Barian of the Void: Prologue

Prologue

Run.

Just keep running.

Don't stop. Don't look back. Just run!

That was what she kept telling herself as her legs continued to work themselves harder than they ever had in her life. She didn't know where she was running too or what she hoped to find, but she knew she couldn't stop.

She could feel her entire body ache and her chest cramp up in pain from the heavy breathes she was taking. How long had she been running? It had felt like a lifetime to her, as if her whole life had been spent doing nothing but running. And at the same time, it felt as if she had only just started merely a few seconds ago, almost like time was taunting her for some reason. Not that she really bothered to keep track of the time, considering she was trapped in some forsaken abyss of darkness.

How had she even ended up here? She couldn't recall. The last she remembered was she went to her room to sleep and then, nothing. No memory of what happened afterwards, no recollection of her entering the room or going to bed, or anything at all. Had she even gotten to her room, she didn't know! And yet it felt as if the memory was right there in front of her, taunting her, like it wanted her to suffer in confusion.

Though did that really matter now considering the circumstance?

Shaking her head the girl continued to run as heavy pants of air escaped from her burning throat.

Was it still behind her? She didn't know, but she didn't dare to look back. Every time she did, every time she looked at 'it', her body froze up and a cold twisted feeling hit her chest. As if she was staring into the face of death itself.

Was that it? Was it death chasing her?

Why? What had she done wrong? Why her? She was still young, still beautiful, she had her whole life ahead of her. So why would death be after her, no bigger question, did this mean she was already dead?!

It couldn't be! If she was dead she had no recollection, no memory, nothing about what had caused her death. Had she died honorably? Had she simply wasted away, Brimir forbid. It was a horrible thought to consider, her dead without knowing the reason of death. If she wasn't in such a panicked state of mind she would have probably taken the time to truly comprehend the fact she might have been dead.

Or soon to be.

"Ah!"

The thoughts of the runner suddenly halted as her legs finally gave out and she tumbled to the cold rocky surface below her. Shaking in exhaustion and pain, the girl grits her teeth and puts her hands to the ground to push herself off the ground as fast as she could.

Only to freeze as a large and sharp blade crashes into the ground before her.

Eyes wide in terror the female jumps back with a startled scream before snapping her head rapidly to the direction the attack came from.

In the dark, hidden in the shadows, was a massive figure. Bigger than any creature she had seen in her life, even her mother's manticore. It's body despite being shrouded, seemed to glow with a blood red aura that seemed to flow through every inch of its' form as if it was alive, as a pair of golden eyes glared down through the dark and stared right at her.

Panic set into her mind as she crawled backwards in a desperate attempt to put distance between her and the monster before her.

Only to freeze completely as she felt her back press up against something.

Eyes wide, breath short and rapid, body shaking, and mind in a state of turmoil, the girl slowly turned her gaze behind her to see what she had collided with.

Only to be greeted by a pair of heterochromic eyes.

A dark blue abyss in one.

And a blood crimson in the other.

"Ah...ahhhh..."

Her mind froze up as she struggled to look away. To get up, to scream, to do something. But nothing came to her as the multi-colored eyes stared back.

A scream finally escaped her mouth as she pushed off the figure and turned to face it, afraid of giving her back to it.

"S-stay away!"

She begged, she pleaded, but it didn't care. Instead the figure seemed to lift up its' left arm as a crimson light began to emit from it.

"No...stop it...leave me alone!!"

Panic controlled her mind as she tried to push herself away from the monster before her. Only for a cracking sound to reach her ears as the ground below her hands suddenly breaks apart and crumbles beneath her.

Eyes wide with fear the girl tosses her arms out desperately to grab hold of something, But only air greats her as gravity finally takes hold, and her body plummets to the ground rapidly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

SMACK!!!

And slams hard onto a cold wooden floor.

"..."

A pair of eyelids twitch open revealing a soft bright pink, as their gaze takes in the wooden floor.

"What...how did I?"

Grunting softly a small female figure pushes herself up off the ground in light confusion, as she reaches to scratch the top of her head through her long pink hair. However her just as her fingers touch her head her hand rapidly pulls away as her body flinches in pain at the touch.

"Ow!"

Confusion struck the girl until she realized she must have landed on her head when she fell. Ignoring the pain the girl pushes the thought aside as she looks around to take in the sight. It was a bedroom, with white walls everywhere, shelves and decor of wondrous make all around, a pair of windows on the wall to her left, and a large soft queen sized bed in the corner.

A bed she was sleeping on not long ago until 'it' happened again. The girl's expression quickly shifts from confusion to sorrow as her eyes stare down sadly.

"That dream again," the girl whispers to herself as her hands tighten into small fist, "Why won't it just go away already. Brimir...why is this happening to me?"

Silence greets the girl as she closes her eyes.

Only for them to snap open as the sound of a bell ringing hits her ears. Head snapping upwards the girl pushes herself off the ground and rushes towards the window to her left, pushing it open as she looks out from it.

The girl flinches and raises her hand to her eyes as the bright rays of the morning sun hit her. Ignoring the brightness the girl focuses her attention back to the sight below her. What she sees quickly strips away all traces of confusion and fear from her mind.

And instead replaces it with panic.

"I overslept!!!"

Without a second thought the girl reaches for her drawer and yanks out several layers of clothing as she rapidly moves to dress herself. Today was a big day after all, and she would never forgive herself for being late for such an important event.

Because today was the day she would finally prove herself to everyone that she wasn't just some failure at magic. That she wasn't a zero.

She was Lousie de la Valliere, and today she would prove that she was a proper noble!!

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Somewhere in an endless void of dark, a figure slept in eternal silence, never noticing the faint pulsing crimson glow emitting from its' chest.