It was a beautiful day at Redgrave City's forest.
The setting sun painted the sky orange and covered the trees in a sheet of darkness.
Though the scenary may have been breathtaking, the main focus were the two small figures running through the tress and jumping over small logs. Happy smiles shown on their faces.
"Come on Aiden, were almost there!" One of the small figures, an 8-year old boy, yelled out to the other 8-year old boy named Aiden.
"Yeah? Well let's see if I can beat you there Jack" He challenged the boy named Jack with a grin.
Long story short as to why they were running back to their camp is because Aiden saw a beautiful blue butterfly fluttering around their campsite. The boy decided in all his childhood wisdom to follow it's enticing beauty.
His brother Jack not even hesitating as he followed him.
Thankfully, he and his brother managed to not get themselves lost while following the blue butterfly.
Though it wasn't luck that helped them throughout their small journey, it was the platinum amulet that Aiden was wearing around his neck.
For unexplainable reasons, the amulet had a voice that guided Aiden through the forest with his brother following behind.
How the amulet was achieving such a feat would be revealed later on...
Once the two children finally got near the blue butterfly, the insect decided to place itself on a nearby plant. The two of them halting their sprinting and deciding that it was best to slowly approach the mystical creature.
They tip toed their way towards it, checking down on their steps to make sure they didn't step on anything that would alert the butterfly. Sadly, that didn't work as the butterfly turned it's self towards them
The two boys got worried that the butterfly would fly away. But it instead flew towards them.
They were immediately surprised to see the beautiful blue insect place itself on Aiden's shoulder. They were confused for a second before looking at the insect in awe.
Thanks to that, they got the privilege to pet the butterfly with their fingers, making the insect happy as it flapped it's wings rapidly.
So for the past few minutes the children pet the insect, awed at it's blue mystical beauty, and chased it around in a playful manner.
Though they had to quickly end the fun as the sun was slowly beginning to set.
Jack pouted at Aiden as he wanted to spend more time with the butterfly, but Aiden convinced him that he didn't to worry their parents.
So with a groan, Jack agreed and the two brothers began making their way back to camp.
But on the way back, the two children decided to challenge each other into a race.
Aiden accepted as it was a fun idea, but he was going to get there in the most coolest way possible.
Which leads back to the boy's current position.
Aiden decided to pick up his pace and ran through the forest with a whole lot more speed, the type of speed that a normal child shouldn't have.
He then jumped towards a nearby tree branch and grabbed it before launching himself off it and performing an impressive flip before landing on another branch and leaping himself towards another.
Back on the ground, his brother Jack watched in awe at the sick acrobatic skills his brother was performing (and showing off)
"I wish I could do that." He muttered in a tone of awe and jealousy.
That's when the realization kicked in that he was quickly losing by a lot. Jack picked his pace as he was not ready to get defeated by his brother's acrobatic skills.
Meanwhile, Aiden was still flippin6g and leaping from tree branch to tree branch like he was a professional acrobat. And boy did it feel amazing!
("You really love showing off. Don't you, Aiden?") The rich, smooth, European accented male voice of the amulet spoke to him.
("Well I really wanted to show off the skills I've been practicing. Is it bad for me to do that, Sparda?") Aiden responded to the voice that he named Sparda.
The elderly man chuckled. ("No. Just try to not make this into a superiority habit.")
("I won't.")
He was brought back when his brother yelled out to him that he saw the campsite. Aiden looked up and saw it from his elevated position, his body feeling a rush of excitement as he planned to land there in a spectacular way.
He kept on jumping and leaping until he stopped on a branch that was close to the camp. He looked over his shoulder to see his brother catching up with a smile of content.
Aiden got himself on a crouching position on the branch, preparing himself for the awesome landing he was about to perform.
Jack made it to the camp first but didn't celebrate as he was curious as to why his brother stood on the tree branch.
As soon as Aiden saw that Jack made it he grinned. The amulet flowed it's mysterious power through the boy's legs.
He then pushed his entire body off the branch, leaping himself into the air before twisting his entire body to one side, causing him to spin multiple times.
He knew he was coming to the ground fast so the amulet flowed it's energy again, ready for the boy to use it for his stunt.
Aiden twisted body again to make his feet come into contact with the small invisible platform that the amulet created.
Once his feet made contact with the invisible platform, the platform sent him higher into the air as he performed a graceful backflip.
The world seemed to move in slow motion for a brief yet awesome moment before his body made contact with the grass covered dirt. His left foot and bare right leg touching the dirt. His right fist digging an inch in as his left forearm rested on his rosen left knee, topping it off with his head looking down.
