The stars of the night sky glimmered over a small backwater village. The warm summer air was filled with the sounds of festivities. The village was lively, as men ate and drank, women danced around a large bonfire, which sat in the middle of the village. Among the village, 3 friends excitedly made their way around the festival: Oscar, Irene, and Aslan.

  Oscar, 17 years old, is a natural leader, very extroverted, bright, and charismatic, which is complemented by his golden-blonde hair and bright yellow-green eyes. He was about average height for a human, with a lean build. Irene, 16 years old, had both gracefulness and serenity, and an innocent, bubbly personality that drew people in by their very nature. Her wavy, light brown hair, smooth as silk, and large, hazel-colored eyes, along with a radiant smile, enhanced her cute features, forming an enchanting beauty. Finally, Aslan, who is an orphan that was found near the edge of the village as an infant 16 years prior, was adopted and raised by the people. His raven-black hair and dark purple eyes seemed like the antithesis of his friends. He was nearly a full head taller than Oscar and had a lean build. He was quiet, but astute and perceptive. Most of the village children tended to stay away from him, but Oscar and Irene embraced him, and the 3 were inseparable.

  The 3 of them played games together, ate food from the different stalls, and enjoyed all of the activities the festival had to offer. Later, Oscar and Aslan sat down at a table together, as Irene took to the center of the village. “It’s almost time for the main act. Are you ready?” Oscar said to Aslan. “I’ve been anticipating this since the night started,” Aslan responded to him, “Our performances will surely be the best of them all.” The excitement in the village turned to anticipation as the noise calmed down, waiting to see the performance that Irene would put on. Irene began to sing, her voice ringing out among the villagers, as people came over to watch. The flow of her dance enthralled them, her graceful movements drawing the attention of the crowd. “Every time I see her perform, I can’t help but feel awestruck,” Oscar said. “It’s truly breathtaking. She may be the best performer on the entire continent.” Aslan said. Irene continued her performance, weaving her song and dance into an enchanting display that kept the people’s gaze fixated on her. The flames behind her flickered in the night, as if dancing with her. As the performance ended, the villagers erupted in cheers, and the people resumed their celebrations. Irene went and sat at the table with Oscar and Aslan. “Were you watching? I’m sure you couldn’t resist keeping your eyes on me.” Irene teased. “As always, you never fail to deliver a breathtaking performance,” Oscar complimented. “Truly marvelous, no one can compare to you,” Aslan added. “Well, Aslan, it’s our turn now,” Oscar said, with a grin on his face, turning to Aslan. “Let’s do this,” Aslan nodded.

  The two of them took to the center of the village, getting into position. Yet again, the crowd died down, waiting in anticipation to see what kind of performance the boys would bring. Oscar stood up straight and unsheathed the sword that rested on his hip. “Foul demon lord! Your reign of terror shall end here and now! The time has come for you to answer for your evil deeds!” Oscar exclaimed, pointing his sword towards Aslan. Aslan also stood up, drawing his spear off his back and slamming the butt into the ground. “Insolent one, attempt to slay me, and I shall remove your head from your neck!” Aslan declared, letting out a maniacal laugh. The two of them crouched down and lunged towards each other. Oscar swung his sword in a downward motion, and Aslan deflected the blade to the side with the pole of his spear, spinning around and launching a kick aimed at the center of Oscar’s chest. Oscar planted his foot into the ground, twisting his torso so Aslan’s foot pierced the air next to him, as he readied his fist, shooting a punch directed at Aslan’s face. Aslan pulled his leg back and crossed his arms in front of his face to defend, as Oscar’s punch slammed him backward. The two stared at each other, both with a large grin on their face, as they charged towards each other again. They began trading blows, the crowd cheering them on. Aslan began to pull back, with Oscar gaining ground, until Oscar launched an uppercut, cleaving Aslan’s spear in half. Aslan reeled back, falling to one knee. “No! You little pest, I will not be defeated!” Aslan yelled out. Oscar stood up, lifting his sword into the air with both hands, pointing towards the sky. “With this attack, you shall be finished, once and for all!” Oscar shouted. His sword began to glow as magical power converged into the blade. The sword shone, sending out a bright flash, as the villagers covered their eyes. When the light dissipated, Aslan was gone, and Oscar stood in front of the people, victorious. The crowd erupted yet again, but much louder than before. The cheers went on for a while before they died down as the festivities began to come to an end. Oscar met up with Irene, who said, “Quite the show, but it seemed like you two were enjoying that a little too much.” “No, no, that was all part of the act, I promise-” Oscar replied, putting his hands in the air next to his head, with a smug look on his face.

