Prologue: Cursed Children

The children watched, with anxious eyes as the dice were rolled at sunset, their mothers crying beside them. There were six children in total, and two were going to be selected for the Narak Kreeda (Hell Game), a tribal ceremony held once every century.

The dice, after rolling for an agonizing few moments, finally landed Ek and Teen (1 and 3). The children marked with those numbers stood in silence, their hearts stopped, as the rest of the children ran to their mothers crying with relief.

The children marked 1 and 3 were the cursed ones. A 5-year-old boy named Kin and an 8-year-old girl named Chi. This would be the last time these cursed children would see their parents.

Their mothers were dragged by their hair in front of them by the village elders, screaming to let their children go. Kin and Chi just looked in silence, knowing they couldn't stop them no matter what. If they tried to commit suicide, their parents would still be killed and two other children would be selected for the Narak Kreeda.

"Run, Kin," said his mother, her voice surprisingly calm while being dragged by her hair. "Run, please, just run away-" Thump!

She was silenced by an elder who slammed into her mouth with his fist, breaking some of her teeth. He turned to Kin, who was standing still as a rock.

The elder looked into his eyes, no emotion in them. He signaled Kin to fetch him the sacrificial weapon, a sword, that lay on the ground next to him. Kin obeyed, picking it up and bringing it towards him. This was the sword his mother would be beheaded with. The blood of the cursed weren't allowed to live.

"Good boy," said the elder in an emotionless voice.

'Good boy,' The words rang in Kin's head. 'Good boy...'

This was the breaking point for Kin. With a sudden scream, he lifted the sword with all the strength he could muster and swung it down on the elder's skull with a loud thump, cleanly splitting it open. He heard the villagers' sounds of shock from all around him as the blood spurted all over him and Chi, who was standing next to him.

"Kin," said Chi in a blank voice. "You know what you just did, don't you?"

Kin knew, turning to smile at her. Both of them were covered in blood and bits of the elder's brain and skull. He didn't need to be reminded.

He was condemned to Hell.