Chapter 9 The Three Boys
The first thing Eemil did after being transported to another world was swear. Loudly. Repeatedly. And creatively.
"Perkele!"
"This is complete bullshit."
The dark-haired teenager kicked a tree.
The tree remained unimpressed.
Eemil immediately regretted it. His foot hurt. His pride hurt more. Around him stretched an endless wilderness. Ancient forests. Towering mountains. Strange glowing plants. Absolutely no sign of civilization. No roads. No cities. No internet. No electricity. No answers.
"Mita vittu!"
"This is definitely bullshit."
Nearby, Matias sat upon a fallen log. Watching. Laughing. Not because anything was funny. Matias laughed whenever he felt uncomfortable. Or nervous. Or confused. Which meant he had been laughing almost continuously for the past hour.
"Hehehe..."
Eemil glared.
"Stop that."
"Hehehe..."
"Seriously."
"Hehehehehe..."
The dark-haired boy considered throwing a rock at him. Instead he sighed. Because Matias had always been strange. Even before this. A short distance away the third member of their group stood silently. Watching. Listening. Thinking. Nico. Always Nico. The quiet one. The mysterious one. The boy who rarely spoke. His face remained hidden beneath a black hood. A dark neck gaiter covered everything below his eyes. Only those eyes were visible. Blue. Calm. Unreadable. He stood with his hands in his pockets. As though being stranded in another world was merely a minor inconvenience.
Eemil hated that. Mostly because he was jealous.
"Can you at least pretend to be worried?"
Nico looked at him.
Said nothing.
Eemil threw his hands into the air.
"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."
Matias laughed harder.
"Hehehehehe..."
"You're not helping."
The three boys had known each other for years. Not particularly close. Not exactly strangers. Something in between. School. Sports. Shared history. The sort of friendship built through proximity rather than intention. Eemil naturally appointed himself leader. Nobody asked him to. He simply declared it. Repeatedly. Until everyone stopped arguing. Matias generally followed whoever seemed confident. Nico followed nobody. He simply happened to walk in the same direction.
The sky darkened. Strange stars appeared overhead. Different stars. Wrong stars.
Eemil noticed first.
His expression finally became serious.
"Those aren't ours."
Matias stopped laughing. Even Nico looked upward. The realization settled over all three. Heavy. Unavoidable. This wasn't a dream. This wasn't a prank. This wasn't some elaborate misunderstanding. They truly weren't home. For the first time silence settled between them. The forest watched. Ancient. Patient. Hungry.
Then the monsters arrived. The first creature emerged from the darkness shortly after sunset. Long legs. Too many eyes. Teeth where teeth shouldn't be. The thing resembled a wolf. If wolves were designed by someone who had only heard vague descriptions.
Matias immediately stood. The laughter vanished. Eemil grabbed a fallen branch. Nico quietly stepped forward. The creature growled. The three boys stared. The monster stared back. Several moments passed. Then it charged.
Everything happened very quickly. The monster lunged. Eemil swung his branch. Missed completely. Matias screamed. The creature tackled him. Everyone panicked. Including the monster. The fight became chaos. Branches broke. Leaves flew. Somebody punched something. Nobody knew who. Eemil somehow ended up climbing a tree. Matias accidentally kicked the creature in the face. Nico remained strangely calm. The monster lunged again. This time toward Eemil. Something happened. Something impossible. The shadows beneath Eemil's feet moved. The darkness stretched. Twisted. Changed shape. Then a small fox emerged. Made entirely of shadow. Its eyes glowed silver. The creature froze. Everyone froze. Including Eemil. The shadow fox immediately bit the monster. The monster screamed. Then fled into the forest. The shadow fox proudly sat beside Eemil. Its tail wagged. Silence followed. Long silence.
Then Matias pointed.
"What."
Eemil pointed back.
"What."
Both looked at the fox. The fox looked pleased with itself. Then sat directly on Eemil's foot. Claiming ownership.
Nobody slept much that night. The shadow fox refused to leave. Every time Eemil moved it followed. The creature behaved like an extremely loyal dog. Or a very judgmental cat. Neither comparison felt comforting. The fox eventually curled beside him. Eemil stared. The fox stared back. Then closed its eyes. Sleeping peacefully.
The boy looked horrified.
Matias immediately started laughing again.
"Hehehehehe..."
Eemil threw a pinecone at him.
The following morning they met others. More young people. Lost. Confused. Frightened. Some spoke familiar languages. Others did not. Groups began forming naturally. Alliances. Friendships. Rivalries. Nobody fully understood what was happening. But everyone understood one thing.
Survival.
That afternoon the sky split open. Golden light flooded the wilderness. Every chosen participant stopped. Every conversation died. Every eye turned upward.
Something descended. An angel. Beautiful. Terrifying. Impossible. Long golden hair. Mismatched wings. One holy. One monstrous. Crystalline blue eyes.
Cielo. The Angel of the Sky. The messenger. The judge. The guide. The executioner. The angel hovered above them. Watching. Silent.
Then he spoke.
His voice carried across the entire wilderness.
"You have been chosen."
The words echoed. Thousands listened. Some trembled. Some prayed. Some cried.
Eemil grinned. Matias looked terrified. Nico simply watched. The angel continued.
"You stand within Elyria."
"A world nearing its end."
The wind stirred.
"The old gods fade."
"The new gods must rise."
Nobody fully understood. But everyone listened.
"The power to become divine exists within you."
The wilderness fell silent. Even the monsters seemed to listen.
The angel's gaze swept across the gathered youths.
"Survive."
The word felt like a command. A challenge. A sentence.
"Grow stronger."
"Awaken your gifts."
"Overcome one another."
The silence deepened. Then came the final revelation.
"The worthy shall ascend."
The stars seemed brighter. The world seemed larger. More dangerous. More beautiful. More terrible.
Eemil smiled slowly. The excitement in his eyes frightened Matias. Nico remained silent. Watching. Always watching. Because while others heard opportunity Nico heard something else. Loneliness. The beginning of something vast. Something that would change everything.
That night three boys sat beside a fire. A shadow fox slept nearby. None of them knew their future. None of them knew what waited beyond the trees. None of them knew that one would become a king of shadows.
One would become a laughing reaper. And one would become the White King of Eternal Winter.
Nor did they know that somewhere deep within the ancient wilderness a celestial with long black hair and eyes like midnight was about to step into all of their lives.
And nothing would ever be the same again.
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