[b]DAY 26: DECAY – DRAGON'S BRIDE[/b]

Love can be found from unexpected places. That was what happened to Sitai. She was an apprentice of a witch and one day he had been strolling in the forest looking for ingredients, mainly mushrooms, for potions and the like. She had been in a good mood and had walked among the trees with no worry, until an unpleasant encounter. A large bear crossed paths with her – and it wasn't happy about that. The beast roared, striking terror into Sitai. It started to come closer and closer. She backed off slowly, fearing for her life. Soon her back was against a trunk of a tree, and she was holding tight onto her basket as if her life dependent on it. And just when she was sure that she would get mauled by the bear, something came to her rescue. It was a black dragon. His enormous presence scared the beast and drove it away. Then Sitai recognized who he was: Toromray, the guardian dragon of this area. And when he turned his gorgeous head to her direction, she felt something in her chest. Something she hadn't felt ever before. Staring at his gentle lavender eyes, she assured him that she was fine and thanked him profusely for helping her. They both went on their separate ways, but only for now.

After meeting Toromray face to face, Sitai couldn't stop thinking about him. She wanted desperately see him again. And good for her, she got what she wished for.

Sitai had been fetching water from the well when she saw the dragon fly over the village. She hurried and transferred the water to the house where she lived with the witch and then ran after Toromray, who had headed to the forest. She tried to get his attention by calling his name and indeed, he had heard her and landed near her. Sitai had asked if she could fly with him and the dragon agreed. She experienced the joy of flight for the first time in her life, but not last. Together they flew over the forest and village and even though not much time passed, their hearts were bonding already. And when the dragon landed once again, they shared a moment just being silent and close to each other. Then Sitai kissed him to his lips and Toromray answered it. It was time to split their ways. Overwhelmed by love, Sitai returned home, having such a warm and pleasant feeling all over her.

Her mind was filled with thoughts about Toromray. Every moment when they weren't together, she would think about him. The witch had noticed that something had happened and had then inquired what was going on. To her, Sitai dared to confess that she was in love with a dragon. The witch had laughed at her, although benevolently. She was happy for her, and allowed her to spend time with Toromray.

One day when having a discussion with the dragon, Sitai had wondered what it was like to be such a majestic creature. Toromray then had pondered what it was like to be a human, as he apparently didn't have the ability to transform. He admitted that he wanted to sleep with her, so a human body was more convenient for that. She had revealed her body to him and he had licked every part of her, but that didn't satisfy his lust. Sitai then came to conclusion that maybe the witch could help them. And so, she had a conversation with her. As expected, the witch had agreed to make a potion that would turn Toromray into a human for a short amount of time. That was the best she could do, but nonetheless, Sitai really appreciated it.

Time passed by. Sitai was happier than ever before. Toromray had been seen in the village quite often and people had started to wonder why. Then rumors started to spread, something about Sitai and Toromray having a bond of love. Villagers started to call her the Dragon's Bride. Some folks didn't really think well about their relationship, but the maiden and the dragon ignored such judgmental people.

And then their happiness started to shatter.

It started when Toromray disappeared for a long time – too long in Sitai's opinion. It was hurting her heart to be separated from her beloved one for so long. But she knew that he would return. And he did. But when he finally came back, he had changed. He was more silent and somehow it felt like that he was in a constant pain. He also had scars in different parts of his body – those hadn't been there before. Sitai was really worried and anxious, demanding him to know what had happened.

And Toromray provided an answer. He had heard a strange calling. It had been like a sweet lullaby of a mother. It had started to pull him to its direction and he had finally given in and tried to seek the source of it. But it had been a trap; something had lured him into its den and attacked him. It was a monster larger than him, and it had been a weird combination of fungus and a mammal. The monster had wanted to tear him into pieces, probably desiring to feast upon his corpse. So Toromray had fought back, got a little scarred, but managed to get away. Tired from everything that had happened, he fell asleep right at there, Sitai giving him company and stayed by his side that night.

