The Silencer (english ver.)

The city was on fire. Everything that used to be alive was silenced forever. Everything that once held history was erased. A place that used to be home to millions of people became their grave. The people lucky enough to be alive could only watch as everything they had lived for slowly burned away, leaving nothing but emptiness in their souls. Even the loudest screams were immediately drowned out by the sounds of gunfire and explosions, which sent shivers through the people left in their homes, praying that their deaths would not be as painful as the others.

"LAWREN! LAWREN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?! GODDAMN YOU, LAWREN!!!" - came the cries of despair and pain from the direction of the burning church. There were only two soldiers standing near the wreckage, with hundreds of dead, bloody dead people lying around them, and only the loud sounds of gunfire could be heard very close to the two men. In the man's voice, one could hear all the suffering that this brutal, bloody war had brought.

"Sir, please! There's nothing more we can do here, we must run back to our master!" - Through the explosions and gusts of wind, another soldier tried to speak, struggling to stop his partner. The wind was nudging them both slightly, as if nature itself was trying to stop this chaos, but then it was too late to do anything about it.

"NO, NO, WE'RE NOT DONE YET! LET ME GO, I MUST... I MUST PROTECT... THIS CITY...!!!"

At the same time, at the very top of the black castle, in a lonely throne room, King Lawren sat hunched over, looking out of a large window at the ruins of his great kingdom. He could only watch as his years of hard work, his fondest memories, disappeared before his eyes.

"And yet so many didn't deserve it.... What a shame that because of the actions of one, millions must suffer!" came a hoarse voice at the entrance to the throne room.

"You are doomed. Sooner or later, you will have to answer for your sins..." - squeezing the last of his strength out of himself the king muttered.

"Heh, it's ironic to hear you say that, my friend!" replied the intruder, walking slowly towards the king. "Don't you remember how much blood your regime has spilled? Do you have any idea how many lives your greed has taken? I am only taking the necessary measures, Lawren."

"It is not for you to judge me! Only the holy Aria has the power to decide fate for others, but not you. Your army will fall before the might of the light, and you will answer for all the suffering you have brought to our land" - suddenly raising his voice replied the king, looking into the eyes of his enemy.

"And you still believe in gods? What a pity..." - The unknown man was already speaking irritably, stopping right beside Lawren. "Alright, come on then! Pray to your gods!"

The man abruptly pulled out his bloody, iron sword that was firmly hooked behind his back, then brought it right up to Lawren's face.

"Agno, Faunos, Greizo? Does anyone want to save this glorious ruler? Come on, why don't you say something? No one's stopping you!"

The king could barely hold back his tears of despair, realizing that no one would help him. The flames began to creep into the hall, slowly burning everything in its path. The red carpets with golden patterns were quickly turning into a pile of ashes, as well as the ancient paintings on the walls, bronze statues, trophies....

"When will you finally realize... No one watches you like little children anymore, and your Aria is already too weak to affect anything. You had your chance, and more than one. You had tons of opportunities to prevent this from happening, but no. You humans are greedy creatures who have been slaves to your own emotions for centuries, and blindly hoped your gods would help you. Remember once and for all - now you are on your own, no one will help you anymore, and you can't change anything. A new era has begun, and soon you will see me towering over you pathetic, helpless creatures. Forget your gods, forget all your hopes. Now..."

**"I. AM. YOUR. GOD."**

## Chapter 1: A Lonely Path

"YOU, RIGHT THERE!" - Came the rough, hoarse voice of an old frontiersman in the middle of the hot, lonely desert. "Either you show me your papers, or I'll tie you to a post and make you wait for the holy guard!". A few dozen meters away from the border guard stood a tired, road-weary Telamoon.

"My goodness, why talk to a poor traveler like that?" - Telamoon replied with a slight grimace.

"Do you know how many such 'travelers' have tried to sneak into this holy city?! I'm sure you know what Odium did to yours!" - the man was still shouting, standing outside the large white-washed gate.

