Chapter 0: "My Cursed Eyes"
I am what they call cursed. I am what they call a calamity. My birth was nothing but a nightmare for my family. As I came into the world, my mother gave up her soul. By the time I was two, my father followed suit. Then, the villagers abandoned me. And that day, I knew my eyes brought death to everything I saw - contracting diseases, vomiting blood, and their internal organs failing, then dying before and after.
I always wanted to end this curse that tormented me so. I wanted a friend, just one friend to talk to, a loved one, someone, but I got only silence and a faint stench of rotting flesh on the breeze. I tried to remove these eyes, had them grawled out, pierced. I suffered so much, but they'd regenerate. My meals were already dead carcasses. My only goal is to be human like everyone else.
In this medieval world, the globe is divided into three powerful kingdoms:
1. The Empire of Spain: known for its widespread practice of slavery, where humans are bought and sold like goods. Slave traders are kings, and auctions are common currency.
2. The Empire of Floria: a kingdom where wealth is measured by the number of subjects. The most powerful are those with the largest armies of soldiers, most skilled artisans, and smartest advisors.
3. The Empire of Oriana: a legendary kingdom, where adventurers and explorers are kings. Streets are filled with treasure hunters, mercenaries, and warriors seeking glory and fortune.
The Forbidden Zones, those mysterious and dangerous lands where supernatural creatures reign supreme. Adventurers, those brave heroes who dare venture there, are the only ones who can protect populations from the threats hiding there.
These adventurers, gifted with exceptional abilities, don't hesitate to make pacts with demonic entities to acquire the power needed for their quest. They're the guardians of balance, defenders of the people's safety.
But beyond the empires, unexplored territories await discovery. Unknown lands, unexplored seas, dark forests, and impassable mountains... Adventurers are ready to face all dangers to uncover secrets of these mysterious lands.
The two bandits, pursued by their enemies, had taken refuge in the dead forest, a sinister and unsettling place. The stench of rotting flesh immediately assaulted them, and they understood they weren't alone. Their encounter with the child with silver-white hair and eyes covered in black skin was even stranger. He seemed lost and solitary, but there was something disturbing about him. His words were enigmatic, and the bandits didn't know what to think.
"I killed them," he said, speaking of his family and the villagers. The bandits were shocked, but the child seemed not to understand the gravity of his actions. He simply asked the bandits to stay with him, to spend time with him.
The bandits were frozen, their eyes fixed on the child. They didn't know what to say or do. The silence was oppressive, only broken by the sound of their breathing.
The bandit with short hair, the first to recover, took a step forward. "What do you mean, you killed them?" he asked, his voice trembling.
The child looked at him, his eyes covered in black skin seeming to pierce through him. "I killed them," he repeated, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
The bandit with long hair, who had stayed back, approached in turn. "How did you do it?" he asked, his voice softer than his companion's.
The child shrugged. "I don't know. I just... killed them."
The bandits exchanged a look, not knowing what to do. They were in an impossible situation. A child, who seemed to have killed his whole family and the villagers, was looking at them with empty eyes.
"Listen, kid," said the bandit with short hair, "we need to get out of here. You can't stay alone in this forest."
The child shook his head. "No, I don't want to leave. I want to stay here. With you."
The bandits looked at each other again, not knowing what to do. They were outlaws, thieves, but they weren't monsters. They couldn't leave a child alone in the forest.
"Listen," said the bandit with long hair, "we'll stay with you a bit. But you have to tell us what happened. Okay?"
The child nodded, a small smile on his face. "Okay."
The bandits sat down next to him, trying to understand the incomprehensible. But they didn't know the child was hiding a secret from them, a secret that would put them all in danger...
The long-haired bandit said, "I have to sew your eyes shut." The little boy asked, "But why?" He explained in detail what was the custom. So, he pulled out a magical tool from his pocket and began to sew the boy's eyes shut. And he said this: "You have to get used to staying like this. And if you want to use your power, you'll just have to cut the thread with this knife." He gave the knife to the little boy, then the boy stopped his hand. And they left the forest together. The boy was so joyful. He saw this bandit as a bit of a father figure, because it had been a long time since he'd felt the warmth of his hand.
On the way, the bandit asked the boy his name. The boy replied, "My name is Joël." The long-haired bandit said, "That's a beautiful name. Mine is Stéphane." That's how they entered the city. They went into a tavern. And he started to drink. With the little boy. He gave a glass to the boy and said, "Drink, it's called beer." The boy was astonished and surprised. He drank, drank some more, and again. The boy said, "It's very delicious."
The other patrons of the tavern watched the scene, shocked by the boy with the torn clothes and sewn eyes. Suddenly, another person approached them and said, "What are you doing with this boy? Is he a slave?" The long-haired bandit replied, "No, this is Joël, he's my companion. Or rather, my son." Joël heard these words and was overwhelmed with joy.
That's how he stopped Stéphane's hand, and they left the tavern. They went to buy clothes for Joël. Black clothes, because Stéphane liked black clothes. After that, Stéphane spoke with a man dressed in a black hood. He spoke, and Joël watched him. Then, Stéphane smiled a sly smile. He came to Joël and said, "We have our first quest."
They went to a small village known as Thon. In this village, there were monsters that sometimes attacked the villagers. So,Stéphane greeted the villagers, and a grandma approached. She said she was the village leader. And then, they had dinner at her place. She explained the situation. Then,Stéphane and Joël set off towards Thon forest. There were monsters on the side, gigantic bears.
Stéphane said, "Let's test your power." Suddenly, Joël cut the thread on his eyes. And suddenly, when he looked at the bears, they contracted diseases, vomiting blood and their internal organs. Joël thought to himself, "But his power is very terrifying."
After the massacre, Joël turned back and said, "Are you done?" Stéphane replied, "Yes." Joël said, "Cover your eyes, I'm coming to sew them shut." That's how, after all that, he sewed his eyes shut. And the grandma, he invited the grandma to come. The grandma was shocked, seeing the horrible scene. "What happened?" she asked.
Stéphane said, "It's a secret. We've accomplished our task." And they were given a small bag containing money. And they left. Stéphane said, "It's very easy. I didn't even have to lift a finger to make some cash."