Some time later, it became apparent that something terrible had infected the dragon. First, he became very sluggish and didn't seem to have strength to even fly. He had no appetite either. He barely even showed emotions. But then it got worse and started to display outside as well. Some of his scales shed off. The scars he had turned green and some fungus had started to grow from them. His skin had started to tear from few spots, as if it were paper. This exposed flesh and even bones. It was like he was decaying alive. He was like undead. Seeing her lover like this was so agonizing to Sitai. She had tried to get help from the witch, but even she didn't know what to do. Sitai was absolutely heartbroken.

If there wasn't a way to cure her beloved one, then she would share his fate, for she didn't want to live without him.

One last time she treaded the forest's soil, in search for Toromray. It was easy to find him, though, as he hadn't moved from his spot in few days. Behind the many lines of trees, she found him. He was laying on his stomach, head dangling down. He looked so lifeless. Feeling a sting in her heart, she walked to the dragon and lifted his chin up a little.

“I'm here, my love”, Sitai whispered to him and caressed his snout tenderly. “Don't worry. We will be together, forever.”

Toromray was too tired to answer. Sitai began to chant a spell. She muttered otherworldly words, emerald green light glowing from her hands. The undead, decaying state of the dragon started to transition to her body as well. In a matter of seconds, she became like a corpse, funguses penetrating through her skin, her stomach suddenly rotting away, making her organs fall out. Skin withdrawn from her fingers, she stopped chanting. She pressed her forehead against Toromray's head and stayed in that position.

Together they let the decay take over them, snatching away their lives. Facing death together, there their corpses would stay, as an ominous sign of eternal love.



[b]DAY 27: HEART BREAK – LAST LOVE[/b]

Rilgar had been a wandering warrior, without purpose or place to go. He did have a noble heart, which had made him help those in need. He never asked money for defeating monsters, the gratitude of the people was all he needed. Though, he did accept if folks offered him food or a place to stay for the night. This was the life he lived before he met prince Aradi. Rilgar had been traveling, as usual, the road slithering through the woods. He had suddenly heard some racket coming from ahead, just around the curve, and hurried there to see what was going on. A large feline creature had attacked a royal carriage. The horse had bolted and two guards tried to keep the beast away. Rilgar had drawn his sword and went to aid. The creature wasn't looking at his direction, it was too busy with the guards, so Rilgar had an advantage. He struck his sword into the back of the monster, leaving a nasty notch. The creature roared and turned around, but he was already making his next move. He thrusted his weapon at the beast's throat, causing it to gurgle, and then slit a nice clean cut to it. The monster was defeated. The guards let the person in the carriage know that threat had been killed.

Then Aradi appeared. He had opened the door of carriage and hopped down and right at that moment, Rilgar felt something he hadn't experienced ever before. Aradi was so beautiful, especially for a male. He had pretty feminine look. His hair was dark and his eyes were ice blue. Rilgar felt a bit surprised, he hadn't expected to meet someone so gorgeous. In his mind he shook his head.

[i]Why are you thinking like this?[/i]

Aradi had then expressed his gratitude for helping them out in such dangerous encounter. He had then suggested that would Rilgar like to accompany them back to the castle in O'denvor. Before really thinking about it, Rilgar had accepted this, taking a seat in the carriage.

O'denvor was one of the greatest cities in this region. But taking a tour around it had to wait, since they were heading at the castle. When they reached the courtyard, they got off the carriage and headed inside, walking straight to the throne room to meet the king. They bowed to him and then Aradi began to tell what had happened. The king listened carefully, and when Aradi was done, he stared directly at Rilgar. Of course, he was grateful that he had saved the prince, but then the king asked a question Rilgar hadn't been prepared to hear: “Would you like to be my son's personal guard?”

The warrior was utterly flabbergasted by this. His mouth was hanging open and it took him a while to process the question. He got a hang of himself and agreed. The king looked pleased and even Aradi smiled at him. Oh, that smile… They left the throne room and then began getting Rilgar familiarized with the castle and O'denvor.