"Listen, I see you have a lot of goodies on your table. Give me a friendly bottle of..."

After a brief search, Telamoon noticed a small bottle on the old man's desk, as the wide smile slowly returned on his face.

"...Beer, and I'll tell you all about it!" - Telamoon turned more cheerfully to the guard.

"Are you out of your mind? Why should I be haggling here? I can send you away at any moment, so don't try my patience!"

"Oh, come on, I assure you! You want to know what the situation is like over there, don't you? Odium's already scoured more than one city looking for that thing..."

Telamoon pulled his hand into his pocket while the evil border guard scrutinized the stranger's every move, and held the large, heavy crossbow firmly in both hands. After a couple seconds, Telamoon pulled out a white, glowing shard from his old, dirty jacket.

"M-my dear mother... Where did you get this treasure?! It belongs to the goddess Aria!" - Clutching the crossbow even tighter in his hands the man shouted as sweat slowly dripped down his face from the unbearable heat and excitement.

"Were you even listening, buddy? Give me a drink and I'll tell you everything!" - Telamoon spoke in a calm voice.

"Shut your rotten mouth, stranger! You're a thief, and not just any thief, you stole from the very... "

"Calm down. You see this? There's sand all around, buddy, there's a lot of it here... One wrong move and you'll hardly ever find your treasure again!" - the guy threatened, smiling.

"How about you..."

The guard tried thinking of a solution, but eventually, he realised that there's no other way out of this tricky situation.

"...Whatever, you got me. Tell me where you found it, where you came from, and who you are anyway!" - said the old man more calmly. He grabbed a beer bottle that was lying not far from him and threw it on the sand.

"I see you're not very good with manners..." - Telamoon said resentfully, looking at the tattered glass bottle.

"Speak quickly, don't waste my precious time!"

"...Anyways. I'm from Coffbridge. I think you know that town, since you're standing in front of this gate. We had an organization..." - the lad began to speak with some excitement.

"I'm listening." - said the guard irritably, interrupting the excited traveler's speech.

"...Anyway, what do you care what we had there, none of your business!" - Telamoon replied sharply, trying not to remember the bloody events of that night.

"Heh, and who was it who told me about manners? Now give me that shard, and get the hell out of here before I call the Guard!" - Holding back laughter said the border guard, holding onto the table with one hand. Despite his words, Telamoon was in no hurry to go anywhere, much less give him anything.

"Huh, you're still here?!" - the man shouted, already irritated, shifting his gaze back to his companion. "Just give me the damn shard! I'll take it to the right place and pretend our conversation never happened. Trust me, otherwise you won't like the consequences!"

"Too bad, I expected more from you..." - Telamoon spoke softly, finishing the last drops of his alcoholic beverage. Before the guard could even think about it, the traveler threw the bottle at the guard's head with all his might. The man instantly fell to the floor, unconscious, while Telamoon only slowly approached the lying old man, regaining his old smile again

*"And since when did the holy guard stop wearing helmets?"* - thought the traveler, tapping his foot lightly against the guard. Finally, Telamoon quickly took the key from him, before calmly opening the gate and walking forward with slow steps towards the large signboard, straight into the uncharted, cruel world of the last surviving kingdom.

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"Welcome to Sancteria!"

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For a long time Telamoon wandered through the hot, dry desert. Minutes were replaced by hours, hours by days, days by weeks.... The traveler had neither water nor food left. After drinking the last drop of water, he sat down on the sand, which was covered by the shadow of a tall rock that stood as steady as a golden pillar amidst this dead landscape.

Telamoon pulled from his pocket a small amulet made of white crystal, which in turn had been inherited from his father. After some thought, he placed it around his neck and began to silently recite a prayer. Telamoon, like his family, was a very religious man. For him, the gods were above everything else in this world, and he would not trade his faith in them for anything. It was for their sake that he had started this quest.

