“THE HERO HAS ARRIVED!”

“MAKE WAY!” cried Sera

From every corner of the fairground, people flocked for a glimpse of the sudden parade of guards and adventurers ushering the stranger through their lands. Cheers erupted throughout the town, with music following after. Like a wave every soul pushed forward towards the lord’s keep. Every soul, except one whose eyes stared into the blue of the sky. A passing cloud darkened the stage where he lay.

“My hopes, my dreams, all of it taken from me by a super version of me,” Kuro thought. “I was ready to be disappointed, but this is just unfair.”

Kuro managed a broken smile and laughter with hot tears streaked down. He raised a fist to pound it on the ground over and over until his heart felt satisfied. The pain in his hand felt too real to be a dream.

“Well, forget fate. Forget destiny. If they say I can’t be the hero and save the world I’ll prove them wrong and do it my own way. Who needs that sword anyway? I can do good and be a hero without it!” Kuro declared.

He stood there half believing his own conviction before he dried his face on his sleeve and sat up. It was like he was the only one left in the whole world with everyone abandoning the fairgrounds. A hole bored deep into Kuro’s chest and he let his sorrow drive him through the empty streets with only one destination. The entire way, his eyes were in a daze and burned with each blink. Luckily, his body knew the way while his mind wandered.

He found himself in front of the familiar stone building of the adventurer’s guild. With no life in him, he swung the heavy wooden door open only to find the usual bustle he expected was absent. Like the rest of the town, he and the guild were abandoned as everyone sought to glimpse the hero, or so he thought. To Kuro’s surprise, there was one person who still sat behind the reception counter lazily letting a stack of books hold up her head.

“Heeeeeeeey Kuuuuroooo,” the girl beckoned as if she was half asleep.

“Mai, you’re still here?” Kuro responded.

“Well… We caaaaan’t exactly leave the guild unattended now can weeee? Besiiiiides… crowds aren’t my thiiiiiing!” Mai said with her hands supporting her face.

“Yeah, me too,” Kuro agreed without meeting her eyes. “I was hoping to get a mission a little further away from town today.”

“Aloooone? Don’t you want to paaarty with someoooone or wait for Seraaa?”

“Yes, please. I need to clear my head a bit.”

Mai took both hands and spread a stack of papers across the table with none so much as falling off the table. She ruffled through them before she found one that made an eye open from its usual fox-like appearance.

“An explosion in the north woods was heard from the corner of town. It came from the direction of the old tower ruins. Any information on the cause will pay out, but if the cause of it is demonic then clearing it out would grant additional rewards. Pretty standard, but if it's too much alone you can always return. Do you accept?" Mai sat up from her lax position and looked Kuro straight into his eyes.

Kuro gulped a bit as his hands shook at the thought of going out there alone. Most adventurers knew that their best hope of making it home was a partner to watch their back. Sera made it a point to teach Kuro this, but the memory of her at the Hero’s side was still fresh in his mind. He gritted his teeth knowing he’d be on his own from now on.

"I'll take it." Kuro steeled himself.

"Right-ooooo." She responded by stamping the form before handing it over. "Good luuuuuuck and come back safelyyyyyyyy."

With a nod, Kuro made his way out of the guild to find the path that led north through the town. He continued through the empty streets, reliving his failure in his mind and the image of Sera’s back. Kuro shook his head, determined to push forward and keep his mind from dwelling. He took both of his hands and slapped his cheeks as hard as he could.

“There’s no way, but onward. Thinking like this is only going to slow me down,” Kuro settled.

He walked until he could no longer see the protective walls of the town where he first came to live his dream and continued down the path surrounded in all green. The paved path was now patted down earth, a good sign he was on the right track. The north woods were usually safe during the days as demonic beasts generally stalked the roads at night. As long as he made it back before dark Kuro wouldn't have to worry about being overwhelmed by the stray desperate monster. Still, his hand rested on his old but trusty sword while he broke off from the path to search the area.

