1 Betrayal

I've climbed so far. My name, Lord Malory, resounds throughout the continent of Auster— yet I find myself alone. Those few brothers who shared my struggles all these years came to my birthday celebration to betray me.

Why? I don't understand. You're destroying all our arduous work, our safety, and our country. No one else has the capability to sustain it yet.

A jagged dagger is piercing my chest. The curse in the dagger courses through my body, sealing my movement and numbing my senses. I want to question them, to shout in indignation, but even my tongue is half-paralyzed and unfeeling.

"Bu ba et tu bru te?" As my words reach my lips they slur into unrecognizable sounds. My body crumples backward, smacking the ground with a sickening thump.

My 'good' brother approaches, pale face silhouetted by the chandelier. He's frowning, and a tear leaks out from one blue eye.

With my last breath, I manage to rasp out, "Wwwwwhhhhhhy?"

"You don't know how to enjoy yourself, brother. Have some fun next time." He crouches to pat my forehead.

What sort of reason is that? If I stop my work, so many would lose their lives. But I can't speak anymore.

He stands up arms akimbo and stares at something behind me, out of view.

Everything grinds to a halt and freezes in place. Even the flames in the chandelier above are motionless. The color drains from the world leaving only gray.

Am I dead?

Several breaths of time later, the scene is still frozen.

I memorize my betraying brother's face. His expression is so peculiar. Half his face is lively and familiar. It's how he used to look at his lover.

Did he betray me for a woman? Where did he get such a powerful curse?

On the other half of his face, his eyebrow sags, and a string of frozen tears shine on his cheek.

Are you crying for me? If so, why would you murder me? ...You've two contrasting expressions on your single face. What are your actual feelings? What were you thinking?

Sigh. I suppose it's fitting for you to be called a two-faced betrayer.

I ponder for hours— until I give up and occupy myself by counting the indentations on Castle Everest's vaulted ceiling.

Why is death so dull? Why can my eyes still move?

Finally, a prickling sensation starts at the tips of my lips. The tingle spreads inward. It's infuriating, but I can't move or do anything about it. After several minutes in which the sensation burns slowly across the inside of my mouth, the numbness finally leaves my lips and tongue completely. They can feel again... They feel parched.

My tongue is free and glosses across my lips. Astonishingly, it seems only my mouth can move now. Can I speak?

"He-Hello?" My voice is raspy but functional.

In response, my brother's head quivers. Crack! It snaps to face me. His eyes are wide but his pupils stay fixated up and to the left, rolled into the back of his head. The motion is uncanny as if the neck broke as something forced his head to turn. Yet, the flames remain motionless. His face contorts and regains some color. His eyes bulge. The whites of his eyes turn red and bloodshot.

"Brother?" I ask.

His eyes swirl wildly, and their gazes fixate upon me. Then, his lips part revealing yellow lengthening teeth. His bare jaws open and close mechanically, like a shark wanting to bite. Yet the entire scene is silent. His head inches closer despite his still frozen and monotone torso. My brother's irises regain their original hazel but somehow continue changing. They turn golden-yellow and contract. His pupils forming curved vertical slits.

At first, I hear nothing, but soon he lets out a cacophony of unnatural sounds. It's the screech of metal, the call of a deep-sea beast, a gurgling chicken screaming underwater, echoing reverberations, and completely alien sounds all blended together. The sound is disjointed from the flapping and widening jaws.

A glowing, thick, and slimy drool spills from his mouth. I can't move my head, so it lands on my lips. I clamp my mouth shut, but soon my lungs demand I breathe. Gagging, I try to resist the suffocation. What's worse, my mind blanks as a deep sense of terror rises. I can't hold it back!

Aaahhhh! Gasp! Bloop!

Instead of air, the horror's thick drool enters my mouth.

* * * * *

"Aaaahhh" I wake up screaming, but my lungs are empty. My 'scream' allows the muck I'm lying face down in to enter my mouth. I push myself up, gagging and gasping for air.

What sweet relief! It was only a dream!

Once the filth is mostly spat out, I begin to summon the water element to scrub my tongue, but I stop when I bring up my hands for the incantation gesture…

These aren't my hands? Why are they so small and dirty? Where is my tattoo showing my bonds with my brothers after the victory of Winesrest? Has someone stolen my rings of authority and power? Was my contractual seal signifying my bond with the beast of Amune scrubbed from my body?

The elements ignore my call. Helpless, I search around for water.

Where am I?

Before me is a muddy field outside a slaughterhouse illuminated by the full brightness of the major moon. Across the yard, there is a small pond near the forest border, but everything in my vision seems so dark and unclear.

Did my enhanced vision disappear?

I note the position of the major moon in relation to the guiding mountains. It is familiar... If I'm not wrong, this is Kayside Province where my hometown was. But… my hometown was destroyed, so this can't be it. How did I arrive here?

Let's get a view from the air.

I jump and stumble forward. Instead of flying into the sky, I fall face-first into the mud again.

My power of flight can't circulate either? What's going wrong inside my body?

I try to examine myself via internal reflection.

Nothing?

I don't even have the power of internal reflection… I'm like a naked newborn, but my legs still function. I dash to the pond and throw myself in. After a good soak, I carefully examine my body… It's smooth-skinned, thin and pale, has long black hair, a short and flat-tipped nose, hazel eyes, and a round face.

"Who the hell is this?"