His brother just stared at him slacked jawed, having just witnessed a beautiful performance that would make an Olympic athlete shed a tear.
"That...was...AWESOME!!!" His brother yelled in the highest pitch of excitement that echoed throughout the entire forest.
Aiden got up from his superhero pose and turned to his brother who was applauding at him. He responded by bowing in appreciation like he was towards an audience in the Olympics.
After finishing his bowing Jack ran up to him with the excitement still shown on his face "Man,I wish I had those cool power's"
Aiden just chuckled in response, Jack was the only person in the world who knew of the powers the amulet gave him. He had to know since it was the two of them that found the amulet on the Redgrave City beach
How it got there was beyond them.
"Don't get to jealous, Jack, you need to have patience since us kids have a lot of time on our hands, and with that time we will both be able to do cool things like that"
"Yeah...you're right, with your guidance I will be able to reach your coolness in no time" He stated
Aiden doubted that statement, he never would've been able to achieve that performance without some actual guidance.
"Heh,don't give me too much credit it's the amulet that guided me. I would've never been able to-"
"Don't say that man! I know you can guide me, with or without the amulet"
Aiden just looked at Jack with slightly wide eyes, he never knew that his brother could inspire him like that.
Hearing that from him made Aiden feel proud of himself, but he still had that shred of doubt that any normal person would have
Even after that artistic performance he did.
"Uh,y-yeah I guess you're right, thanks Jack" Aiden answered in a sheepish manner.
Meanwhile, Sparda was hearing the chemistry between the two brothers.
"If only my sons had a bond this strong..." The old demon said to himself somberly.
"What was that, Sparda?" Aiden asked as he heard the elderly man say something.
"It's nothing you should worry about, Aiden"
The boy was curious as to what he said, but decided to shrug it off as it probably wasn't anything important.
"Hey you two, we're baaaaaack!" A middle aged, female voice announced to them.
"Well I have to say boys I'm impressed" A middle aged male voice said to them.
"Impressed with what exactly?" Aiden asked as he walked to his parents. Jack following suit.
"Impressed that we didn't find the camp burned to ash" Their father answered with a grin.
The two boys groaned in annoyance as they both knew why their father said that. If only he knew how to let bygones be bygones!
"Geez, hun can you please stop berating our sons about the fire that happened in the kitchen. That was months ago now!"
The man just laughed softly at his wife, any parent would immediately be worried to leave their children alone whatever place they went to. And it could be more worrying if there are certain TYPES of hazards left around.
"Come on dad were not THAT irresponsible" Jack pouted to his father.
"Well, we're kids soooo..."
Jack turned to his brother with a defeated look on his face "Come on man, don't agree with him!"
Aiden just chuckled at him with his father joining in the laugh.
"Okay, you three. I think that's enough for today" Their mother interrupted but not in annoyance
"Just messing around with the kids hun. Now let's go and get the fire started so we can make us some s'mores!"
The two boys happily nodded in agreement and ran to the tent to get the tools necessary to start the fire.
The fire was crackling and burning bright, the happy family relaxing around it.
They have so far ate 3 trays worth of s'mores. All the while, they were laughing at funny yet embarrassing stories about certain events throughout their lives.
The stories ranging from work, school, taking the boys a bath (God forbid that one), eating at restaurants, etc.
The laughs and embarrassed looks from the family was a beautiful sight to behold. It was a moment that every member of the family would treasure for the rest of their lives.
Once the moon shone on them, the parents told their sons that it was finally time to sleep. The two boys groaned but reluctantly agreed.
They put out the fire and their parents went into their tent with the two brothers going to their own tent.
They rubbed their shoes against the rubber matt at the entrance of the tent so they wouldn't put any dirt inside.
Once that was done, they took off their shoes and left them outside. There were two sleeping bags that were laid down vertically inside, the left one belonging to Aiden and the right one belonging to Jack.
They both said goodnight to each other and snugged themselves inside, the inside being thankfully warm despite how chilly it was outside.
Soon the entire family was sleeping peacefully with the only sound being made by their breathing.
...
It was past midnight as Aiden woke up from his peaceful sleep, his body demanding him to take a leak. His 8-year old mind complying as he was quick to get out of his sleeping bag but in a slow pace so he wouldn't wake his brother up.
Once he managed to get out of the bag without making too much noise, he then opened the entrance and grabbed his shoes.
He put them on and looked around the forest that was surrounding the camp, looking for the closest tree.
