Storm of Shadows

Nineteen Years Ago

A domain broke into the small town of Grimhaven without warning, opening a rift between reality and a place no ordinary human was ever meant to see.

Within minutes, the once peaceful town descended into chaos. Monstrous creatures poured out of the domain, spreading through the streets and attacking everything in their path. Buildings crumbled beneath their assaults, vehicles were overturned, and fires spread from one block to another as people desperately fled for their lives.

Screams filled the air.

Parents ran through the streets, calling out their children’s names. Children cried for mothers who were nowhere to be found. Some people stumbled through the smoke with blood running down their faces, while others dragged injured loved ones away from the creatures hunting them. Families who had been sharing meals only moments earlier were torn apart in the space of a few heartbeats.

Some tried to hide inside their homes, locking their doors and pushing furniture against the windows. They prayed that the walls would hold, that the monsters would pass them by, that someone would come to save them.

But the walls did not hold.

A creature smashed through the front of a house, sending bricks and wooden beams flying across the room. The people inside barely had time to scream before it descended upon them and killed them one by one.

In another street, a family fleeing in their car was thrown into a building when a monster struck the vehicle aside. Flames soon swallowed the wreckage, leaving none alive.

Grimhaven was falling apart, and no one could stop it.

The town’s emergency services were overwhelmed almost immediately. Police officers struggled to guide terrified crowds through the streets, their weapons doing little against creatures that could tear through concrete.

Yet the people kept waiting for help.

They were waiting for the Hunters to save them as it was their job to contain domain outbreaks. The Magic Association had teams trained for these emergencies, powerful Hunters capable of fighting the monsters and containing the rifts.

Grimhaven had its own Hunters who were not as strong, but the creatures pouring out of the domain were stronger and more numerous than anything the town had faced.

They could not hold the line alone.

A ten-year-old boy crouched beneath the remaloins of a dining table, his small hands clamped over his mouth as he tried to keep himself quiet.

His home was no longer a home. One wall had collapsed, the windows had shattered, and dust hung thickly in the air. He could barely see through it. Somewhere nearby, something heavy dragged across the floor, scraping against the broken tiles.

His mother had pushed him beneath the table when the monsters first reached their street. She had told him to stay there and not make a sound. His father had stayed behind to hold the door shut, hoping against hope that the Association would send Hunters soon to save them.

The boy had obeyed. He had stayed hidden, trembling, listening to the terrible sounds coming from outside.

Then he heard his father scream.

He nearly crawled out at once, but his mother’s hand shot beneath the table and caught his arm. She pulled him toward her, pressing a finger to her lips. Tears streamed down her face, but she did not make a sound.

The door broke apart.

The boy watched through a gap between the tablecloth and the floor as a monstrous shape entered the room. His father stood in its path, holding a broken length of wood in both hands. It was a hopeless weapon against something so large, but he raised it anyway.

He shouted for his wife and son to run.

Then the creature struck.

His father fell so quickly that the boy barely understood what he had seen. His mother made a strangled sound and pulled him against her chest, covering his eyes with one hand. She held him so tightly that he struggled to breathe, whispering that everything would be all right, that they only needed to wait a little longer.

But she was crying too.

The monster moved closer. The table shifted as its claws scraped across the floor. His mother pushed him farther beneath the wreckage, then rose to her feet.

“Don’t come out,” she whispered.

He caught her hand before she could leave and begged her not to go. He promised he would be quiet. He promised he would do anything she asked.

She kissed his forehead, pulled his fingers away from hers, and stepped out from behind the table.

The boy heard her call out and he heard the crash that followed.

Then there was silence.

For a long time, he did not move. He remained beneath the table with his hands pressed over his ears, waiting for his mother to come back and tell him it was safe to leave.

When he finally crawled out, the room was covered in dust and blood. His father lay motionless near the broken door and his mother was several steps away, their blood swimming across the broken tiles.

He shook her shoulder, tears falling down his eyes. “Mom?”

She did not answer.

He shook her harder, his voice rising as he begged her to wake up. When she remained still, he fell against her and began to cry. He cried for his mother. He cried for his father. He cried until his throat hurt and he could barely draw breath.

Outside, the town continued to burn and everyone just kept dying.

Meanwhile, across other affected regions, Hunters were rushing to contain the spreading domains and eliminate the monsters threatening the surviving populations.

Some fought on the front lines, buying precious time for civilians to evacuate. Others held their ground until their last breath, while some were forced to retreat as the situation spiraled beyond their control.

Several cities narrowly escaped destruction as the Hunters managed to suppress the monsters and contain the domains before the damage became irreversible.

Powerful teams were dispatched, and the Magic Association coordinated evacuation efforts, moved medical supplies, and sent reinforcements saving a lot of lives in the process.

Grimhaven received none of that help and by the time the crisis was finally contained, Grimhaven had been obliterated.

Homes, hospitals, schools, and every other trace of ordinary life had been swallowed by destruction. Entire streets had disappeared beneath collapsed buildings, while the remains of others were buried under layers of ash and rubble. The domain had consumed so much of the surrounding area that the town’s former boundaries were almost impossible to recognize.

Rescue teams arrived too late to do anything more than search the ruins.

No one knew how many people had died.

The little boy was among those discovered in the wreckage. He was alive, but he barely responded when the rescuers carried him away. He had lost his parents, his home, and everything he had ever known in a single night.

When someone finally tried to comfort him, he asked the same question over and over.

“Why didn’t anyone come?”

But no one could give him an answer.

In the aftermath, the Magic Association declared the crisis contained.

Hunters who had fought in the other affected regions were praised for their sacrifices.

Emergency funds were announced, officials gave speeches, and the public was assured that measures would be taken to prevent another catastrophe of such magnitude.

Grimhaven was mentioned briefly in the reports.

Its destruction was described as an unfortunate loss, the result of a disaster that had exceeded the Association’s ability to respond effectively.