The Darkness Within
In a kingdom long forgotten by man, and a time considered advanced and magical, a
young man bursts from the covers in a terror fueled panic. The boy stared blankly around the
room, trying to remember where he was, and why he was there. Then the memories rushed in.
The trip, and the accident, he let out a low moan and curled underneath the covers of his gurney.
he was in the healers domain. As he lay there he wondered what had happened to his life to lead
to this moment. Did other members of the royal family deal with this crap?
As time passed the memories of his mission came into focus and clarity as he lay there on
the hospital bed. He had begged the king, his father to allow him to lead a mission to retake the
Misty Forest. The prince had wanted to prove to his father that he was not like his other siblings.
They were proud and spoiled beyond their human years. The king had relented and allowed him
to go, with one condition. Allow his older sibling, Asa and her battalion to follow him and his
soldiers into the forest. As he looked back on it, he should have given up and gone with the
change of plan. Instead he had begged and complained, and his sister had relented and told the
king she would go with him without her soldiers.
On the day of the mission he had his battalion of mages and soldiers march into the
outskirts of the forest. He had arrived to find his sister there. She stood there garbed in a silver
suit of armor, with a purple cape. Her emblem, a dragon spewing blue flames sparkled in the
sunlight. She stared at him blankly, as he staggered up the hill. He had given her a glare and
sputtered, "What are you staring at ?". She had smirked, and rustled his black hair. "Well
Kronos, I think I'm staring at a kid who thinks too much of himself", she retorted, he had
blushed and turned quickly almost tripping over his own feet. He then ordered his men to start
the march into the dark abode. He smirked to his sister," Ready to go?" She had then brushed a
red strand of hair from her head, and laughing replied," Ladies first".
From that moment on the mission went from easy to straight terrifying. As soon as the
insurgents realized they were there, led by two members of the royal family they had attacked
relentlessly. Sending the abominations that lived in the forest after them, all Kronos remembered
were the howls from the creatures that lived there, and his men screaming and begging as they
were dragged away into the mist. Then he remembered a shriek, a high wail. He pulled the
covers of his head and stared blankly at the window, it was daylight. The city was in full view
and he sighed. "Could this day get any worse?" muttering to himself, and as he began to pull
himself from the bed a tall man walked into the room.
As Kronos sat in the waiting room, wondering which of the many gods he had
angered. He was awaiting a meeting with the king, his father. He wondered what was going to
happen to him. He had failed miserably with his mission. Many of his soldiers were dead and
buried, and gods know what had happened to Asa. When he looked up he saw the royal
messenger, nod to walk into the royal chamber. Kronos sat up, and prepared himself to whatever
fate he was to receive. He was ready.
"Now arriving, fifth prince of our holy nation, Prince Kronos!" the announcer shouted
those words across the hall. Royals and soldiers alike stared with hints of malice and fear at
Kronos. All he could do was walk forward and stand at attention in front of the holy emperor, his
father. The king stood up and stared at Kronos. The man was a good 6 feet, and his tanned face
made his blood red hair stand out all the more. The king gave the prince a look of contempt and
sadness. Then the man bellowed in a royal voice," PRINCE KRONOS HAS BEEN RETURNED
TO US! THROUGH INTERROGATING THE SURVIVORS OF THE MASSARE AT THE
MISTY FOREST, WE HAVE DISCOVERED THAT OUR FAIR PRINCESS ASA WAS
KILLED IN THE CROSSFIRE!" The gasps and shouts of disbelief and sadness rang out
throughout the halls. Kronos could not hide his horror. His sister was dead? It was his fault, his
first mission and he lost half a battalion and his sister! He fell to his knees and felt the tears well
up in his eyes. Seeing this the king's eyes softened and he continued," After reviewing the plans
and the reports of the survivors, we can say that it was not Kronos' fault for this massacre. And
that we can allow his ascension from fifth in line to the throne to second."
Dead Silence. Kronos had heard stories from his older siblings about the awkward
silences in the throne room. He had always thought that they had exaggerated the experiences.
