In the small village of Elandor, around five hundred people gathered near the village center. Usually used for events and celebrations, it was a rare occasion that they had to call an emergency meeting.
Troy stood near the back of the gathering, watching ahead while looking for his family to return. It had already been around thirty minutes since the bell that signaled an emergency had rung.
Among the numerous people, there was countless chatter about the reason behind this sudden emergency. Some people believed that another beast had appeared, while others brought up food supplies.
The people that knew about the commotion earlier were very few compared to the ones that didn't know. After all, the commotion was short and near the outskirts of the town. Because of that, many people were conflicted in what to believe.
But among all the people in the village, they had a strange sensation, something that jumped out at them. For most people, they just left it to their nerves running wild, while the others had a small guess on what could be the case, but this guess left shivers down their spine.
This village of Eleanor was on the outskirts of the noble family that owned the land; there wouldn't be a good reason for the noble army to come and seek workers. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of villages much bigger than theirs that were closer to the capital, for a measly hundred workers, why would they care for such a thing?
Although it was only a speculation, the older and wiser people in the village speculated that it must have something to do with the Spiral of Chaos. Occurrences like this weren't too uncommon after all. With the numerous Spirals of Chaos scattered around the world, there was a small chance that one appeared near their village, which could also explain this uneasy feeling that they were experiencing.
One infamous example of such an occurrence was the village called Skyburn. Although it wasn't anywhere close to the village they currently resided in, this story was known worldwide and brought fear to commoners.
Skyburn was once a town several times larger than Elandor, with busy streets and a peaceful community, they resided on a mountain where they lived in peace, far away from any major city or capital.
Although the time this exactly happened wasn't recorded down, it is known by most that this village existed when the Spirals first started to be found.
With the numerous gains and uses that each Spiral of Chaos could provide, powerful people in this world went on expeditions around the world, searching for the so-called Spirals of Chaos
One unfortunate day, one of these infamous Spirals was found near the bottom of the mountain when a member of Skyburn couldn't resist the urge of the Spiral and went missing while exploring. This caused a huge commotion and attracted multiple nobles to explore and try to gain control over it. Originally Skyburn was a town with fifty thousand people, but after this incident, the known surviving members numbered zero.
Because the nobles didn't yet know the complete mysteries of the Spiral of chaos, through power and blackmail, the nobles gained twenty thousand people in the village of Skyburn to act as human shields for the nobles to explore the Spiral.
Not even a week later, all known members of Skyburn that were sent went missing. Of course it was most likely that they were dead, but the nobility refused to admit it, wanting to perverse their so-called reputation
Without hesitation, the nobility demanded the village of Skyburn send another twenty thousand workers but was met with denial by the town members.
Outraged by their actions, the nobility raised an army to ruthlessly capture each person in Skyburn. Whether it was due to them truly being offended by their response or wanting to set an example is still unclear to this day.
But the events that proceeded were ruthless. The town was razed to the ground, houses destroyed, and farms burned. Children that were barely old enough were forcibly starved until they agreed to work. The teenagers and adults that tried to refuse were either tortured or threatened with their family.
As for the remaining older people that were too weak to work and the people that still refused with determination, they were all ruthlessly tortured in public before being slaughtered. Their bodies were hanged in the village of Skyburn, each on a wooden pole where they hung lifelessly.
But instead of hiding this incident like what most people would do, the nobles involved did the complete opposite. They spread the news, they had painters record the scene, and they even let people explore the village as they pleased.
This incident was solidified as an example to all villages and towns, infamous throughout the whole world. Eventually this incident was later called "The Bloody Sacrifice of Skyburn." Called this not only because all known members of Skyburn eventually died but also because of a sacrifice that served as a lesson for other towns or villages.
To this day many mysteries still remain about this so-called incident. Many people believed in the common told story, but there were also others that believed this was all a part of the nobles scheme and everything was manipulated from behind.
Whether you believe the story or not, if you had another idea of what happened, the common lesson taught by this story was undeniable in the current age.
Although this lesson was learned by almost all commoners in the current day, it was still difficult to follow this lesson. After all, simply learning a lessons and being to implement it was two completely different things
Even if the people in this small village of Eleanor knew about the Skyburn incident, how many of them were truly able to accept the fact that they either had to throw away their life or watch the people they love slowly rot to death?
But even if they couldn't accept the fact, they also knew deep down they couldn't do anything. Die now or die later; that was the option villages and towns had if a Spiral were to appear near them.
As each person was either lost in their thoughts or busy discussing their ideas, the loud bell that summoned everyone here once again rang aloud. Silencing the crowd, everyone looked up at a small podium where several village elders stood.
Among the village elders was the one who usually was soft-spoken and had a relaxed face, but in front of everyone it felt like his entire personality did a complete flip. His solemn and sad face paired with his shaking hands made the entire crowd nervous as they awaited his words.
Troy felt a hand grabbing at his shoulder as he flinched, still nervous from the news and commotion.
"Troy, it's me. I've brought the rest of the family back."
A female voice spoke between her gasps for air. Immediately Troy recognized the voice and turned around, showing a relieved face as he looked at his sister Kayla.
"So glad you guys made it just in time; it seems that we're about to start the emergency meeting."
Kayla nodded, and their three brothers—Zane, Cole, and Blake—all looked around with nervous gazes, frightened as they rushed over to Troy.
"What's happening, Troy?"
"Why is everyone gathered here?"
