02 | After the Darkness

One year ago.

"Kieran Nyxshade. You are the cursed child!" The shout merged with laughter and children's chatter in the corridor, but Kieran heard it crystal clear.

He halted and turned, causing his friends to follow suit. His gaze directly met the green eyes, hidden securely behind the broken-framed glasses. A week ago, those eyes used to sparkle while looking at Kieran. But today, the gaze was filled with profound hatred.

"You should address him as 'my lord,' Dravon!" Billy, one of Kieran's close friends, scolded Dravon before Kieran uttered a word. "Commoner scum."

"Oh my, I can't stand his foolishness. I wonder why he got the scholarship instead of you, Kieran," Emma retorted.

"Let it be, Emma. Without the scholarship, he wouldn't manage to attend school here."

"Guys!" Kieran muttered briefly, silencing his friends. He walked towards Dravon, who looked small in the donated orphanage sweater. "What do you want, Dravon? You don't need to act this pitiful to be my friend."

"Be your friend?!" The words were uttered so cynically that Kieran raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather die than be your friend, Nyxshade! You're the cursed child!"

***

Whispers behind Kieran instantly brought him back from his reverie. He gazed at the Highest Priest, his heart throbbing painfully, recalling a fragment of the past incident.

"The cursed child?" Kieran echoed the Highest Priest's words, half-dead trying to appear strong. It felt as if his longstanding fear, his nightmare, had become a reality. At seventeen, instead of receiving blessings, he was burdened with a curse. "What does it mean, Your Holiness?"

The Highest Priest rubbed the creases on his forehead. "You've been bestowed with the Revenant curse. A curse that brings you back to life after death."

Everyone gasped. The whispers grew louder. Kieran's face turned as pale as bone. He swallowed hard. His eyes met Eliora's, who looked back at him anxiously. Moments later, the knight approached Kieran, carrying a long, dusty box he had seen earlier.

Kieran brushed off the velvet covering the box. Time had turned its once-soft material into something rigid and grimy under Kieran's touch. As he opened the box, two hiltless swords greeted him—one shimmering white, the other a dark black. When Kieran's hand touched the black sword, blood oozed from his pale fingertips. He quickly closed the box, leaving traces of blood on its surface.

"Thank you, Your Holiness," he uttered with a choked voice. The Highest Priest remained silent and quickly descended from the stage. Eliora promptly followed the Highest Priest. Kieran overheard her saying, "Your Holiness, may we speak for a moment?" before the two of them disappeared behind the grand palace doors. Leaving Kieran alone on the stage with all eyes upon him.

Kieran didn't know how long he waited under the roof of the gazebo, adorned with climbing plants and orchids. The sun had reached the height of the other gazebos in the garden, while children and their families strolled toward their horse-drawn carriages. Some prominent families walked toward the courtyard where they had parked their cars.

"We have to hurry. The plague will emerge soon and devour you! Rawwr!" A teenage boy turned around, playfully scaring his female friend.

She rolled her eyes. "Can't you see it's still daylight, Jem?!" Jem just laughed hysterically and continued mimicking the bear's roar.

Kieran glanced at his watch briefly, realizing there were only two hours before sunset. He didn't know if the mysterious plague in Valorus would be as severe as in Umbravale. A year ago, the outbreak had managed to kill 95% of Umbravale's population and quickly spread to surrounding towns. The Varidianth State government could only advise its citizens to tightly lock doors and windows before sunset. It seemed no different in Valorthorn, except for the fact that they intentionally awakened magical powers in every 17-year-old to preserve magic and simultaneously combat the plague in a way Kieran couldn't quite comprehend.

As Kieran closed his watch, his body was enveloped in shadows. He stowed the watch in his pocket, his fingers returning to touch his mother's crafted dagger, gripping its hilt tightly. Instantly, a sense of loneliness and defeat surrounded him, making him yearn for the moments when he sat leaning on his mother's sofa in the family room. Leaning his head on her lap to be gently caressed. The only moments when his father allowed him to appear vulnerable. In other instances, his father would strike his head if he complained even a bit. Now, after the death of both parents, Kieran never showed his weaknesses again, making him feel exhausted sometimes.

"Why did we stop?" one of the kids standing in front of Kieran asked. Her voice, eerily similar to Princess Emmeline's, made Kieran reflexively raise his head. He saw a group of formally dressed teenagers with diamond and gold weapons standing before him. One of them was so familiar that Kieran blinked.

"Dravon?"

The teenager standing before him now was vastly different from the one who used to always wear loose sweaters and glasses with taped frames. Dravon now appeared neat and polished, adorned in formal royal attire with red and gold accents, carrying a large sword with a handle studded with diamonds.

"Address him as 'Your Highness,' you foolish commoner!" one of Dravon's friends barked angrily. Kieran recognized the boy. He was the second son of a prominent Earl in Valorthorn, Oliver Sablecrest.

Emmeline Purplesong laughed hysterically. A stark contrast to the gentle and innocent figure Kieran had witnessed during the blessing ceremony. "Seriously, don't you know who he is?" the girl asked. "He's Nyxshade, remember?"

