⁺◦ 𝔥𝔬𝔱 | 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 .

↳ 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐧 .

vernon's sudden disappearance never made sense to you, but you still remember when it struck you where you stood.

a leader of the civilization explained to all of the hunters-in-training that vernon went missing somewhere between midnight and the early hours of the morning. a coven of wizards attacked the civilization and took him away from the civilization. the wizards are sworn enemies of the civilization. they are an unfriendly crowd at best, and murderous snakes at worst.

the leader's voice rang out, calling for order when there was an uproar. "there will be no search parties formed to look for or retrieve vernon."

those words set a wave of helplessness in motion. it was those thirteen words that lit a rage in you that'll never depreciate. you remember clenching your fists so harshly that your fingernails broke the skin on your hands. the rage burned you from the inside out, but now it runs bone-deep.

you can only remember one emotion that was more powerful than rage, but you've done everything you could to bury that emotion underneath the rage.

a few hours before the attack happened, you and vernon snuck out of the civilization to get a break from the routine of daily life. there was only one rule in the civilization and they taught that to us the moment that we were able to understand sentences.

don't leave the civilization!

"there's nothing but danger outside of the civilization's barrier, (y/n)." your mother warned you, but you were too stubborn to listen to her.

the civilization was an organization that was created to rebel against the wizards. wizards came into town when the world wasn't divided into two parts. they seemed harmless, so everyone looked the other way when worldwide news stations reported disappearance after disappearance of innocent people.

the leader of the civilization lost his whole family, his wife and two children, to the wizards. around that time, a war broke out between the wizards and people who supported or empathized with the man who lost his entire family due to the evil agenda of the wizards. after losing many people on both sides, wizards and non-wizards alike, the leader of the civilization tried to negotiate with the wizards. he vowed that he'd call off his forces, opting for a ceasefire, if the wizards returned his family to him.

as expected, the wizards didn't agree to his demands. so, that was when the leader of the civilization founded the civilization. he began training hunters to eradicate the world of the wizards that terrorized so many people.

knowing all of that, you still pulled vernon out of the civilization's barriers. you, nor him, had the slightest clue where you planned to go. the only thing that you two knew was that the vast, green fields of your world were tiring to look at. vernon was willing to go anywhere and do anything, as long as it was with you.

"(y/n), i have something to tell you." vernon said, the words getting caught in the back of his throat while he caught his breath from running for so long.

you look up at the trees that line the forest floor. the birds and other wildlife that live in the trees stir with excitement. in a weird way, the world finally feels alive like the history books once said it was.

"(y/n)?" vernon put his hand on your arm.

"can it wait for a little bit? i just want to listen to the birds sing for a little while." you asked him to let whatever he wants to say to you wait until the birds are done serenading the forest.

"yeah, it can definitely wait." vernon's arm fell away.

you didn't hear him struggle against his assailant when they took him right from underneath your nose. you were standing right by him and couldn't be bothered to notice that something wasn't right when he actually remained silent for longer than thirty seconds.

running didn't seem to get you any closer to finding him, but you did that anyway. you ran tirelessly, like a maniac.

you see the cloaks and an unconscious version of vernon come into view, once you move around a tree.

"stop it! where are you taking him?!" you screamed as loudly as you could.

the wizards come to a halt once they hear your voice. the turn around to face you, but keep their hoods covering their faces.

five wizards stood before you, but that changed in the blink of an eye. at the sound of a whistle, wizard after wizard plummeted from treetops.

so much for a fair fight.

"you're a long way from home, aren't you?" one of the cloaked figures asked you.

"yes, i am. i don't mind going back as soon as you give me my friend back." you spoke a lot clearer than you thought you could.

"i could return your friend to you, but where's the fun in that?" the figure said, and the other figures started
snarling.

"i just-" the figure fanned the cloak over themselves and vernon, and just like that, they were gone.

all of the other wizards disappeared one by one, until there was only one left.

the figure made the mistake of pulling his hood down. he revealed his face to you, then leveled his gaze with yours.

he seemed to be suffering from the same thing as you—guilt.