Time passed by. Rilgar felt like that he was happier than ever before. As a prince's personal guard, he had found some purpose for his life – and the castle had become his home. He had grown really fond of prince Aradi, but sometimes, these feelings confused him. He could describe them as love, but how was he feeling like this? Aradi was a male as well. You aren't supposed to feel such emotions for another man. But all those smiles, long stares, tender words… It became hard to not feel like that. Rilgar struggled with his affection, until one day, right before going to bed, Aradi kissed him. He had been completely bewildered first, but then he kissed him back. Then the prince had retreated to his bedroom, leaving the perplexed man behind.

That kiss marked the day they dared to share their love with each other.

Blissful days were ahead. They kept their relationship as a secret, but honestly, that only made it better in a way. All those secretly shared kisses, touches… Doing them while avoiding to get caught did bring some spice to their bond. And on some nights, they would have passionate moments in the bed. They were so in love with each other that it felt like a fairy tale.

Then came the day when the king had an important mission for Rilgar. He had to escort a messenger to another kingdom. The thing was, the trip was long and it would take few months to get there and back. But Rilgar accepted this, as it was the will of a king. It would be tough to be separated from his beloved one for such a long time, but he would manage. Rilgar said his goodbyes to Aradi and promised to bring with him a special flower from that place, since the prince loved flowers. They kissed and then Rilgar left, beginning his journey.

There were some monsters in the way, but they weren't that tough. Not much of a challenge to Rilgar. The most hardship brought the travel's length. He thought about his lover every day, longing his presence. And on the cold nights, the thought of his warm body gave him solace. Keeping him close to his heart helped him to bear with the journey and when he reached the other kingdom, successfully escorting the messenger, Aradi in his mind, he sought for a flower that could be found only from there. And he found one: it had white petals and black stripes on them. Rilgar uprooted it carefully, taking soil with it and placed it in a small bag, leaving the flower sticking out. Satisfied, he took the plant with him and began his travel back home.

Oh, how he longed to see Aradi again.

After the long journey, Rilgar was finally back in O'denvor. The prince didn't know that he had arrived. He wanted to surprise him. So first, he decided to head to the garden – it was Aradi's favorite place – and find a nice spot for the flower he had brought. He smiled to himself, knowing how happy the prince would be when they would see again.

But he had no idea that he would get killed.

Rilgar had just arrived to the garden when he spotted some movement. Instinctively he hid behind a tree. It was nighttime, but there were some lanterns lit up in the garden, so it shouldn't be too hard to see who those figures were. He peeked a little from behind the tree. One was Aradi, but the other one… he had no idea. It was a young woman.

That was when his heart broke.

Aradi and the woman were kissing, embracing each other. When they managed to get a bit distance, they both proclaimed their love and how they were each other's only one. Rilgar was feeling sick. He couldn't watch anymore. He stopped peeking and leaned against the tree, one of his hands holding the flower and one was against his chest.

One question surfaced.

Why?

Didn't their shared time mean anything to Aradi? They should have been having eternal love between them, right?

Rilgar reached for a special dagger he had hanging on his belt. It had dark blade with green odd markings on it. He had got this peculiar object from a witch he had once helped. It had a power to curse someone. The man dropped the flower. Then he struck the dagger onto his upper body. He grunted a bit of pain as the blade licked his insides. He made a hole into his chest, blood messing everything. His hand dug inside this macabre gap, soon pulling his heart out. Rilgar hold it for a minute. This is where he used to store his love… With an angry burst, he squeezed the heart powerfully. Blood splattered, and the man dropped the organ to the ground. 

And with that, he left the garden. He left O'denvor. Only thing left behind were the beautiful flower and his broken heart. He had cursed himself as a man with no heart. He didn't want to love anymore. It seemed like that it was time to get back on the road.



[b]DAY 28: GUNSHOT – DOPPELGÄNGER[/b]

Chandler and Sin were business partners. They had been working together for years, doing all kinds of shady jobs, assassination being probably the most common one. Usually it was Chandler the demon who took care of arranging and sorting things with the clients. She was also the one handling money. It was on Sin's shoulders to execute the job. He was cruel but a trustworthy man, for as long as you kept your part of the deal, he would keep his. 