After a couple minutes, the daily prayer came to an end, and the young traveler put his relic back in his pocket. Telamoon placed his shabby bag on the sand, then slowly laid his head on it. The traveler tried to sleep, but the huge bright sun in the middle of the desolate desert shone directly into his eyes, as if on purpose, and did not give him any chance for a restful sleep.

After a while, there was no trace of the sun's searing rays, and the fiery star itself was replaced by an equally marvelous, golden moon. The warm breeze was replaced by a cold wind, and the desert was completely silent. Only a light wind blew lightly against the back of Telamoon, who was lying on the sand. The traveler, noticing that it was no longer day, gathered up all his belongings, which he had scattered on the sand, and set off again on his long journey.

He took a very different road. In the daytime the clear sun was pointing him in the right direction, along with a light hot wind, and this time there were numerous stars in the wide, black sky. The boy smiled involuntarily, thinking about how interesting and diverse this wonderful world was.

The farther he walked, the less sand remained under his feet, and by morning, instead of the usual desert, Telamoon saw a green, living jungle. The green, hard leaves of various trees were visible, surrounded on all sides by colorful flowers, large bushes with berries and tall grass, on which dewdrops glistened faintly.

Entering the uncharted territory, the first thing Telamoon noticed were the unusual plants. The traveler had already been to many cities and places in general, but this was the first time he had seen such specimens. They looked like large petals with patterns, as if taken straight from a fairy tale. Dozens of colors merged into one, making them look like one big optical illusion.

"Well, beauty is always tempting..." thought Telamoon. Indeed, it was not as stuffy and dry as in the desert, but something told the traveler that not everything was so easy in this place, that he would not be let out so easily. The distant sound of the waterfall added to the lively atmosphere that Telamoon, exhausted and tired at the time, lacked, so he was in no hurry to leave. Who knows what awaited him beyond these thickets?

He decided to find the waterfall and rest near it, so he continued walking through the green jungle. Every now and then he found a bush or a leaf that had enough dew on it and poured it into his iron thermos. The trees stood still as if watching Telamoon's every move, making him feel uncomfortable.

After walking a couple more kilometers, right in front of Telamoon's face lay a huge creature that he had never seen before in his life.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??!", Telamoon screamed in fright. It looked like a mix between a wild boar and a wolf, and it certainly ran faster than any animal he was used to. Normally animals wouldn't lunge out so abruptly, but this time something must have happened. After this encounter, Telamoon was already beginning to doubt the safety of the forest.

Soon, Telamoon found the waterfall he had been looking for. It was simply enormous. It was a huge waterfall, with clear water coming down quickly and falling straight into a snow-white river, in which, even from a distance, one could see large, beautiful fish swimming up to the waterfall and away from it. It seemed to Telamoon like the perfect place to rest.

Forgetting about the previous encounter, Telamoon felt suprisingly safe for the first time throughout his journey. Every inhalation and exhalation was a melody to his ears, for only a short time ago he had stood on the edge between life and death, not even imagining or thinking about what awaited him next. This vacation in the midst of the mysterious and unexplored thickets seemed like a paradise that he should have entered long ago. The green vines intertwined with each other, swinging left and right like swings on an old playground. There was a wonderful aroma of various plants in the air, which gave new, unforgettable sensations to our tired traveler.

Suddenly, the guy noticed a piece of paper that was lying between two large stones. It seemed to be a rather old note, which was evident from its texture. Telamoon decided to look at the contents of this small, almost invisible piece of paper.

