Kael's POV
I always thought the world was cruel, but I never knew it could destroy me with a single blow.
The rain was cold that night, colder than anything I had ever felt. My clothes clung to my skin, heavy and wet, but none of that mattered.
"Elara…? Elara, wake up."
My voice cracked as I dropped to my knees, lifting her head into my lap.
Her eyes, which were once filled with love and hope, were now lifeless.
Her body was warm,but barely. Too barely.
No,no, no, no.
Someone, please tell me this is all a dream.
"Elara! Stay with me!"
My hands trembled as I pressed them against the wound on her chest, blood spilling through my fingers like it was trying to escape me.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
I was supposed to protect her. I promised her I would.
I closed my eyes, but all I could feel… all I could see… was her.
Just an hour ago she was fine, she was smiling. Now she's just lying lifeless like a log of wood.
"Arghhhhhhhh!!!"
My scream tore through the forest, echoing into the dark like an animal wounded beyond repair.
I don't know how long I stayed there. Minutes? Hours? Time didn't exist. The world had shrunk into a single point of agony.
But then…
A shadow moved.
The air shifted as something stepped from the darkness.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw tall, slender, wings like torn shadows unfurling behind it.
Black wings.
I tilted my head immediately, but it was gone.
"Fuck."
I cussed.
My heart kept pounding, so hard that it began to hurt. I didn't care. I didn't need strength. I only needed one thing.
Revenge.
Right there, I swore on Elara's corpse. I swore I'll take revenge.
I'll slay down that black-winged creature.
"This I promise you, Elara,"
I said before walking away, trying not to look back.
"I promise you, Elara, I'll move forward. I'll get revenge for you."
° ° °
The walk to Rylan's mansion felt like a tug of war for my legs as I dragged my feet along the road, walking in a zigzag manner.
I felt so numb. I wasn't even feeling the cold anymore.
I rang the doorbell immediately after I got to his house.
The door swung open, revealing Daisy, her opaque eyes widening in shock.
"Kael? By the gods, you're soaked! And... is that...?"
Her voice trailed off as she saw the blood stains on my tunic that the rain didn't wash away.
"Babe, let's go inside first. I'll spill the details after,"
I said, my voice low and weak.
"Rylan!" she called out after leading me to a couch. "It's Kael!"
The sound of rushing footsteps came from the stairs, and soon Rylan was standing in front of me, surprise splattered all over his face. He looked at me, and seeing the blood on my clothes, he sat down immediately.
Even though his face looked calm, he held this grim expression which I found a little bit uncomfortable.
"Here Kael, drink,"
Daisy interrupted my thoughts, handing me a glass of warm milk.
I grabbed it and downed it in one go. The milk tasted like bitterness mixed with sorrow in my throat.
She handed me another. I was about to reject it when Rylan spoke for the first time.
"Tell me what happened, and why you're covered in blood,"
He said.
The story came out in ragged, shattered pieces. I told them how I got a mysterious call saying Elara's life was in danger, only for me to find her dead. I also told them about my promise about executing revenge on her murderer. I didn't reveal anything about the black-winged creature. I kept that one to myself.
Daisy sat down on a cushion beside me, her shoulders shaking. She sniffed, then sniffed again, before a terrain of tears flowed out of her eyes.
I sat there, watching her cry, feeling so powerless and weak.
Rylan leaned forward.
"Kael, listen to me,"
He said.
"I know you loved Elara, and I loved her too. She was like a sister to me. This pain..."
He shook his head, trying to suppress his grief.
"But what you're talking about... that thing called revenge, it is a path that only leads to one place: an abyss of unending misery."
"I don't care,"
I whispered, staring into the burning furnace in the sitting room.
"That's the grief talking!"
Rylan's voice rose, laced with frustration and fear.
"Think, Kael! What would Elara want? She'd want you to live! She'd be horrified to see you throw your life away on a suicide mission that's not necessary!"
"Rylan is right, Kael,"
Daisy said, still sniffing.
"Please. You need to heal. You can do anything but not... not this. Revenge won't bring her back. It will only create more sorrow."
I looked from Rylan's desperate, pleading face to Daisy's compassionate one. They were the only family I had left now. They were trying to save me.
But all I could see was Elara's lifeless eyes.
All I could hear was the sound of the last breath she took on earth, echoing in my skull.
Revenge. Revenge. Revenge.
Their words of comfort were like distant noises from another world. It felt like poison to my ears. They didn't understand. The man who loved them, who joked with Rylan and was so in love with Daisy, was gone. He died in that alley with his sister.
All that was left was a vessel. A vessel for one purpose.
I stood up.
"Thank you for the drink,"
I said, my voice eerily calm.
"I have to go."
"Kael, no!"
Rylan started, standing up.
"Please, stay,"
Daisy pleaded, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.
"Don't go."
"Sorry, I have to. Daisy, it was fun being around you, and I cherish what we had, but everything ends here now. I'm about to indulge myself in something sinister, and I don't want you involved in it,"
I said with no trace of emotion on my face.
"Kael, I think you must be out of your mind!"
Rylan butted in.
"Do you even know what you're saying? How can you just break up with my sister after everythi..."
"Sorry, but I gotta go," I interrupted him, walking towards the door as I shut it closed.
I took a deep breath before stepping into the rain.
And at that moment, the universe itself seemed to stand still.
My breath hitched as the world froze.
The air felt like tear gas in my lungs as I found it hard to breathe. My heart hammered like a trapped bird.
And I felt it.
A pressure so immense that it felt like the sky was falling.
It was a suffocating pressure, emanating from everywhere and nowhere at once, making my knees fold. My heart seized.
Then I saw him. The black-winged creature.
He stood right in front of me, with wings of absolute darkness that were such a sight to behold.
A deep satanic aura pulsed from him. I could feel it shattering raindrops into mist. The ground cracked beneath his feet without him moving.
His face was cold. His green eyes shone brightly. They held no hatred, only a vast, terrifying indifference. He looked at me as one would look at dust.
I could smell death in the air as he took one silent step forward. The ground groaned. Blood trickled from my nose. I was paralyzed, utterly overwhelmed.
My revenge, my rage, my anger... all evaporated, leaving only nerve-racking, overwhelming terror.
He was here.
* * * * *"