Kingdom of Mallanian
Past,
He's back.
A little girl ran through the dewy meadow, her hair glinting off the sunlight, her face aglow as she ran towards a dark-haired teenage boy standing with outstretched arms towards her. She ran, unmindful of the unpleasant scrutiny of the group of warriors behind the boy; she ran like a bride to her waiting husband and threw herself gaily into his arms. She hugged him tightly and sighed with satisfaction.
"You're back, Draco."
Present time,
Amaxi,
Caius remained stoic as he watched the group of crying children; he knew that within seconds their pearls would be forcefully pushed out from their core, and it wasn't long before his prediction came true.
The quota demanded by the overlord wasn't to create more shadows but to make sure that a suitable host was created to be possessed by Anastasia.
In the last century, after the fall of the kingdom of Mallanian and the sealing of Anastasia. It was discovered that no one could fully wield Anastasia Pearl; that was why the surviving Damons that came out of the hellish underworld were surgically attached with a shard of Anastasia Pearl. He watched as Esther began to peruse the remaining surviving children. This was the second day of introduction for the children, and now they were only left with a few hundred children. Caius bowed his head reverently to the overlord as he came closer to him.
"I'm disappointed in you," he whispered in his ear, then vanished into thin air. Caius grimaced; he lifted his head as soon as he sensed Esther's presence. Esther was the only one who had been kept alive after her ability to decipher suitable hosts for Anastasia was discovered. It had saved the children from death countless times, though it hadn't decreased the number of deaths in the training grounds. "Do they show any promise?" He asked. Esther bowed her head to him in respect and nodded.
"Yes." She replied, and Caius sighed in relief; he turned to address the remaining surviving children, who were still in shock over the deaths of their soon-gotten friends. He viewed the faces of the lighters; their age ranges were between five and fourteen to increase the possibility of finding a host for Anastasia.
"My name is Caius," he said out into the shocked silence, "and that's all you need to know, as some of you may still end up dead on the first day of training," he added. The children's faces turned pale as they heard his words in silence. "Your training includes several trials that will put you through an inordinate amount of pain. This training will sift you, and if you're found worthy, you'll be able to meet your Damons. If you survive the transformation of Damons and get your powers in the process, you will be gifted a shard of Anastasia that will make pain a thing of the past and immortality a reality." One of the surviving children stood up and faced Caius squarely. His tear-streaked face a testament to his earlier ordeal.
" What is the transformation of Damons? " He asked. Caius bent down to be on the same level as the child's face.
"They are dimensions you'll need to enter for certain training that will make you encounter demons and other beings that you've never seen in your life before." Caius explained in a low voice to the seven-year-old boy, "In the process, due to the miasma in the underground, you'll become a countermeasure to the demons and broken beings to fight the rest of the monsters you'll be facing in the dungeons." Some children began to whisper among themselves. The boy regarded the words of Caius and said, "So we'll become Damons and not celestials."
One of the Damons that had fallen from the ceiling earlier snickered. Caius glared at him and turned to the boy. "I would advise you to never mention anything regarding the outside world or Altrea in this place, as it would certainly reduce the rate of your survival in this place, but like I said before, not all of you will survive the first training, so feel free to call on the name of any aiding beings you know."
"No, "
" No " those were the words that could be heard among the children as Caius rose from his bent position and turned away from the boy. A girl began to cry loudly, and someone else shouted " So we're all doomed ''
Caius looked up at the domed ceiling, his face reflected only weariness, he looked again at the group of lighters and said " A piece of advice for your stay here, in this world,friends here are meaningless as they would become your enemies tomorrow or worse a Thorn in your side "
He added,traces of despair began to fill the faces of the terrified children, " Don't worry, not everything you see here is true, you might be lucky enough to encounter illusions and small spirits after your core becomes corrupted, once that happens, you'll no longer be referred to as lighters again, this is will make it easier for you to become Damons".
Caius quietly walked in front of the children as he began to memorize the faces of all the lined-up children; he suddenly came to a stop in front of Eleonor.
Eleonor stood straight as she looked into the face of the man standing before her; she had been quiet during the introduction and also during the explanation.
"What of you? You seem to be calm in the midst of this chaos. Is there nothing you would like to ask?"
Eleonor shook her head and spoke out quickly when she beheld the thunderous expression of the man at her undignified response.
"None, sir. I understood everything that was being said, sir," she answered,
From the beginning, there were a few children who had caught Caius's attention with their unshakable expressions at the deaths of their companions. This group of children was scarce during both the agony of screams and the introduction in past years, but Caius observed that this year was different. He had noted almost close to twelve children who had remained dry-eyed during the execution of the dead children, and this girl had been one of them.
Maybe it's because of the change in times or the change of rulers, he thought as he continued to observe the girl.
Esther had been watching quietly as Caius spoke to the children; the man suddenly stopped talking.
The second Caius heard the voice, he knew he was doomed.
Caius, the overlord is demanding your presence. He grimaced; he knew that he would receive a reprimand from the overlord for the unfulfilled quota but hoped to appease him with the news of the fearless lighters present this year. With that aim in mind, he moved to leave, to quickly respond to the overlord's summons, when something occurred to him. He turned back to Eleonor, "Little child, what is your name?" He asked the dark-skinned girl.
Eleonor looked up and answered, "Luna".