Fishes swam away swiftly as a little toddler's, arm with a bracelet that had the name Lily on it, violently crashed inside the small lake and then started moving from one way to another. After some time, though, the fishes returned to where they were, and so did the toddler.
Deep inside a random wood, some place within the strings of existence, in a foreign language that may be or may be not known by many and sorrounded by objects which its origins are doubtful, an old man gathered with his grandchildren around a very small bonfire, at short distance from a lake. He would do this regularly around once every month, to connect with the little nature left in his town that was no more than seven minutes away. He enjoyed every moment he spent in the woods, but he worshipped each second he was with his grandsons and granddaughters.
Running, Lily returned with a sutile burn in her forearm, which started to fade due to the cold water from the lake. As she came closer, her eyes began getting watery, and an almost unheard pitched cry escaped her lips. Once she arrived, she proceeded to hug Rotyile, his grandfather.
"I'm so sorry gramps" Said Lily between sniffs "I'm so sorry, I swear I'll never do it again! Dumb, dumb fire!"
Without budging an inch, Rotyile gave her a gentle hug and continued on guiding her into her wooden log, next to her cousins. Rotyile fed the fire a little more and summoned a dome-like-barrier with a really small, undetectable perimeter, to cover the light of the fire, it's smoke and the scent and heat of everything inside the barrier. The dome flashed pink for a second and then camouflaged with it's surroundings, leaving the inside completely invisible.
The children stood amused by the act of magic their grandfather did and began laughing and applauding, while some ran over to him to hug him. Rotyile maneuvered a few more tricks, just to please his grandchildren. He manipulated the fire to make shapes of dragons, fairies and extraordinary creatures, he made plants sprout out of the dirt and rapidly give fruits, which the children took immediately, and he sent a soothing pulse wave that sent everyone into a state of tranquility.
Rotyile smiled and while getting comfortable in his log, he yawned and began his story.
"My children" started Rotyile "dawn is rising, and so is another tough day for us." The children stood still, loosing a bit of ease "Tonight's story is about the feared Four Horsemen." The children were confused whereas if they were to feel excited, thrilled or scared
"Everything that exists has an innevitable date of end. But even because of that, time never stops progressing."
"But Rotyi" said one of his grandchildren "sorry to say this, but time exists, so it means time dies. And we're here, interacting with time. If what you say is in fact true, then that would mean time can die... then time can be reborn. Time can revive."'
A chilly wind blew around Rotyile and his grandhildren, shaking the fire. Rotyile made a small smirk and looked at the eyes of the kid who just spoke "And that's exactly why they come. They remind us just that. Exactly that." The chilly wind kept blowing, now a little bit stronger "Now, don't be troubled. The end of time is something living things cannot witness. There will be a war between two, where everything will be burnt and all there is to be will be ashes. Sacred ashes. Ashes that will explode in light and implode in dark. Lights of all colors and shadows in trillions of sizes. A mixture will happen afterwards, and life will sprout right out of it." The chilly wind began feeling like a blizzard so the children took their sheets and covered themselves while showing amazement to the story. "Now, they are four, as it is over-understood, and each represents something terrific but also horrific and dangerous. First, comes the king: a tall man riding a white horse, he is The Horsemen of Conquest, he arrives in a random land and declares it his own. He weilds a sacred bow that will allow him to defend his lands and scare away his enemies. Then comes The Horsemen of War. He arrives with a large sword and it's said to be the king's bodyguard, he carries red hair, like fire and blood and has the power to begin a war of any type, and succed in his actions." Rotyile felt a eerie presence outside the dome and decided to fortify the dome without the children noticing. "After, comes The Horsemen of Plague and Pestilence, she is blind and always carries a scale that containing both godly and devilish substances that can alter balance of everything." The omen turned now alarming to Rotyile, forcing him to stop the story and chant an incantation in way of prayer, for maximum advantage. The children asked him if he was okay, to what he stopped, smiled and continued. After a while, he sighed and proceeded "and finally comes The Horsemen of Death, she is weilder of a hair as yellow as corn. She weilds with her a mysterious sickle that is said to open a portal to the world of the dead.
They come in order, but always together. They announce rebirth, disguised as destruction. Which means they are feared, but yet, they are needed." Rotyile gave that finishing tone to it, and the children stood in awe, silent. He didn't expected a response, for he didn't got any, but the silence was turning awkward, so he finally said "what did you thought about it? Did you liked it?" He was now expecting an answer, but sadly, he never got the chance to receive one.
A blue wave broke the dome in huge shards and solidified every single one of them. As the shards fell, Rotyile's hands were casting a spell. He was quick on his actions and grabbed all his grandchildren and shielded them with fire. Well, almost all of his grandchildren. Two of them were left out, and we're obliterated by the weight of the magic shards. Blood splashed everywhere and everyone and the children started yelling. Rotyile needed greater vision so with a shake of hands, he cleared the fire's smoke and counter light to see the being that was emanating such dark and powerful waves. And once he saw it, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Floating in the sky, an approximately eight year old girl, was holding an sphere of energy that surrounded her whole hand. She had skin as pale as the moon and short black hair with two pony-tails by the sides. She stared at Rotyile and then rolled her eyes and started laughing. With this, the children's screams ceased.
"My, my, my!" Said the girl "did I just found you?!" She laughed "I literally passed right through here before killing everyone in the town. Talk about a waste of time, and energy. You know what? Now I'm hungry, but I guess I can feast when I'm done with you. You're the last one on the list, so I can report mission successful and get paid silk money. Licres straight out the mother fucking bank! Now, where was I?" She lighted the sphere "Oh right, this." She then threw the sphere into Rotyile's chest, he tried to stopped it, but it was impossible. Rotyile stood frozen two seconds before exploding into ashes. "You've got a hawk-eye Ninfa!" Said the girl to herself.
The children started screaming in despair and madness. They were moving their hands up, down and in all ways their anatomy allowed them, while tears ran through their cheeks and into the ground without them noticing. Ninfa got annoyed by this and started shooting more spheres from the air towards the children. Huge explosions were seen and blood covered all the trees surrounding the now extinguished bonfire.
Little Lily was behind a tree and heard everything but didn't saw a thing. She cried in silence for Ninfa not to find her. She breathed and decided to turn once she stopped feeling the unwelcoming aura of the killer.
"Boo." Ninfa whispered to Lily's ear before breaking her fist inside her chest, inserting a sphere in her body.
Fishes swam away swiftly as a little toddler's arm, with a bracelet that had the name Lily on it, violently crashed inside the small lake. The water beings were surprised, as the arm sinked into the water, yet, they didn't saw a body to which it was attached.
