original

Return of the Fallen

Tác giả: May_Song

Chương 1: Prologue (I)

The glistening yet daunting moon glared down upon the ghastly barren land as the litter of corpses and skeletons filled the never-ending ground below; leaving behind the remanences of an old and tragic war.

The squawks of demonic birds echoed through the deathly silent air as swarms of darkness rolled over any flesh still remaining.

Once in a while, a distant scream could be heard beyond the dusty mountains - the last cry of breath before being devoured by the horrors which lie waiting for those who had the courage to venture deep within these cursed lands.

The eternal darkness which loomed over the ruins and the screeches of those who bravely entered the land gave the ruins its infamous title – The Ruins of Death.

The numbers of those who were able to return safely could be counted with a single hand, hence authorities and travelers marked this specific ruin as The Forbidden Land.

However, on this fateful day, above the ruins, the skies could be seen forcefully ripped apart as a figure descended downwards at an alarming rate. The eternal darkness of the land below opened up a small spotlight as the figure could be seen crashing down; right into the middle and deepest part of the Forbidden Land.

But, as this incident only took half a second from start to finish, not many people were able to witness his fall, and as for those who did, believed it to be a trick of the eye or a symptom from their ongoing madness caused by their deep desire for survival.

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The scraping of slow footsteps sounded out from the silent land. The trickling sound of blood echoed behind every step he took as he clenched his teeth, gripping both of his hands onto his stomach. A gaping hole; the size of a fist could be seen piercing through the front and out the back. Anyone unfortunate to look upon this scene would have immediately gagged in horror or fainted in shock. Something that big of a wound would have most definitely been fatal.

The man suddenly threw up a mouth full of blood as he tumbled down to the ground writhing in pain, cursing under his breath. His short blond hair, pale skin, and delicate yet alluring face would make anyone fall in love at first sight. However, with blood spatter all over his messy hair and body, his once perfect appearance had resembled something eerily similar to that of a horror movie villain.

After just a few minutes of rest, he painfully shifted his body weight to one side; rolling over whilst continuing to apply pressure to the wound. With a sudden burst of strength and a grunt, he slowly got to his feet, frowning in pain while holding onto the nearby cliff-face for additional support.

However, this time only lasting a couple of seconds before he felt his vision once again become hazy and the urge to throw up overcame him as he toppled down for the third time. A gush of blood erupted from his mouth. This time, he could feel the last of his energy escaping his body.

Just as darkness was filling his vision, the undeniable resonating of footsteps echoed through the ground, stopping a few meters before him. A pair of black boots entered his vision.

Utilizing the last of his strength to glance up, he saw the silhouette of a figure with long, flowing black hair, and a pair of pitch-black horns penetrating out from both sides of his head.

"Shit." He mumbled, this time fully blacking out.

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The gust of wind blew past the two, as Heliro gazed down upon the back of the head of the fallen mystery man. The torn clothing the man wore was not something from this world, the embroidery etched within the cloth was way too exquisite and detailed for even the most talented artisan to replicate. The only reasonable explanation was he wasn't from here, but had fallen from...there.

A small and devious smirk appeared on Heliro's face while a glint of interest sparked in his eyes. He gently knelt down and slowly raised his right hand out in front of him, instantly piercing it straight into the man's chest without hesitation, adding another hole into the already bloody mess of a body before him.

The man's eyes burst open as he gagged up a mouthful of blood; his body shot up from the impact, before lying unresponsive once again.

Heliro clenched his fist within the man's chest before ripping out his hand, revealing a blood-red, still actively beating heart.

Taking a deep breath, he began to chant; emitting a dark purple glow from his hand, which began cloaking the organ, and within a few seconds, symbols began illuminating, wrapping themselves around the heart. Each line continuously circling above the other as the lines wrapped tighter and tighter until the heart shrunk into one-third its previous size with a couple hundred million barely readable symbols etched into it.

With the spell complete, Heliro let out a quick sigh of relief before gently placing his left hand onto the man's head. He muttered the word,

"[Bind]."

Instantly, the symbols hovered from the heart, one by one as they began pouring into the body of the man.

As each symbol entered his body, his consciousness arose and a deathly scream escaped his lips, whilst his body began to seize up. His screeches filled the silent air for 30 continuous minutes. Each symbol infiltrating his body and etching itself into his soul.

By the time the last symbol had transferred from the heart and entered his body, the man's fingers were covered in blood as his nails continuously clawed the earthen ground, his pupils had rolled back, displaying only the whites of his eyes, and had finally lost consciousness. The gaping hole in his stomach had already healed halfway, leaving only the flesh and skin of his back to heal. However, the hole where the heart was taken out was now replaced with a dark circle with numerous black symbols surrounding it.

"Alpha," Heliro's deep voice sounded out, as a tall silver-haired figure appeared behind him, his head bowing.

"Take him to The Professor," Heliro ordered, storing the heart into a dimensional pocket before taking out a small handkerchief and wiping his hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Alpha replied without hesitation; grabbing the man and hoisting him onto his shoulders before simultaneously disappearing the same way he appeared.