes darted around his surroundings searching for any chance of escape. Then he saw it—a glimmer of moonlight reflecting off the surface of a lake just beyond the panther. 

Shadow Panthers avoid any type of light, remembered Elric.

Using the final reserves of his strength, Elric locked eyes with the beast and sprinted towards it. The panther lunged after him, its claws slashing through the air just inches from Elric’s body. Elric skillfully dodged and arched over the panther’s form. The panther looked up, and seemingly out of nowhere, Elric drew his spear and struck the panther squarely in its left eye, shattering the weapon upon impact.

GROWL!

The panther released an agonized yowl as it crashed to the ground. Fueled by desperation, Elric dashed towards the lake with a sudden burst of speed. The ground beneath him was slick with mud as he skidded to a stop at the water’s edge, his heart pounding in his ears. 

Snarl…

The panther, which had been down for only moments, now stood as fierce as ever, even with a damaged eye. 

“So this is the strength of an adult Shadow Panther,” remarked Elric. His body completely ached in exhaustion and he knew he wouldn’t survive another interaction. He shifted his gaze between the lake and the panther before finally fixing his eyes on the beast.

“How unfortunate,” he said with a rueful grin. “I tried to run away from pain, but it lives where I live.”

As soon as Elric finished his words, the panther pounced once more. This time, Elric was quicker. He took a step back and fell into the lake all on his own.

Cold.

The lake was cold. 

Yet, as Elric sank deeper, the more he felt a strange sense of comfort. 

Death is calling to me… he mused.

He then reminisced about all the good moments he shared with his family.

It’s not that I desire death, but rather, I mourn the existence I never wished for. Wouldn’t it be better to never exist at all?

With that final thought, Elric surrendered. He let himself be consumed by the lake, the water gradually filling his lungs with each passing moment.

*

As Elric sank deeper into the frigid lake, time seemed to lose all meaning. 

The water dragged him down, the pressure crushed his chest, and the world around him blurred into a hazy swirl.

Just when he thought he would finally lose his consciousness, an odd sensation washed over him. His entire body had become weightless, and he was left in a state of disorientation. Blinking against the darkness, Elric found himself no longer submerged in the lake but suspended in a void.

Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. Was this a dream?

“Where…?”

“You’re in Limbo,” a voice interrupted.

Startled, Elric immediately looked at where the unfamiliar voice came from. “Wh-who are you?”

Before him stood a boy, no older than eighteen, his body translucent white and covered with countless cracks. He appeared fragile, as if a mere touch would shatter him. 

“Haha, it’s been a long time, old friend. You didn’t keep your promise after all,” he said with a sad smile.

“...?”

Elric stared at the boy in pure confusion before shaking his head. “Can you please explain what’s going on? What is this place, why am I here, and… who are you?”

“As I said, this place is Limbo,” replied the boy. “It’s where souls linger when they haven’t fully embraced death.”

“Souls…?” Elric examined his own translucent form, which was glowing rather than cracked. “Are you saying what’s here isn’t my body, but my soul that has left it?”

“Precisely. And the reason why you’re here is because your soul isn’t solely yours.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“The reason you haven’t fully embraced death was something decided five hundred years ago.” 

“Huhh?? That’s not any clearer!”

The boy sighed. “I don’t have much time. You can already see the cracks I’m enduring; I’m at my limit. I’ve been keeping an unimaginable amount of mana at bay, and my task is to give it to its rightful owner—you.”

Mana? Owner? Elric almost laughed. How could he, someone who has been powerless his entire life, be the owner this boy is talking about? 

“No… You’ve got the wrong guy,” Elric replied.

“Elric Sinclair. Only child to Maurim and Elia Sinclair. Your parents died in a public execution, and your aunt Serena was–”

“Stop!” snapped Elric. He gave the boy a harsh glare. “How do you know all that?!”

“It doesn’t matter how I know. This power belongs to you, Elric. Live on the legacy of Asterion.”

“Asterion? Who’s that?”

“He’s... ” The boy grew another sad smile. “I apologize. I wish I could tell you everything. Become friendly with the leaders of Egon and Vozar; they have the answers you seek.” As he spoke, the boy’s cracked skin slowly fell and began to disintegrate. 

“You’re disappearing!” said Elric with a panicked look in his eyes. The boy calmly approached him and placed an almost-gone hand on his chest. “I see. There was another power inside you.”

“What are you talk–”

Cutting Elric off, the boy’s translucent body began to emit a strange purplish glow. “Goodbye, old friend,” he said with a half-disintegrated face. “The future never looked so bright.” His body continued to fall off in larger pieces, and soon he no longer bore any resemblance to a boy.

“Wait!” Elric shouted. “You never told me who you are!”

With what was left of his face, the boy offered Elric his first genuine smile. 

“Me? I’m Kyro.”

“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” 

Two long beams of light shot out of Elric’s eye sockets as an immense amount of power entered him. 

Kyro had completely disintegrated, fading into the void.

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