As he stood there he realized that it was much worse than he ever thought. He slowly stood and
turned, as he slowly wobbled out of the throne room he heard a soldier mutter in his direction,"
we will discover the truth murderer." As that sentence reached his ear, he stopped. They thought
he was behind it! They truly thought he had plotted this mission to kill his sister? Did the reports
and testimony really look that bad? It was then he remembered a saying his younger sister had
mentioned," No matter how bad you think it is remember, it can always get worse"
Even after a month, the looks and rumors did not go away. In Kronos' opinion they got
worse. Much Worse. First the soldiers of the royal court made it clear that they would never give
him their allegiance. He could live with that. What he could not live with was the looks the
plebeians gave him. The looks of happiness melting away to horror or disgust when they realized
they were meeting the traitor, Kronos. As he began to enter a army station he stood in front of
the barracks. Did he really want to enter and face the looks of malice and contempt? He put his
hand and to his black hair and scratched, as if maybe if he scratched long enough he would come
up with a bright idea.
In the end he decided to enter the city, and go to the military branch to receive his orders.
As he wandered through the city he stared up at the sky and noticed a small group of men with
shining wings fly across the rooftops. Hawk men, the army's newest flying soldiers, as they
flitted around he noticed his reflection in a building. He saw a well-built young man pitch black
hair, his tan face, and his gray eyes stared back at him. His black army uniform stood out in the
sparkling cityscape around. Civilians in a all garbs wandered around casting glances at the idiot
staring in a glass mirror.
The prince wandered blankly across the city until he reached the military branch of the
city. After the look of disgust and getting moved to every terminal in the building, he finally got
his assignment. As he looked out the glass door he noticed that night had fallen. The pitter patter
of rain fell softly around the mirror. Kronos sighed, and resigned himself to the walk in the rain.
As he walked out into the dark city he blinked, there was a battalion of soldiers in formation
surrounding the building. Mages and snipers stood at attention in front of him. Kronos blinked
once, then he blinked once again. "As if this day could get any worse", Kronos sighed and
slowly unsheathed his broadsword.
As he slowly walked down the steps of the building he let out a whistle," Wow! Who put
you guys up to this?" A soldier in the front laughed and removed his helmet, "Silence traitor!
Our commanders have ordered your extermination!" Kronos blinked and stared at the man. "So
I'm guessing you mean Amon and Valvator?" the soldier blinked blankly as he realized the
secret was out. Kronos laughed heartily and said, "Those two fools have deceived me since day
one! Then they pull out the big guns? I guess there about to lose some fools." The soldiers
all bristled at that comment, the helmetless soldier threw his helmet to the ground. He charged
blindly at Kronos and the soldiers around him cheered. The jubilant cries stopped as the man
collapsed in a spray of red. The drizzle of rain began to pour.
Kronos leapt into the air and began his onslaught, soldiers and mages alike screamed in
shock and in pain as they began to notice the shadow prince kill their brethren left and right.
The soldiers fell back in a blind panic, as they reformed their positions they all began the fill the
air with bullets, and bolts of energy. Again they began to cheer, believing they had regained their
honor by decimating the traitor, and again there cries fell silent. The bullets and bolts of energy
bounced harmlessly around the boy, as they stared the reason of his protection became visible.
multiple blades hung in mid-air, surrounded by a purple haze. He blades had reflected every
attack the army had given Kronos. The boy smirked and proceeded to walk calmly down the
steps. Kronos was more than happy to retaliate.
To call the battle a slaughter would be an understatement, but by the end of the hour
Kronos was running down the streets soaked through by the rain and other sources. There was no
redemption now. No one would trust or believe him now. He was doomed. Amon and Valvator
had betrayed him. Now he was going to destroy them. As he turned down the streets in the rain
filled nights he noticed silver flashes from the sky. The bird men were flitting about, no doubt
looking for positions to strike him down with. He slowly came to a stop in front of a terminal.
The completely see through pod glittered seductively at him. If he stepped in the pod he would
be phased outside the city limits. He would be completely safe and free. He slowly walked to the
pod then stopped.
If he ran away like a coward, there would be no way he could redeem himself, there
would be no honor to regain, and he would be a coward. If there was one thing he had ever
learned in the army or from his older sister, it was that cowardice was disgusting. Courage was
the only way he could ever return whatever honor he could from the abominable act he had just
performed. He slowly turned towards the building he knew Amon and Valvator were no doubt
hiding like the worms they were, the hawk men were protecting the building. Kronos slowly
began to walk towards the building, preparing himself for a battle that would never be seen. At
that moment the rain became a torrent. It seemed as though the skies were going to try and wash
away the acts that would unfold
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