It was no surprise for Sin when this one noon Chandler came to him with a job at hand. He had been having his first smoke of the day as he wasn't really a morning person. Apparently someone wanted to get rid of a monster that had last been seen in the woods outside of Olden Shadow Town.

“Some good old monster hunt, huh?” Sin had stated.

This assignment was first one in a week. He was ready to get back in action.

“They didn't give me much information, though”, Chandler had said. “It seems like it's a shapeshifter. I'm sensing something odd about this, but I'm sure you can handle it, my dear.”

After Sin had finished smoking, he started to get prepared for the job. He put clothes on and made sure that his gun was with him. And then he was ready. They both left the apartment where they lived together, and headed to the streets. Chandler had made an agreement with the client that they would meet in front of one specific bar. It wasn't that far away from their apartment, so they walked there pretty quickly. The client was already there waiting for them. He was elegant young man, younger than what Sin had anticipated, and was clearly rich, judging by the clothes and fancy car. The client offered a car ride to the woods and both Chandler and Sin hopped in. The driver started the engine and drove away, heading to the destination.

The young man was very quiet and didn't talk much even though Chandler tried to strike a conversation. Sin simply didn't care and just watched out of the window how the scenery transformed gradually from a town to woods. He did, however, get a feeling that there was something odd in this case, like Chandler had said. It seemed like that the young man knew more than what he gave out. But Sin had faced monsters before, so he wasn't really worried. This was just a job among others. Besides, whatever reason this young man had for wanting to get rid of the monster, it wasn't Sin's or Chandler's business. They would just do the job, no questions asked.

After driving about half an hour, the car stopped at some narrow forest road.

“The monster had been seen around here”, the young man said. “I wish you luck.”

Sin nodded and stepped out of the car. He began his hunt immediately, disappearing into the woods as the others were left behind, waiting for him to get back.

The forest was oddly quiet. Sin had his gun out as he wandered among the trees. He was feeling pretty thrilled. He had enjoyed hunting down his targets in the past, but it was more fun when they were trying to escape from him. Oh, the sweet fear in their eyes… Monsters didn't feel fear, so they weren't as fun to hunt. But job is a job, so he would bring death to this creature as well.

Deeper and deeper he went, but no monster sightings yet. But the creature wouldn't be able to sense him, either, thanks to the special gun. Chandler gave it to Sin, to aid him. It was sort of enchanted, and it would conceal his soul from creatures with perception. It also would help him to boost his magical attacks. Sin had been quite successful as a mercenary because he was a magic user, which was pretty rare nowadays.

Then he heard something. He stopped. And waited. He was all tensed up. He could hear some movement nearby. It didn't sound large, though. Then an entity emerged from the shadows of large trees. It was… him.

“What an everlasting fuckery is this?” Sin growled and was pointing his gun at doppelgänger's direction.

The other Sin smiled. That facial expression didn't suit that face at all. He was almost perfect copy of Sin, his colors just were more dull. He even had the gun, because he was pointing that at Sin. The man didn't know what he had expected to find from the forest, but definitely not a replica of himself.

“I've been waiting for you, Sin”, the doppelgänger said, almost gently.

“What the fuck are you?” Sin inquired angrily.

“You'll learn soon enough”, the copy answered, chuckling a little.

Without a warning, the doppelgänger shot with his weapon. It hit Sin to his chest. Shocked, Sin fell to his knees, dropping his gun. He looked at the gunshot wound and how his chest was getting redder bit by bit. It had been a magic bullet, he could sense it. He could also feel something invading his insides, like a parasite. It was making his chest feel heavy.

Sin's clone walked to him. Then he gripped Sin's chin, forcing him to look at the face that was his, but at the same time wasn't.

“I think we have some bonding to do”, the doppelgänger said.

Sin felt one last agonizing throb in his chest before he lost his consciousness.



