Albion Grimm

Darkness

The black fog that was the Predator appeared, and drifted away, not bothered by us at all. The eeriness I felt made me silent with trepidation. But just was the Predator turned his back on us…

“Hm? What?”

“You tripped? Are you alright? Can you walk? Wait, hey!”

“Huh? I –“

“What’s happening?” My voice shook as I looked up at Alb. The Predator appeared to be targeting random pedestrians, and the black fog enveloped the man and woman. People started screaming in panic when others started to collapse around them. Alb raised his hand, creating a light in the palm of his hand, which slid between the pedestrians and the Predator. It was momentarily stunned, but this time, the Predator didn’t disappear.

“I can’t fight in this attire. I wish I was in my usual clothes that carried a trace of magic.” Alb spoke with frustration, then quickly glanced around him. “I hate to do this, but amid this chaos, I don’t think anyone will notice me.” In a flash of light Alb was back in in normal clothing, cloak fluttering gently in the breeze. A giant axe in his hand, covered in a faint purple glow.

“Prepare yourself Predator.” As people raced to get away, Alb slashed his giant axe down on the Predator without mercy. The Predator seemed to sustain some damage, even if it looked like a shapeless black fog. Was that sad voice that called out to me at Grimm Castle the Predator? Despite my concerns, I bit my lip when the Predator finally moved to attack Alb. I was worried, but I was also afraid that I would get in the way if I tried to approach them. As I kept a safe distance from Alb and the Predator, I scanned the area to make sure the others had managed to escape.

“Oh, no…” I noticed a man with white hair sitting without a care on a nearby bench.

“Excuse me, there’s a bit of a situation going on right now! We have to escape. Let’s go!”

My voice was urgent, but the man seemed unfazed.

“I see, I see. In that case…” The old man gave me a lazy nod and handed me a roll of parchment paper. “Can you give this to my soul brother?”

“Give it to who?” I instinctively accepted the parchment paper, but I was confused about what the man wanted. The old man muttered as he watched Alb and the Predator fighting. “I use to think I would be happy if they were truly alive. What I failed to realise is that they already had admirable hearts.”

“What?”

“Thank you, young lady. I owe you my gratitude.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I appreciate what you’ve done to bridge the gap between the World of Stories and our World. And I hope there’s a happy ending for everyone.” After delivering those words the old man disappeared. But I found myself still holding the parchment paper. I quickly looked in the direction and saw Alb fighting while awkwardly trying to keep his balance. He was trying to contain the damage while making sure not to kill the Predator.

“Alb!”

As soon as I called out his name, the Predator let out a high-pitched scream. Then I was surrounded by darkness.

“What’s going on?” The world was so dark, I couldn’t see the ground, the trees, Alb or the Predator. I felt like I had been dropped inside a well of ink. My heart was pounding.

“Alb! Alb? Someone? Anyone?” Tears streamed down my face as my words echoed back to me. I clenched the parchment and stared straight ahead. I started to walk aimlessly, calling out for help as I went. No matter how far I walked, the darkness did not subside, nor could I hear my own footsteps. All I could hear was the sound of my breathing. I was starting to second guess my decision to start walking. That was when…

“Alya…”

I made a split-second decision and started running in the direction of that voice.

“Alb!” Holding onto hope, I called out his name.

“Alya!” Amid the darkness, I finally managed to find him. Alb held me tight, and I returned his embrace. All my fears faded away when I realised it was really him. Tears soaked into his cloak as I shook in his embrace, the darkness slowly fading. His hands ran slowly down my arms until they reached my hands.

“Oh… Alb, I have something to give you.” I pulled back from Alb and held out the parchment. “I think it’s from Suncatcher.” Alb’s eyes flared in surprise when I mentioned that name.

“That’s impossible. He’s dead, that’s why the story was unfinished.” Alb looked down at the parchment paper, his expression full of confusion and hesitation. Finally, he decided to open the parchment paper.

“This is!” Alb froze as if struck when he saw the letters written. “It’s Suncatcher’s handwriting.” Alb quickly scanned the parchment paper.

“What on earth does it say?”

“It’s the rest of the tale. The one he only managed to finish partway. From what I can gather, he painstakingly depicted each character. It’s definitely his writing. It’s obvious how much he cares for this story.” I could hear the tremor in Alb’s voice as he exhaled deeply.

“I managed to confront the Predator and uncover its true identity. It’s made up of characters from forgotten tales.”

“Forgotten tales?”

“Yes, tales that were forgotten or went unfinished. All the negative emotions harboured by those characters, such as hatred and jealously, converged to create the Predator. Tales featuring Red and Hansel were once abandoned. Before their characters disappeared, they were given new rolls in my kingdom, so they managed to live on. But others who were less fortunate and had nowhere to go were likely filled with hatred and jealousy. Several characters from Suncatcher’s story also went down that path.” I recalled how Alb had once told me Suncatcher’s story had been rewritten by someone else. Characters omitted from the story were eventually forgotten. “I Prided myself on rescuing as many characters as I could, but there was a limit.” Alb’s fingers that held the parchment paper tensed, and his voice sounded pained. “With the remainder of the story he left us, we may be able to save some of the characters. But those characters who aren’t part of Suncatcher’s story, can’t all be saved.” Alb furrowed his brows as he considered this.

“Don’t give up, Alb! Nothing is impossible. There might be another way.”

“You’re right. There might still be another way to save them…” He knit his brows in contemplation as he gave it some thought.

Alb said he assigned new rolls to characters who were on the verge of disappearing. This means they need a place to fit in.

“That’s it! Have them appear in a new story. They can feature prominently in a new tale.”

“A new tale…” He hesitantly repeated my words.

“I think we should have the Spinner of Tales write those stories!” I snapped my fingers. Alb stared at me without saying a word. “Well, I hear that the Spinner of Tales lost his strength after Alice went home, so writing a new story might give the Spinner of Tales new motivation. I spoke quickly to fill the awkward silence.

“H-Ha, hahaha! Who would of thought that you’d recommend the Spinner of Tales! You, after he abducted your best friend to the World of Stories. It never occurred to me that you’d suggest the Spinner of Tales!” He was laughing out loud, which was unusual for him. “There’s never a dull moment with you, Alya. It’s like you’re always introducing me to a new world.” His voice was filled with amusement as he kissed me lightly. He smiled broadly as he raised a hand.