Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

The rain poured relentlessly, drenching the cobblestone streets of Reaon Kingdom in a torrential downpour. Thunder rumbled overhead, showcasing the storm's ferocity.

Through the deluge raced a young girl, her long and golden locks of hair swaying in the wind.

In her arms, she clutched a collection of colorful vials. Their contents glimmering even in the gloom of the storm. Each step was a battle against the roaring wind and heavy rain, yet the battle she was focusing on was the battle against time.

As she turned into a narrow alleyway, her foot caught on a loose piece of cobblestone, and she stumbled, a cry of pain escaping her lips as she twisted her ankle.

With a thud, she crashed to the ground, her blue maiden dress splattering into the muddy puddles of the alley. Her pristine white socks and brown shoes now were soaked in muddy water.

The vials flew from her grasp, with some shattering on impact. Their contents scattered across the pavement and disappeared among the rainwater. The girl lay there for a moment, rain pelting down upon her, the pain in her ankle searing through her body.

Ignoring the throbbing ache in her ankle, she started to push herself back up. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of her face. It was now all scratched up, with her makeup being carried down her cheeks by the water.

Tears started to well in her eyes from both the pain and her appearance. Yet, she snapped back into focus when the image of a sickly woman flashed in her head. She began to crawl across the wet pavement for the fallen vials. With each one she retrieved, she felt a surge of relief, knowing that her mission was not yet lost.

“There you are!” A voice sounded from behind her, making the girl almost jump out of her skin.

Turning around, she was shocked to see the two older men she thought she escaped from. She sat petrified on the flooded ground in their presence.

The men themselves were panting as if they both ran a marathon, with the slightly more chubby one resting on his knees. Both wore a simple cotton green shirt, wool pants, and worn boots, all of which was drenched.

Catching his breath, the lankier man pointed at the girl, full of contempt. “You brat! Look what you’ve done!! Not only did you steal from us, you gone and wasted some of the vials!!” He said, reaching for the vials she had in her arms.

The girl pulled the mysterious vials into her chest in response. “Please no! My mother needs these! She'll die from the Hiyan disease if I don't get this to her! I'll do anything! Just please… Let me save my mother…”

The two men turned, looked at each other, and heartlessly laughed at the girl's pathetic display.

“Girlie, you must not understand. The remedies you stole from us will sell like fortunes! The more desperate dimwits like you get, the more demand rises, and so too the price. It's basic business really, but not the most ethical…” The man started to walk towards the girl, pulling out a knife. “Which is why we can't just let you go, or else news will spread, leading to us in trouble.”

The girl scrambled to her feet and backed away from the approaching man. “Wha…! St-Stay away…!” Only to walk right into the lanky one, who snuck up behind her.

As the man restricted her arms, she immediately started going into full panic mode. “No! Let me go! Please! Someone!! Help!!!”

“It's no use,” The man in front of her said with a smirk. “With these thick walls and the heavy rain drowning out any noise, I wouldn't waste my breath.”

The man behind the girl quickly overpowered her, locking her arms behind her back, and causing the vials to drop to the ground. Now holding both of her arms with one hand, he used the other to cover her mouth to muffle her screams. “Just hurry it up Dareil, one of the guards might be nearby! You get imprisoned for being outside during quarantine, but if they catch onto our little business, we're fucked!”

“Yeah yeah Gial, keep her still. I'll make it quick with the heart.” The man said as he raised his knife.

The girl could only watch through black tears as the knife came down.

It was then, that a dagger sliced through the air. In the dagger's wake, the rainwater displaced and converged on the dagger's surface, momentarily forming a vacant pathway. The rainwater later rearranging itself to fill the void left behind.

With a distinct and sharp thud on impact, the dagger skewered Dareil's armed hand.

“GWAAAAAAAAH!” Dareil screamed, dropping to his knees from the sudden pain. With a clang, his knife landed in the water below, which slowly took on a red hue from his blood.

“Bro!” Gial shouted at his brother’s hand gushing blood.

Yet, when he and the girl he was holding hostage looked up at the assailant, a wave of petrifying fear overloaded their senses.

A hooded figure stood at the entrance of the dimly lit alleyway. His figure was entirely shrouded in the shadows.

As Gial focused his eyes in a fruitless attempt to identify the newcomer, the ambient darkness would be pierced by a sudden flash. A thunder-strike bestowed from the stormy night, briefly revealing the figure's silhouette.

It was Alaric. Adorned with a flexible, yet durable black cloak that obscured most of his upper body, breathable black pants, reinforced kneecaps and a jester mask, he started to approach the trio. Each step he took, his black and rubber sole boots met a puddle on the ground, creating a soft splash.

Dareil meanwhile still writhed in pain on the ground. Now on all fours in puddles reddened from his own blood, he looked behind him. His eyes met the gaze of Alaric's cold, red stare. Scrambling to his feet, still holding his bloodied left hand, both men would shout in unison. “Who the hell are you!?”

Alaric stopped, yet remained silent. Both men could feel his gaze pierce through them as if they were being gauged and assessed.