[b]DAY 29: HANAHAKI DISEASE – PLEASE LOVE ME[/b]

When Ivory had met Sin for the first time, he had fallen for him right away. There was something about him Ivory couldn't really explain, but he felt connected to him somehow. He did think that Sin was very handsome, but that couldn't really be the only reason he was attracted to him. Sin appeared as a cold person, but Ivory thought that he was just trying to protect himself. If he could get close to him, he would turn out to be more caring, right? Ivory wanted to call him his significant other so badly. So, Ivory spent many evenings trying to find Sin from different bars and whenever he would find him, he would try to sit with him and spend some time together. He wanted Sin to realize that he could be trusted, that he could find happiness with him. Time after time, Sin would reject him, though. But Ivory was relentless.

Time passed by. Ivory felt like that he had made some progress as Sin had started to accept his presence. This was a small victory for Ivory and he felt happy. They would spend many nights together at the bars. However, it did hurt Ivory a bit that Sin would try to get attention from ladies and sleep with them. But he took it as a bit of a personal challenge: he just had to somehow convince that he was the only one he needed – that he would satisfy his sexual needs. He just had to give him a chance.

Ivory wanted to share his heart with Sin so badly. If only he could find a way to do it…

After some time, Ivory started to feel desperate. Sin was the only thing he could think of. He would lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling and fantasize what his life could be with the other man. Oh, how he wanted to share the bed with Sin… He would shed few lonely tears and fall asleep.

Ivory did try to spend time with other people as well. On some evenings, he would try to get some company from the bars. Men, women, it didn't matter. He just wanted to be close with somebody. But nobody made him feel like how Sin did. Sex felt meaningless and empty. It really felt like that Sin was the only one that would satisfy his needs.

Then Ivory started to feel sick. He could feel pain around his chest. And to both to his confusion and shock, he started to cough up purple petals. What was this? What was happening to him? As some time passed, his condition was worsening. He could see blood among the petals he had coughed. He felt horrified and sad and in need for love. He didn't really have anyone close to him, so once again, he pursued after Sin. 

But he couldn't find him. Ivory would wander around Olden Shadow Town looking for him, especially checking the bars, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was too bad that Ivory didn't know where he lived. Even though he was feeling utterly horrible and sick, he still, out of desperation, tried to come across with the man he loved so much.

He was coughing entire flowers now, as well as blood. Ivory was in so much pain. Breathing was agonizing, it felt like there was something in his lungs. He felt terrified and desperate… He felt like he was dying. One more time, he looked for Sin. He headed to the bar where he was most commonly found.

And there he was, sitting alone at one table. Ivory was so happy to see him that he teared up. He walked to Sin's table and without a warning, he hugged Sin. But the other man pushed him away. This hurt Ivory's heart. Ivory tried to explain him how much he loved him and needed him, but Sin didn't care. He just told him to fuck off. There was no chance that they would ever become anything. Tears in his eyes, Ivory left the bar, feeling so horrible and heartbroken. He coughed up some flowers and blood again. Then he headed home.

After arriving to his place, Ivory climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked to his bedroom. He collapsed to his bed and cried. He had never cried that much in his life. And probably never would. If he couldn't be with Sin, then he couldn't live at all. The rejection had made his condition so much worse, that he was suffocating. The blood and flowers were choking him. The pain was unbearable and he couldn't breathe.

One last feeble attempt to get air in his lungs and Ivory was gone. All he wanted was just to be loved.



[b]DAY 30: BLOODDRUNK – VAMPIRIC[/b]

Shykel had been a regular human once. He used to be a happy and social child; at the time it seemed that nothing was wrong with him. It was a few drops of blood that changed everything. While he was out playing with other children, he fell and got a small injury to the corner of his mouth. He was bleeding a little. He licked his lips and tasted blood. At this point Shykel was already damned. He liked the taste immediately and kept licking his wound. This was merely the first stage of him becoming a monster. At this age, he still had some innocence remaining. But ever since that day, if he got bleeding injuries, he would taste the blood. When he hit adolescence, he started to become a little more addicted. He figured that he could spill his own blood and cut himself to the arms. He was satisfied with that for a while, but then he started to think, what does the blood of others taste like?

