Judas ventured deeper into the forest, his stomach growling. He spotted a group of deer grazing nearby and dashed toward them, but they bolted before he could get close.
Disheartened, he slumped under a tree, about to give up. Just then—bonk!—a red, round fruit dropped from the branches above and hit him square on the head.
"Ow!" he winced, rubbing the spot. Looking up, he saw the tree was full of similar fruits, "So many....", his mouth watered.
Without hesitation, Judas climbed up and plucked as many as he could, greedily devouring the juicy, sweet flesh. It wasn't meat, but it would do for now.
Once his hunger was eased, he continued searching for water. Guided by the distant sound of crashing water, he eventually found a crystal-clear stream. He knelt down and drank deeply, the coolness reviving his strength. Then he stepped in and bathed, letting the refreshing water wash away the grime of survival.
As dusk approached, he realized he needed meat.
He crafted a makeshift dagger from a sharpened rock and tied it to a stick using the skin of a dead snake he had found earlier. It was crude, but better than nothing.
He set out again—but he was no hunter. His efforts failed miserably.
Just as despair began to set in, he stumbled upon a freshly killed deer, its body still warm. Overjoyed, he started butchering it. But before he could finish—
A deep growl rumbled through the air, judas noticed the bushes moving, he point his dagger, "W-Who is there", his voice stammered.
Judas turned and froze. A massive tiger stepped out of the bushes and roared loudly, eyes locked onto him.
"Oh no..." Judas muttered, heart pounding. He fall and start crawling backward, pointing his crude weapon at the beast with trembling hands.
The tiger roared and lunged.
Judas narrowly dodged the first strike, but the tiger's claws grazed his chest, leaving deep, burning gashes, "AAH--", Judas cried in pain, gritted his teeth and make a distance between him and the tiger.
The tiger bent down and prepared to launch a next strike, Judas took a deep, calm breath and grabbed a nearby stone, as the tiger jumped, judas flung the stone at the tiger's face. It struck one eye, stunning the beast, judas then dodged the jump, the tiger trembled as its one eye bleeds.
Seizing the moment, Judas pulled the dagger from his cloth belt, jumped over the tiger and stabbed it into the it's neck.
"JUST GIVE ME SOME MEAT!!" he screamed, stabbing over and over in desperation.
With a final groan, the beast collapsed.
Exhausted, Judas fell beside it and passed out.
---
He was dreaming again.
That same dream.
This time, the mysterious lady was healing his claw wounds.
"L-Lady... who are you? How do you come into my dreams and heal me?" Judas asked, his voice weak.
The woman smiled, her silver eyes shimmering. This time, she spoke.
"My name is Yori. Nice to meet you, Judas. Look—your wounds are healed. But... I couldn't remove the scars. Sorry about that."
Her voice was so gentle, so warm—it made Judas smile, forgetting all his pain.
"It's okay... I'm really thankful. You saved my life—twice now. This time and... yesterday, from Lucas."
The moment that name left his lips, Yori's expression changed, She looked at judas, hold and shook his shoulders desperately.
"D-Did you say… Lucas?" she whispered, trembling. Her eyes widened in terror.
"Y...Yeah".
Suddenly, the blue sky turned blood-red. Crimson clouds swirled above, and the rain that fell wasn't water—it was blood.
Judas panicked. "What's happening?! Lady—please, say something!" He shook her, desperate, but Yori stood frozen, staring past his shoulder.
He turned slowly—behind him loomed a dark figure.
Then—
---
Judas gasped awake, panting. His wounds were gone again. The dream haunted him.
"Lucas… Who is he? Who's that woman? And why did she look so terrified?"
He glanced at the tiger's corpse beside him, the dagger still buried in its neck. He carved the meat, started a bonfire, cooked, and ate until full. Then he returned to the waterfall to drink and bathe once more.
---
The next day, Judas continued his journey. His resolve had grown stronger—he would kill Lucas, avenge his family, and reclaim his kingdom.
But the questions remained "Who was Yori? Why did she appear in my dreams?".
Years passed.
Judas learned to hunt, survive, and fight. He endured pain, healed, and rose again, becoming stronger each time.
He hadn't seen Yori since that night.
At nine years old, Judas could now fight hyenas barehanded. He hunted wild animals with his rusted, crumbling dagger. His senses had sharpened—his ears picked up even distant sounds, and his nose could detect scents on the wind. He climbed the tree, grabbed the hanging roots and swing from one tree to another.
One day, as he wandered, he stumbled upon a small wooden cottage hidden among the trees.
His heart leapt with hope. "Finally! Someone who can help me!"
Grinning, he ran toward it.
Thud!
Something hit his head, and everything went black.
---
He awoke in a hanging cage inside that wooden cottage, the interior was small, little dusty, two beds, a table with white cloth over it, above it was a fruit basket filled with juicy fruits. A fireplace which was extinguished, lightning it was a girl with white hair and green eyes, approximately same age as him knelt by the fireplace, igniting it with her hands, judas observed carefully, its her fingers which were ignited, he gasped in surprise.
Outside, through the window, he saw an older boy, in his early 20's with similar white hair practicing archery on tree targets.
"Hello?" Judas whispered, trying not to startle her.
The girl glanced up, startled but curious.
"My name is Judas... Can you please let me out?"
The girl blinked. Then—
"BIG BROTHER!!" she shrieked.
The boy rushed in.
"What happened, Diana?" he asked, eyes locking onto Judas, the girl ran away and hid beside the boy.
"He woke up," she said, pointing, still hiding behind her brother.
The boy approached the cage. "How was your nap?" he asked casually.
"I don't remember... But can you please let me out?"
His smile vanished, "Let you out?" He drew an arrow and aimed. "Answer me. Ally or enemy?".