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"It's a marvelous place, the Wigwat Falls.... There's something special about it, but what is it? I've seen many things over the years, but this fantastic aura keeps me coming here again and again, as if trying to lure me in..."

```

This finding surprised the traveler greatly. Someone must have been in the same position as Telamoon now. Could he still be here? Maybe someone who could keep the lonely traveler company in this wilderness? But judging by the sounds of the wind and the birds singing in the distance, he was unlikely to find anyone here.

It was obvious to a fool that the stomach would not feed and water itself, so Telamoon had to break off and go deeper into these green labyrinths in the hope that he might find something useful. No matter how amazing and unique this place was, the laws of nature had not been abolished, and in such a strange place it was obviously better not to forget about them.

Another long hike had begun. As he walked along the wet ground, Telamoon came across some of the most marvelous things he had ever seen on this planet. In the trees, amongst the thick foliage were bizarre animals that looked like furry rats, as strange as that may sound. Colored snakes crawled on the grass, as if they came straight out of Chinese mythology. A loud cawing could be heard somewhere above, and a closer look revealed large, proud Griffon birds. Telamoon remembered his childhood, and how his father often recalled these creatures, how they had long ago been considered messengers of the gods, and that their power was many times greater than that of any animal in the sacred city of Whitestone. The wind no longer seemed so cold, but more refreshing and gentle, and Telamoon's trust in this forest was growing by the second.

And so, after a couple hours, the traveler came upon a huge, azure lake. It was surrounded by tall trees, and even from far away you could see something jumping from branch to branch, rustling its leaves. The air was just as clean and fresh, and the closer Telamoon came to the water, the stronger and more pleasant the scent became. The water in this lake was so clear that he could see many different creatures like the ones he had seen at the entrance to the thicket, and more. There were plenty of fish, so it was a good place to go fishing.

When he had finished admiring this marvelous landscape, he decided to get some water, for he was more thirsty than anything after the desert. Remembering the very method of obtaining fresh water, Telamoon immediately began to prepare everything he needed. "...A stone, a bag, and... Done!" the traveler said with a smile. Already in a few seconds, all the supplies were already lying in the right order, after which Telamoon quickly ran towards the lake. He picked up his empty thermos and was already ready to dip it into the crystal clear water, as suddenly....

"AH, FUCK!!!"

The guy felt something bite him hard on his leg. Looking at the site of the bite, he saw blood flowing in huge amounts like a stream, right near his ankle. The unimaginable pain pierced his entire body, causing him to walk only a couple steps before falling on the wet rocks. Telamoon glanced toward the water, and out of the corner of his eye he saw something that looked like a large pike quickly disappear behind the underwater rocks.

Telamoon was gripped by panic. He lay there writhing in pain, feeling the blood gushing out of his leg as the unbearable stinging pain prevented him from thinking about anything. The waterscape began to blur, breathing became harder and harder. With a fist of will, he managed to get up and walk a couple more steps. He fell, but got up again and walked toward the trees and plants. Through the pain and agony, Telamoon tried to walk at least to the pink violets that were only a few meters away from him. Telamoon remembered how long ago, his friends used very similar flowers as painkillers, but he didn't know if they could do more than that. He managed to crawl to them, and while he didn't know if the flowers would help his wound or make it worse, he had no other choice.

Telamoon quickly plucked one of the pink flowers and immediately applied it to his ankle. At first the pain was even worse than before, but as time went on it was reduced to "Tolerable". The bleeding also began to subside, and although it had not stopped completely, it had made a difference. The traveler took a deep breath in and out, then another, and another, and another....

After a couple of hours, it began to darken, and the wound stopped bleeding completely. Only a slight pain from time to time troubled Telamoon, but he quickly got used to it. He lay back against a large rock, looking up at the clear black sky, which was covered with hundreds of bright stars. Those stars were reflected in the water of the azure lake, and the only noise that accompanied all this beauty was the chirping of grasshoppers. "I wouldn't be surprised if even grasshoppers in this place look different.... How many more dangers am I going to see in these lonely thickets?" - Telamoon pondered. There were only rocks, water, and trees around. No fire, no screams, no enemies, just nature, silence, and solitude again...

