Chronicles of Aria - The Child of Prophesy

Chapter 2: The Feather

Run.

Run until you escape from the ferocious creatures called Hellbound that are ready to devour until their prey has surrendered to the death caused by their fangs ready to detract the hope of escaping even more frightening than death from them... Until their prey dies.

Sweat dripping from the forehead from the relentless running and blood—caused by the constant resistance to death—on the ground becomes a trace to be followed by murderous creatures.

A woman with white hair carrying a baby is terrified not because she is afraid to die but because she is worried about her child being included in her death. Blood, sweat, and tears welled up on her face. Blood was no longer circulating normally in her body due to it coming out of her wounds that were already staining her white clothes.

Blood was thinning because it was already mixing with her bitter tears that kept coming out of her eyes — tears of concern for her baby and love that was willing to do anything just to save her child.

From the dark forest that isn't illuminated even by the full moon the only thing the wounded woman with a baby can think of is a hiding place running to imminent death. It is a forest from Mount Limue surrounded by lush and large trees. The mother and her baby hid in these trees so that they could hide and not be followed by their pursuers.

They are constantly being chased by Hellbound even bigger than lions. Its eyes glow so red that even in extremely dark forests it can be reflected by the observant eye. Its fangs are even larger than the normal daggers of the Holy Knights. Sharp fangs certainty that even the slightest graze wound is extremely deadly. Their mouths are always wet due to salivation which is a sign that they are eager to kill and eat whoever they see or what they consider prey. These creatures are not the only ones hunting the woman carrying the baby. It included five warriors from the Archfiend Clan. They are desperate to find the woman with the baby to kill.

The horrible creatures sniff around to find the trace of their prey. They sniff the blood dripping on the ground and follow this path. Warriors from the Archfiend Clan dispersed in search of their prey. They observe the surroundings to see if they have anything strange or even hear something abnormal in the forest.

The woman covered her mouth when she heard the ferocious creature growl so that it couldn't hear her sobbing caused by fear of possible doom to death. The woman closed her eyes for a moment to ask for help from Elohim, the Great Creator to save them especially her son. Every word running through her mind coincided with the rapid beating of her nervous heart. The woman hugged her son tightly way to think there was still reason to live.

The woman opened her eyes...

When she opened her eyes, she saw the eyes staring at her. Eyes glowing red were watching her and preparing to tear her apart. The growl of the Hellbound grew louder as it seemed very eager to eat the woman and her baby. The woman wanted to scream but she couldn't due to uncontrollable fear. She quickly ran away as fast as she could. But she was met by two warriors from the Archfiend Clan causing her to stop and open her mouth in shock. The Hellbound from behind devoured the woman's right leg, ripping it apart. Cut off the woman's right leg causing her and her baby to fall. The woman cried out in extreme and inexplicable pain.

The two warriors of the Archfiend Clan are laughing because they have finally found what they are looking for. They even called their three companions and said, "Here's the woman we've been looking for!"

The woman is still writhing in pain from the amputation of her right leg. Is there any hope that this woman and her baby will survive the inevitable death?

"Help us!" cry of the woman constantly hoping for a miracle to happen so that they can survive death at the hands of the Archfiends.

Suddenly, along with the sudden thunder, the five heads of the warriors parted from their bodies. Blood hissed from the beheaded warriors and fell down. A man standing in front of the woman cut off the five heads of the Archfiend Clan warriors. He was holding a large sword that seemed incapable of being used by a normal person or soldier. The man is hooded and covered with a large cloak which is the only reason his face isn't visible especially in the dark forest.

The Hellbound tried to attack and devour him. The man grabbed his large sword and he prepared it to swing towards the ferocious creature. But in an instant, the ferocious creature splintered. It was cut into pieces. The man's eyes were already reflected in the darkness. His eyes could also see the dimness and... It could be seen in his eyes that he was ready to kill without hesitation. The other Hellbound felt fear and danger in this man so it ran away.

Tears were falling in the woman’s eyes as she cried out for help and was replaced by a little joy because she saw some hope. But is it really hope she sees it?

The man with the large sword knelt down and tapped the woman to say that she and her baby were safe. The tears wrapped in fear and despair had stopped falling in the woman's eyes. But the blood from the wounds inflicted on her body kept leaking. The woman smiled slightly at the man in front of her.

She said, "Take my child... I entrust to you all the welfare for my child. May you be the answer of the Great Creator so that he may be saved."

The woman also handed the feather to the man and said, "Give it to him when the right time comes."

The man took the baby. But when the man took the woman's hand, she lost consciousness. He checked if the woman's pulse was still throbbing but he could no longer feel it. Indication that the baby's mother is dead.

The man was sad. He just sighed and said, "Here we go again."