  Oscar and Irene made their way up a hill behind the village. When they reached the top, they found Aslan there, lying in the grass by himself, and they lay down next to him. The 3 of them lay there together, watching the stars in anticipation. “I’m so excited,” said Oscar, "this is the part that everyone’s waiting for!” “It’s such a pain to have to wait a whole year for the festival, but it’s amazing every time it comes,” Irene said. Oscar and Irene looked over to Aslan, who looked back and gave a soft smile. “I’m glad I’m here with you two,” he said. “Hey, are you guys making a wish?” Oscar exclaimed, “My wish would be to become an adventurer and protect those who can’t protect themselves.” “What are you, a little kid?” Irene replied, giggling, “I hope our little hero here will protect me if some big, bad monsters attack,” she said, snarkily. “Then, what’s your wish?” Oscar replied. Irene put her index finger over her mouth, “Lady’s secret,” she teased. “Hmph, fine then,” Oscar said as he stood up and unsheathed the sword around his waist, pointing it towards the sky, “By my blade, I shall not let any harm come your way, my lady,” he said, imitating a ‘noble’ accent. Aslan chimed in, saying, “Those are some bold words for someone who can barely beat me in a sparring match,” as he put his hands behind his head. Oscar looked down at Aslan, “We’re about evenly matched without magic. When I do use my magic, then I have the edge, of course, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to take you down. Even without magic, your speed, dexterity, and razor-sharp senses are second-to-none, it’s almost inhuman. I really was going all-out during our performance. I shudder to imagine your strength if you could use magic,” he said. “Yeah, you went all-out and broke my spear. I don’t remember that being in the script,” Aslan said. Aslan’s expression dropped as he looked up towards the stars and let out a sigh, “My wish would be to have the ability to use magic,” he said solemnly. Oscar and Irene looked at him, sad expressions on their faces, and lay back down in the grass to look upwards at the glittering night sky. Aslan had never been able to use magic, and yet he was still a decent fighter despite that. Some of the other village children used to tease him, but Oscar and Irene never did, embracing him as one of them. Yet Aslan never let himself be fazed by the teasing, simply letting his actions speak for him. His lack of mana had never bothered him, as there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  As they looked up at the stars, a quick streak of light jumped across their vision, then another, and another until the night sky was full of the bright flashes of streaking lights. “It’s starting! Look at all those stars!” Oscar exclaimed. “It’s beautiful,” Irene breathed. Aslan stared up in awe as the stars jumped every which way, captivated by their celestial charm. Cheers began to erupt from the village below as the villagers watched the show above them. As he found himself lost in thought while watching the stars shoot across the sky, he closed his eyes, but something felt off. He could sense the presence of the villagers, but there was something else, a new presence, and a large one at that; it felt like the presence of many people. Aslan stood up, scanning the area. “What’s up? Something wrong?” Oscar said, confused. Observing the environment, he noticed something; Aslan’s eyes widened, as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing: the lights of hundreds of torches shrouded in the forest nearby. “We must make haste, there is an army making their way to the village at this moment, they’re marching through the forest,” Aslan said. Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard from the village. The cries from the villagers reached them. Aslan looked down at the village, where now a large stone lay where the bonfire once was, scattered and destroyed on the village grounds, the flames that once lit up the night for the celebration of the festival now caught onto the stalls and houses, and the village began to go up in flames. Aslan, Oscar, and Irene jumped up and hustled back to the village as the army drew closer. As they entered the village, the scene was devastating. The blood of villagers stained the ground, homes were reduced to rubble, and the screams and cries of the people surrounded them. Oscar and Irene went off to rescue the villagers, evacuating as many as they could, as Aslan climbed up the overlook at the front gate of the village. From his position, his sharp vision allowed him to see the force that was nearing the village. An army of about 100 soldiers marched out of the forest, with one commander near the back. Aslan climbed down and met up with Oscar and Irene, who had been able to evacuate a majority of the citizens of the village. “Most of the villagers are out, but if that army keeps coming, they won’t be able to escape,” Oscar said. “What did you see up there, Aslan?” Irene asked. “It’s just infantry, with one commander. What should we do?” Aslan replied as he and Irene both turned towards Oscar. His expression hardened as he said, “Aslan, we must stay and fight. Irene, you guide the villagers away. We will buy you time to allow everyone to escape.” Aslan and Irene nodded in agreement as the defensive wall around the village crumbled and the army entered the village.