Judas froze. "P-Please... Just let me out! I'm just a kid! I can barely move in this tiny cage!"
The boy sighed and opened the cage—but tied Judas to a chair. "Fine. Now talk. Who are you? Why are you here?"
Tears welled up in Judas's eyes. "Can't you see? I'm just a child!...are you going to torture me?".
"No more dodging. Answer me now—or I'll shoot," the boy warned, cold and sharp.
Shaking, Judas spoke. "My name is Judas. I'm... the prince of Meriot. My parents were murdered... My kingdom destroyed. My people... slaughtered."
The room fell silent.
Diana looked at her brother. "Big Brother...he's... just like us."
The boy nodded solemnly. "I'm Peter. This is my sister, Diana. Our kingdom, Junich, was attacked six years ago. Our father was a sea merchant...and our mother used to work in textile factory... they- they both were killed too." Peter sniffed and his eyes came up with tears.
His hands clenched into fists, and voice become raged.
"All because of our greedy king—he sold our whole kingdom to a cruel king in order to cover up his lost finances in lost war!
The other king who bought the kingdom start keeping us as slaves, my dad encouraged a rebellion force including people of Junich and we all decided to strike against the cruelty.
B-but....but that king didn't flinched and ordered his mens to open fire at all of us, some who survived escaped including me and diana but...our Mom and Dad... they..."
Peter dropped to his knees, crying. Diana embraced him, and tears filled her own eyes. Judas joined them, sobbing silently.
"They took everything from me," Peter whispered. "All I had left was Diana. So we ran here. We both together explored many places and learn many things about survival....including Magic, I've been training her to survive in this world—where death waits around every corner."
Judas wiped his tears and looked Peter in the eyes. "Then let me train with you. Please, Mister Peter."
Peter's gaze hardened, "You....you want me to train you?", Judas nodded, his eyes filled with determination, Peter lean closer and asked, "What will you do with the magic I'll teach you?", Judas replied, "I want to kill someone who call himself a god, its Lucas!".
Both Peter and Diana startled, "L-lord Lucas?".
Judas further added, "He isn't a god...he is a demon, he is responsible for slaughter of my parents and kingdom, I can't let him live after destroying my will to live, that's why", judas look in the eyes of Peter, "I want you to teach me master".
Peter sighed, "But...I'm only aware of basic level magic, are you intrested in learning it? Because your goal is really big".
Judas nodded without a second thought.
"Fine. From today, you'll train with Diana. I'll be your instructor." He untied judas from the chair.
---
Outside, the training began.
"Listen up, Judas. Magic is the physical form of willpower and energy. The more you have, the stronger your magic becomes. Strength, heritage, and mental endurance help—but raw will is king."
Judas nodded.
"Now, close your eyes. Focus. Feel the energy within you. Let it flow around your body—make it your aura." He turned to Diana, "Diana...show him how to do that."
Diana closed her eyes, clenched her palm to fist and focused, an orange aura burst to life, wrapping her like a glowing flame.
"Wow! Can I do that too, Master?"
Peter smiled. "Yes. Close your eyes, clench your fists, and concentrate, this is your first time so your energy might be sealed." Peter put his palm on Judas's back, "I'll break the seal so that you can unleash your aura."
Peter took a deep breath, "Ready?"
"Ready!" Judas shouted.
Peter counted, "Three... two... one—!"
He released his energy into Judas.
BOOM!
An explosion occurred, its shockwave sent Peter and Diana flying back.
As the smoke cleared, they stared in disbelief.
Judas stood tall, eyes closed, surrounded by a brilliant red aura.
"No way..." Diana gasped. "Is that—?!"
Peter narrowed his eyes. "That's not normal aura."
Judas opened his eyes, dazed, his aura disappeared. "Did I do it?"
"You did," Peter said, serious now. "But your's wasn't ordinary aura"
"What does that mean?", judas asked with curious expressions.
"There are two aura types," Peter began. "First is normal which Diana and I have."
"Second is Special—there's a saying that special aura unleash with an explosion at its first use."
Peter leaned closer, "Judas have you ever been trained?"
"No, Master."
"Then your bloodline... it must be special."
"But my family knows nothing about magic," Judas insisted.
Peter's expression darkened. "Are you sure you're really their child?"
Judas snapped. "How can you say that?! They were my parents! So what if they didn't have magic?! I do! And you're here to teach me! Just do that and stop digging into my past!"
Peter raised his hands. "Alright, alright, don't take my words seriously, Let's focus on your training. Your aura… it's unique. Might not even have a name. But I can still teach you the basics. For more, you'll need a proper master—or figure it out on your own."
Judas nodded. "I understand, Master."
---
That night, after dinner, Judas lay in bed under a fur blanket.
And the dream returned.
---
He sat on the bench in that endless grassland, Yori beside him once again.
She looked sad.
"It's been a while, Yori," Judas said.
She smiled faintly, "I'm sorry for disappearing suddenly Judas, I've tried to make a contact with you but i couldn't."
Judas smiled, "No problem, I just wanted to thank you... for saving me that day. Without you, I'd be dead."
Yori's voice was softened with a pleasent smile, she added, "Don't worry. As a ■... I had to."
Judas blinked in confusion, "Pardon, As a what?"
She smiled again. "As a ■."
The words came out distorted. He couldn't hear them.
Pressure built in his head. It pounded, screamed.
Then—
"Oye, wake up! Judas!!"
Judas bolted upright, gasping.
Diana stood over him, annoyed and half asleep. "Why do you scream so loudly? Let me and Brother Peter sleep please!"
"Sorry… I had a weird dream," he mumbled, rubbing his face.
Diana huffed. "You better not do it again."
Judas nodded, but his thoughts raced.
"What did she say? As a what?
And most importantly… who is she?"
...
---{end of chapter 4}