He couldn't find a good one due to the almost pitch black darkness covering the trees. The boy fixed that problem by using the amulet's special abilities to help him.
It's power flowed into his eyes, the darkness quickly dissipating before the forest became visible. His eyes now had the ability to see in the dark.
The boy looked around again and saw a tree that was near their parked van.
Aiden thanked the amulet and walked towards the nearby tree.
After finishing going to the number 1, he walked back to the camp, grabbing a small bottle of hand sanitizer from the cooler to clean off the germs.
That's when his nose picked a burning smell, and there was only one place where it came from.
His eyes trailed down to the burnt out wood that they used to make s'mores and saw some still burning embers on the bottom of the pile.
The boy let out a frustrated groan.
"Alright. Let's take care of this first"
He went back to the cooler and opened the lid. Aiden pulled out a water canteen resting snuggly inside the ocean of ice, not caring about the rustling noises the ice made.
The boy walked towards the pile of wood, popping off the lid and hovered it over the embers.
The cold water poured out from the opening, putting out some of the embers. Though it wasn't enough as there were a few more embers remaining.
Aiden slapped the bottom a couple of times to make sure all the water came out. Once he saw no more coming out, he decided to refill it using the water of the nearby river.
It was a bit risky for him to do such a thing but he wasn't going to watch the news of a large wildfire spreading right after his family left.
Picking the best option, he popped the canteen closed and faced the intimidating forest.
("Are you ready for this, son?") Sparda asked Aiden with a hint of worry
("If it's to prevent this beautiful forest and my family from suffering any harm, then I am more than ready to do so.") The boy answered in an attempt of a heroic tone.
The old devil chuckled in amusement.
("What's so funny?") Aiden asked as he somewhat felt offended.
("If I seem to recall from a previous memory, you quickly started crying.")
("H-Hey, I thought I told you to never bring that up again!?") The boy pouted as he blushed in embarrassment.
That caused the old demon to let out another chuckle, much to the embarrassed boy's annoyance.
Moving past that embarrassing memory, he began to tread through the ocean of trees.
("But in all seriousness, the reason as to why I calmed you down...is because I wanted to repay you for not selling me.") Sparda's solemn tone made the young boy slow down his steps.
Aiden's face turned surprise. He never heard Sparda sound this...sad.
("What do you mean that you wanted to repay me?") The boy asked the elderly man.
("Throughout all my years of being stuck inside this amulet, no one has even considered to keep me as a friend. Let alone using my abilities. All they saw was an object that fulfilled their greddy intentions. I thank you for that, Aiden. Not only for accepting me as a person. But for never viewing me as a mere object.")
Aiden felt a tear go down his cheek.
Ever since he and brother found Sparda's amulet at their grandparents beach, Aiden quickly became attached to him.
Even more so in the past few months, Sparda became one of the most precious people (even though he was a literal amulet) that Aiden treasured. And he would never, EVER trade him for anything in the world.
("I don't know what to say...but I feel the same, Sparda. Ever since we have met, you became one of my greatest friends that I have ever had. Heck, I would label you the uncle I wished I had. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.") Aiden responded to the man inside the amulet. Letting out loud sniffs as his emotions were getting the better of him.
("There there my son. Don't cry or else this'll turn into another embarrassment memory.")
The boy let out another sniff as he wiped away the tears that came out of his eyes.
("Y-You're right. Sorry for that, dad") Aiden as he let out one last sniff, adding in a laugh shortly after.
("Don't mention it-wait, did you just call me dad!?")
("Alright, let's go and complete our mission!")
The elderly man was going to ask what Aiden said again, but decided against it as he knew that the boy would act all innocent and nonchalant.
Aiden just smiled in amusement, his legs quickening their movement towards the river.
...
The boy walked back to his camp after successfully filling up the bottle with water. He managed to make it to the river without crying (again), thanks to Sparda's guidance.
Even though there were a few moments where he got scared due to the forest's eerie quietness, Sparda's encouraging words helped him in maintaining his will to reach his destination.
("Well our mission went smoothly thanks to your guidance, Sparda.") Aiden praised to his guide.
("Indeed. But it was thanks to your courage that we managed to complete our mission.") The old demon responded with a praise of his own
("Man, if the two of us keep on helping each other then we would become the coolest crime solving duo!") The boy thought excitedly as the old demon chuckled softly.
("Perhaps. Although I don't think that'll go well as I don't really possess that sort of expertise.")
Aiden slightly frowned at Sparda's self doubt. The man could confront and solve various problems with so much confidence, but his self doubting made the boy worry about him. Then again he was taught that not everyone was prepared to face anything, even if they were good problem solvers like Sparda.
