It was said that the world wasn't always like this.
More than a thousand years ago, only humans lived on this planet.
But one day, rain began to fall all around the world. And then, they came, the demons.
Humans who fought against the demons were called the exorcists. And they cleansed this world from the demons.
However, it wasn't enough. Another rain created a bridge between this world and the demons' world.
And this time, stronger demons invaded this small world, Djora.
It was at that point that the civilization was ruined. The humans went almost extinct, and everything, including the history of the former world, was destroyed.
But the remaining exorcists didn't give up. They found a way to fight against the demons and even forced a truce.
All the demons wanted was a better place to live, instead of their dark and lifeless world.
The humans and demons came to an agreement: in exchange for the demons becoming human to help revive the dwindling human population, they were allowed to live on Djora.
Not all demons accepted this so-called offer, though. And they stayed back, searching for ways to end this new "humans" by invading this world.
---
"Ahh!"
Varun felt his body hit the ground. Even though it was too dark to see where he fell, the floor was damp.
"Where am I?" he asked himself, almost crying once again. It was a scary place for a kid his age.
He didn't inform anyone before leaving, so no one knew where he was. And he had fallen at the entrance of the forest area, where people rarely passed by.
"Was there an earthquake? If so, the others may also be in danger," he thought, assuming no one could come for him if that were the case.
He continued to look around until he saw a flickering light far away.
Slowly, he started moving toward it. He didn't know if it was safe, so his every step took a few seconds.
He first checked with his foot if there were any obstacles in front of him. Then, he checked if his next step would connect to the ground.
Only when he heard the sound of his shoe contacting the wet ground did he bring his other foot forward.
His steps were small at first. But as his eyes got accustomed to the darkness, and as he gained a little bit of courage after walking for ten minutes, he started walking a bit faster.
At the same time, the source of the flickering light got bigger.
No, it wasn't a flickering light; it was an opening to a torch-lit chamber.
Where is this place?
He didn't know the city by heart. But by looking at the moss covering the stone walls of the corridor and the chamber, he knew that this wasn't a place frequently visited.
No, no one had been here for a very long time.
When he reached the center of the chamber, he realized that there was something at the very center.
"Is that... a sword?"
He suddenly realized that there were runes on the ground, circling the reddish sword stuck on the ground.
"No way!"
Varun didn't waste any time before speculating why there would be a sword here.
Of course, the first thing he thought of was the old man and the story he had been telling for the last month.
He had listened to it so many times that he knew the story by heart now.
"It can't be..."
Could the old man's story be true? Even Amaya had called it "false hope," so he couldn't be sure.
But it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?
I wish I knew the lottery numbers... Varun remembered what one of the other children said about going back in time.
But...
No, I can't be greedy.
He already had one thing he wanted to do if he could go back to the past. It was much more important than being rich.
Looking at the sword, he realized the patterns on it. It seemed like the head of a dragon, made with golden strings over the red handle.
He felt like the dragon's eyes were looking at him. His heart started beating faster and faster as he approached the sword.
The excitement filled his body. The uncertainty should have made him hesitate, but his steps were firm.
At last, he touched the handle of the sword and coiled his fingers around it.
The sword seemed too big for a child his age to be able to grip from afar, but now, it was as if the handle shrank to fit his hand.
The moment his hand completely covered the handle, he felt something he couldn't explain. It wasn't some kind of strength. No, it was more like something disturbing.
But he didn't let the sword go. He couldn't.
Instead, he put his other hand on top of the one holding the sword and started pulling.
He needed to pull the sword out.
The old man hadn't said anything about the sword being stuck anywhere, but Varun thought that this was the only possible way to use it.
He used all his strength, and the sword started coming out of the ground.
As the sword came out, the runes circling the sword and Varun started shining red.
But Varun didn't have any time to spare for the runes. Just taking the sword out was taking all his concentration.
The sword continued to come out of the ground until it was halfway out.
It was at that very moment that Varun realized.
The sword was stuck...
He fought with everything he had, but the sword didn't come out any more than that.
Thinking that he could try again after taking a rest, he stopped forcing the sword. The sword started going back into the ground.
"Haghh!"
Varun held the sword again and took it back to the halfway position.
"What?"
He didn't know why he did that. There was a feeling inside him, something instinctually telling him not to let the sword go.
He felt that if he let go of the sword, he would definitely regret it. Even though he couldn't explain the thought, he realized it wasn't something simple.
Maybe it is a test! If I hold it long enough, maybe I can take the sword with me.
So, he held onto the sword a bit more. But his arms started getting tired as time passed.
He didn't know what to do. Whenever he almost gave up, the feeling came back, as if torturing him.
Ten minutes passed by. He still didn't let go.
In these ten minutes, Varun realized that he wasn't only fighting against gravity. The sword was also trying to go back to its place, into the ground.
But he couldn't let go, even though he didn't know why.
"Aaaaggh!" he shouted with all his might as he felt his arms were about to fail him at around fifteen minutes.
At that moment...
"Huh? Why?"
Instantly, almost all the weight in his hands vanished.
He didn't just feel rested, he felt stronger.
No, it was more like someone else was holding the sword with him. he looked around, but there was no one else but him and the shining runes.
Am I going crazy?
Even though he thought that, he was thankful. He didn't think he could hold the sword any longer if it wasn't for this phenomenon.
But how long do I have to hold onto this?
He didn't even know why he was doing this, let alone how long he should do it.
In the end, though, there was no other way. The feeling was more like a warning.
So, he waited.
Now that it was easier to hold onto the sword, he started drifting in his thoughts.
***
"Say hello, everyone. This is Eira. She is six years old. She will be living here from today on."
Amaya was holding the hand of a girl with snow-white hair. She was trying to hide behind Amaya.
They were in the orphanage, together with other children.
Dharan, the boy who was older than the others, was first to get up. "What is wrong with her hair?"
The girl, Eira, hid herself even more behind Amaya.
"You are scaring her, Dharan," Veydan, the boy with glasses, said.
"No way! You must be scaring her."
"I didn't even talk to her. Are you dumb?"
"Okay, it is enough," Amaya said gently. "Varun, you are at the same age, so I will trust you with her."
Varun, who was watching others from the corner, got up and looked at Eira.
---
"Varun, look! You should see this!" Eira shouted. It had already been three years since she had come to the orphanage.
"Huh? It is beautiful. How are you doing this?" Varun said after seeing what she was doing.
Over Eira's hand, there were snowflakes as if it were snowing.
The moment the snowflakes left her hand, they disappeared. But the ones that didn't leave started piling up in her hand.
"Hehe! Because I am amazing?"
***
"Aaaaggh!"
Varun's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in his left arm as if it had been cut.
He still didn't let go of the sword. It had almost been 30 minutes.
I c-can't let goo!
Thump!
Before he could realize it, Varun was holding his heart. The pain he felt in his arm was in his heart this time.
No, it was much stronger. So strong that Varun didn't realize he let go of the sword. The sword fell back to its place with a thump sound.
Varun's head hit the ground as he passed out.