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  Oscar and Aslan stood in front of the army, prepared to fight as the soldiers entered. Two soldiers charged at Aslan and Oscar. One swung his sword in a downward arc at Aslan, but his sword only met air as Aslan quickly sidestepped his attack. Before the soldier could recover, Aslan had planted a swift kick to his midsection, knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling across the ground. The other soldier swung in a wide arc at Oscar, who parried the blade, setting the soldier off-balance, and in one motion, placed a clean slice across the soldier’s chest, as he fell to the ground. As more and more soldiers attacked, and their numbers dwindled, Aslan and Oscar continued to fight, backs against each other, with all of their power, halting the army’s advancement. Suddenly, a powerful voice boomed, “Stop. Fall back. I will take care of these two.” The man behind the voice came into view. It was the commander, a beast of a man, built as tough as a golem; his face wore an expression that clearly had been hardened by battle over time. His armor gleamed in the light of the flames, its blue accents contrasting with the colors of the battlefield. He carried a greataxe on his back, though it remained there at the moment. Aslan and Oscar stood strong in the face of their opponent, despite being worn down by the ongoing battle. The commander took in a deep breath and put one foot forward. Aslan knew he was about to target Oscar, turning towards him in an attempt to defend him. Before he could, the commander moved to stand immediately over Oscar, smashing him to the side with a vicious backhand, sending him flying into a nearby house. Aslan’s eyes widened, "OSCAR!" he yelled. He launched himself towards the commander, pressuring him with a flurry of blows. The commander easily deflected the blows as if Aslan was no more than a fly, sending another vicious backhand directly into Aslan's midsection, sending him tumbling, but he quickly recovered. He was shocked, but he quickly shook it off as the commander turned his eyes toward him. I can’t afford to take a hit like that again, he thought. The commander, again, took a deep breath and stepped forward towards Aslan. Aslan, in turn, began running forward to attack, but in the blink of an eye, the commander had moved behind Aslan, fist out, ready to hit him with the same backhand. Reflexively, Aslan stopped, ducking forward as the fist flew above him, kicking backwards and hitting the commander in the midsection, causing him to take a step back, but the commander’s armor absorbed the impact, without even a scratch. Aslan recovered, jumping to create distance between himself and the commander. “Impressive,” the commander exclaimed, as a smile formed on his face, “no one has been able to dodge that backhand before, your reflexes are sharp. That kick was something, as well, that requires great dexterity. Had I been a weaker man, that may have hurt a lot more.” “My senses are a lot sharper than other people,” Aslan replied. “Is that so? Fortunately for you, moving like that tires me out, so I won’t be doing that again. Unfortunately for you, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to defeat me,” The commander said, getting back into a battle stance.

  As the two of them got ready to continue the fight, Aslan froze, his eyes widening, as a suffocating pressure surrounded him, forcing him still. “What.. is this presence..?” he strained, unable to move. Aslan looked up as a woman descended to the battlefield. Her beauty was ethereal, pale skin reflecting the moonlight, blood-red eyes, and jet-black hair flowing in the nighttime breeze. The mana in the air around her cracked and cackled, like electricity. The sheer amount and pressure of her mana distorted the air around her, causing a rippling effect. Aslan looked back toward the commander, who was down on his knees, his forehead planted into the ground. “My Lady, please tell me what brings you here,” the commander said. The woman shifted her gaze from Aslan to the commander, who trembled, then back to Aslan; her eyes felt like they were watching his very soul. He could hear his heart pounding inside his head, beating faster, a cold sweat ran down his back, his breaths were ragged and hurried. Fear. Terror. Those were the emotions that described what he was feeling at this moment. Somewhere in his mind, Aslan’s senses were telling him how powerful this woman was. His eyes were locked on hers, and he could sense the malice in her gaze. Aslan stared up at her, still frozen in terror. I can’t stay like this, I have to do something, I can’t lose, not here, not like this, he thought. He began to subdue his fear and terror in the face of her, his willpower burning as fiercely and brightly as the flames in the village. He lifted himself to his feet, resisting the pressure, and now looked to her again, not with terror, but with determination. She stared back at him; her mere aura still suffocating, but Aslan was able to resist. Memories flashed in through his head of Oscar, Irene, his friends, and the village that adopted him, giving him a place to go when he had none, and being the family he did not have. Suddenly, as the memories faded, time instantly froze around Aslan. The flames froze in position, and the commander and soldiers stayed completely