Chapter 1: Remembrance

The waters covering the submerged part of Hamel churned peacefully as the afternoon sun began to set. There on the edge stood a 16 year-old boy with hair as golden as the setting sun and a cloak as dark as a murky forest in the dead of the night. It contrasted with the beautiful white stone that surrounded him. Chung stood there, the wind gently stroking his cloak, looking ruefully at the endless skies and the distant white ruins that rested below them. Hamel was his hometown, and it was also his kingdom. But disaster had fallen upon it, as the forces of darkness had caused the water level to rise. Now demons roamed most of the country, and the citadel where he stood was the last stronghold of his nation.

All of it was caused by one man who turned into a demon. His name was Ran, and the Deadly Chaser had almost caught him. Almost defeated him. Almost delivered the justice he was itching so badly to deliver.

Almost.

He closed his eyes and he remembered the fight two weeks ago.

It had been a long fight within the Water Temple. Chung and the rest of the El Search party were all worn out by the drawn-out standoff with Ran. They all stood at the heart of the temple, both sides gathering strength as they eyed each other with lethal intent.

Chung's main weapon was a cannon by the name of Destroyer, and it was sighted right onto the beast. He let out a vicious war cry as a blue light concentrated in the Destroyer's barrel.

"Scare Chase!"

A powerful rocket encased in magical blue light blasted its way out of the barrel at supersonic speeds, and it accelerated its way straight toward its target. But suddenly there was an orange blur near Ran, and before Chung could register it, one of his friends, Ara, swung her spear and deflected the rocket away from Ran. It made contact with the temple wall and exploded.

Chung's jaw dropped and his blue eyes locked with Ara's orange and red eyes as a feeling of shock and betrayal slowly turned his body ice cold. He stood there paralyzed, the Destroyer falling from his hands and onto the ground with a loud quake.

Ran took the chance to escape. Suddenly, adrenaline surged like lightning within his demon body. Though he was wounded, he moved as if there had never been any fight at all. His body turned into an indescribable gray blur that moved upwards towards the ceiling before disappearing in a purple mist. Ran was gone, and all that was left was Ara, Chung, and the rest of the El Search Party.

Once the events that had just happened within the span of seconds registered in his mind, he said nothing. Instead he just fell to his knees screamed himself raw. How? Why? Those two questions buzzed repeatedly in his mind as he screamed at the harsh reality of his thwarted justice. He saw it, and he was so close to realizing it! But it was cut off from him by one of his dearest friends. It felt like a sharp blade had driven its pitiless steel into his back and protruded mercilessly out of his chest. His friends, the rest of the El Search Party, stood at an infinite distance from him. They stood there with their weapons down, and their faces were like stones as they saw one of their own lose himself to insanity.

Ten seconds went by.

By then all that was left to hear were the echoes of pure agony reverbing all throughout the water temple. The echoes accompanied the soft cries of Ara, who had just betrayed him. In reality, she was just protecting her brother.

Ran, whom they just fought.

She didn't want to see him die, but she wanted to somehow turn him back into the brother she once had.

Chung kept his head bowed for what seemed like another eternity before getting up from his knees. He slung his Destroyer onto his back and shot an icy cold death glare at Ara.

That glare instantly shattered her heart, and her soft cries turned into full-on sobs that dropped her onto her knees. Chung did not look back. Instead he stalked off silently into the darkness.

"Chung! Where are you going!?" exclaimed one of his friends. Elsword, a redheaded Lord Knight and Chung's best friend, was the first to break the spell of petrification that held the party in place. At the sound of his voice, Chung ran faster into the darkness, leaving behind the rest of his friends that chased after him.

However, one of them lagged behind to pick up the heartbroken Ara. Eve, the nasod queen, used her drones to fly up to the elevated platform where Ara knelt, and she knelt down beside her and draped her arm comfortingly around her back. Finally, Ara stood back up and chased after Chung. Eventually, Ara and Eve ran into the El Search party on the way out. Only Chung wasn't there.

"We searched every one of the corridors, but we couldn't find him," reported Rena. She paused, her green hair flowing slowly in the forlorn draft as she stared at Ara. It grieved her to deliver the news to one of her best friends, and that grief showed in Rena's evergreen eyes. "He's probably miles away from here by now."

Ara had no tears left. She just looked down onto the ground as dust and shadows darkened her face. Her friends consoled her as they exited the Water Temple and headed into an inn inside Hamel.

Chung remained still beside to the waters of his last city, muted by the scream he unleashed after Ara had betrayed him. He barely spoke now, as his voice had been reduced to a ghostly whisper.

The sun sank below the horizon, and the sky was taking on a darkening purple hue. Chung turned around and followed an elaborate path through a labyrinth of alleys, thoughts of confusion and guilt plaguing his mind. He found a familiar well-hidden door and went inside.

"Any intel?" He spoke softly to a man with swanky dress sitting in front of a desk cluttered with papers and other things.

"We managed to track Ran's location. He was last seen 18 hours ago near the eastern edge of Elime's Wave. Looks like he's headed for Sander, but my guess is that he's too wounded to move very fast."

"Thanks, Ciel"

Chung placed a stack of golden ED coins on the man's desk before turning around.

"You going out to chase him, Chung? It's dark already, and you seem tired."

He stopped but did not reply.

"You can rest here tonight. Room 16. You can keep it as long as you need it."

"Thanks."

Chung turned back to face Ciel, and the man placed a key on his desk next to the stack of money. A tiny red plastic tag was tied to the key which read "Rm. 16."

Chung took the key and headed into a corridor of doors. He stopped at a door labeled 16 and used the key to head inside. The room was dimly lit, but well kept. The only other light source was the moon and stars shining through a tiny window no bigger than a dish. He was impressed that a black market hideout could afford rooms as nice as these, but he didn't question it any further. He set his Destroyer in the corner and removed his cloak. His golden hair still shone brightly in the dim light, but now it was clear that he had a beautiful face marred by grief.

Beneath the cloak, Chung had on his signature white armor, the Freiturnier, and on his hip were two gigantic revolvers. His Silver Shooters. Chung removed them from their holsters and stared at them. They shone brightly in the eerie dim light as he felt their weight in his hands. He set them down on top of the dresser before removing his armor. Now Chung was just wearing a plain black T-shirt accompanied by shorts that went down to his knees but no further.

He let himself fall backwards onto the bed, and the memory foam seemed to engulf him in its comfort. He slept dreamlessly that night.