Darkness Inside The Light

A man was entering for the first time into a city, somewhere in the south of the empire. It was noon and the unbearable heatwave had made him soaked with sweat. He didn't know for how much time he had been walking when he finally found an inn on his way. A relieved smile appeared on his face which was until now expressionless. Upon entering, he looked curiously at the interior. The inn didn't look anything special, but what made him surprised was that despite being noon, the place was filled with people...

"A beer! the colder the better" he shouted after finding with some difficulty an empty table...

While he was staring absent-mindedly out the window and waiting for his order, a young voice suddenly awoke him from his stupor

"Excuse me, sir, would you mind if we sat with you? It doesn't seem there is another empty table..."

Turning his head he saw two young men around 20 years old probably. The man gestured them to sit and without giving them any other attention, he turned his head again toward the window

"Excuse me, are you an adventurer?" the young voice interrupted his thoughts again. With a sigh, he looked at them for another time and opened his mouth

"Don't I look like one?" the man asked with a smile...

"No, no... Not only that, but you look really strong too" one of the duo hurriedly replied. After thinking for a little, he talked again

"Would we be noisy if we asked for a story of your adventures? We have always dreamed of becoming adventurers ourselves, but we never dared to do so..."

These words made the man burst out laughing for quite some time. He wanted to calm down, but he couldn't do it no matter how much he tried. Only after seeing the flushed faces of the two people ahead of him, did he finally start to feel a little guilty.

"Don't feel bad. I didn't want to mock you, but I found it hilarious that somebody dreamed to do this trashy job" the man explained with a sigh

'Is it that bad?' the young men thought doubtfully...

Seeing their faces the man could only shake his head

'Ignorance is bliss.....'

"Let me tell you another story instead. It's the story of a childhood friend of mine and of how he managed to become a legend known by every single child in the empire"

*******

The empire hadn't always been the powerhouse that it was today. Forty years ago, many countries could threaten it with the Latheon Kingdom in the north being it's mightiest enemy.

Latheon Kingdom wasn't big, neither had many resources, but the cold weather had made it's people tough and brave. The soldiers of the army were called Berserkers and many fairy tales had been created about the miracles they had produced in battle, but also for their cruelty against their enemies, but what made them extremely terrifying was the fact that they would never retreat. There was a saying for them back then

'For a Berserker, defeat means death and Victory means survival..'

In a country like that the hierarchy was strict and clear. The stronger you were, the more privileges you had. People who couldn't fight could only do whatever they could to do just to survive, whether that was theft, murder or prostitution. Many orphans had to stick together to protect each other and the protagonist of that story was a child-like them

"Edward! Edward! Alfred and the others will go for hunting. Won't you come together with us?" a small girl around 7 years old shouted at a small wooden hut built near the forest. A boy came out wearing, like the girl, old tattered clothes. He was only 10 years old but his height, as well as his sharp eyes, made him look older. Seeing the little girl made the boy's expression to soften

"Catherine, I have told you many times that you are not allowed to enter the forest, especially now that its winter. You don't want to freeze to death, do you? Why don't you go inside and help Jessica and Lina who are trying to fix our clothes?" Edward said with a warm smile

"No brother! You know that I am stronger than most of the boys of my age! Why won't you let me come no matter what every time!" Catherine said as she pouted. She then turned her body around showing the boy her back. Watching her throwing a tantrum, Edward approached her and hugged her from behind. Their difference in their height wasn't small to the point that he almost needed to kneel

"Because you are my precious little sister. How can I let you be in any danger? Don't worry, your brother will bring today some meat, so you can look forward to it"

The girl tried to think of something that could persuade her stubborn brother, but no matter how much she tried, nothing came in her mind. She could only give up.

Edward took with him a wooden spear with only its spearhead being made from metal. It was a weapon he had managed to steal from a drunken Berserker, an achievement that he was proud of, though, for that warrior, it was nothing more than a toy he was using when he was training.

After walking for some time, he saw 6 children waiting at the entrance of the forest. None of them was older than 9 years old and all of them were smaller than Edward

"Hey, big bro Edward just came" one of the boys shouted

"You are late, idiot," another boy said. His name was Alfred and he was the oldest after Edward in age among the orphans.

"Ok guys, we have work to do. Two of you will come with me to check if anything has been caught in our traps. Alfred and the others will search for anything edible in the forest. In three hours we'll meet again here. If someone isn't here by the time the sun starts to decline, then we will consider him dead, so be careful..." Seeing that everyone agreed with his words, he opened his mouth again

"Let's go!"

**********

The three hours passed quickly and it was time for the boys to return at their meeting point.

"Big bro Edward, the sun will soon start to decline, we should leave," one of the boys said while he was holding in his hands two rabbits.

"You can leave first, I want to set a last trap near that fir... Take with you and the birds that I hunted," Edward said as he prepared to use a rope that he had created from plants around the forest.

Knowing that their leader wouldn't hear them no matter what they told him, they started walking away with no objections.

It didn't take long for the skillful boy to finish with his business, but the moment he was ready to stand up and leave too, a noise in the bushes made his body stop. If it was just a noise, it wouldn't be something for him to worry about, but it was different if he could feel vibrations from the ground. He slowly turned his head and his heart immediately went cold..... The spectacle in front of him was something that even if he were to see it in a nightmare, it would still make him lose sleep for days, much less in real life...

A 5 meters bear was standing on its hind legs behind him...It's red eyes and huge claws made him unable to move. He couldn't even breath from his terror. By the time he could return to reality he was already on the ground with who knows how many broken bones. The beast's weight was at least 2000 pounds. Someone would even wonder how was Edward still alive. The only thing that he could do was desperately trying to protect his neck with the best of his ability, but he instinctively knew that it was only a matter of time before he became the lunch of the bear.

Edward couldn't endure anymore, blood was flowing from all over his body making him feel dizzy. The moment he thought that his end had come, a bright light appeared in his vision making him unable to see anything. He closed his eyes, but he felt impossible to open them again. He was feeling sleepy and cold...

He struggled to keep his consciousness awake, but no matter how much willpower he had, he had already reached his limit. In the end, Edward fainted...