An anxious shriek cut through the air as the floor began to shake. The earth began to crack open from all sides, debris rained down from the ceiling which could collapse any moment.

"We got to get out of here. Everyone, outside!" A tall male yelled, trying to sound calm and collected but his voice shook as heavily as the cave they stood in. I began to ran, to sprint towards the exit, counting the people I saw in my head.

'... Two, three, four... Wait.'

I almost tripped when I came to a halt and I dashed back, into the opposite direction of where the light entered the cavern. In the corner of my eye I saw the light blond man evacuating two of the girls when he noticed me.

"What are you doing?!" The older male yelled back to me.

"She's still in there! I'll be right back!"

I sprinted back towards that blasted door, and saw her, still occupied in combat with the foe. The ground quaked even heavier and I saw she was having trouble standing, she even took a few hits and fell backwards. I rushed to get by her side, but when I finally got close the ground gave in and she fell, down into the large gape that used to be solid earth.

I held out to her, and I barely reached her, but still managed to grasp her wrist tightly. I gritted my teeth when I felt her slowly slipping through my hands. "Damn it" left my lips quietly as I tried pulling her up, but no avail.

"No matter what, do not let go, okay?" She seemed to nod as the enemy approached us. I placed my hand on the ground, but nothing happened. My head felt heavy and she gave a cautious shriek to keep me aware. The cloaked man had reached us and kicked me in the stomach. Pain shot through my body like electricity and I barely could keep myself up. I glared at him; he merely granted me a glance. My arm began to cramp when I received a severe blow to my neck. My teeth smashed against each other and I was thrown over. Her hand began to slip again. I dug my nails into her skin for more grip. Gloves seated themselves around my neck. Breath fled me and I gasped for air. I heard my name over and over, and I clawed at my attackers hand, until

She slid out of my hand.

She called out one more time for me.

I kicked my aggressor off me and reached out only for air to fill my palm. I saw her vanish into the darkness.

My mind went blank and I screamed one last time.

Only for it to echo in the dark abyss.

-/-/-/prologue/-/-/-

As I stared into the sun, I knew today would be different from other days. I just had that gut feeling, but needless to say, I paid no mind to it. Maybe I hadn't considered it as a possibility.

It's true; people always tell me I'm slow, or thickheaded. But is that really what it is? I mean-

"Lucas! There you are! I've been lookin' for ya!"

I tilted my head to see my friend, Tiro grinning at me. His emerald eyes glisten with... Is it joy? Excitement? Or do I see a spark of annoyance?

I sat up, leaves sticking in my golden locks. Tiro rolled his eyes with a faint sigh and start to pluck the leaves out of my hair. In the meantime, I decided to tell him what's on my heart.

"Tiro, am I really that slow?"

He hesitated for a second, but replied, "Naah. We're just somewhat faster. Don't worry 'bout that too much."

I couldn't stop a smirk from appearing on my face. 'That's Tiro for you.'

When he finally removed then all, I pulled his hand behind his back. Due to the sudden movement, he fell over, head first, onto the dry grass. I slowly laid myself down on my back, next to my red-haired friend. Staring into the blue sky, he released one loud sigh.

"Ugh. Today is so. Incredibly. Boring." he whined. I almost couldn't suppress a laugh.

"It's a standard day, with the standard things going on, with standard events happening. Not even a single exiting thing here. I mean, c'mon, there must be something cool to do, right?" he continued.

He pointed at the sky. "See? Even that cloud is having more fun, looking down on me. Must be great, having a different sight each day."

I stared at the fluffy white spot. "But he's all alone. You still have me."

"If that's a good thing, I wonder..."

I bumped his shoulder. "Hey, if I wasn't here, you'd be dead by now. Do you remember the time you thought you could fly?"

"I was eight! Don't ruin my dreams!" he yelled, semi-jokingly.

We both laughed for a while, like we always would on times like these. But then silence took over once again. I stared into the sky, imagining I was some kind of bird or wyvern or anything with wings, flying all around the world, seeing things I've never seen before.

I almost didn't hear Tiro stand up. He paced up and down for a while, then stopped in his tracks, and dashed away. Me, not giving it any thought at the time, tried to stare a hole into the sky.

When Tiro came back, I felt something hard crash into my stomach. I averted my gaze from the ever so blue sky and saw a stick laying motionlessly on my lap. I eyed Tiro with a confused look.

"C'mon! Let's redo our last match! One on One, no special thingies. 'Kay?"

I stared at him. I shook my head but soon I stood up. "Fine by me."

I took the stick in my right hand, set my left foot before me, and made myself ready. Tiro, on the other hand, grabbed it tightly with both hands and swung it over his right shoulder.

I silently bent over, he mirrored my actions. As I watched him, his eyes began to glisten with excitement and thrill, his face etched with a cocky grin.

I counted to ten. I hadn't even said ten when he dashed towards me. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as the wood hit. We exchanged hits many times. Searching for openings. Right, left. Dodge to the left. Strike on your right.

Then I noticed. He didn't block any attacks, but just evaded them. I targeted his abdomen. He can't dodge that as easily. Without a warning I struck. He eyed me with surprise. He stumbled a bit backwards, but wasn't knocked off his feet.

Not surprising. It's Tiro we're talking about.

Lost in thought, I almost didn't see him coming. At the last moment I managed to block his attack with my arm. I pushed his 'weapon' away, and took a sprint.

Of course, he chased after me like a madman. He won't let me run away from a fight. He would always go for victory. His ego is just too big.

As we came closer to our village, Tiro closed in on me. I took my chance and thrust at him with the stomp edge of the piece of wood. He slowed down a bit, and I took advantage of it. Rushing towards the storage of our village, I grabbed one of the wooden swords some of the kids use to play with, those tiny training weapons. He saw what I did, and did the same, throwing his branch away. We clashed again. I stepped backward, trying to shove the hit off. He dodged many strikes, time almost seemed to slow down. He threw a blow on my right shoulder, causing me to stumble back a bit until my back touched a wall.

Oh Crap. He pinned the sword just inches away from my head. He kicked my sword away, and balled his fist, ready to finish this. I pulled his sword out of the wall, pointing it back at him. We both ran toward each other, and after a small struggle, I pointed the tip of the sword at his throat. He couldn't get out of this situation. I smirked. Victory is mine.

But that was when the thing happened. I saw the white glow and when I realized it, I dove away. A ball of fire just passed my head. Some strands of hair were scorched, but thank the gods. I just survived Tiro's first rampage action of the day.

I stood up again, glaring at my friend. "I thought you said you wanted a fair fight, no tricks. Using your powers is cheating."

"Aww, come on! You just took my sword! Isn't that cheating?"

"But you kicked mine away. It's your fault in the end." I said, turning my back to him. I didn't want to argue. He is just… Childish when he doesn't get what he want. Really. I exhaled and rolled my eyes. Those actions are seriously going to kill someone someday.

Then, in a split second I remembered we were back in our town. My eyes snapped open.

Shit. Oh Shit.

Behind me I heard him still rant on about that he was right and that he won, and that he isn't a crybaby and stuff.

"Tiro."

"But still, the hit still counts. I burned some strands of your hair, so…"

"Tiro."

"And you stole my sword too, so I have all the more reason to-"

"Tiro."

"What?"

"Turn around."

He spun around, and his eyes widened.

"Oh my god."

I just noticed a weird numeration mistake so I'm pulling this right. And added a prologue while I was at it.

Advice is appreciated! Don't hesitate to comment, I seriously want to keep going and improve.

Thanks and enjoy nine (new?) chapters.