Grey

"I was the pride of Sun Kingdom, a Hero worthy of worship. Like a God that walked amongst mortals. I did bask in the fame that came with being a Hero, it wasn't an easy job. I cried tears of blood, I bleed and sweat from years of effort in both my adult and childhood.

It wasn't easy. I put on a smile after each successful battle as the citizens celebrated victory and welcomed me home.

It was hard. They praised me as if there was no loss that came with every victory on the battlefield. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of souls lost to greed and corruption. I felt like crying, but I knew I couldn't.

It was unhealthy. Pushing myself to the limits, bones broke, muscles tired out, ached, and torn, passing out because of endless nights without sleep.

It was lonely. Very lonely. I had the other Heros, but they didn't understand what I had to go through. We came from different backgrounds, different lifestyles. They loved to help, as I. Some also loved the attention, and some the wealth.  We weren't close, we were co-worker, acquaintances. There was one Hero I felt like I had a connection with, but...

It was emotionally exhausting. The constant fighting, the constant eyes, the constant death... everyday I lived wondering... will this be the last time... will I finally be put to rest.

Everyone has a stigma about Heroes. They wish to be us. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Especially a Hero as strong as I, as strong as you."

"You aren't a Hero, you are a Demon." The boy stands in front of me. I just stare down at him.

The words glided smoothly out of my mouth, "How much have they told you about me?" He shakes his head. It's annoying how ignorant he is.

"I need to know nothing more about you. You are evil."

"The world isn't so black and white, boy. You are just as naïve as I was, maybe even more." His hands grip his sword harder. It's sickening how he resembles me so much.

"I am not naïve. I am following my destiny and nothing will stop me from defeating you."

"That is what I thought too, so long ago..."

***

The city was just starting to awaken. The people rise with the Sun in the Sun Kingdom. So a little girl wakes up with ease. Her hair is a luscious brown with red highlights, like most native girls her hair is thick and very curly. So her hair is braided every week. This week's style is three rows going back on the left half of her head and individual braids going over her right side that come down to her shoulders. Her skin is also a dark honey brown, another feature that majority of Sun Kingdom's natives have.

What separates her from the rest is her yellow eyes. They are not sunflower yellow, bright, but a shade closer to gold and brown. Most of her family members have light brown eyes like the shell of a walnut. Although hers are different.

She is due to the Holy Church of Sun that afternoon for her coming of age. A ceremony for every child of the Sun Kingdom that reaches the tender age of 8. It is to properly awaken their Mana Spirit. It can be gradually awakened between the ages of 8 to 16, but with a catalyst it can be awakened with no backlash at the age of 8. The method is done through the heart of an elder dragon.

Dragons are creatures that can use Magic naturally. Mana and Magic are different entities. Magic comes straight from the soul, while Mana floats around the air in an abundance. Most creatures can use their Magic, but humans can't. So through the use and help of Contracted Spirits they can use the Mana that float around in order to make Artificial Magic.

Contracted Spirits come in the form of 10 elements. God created a Space to be in. The Space was very dark so God created Light to get rid of some of the Darkness. God needed something to keep Light going so he created Fire. Although, Fire grew out of control and God made Water to quell it, but he needed somewhere to store it so he made Earth to contain the Water. God saw potential where Earth and Water meet, so he created Time. He watched Life grow, but Life only grew from where Earth and Water meet. So he created Wind to push Life to where life did not grow. Life grew out of control expanding and even started to leave the Earth, he created force to Space to constrict it to the Earth. However, applying force to Life did nothing to quell the uncontrollable growth as Life began to swallow Earth, so God created Death to regulate life.