Sona had to save his village.
To him, this wasn't a choice, but rather a must.
The world of Algora was once a land of peace. The countries lived in unity, each king working together to bring prosperity to their lands. To put an end to bandits, and factions that threatened to put a sword to what they had created.
But then, many years ago, an enemy greater than any they could imagine had entered the world.
A god, whose name they knew not, but had taken to calling him...
The Opener.
This god's curse ran rampant through the five countries, in a manner which the world knew not how to tackle.
Strange doors began to appear in random locations. Each a portal leading to a new world.
A new trial.
And Algora's only hope to rid the world of this God was to close them all.
But this was not why Sona chose to fight.
No... His story was slightly different.
---
Sona awoke to the sounds of violent coughing coming from nearby, the startling sound drawing him from his bed.
The source of the noise could not be far since, after all, his house was not large.
As he rose from his bed, which resembled more of a blanket strewn across the floor, he made his way through the darkness, allowing the moonlight shining through a crack in the ceiling to guide him.
Eventually, he was led to the room where his mother rested. Or at least should have been.
"Ma?" He said in a worried tone, trying to make out her face in the dimness.
"Stop... Don't come closer!"
...
"Ma? What's wrong. Has something happened?"
Muffled sobs filled the room, which made Sona step closer against his mother's orders.
"Please... My dear boy. Do not—"
Her words fell silent, as Sona finally got close enough to see his mother's face.
The sight filled him with terror.
Her once white skin and vibrant blue eyes had changed beyond recognition.
Her eyes had become dark, like two void-filled sockets replacing them. Her skin had turned to a sickly grey, and her sunken cheeks were riddled with blisters which dripped with blood.
Even her once brown hair had turned to a sickly grey, now clinging to her head like a soaked mop.
Sona, who was only sixteen years of age, stared at her wide eyedly. Chills running through his body against his will.
His mother sunk her head low, looking down at the floor as the tears fell.
"It's happened, Sona. A Door of Sin has finally opened in our village... It is time to accept our deaths."
The words made Sona's heart jolt.
"It... It can't be." He managed to whisper, his hands slowly raising to his face. "No... No!"
Sona knew the implications of her words.
The already poverty-stricken village, Vethil, was part of a region marked as "Unguarded".
This meant that if a Door of Sin were to open in its location, then The Heavenly Order would not send a Starblessed to come and close it.
With no Starblessed, the door would remain open. Corruption would continue to seep into the land and plague its people.
No one knew exactly why these areas were Unguarded, only that King Genesis had ordered it himself, before entering the Eternal Door Nine years ago.
He claimed that those areas were of least importance, and that his forces would be better utilised elsewhere.
That is what angered Sona the most.
At first, he and his mother stood there, teary-eyed. She had accepted their fate, whilst he... He only brewed with further anger.
"It's okay Son." His mother croaked. "We will finally be free of poverty. This sickness that plagues our land is a guiding angel, taking us from the punishment thrust upon us. This, is our penance. Our door to the afterlife."
...
No, this can't be the way that things end.
After all that we fought for? Will we fall because we are marked as Unguarded by a king who no longer exists in our world?
Sona refused to accept his fate.
Leaving his mother alone for now, he made his way to his measly bedroom.
His mother heard him rummaging around, muttering curses under his breath.
Her worry became evident.
"Sona?" She called. "Sona, what are you doing?"
Moments later, her son returned to the room.
The skinny pale boy still wore his peasant's rags and sandals, which were too small for him, but now, in his hands, was a weapon.
The crude tool was made from stone. About the length of a forearm, sharpened into a blade with a thin point. Wrapped around the bottom was a piece of fabric, which would act as a handle...
The look in Sona's eyes as he held the weapon was one of intention. They were filled with tears, but a darkness lingered behind them.
His mother couldn't believe the sight. She was stunned silent.
"Our village will know peace once again, Mother, regardless of what I have to sacrifice to achieve it."
Her eyes went wide. The implications of those words!
"You can't mean..."
...
"I do. If the Starblessed will not come and close our door, then I will do it myself."
As Sona exited his house, his mother called out many things to him.
She pleaded that he stay. Called him foolish for even coming up with such an idea.
But Sona didn't care.
His decision had been made.
As he opened the door to the moon shining upon his small village, he was met with sights that confirmed that his choice was right.
"Young Sona boy..." An elderly called out to him, as the sick man held onto a wooden bench, coughing up blood onto the floor. "Stay inside... Or the curse will get you too."
He continued to make his way through the dirt pathways, many more similar sights presenting themselves to him.
Sickly humans, wandering lifelessly. The rare greenery of the land had begun to wilt, turning to weeds.
And at the centre of village Vethil, he found the source of it all.
A singular door stood in a patch of grass where the children used to play. Now, even the adults dared not to come close.
The hinges of the wooden door were connected to nothing, seemingly balancing without trouble. The door lay wide open, but inside, nothing could be seen.
It was a darkness. A void.
And a dark energy seeped from it, one that could be felt by all who were present.
Sona clutched tightly on his stone weapon, sweat beading from his face. Fear was involuntary.
Many would claim that what he planned to do would lead to certain death.
But he didn't care.
If the curse will take me anyway, then what harm is it to try?
"Don't do it, boy. I can see the look in your eyes. Just live out the rest of your *cough*... days in peace."
It was a sick, elderly lady calling out to him. She knew what he was about to do.
Sona chuckled nervously.
"Peace?" He questioned. "This isn't peace Elder. This is hell."
With no more words to say, Sona continued to make his way to the door, until he stood before the void.
With every step, its emitting pressure weighed on him heavier. In front of it, it felt palpable.
Sona planned to only press his fingers into the darkness. Testing the waters, and wishing to prepare himself properly.
But as soon as his fingertips graced the darkness, he was drawn in.
Sona instantly vanished from the village of Vethil, so shocked that he let go of his weapon, leaving it to fall on the floor.
And where did he travel to?
Well... That was knowledge known only to The Opener.