("Come on,don't say that about yourself. I'm pretty sure you'll do great.I mean there were times that I faced some problems that EVEN I thought I would never overcome...")
Sparda listened to him in silence.
("But I managed to overcome them even without your help. N-not that I'm saying I didn't need it, but it was due to my motivation that helped me. So even if you think you can't overcome a problem, then let your motivation help you. Like my dad told me once, without a source of motivation then you will never be able to overcome your problems")
After Aiden finished, Sparda stayed silent. Never in the two-thousand years he has lived the old demon would have imagined that a child would be able to lift his spirits using words and emotion.
The only people he could think of achieving such a thing, were his twin sons...
("Thank you, Aiden")
Those were the only words he could say to the boy he saw as family, but if he was in his physical form he would give Aiden a heart warming hug.
("Don't mention it, Sparda.")
The boy smiled as his eyes soon laid on the camp. ("We're almost there, Sparda!")
("Hmm, hmm. That's good to-") His words were interrupted when a red glow started to emit off the amulet's gem.
Aiden looked down at the gem in confusion as this was the very first time that the amulet did this ("Sparda, why are you glowing all of a sudden?")
("...Son, you need to get back to the camp, now.") The voice of a wise, kind man was instantly replaced by a deadly serious tone that would make anyone scared or worried in an instant.
("W-what do you mean by that? Sparda, what is going-")
("There is no time to explain, you need to get back. NOW!")
That command alone was enough for the boy to start springting.
Questions were running through his head as to why was Sparda acting this way.
Why does he want him to quickly get back to camp? Why was the gem flashing red? Is there something bad happ-
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH"
That's when Aiden heard the loud terrified scream that belonged to his mother.
"MOM!!!"
He ran towards the camp at full speed, now scared for the safety of his family.
As he got closer and closer to the camp, his eyes laid on a monster that only appeared in a dark fantasy world.
The monster looked like knight that wielded a giant sword, had an eyeless face, and held a large shield that had a face embedded into the center.
The monster stomped it's way towards Aiden's mom, covered in blood due to the large gashes her torso was covered in.
She was crawling away as quickly as her injured body could take her. But it would be futile.
She stopped her movement as another knight monster appeared in front of her, tilting it's faceless head down at her before raising it's large sword.
Aiden's mother just looked up at the creature with a tear stained face. She closed her eyes as the monster was going to give her a gruesome fate.
She let out a sob as the monster brought down its sw-
"GET AWAY FROM HER!!!"
The monster turned to the direction of the voice, only for its face to meet a flying punch that sent it flying to a nearby tree.
It's comrade turned towards the attacker. Who turned out to be a little human boy. The knight monster felt its body tense on instinct as it sensed a strong source power radiating off the small child.
("Aiden! You need to get your family out of here immediately! There'll be time to deal with them-")
Aiden didn't listen to Sparda's command as he launched himself towards the monster, going for another flying punch. But the knight quickly rose it's shield and blocked the powerful blow. Though the punch still managed to send it skidding back by a couple of feet, it's feet engraving the ground.
("Aiden! You and your family need to get out of here. NOW!")
Aiden ignored the ancient demon's command again.
He glared at the monster in front of him before he charged towards the monster with superhuman speed, surprising the creature. The knight barely had any time to rise it's shield as the force of another flying punch broke it's guard.
Using his current airtime, Aiden ripped the sword of the monster's hand. He reeled back the large blade and swung it to the monster's head, decapitating it completely.
The boy landed on the ground, albeit with a small trip thanks to him holding the sword.
("Aiden...since when could you do that!?") Sparda asked in a flabbergasted tone.
The young boy didn't answer as he too didn't know what he just did.
("I-I don't know how I did it, Sparda. I just-I don't know.")
The ancient demon contemplated in silence before he grunted in confusion ("There'll be time to think about this once we get to safety. Right now, we need to get you and your family away from here.")
Aiden looked at the sword he was holding with a determined face. He nodded as fighting whatever those knight monsters was a suicidal task.
With that, he ran to his mother and kneeled down next to her "Mom!!! Are you okay!?"
"Aiden...h-how did you do that?" She asked as she was trying to process the image of her son easily decapitating a large monster.
"Where's dad!?" Aiden urgently asked his mother, ignoring her question.
Aiden's mom didn't respond verbally as she looked at him with watery eyes for a moment, before her irises shifted behind Aiden.
Aiden was confused before he noticed where her eyes were pointing. He turned to the direction of where the irises were pointing only for his body to freeze.