Finally taking his left arm from under his cloak, revealing black leather gloves with open tips, Alaric readied himself with his prized Kumotaki Dagger.

A sudden wave of sheer lethality enveloped the men when they saw the dagger. It featured a sleek, obsidian-black blade, divided into two fangs. Each fang curved sharply, creating a menacing and symmetrical design. The hilt was adorned with intricate, silver engravings, enhancing both its mystical appeal. Lastly, on the shoulder of the hilt, the Soul Divination Council's Insignia could be seen—the very same symbol that was on the cloaks of those who gave them the vials.

“W-Who do you think you are!” Dareil shouted in a desperate attempt to reject his fear. Ripping the dagger from his left hand, he pointed the bloodied blade at Alaric. “Take this! Thunder Affinity: Lightning Dart!!”

The dagger brimmed and crackled with an energy akin to the same lightning spawned from the storm above. After a brief moment, a narrow beam of electricity arced through the cascading raindrops towards Alaric.

In response, Alaric gripped the kumotaki dagger and deflected the bolt of energy with a backhanded motion. A seemingly impossible feat, as most weapons could never deflect such magic, let alone reacting to an attack of such speed.

However, both Alaric and the weapon he stole from the Council were far from ordinary.

The redirected lightning dart pierced through the air towards the men, finally striking the roof of a nearby house. Debris from the collision rained down upon the two men and the girl.

“Shit!” Gial shouted as he threw the girl to the side while dodging the debris. Dareil also dodged and turned his attention back to Alaric—but was only met with the empty entrance of the alleyway.

In the same instant of realization, numerous stab wounds appeared on his torso and abdomen. Blood began to pour like a waterfall from Dareil wounds as he kneeled in pain. Though, the pain was but a prick of sand compared to Dareil's confusion. He didn't see, hear, nor feel anything rush towards him. It was as if the air itself took form and attacked him.

A bewildered Gial witnessed the entire sequence and dashed for the knife Dareil dropped. He couldn’t see the hooded figure anymore, so he dazedly thought it was the best time. Making it to the knife, Gial would stop immediately in his tracks. Despite all reason, he sensed that if he moved his neck even a centimeter further, he would die.

An assumption that would be proven correct as he looked down upon kumotaki. The two fanged dagger pressed against the weak flesh of his neck, drawing a drop of blood.

Alaric himself stood shoulder to shoulder with him, facing the opposite way and holding the kumotaki in place with cutthroat precision. “Make a single sound, it’ll be your last… So listen…” Alaric words came out in a ghastly tone, filled with malice. Though the malice masked Alaric’s weakened state, Gial couldn’t help but gulp as he shivered from the haunting words. “I avoided your brother's vital areas—take him and leave…”

Gial looked down, considering Alaric’s threatening suggestion. Looking back up at his brother's crumpled body, he raised his hands, swallowing his pride. “Al… A-Alright… I understand…”

Acknowledging Gial's fearful compliance, Alaric withdrew kumotaki. His eyes never leaving Gial's back.

As Gial picked up Dareil over his shoulder, he could still feel Alaric's stare pierce through his body.

The girl, still shell-shocked from what just happened, retrieved any unbroken vials. Standing back up, she stared curiously at Alaric. “Who… Who is he? I've never seen him here before around here.”

As if hearing her thoughts, Alaric turned slightly, meeting her gaze. Staring into his fiery red eyes with her own golden eyes, she could see how cold, yet soft they were. As weird as it felt, she knew she wasn't in danger.

Just then, a low ominous chime echoed throughout the entirety of Reaon. While Alaric had no clue what it meant, the other three knew.

“O-Oh no!” The girl muttered, fearful for what's to come.

Whenever the giant bell on top of Reaon Castle is rung, it means either an attack is coming, or an intruder has infiltrated the walls. In whichever emergency, Reaon’s battalion of knights swarmed the place in attempt to dispel any threats.

“What’s happening!?” Alaric asked the girl. Before she could answer though, Gial and Dareil sprinted full speed into the open streets.

What they saw would normally send them running, but right now, they couldn't have been any happier—a wave of Reaon Guards rushing through the streets.

“THE INTRUDER IS OVER HERE!! HE ATTACKED MY BRO AND I!”

Realizing what Gial had done, Alaric gently grabbed the girl, using his left hand to cover her mouth and his right arm to support the vials in her arms.

Right before the girl began to struggle, Alaric whispered in her ear. (“I'm not going to hurt you. Stay completely still and don't speak… They won't notice us, I promise.”)

Confused and afraid, the girl soon felt an enigmatic energy envelop her entire body. Alaric then shuffled them under an overarching roof.

Soon after, the two heard a parade of heavy armored footsteps approaching. Every clatter from their steel toed boots created a rising symphony of dread.

The girl wanted to run as she knew what the punishment was for disobeying kingdom orders, but it was too late. A battalion of ten guards had already rounded the corner into the alleyway.

Alaric and the girl stood out in the open, completely exposed with their backs to the alleyway walls…

And yet, only one guard would murmur to himself. “T—There's no one here…”

-

Next: (Chapter 20/End of Act 1) A Diamond In The Rough: Part 2