Nova and the 100-year march

CHAPTER FOUR, VOLUME 1, THE FIRST CYCLE: STUNT AND KNIGHT

Into the shadow's depth, pitch black sight, facing death again, Nova saw a face—his friend's. A voice calling, so comforting, luring him toward the shadow a step closer every time the echo approaches.

The lad's companion stands in front of him and stands still; "I thought you were dead, old friend, I... missed you," says the lad while reaching for his friend's shoulder. 'you are real' and he hugs him tight, tears dripping down his shoulder. "It happened, Exy. I saw it—the flames. I never thought it'd work but here we are, it did, brought me home, to you again old friend. The wish, my wish was home."

tapping on his back, all in total silence. The lad said, "Why don't you say anything?" A faint voice shouts repeatedly, "Go away!" Suddenly, the lad felt the tremor of death again. Before he can realize it, the man standing before him trembles to ashes, and the shadow emerges.

Nova, witnessing the re-incarnation of his deepest and worst memory, freezes, and more memories fly by, witnessing a loss of a dear friend,again.

 The lad says, "Is this the only memory left for me to remember? The memory to honor? To live for?A Symbol of Loss. there is no honor there, just that  I'm not the survivor, nor the chosen one, I am the fallen, the remnants of ashes. No stars left to guide me at last, lived to lose and die losing.No more running, hiding, maybe I should die for all it takes to rest, this is my fate, the fate of the fallen". 

Flames and blood, no stars and no life, shadow, and death all along. He stands in the center of it all and opens his arms. Time goes slowly, and the shadow gets closer. The lad welcomes the doom and closed his eyes.

Out of nowhere, a spark explodes in the sky, a flair so bright it disturbs the pitch black. Then another one came, and another after that. thin glowy shards of silver, dull as a feather, clear as crystal, shatter and glow,and The shadow stepped back and were gone. the lad snaps out of his vision. Suddenly, a knight cuts the line, appearing on horseback, the savior knight, Chad, grabbed the lad by the arm and pulled him, cruising back to the exit.

"The hell were you thinking, man? Got a death wish?" he said, frustration clear in his voice. The lad remains silent and creatures assemble again, a voice as thick as molten steal roars, strong enough to make Chad insist on not looking back.

"I saw stupidity and recklessness, and even suicide, but never combined, 5 years without an incident or disturbance, now you will bring  havoc on us all, if it weren't for Caesar I'd toss there you myself"

The lad looked back; he's certain now, that the brighter the place, the better. Lots and lots of shadows cruising towards them, almost as if the whole alley is moving, the only thing standing between them is the bright flair in the sky above them,for the few seconds it buys for Nova and Chad to run away with their lives. The lad remains silent.

"We call them shadows if you're wondering, a hunt for the living,an embodiment of fear and death, some say they are the dead people of this old land, brought back to drag us with them,an old people's tale,that's for sure something of interest to you,isn't it?".

"I only say what I believe",the lad said."and i only believe what i see, and right now i only see a terrified stranger whose responsibility's on me but he does not acknowledge that yet,you are not a guest bright boy, you're a captive, and you'll remain one until caesar finds what's about you, i mean what the hell happened back there", Chad said."I'm sure you won't believe it even if you saw it"the lad replied.

well listen carefully then, people here are desperate enough, dead enough, and your stunt will cause more fear, again, and now we are obliged to cause more chaos and destruction of valuable memories, this alley will face the ground because of your stunt now so that we may keep these hellish shadows buried in here and keep a bit of hope that they won't slaughter us in our sleep."

"that old Caesar, the man's an intellectual leader, I know that more than ever now."said chad while laughing,the lad asked,"How come?".chad replied,"Well i don't know how would this occur to you but he knew about your arrival, for a very long time i'd say,the arrival of an outsider,he always suspected it .before he can finish his sentence," the death scent occurred again", says the lad. 

feeling the disturbance behind them, the death scream from darkness itself, Chad says,"Don't you worry son, you'll live to tell a good tale ".chad whistles then says"After your little, stunt back there, we have no choice but to improvise, Brace yourself!!"

Returning to the Plaza, the guards blow the charges and the two pillars collapse, taking down the whole alley entrance that seems it will remain sealed for the rest of time.

 "you okay? bright boy", had asked the lad who kneeled in respect and said, "I am ashamed, fellow soldiers, I can't ask for forgiveness or help now, I failed myself and endangered you all, I'm ready to accept whatever consequence that comes from my deeds, as I failed you and the people who helped me stand on my feet.

the guards chuckled, and Chad said,"Come on man stand up that's embarrassing, it's all good now, the plan worked and no one got hurt,i just hope you know where you stand now",he raised his hand and says"welcome to Meliodon"

the crowd assembles and the guards laugh.