Mother held the spear with the point forward. She lowered herself onto her front foot. With a roar, she charged at the three and was quickly followed by Father, letting himself go like a savage animal first out of its cage.

Kaius turned, never seeing what happened next, only hearing the crash of metal. He ran with all his soul into the forest—over the brush and into the darkness around him. The branches whipped him for his cowardice. The dry leaves and snapping branches jeered at him for his weakness—for not standing with his family. No matter how far he ran, crows and ravens seemed to follow, owls hooted in the distance, and wolves howled in outrage.

How dare he? They roared in Kaius’s mind. How could he? They begged as he ran. Return and fight. They demanded over and over again, whether it was the insects or the most sophisticated beasts of the forest, they spoke in unison in the den of darkness around him.

Every path became blocked by an aged tree, every trail covered in thorned brush. The forest itself commanded he return. Soon, the sky joined it in its accusations, barreling down with waves of heavy rain and bright flashes of lightning.

His chest heaved and legs shook as he ran, the dry ground had become muddy during the storm. His tears kept rolling down his cheeks but were erased by the downpour of rain. Only his pained expression showed any of his suffering. His lungs begged him to stop—they burned and hacked at him—and muscles grew heavy then heavier the longer he kept pushing his body along.

Kaius had forgotten his powers deep within him where none but himself can ever find. He did not use them to strengthen himself, to become…beyond human. Beyond the limitations that inhibited his mortal body. All that filled his thoughts was the sacrifice his family had made for him.

Questions scarred his mind, the why and who and many more. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he could not find an answer to any of them. In a moment of inherent pride, his soul screamed, he thought of his mother’s promise. She had yet to answer all his questions, far from it.

Kaius tripped on a root that seemed to grow from the ground—his sight limited by the falling rain. He clutched at his ankle—hands and body covered in mud—where an unforgiving pain blossomed and an unnatural heat soon followed. His tears still hidden in the downfall, but his cries became audible as whimpers.

A light appeared. It was a soft glow that blinded Kaius’s unaccustomed eyes. He blinked a few times as he raised his hand to cover them. Seconds later he opened them, then gasped. Scrambled backward forgetting his pain and suffering. The white thing, image hazy and almost transparent reached out to him with clawed hands. Its was faceless—with only eyes, but even they were terrible—and scarred by many a weapon.

Its left eye was shut closed by a deep but healed wound. Its hands had trails going up beyond the elbow towards its back. Two crisscrossed on its chest, wide and furious. But that was not all, it stood on one leg, the other severed and the remains twisted and crushed.

“I can hel-” the monster whispered, but was cut off by Kaius’s scream.

Its voice was painful to his ears. He kept scrambling father away, giving it no chance to speak or do anything.

“Please, I ca-”

“No! No! Stay away! Stay away.” Kaius pushed himself to his feet and tried to run, but could only limp away. He looked back towards the alabaster creature, it just stood their extended arm shaking, wavering. It lowered, then its hazy visage slowly disappeared, putting Kaius back into the darkness he had been surrounded by.

Longer, he pushed afraid it would come after him if he stopped again. Every few minutes he would look back hoping the darkness was left undisturbed. It was this fear that found him unawares.

One moment he stood on solid, though wet and muddy, ground and the next he was tumbling down an incline. He flailed in hopes he could find his balance or catch a stray branch strong enough to hold him. There was none.

By the end, he was left battered and hurt. Aching from a hundred different bruises and a hundred more scratches. It did no good for his broken ankle either.

Kaius rose, his feet felt like strings. Looking up, he found himself at the bottom of a gully between two steep hills. The one behind him was covered in bushes and small trees, a trail was left in his wake. But that mattered little to him at the moment. In front of him was the other hill, its sides were covered in neat grass—though someone took care to make it perfect. In the center of it all, at the very top of the hill, was a single flower—it glowed a light not utterly unlike the monster, but so much more beautiful—that beaconed him.

It asked for him, whispered to his soul. Kaius’s well reacted as it throbbed and shook, pushing him forward. One moment he was standing on shaky legs at the bottom and the next, he found himself sitting on his knees in front of its soft glow. It was purple, a very dark color with streaks of black across its petals.