Soon after having that thought, on one moonless night, Shykel hunted down his first victim: an orphan girl. He slit her throat and began to drink the blood from her corpse. It tasted even better than his own blood. With this observation in his mind, he began to kill people almost every night. As the body count went up, the more worried the townsfolk became. There was a bloodthirsty killer among them, however, they weren't sure was the culprit a human or something else. Shykel secretly enjoyed this attention, enjoyed their terror. Most terrified people seemed to think that there was some kind of vampire on the loose. People became afraid of the dark and started to avoid walking around during the night, thinking they were safe in their homes. But that didn't stop Shykel.

His parents, however, started to notice that there was something wrong with their son. He barely slept at all, he didn't have much of an appetite and he was becoming distant with everyone. Few times they spotted him going outside during the night, not seeming to care about the threat. But one night, they decided to go after him, wanting to desperately know what he was up to. However, he was aware of them. He lured them to some dark little alley and when they were trying to figure out where he had gone, he attacked, slitting the throats of both of them. In their eyes, a state of shock and heartbreak was imprinted.

After killing his parents and drinking their blood, Shykel left the town. He was so thirsty for blood that the small town didn't satisfy him anymore. He wanted bigger hunting ground, and a big city was something he needed. So, he began his journey, in search for a perfect place to live in.

Eventually Shykel did find a perfect city. It was large and it had a port, so new blood would always come to his way. He settled down in that place, seeming like an ordinary young man at day, but a predator at night. 

But even though the city was large, his presence didn't go unnoticed. Victim after victim, a slight worry raised up. But they didn't yet cause such panic as back in Shykel's hometown. However, there started to spread a rumor about some creature of the night that would follow his victims and suck their blood. Shykel made sure that he didn't kill too much, or else he would have to leave. And as the time passed by and the city developed, he became like an urban legend. His immeasurable thirst for human blood made him evolve into something more superior and he became an immortal creature. And he retained the looks of a young man, so no one could suspect him that he was actually a monster.

Even after few centuries he was still living in the city, hunting for people. And as the years passed, humans became easier to lure to their deaths.

Shykel changed his name every now and then. But this night, he was Roy. In this age, people seemed to try finding company from bars, so he had started to do that as well. He had been sitting in one, drinking a bit of alcohol to seem like a normal human being. Eventually, a young woman did come to him. They drank together for a while, and chatted. He got a feeling that this woman was trying to seduce him. Perfect. He would play along. After their drinks, they decided to leave, the woman thinking that they were up to make some love. That would be her final mistake.

They were walking through the streets, not encountering that many people. Shykel was almost trembling from anticipation. He reached out for the woman's hand, and she did accept it, so they hold their hands for a while. The poor woman had no idea that her time was running out. Shykel pretended to be eager and pulled the woman to some dark and narrow alley. He pressed her against a wall and began to kiss her. She was totally into it and kissed back passionately. Then he backed off a little and looked at the woman, smiling.

“Thank you”, he simply said.

“For what?” she inquired.

He didn't answer.

He showed her his true self.

Shykel revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth, his eyes turning white. Before the woman had time to scream, he sunk his teeth into her neck, ripping and tearing her skin, shredding her throat open. She died in his arms. He gourmandized with her blood, sucking it out of her body voraciously. He hadn't had a drink for few days, so he was thirsty.

When he was ready, he licked his lips and face with his long tongue, cleaning them with it. He dropped the body and began to walk away, leaving the dry corpse behind.



[b]DAY 31: REGRET – ABANDON THE SWORD[/b]

Tanykim had lived his whole life in the mountain region. For years it had been infested with demons, and he had sworn an oath to destroy as many of them as he could, to make this region safer place for everyone. He had practiced fighting skills with a sword ever since he was just ten years old and over the years, he did become quite skillful, thanks to the hard work. He gained great reputation in the area as one of the best demon slayers. With many others, he formed a bond like brotherhood, and together they made the mountain better place for everyone. That was their duty. And for years, he simply dedicated all his life to this task. But of course, something changed.