All seemed in place until the old tower peaked through the trees. Kuro stood there perplexed at the sight of an out-of-place windmill that spun with the trees' sway. His adventurer's instinct made him step more lightly to get a closer look. One step in front of the other brought Kuro closer to the dark entrance. Rays of light were scarce past the threshold. Kuro held his breath to plunge into the darkness and pressed his back against the cold wall. Each breath paced itself to match the tower’s airflow to conceal his presence.

Within a few moments, his eyes were ready to scan what little of the room he could make out. The floor had not a piece of debris on it unlike the scattered ruins outside. Kuro’s ears perked up at the grinding and popping that echoed as he stepped further into the darkness. He gulped hard and drew his weapon to steady his heartbeat in his ears. Two glowing blue wisps of light rose from the ground floating in the air.

"Have I made a grave mistake?" Kuro thought to himself as they began their approach.

There was no hiding now as they lunged closer. Kuro became desperate for the glimmers of salvation—the light that peaked through from where he entered.

Tha-thump tha-thump!

The noises behind him grew closer no matter how fast Kuro's feet carried him.

"No choice! Stand your ground!"

Kuro turned to hope whatever light he had would give him an idea of what he was in for. Whatever entered the range of his blade would be his first target. A mass of midnight black fur lunged at Kuro knocking him to the ground. He slid on the stony floor as the light was finally upon the beast. It stood taller than any dire wolf Kuro had ever seen in all his life. What was left of his sword crunched between its jaws while the pale blue eyes pierced into Kuro's very core. As the sword disappeared into its mouth, blades burst forth from its fur.

Kuro's hands scrambled on the floor while he crawled to make some sort of distance from it. The hound licked its chops to savor whatever remained on its lips before its eyes turned back on the intruder.

"Anything. I need something to defend myself or I'm dead." Kuro thought as he searched.

In the dark, a sheen caught Kuro's attention as he ran towards it. The scraping of sharp blades soon followed after him. In the dark, as Kuro got closer to his goal his hands grasped at any part of the floor where it might have been. The heaving from behind was soon on him as a cold bump hit his hands. The blazing blue eyes felt as though they might pierce his flesh with just their gaze. The creature lunged forward biting down hard on the weapon Kuro held in front of him to defend himself. In his hands, the long pole was the only thing to stop the fangs from sinking into him. The hound lifted Kuro into the air with each push and pull of the weapon.

“STAY ON YOUR FEET!” Kuro panicked. “IF YOU FALL YOU’RE DEAD!”

All Kuro could do was fight to keep his balance from failing him. Push, pull, turn, twist. The sound of the metal’s clash and crash rang in Kuro’s ears with each movement. Still, his focus could not be broken. Each passing second felt like an eternity as the two danced in the darkness until one’s will wavered. A familiar warmth washed over Kuro’s back when he finally noticed they were finally at the doorway.

“There’s no way…” Kuro whispered.

It was a sight that Kuro knew as well as anybody. From the back of the creature was a frantic wag of a bladed tail. There was no hint of hostility from the fangs that held onto the staff, but instead bright eyes full of attention. Kuro relaxed his fingers and the huge hound-like creature sat in place holding the pole in its mouth until it dropped it and nudged it to Kuro’s feet. Instinctually, Kuro picked it up and threw it into the darkness. The sound of pots and pans falling down a stairwell rang as it ran after its target. A few seconds later the sound got louder and louder before it returned to drop the weapon again before Kuro’s feet. Using his instincts and experience, Kuro reached the back of his hand halfway to the creature. To his surprise, it slowly met his hand for a sniff. The snout darted side to side before a giant tongue soaked Kuro’s hand. With the light shining on it, it looked exactly like a huge dog with swords sticking out of its fur. It stood there panting with a bladed tail slicing the air.

“Chomper! Keep it down! What’s a lady got to do to get some peace and quiet?” a feminine voice rang from the dark.

A snap from the dark made the whole room brighter. It was brighter than any candle or torch Kuro had ever seen before in his life and like the stars in the sky. A girl stood before him with messy brown hair with streaks of red near the tips. She wore an open, but dirty white coat that covered a relaxed outfit. Her hands on her hips, she observed the stranger who was now petting Chomper.

“Some guard dog you are,” she said with a smirk to her dog. “Now who are you?”