"I failed to recognize him because of how ragged he looks now," another comment came from William Zephyr, the first son of Duke Zephyr, whom Kieran had met several times during diplomatic visits between nations. His moon-red eyes glanced at Dravon. "Are you sure he's the one who used to bully and torment you back when you lived in Varidianth, Dravon?"

Kieran's eyebrow raised. Something in his chest ached upon hearing the accusation. He gazed at Dravon, involuntarily recalling how the person had once smiled while reading a book in Kieran's father's library, expressing a desire to always be allowed to play at his family's manor. "What do you mean by that, Dravon?" He requested an explanation.

Dravon flashed a smile that was anything but friendly. "My friends were just being fanciful," he said lightly and coldly with a thick palace accent. "How could someone without magical abilities bully and torment me?"

"Hey, being a Revenant is quite a talent, you know! If we take his life, he'll surely rise again! Even vampires would be jealous!" exclaimed Emmeline with a giggling laughter and a wide smile that seemed to split her small face.

"Without magic and his family's prestige, he won't last long in this kingdom," William Zephyr didn't smile at all. "We're wasting our time meeting a failed guy like him. Let's go. I crave for the palace chef's steak."

"Oh, what's wrong with his family?" As usual, Oliver was too foolish to grasp politics.

"You don't know? The palace seized the wealth and assets of the Nyxshade family right after both of his parents turned into skeletons!" Emmeline gazed at Kieran with satisfaction.

Kieran's anger flared instantly. He stood facing Emmeline, but Dravon already restrained his hand.

"How does it feel to be powerless, Kieran?" Dravon whispered in his ear. "How does it feel to see our lives switch in just one year since you mocked me?"

Kieran's jaw tightened. His eyes blazed with anger. "I never mocked you, Dravon!" he hissed.

Dravon stepped back and laughed. "It's boring bothering a weak and talentless guy like him. Let's go!"

"Wait." Kieran challenged Dravon with his eyes. "I may not have magical talents. But that doesn't mean I'm not skilled with a sword."

"Ignore it, Dravon. I'm hungry. I don't want to become the plague's meal either," grumbled William, seeming to grow bored. However, Dravon appeared disturbed.

"Oh, we still have time!" Dravon unsheathed his large diamond-studded sword. The sword immediately emitted a magical red glow.

Kieran drew the dagger given by Eliora. The object didn't shine or anything in his hand. Despite its unassuming appearance, he gripped the handle firmly. His action prompted Dravon's friends to burst into laughter.

"Seriously, he wants to face Dravon with that ugly dagger? Truly amusing," Emmeline mocked.

Kieran just tilted his head briefly. He was completely unaffected by Emmeline's words. His father had taught him that provocations, though seeming cheap and cunning, could end someone's life in a fight. "Should we begin, Dravon?"

It seems Dravon doesn't need a signal. He immediately advanced, charging at Kieran with his large sword. Kieran swiftly leaped back, gracefully stepping away a few paces to create enough space to engage with Dravon. His eyes focused as his heart raced. Dravon swung his sword vertically, and Kieran countered the attack with his dagger. His wrist stung as he flicked the dagger to parry the sword. Before he could catch his breath, Dravon swiftly slashed from the side, and Kieran parried and blocked once again. Kieran moved forward, transitioning from defense to offense. He deftly countered every move Dravon made, cornering him against a pillar in the garden. Dravon's sword flew several meters away from them, and Kieran's dagger was just an inch from Dravon's throat.

"You still need to learn sword techniques, Dravon," Kieran whispered without arrogance in his voice. His eyes dimmed as Dravon stared at him with full hatred and fury.

Dravon pushed him until Kieran tumbled backward. He knelt in front of him and began punching his face. Kieran tried to halt the assault with his palms, but Dravon's rage was unstoppable. Kieran retaliated with punches whenever he got the chance. Dravon was pushed off his body, his lip torn from where Kieran struck him.

The following events were unstoppable. William and Oliver couldn't stand idly by watching their prince lose in a fight. What was initially a one-on-one battle turned into a three-on-one. Kieran could do little more than defend himself against the onslaught of the three. As the sun dipped low, Emmeline called out to the boys, "Guys, let's go! Can't you see night is approaching soon?!"

"Yeah. We need to get inside the palace quickly. Kieran is lucky he doesn't have any magical talents, so he can't see that dreadful plague!" exclaimed Oliver, and Kieran was sure he misheard.

Kieran could barely move as William, Oliver, and Dravon distanced themselves. His body and face felt numb but also ached when moved. He stood with difficulty, hiss of pain escaping as he walked towards the palace gate. Eliora was nowhere to be seen, so Kieran intended to head straight back to the inn to tend to his wounds and bring dinner for Eliora's daughter.

In the corner of his eye, the sun had dipped low, casting a reddish glow along the horizon and grey clouds. Without a horse-drawn carriage, Kieran knew he wouldn't make it to the city center before the plague activated. But he still wanted to try.

He had just reached the forest that shielded the royal complex and elite residences when everything around him turned dark. The sun had fully set, and Kieran felt the plague he was all too familiar with emerging.

He could never see the shape of the rampant monster, but he could sense it flying so swiftly not far from him. It soared, crashing into trees and shedding leaves. In no time, the unseen monster was circling around Kieran, creating a whirlwind of wind and foliage that trapped Kieran within.