The Death of a Hero

Prologue

To the people of the port town Moorwater, Ka'Took, it had been an ordinary spring day. The sun shined in the cloud-dotted sky, and all was quiet. A little two quiet.

Fish were absent to bite the hook and swim into nets while the water was all too still. Perhaps the strange earthquake earlier that day had startled the wild life, several fishermen theorized.

But then the undisturbed waters rippled. Then they churned. And finally, they rose.

In the distance, a dark shadow moved behind the waves. At first it was believed to be a kraken's ink, allegedly having been startled by an unknown entity. But as the fishermen began to cautiously row back to the shore, the guards in the lighthouse could only watch in terror. A small tsunami rolled towards the shore as the head of a monster began to slowly emerge from the sea.

A broken crown rested on his head; three eyes, a mouth, and slits for nostrils completed his face. As he slowly walked towards the coastline, his likeness became dreadfully apparent.

Through stories passed down by the ancients through the priestesses to the people, one could only assume the worst. Though he had been painstakingly sealed centuries ago, it was evident that the escaped dungeon boss, the Fallen God, had risen once more.

The guards grabbed their bows and aimed their cannons. Firing away, the ammunition bounced off as if they were pebbles and twigs, not a scratch to be seen.

The Fallen God continued his march.

As he padded up the sandbed to the coast, he slowly towered up, up into the sky until the retreating residents of Moorwater claimed that his crown had pierced the heavens.

He dragged behind him a great sword that was nearly as tall as him, thicker than his spindly, gray, arms, and rusted around the edges. But as he raised this sharp iron tower, it was clear that his strength was nothing short of monstrous.

Striking from above, the Fallen God cleaved the town in half, the sword slicing out a ravine that began to be filled with ocean. In that instant, the land rippled as the force of the blow tore apart the rest of the town. Buildings crumbled on the strike's impact, the people were sent flying, and an earthquake tore through the earth.

The small town was now nearly void of life. Those that clung to it, however, watched in horror as the Fallen God picked up the deceased and without any hesitation, swallowed them whole.

The sole survivor had run his horse dead to the capitol, his shrills falling among deaf ears. And once the royals believed him, it was far too late.

The end of the world had only just begun.

Three Months Later

The Queen, Her Majesty Helena Falls, sat in her chambers, her head in her hands worried about the witness reports she had received earlier that day.

The Fallen God had been seen walking across the stretch of sea that separated her country from the rest of the continent. Though she thankfully had an ancient warding spell erected, it was unstable and doomed to soon fail.

'Hurry, my knights. You must find them. Find the heroes that the Oracle of long ago decreed would save us from this terrible fate. Though I hasten you, be careful as you traverse Judicia, I need you to come home to me,' the Queen prayed.

A sudden knock hit Queen Helena's oak door and she hurriedly stood up, her night attire around her as she plucked a silk robe from her closet and wrapped it over her delicate and fair skin. Opening the door, a haggard looking guard awaited her.

"My queen, one of the squads have returned! They brought with them a young girl named Serena Piko, a maiden from Ka'Took whose family has been renowned for bearing the blood of the great zodiac, Sagittarius. The Oracle of the olden times that birthed the prophecy is supposedly her ancestor. We have found one of the heroes, your highness," he said as he kneeled before her, tears of joy falling from his eyes.

The Queen smiled in relief as she rested a steady hand on his shoulder.

"Stand, young knight. Take me to her now, I must see the face of our savior," she told him, urging him to his feet.

"But your Majesty! Please bear no ill from when I say that you must dress yourself accordingly, a night gown covered with your robe, though it flatters you well, is no proper gown," he heeded and Queen Helena smiled.

"There will not be a proper gown I could ever wear to greet those who will save us, dear knight, though I thank you for your courtesy. I ask you again, take me to her at once," she pressed and the knight bowed.

"As you wish, my Queen. Allow me to lead the way," he told her and waited for the Queen to slip on her slippers before they both rushed down the hall, chasing after a woman that would become a legend to all those that knew her.

Serena Piko, the hero who was destined to live.