Emptiness

Chapter 1(d)

Country: Avarius

City: Nibea

He was five….

He was only five…

He was not suitable for this…

His legs were about to give out….

He could not run anymore. Yet, he had to.

He should not stop; if he stopped, all would be lost. He continued his running, not even knowing the destination anymore. He didn’t know whether he took the right directions under the tunnel he was forced into.

Tears trailed down his cheeks. As a prince, it was drilled into him to not show any kind of weakness especially tears. But, the circumstances have changed. He could not control the tears even if he wanted to. He had abandoned his fancy slippers long ago to run faster.

His mind could not grasp what all happened in a mere day and how the tides have changed. He really had no idea about what he was doing now.

The promise he made to his father that he would run faster and the sounds of destruction above were the only things that made him run, run and run. He could not stop. He should not stop.

“You should not stop, my son, you should run. You should not be caught by any of the enemy soldiers. Run, my child.”

These words echoed in his mind even now. His father’s words and the haunted look of him terrified him beyond words. He didn’t know whether he did the right thing by following his father’s order instead of staying with him.

Just when he felt that he could no longer run, the Egav shield around the walls of the tunnel collapsed, making him gasp in fear.

He knew that Egav shield was used to cover the tunnel by his father. He didn’t know whether it was a bad thing or a good thing.

No, no, no, no…..

Nothing happened to his father.

Nothing.

It must have been because his father might have been busy fighting his enemies. That was it.

Nothing happened to his father…

Nothing.

He picked up his pace after taking few deep breaths to calm himself. But the calm didn’t last as soon as the fire started filling the tunnel.

He shouldn’t panic. He cannot afford to.

He, the prince of Veron, the great country ruled by his ancestors for years had been educated from the start. He should survive this. He must.

He gathered his Egav and put a shield that surrounded him, continued his running as the fire was spreading faster than before. He was no adult, yet he tried his best to run amid the chaos.

“You're the future, my son.”

His father’s words were the only thing pushing him. He didn’t even know where this tunnel was leading to but seeing no other option but to run where the tunnel would lead him to, he kept on running.

He could tell that he was no match for the fire even with his Egav. It was catching up with him. He could feel the burn on his bare feet, he should have worn slippers, but he couldn’t have run this far with them anyway.

He could feel his shield thinning down and his feet were bleeding because of the fire and the stones littered here and there in the tunnel.

His breath was becoming shorter and it felt like he could not breathe amid the smoke that was rising. The heat was scorching his skin. He knew that he could only run a few meters before the fire caught up to him fully or the roof of the tunnel might collapse on him.

He knew that he was going to die…

I am sorry father.

I am really sorry father.

Just when he thought his life has come to an end, he saw a shadow of someone and he could not help but use his last bout of strength to run towards the person and collapse, knowing that he would be caught even if he fell.

Anon…

Anon Bradiga…

His father’s sworn protector…

The huge hands enveloped him in a tight hug and lifted him. He didn’t care what happened to the fire and smoke or the condition of the tunnel because he knew he was safe when Anon was near. Anon was one of the greatest warriors he had ever seen or heard about.

He succumbed to the darkness that had wanted to claim him for a while as he worried about who would protect his father when Anon was here with him.

He gasped aloud and tried hard to breathe through the suffocating feeling of not having enough oxygen to breathe.

Nightmare….

No….

Not a nightmare…

It was the same memory that tried to engulf him for the past few years.

He threw his blanket off as he decided to bathe before he went out.

The water did nothing to calm him, unlike the previous times it did. The water had always tried to calm him and erase his fear of fire, offering comfort like none. But today, it seemed to fail him.

He looked at the clock, only to find that it would be a few hours before the light God, Mercos, would rise. He got dressed and took his sword before deciding to get out of his room.

He didn’t even spare a glance to the guards standing out of his room who were all bowed to him as his title required to. But, he did notice that the soldiers had shifted for night duty as like usual and memorized each face, knowing that it would help him in the future if someone infiltrated his private guards during the shift to assassinate him.

He turned left of the corridor and moved towards the training ground. His pathway was lit with E-fire which was a fire lit by Egav. It was not like natural fire as it won’t be blown off by the wind. It can only be put off by using Egav.

He went through his usual physical training and ran around the arena to keep his body in fit condition. He practiced his various sword positions and wielded his sword as if fighting an invisible enemy.

Sweat trailed down from his neck to stomach even though the air was chilly.

He sat on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate. It was not the thing he was good at but, he had decided to do this today to calm himself. He tried to reach a calm state so that he could reach Egav deep within him.

As like always, this only frustrated him. He knew that it was no use even before he started it.

Four years had passed, yet, that memory failed to leave him alone. It haunted him to no end.

It started to drizzle, but he didn’t get up, nor did he open his eyes. The chill air and the rainwater seemed to calm him more than the meditation. He inhaled deeply to smell the air around him, which smelled really nice as it usually did during the rain.

Veron…

Veron, the country ruled by Mandana’s for centuries. Yet, he, Alan Mandana, the crown prince of the country, had to flee from there and seek refuge in his mother’s country, where he was nothing but a royal relative.

This country, Avarius, his mother’s country in which his grandfather ruled, he was nothing but one of the royal families who had a duty to his home country.

Suddenly, he could not feel the rain even though he heard the sound of rain. He opened his eyes to look at the person who had saved him years before.

Anon Bradiga…

His father’s sworn protector once, but now, his sworn protector.

Anon had cast an umbrella out of pure energy using his Egav and stood behind him as if to stand guard.

Regret rose in him as like always in the presence of Anon.

Because of Anon trying to protect him, there was no one there to aid his father in his battle.

His father passed away in the battle.

Alan Mandana should have died that day instead of his father, but here he was, still breathing as if he deserved to live.

If only, he stayed with his father….

If only, he was good at his Egav…

If only, Anon didn’t come to his aid….

If only…

Sworn protectors usually committed suicide after the death of the person they promised to protect with life, but Anon didn’t do that instead sworn to protect him.

Father was all he had, even though his father didn’t love him as much as he loved his siblings and his country, yet his father was kind to him unlike anyone nowadays.

Resentment rose inside him at the sight of Anon. He should have saved his father….

In his anger, he glared at Anon and dispelled the umbrella to let him soak in the rain, not caring if he gets sick. Not that anyone cared about him anyway.

He was a prince…

Yet, he was a prince who had nothing…

He closed his eyes and tried to find peace at least within himself, yet it eluded him. The darkness along with chaotic thoughts and painful memories swirled in his mind as he soaked in the drizzle that had now turned into rain.