It was just supposed to be a new day. It was supposed to be ordinary. It was supposed to be beautiful. So how? How did it turn out like this? How did Solieré fall

I looked at the blood-stained painted picture in front of me. Was fate supposed to be this cruel? Rivers were coloured deep red, the tall buildings brought down to a pile of rubble, lifeless bodies at every corner of the city, horrible screams in every direction of my frozen body. I could not move an inch. A breath barely escaped my trembling mouth

"Hey!" I heard Luminur shout out to me with desperation, "start moving if you don't want to die!"

I staggered back with my legs trembling, but as I turned around quickly I forced my frozen legs to hasten me towards the last safe place in Solieré, the city catacombs.

When the hellish monsters came attacking me from every corner, I took my sword out of its scabbard to mercilessly cut them down. As I continue to run for my life the horrid screams for help were dying down as I kept running.

When we safely reached the catacombs, I fell on my knees due to the shock that built up. I shook uncontrollably, but then Luminur comforted me saying, "You are a knight. You must carry on and stay strong even during the worst situations, and you shouldn't worry for I am with you."

I stared at him, then I slapped myself hard on both cheeks. Luminur flinched when he heard a loud clapping sound, and I confidently stood up with a renewed determination and red face from the slap, while I try to hold in my tears. Luminur simply smiled at me when he saw my face, and so we continued down the long pathway of the catacombs

The catacombs were always clean because we believed it was our duty to keep our ancestors clean even if they are dead, but then I snapped out my useless thought and ran deeper into the catacombs to reach the room where the signal resides.

"I have to light the signal to warn the neighbouring kingdoms," Luminur said.

Luminur de Sol, the first and only prince of Solieré. He has always been kind and gentle to people, so he was beloved by many of his citizens. He is also known to many as a mage with great talents.

"You must run into the inner catacombs and go to the orb at the center of the room and send a message to the other world," Luminur said with no hesitation coloring his gentle voice.

When I heard him say that it caused me to stop dead in my track and turn to gaze at him with an incredulous look. I was shocked by what he was asking me, "What are you saying...? Are you telling me to break the principal rule of mage craft and perform a forbidden spell which affects the other world?!"

"We don't have much of a choice. Our world is in a chaos and you must send the message to the other world. You must fulfill the prophecy and bring the girl to this world."

Luminur looked at me with a strong resolute look which I gladly returned.

All of a sudden I heard something break and monstrous screeches erupt which caused us both to flinch. We knew by that that the entrance to the catacombs, which I cast a sealing spell was broken down. I looked at Luminur and he motioned and urged me to go on. I gazed at him with my wavering determination flickering across my eyes. I let down my pride because I too knew what was best for this world. He and I both knew full well that this was our world's only and last hope.

"Alright, I'll do it. Come back safely," I said to him with confidence and worry painting my face.

"I always come back," He looked at me with a gentle smile. He assured me with that smile that he will come back no matter what.

I ran to the inner catacombs as swiftly as my feet could carry me and forbid myself to look back to where Luminur was when I heard the monstrous screams that were nearing him. I gnashed my teeth against each other while thinking of the danger Luminur would face.

I ran and ran and before I knew it, I was in the room and where the orb resided in the middle of the room. I admirably gazed at the orb. The orb's intricate design was still beautiful and the goregous sparkle took my breath away. It's colour was a gentle royal blue with touches of green that calms and drags you into comfort. The room's design was surprisingly lavish and beautiful. Statues and treasures decorated the room which made it suitable for a King.

I walked over to the orb to cast the spell but then, my senses spiked up. I felt a dark and evil presence in the room. I jumped by backwards by instinct and soon heard a loud crash behind me. I looked towards the source of the noise and saw a decently sized crater oozing with dark black magic. I immediately knew who did this. Fear was starting to grow in my heart but I could not let it overtake me.

Before he could do another move I quickly ran and did the forbidden spell by quietly muttering the incantation. It flew to the orb, but something bizarre started to happen on the surface of the magical orb. It let out reserve in the form of electricity and it glowed a red light. I realized that the spell was cast too hastily. I tried to cast it again, but in the midst of my panic I failed to notice the incoming danger.

As I was attempting to say the incantation again, I was thrown to the other side of the room by a powerful force. My head was still throbbing from the sudden blow. I tried to stand but I fell down on my knees with a anguished groan. I looked at the area where the sharp pain came from and saw a huge red spot that kept growing on the left side of my torso. I hopelessly stared at the wound and despairingly thought. How can I protect the orb now?

I received a lethal injury due to an energy blast from him.

I saw him walking over to the orb that was still letting out a unusual colour. Terror accumulated inside of me as I miserably looked at him nearing the orb.

"So this is the magical orb of legends? I feel immense mana spewing out of it. What a boon this is indeed!" He said this with great ecstasy.

"Well then, it would not hurt anyone for me to take this would it?" He reached his hand out to the orb. My heart was racing like a thousand miles and my despair only grew. No... This can't happen. I won't let this happen.

I try to stand using every ounce of energy I had left in this powerless body of mine, but it still was not enough. I toppled back on the cold floor. I kept looking at him as he drew closer to the orb. I stretched out my hand to its maximum reach and screamed out loud.

"No! Stop it!"

He ignored desperate cry and wrapped it around his hands tightly. He picked it up and gazed at its mesmerising surface. He attempted to absorb the energy from it, but the mystical orb started to release mana uncontrollably.

"What? What is happening!?" He tried to control the flow mana in to prevent it from self-destructing, but his attempt proved to be futile as the orb blasts into a trillion pieces and the mana burst out of the orb releasing a huge shockwave that threw him across the room.

I blocked my face from the powerful shockwave with my right hand while my left put pressure on my open wound.

The blue magical energy started to whirl around me and I ascend into the air. Ahh... Am I going to die? But if I were to die today, I could at least rest in peace knowing that I fulfilled my job as a knight to send a message to the other world.

As I was thinking about my life which I never thought could come to end like this I regretted having not accomplished one thing.

My name is Orion de Etoilé. I am the first prince of Lumieré with a powerful curse that was struck upon me, and my world Incardia... is in great danger.