Miracula Luxia II C1, ExP 0.1- "Visions Of Ruin"

"Visions Of Ruin" is the Extra Part that comes with the first Chapter of "Miracula Luxia II"- "Rise Of The Darkside Loyalists". It was released on 25.09.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared trains hard to battle the incoming enemies, under the watchful eye of his grandfather- Lethal and his best friend- John.
During his break from the training, he has a vision of what his world will become if he does not take the situation very seriously, if he does not train hard to defeat the ones who threaten the people around him with their constant presence- something that would finally make him understand what is at stake in this battle between Good and Evil, the struggle to keep living another day in this world full of struggles.
Something that will make him truly understand the value of every single life that he has sworn to protect until the very end...
== Story ==
Jared hits a training dummy with his sword, patiently evaluating every strategy that he is going to use in his attacks, as if he is fighting a real enemy.
To the right of him, his grandfather watches his movements and nods, seeing that his grandson is improving.
Their training session has lasted for around two whole hours today.
After watching the boy train for a while more, Lethal suddenly stops him.
"Alright, Jared. I can see that you're starting to get tired."- He says- "Normally, I would simply let you keep going, but I value your well-being more than anything else. So, I say that you take a break for a while."
"What do you say?"
Jared nods.
"I will take my break, then. Thank you, grandpa."- He responds.
Lethal nods and smiles.
"I'll send John to get you back here in fifteen minutes or so. Don't be late, okay?"
Jared nods and leaves the training room. Then, he goes to the trainee barracks (Which are, unfortunately, empty at the moment) and sits on his bed.
"There has been a lot on my mind lately."- He says- "But... I do not know where to start."
Suddenly, his eyelids start to get heavy. He yawns.
"Maybe I should listen to my grandpa and take a little break."- He says to himself- "Just... a little... break... "
His eyes close. His body slumps to the left. His head gently lands on the pillow under him.
Suddenly, he is teleported to a different place, away from home. Away from his friends, his family, in a distant land. Far away.
At first glance, it does actually look like that. However, as Jared stares intently at his surroundings, he realizes that this is indeed his hometown- Paris.
However, something is terribly wrong with it. The streets are empty. No people are walking on them. There are abandoned vehicles everywhere, as well as signs of battle and discarded weapons, many of them broken in what seems like a huge struggle.
The normally glorious buildings in the city lie in ruin. Few remain intact and those that are not have been scavenged for materials. Little is left of them, truth be told.
Looking closer, he sees more signs of a massive battle.
Blood, craters from explosions and corpses- some of them are soldiers, but most of them are regular citizens. And what is the most disturbing thing of all is, despite the fact that some of them are dry, as if their deaths happened years ago, that most of the blood on the ground is still fresh...
Jared gasps immediately when he realizes this. He pukes, disgusted by this grisly sight.
"No! W-why... Why is this happening?!"- He says to himself- "Why is everyone dead?!"
As he silently stares at the ground, he sees another corpse. This one, he actually recognizes.
"D-Dad?!"- He says.
He picks him up and checks him for a pulse.
"Dad! What have those monsters done to you?!"- He screams, his voice choked with anguish- "Answer me, dad! Please! Please don't leave me alone, I beg you!"
Soon, he sees that his father has been stabbed right in the chest. He is long dead and cannot be revived.
Realizing that his father is beyond saving, Jared gently places his father's corpse back on the ground and starts to cry.
"Who has done this?"- He mutters- "Who?"
At this moment, he notices more people on the ground that he actually recognizes- both friends and family. Among them are his grandfather, his sister, John, Annie, Akari, Devin and many more people, whose lives he values above everything else.
Jared drops to his knees and starts to cry even more than before, unable to control his tears and rage anymore.
"Who in the world would be so heartless?"- He wonders- "Who would be such a monster, aiming to strike pain into my heart just to make me suffer? By killing the ones that I love?"
Suddenly, he stands up and draws his blade and emits a scream of pure rage and despair.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!"- He screams at the top of his lungs- "SHOW YOURSELF, COWARDS! I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
He notices a figure approaching him. Blinded by the rage in his heart, he screams and charges at it.
However, when it parries the blow, Jared sees who it really is.
"Gh-Ghall-Ihrno?!"- He says- "You... "
Ghall-Ihrno stares at his surroundings and shakes his head.
"I'm so sorry. I could not do more."- He says- "They were way too powerful."
Jared steps back and raises his eyebrow.
" "They"? What do you mean by that?"
Ghall-Ihrno stares at Jared coldly.
"This destruction. It was caused by your actions... "
Jared gasps and takes another step back, terrified.
