Young Mai was out in her garden, just outside the cabin. She poured a small bucket of water over the flowers that were just beginning to bloom. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for outdoor activities. After watering her little garden, Mai went around the house to collect sticks to add to the firewood supply.
"Here, Dad! I got some more for the fire," she announced when she went indoors.
"Ah, good work! I appreciate your help." Mai gave up the sticks and received thankful head pats in return. "Now go set the table, I'll have lunch ready soon."
"Okay!" Mai immediately did as she was told, setting up two placements with the proper silverware and dishes. The father came to the table with a fresh pot of ramen, pouring a bowl for himself and his daughter.
"Eat up, little one," he said before she began to dig in. The meal was enjoyed for a brief silence, before a curious thought came to Mai's mind.
"Dad, can you tell me about the old war?" she asked between noodle slurps.
"Now why would you want to know more about that? I've already told you plenty about it."
"But I wanna know more! What did you do? Who did you fight?"
"What I did was protect people against bad people. Those are the ones I fought."
"Were you any good?"
"Some said I was the best, but I don't think so. I wasn't strong enough when it mattered most."
"I think you're the strongest there is, Dad!" Mai rose her spoon in the air, waving it around like a warrior wielding a sword.
"Well I'm glad you think so." The pair continued their meal happily and cleaned up the dishes together.
"I'm gonna go back to playing outside!"
"Okay, Mai, just please be safe and don't go past the fence."
"Sure, Dad!" The child rushed out the door, not a care in the world. She made tiny houses out of rocks and even made tiny figures from sticks and grass. She did things like that almost everyday, but her creativity would never run out. Her playtime ended abruptly when a pack of wolves approached the house. They howled as one, grabbing the homeowner's attention.
"Mai, get inside! Now!" he demanded. The child ran in without question. The father grabbed a shovel from the side of the house and approached the wolves that stood patiently at the fence. "Reveal your true forms!"
The wolves shifted into beings of the Berserker clan. They looked at the lone farmer with cocky looks.
"We heard there was some simpleton living out here," the pack leader said. "Wanted to see it with our own eyes."
"Well you've seen enough. Leave this place."
"Now now, that's not very hospitable of you," the Berserker chuckled. "Why not invite us in?"
"Leave. Now." The father readied his shovel, prepared to fight off the Shifters.
"Mmmm. No." The pack leader morphed into a wolf, pouncing onto the father and pinning him on the ground. The rest of the berserkers stayed in their base forms and rushed to break down the front door.
It took the father's strength to push off the wolf and quickly decapitate one of the invaders with a shovel. Another fluid motion cut off another's leg.
"End this fool! Then we get the girl!" the wolf growled. The berserkers jumped the home defender, surrounding and attacking him from all sides. He was wrapped in octopus tentacles and pummeled by gorillas. He could feel his bones breaking with every hit. Things began to blur and blood was escaping his body. Amidst the agony, he caught a glimpse of the wolf breaking down the door leading to Mai. In that moment, his mind went blank.
He was on his knees in a dark abyss, beaten and bruised. There was no conflict, just him and his thoughts.
"You've forgotten who you are," a voice called out. "You must remember!"
"I can't!" said the father. "I swore never to go down that path again. Crow the amuria died that day, along with his clan."
"Crow may have died, but the amuria did not. Whether you like it or not, that sword did lead to what you wanted. For the amuria to live on forever. You are the last amuria. Now figure out who you are and save your daughter!"
The father snapped back to reality with adrenaline coursing through him. He grabbed and ripped off the tentacles restraining him with ease. He was soaked in blood and ink, but he was just getting started. Pain overcame him as he screamed on the ground. A purple light shot out of him and into the sky. Jagged stone enveloped his body, forming an all encompassing set of armor. The berserkers were intimidated, but went in for a retaliation. The amuria used his sharpened fingers to cut them all down with minimal effort.
When he ran into his home, he saw the berserker had Mai with a knife against her throat. "Stay back!" he warned the stone figure. "One wrong move and she's dead!"
The amuria paused for a moment. Then lifted a hand with all five fingers pointed at the leader. In the blink of an eye, small stones shot out and sliced the thugs arm clean off. He screamed at the top of his lungs while Mai scurried to safety.
The warrior marched up to the Shifter and pulled him off the floor by his throat.
"W-What are you?!" the berserker asked.
"I am the last of the amuria. Formerly Crow, but now... I am Onyx." A stone spike shot out of his wrist, finishing the intruder once and for all. He tossed the body aside, letting it stain the floor red.
"D-Dad?" Mai gasped.
"Yes, little one, it's me." Onyx knelt down as the girl ran over to hug him tight. The stone armor crumbled away peacefully, revealing the face of a crying man.
"Are all the bad people gone?" Mai asked him, wiping away her own tears.
"Yes, they are... But I fear that more will come."
YOU ARE READING
Equinox
General Fiction"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what He's created?" The Kayon was a weapon made merely for chaos and destruction. it was given to the hands of mortals for that very purpose. Little did they know, that it could be us...
