Arts

A world of heroes, swords, and magic. Empires with magical towers, demonic armies, and the Inquisition, which destroys cursed artifacts crafted by the hands of the Demon King. For centuries, evil oppressed the holy lands until a group of brave Chosen Ones defeated the demonic kingdom and its leader. However, even after the death of the Demon King, the shadows did not vanish, which was strange, but the Inquisition brought them under their control.

You were walking through the main market square of the capital, tending to your own business: whether you are a guard patrolling the streets, a young mercenary, or an ordinary female merchant—none of that matters. A strange noise from an alley reaches your ears; you stop for a moment, staring into the darkness. A group of local bandits—mere beggars or thieves—were arguing heatedly among themselves, and a sinister-looking sword lay on the cobblestones, around which the men had gathered.

A black blade that completely absorbed light, with a red trim that seemed to pulse with an eerie glow. Unknown runes of white silver were forged into the blade all the way to the tip, and the same metal formed the decorative patterns on the black hilt and guard. In a white gold slot on the pommel, a red ruby was visible, evoking a sticky feeling of apprehension crawling up your spine.

But the gang was interested only in the value of the sword; they weren't even bothered by the fact that it lay in a puddle of black liquid resembling old blood. The moment they all grabbed the sword and began pulling it toward themselves, clearly with no intention of sharing, their bodies turned into that same black filth with a rending scream, thickly staining the ground, while all the warmth of their lives flowed into the sword. A ripple passed along the blade for a moment before it remained there once more—in complete darkness and dead silence.