"M-Me?"- He says- "All of this destruction happened, because... of me?"
Ghall-Ihrno nods and looks down.
"They all died, Jared. Right in front of my very eyes. And I was unable to save them."
Jared's eyes show signs of clear fear and confusion.
"Was I here when this happened? Did I... fight against the evil ones?"
Suddenly, Ghall-Ihrno shows a sign of emotion that is not seen frequently among the Vahnatai- sadness. He shakes his head.
"Unfortunately, you were not."- He responds- "You did not survive the journey. You did not find the item, so you decided to fight Dorikas and Rentar-Ihrno without it, risking your own life in the process. Rentar-Ihrno was defeated, but Dorikas. He... he... "
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"Wait. What happened?"
Ghall-Ihrno looks at Jared.
"He... he bested you. He killed you and dumped your body in the river near his fort. We never found you again."
"Later, the problems began to get worse. Much worse. Until the combined forces of humans and Vahnatai were at our gates. They broke in and fought us. We fought hard, but we failed to defend the city. Many of us died and the city was razed to the ground. I am the only one who survived this huge battle."
Suddenly, Jared sees a band of hostile Vahnatai approaching them. He draws his blade and attacks them when they approach him.
However, his blow does not connect with the enemy. Instead, it simply goes through them, as if they are translucent.
In fact, on closer inspection, they indeed are translucent.
Jared watches horrified as the creatures pass through him, as if he were a ghost.
Ghall-Ihrno silently watches them as they leave, hatred burning in his eyes like a fire.
He motions for Jared to look at the city.
"Look at what those vagrants have done. Look at what they have done to your beloved hometown, Jared."
Jared stares at his surroundings and gets a clear view of the remains of Paris.
Nothing (and nobody) was left behind.
No buildings.
No people.
No streets.
No barricades.
No hope.
Everything has been destroyed by the mighty forces. Little by little, they have destroyed this once beautiful city and killed the innocents in it.
He looks at himself. He sees that the palms of his hands are... a bit off, to say at the very least.
He looks back at Ghall-Ihrno.
"So, this means that we have... lost?"
Ghall-Ihrno shakes his head and frowns.
"No, Jared. Not yet."- He says- "Look at the sky and tell me what you see."
Jared does what he is told. He stares at the dark sky. Deep within the clouds of darkness, he sees one of the Sun's rays. A ray of hope in his dark thoughts.
And it lands right next to him.
"I see that not everything is lost yet."- He says- "That there is still a chance for us to win this war."
Ghall-Ihrno smiles.
"That is correct."- He continues- "And what you see here is not a reality. Or, at least, not yet. It is a part of your imagination, your worst nightmare. And it will happen, if you do not devote yourself to becoming a strong, independent and unafraid individual, just like how your father wants you to be."
Suddenly, Ghall-Ihrno grabs Jared by both shoulders and shakes him.
"Wake up, Jared!"- He yells- "Wake up and do your sacred duty! The world relies on you, don't you dare let it down, you hear me?!
Jared gasps and opens his eyes.
He realizes that he is back in the real world. John is watching over him.
"I see that you're finally awake, Sleeping Beauty."
Jared yawns and looks around. He really is back. And John is still alive.
He is back home.
He also realizes that he has been asleep. And for quite a while, it seems.
"W-what happened?"- He asks John- "How long was I asleep?"
John shakes his head.
"Three hours. You've been asleep for three whole hours."- He says- "And your grandfather is worried about you."
He lends him a hand.
"Come on, Jared! You must go back to training!"- He says- "This world isn't going to save itself, you know!"
Suddenly, Jared jumps to his feet without John's help and runs out of the room.
"Sorry. I've got to do more training! The world needs me the most right now and I absolutely must not let it down!"- He says as he leaves.
John smiles while watching this whole process.
"I have never seen him so determined to train."- He says to himself- "Maybe he has finally seen how much responsibility has been placed upon him and decided to take things more seriously?"
He smiles and nods.
"If that's the case, I will help him as best as I can."- He adds- "I want my friend to face those dangerous foes at his best, not at his worst."
He leaves the room.
Meanwhile, Jared approaches the door to the training room quickly.
"I will not let that vision come true! Never!"- He says to himself- "I will train very hard and show Dorikas that I will not to his blade! Or the blades of his foolish warriors and Rentar-Ihrno's lackeys! I will become stronger, whatever it takes!"
He enters the training room without a word, grabs one of the wooden swords and starts hitting a training dummy.
Lethal watches his grandson train and smiles.
"What a responsible child."- He says to himself- "Maybe the world will be saved from this powerful evil, after all... "