The Hybrid Fateful Sorrow

The Raven

[At the torture chambers of Lord Kristoff and Cromwell.]

Cromwell is sitting on his wooden chair as he admires his work of torture, looking to the cultist's head as the metal fork pierced its throat and chest, and died from blood loss.

“The sound of the sky earlier was amazing, I felt like God was watching me,” He said as he looked intently at his work.

“But he sounds lonely.”

Cromwell suddenly stands up as he looks to the ceiling, bringing his hammer at his hand.

“God, let me, I, Cromwell please you, as I would like to hear it once more, ” he said as he fell to his knees pointing his hammer at his captive.

“Oh how pleasurable it will, this is what I’m bound to do with my life, ” he let out.

He throws the hammer to his chair as he hugs the floor, dirtying his clothing.

“I would make a lot of music out of screams, so you can hear my response,” he added.

In the dark corner, a raven is watching him, its eyes glared from the darkness, it rustles its wings up while it suddenly speaks with its stern and clear voice, opening its curvier beaks.

“You are wrong, ” the raven said as he flies closer.

“Who is there?” Cromwell said as he quickly stood up, fixing his clothing.

“I’m the one that was watching you, crazy bastard, ” the raven said.

While the raven flies closer to him, Cromwell immediately reaches for the raven, successfully grabbing its body.

“A talking bird, I wonder how you were made, ” he said as he put his hand to its head and body, twisting it.

“Fricking bird, ” he added.

With a dark smog appearing in his hand, the raven turned into black smoke as he lost grasp. The smoke moves as it draws into the shape of a man as a skin slowly takes over, and manifests into a whole body.

What appeared was a white well-built man with his long darkest black button clothing, a face of a beautiful man with his long black hair that reaches his shoulder.

“Foolish, are you? Well, most of you are, ” he said as he looks at his soft smoky hand still manifesting into a body.

“I’m here to instill fear to you and your master, I will break your bones each day until you die, ”  he said as he glanced with his beautiful black eye.

“Hahaha, you sure know some magic, but I’m just an ordinary man, huh, this doesn’t seem fair,” he said as he walks back slowly to his chair with his hand at his back reaching for a hammer.

The man walks closer to Cromwell as he speaks.

“I thought for all people you know, how unfair, and dreadful life is, ” he said.

Cromwell holding his hammer at his back with the raven turned into a man in his arms’ reach.

“May I know your name, before you do something evil?” he asked.

“Evil? Very well, I am—” the man was interrupted as he spoke.

Cromwell quickly struck his hammer that he was hiding at his back to the man’s face.

“You’re a F*cking i***t!" He said as he laughs menacingly, and runs around to gain distance and escape.

“Don’t move so much, or you will lose a lot of blood, ” the man said.

As he gains distance and stops to look at the man.

“What are you talking about?” he said.

His eyes grow larger as soon as he sees the hammer in the ground, near the man he just assaulted. In the handle of the hammer is where his severed hand is, still gripping. He lifted his right hand to see it cut and bleeding.

“F*ck, how did you—, ” as he spoke, the man appeared in front of him in a blink of an eye.

“How did you?— Aaaagh.”

With almost impossible to see, Cromwell’s knee was kicked so hard it pushed back, inverting it as he fell to the ground, whimpering in pain.

“I am Reave and that is for today, I will come back tomorrow, ” he said.

“Aaaagh, you f*cking crow, ” Cromwell said as he grasped his broken knee.

“I’m not a crow, I’m a shapeshifter and a raven, you damn well remember that,” he said as he transformed back into a raven and left into the darkness.

______

In the middle of the afternoon, where the cave of the Destined cult was hidden by a calming illusion, a slim young man is stooply walking in the forest. 

While Bran was looking for a well known Cults in the area, he heard a low tune.

“I knew it, I can definitely hear them, this is so dangerous, why would I venture this far for the chance of power,” He sighed as he looked at his puny hand.

“I need to get stronger, so I can protect my loved ones, but it is hard if it will be an exchange for life,” Bran said.

“Exchange your life?” a clear voice of the man behind him.

'Oh s**t a cultist! I’m dead, no! Should I run? If I run I might survive, or should I stay and just go through with this, they might accept me,' he thought as he shook his head. 

'What should I do?' As his body trembles, and his thoughts rumbling he grips his hand and prepares himself for a run.

“Stop young man, you didn’t even look, are you that scared?”

'Oh, he is right! He might not be one of them and maybe that is why I’m still alive,' he sighed in relief from that thought, as he moved his body to turn.

“You are right I’m sorry for being ru—” he says as he stops himself, looking at the man the fear that was gone comes right back at that moment.

“Your white robe and that bloody knife in your hand, you’re one of them, ” he said as he lifted his hand slowly as he surrendered himself.

“Oh that singing, do you hear that? It only means one thing, the knight has woken, ” he said as he cherished every sound.

“I just got returned and to be glimpse by his greatness would be so great, ” he said, looking at the cave.

“And don’t worry the knight has already returned we don’t need anyone anymore, you are free to go but you are also welcome to come and witness the true king reborn, ” he said as he looked at the trembling young man.

'A king returned? I remember Amelia’s story about the rebirth of the king in Grearia, is this it?' Bran thought.

“I am really free to go?” he said as he slightly grits his teeth.

The servant starts walking like he didn’t hear anything, getting back into their cave as he sings along.

He stopped by the door.

“You’re right, come if you changed your mind,” he said.

“Oh how I wish master Silva is in here to witness the destined knight, and his father Santi must be pleased right now, ” he added as he entered the cave.

He doesn’t seem to care if anyone finds out their lair, it was like their mission is done.

'I cannot believe I’m alive, I shouldn’t push my luck, right now' he thought.

“Damn it, I just got lucky but my curiosity rises when I heard the true king like what Amelia always talks about, ” he said out loud.

'It will be fine, he didn’t kill me, so I'm sure it will be fine,' he said while he walks closer to the door.

As the singing got louder, Inside you can smell an old blood on the floor with the old church-like place, it makes someone's imagination run. 

The place has candlelight lit in every corner, an estimated fifteen to twenty followers were inside singing or praying, ranging from thirties to forties years old and all wearing a clean white robe. 

Some followers peek their eyes at the young man, but in just a second they return their gaze to the center, to the empty throne where all of them are focusing and praying or chanting. 

“Return to us our king, return and make this world your realm.”

'Where is the king? These cultists are crazy, they are praying into an empty throne,' Bran thought.

One of the cultists saw his dumbfounded face, as it got closer and spoke his mind.

“Come later in the evening, if you want to meet the return of the king, ” he said.

Bran looks at the man that spoke to him, as he gestures his head up and down, he slowly walks back and finally leaves the cave, leaving the unnerving cult’s cave.