The depths of the forest were illuminated only by the faint light of the stars. Silence filled the air, like a warning of an approaching storm. Nahid moved carefully through the darkness. The pain of losing his brothers and his village had fed the fire of rage inside him, turning him into a deadly warrior. The king's wrath and his bloody servants, Kagehana and Asya, were the first obstacles on Nahid's path of revenge tonight.
Nahid took a deep breath. The sound of footsteps breaking the silence signaled the approaching danger. Moments later, the silhouettes of Asya and Kagehana appeared.
Asya's eyes were as cold and threatening as the hands tightly gripping her dagger. Kagehana's sword crackled with electricity, lighting the forest with flashes of blue.
"Asya, did you really think you could escape from us, Nahid?" a mocking voice said. "You're not only a traitor… you're also a pitiful man who deserves the king's wrath."
Kagehana stepped forward, tightening his grip on his sword.
"To stand against us? I admire your courage… but tonight you will die. Slowly."
Nahid narrowed his eyes with determination and took a step toward them.
"You are nothing but the king's dogs," he said in a cold voice. "I came to make you pay for the massacres your king watches from his throne. You destroyed my family and my village… but tonight, it all ends."
Asya burst into laughter.
"Really? Do you actually think someone like you can defeat us?"
Kagehana raised his electrified sword and lunged toward Nahid. The blade cut through the air like lightning.
Nahid quickly stepped aside and dodged the first strike. But Kagehana's speed was greater than he expected. More attacks followed, and Nahid found himself not only fighting the sword but also the bursts of electricity exploding around him.
"Are you slow, Nahid? Or are you scared?" Kagehana mocked.
Nahid stepped back and took a deep breath. When he opened his hands, flames rose from his palms.
"Kagehana… think again. Tonight, you will die here."
Kagehana only responded with laughter and swung his sword again.
But this time Nahid countered.
When the flames collided with Kagehana's sword, a massive explosion erupted, throwing both of them several steps back.
As the smoke cleared, Asya noticed Nahid's moment of distraction. She moved swiftly behind him with her dagger.
"This will be easy, Nahid," she whispered sinisterly as she struck.
Nahid sensed the attack but couldn't react in time.
The dagger slashed across his hand, severing his left thumb.
Nahid screamed in pain as blood dripped onto the ground.
Asya stepped back laughing.
"This is only the beginning, Nahid. Your blood will mix with this forest."
Despite the pain, Nahid steadied himself and clenched his wounded hand. His eyes burned with fury.
"You will pay for that."
Seeing Nahid injured, Kagehana immediately attacked again. His lightning-charged sword aimed directly at Nahid's heart.
But at the last moment, Nahid summoned his fire magic and blocked the blade.
"You will fall too, Kagehana!" Nahid roared.
With a surge of flames, he melted Kagehana's sword.
Kagehana stepped back for a moment, but Nahid didn't give him a chance to recover.
With one final strike, Nahid drove his flame-covered fist into Kagehana's chest.
Kagehana's screams echoed through the forest. His eyes darkened, smoke rising from his body as he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing Kagehana die, Asya rushed toward Nahid in fury.
But Nahid turned quickly, his eyes glowing with rage.
"You will join the blood of my family," he said firmly.
Asya swung her dagger again, but this time Nahid was ready. He stopped her attack and grabbed her by the throat with one hand.
"This is your end."
With a brutal motion, he crushed her eyes.
Asya screamed and tried to reach her face, but Nahid threw her to the ground and killed her.
Despite his heavy wounds, Nahid managed to remain standing.
His eyes drifted toward the distant image of the king's throne.
"This is only the beginning," he whispered.
Holding his wounds, he walked out of the depths of the forest.
Every step he took toward killing the king was another piece of his revenge.
---
Nahid staggered through the forest, heavily wounded. Blood still flowed from his missing finger, and the pain in his body grew with every step. But the rage in his mind was sharper than any wound.
He had failed to protect his brothers. He had not yet truly avenged his village.
Suddenly, a silhouette appeared from the darkness.
It was his brother, Nicat.
Nicat's face was cold and expressionless. The sword in his hand gleamed under the moonlight.
"Nicat?" Nahid said, his voice filled with shock and exhaustion.
"What are you doing here? I thought you hadn't gone to the palace."
Nicat slowly raised his sword and stepped closer.
"How painful it is to see you like this, Nahid. You were once a strong warrior… but now look at you. You're miserable. Weak."
Nahid frowned.
"Weak? My wounds may slow me down… but my revenge is still alive. I will be the one to silence the king's wrath."
Nicat let out a mocking laugh.
"The king? Nahid… you're the one who started this war. You tried to protect our village and dragged all of us into danger. Now look at you… you can't even protect yourself. You're weak, and that weakness will kill you."
Nahid forced himself to stand despite the pain.
"You… are supposed to be my brother. But you speak like an enemy. What do you want, Nicat?"
Nicat stepped closer and pointed his sword at Nahid's neck.
"I'm finished with you, Nahid. I will take revenge myself and restore the honor of our village. You've become nothing but a burden."
Nahid felt a chill when he saw the darkness in Nicat's eyes.
"You… plan to kill me?"
Nicat calmly nodded.
"Yes, Nahid. Weak links must be cut. I will end you here."
Just as Nicat raised his sword to strike, a sinister wind blew through the forest.
The air suddenly darkened, and an invisible force stopped Nicat's blade.
A shadow appeared in front of him.
Two glowing red eyes emerged from the darkness, along with a terrifying voice.
"Stop," the demon said.
Its voice echoed like a deep whisper from the abyss.
"You will not kill this man."
Nicat stepped back in shock.
"Who are you? Stay out of this!"