Tanykim once rescued a young woman. That was when he found the love of his life. Their hearts connected immediately, and they started to spend some time together after this meeting. Finally, Tanykim had got something else than fighting demons in his life. And a couple of months later, they got married. Not long after that, they were expecting a baby. Nine months they waited and then they got blessed by the miracle of life. They got a beautiful baby boy, who got a name Miveta. And for a little while, they were a happy little family.

Their happiness didn't last. Suddenly, Tanykim's wife got ill. It was mysterious disease and no physician could help her. Tanykim fell into the spiral of despair. He tried every remedy possible, sought help from all the healers, but in vain. Nothing could help his poor wife. Then he thought that this could be a curse from a demon. Out of desperation, he began hunting demons more frenziedly than ever before. He tried to find the root of the curse. Whether it was the doing of a demon or not, it was already too late. She passed away on the night of a full moon. Tanykim felt heartbroken. But he had to remain tough. For the sake of Miveta.

He tried to be as good father as he could. And taking care of someone helped him to forget his grief a little. Miveta was very active and curious child – he was always up to an adventure. This brought smile to Tanykim's face. The boy loved to go to the woods and Tanykim did sometimes go there and have a walk with his son. Not too far away from the village, though, as he didn't want to encounter demons and risk his son's life. Luckily, Miveta was happy with the short little journeys.

When the boy grew up a little, Tanykim started to teach him fighting techniques. Miveta would use wooden sword and have dummies as his opponents. The boy was a fast learner, which made Tanykim really proud. Miveta reminded him of the time when he was young. When the boy would be older, he would gladly take him to join the demon hunt. Someday. But for now, dummies would have to do.

Tanykim never forgot his beloved wife. He was still sure that her demise had been the work of demons. When Miveta grew older and didn't need his attention as much anymore, Tanykim devoted a lot of his time for hunting down those abominations. He wanted to tear apart every single one of them. He showed no mercy, letting his rage to guide his blade. 

What he didn't realize was that the demons had started to get a hold of him. Wanting to inflict revenge and the grief for losing the love of his life had made his mind fragile. Through the cracks, the demons could slip their claws in and start claiming his brain. They were whispering to him, knowing all the right words. It didn't take long for them to be able to use him as a vessel for their own malice.

Tanykim was almost possessed. On this one evening, the demons drove him to the village, making him berserk. They told him that it was their fault that his wife died, that they purposely made her ill, just to see her suffer. Filled with wrath, Tanykim started slaughtering people, not showing mercy to even children. Those who he had considered as his brothers once were now on his killing list as well. Some other warriors tried to stop him, but they had no chance against the fury of a tormented man.

He was like a madman. An unstoppable force. With great skill, he slashed his weapon at any poor soul who would come his way. Many innocent people lost their lives that evening. Of course, in his mind, they were the ones at fault. He was making a favor to the world by getting rid of these devils.

But then, this one swing from his blade finally brought an end to the slaughtering.

“Dad!”

The voice of the one most dear to him snapped Tanykim out of his berserk state. He stood there for few seconds, as if slowly coming back to his body, to his position. He looked next to him where the voice came from – and was utterly horrified.

There was Miveta. He was holding his stomach, trying to keep his organs in. A horrid gash on his abdomen was bleeding heavily, staining his clothes and the ground with red. Together with blood, his strength was leaking out of his body. He fell to the ground, and Tanykim immediately rushed to his side, holding his dying body with tears in his eyes.

“No, no, Miveta!” he cried out loud. “I'm so sorry! Please don't leave me!”

His son gave him one weak smile before going limp in his arms. Tanykim was sobbing uncontrollably, burying his face on Miveta's chest. Those few villagers who had dared to approach were looking at the broken man, allowing him some space.

Killing the most important thing in his life made him feel great regret. Tanykim decided that he wouldn't lift his sword ever again. He couldn't stay in the village after what had happened and so he left, perhaps looking for a place to die.