The Nobles had set out to investigate the murders. Voldar and Azoth accompanied them. The sun was about to set and the birds made themselves known as they were heading back to their nests.

  Volzen and Hamton were searching for clues near the entrance of the forest. Belzi gathered information from the locals. Ryoner and Lizle thoroughly checked the perimeter. Amidst all this, Voldar and Azoth, having no specific task assigned to them, were enjoying their evening, having a nice conversation about various topics. They were so focused on their conversation, the boys didn’t realise that Lizle had been standing right behind them.

  “Ahem...”

  Both of them were turned around.

  “If you boys don’t have anything better to do, you might as well help us to catch the murderer instead of gossiping like old ladies.” Lizle’s stern voice made a heavy impact on them.

  “I apologise mother. We will try our best to help you and the others.” Azoth had a determined look on his face.

  “Sorry, Lady Lizle....” Voldar’s answer was short.

  As soon as Lizle left, the boys gave each other, a soft but mischievous smile. They didn’t know where to start, but did their best, trying to find anything that might help identifying the culprit. After searching for a while, they decided to investigate separately as it might prove to be more fruitful. While scrutinizing a random path, Voldar thought he saw someone being dragged into an alley. The person looked unconscious. Voldar pointed his light towards the alley but there was no one. Voldar was hesitant at first, but finally he decided to investigate that alley.

  Voldar entered the dark alley with only the small light of the spiritiz torch guiding him. Voldar’s senses were telling him not to go any further. But he kept on going. Voldar felt a light splash with the steps he took. He pointed the light downwards. He shouldn’t have done that. He saw a trail of blood going deeper into the alley. Voldar really wanted to turn back. After all, he was just a weak boy of eleven years. What could he possibly do. But it was probably the strong will, that Voldar had inherited from his father, which allowed him to follow the blood trail. A minute or two had passed. But the trail was still going on. Voldar didn’t plan for any upcoming danger. He was immensely hoping for nothing life-threatening to occur. Voldar suddenly came to a stop. The blood trail had ended. But just where it had ended, a person cloaked in black was standing. He was facing the other direction, mumbling something like a madman.

  “W- who are you?” Voldar’s voice cracked.

  The person turned around. Voldar couldn’t see the face of this stranger as there was a veil covering it, but as she moved aside, Voldar saw something that no boy of eleven should witness. There was a pile of corpses laid in front of him. They had the insignia of the Noble houses on their uniforms. Those bodies belonged to the soldiers of the Nobles. Voldar was horrified at this sight. What he saw earlier, wasn’t an unconscious person. It was a dead body.

  Voldar looked at the stranger, unable to understand the scene that had unfolded itself in front of him. The stranger pointed a finger towards the corpses. A spark came out of that scrawny, bony, and hideous thing, which could not be called a finger of any human being. As soon as the spark touched the one of the bodies, a huge blaze engulfed the pile. The shock was too much for Voldar to handle. He fell on the ground, looking at the burning bodies, with horror in his eyes.

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  In the meantime, the stranger took off. Voldar regained his senses. He was enraged. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. His heart pumped faster than ever. He decided to pursue the murderer. Voldar got out of the alley, but the culprit was nowhere to be found. Voldar should’ve informed the nobles about the incident. But he wasn’t thinking straight. His emotions didn’t let him think straight. He had too many questions on his mind. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw a black figure, run towards the forest. Voldar ran in the direction of the entrance to the Great Forest.

  Voldar was fast... But the murderer was faster. No matter how hard Voldar ran, there was a constant distance between them.

  “STOP!!!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!” Voldar screamed out.

  Volzen and Hamton heard Voldar’s screams from a distance.

  “What trouble did that brat cause now.” Volzen expressed his irritation.

  Hamton and Volzen were heading towards the screams, when they saw a black figure enter the forest. Chasing that person was Voldar.

  “VOLDAR!! STOP!” Hamton shouted. But he was too late. Voldar had already entered the forest.

  “Lord Volzen.... We have to do something.” Hamton looked at Volzen.

  He didn’t have a hint of worry on his face.

  “Voldar got himself into this situation... He will figure it out.” Volzen said calmly.

  “For heaven’s sake, he’s your son. Help him.... Do something.” Hamton protested.

  Volzen was least interested in helping Voldar... But he couldn’t deal with Hamton’s nagging. So, even though he didn’t want to, Volzen entered the Great Forest.

  Meanwhile, Voldar caught up to the murderer. The stranger cloaked in black had stopped. They were probably somewhere in the first section of the forest. She turned towards Voldar and opened the veil covering her face. Voldar was disgusted. Her sockets had no eyeball. Her nose was disfigured, and she had no mouth. Instead, her black and yellow teeth were vertically inserted in the place of her lips. Is it an asura? But they cannot get out of the forest. Who is it then? These thoughts disturbed Voldar. Suddenly, Voldar couldn’t move. It was as if someone had petrified him. The creature approached Voldar slowly as she tried to smile in joy. That smile was terrifying. She closed the gap between them, and allowed her hand to feel Voldar’s cheeks. Voldar spat on her in utter disgust. She gave out a cry of anger, and scratched his right cheek. Voldar screamed out for help but even he knew that it was hopeless. The creature went around Voldar and put her hand on his left shoulder. Voldar closed his eyes. He felt a shrill pain, not on his shoulder but in his chest. He opened his eyes and as he looked down, he saw a bony, withered hand sticking out of his chest. Voldar didn’t have any control over his body. He fell on the ground. He could feel the warm blood leaving his body. The creature had left. An unimaginable amount of pain coursed through his body. Voldar was so weak, he couldn’t even cry out for help. He had almost accepted his fate, when he heard footsteps. They sounded familiar. Yes, it was his father.

  “You know, I can save you.....But you’d still be the same good-for-nothing boy you were before. I think it’s better for both of us if it ends like this.” Voldar heard the footsteps fade away. Voldar wasn’t in a position to do anything but to shed a few drops of tears. He could feel his life fade away slowly. All his memories started flooding in. His moments with Miranda, the time he used to spend in the library, the books used to read, the Gods, the Creators, Shafozor. His last thoughts were about Shafozor. Voldar closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. He felt a warm embrace around his body. His senses left him slowly.

  That night, forest saw a bright shower of light. The entire Soren region was mesmerized by the beautiful light. They knew, something big had occurred. Now it was up to time to decide, if the occurrence was for the better or the worse.