Black shadows fall from the night sky and impale those who were unlucky enough to be outside. They drop to the floor; their blood stains the overflown stone surface. The harrowing toll of a bell echoes through the settlement and signals the townsfolk to scramble. Men, women, and children storm through the rain with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

A sudden pull on Leor’s arm snaps his attention. A tall man with scars along his arms dressed in light armor drags him through the rain and shouts at him. The veins on his neck bulge; his mouth moves rapidly, but no sound leaves his lips.

Leor looks around in confusion. It feels as though someone has placed him here in the middle of a warzone. The rain and the smoke obscure his field of view; he can barely make out the buildings around him. He looks up at the towering man and notices a person running alongside them. They pull their hood down, revealing pearl-white hair and soft pink lips; She looks back at him with a weary smile. It fills his chest with warmth and offers a brief haven that mutes the cold storm, but at the same time, something about it feels off.

An explosion erupts from the front, shaking the earth. The soundwave pops his eardrums and the crackle of fire assault his ears. Screams fill the air as people covered in an orange blaze flail in agony until their bodies collapse, leaving behind charred flesh. Then, it hits him. He remembers the events leading up to this moment. And what comes after. They turn heel and bolt towards a tangent alleyway.

Leor yanks back his arm and plants his feet into the mud. “Father, Mother, no!”

But his words don’t reach them, and his puny hands aren’t strong enough to resist his father’s pull. Tears fill his eyes at his own helplessness. They come to a screeching halt. A group of black humanoid figures cut them off at the end of the path. Step by step, the surrounding walls are engulfed in black flames, swallowing them into a black void. They turn around, but another group of those things blocks their exit.

The wind and rain pick up speed. His father and mother kneel down to meet his eyes; Flashes of light reflect off the tears that roll down their cheeks. Leor shakes his head violently. He wants to say something, but his words are caught in his throat. It’s about to happen again, and again, he’s powerless to stop it. His parents sandwich his cheeks between theirs until the cold, wet storm is overshadowed by the warmth of their embrace.

His mother gently rubs the back of his head as she cradles him in her arms. “Leor, my baby, no matter what happens, your mother will always be there for you. You are my Leor, my light.” She kisses him on the forehead.

Her words release the valves of his tear ducts and remind him of how boyish he truly is. He squeezes them back as hard as he could, trying to make the moment last forever.

The storm roars back into existence once the Shadowmen rip them apart. They drag them to the open street and toss Leor into a cage. His father retaliates but is quickly dispatched back into the knee-deep, murky water. One of the Shadowmen mounts on top of him and shoves its hands into the flood. His father flails, kicking his feet, and clawing at the humanoid’s face, tossing water in every direction. The other Shadowmen set their sights on his mother and tear articles of clothing from her body. She tries to push them off, but she’s met with a swift blow to the stomach. They drag her up by the hair and resume striping her nude. Strands of white hair float along the surface and drift to the cage.

Leor picks up the strands and squeezes them in his palm. He repeatedly hammers his fist against the rusty steel bars until his hands bleed, and screams for them to stop. But his cries are unheard, even to himself. An emptiness rests in the pit of his stomach.

The Shadowman releases his grip on his father and a blade extends from its form. Rapid black flashes of lightning reflect off the steel. Leor’s eyes widen and let out an empty scream. He kicks at the cage. No response. He adjusts himself and throws his body at the steel bars, tipping it over and submerging half into the water. He lifts his head from the pool and faintly reaches out his hand. Time slows as the blade makes its way down.

A thunderous clap tears through the atmosphere and his eyes dart open.