Zemsta

"It's not wrong to have dreams and goals. It's not okay, however, for those dreams and goals to become you." Wes

Prologue

Blood, hatred, violence, what was it all for? Why was there so much of it within this life and world, within the overbearing walls that loom over our people like gods? Their brick and mortar pattern and the way it was pristine in its pale color despite all the rot and ruin it was surrounding and giving to us. This wall was what separated the Kingdom from the Outskirts. This wall was the separation between heaven and hell.

As I watched my brother get stabbed and beaten by the Kingdom guards, I knew we had officially gone from humans to nothing more than rotten animals. Animals that hide in human skin claim to be human when they're nothing more than pieces of filth that fill the voids for others' loneliness. It was this moment, seeing the life drained from somebody I cared for, that solidified my goal. I felt strength, a particular responsibility now that was tasked to me to enact vengeance on those who had inflicted such pain. Pain that I cannot describe to anyone, not even myself.

Gripping the blade I had stolen from one of the guards, I quickly walked over to the three men that were now playing with a corpse. They noticed me and began to ready themselves for a battle. I quickly moved in for a strike, in which one of the men blocked with their sword. It was at this moment my eyes became a bright red color. I became Shifted.

I noticed the two other guards coming around the side and quickly jumped back. I moved with incredible speed as they watched with horror and disbelief. It was probably their first time seeing a Shifted before, and now that they were fighting one, I could see the ever-rising fear. I moved with such speed and strength that it looked as though the sword was nothing more than a twig. I quickly moved to the right before dashing forward towards the guard on the right.

With one swing, I pierced his chest plate and cut deep into him. Before they could even react, I had already jumped back and readied myself for another strike. The guard on the right fell onto the ground, blood overflowing his torso and his expression going from fearful to mortified. The other two men began running away to no avail, as I quickly caught up to them with the now stained sword. With two swings, all three men were now dead bodies on the ground in my wake.

I quickly escaped to the roof of one of the so-called buildings and hid up there. The building was just a trading area, where people gave each other food in exchange for other valued items. Although the wood was old and the building had no infrastructure design to it, it still resembled that of an old lodge—just a bunch of slabs thrown together that hadn't fallen apart yet. Upon sitting on the roof, I heard people's screaming begin to die down as the guards left, returning to their sanctuary while everyone reverted to their trades.

I, however, stared down at the corpses they had all ignored and thought about what it all meant. What prosperity had we all been oblivious to lurked beyond those walls? What was it like to have clean water to drink and decent food to eat that wasn't leftovers nor trash? What was the scenery like not looking out at the dying trees and the brown, muddy ground? This place was hell, and everyone who was acquitted of a crime but rather birthed here should have the right to leave this world.

Yet, I never did. My brother, Charles, and I were born into this mess of a land. We have hardly any memories of our parents and lived our lives as pickpocketers and thieves. That was the only way to survive. But now, as I watch people walk past my brother's corpse and completely ignore its existence, I realize what I needed to achieve.

I stood up, looking over to the walls of the Kingdom, and thought to myself. All of those people lived their lives without struggle, ignorance, and distaste for us trapped in this desolate world. I needed to get inside the Kingdom and take it over, overthrow the tyrannical rule of Nate. Then from there, I could create a better, more justifiable world—a place where everyone could live without fear of death or anything that could be worse.