Whether this became tragedy or triumph, I would savor every moment—and gather valuable insight into the ages to come.
"Let there be carnage!"
In the depths of the night, the broken sword responded.
A streak of dark red brilliance pulsed from its blade, glowing with a deep, crimson light.
Outside the village, the loud thunder of horses and frantic neighing tore through the night sky, and the environment.
But that wasn’t the only sound, and that couldn’t be all as the cries of humans rang out heavily in the air, tangled with desperate, confused pleas that echoed relentlessly.
CURSED CHILD POV..
I had just woken up. Using the back of my hand, I rubbed the grogginess from my eyes and let out a sluggish yawn. I had thought the noise was part of a dream—some lingering reverie from my adventurous dreams as usual—but it was that very sound that had dragged me from my sleep, to reality.
And as if a wake up call, I stood up to search for where the sound was coming from, but that single act shattered the remaining grogginess I had left the moment I saw the blazing fire outside my window.
The trotting of horses, doors being rammed open, and endless shouts crashed into my ears, lingering like the screams of a woman in labor.
"What’s going on?" I muttered.
"Is this some kind of nightmare?" I wondered, rubbing my eyes and giving myself a little pinch.
I was flabbergasted, unable to make sense of what I was seeing—at least until I got out of bed and opened the front door of our house.
The moment I stepped outside, I was shoved back inside roughly.
"What did you come out for? Get back in there!"
I stumbled and looked up, my confusion freezing when I met my father’s face. His expression was grim and solemn—something I had never seen before.
Before I could obey and return to my room, a tall, fierce steed suddenly rammed into our house.
Mounted atop the black horse was a steel knight clad in dark armor, cold eyes glaring from beneath his helmet. The luxurious steel armor left me frozen, my mind blank with shock and fear.
For several seconds, I couldn’t react. Armor like that belonged to lords—knights of nobility—or priceless heirlooms passed down through wealthy families, barons, or counts. Even the nearest baron to our village wouldn’t dare parade around with something so valuable.
I stared, dumbfounded, fear and awe filling my chest and mind.
Then my heart skipped, on the knight’s breastplate was an embroidered sword—an infamous crest etched clearly into the steel, signifying who it belongs to.
The Holy Shrine.
How... how could it be the Shrine? The Holy Shrine—what are they doing here?
My legs nearly gave out. The Shrine knights had once been my idols. But what I was seeing now—what they were doing—was shattering every dream and ounce of admiration I had ever held for them.
"Esteemed Lord, may I know—"
My father swallowed hard, mustering every bit of courage he had as he stepped forward.
He didn’t even finish his sentence.
When he was cut mid sentence with a brutal force, and was sent staggering to the ground.
"I’m only saying this once,"
The knight said coldly. "All residents are to gather at the altar. Immediately."
His voice was like the whispers from old horror tales, carrying nothing but fear and coldness to its tone.
Without another word, he rammed his way through our front door.
The sounds of trunks and boxes being overturned followed. My siblings were chased outside soon after, one after the other as if in a parade.
Clutching onto one another, my family followed the others toward the heart of the village, where an altar that stood proudly, could be seen.
Only then did I truly realize the scale of what was happening. It wasn’t just us.
The entire village had been driven from their homes. Villagers stood scattered in the open, faces pale and shaken, stricken with fear and shock.
Confused murmurs and crying children merged into a single stream of noise flowing toward the center of the village.
"Wha... what’s going on?" I forced a whisper through my already dried throat, though no one answered.
Even as I walked, I had no idea what was happening. All I knew was that my family’s hands were locked tightly together. My fingers ached, slick with sweat, squeezed so hard it felt like the blood was being pressed out of them.
I watched my father as he walked ahead of me, his back stiff, his expression dark and uneasy.
I had never seen that look on his face before—not when our mother died, not when we lost livestock, not even when tax soldiers came to the village, and not when he squandered our money for food.
For the first time in my life, I saw the entire villagers gathered together looking like a herded sheep in a ranch.
Steel knights raised flaming torches, their horses circling us in an imposing parade, their armor gleaming against the darkness of the night, made us even more afraid
Around them stood teenagers and middle-aged men dressed in Shrine robes.
The more I looked, the more extravagant their attire appeared. They all looked important—powerful—people far beyond the ordinary villagers like us.
"Cough... cough..."
The eerie atmosphere, combined with the sudden arrival of the Shrine officials and knights, made my heart race uncontrollably. I didn’t even know why—but fear gripped me tighter with every step.
It was like a premonition before something bad happened.
[Author Notes: I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for reading this novel, and our top fans,I appreciate every comment, review, powerstones, golden tickets you guys give the book. But we need more.]
[Our hunger grows!]
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