He laid his head to rest, quickly drifting off to sleep. He found himself surrounded by darkness, thick darkness. As he tried finding his way out of the thick darkness, he noticed that he stood on black goo, he sticks out his right leg, then the second, making his moves, he was stepping into the light. Now he could see the black goo raising, taking it's shape, elongating, forming three right hands on one side of its gooey body, then three on its left side. It formed two horns on each side of his head, then had a red cyclone eye. Without fear, Troy gripped the golden hilt, his right leg back, left leg forward, crouching a little getting ready to slice off the head of the roaring gooey creature running right at him. He got a perfect swing of his golden sword, cutting both its right hands. The creature made a distorted scream, looking at the black goo oozing from its wrists. In annoyance, it scratched Troy- who woke up with a loud gasp.
"It was all a dream" he sighed in relief, feeling the cheek the creature slashed in his dream. "Thank goodness, there's not a scratch, neither blood" he finally got up from his bed
Iseul had her whole life figured out, from her profession to her marriage, but when her worst nightmare came to life and everything slipped from her fingers she only sought one thing. And everyone knows Death sees justice and revenge as the same.
*****
For centuries the Kingdom of Rosa has prided itself as a place where nature and the arts are nurtured and celebrated. The people who live there are known to be talented and ambitious and Iseul Hann is no exception. Despite her young age, her immense musical talent has granted her a position in the royal orchestra, and being promised to the love of her life has left her with nothing else to wish for. That is until one night everything is taken away from her. Alone and defeated she ends up in a different Kingdom living a life she doesn't want. With nothing left to lose, when her path crosses with a man that Kings and Queens tremble before, Iseul asks for the only thing he can give her. Closure.
The Wattys 2021 Fantasy Winner
Content Warning: This story contains mature sexual content and themes of sexual assault and violence.