Author-san, I have a question.... While I do wish for our hero to go on an adventure, and live a life worth telling. Are you really going to kill off his only remaining family member? Are you that heartless Author-san?
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Eh?! I'll find out if I iust keep following the plot? Why do you do this to me Author-san?!! What have I ever done to you?
Yes, you're absolutely right Author-san, I totally forgot my position. I apologize for upsetting you. But are you sure I can't get a spoiler? It's not like it'll hurt anybody.
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Sigh, alright, I'll stop fishing for spoilers... (for now...)
I apologize for angering the almighty Author-san, and I humbly ask for forgiveness!!! -dogeza-
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Yes, I'll immediately continue on telling the story to our wonderful readers!!
Sylvie had begun walking into the dark woods, her visibility dwindled as night crept closer. The already dark forest becoming increasingly darker as the light faded away.
-SNAP-
Sylvie immediately turned her head toward thr sound of something breaking, but quickly realized that she had just stepped on a small twig. Her heart hammering in her ear as she slowly tried to calm herself down. She surveyed her surroundings in search of any creature she might have alerted. Luckily, it appeared that she hadn't, so she breathed a sigh of relief. Placing her hand on her chest, she could feel her heart pounding. After taking another deep breath, she continued on her path, as she slowly crept through the trees.
Deeper into the woods she walked, the dirt road behind her already out of view. She held tightly onto the basket she carried as she walked. Time slowly ticked by and the moon was high above the sky. After traveling for several hours, she finally saw light in the distance. She quickened her steps and rushed toward it. After breaking past the tree line, she came across a glistening lake, reflecting the light of the moon. Sylvie couldn't help but gasp out in astonishment, beautiful was the only word that could describe the scene before her eyes. Violet flowers surrounded the lake and stretched all the way to the tree line. She took careful steps so to avoid ruining the flowers as she got closer to the lake.
Once arriving at the shore of the lake she peered across the surface. She discovered that it was completely calm and the surface was capable of creating reflections. Sylvie saw herself, and discovered how frail and haggard she looked. She could see all the stress marks on her face due to her constant worrying.
Suddenly, as she was looking at her own reflection, ripples began forming across the surface of the lake. Sylvie took several steps back and fell backward onto the ground. She looked up and saw that a large form was slowly rising out of the lake. It was the head of a giant serpent, and it had gills on the side of it's neck. It's scales were a dark blue that shown when the light hit it. It's eyes had slits for pupils and a thin membrane was pulled back to reveal them. The creature eyed Sylvie with a hungry expression.
Sylvie trembled violently as she stared back up at the creature. She had one thought in her mind when the serpent struck. Alick, live well! It was her final wish before everything when black and she was swallowed into the serpent's stomach. Not a trace was left behind afterward, and the serpent slowly sank back below the surface of the lake. The beautiful scene from before had returned, a lie to the horrific event that had just taken place.
!!!!! Author-san!!! I... How.... Why? Why do you do this?!?! What about our hero?! He's only 6! He doesn't even know what happened!! What are you doing Author-san?!?!
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Don't ignore me Author-san, I'm sure even our readers are flipping tables over this development!!
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The next morning came and the sun was peaking over through the mountains in the distance. Alick rolled in his bed, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. The wind blew through the open window and pushed the curtains aside allowing the sun to peak through and hit Alick in the eye. While his eyes were closed and it didn't hurt him in any way, it was still annoying and forced him to get up. He rubbed his still sleepy eyes and yawned. Stretching his arms above his head he slowly hopped out of his bed and walked out of his room.
Alick walked outside and shivered from the chilly morning air and walked to the nearby well. Grabbing the bucket, he dipped it into the well and retrieved some water. Then he placed the bucket down and using his hands, splashed some water onto his face, waking himself up. He then used his shirt to dry his face, then he looked around. It was quiet, normally his mom would be awake by now doing some cleaning or cooking breakfast. Alick looked around him and felt something off. He rushed back into the house and ran into his mother's room.
"Mom!!" Alick raised his voice as he pushed the door open.
After stepping inside, he discovered that she wasn't there. Then he ran and checked every room in the house and discovered that she wasn't in any of them. Alick ran outside and began yelling.
"Mom, where are you!!?" Alick ran all around the house, to the nearby stream. and the surrounding tree line.
Still, none of it mattered, because in the end, Alick was still unable to find Sylvie. He fell to the ground gasping for air, he stared up at the sky. So just like dad, mom left too... Alick thought. Tears began forming in his eyes before streaming down his face. Am I going to he all alone? Alick wondered, his mind a mess as he tried to comprehend the situation he was in. In about a month, he'd be turning 7, but now, he found himself without any parents or relatives. He was all alone atop a mountain, surrounded by the forest.
Did I do something wrong? Is god punishing me for something? Alick wondered. He couldn't help having such thoughts, the circumstances were ridiculous to say the least. Why was he born into a poor family all alone in the mountains? Why did his parents have to leave and not come back? Were they alright? If they were, then why wouldn't they come back? Alick wasn't sure which thought he'd prefer more. That his parents were alive and well and just abandoned him, or that his parents were dead. Either way, he was alone now.
But all Alick could do was cry and question why god let these horrible things happen to him. He was raised to believe that god was an all powerful and benevolent being. But if that was the case, why did bad things still happen? He didn't know what to do, so he slowly picked himself up off the ground and trudged back into the house. He fell onto his bed, not bothering to take his clothes off and he fell asleep. He was tired, not physically, but mentally and emotionally. He'd done his best to be a good kid for his mother after his father had disappeared. He didn't want to cause any more stress or pain for her. Even if it meant he had to bottle up his own emotions.
All this while, he continued to keep his own childish dreams and thoughts to himself. Not daring to burden his mother in any way. Doing all these things is difficult for anyone, let alone a 6 year old kid. Yet still he did it, and all this while, he felt like he was on the edge of a knife, one wrong move and he'd break. He'd collapse, the only thing keeping him together was his mother. But now that she was gone, everything came crashing down around him. So all Alick was able to do was sleep, and try to find some way to collect the pieces that broke.
This is really depressing Author-san, why are you a horrible person? What did Alick's mom do to you anyway? Did she really have to die? I understand that our hero needed something to change his everyday life, but was this really the way to go?
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Who says I'm crying?! I'm not crying, you're crying!!
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... sigh, but this still is a depressing back story, I'm not really a fan of sad back stories to be honest Author-san.
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Alright, alright, I'll continue the tale, but I think you should do some thinking about what you're planning for our hero.
Days passed and Alick was no different to a walking corpse. The life in his eyes gone, he didn't know why, but despite having no desire to live anymore, he still continued doing what he needed to do in order to survive. But if someone were to look at him, they wouldn't be able to see any sort of joy in his actions or expressions.
He just continued existing, he did think about it though. He wondered if instinctively, he was more afraid of dying than living like this. Maybe that was why he couldn't bring himself to end it. But for whatever reason, he continued on completing his daily tasks. But everything was devoid of significance to him. Life had become nothing more than a dull blur for him. How many days had passed he wondered? He stopped keeping track of time, and so one day just felt like a continuation of the day before.
******
High up the mountain, on top of the peak was a small cave. A seal had been placed there from a bygone era, long forgotten from history. The person who had placed the seal was indeed a powerful person, after all, the seal had managed to last all this time. But no matter how powerful someone may be, everything would end eventually, it was all a matter of time. The seal was shrouded in a dark mist and cracks were slowly forming. Soon, the seal shattered and crumbled to pieces. A dark figure emerged from the cave, covered in black smoke. A grin spread on his face and he began cackling, his laughter sounding like thunder as it boomed across the sky.