Prologue
It is night.
One of those nights when everything is enveloped by the ebony velvet of darkness, while waiting for the first life-giving rays of the sun.
The soft breeze of the night wind flutters the green canopy of the dormant trees. Hidden by the swaying branches, dreaming little birds snuggle together in the cosy warmth of their nests.
The silence is only broken by the complaining to-whoo of an owl, but in a few seconds, even he falls silent.
All of a sudden, the sound of rushing footsteps disturbs the peace of the forest. A young man and a girl are fleeing from a menacingly dark shadow.
– Run! Run! – the man cries out, his voice quivering with exhaustion. – If he catches up... – he is already running out of strength, but he knows they must not slow down.
The girl is gripping his hand tightly, rushing together with him, but she knows she won’t be able to hold on for much longer; fierce tendrils are clinging to her feet, tearing her soft skin as she breaks free, leaving a bloody reminder of her captivity. Tears fill her eyes. She feels that the end is near, but doesn’t want to lose her beloved yet.
When she looks back, she doesn’t see him, but she knows the dark shade is still on their trail. And she is not wrong.
– There is no escape – hisses an ear-splitting voice from only a few steps behind them. – You can’t fool the servant of the Dark, the almighty Ahriman gets what he desires! Always!
He stops in his tracks and his razor-thin lips stretch into a mocking smile. He stretches his skinny arms towards the sky, and starts chanting some strange spells from ancient times. His voice rumbles through the night, getting everywhere, and making every living being tremble with fear.
The moon, which was illuminating the path of the fugitives with her silky light, now hides her shiny face, and even the sky covers his million starry eyes with a grey blanket of clouds. The celestial lights give way to an all-overwhelming darkness; they don’t want to be witnesses of the horror they already feel coming.
At this moment, the ground opens with a mighty rumble, right before the feet of the fleeing couple, and horrifying skeleton arms emerge from the depths. They can’t grasp the girl, but there is no escape for the lad; a tremendous force crashes into his chest and the night is soon filled with the sound of cracking bones and the screams of agony.
With his last strength he looks at the girl. He tries to say something to her, but his last breath has already left his lungs. His eyes lose the glimmer of a living soul, and his head falls back lifeless.
The girl reaches out for her beloved, screaming in pain, but all effort is futile. The infernal arms pull the limp body into the dark depths, and the crust of the earth closes behind them with an eerie rumble.
She falls to the ground, tears flowing from her eyes in heavy streams. Her soul is aching with emptiness.
She doesn’t even try to escape anymore. She is sitting there, crumpled to the ground, with an empty look in her eyes.
She is numb, has completely lost her ability to feel anything. Not even the pain, as her pursuer strikes her chest with his crooked dagger and rips out her still beating heart.