He caressed it, his first smile in what felt like ages. His power reacted once more, but with more force. His body gave off his distinct orange glow. It grew brighter and brighter, crawling around the flower as well.

In a moment of pure ecstasy—the smell of nectar prominent in the air—he closed his eyes, letting it soak through him. He felt drugged and incredibly happy.

His mind’s eye created an image of a decrypt and destitute statue—black, gray, and dark hues of blue. A woman with a flowing dress was on her knees. Her image was distorted and face hidden behind a veil, but the viscous black tar that crept from her eyes made clear her expression. She was on her knees, praying, clutching at her chest. From between her hands, a ball of dark purple glimmered and arced.

Kaius could feel it deep within his soul, a power much like his own, yet so unique and dark. He felt the absence of everything whenever he dared to look too deep. He was gone, and so was the world that surrounded him.

With a gasp, he woke from the sudden reverie he had found himself in. He surveyed his surroundings, he had not moved and the rain had yet to abate. His chest throbbed, both ancient sources of power, letting him know they existed within him. The ability to strengthen his body, pushing it beyond the limits it had been chained too. And an absence he could not understand, except that nothing could exist in its field.

Having noticed sooner, he was surprised to find the once black and purple flower clipped and in his right hand. As he stared, its petals lost the dark colors that covered it, turning into ones of gold and white. His powers throbbed. Doing as he had done before, he covered the flower with the orange. But this time, the tears of the statue flowed slowly from his body. Out of his hands, it appeared as a dark purple gas. It covered the flower around the orange haze that preceded it.

Kaius took a deep breath, the smell of nectar still lingered. It put a smile onto his face.

With the crashing and breaking of branches and bushes. A figure slid down the hill behind him. Its stark golden hair oddly placed in the darkness of the night. A familiar face covered in mud looked up.

“Mother?” he whispered his mind clearing. His thoughts and the images he had experienced derailed him, it held him captive.

“Mother!” he remembered. It hit him without remorse. The escape, the sacrifice, his ankle, the demon that had appeared, his family. How had he forgotten? How could he forget?

Attempting to rise, his body locked up and all the accumulated pain struck at once. Kaius flopped uselessly on the ground, confused and lost. All he could do was stare at his mother struggling to rise.

At the top of the other hill, a surge of darkness and shadows rumbled forward--tearing down the trees and brush. In its midst was a figure to indistinct to make out. The figure’s black fog rolled out in waves as the person floated in the center of its enormous mass. The only distinct feature was red eyes that pierced into his.

The being studied the surroundings, taking everything at once. But, as was inevitable, its eyes met his prone form. Then onto the flower that had lost its luster. It bristled in a subconscious fury.

Mother had gotten up by this point and had already begun climbing the hill towards him. She held dearly to her spear, using it to support her weight. Blue watery eyes stared at his own—a relief compared to the burning red that met his moments ago—as her face distorted in struggle.

Kaius tried getting up again, but that only caused his wounds to scream in distress and blackness to creep at the edges of his eyes. Gripping the flower with as much strength as his body could muster—as though that would cause any change—it struck him to attempt to use his power. Closing his eyes, he tried to pull from that familiar well of overflowing orange waters. But only got a lance of pain in his chest in return. The well was dry, only a few droplets remaining as he stared at it. Never before had he used it so openly and in such quantity.

He looked up, his mother had reached him with a wavering smile and tears leaving marks in the mud that stained her pale white skin. She held onto him, hugging him and unwilling to let go. She sobbed, a quiet sound he was unaccustomed to. Whispering in a murmur, he could not hear. But stronger it became until the words were loud enough for him to make out.

“Mamas here now. She’ll protect you,” over and over again she repeated those words. Unwilling, maybe even unable, to speak any other. A ting of insanity affected her words as she moved her body back and forth.

Kaius had no time to understand as a roaring surge of darkness appeared in his sights—behind his mother, it covered everything he could see. It blanketed upon them both and the entire hill ending their struggle. The last thing Kaius saw were the red, hateful eyes before he too was lost in the darkness.