("Gods, no...") Sparda whispered weakly.
Aiden saw his father, body sprawled on the dirt, face frozen as all life left him. The cause of his death being the large slit that went into his heart.
The 8-year old's mind stopped functioning completely at seeing the image of his father's corpse.
Aiden's breathing turned rapid, his arms shuddered uncontrollably, and his heartbeat went up to alarming speeds.
Aiden's vision became blurry in rage, his teeth gritted harshly against one another, and a feeling bottling up in his throat.
More monster knights appeared out of nowhere, but Aiden didn't care as he wanted to do nothing but decapitate every single one of them.
He gripped the sword's handle and unleashed the rage filled yell that was in his throat. Purple flames covering his shoulders as he felt his strength and speed increase to levels that have never been reached.
He couldn't properly process to the new sensations as everything around him became a blur. All that he heard, was flesh getting sliced.
One monster fell instantaneously as the boy's demonic blade bisected its upper body. And within a few seconds, the rest of monsters ended up with their upper bodies missing.
Aiden's mind came back to him once his rage was gone, his knees going weak due to the alarming amount of power he just used.
("Aiden, I know you have questions, but now's not to time to dwell on them! You need to get the rest of your family to safety!") Sparda urged to the 8-year old.
Aiden shook his head as he knew that Sparda would explain everything later. He got up with a slight limp and ran to his mother, effortlessly picking her up and carrying her bridal style.
"Aiden, how are you doing all this!?" His mother asked as her brain tried to process what was going on.
"I'll explain later, but I need to get you and Jack out of here!" Her son declared as he placed her on the passenger of the van.
His head turned towards another scream that belonged to his brother.
Aiden sent his mother a concerned look "I'll be right back, Mom. Just stay put!"
He closed the door and ran to the direction of his brother's scream, tapping into the amulet's superhuman speed.
The trees around him became blurry as he ran for his brother, weaving through the low level branches.
Soon his eyes widened in fear as he saw Jack, limping away from another knight monster.
But this one looked different than the ones from before as it had a taller stature, thick swamp green skin, broad shoulder pads, wore a tattered cape, and wielded a two-handed sword that was far more longer than the one Aiden wielded.
Not that it was going to stop him from attacking the thing.
He jumped to the monster's level and cocked back both of his legs and shot them out to the monster's head.
Unfortunately for the young boy, the knight was aware of the oncoming attack. Gripping it's large sword, it took a step towards the right and swung vertically to the airborne child.
Aiden recoiled against the flat side of the blade before he flew towards a tree, his back hitting the bark. His ears rung loudly in response to the excruciating amount of pain he felt from the impact.
He got off the ground but a large foot, courtesy of another knight monster, pinned him back down. His face cheek scrapping against the dirt.
"AIDEN!!!"
His brother's scream gave him the will to try and push the foot off him, but it didn't matter as the pressure prevented him from doing so.
Aiden let out a strained grunt as he desperately tried to set himself free, but it got worse as another foot stepped on his legs. He let out a pained scream as the foot pinning his legs felt like a set of parked tires pressing in on him.
His ears heard a thud, his eyes saw that the knight dropped his shield. That's when he felt the pressure of two large feet leave him.
He quickly took this opportunity to run his brother, but he wasn't fast enough to escape the hand that gripped onto his small body. The monster knight rose him up and let the small human dangle helplessly. Yet the young boy had the will to thrash around in the monster's grasp, attempting to set himself free.
The knight didn't hesitate to slam the boy into the hardened dirt.
When he was elevated again, the boy had blood trickling from his broken nose. A couple of drops fell and splashed into the dirt.
Aiden's strength was gone, his body subjected to an effect of being unresponsive. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurred.
Yet, he was still conscious enough to see the large knight monster throw down his weakened brother. Horror filled the wielder of the powerful amulet as he saw the giant sword rise up to the heavens above.
Aiden's strength returned for him to try and escape. He began thrashing around with more vigor, resorting to punching the fingers of the knight that was gripping onto him.
His brother looked up at him with watery eyes, streams of tears staining his cheeks.
"a-aiden...I love you..."
"I'm gonna get us outta here, Jack! Just stay strong!" Aiden shouted out, his fists aching in pain but not enough for him to keep on trying to set himself free.
"I'll always be with you, Aiden..." Jack whispered weakly to him. But it was enough for his brother to hear it.
"Nononononono!!!" Aiden screamed as the knight brought down his sword onto his brother's back.
The second the blade impaled Jack's body, the world turned dark... with a surge of unknown power filling his soul.