still. Even the woman was frozen in place. The pressure Aslan felt from her seemed to fade, but he was also frozen in place. He looked above him and noticed something. One small black feather, the same color as his hair, fluttered down like a flower petal in spring. Aslan watched as it fell, captivated by it. What is this feather? Where am I? What’s going on here? Did she do this? Thoughts ran through his mind as he struggled to wrap his head around the situation. As the feather reached the ground, time continued, and the pressure from the woman returned, but for some reason, he was able to resist it now, standing strong on his feet. As he looked around, the soldiers were scrambling, as if in fear of something, and the commander was back on his feet, great axe in hand, ready to defend the woman, facing Aslan, with his killing intent on full display in his expression. He looked towards her, who had a slight expression of surprise, but it turned into a smile, unsettling Aslan, who sensed the deception in her face. He’d seen that expression before, from Irene, who would use it whenever she wanted to get something from someone. Unbeknownst to Aslan, from the perspective of those outside him during the moments in which time froze, Aslan had stood up, looking up to the woman, his purple eyes flashed, and a menacing aura began to leak from him. From his back grew a single black wing, the feathers gleaming softly against the night sky, but as quickly as it appeared, it dissipated, and Aslan returned to normal. The woman spoke, “You’re quite the interesting specimen.” She walked over to Aslan, staring down at him, still smiling. “You should come fight for me,” she said. Aslan was taken aback, “What? Why would I ever do that?” he said, feeling insulted that she would even suggest such a thing. “You dare disrespect a Goddess to her face? How insolent can you be?” the commander roared. The woman turned her head to the commander, “Silence,” she commanded, as the commander stood down. Goddess? Aslan thought, This woman is a Goddess? Oh, it makes sense now, that must be why I was so terrified and the source of this pressure. Then he figured it out; his mind thought back to a moment from when he was younger, reading a book about the gods. The jet-black hair, blood-red eyes, piercing gaze, cackling mana, and immense pressure. “You’re a Goddess,” Aslan said, “Eclair, Goddess of Chaos.” She let out a laugh, “That’s right, I am Eclair, the Goddess of Chaos,” she said, “and you are Aslan, orphan of this village, and someone who piques my interest.” “How do you know my name? How do you know I was an orphan?” Aslan said, with a mix of surprise and confusion. “Nothing is unknown to the gods,” she replied. “I’ll repeat myself, I want you to fight for me,” she said. “And I’ll repeat myself, why should I fight for you after you just destroyed our village?” Aslan said. “You don’t seem to notice the situation you’re in,” she said, “if I willed it, I could have you killed instantly, but I’ll cut you a deal.” “A deal? What kind of deal?” Aslan asked. Eclair moved back, stretching her hands out, “Aslan, I want you to form a contract with me. Join my forces, defend me, fight for me, devote yourself to me, give your life for me,” she said, “in return, I will leave this village and spare the villagers.” Upon hearing this, Aslan felt conflicted. I have to do it, for the sake of the villagers, for Oscar, for Irene. On the other hand, I’ll be forced to fight for the person who is responsible for all of this in the first place, he thought. “Oh, and I’ll give you one more thing.” Eclair said. “And what could that be?” Aslan replied, skeptical. “I can give you what you desire most. The thing you desire more than even your friends and family. The one thing you never got to experience,” she said. Aslan’s eyes widened; he knew what she was about to say. “Magic,” she said, “I can grant you magic. I can give you the power of a goddess’s magic. All your life, you’ve always envied the way your friends and everyone can use magic, but you can't, isn’t that right? If you sign this contract with me, I can make you stronger than anyone else. Just imagine what you could do if you could use magic.” Aslan’s conflict grew stronger, but he couldn’t resist. She’s right. I’ve always wanted to use magic as Oscar and Irene could. It’s always been the only thing I lack. The one reason why I began to fall behind compared to everyone else. I’ve longed so much for it, and now it’s here in front of me, all I have to do is sign the contract. His mind was in turmoil, thoughts racing in his head. He took a deep breath and made up his mind. “Fine,” Aslan declared, “I will accept your contract.” Eclair smiled, “Good choice,” she said. She placed her hand on Aslan’s chest, over his heart. She whispered something in his ear, but Aslan couldn’t understand it. When she released her hand, Aslan felt a burning sensation in his heart. He clutched at his chest, “What did you do to me?” he said, writhing in pain. “That’s the contract making its mark. If, by my decree, you were to disobey me or fail to abide by the terms of the contract, your heart will stop immediately,” she said. Aslan fell to the ground as he felt his consciousness fading. His vision became blurry, tears streaming in his eyes. “Oscar… Irene… I promise, I will save you,” he said weakly, before he blacked out.