*Cough… Cough*
"Is this… how things end?" Aksa questioned, his lips shivering as he stared at the blood moon hanging in the sky while blood started dripping past the corners of his mouth.
That day marked the day of the blood moon eclipse, an incident that happens once every one hundred years.
This incident is usually one that disturbs the livelihood of the world's residents, due to the blood moon spreading its ash on this world, which is extremely venomous to the people living there.
Yet, this usually only lasts a few hours, maybe days at the very most, then people will return to their lives like nothing before.
However, this time was different. Once the blood moon covered the sun, a deafening explosion sound echoed across the empire.
The people took a peek outside through their windows, only for their eyes and mouths to open wide in shock. The blood moon has cracked once it reached its summit.
Its surface, which looked like a living thing with vein-like lines that expanded and shrank repeatedly as if it was pumping blood deep inside it, was now separated into different parts, each part connected with the other through those vein-like strings.
Screams of terror filled the entire empire as the shattered blood moon cast its crimson light over the whole land.
Then, the ground beneath started shaking violently. Then, it started cracking, with spear-like boulders of obsidian opening those cracks further as they appeared from the depths beneath, protruding out quickly as if trying to hunt the people.
Windows started shattering as the houses were on the brink of collapsing. Then, unsettling screeches started emerging from every corner of the empire as the dead started emerging from underneath.
"Is this how I die?" Aksa murmured in a low voice, the words barely coming out of his mouth as he spoke. He lifted his head slightly, looking at the sharp red boulder that had pierced through his body.
This was one among many small shards that got detached from the blood moon, and since they were no longer connected to the moon's body in any way, they started raining on the ground.
As Aksa groaned in pain, he tried to remember what had happened before he found himself in this situation.
Then, the memories of him in the forest that was now behind him started flooding his mind.
Just the day before, his body was being tossed around inside a carriage heading towards this forest. His thin, frail body was constantly colliding with the wooden wall of the carriage, while he couldn't even move his limbs properly.
Rusty metal shackles closed around his legs and arms, with thick chains connecting between them.
A metal collar that looked like a dog leash was wrapped around his neck, with a chain connecting him to the other bodies that were inside the carriage with him.
You could barely see any sign of life in their faces as they tilted their heads down, fixating their blank eyes on the carriage floor.
Aksa was one of the many salves that the baron owned. They were dragged to this forest with the sole purpose of clearing every tree in there, even if they drop dead one by one.
However, he was soon forced to start running for his life. His legs were stumbling, and his lungs were gasping for air as he tried to navigate through the falling trees and the shaking ground.
Once the moon cracked, Aksa found himself witnessing the death of everyone around him. Either a blood moon shard would land directly on them, pinning them to the ground, or the spears of obsidian would pierce through their bodies, hanging them in the sky.
Although his body refused to move at first as the shock and horror of what he was seeing stunned him in place, Aksa managed to push himself forward, moving his legs against their will.
But he felt weak in his knees once he exited the forest, before his legs collapsed to the ground.
His eyes widened as he saw that the abandoned village where they spent the night just the day before was now reduced to mere ruins.
He slowly raised his head as his breath came out in ragged gasps, only to see a being like nothing he had ever seen before floating in the air.
Its body was a swirling mass of cosmic mist, an ethereal substance that seemed to slowly shift like liquid.
This abnormal being was contained within a dark purple suit, made of elegant cloth that glimmered as if it contained the stars of the entire universe within it.
As it floated in the air, the debris of the houses was orbiting its body slowly while holding a black book in his hand, staring at it with utmost focus.
Suddenly, the being turned its head, facing Aksa, who was trembling on the ground. As he looked at it, Aksa felt a cold shiver running down his spine. Its face was pure darkness, lacking any feature that any living being would have.
Aksa's breath caught in his throat. Something within him was screaming at him to run, but no matter how much he tried, his body refused to move.
Aksa tried to scream for help, but it was no use. Not a single word came out of his mouth. Not even his lips moved, as if they were constrained by something.
The being suddenly closed the book in its hand before it started turning into black ashes that merged with its body.
Then, it descended to the ground, its hands behind its back as it slowly got closer to Aksa..
Once it reached close to Aksa, it tilted its head slightly. For a few moments, it kept staring at the boy shivering in fear. Yet, it wasn't staring into his eyes, but rather, it was staring deep into his soul.
Suddenly, the being raised one of its arms, pointing at Aksa before emitting a loud voice. It sounded like a distorted siren noise that pierced through the boy's ears.
For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped. As if everything around them had frozen in place.
However, that didn't last long. Aksa suddenly felt a crushing force applied to his body. It felt as if gravity had increased tenfold, pushing him down and forcing him to lie flat on the ground.
Then came a sharp whistle—like reality ripping apart. Then, he felt an excruciating pain enveloping his body.
*Aaaargh*
Aksa couldn't help but shout at the top of his lungs as he felt a burning sensation throughout his entire body, as if flames were eating him from the inside out.
Blood began gushing out, overflowing through his eyes and mouth. His tears were now mixed with blood as the white surrounding his golden pupils started turning red.
His lungs were desperately gasping for air, even though every breath he took was seeping through the punctures that were now present in his lungs after the blood moon shard had pierced through his body.
"What… is this?…" A thought surfaced in his mind as his eyes landed once again on the moon. A pinched expression covered his blood-drenched face as he remembered the others who were with him in the carriage. "Is this… how everyone… felt?"
"Is this… Death?" He questioned as he lifted his hand in the air, looking at the blood that drenched his fingers. His heart was struggling to pump any more since he lost almost all of it, and not so long after, his vision began blurring.
His hand suddenly moved, trying to reach the mysterious being that was still standing before him. However, it quickly collapsed to the ground.
Soon after, He no longer felt any part of his body, and the pain engulfing his mind slowly faded away, as if he melted into nothingness. Then, everything faded to darkness.