That day, after reading that sacred text, I sat down and thought. My mind carried me back - to before that bloody destruction.
It was an ordinary day.Disturbingly ordinary.
As the wind gently brushed against my skin, I focused on the tiny bird perched on a branch. It spread its yellow wings, fixing its feathers with its small beak. I stretched my arm and used the pen in my hand to measure it. On the notebook resting on my knee, I carefully sketched each feather. At the same time, my legs were wrapped around the branch I sat on - balancing myself so I wouldn't fall.
I used to come to this branch as an escape in my free time - either to scribble in my notebook or to drift into dreams. I imagined I was a bird. Freer than I had ever been. Then I became a tree - then I crossed mountains. It brought me peace. I would dive into the depths of the ocean.
But that moment of peace was cut short.
An arrow pierced through the air - striking the tree beside me. I jolted.
My reflexes moved on their own. In a single motion, I threw myself into the nearest shadow - behind a trunk. My heart pounded against my ribs, my fingers locking around the hilt of my sword. When my vision cleared under the rush of adrenaline, I saw the mark the arrow had left behind - fine grains of sand suspended in the air, and streaks of orange light spreading outward.
"Aaron!" I shouted sharply. My voice echoed through the depths of the forest.The answer came as a cheerful laugh carried by the wind. Power like that… could only belong to him.
"So now you've become an assassin?" I snapped, forcing the harshest expression onto my face. I was embarrassed by how easily I had been startled.
He approached, his brown hair swaying before his eyes."Maybe I am, Luna." There was a strange seriousness in his eyes.
"You?" I looked at him skeptically. "You could never be an assassin, Aaron." I continued. "How many times have I nearly died just so you could show off your strength? You don't belong to the shadows." I raised my hands to my eyes as if shielding them from his brilliance. "Admit it."
"You're exaggerating." He smiled cunningly, glancing proudly at the arrow lodged in the tree.
I liked his smile - but I wasn't in the mood today.
"I'm heading back - that's enough 'assassination' for today. I'm going to my room to sleep," I muttered, nudging a stone with my foot."Sweet dreams," he replied warmly.
I was exhausted. I had been swinging my sword all day in the field. A great war stood at the gates of the Sand Kingdom - perhaps even the entire world. This was the Kingdom of Hope, yes… but even hope trembled beneath the shadow of an approaching storm.
As I climbed the beige palace steps, all I could think about was a warm bed and deep sleep.
The moment I reached my room, I threw myself onto the bed.
But that night, sleep did not bring the peace I expected. As I turned restlessly, my eyes kept drifting to the necklace atop the cabinet - the only thing my mother had left me. A mysterious pendant, holding a small vial whose contents were unknown.
I had been ordered to appear before the king tomorrow. Maybe that was what disturbed my sleep.
As I curled into my bed, I kept imagining what it would be like to fight Aaron. He was a warrior with magic. I was ordinary - but a master with the sword. These scenarios made me chuckle. I always won.
As I kept building those little scenes, sleep finally wrapped me in its warm embrace.
But it did not last.
I woke up gasping - drenched in sweat. My maid Donna stood beside me. There was a worry in her eyes I had never seen before."You were screaming in your sleep, my lady…"
The images wouldn't leave my mind - a sword dripping with fresh blood, black smoke swirling around it… and a small body lying on the ground. Beside it, a toy doll covered in blood. I felt the blood in my veins freeze.
"Are you alright, my lady?"
For a moment, my mind stopped functioning - but eventually I found my voice.
"Donna, what time is it?" I ignored the dream. It was the last thing I should worry about today.
"It's morning, my lady." She hesitated, then continued. "I came to prepare you for your audience with the king."
The word king always unsettled me - except when I was on the battlefield.
"Then it's time to get ready." She nodded.
That day, I prepared carefully. Donna dressed me in my most formal armor, and with guards beside me, we made our way to the throne room. On the way, a strange feeling crept over me. The bloody dream lingered in my mind. I wasn't someone who saw prophetic dreams - but my instincts had always been strong.
When we arrived, I took a deep breath. It was time.
As the massive doors creaked open, the King sat upon his throne - as proud as ever, yet diminished. His graying hair under the orange light gave him an almost sacred presence… but nothing about the atmosphere felt sacred.
I knelt before him."It is an honor to stand before you, Your Majesty." My voice trembled - a shameful weakness for a warrior.
"I have summoned you for an important task, warrior," the King said. His voice was cold - like a gravestone. "I command you to place this duty above all else."
I met his gaze, my hands damp with tension as I listened.
"You will perform a ritual," he said, each word deliberate. "A ritual fed by blood - one in which you will sacrifice the entire city. I entrust this destruction to your hands - for the salvation of this world."
A ritual fed by blood?
The world seemed to collapse over me. Images flooded my mind. Everything spun - a cold sensation wrapped around my body.In that moment, I saw the blood-stained sword from my dream. My stomach churned, my knees weakened. Could there be a connection?
The city… would I sacrifice it?
"This… can't be possible," I whispered. I was in denial.
He must have lost his mind. Even if the end of the world was coming, I could never do something so horrific. There had to be another way. Something else to save the world. So many lives - they weren't worth sacrificing for the honor of a kingdom. It was madness.
Then a guard stepped toward me. The moment I saw what he held, my breath caught.
It was the same sword from my dream - black smoke rising from its hilt, a magical catastrophe radiating death.
As the sword was extended toward me, I felt a sting where the black smoke touched my skin. The sharp metallic scent from my dream now filled the entire room. In the King's eyes, there was no hope - only dark resolve.
And his voice echoed in my mind:"Blood is the only price that can save hope, Luna."