The demon approached him slowly, laughing darkly.
"I am part of his revenge. I have no time to deal with someone like you. Nahid will continue his path. You, however, should go to the palace and keep serving your king. I will finish matters here."
Nicat hesitated for a moment. Even he was unsettled by the demon's power.
He turned his eyes toward Nahid and spoke coldly.
"You are nothing, Nahid. But since this demon protects you… live and continue realizing how weak you truly are."
He lowered his sword and turned away.
"I'm going to the palace. But next time… we'll meet somewhere your demon cannot save you."
Nicat disappeared into the darkness.
Nahid shouted after him in rage.
"My own brother betrayed me! This world is completely rotten!"
He turned to the demon, his eyes filled with burning anger.
"And who are you? Why did you help me?"
The demon let out a dark laugh.
"I didn't help you, Nahid. I'm only testing you. Your brother turned his back on you… and now you will face me. Let's see if your power is truly enough to take your revenge."
The demon lunged at Nahid with terrifying speed. Its long claws and dark energy forced Nahid back.
Despite all his wounds, Nahid was ready to fight.
He summoned his flames and clashed with the demon.
The demon deflected the flames and laughed.
"Is that all, Nahid? Is your power really this limited? Perhaps your brother was right to underestimate you."
Nahid roared in fury and gathered all his strength.
"You will burn like the others! My flames will turn everything to ash!"
The flames engulfed the demon's body, lighting the forest with a blinding glow.
The demon screamed and tried to retreat, but Nahid delivered one final blow, driving his flame-covered fist into the demon's heart.
The demon dissolved into a cloud of dark smoke and vanished.
Nahid collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.
Tears filled with rage streamed down his face.
"Even my own brother betrayed me… but even if I must walk this path alone, I will destroy the king and every evil he created."
Nahid slowly stood up again.
His finger was gone. His body was covered in wounds.
But he continued his journey of revenge.
Nothing could stop him until he reached the king's throne.
Nahid walked forward with great difficulty. Every step hurt. Every breath was heavy.
The blood from his severed finger painted the ground behind him like a dark trail.
At last he reached the road leading to the palace.
But suddenly he stopped.
A dense wave of dark energy appeared before him, blocking his path…
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness. It was Nicat. But there was nothing left of the brother Nahid once knew. Nicat's eyes glowed with a dark energy, and his hands seemed to be surrounded by black magic. The silence was broken by Nicat's cold, mocking voice:
"Are you trying to reach the palace while you're wounded, Nahid? You can see how weak you've become, can't you?"
Nahid clenched his teeth and stared at Nicat.
"Nicat… Why are you here? We shouldn't waste any more time trying to stop the king. I have to kill him!"
Nicat stepped forward with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Kill the king? Are you still believing in those revenge fairy tales? Let me tell you something, Nahid. Killing the king right now would be the most foolish thing to do. Without using his power and authority, destroying everything is impossible. Serving him for now is the key to something far greater."
Nahid's eyes burned with rage.
"The king destroyed our village! He spilled the blood of everyone! Serving him? How can you even think like that?!"
Nicat calmly raised his hands. Waves of dark magic leaked from his fingers, turning the surrounding air heavy and suffocating.
"This is about ideals, Nahid. If I can control the king's power, no one in this world will be able to stop me. But a fool like you… is nothing more than an obstacle to my plan."
Nahid rushed forward, his fists engulfed in flames.
"Then you'll have to die as that obstacle!"
The flames bursting from Nahid's hands shot toward Nicat like a blazing storm. The forest was suddenly illuminated by a brilliant light. But Nicat effortlessly blocked the attack with a shield formed from dark magic.
"Is this your power?" Nicat mocked.
"Your flames may be strong… but my darkness devours everything."
Nahid intensified his attacks. With flaming punches and waves of fire erupting from the ground, he tried to reach Nicat. But each time, Nicat opened dark portals to deflect the attacks, moving around Nahid like a shadow.
"You're nothing but a shadow now, Nahid," Nicat said.
"No matter what you do, you cannot stand against me."
Gathering all his strength, Nahid launched one final attack. His hands blazed with fire as he dropped to one knee, creating a massive pillar of flames. The pillar surged toward Nicat with unstoppable force.
But Nicat simply released a wave of dark energy with a single motion, extinguishing the flames instantly.
"Is that all?" Nicat said with contempt in his voice.
"Let me give you one last lesson, Nahid."
Nicat formed a strike filled with dark magic and slammed it directly into Nahid's chest. Nahid's body was thrown into the air before crashing violently onto the ground. As he lay there covered in blood, his consciousness slowly faded.
Nicat looked at his brother one last time.
"You're weak, Nahid. And the weak have no place in this world. But I'm not finished with you yet. We'll meet again."
Nahid sank into darkness as he lost consciousness.
But after some time, he felt a familiar warmth.
Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself inside a temple. His wounds had been carefully bandaged. Standing beside him was the master who had taught him how to fight and survive many years ago.
"You're waking up, Nahid," the master said.
"Nicat nearly killed you. But leaving you there wasn't an option. You still have much to do."
Nahid forced himself to sit up, breathing heavily.
"Nicat… What happened to Nicat? I couldn't stop him. I couldn't stop the king…"
The master looked at Nahid calmly.
"This is only the beginning, Nahid. Nicat has been completely consumed by darkness. But you still have a chance. Before you can win this war between revenge and ideals… you must find yourself again."
Nahid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The pain of being betrayed by his own brother still burned inside him. But he was determined to rise again.
"I will stop Nicat… I will kill the king… and I will end all this darkness."
The master placed a hand on Nahid's shoulder.
"Then prepare yourself, Nahid. Because the path ahead of you… will be the greatest battle of your life."