"Why didn't mom come with us?"
Each brother asked Troy numerous questions as Troy tried his best to reassure them.
"Don't worry, the village head will explain most of it, and I'll explain the rest when we get back. Don't worry too much about it, okay? I'll make sure that nothing will ever happen to you."
Troy put on a smile as he wiped away the fear and nervousness that he had before. He had once vowed to himself that he would do his very best to protect his family.
That old side of his, the one that always forced him to chase wonders in this world, made Troy feel sick when he thought about it. That version of him was willing to abandon his family just to satisfy his own selfish desires.
Everyone's morals are different; for him, leaving the people that made him everything he is was unacceptable to him. Others may feel the complete opposite; you may feel that any action to gain power is morally correct, and that is in essence fine too.
For most people in the world, experiences change their own perspectives, which shifts their morals. Troy is an example of a shift from his previous perspective of life to his current-day one. As one grows, their morals will grow with them. What once seemed wrong may become right, while what may have seemed right will ultimately, in your eyes, seem wrong.
As Troy's mind flashed with different thoughts, he directed his attention towards the small podium where the elders stood still, not having spoken a word yet. As the crowd died down, it fell into silence as everyone looked forward while thinking to themselves. Suddenly an old, hoarse voice spoke out in a small tone.
Although this sound was quite small, because of the overbearing silence of the crowd, his words cut through this blanket of silence like shears. His voice instantly echoed in everyone's mind.
"Some of you may be wondering why we have called upon this meeting, although I hate to admit it, our village has met a predicament that we can't resolve without everyone's help."
The old village head spoke with a shaky tone; his voice shocked everyone in the crowd. Instantly everyone was alert as they mentally prepared themselves for the worst.
"The truth is a Spiral has been found near our village, and the nobles are demanding us to send workers to help with labor for the time being."
The shocked faces of the crowd became apparent as everyone froze in shock. Their minds went blank as they thought of their future, but also deep down inside they thought of the incident of Skyburn. A wave of despair washed over everyone's minds as they stood in shock.
"They have asked for one hundred workers… I do not have the right to demand the lives of people, but also I can't simply sit by without trying my hardest to preserve this place."
The village head hesitated for a bit before continuing in a small voice.
"So I'll have to humbly ask if there are people willing to volunteer. We need one hundred workers. I can't forcefully make everyone do it, so please, I'll have to ask everyone to help."
The village head bowed as he finished this last sentence. A deep feeling of shame washed over him. Asking people to die so that they could live—that was the selfish request he was asking for. Although he wished he could volunteer himself, he knew that he wouldn't meet the requirements of the army; thus, he could only ask disgracefully with his head bowed.
"..."
Everyone in the crowd fell silent as they looked at each other with faces full of despair. But amidst this crowd of silence, one hand rose up and volunteered.
"I can go."
The person was a young man dressed in plain pants and a ruffed-up t-shirt. He appeared to be in his early twenties or late teens, with blond hair and brown eyes; he stood out as the crowd around him slowly gave him room.
"I can go too."
This time a younger voice sounded out, shocking everyone in the crowd. A young boy around fifteen years old also volunteered as he made his way to the area that one had cleared out. He stood next to the first volunteer, but even though he seemed calm on the surface, many observant people could see the small tremble behind that clenched fist of his.
"No, no, absolutely not. We can't let such young people sacrifice their lives while we middle-aged people sit."
This time an older man walked into the cleared-out area as everyone saw his ruffled short blond hair and well-built physique. But with his declaration came a person crying out at him.
"No, but you can't go! What will I tell the kids still at home?"
A woman cried out at him while soft tears flowed out of her eyes. The middle-aged volunteer walked towards her as he grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke in a warm tone full of sorrow.
"I know it's selfish of me to do this, but it's also against my morals to see people with such grand futures sacrifice their lives for an old-timer like me. It should be the old carving out the path for the new to run.""
The man got to his knees as he spoke while tears came flowing out, dripping onto the soft dirt.
"Please, I'm so sorry. I know that the kids are strong, born with an iron wind and determined wills. With help from everyone else, you won't have to worry about money. I know it's selfish of me, but I need to do this."
Standing up, he wiped those tears he once had and gave a firm hug to his loved one as he walked away with eyes filled with nothing but determination. With this sudden scene, more and more people volunteered to go; almost all of them were middle-aged men, with very few teens or women volunteering.
As the count slowly rose, instead of standing in the middle of the crowd where an area had been cleared up for them, most of them were asked to go up on the podium, where they could give their last speeches, and left before they got too emotional.
As time slowly passed, fewer and fewer people started volunteering. With only a measly five hundred population size, one hundred was just simply too much for them. Families could at most send one person, and that was if they had children that were old enough to work and had a stable income.
Everyone counted in their mind as the number of volunteers reached eighty-five, where it drastically dropped; eventually it reached ninety with a long pause where no one longer volunteered.
After all, asking for one-fifth of a village's population was too much. Maybe because of the kindhearted nature of the people living out in the middle of nowhere, they were willing to give up so much.
If it was anywhere else, it would be a miracle if they could get more than ten people out of a hundred required. Some cried, some clenched their hands in anger, and others simply stood with a blank face.
But as some people slowly began to snap back to the current situation from what they were thinking, they realized that the people who volunteered had long since stopped at ninety, with no one volunteering anymore.
There was one single thought that almost everyone in the crowd had in unison.
'Who will be the last ten volunteers?'