From Shield to Sword

Prologue

Hell. That is the best way to describe this place. A wave of flames consuming the city. Buildings collapsing from the chaotic force. People desperately trying to escape from this disaster. No. Disaster isn't the right word. Disaster is too calm compared to the situation we have now.

Cataclysm. That fits better.

Walking along the remains of a ruined street a lone boy makes his way through this hellscape, his blonde hair covered in dirt and ash. Reaching the end of the street he slowly makes his way up a mountain of rubble.The boy reaches the top of the mound and peers over the horizon, his blue eyes witnessing the scene that was spread out before him.

An entire landscape of fire and despair. Buildings and streets are torn up from the destruction. The dreaded woes of those caught in this chaos are heard from every direction. Off in the distance there seems to be a small but brilliant golden light shining through the flames but is quickly covered as a collapsing building blocks his line of sight.

In another direction, back to where he just came from, is a giant dark tower. What ever this structure is made of can't possibly be made from human hands. Floating atop said tower is a black and red orb that fluctuates with a strange energy.

Something about this… thing cause despair to envelop the boy, so he turns away.

'How long? How long have I been here?'He asks to himself as he makes his way down the other side of the mound, hoping the way he's heading will lead him out of this wasteland.

As he trudges his way down the mound he stumbles over a piece of rebar that's sticking out and begins to tumble, falling to the cracked ground below on his back.

He lays there for a moment, peering up to the smoke covered sky that had long since consumed the light of the stars and even the moon itself.

'How long have I been walking. Minutes? Hours? I don't even know how much longer can do this.' Slowly rolling over, he picks himself up and begins the hell march again.

Continuing his march, he begins to see figures in the distance. 'People? Other people?! Finally, I can make it out of here!' He begins to pick-up the pace, believing he's finally found a way out of this nightmare. 'I'm saved! I'm finally… saved?'

Slowly… the last bits of hope begin to die. Just like those that lay before him. The figures he saw weren't people. At least… not living ones. What lays before are the partially charred corpses of other people who appeared to have been trying to escape the flames. He started to cry, beginning to accept the truth.

He wasn't making it out of here alive.

With all hope lost he clings to the sheer desire to live, no matter how slim that may be. Continuing his desperate trek, he begins to hear something. "Help me… Help…" Following the cry for help he comes to the sight of a woman holding her child trapped underneath fallen debris. "Help me… Please… Help." The woman looks to the sound of someone's approach and spots the boy, "Boy, please help. My child" She tries to hold out the infant to him, hoping he'll take her child. Not understanding what the women was saying he lowly begins to walk towards the woman but is soon stopped when more of the fire spreads, cutting off the path that led forward.

"No! Please! My child! At least save my child… Please… My child…" Slowly the woman's voice dies out as the flames consume her.

Trying his hardest to ignore what just occurred, he returns to his path. He comes across many more people, each pleading, begging, to be saved.

Watching as parents try to pull their children from rubble, only for more to fall and crush them. As lovers try to hold one another up only to fall and be devoured by the hungry flames, burning in each other's embrace.

He ignores them all. 'I'm sorry. I can't save you. I don't think I can even save myself anymore.' All he can do anymore is push forward and ignore the others that so desperately wanted to live.

In a desperate attempt to live he begins to leave behind the things that made him who he is. His name, his memories, even his humanity. Everything sacrificed in the futile attempt to survive as the fire takes that as well.

He begins to feel the last reserves of strength leave his legs as he falls over and collapses onto the ground, still warm from the fire's wrath. 'I can't go on anymore. This is it, isn't it? This this how I die. Even after I left so many others to die, even when I tried so hard to push forward?' Slowly the last of the light inside of him begins to die out and he feels death begin its cold, gentle embrace.

Rain begins to fall. The sky looks to be crying, as though the Heavens are attempting to put out the unholy fire. 'At least… the fire won't spread anymore.' Minutes seem to pass by as he continues to slip away. He feels some rubble fall and land on his legs, pinning them.

Slowly his arm stretches out in one last foolish attempt to pull himself from the fire. He begins to hear something. It's quite at first, drown out by the rain. The foot-steps grow closer as some of the rubble was removed from him.

He feels someone grip his outstretched hand and grasp it. His hollow eyes look upon the form of a man with dark hair, wearing a long coat and a suit underneath. His eyes are stained with tears and a smile upon his face as he begins to speak. "He's alive! He's alive!" The man says, almost like a chant. "Thank you." The man says with joy seeping into his voice.

'Why do you look so… happy? How did finding me make you happy?' The man seems to pull something out from his coat as the boy begins to lose conscious. The last thing he sees is a blinding light envelope everything. One final thought comes to mind before everything goes black.

'I wonder if I can ever be happy like that?'

Hello everyone. Maestro here. This is my first story and I'm still working on the next couple of chapters and I'm not too sure how it feels quite yet so I wanted to get the prologue out there to see how it goes.