1 Chapter 01 - Darkness

It was dark. Henry couldn't see anything. "Henry!" There it was again, the voice that he has heard many times over. That same, deep, dark, menacing voice. He wished he didn't have to go through this every single night. "Henry!" There it was again. "Henry, you must find it at all costs. That necklace is the key to your success as one of my pupils!" Henry thought that was strange. He had never heard that voice say anything other than his name before. Something is off, he thought.

"Henry!" The voice called again, but this time, it was different. He knew this voice. "Henry, wake up! Wake up Henry!" Suddenly, Henry jolted awake, sweat dripping down his face, he looked up and saw his friend Rein sitting in front of him, with a concerned look on his face.

"Dude, you were mumbling in your sleep again. That's the third time this week." Said his friend Rein. Henry looked at Rein, and realized that his friend was actually worried about him. "You don't have to worry about me." Henry said stubbornly. "Well sure, I don't. But what happens if my friend wakes up screaming one night because of a bad dream? Am I supposed to be worried then?" His words drew suspicions from Henry. "I haven't done that yet, have I?" Henry said. "Well, no." Rein answered.

Henry got up and went to the washroom. He grabbed a cool cloth and rubbed the sweat off of his face. What is that voice? Why talk to him, of all people? What necklace is this guy talking about? Henry wanted answers. Naturally, he'd go to the kingdom mage, but what good would that do for him? He knew as a fact that even they couldn't interpret dreams. Especially dreams as cryptic as this one.

Rein appeared at the door of the washroom. "Hey, we gotta head out soon. Lady Gena is waiting for us." Rein said, Henry looked at him, annoyed. "I know, I know. You don't have to tell me." As soon as he got done washing up, Henry got dressed and grabbed his sword, the sword he received from his mentor, the mysterious Echo. Him and Rein walked out of their room and headed off towards the town center.

On the way there, they ran into Adeline. "Hey guys!" Adeline said cheerfully. "Going to Lady Gena?" She asks. "Yes, we are." Henry replied. Adeline looked at him and then poked his face. "You had a bad dream again, didn't you?" She said, looking concerned. Henry pushed her hand away. "No, I just woke up sweating, is all." He replied coolly. "Okie dokie then, just make sure to get good rest!" She said cheerfully. On their way to the center, they marveled at all the food stands and peddlers in the streets. "Some of these peddlers here charge atrocious prices." Rein said, disgusted. "It's the biggest city in all of Eugahria, what did you expect?" Henry said, annoyed.

Suddenly, a large bang sounded off, and screams followed. "Hey, that's in front of us! Let's go check it out!" Rein said. "Alright." Henry replied, and they all ran towards the sound. As soon as they got their, someone screamed and they found out what it was. Laying there in front of them in a pool of blood, was none other than Lady Gena.