A middle-aged man, wearing a blue coat, chased a young boy down the street, shouting as the boy clutched a stolen bag in his hands.
"Stop running, you rascal!" the man yelled.
Once the boy lost sight of the man, he went into an alleyway. He ran deeper inside until he found a secluded corner and crouched behind a dustbin.
The boy, Ashen, had striking brown eyes, messy black hair, and clothes worn thin and ragged with age.
'Finally, that bastard stopped chasing me. Why do these rich guys care so much about a kid stealing some cheap food? Selfish bastards!'
Ashen opened the bag and rummaged through it in the hopes of finding anything he could eat. After finding just an apple inside it, he looked disappointed; nevertheless, he devoured the fruit.
'Well, at least I got something.'
As Ashen searched the bag again, his hand brushed against a keychain which had a feather and a small fragment of glass tied together.
'What is this thing? Whatever, it looks cool, might as well keep it.'
Ashen slipped the keychain into his pocket. He threw the empty bag aside and continued down the alley in search of somewhere to sleep.
At the far end, Ashen found an abandoned building with a small crack in its wall; the hole was just enough for him to squeeze through. He went inside the building through the gap and saw a staircase leading upwards. Wanting to be safe from any thugs who might wander during the night, he decided to go upstairs.
At the top, Ashen saw an open room. After a brief glance around, he stepped inside the room.
Inside the room, a mirror stood within a broad, rectangular frame of aged bronze, its surface mottled with tarnish.
'Why am I running into so many weird things today?' He thought.
'First that weird keychain...and now this. And why is this mirror so damn dusty?'
Ashen stepped closer to the mirror and wiped the dust from the glass with his sleeve. Then he stumbled back in fear as the mirror did not show his reflection.
"W-what...?"
Before Ashen could take another step back, the mirror started to pull his body towards it. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't resist and got sucked in.
After a while, Ashen slowly opened his eyes. Then he saw himself lying atop a cliff.
"Where... am I?" he murmured.
Ashen glanced around. As far as he could see, the land was covered in endless greenery. He stood up and walked toward the edge of the cliff.
What Ashen saw below made his blood run cold.
He saw a group of humans fighting against a grotesque creature using inhumane strength; ten people were fighting, while three others were spectating the battle.
'W-what is going on? Who are these people, and how are they so strong? And more importantly...,' he thought.
"What the hell are they fighting?" He yelled and quickly covered his mouth so as not to get the attention of the fighters.
But, to Ashen's dismay, the three spectators heard him. One of them disappeared from the original spot, and he felt an ominous presence behind him.
"Well, would you look at this… a little spy on our turf."