Telamoon could have fallen asleep and forgotten all that he had been through, but his thirst and hunger were not going away, and he had to walk back to the shore and fetch water. Only a cool breeze blew at Telamoon's back from time to time, and no predators to interfere with him once again. Everything he needed was already a few dozen meters away from the lake, and all that remained was to pour water into a large container. Telamoon carefully poured all the water from the thermos, then closed the whole thing with a bag and put a small wet stone on top. It would seem that the job was done, all that was left was to wait a little while, drink what came out and go to sleep! But the rumbling in Telamoon's stomach said otherwise.

The traveler stood in front of the lake and began to think about what to eat. Naturally, the first thing that came to his mind was to catch at least one fish and roast it on some fire. But the problem was that Telamoon had no fishing rod, no spear, nothing that could help him with this task. The boy opened his bag and started rummaging through it, trying to find anything useful. Two empty bottles, an old scarf, an amulet... Whatnot was in there, but none of it was anything Telamoon needed at the moment. *"Damn, I knew I should have thought twice before going into that town!"* - he thought.

And then, it was as if it hit Telamoon. He quickly ran to the nearest tree and looked at it, then ran to another, and then to another.... Finally, he found what he was looking for, a Big Fat Stick. His idea was to tie some strong string to it, make a hook out of wood with a pocket knife that Telamoon had in his bag, and of course a worm as bait. The traveler began to think about where he could find such a string that would hold the weight of a full-grown fish. He tried to find something like that in the thicket, but nothing like that was there, per se.

After 30 minutes of searching, Telamoon decided to use something from his collection after all, and it was the amulet that he settled on.

*"I'm sorry, father..."*

Telamoon pulled out the thin but strong rope that the traveler used to hang it around his neck when he needed it. After coiling it onto a wooden stick, the lad immediately set to work on the hook. The hook wasn't that hard to make, and with a simple movement of his hand, Telamoon carved a small wooden hook. He didn't expect it to go so well, and these pleasant surprises gave Telamoon the motivation not to give up. Now the rod was ready, all that was left was to find the bait.

It was not even close to raining that day, so it was harder to find worms than he would have liked. The traveler dug all the corners, looked under all the rocks, blocks, looked in the shadows where insects usually liked to hide in this jungle. Surprisingly, there were none even there. Telamoon couldn't stand it, and pulled a small piece of bread out of his bag. "Come to think of it, these fish don't care anyway..." - muttered the boy. He quickly tied his bait, and threw the rope with the bread straight into the lake.

For a long time nothing happened. Only the chirping of grasshoppers could still be heard, and the fish themselves clearly did not react to this generous gift. Telamoon sat for an hour, two hours, and still nothing changed. Eventually he decided to retreat to his "fresh water development" and drink all that had been produced there all this time. There was clearly less water than Telamoon had expected, but what could be done about that. He picked up the paper cup that held all that goodness and watched the fishing rod from the side. The sun was already peeking out of the horizon, and Telamoon was still sleepy and hungry, standing on the dried rocks near the lake.

Suddenly, he noticed the fishing rod starting to shake. "IT WORKED, IT WORKED!!!" - screamed the boy. He was sure that all his efforts had not gone to waste, and that it was Aria herself who had helped him. But then, something else was waiting for him....

Telamoon noticed that not only the fishing rod was shaking, but also the glasses, the bucket of salt water, and even the water in the lake itself was shaking. Soon, the traveler felt the full force of this unexpected shaking on himself. There was a strong feeling that the ground under his feet was about to fall, and everything that lay on it would fall straight into the abyss.

After a moment, the earth shook once, then twice, and right after that, something huge... came out of the lake. And terrible. It was a giant iron worm, with an equally huge drill in place of a "mouth" and a bunch of holes, most of which had large chambers attached. I don't think I should say that Telamoon had never seen anything like it, because that's not saying anything. It was at least forty meters long, the metal it was made of was rusty and black, and the cameras were like ugly, glowing eyes that watched the traveler intently from the darkness.

The first thing that went through Telamoon's mind was the word "RUN", but fear gripped him completely. He watched as it quickly crawled out of the lake, growing larger and larger, and only when it was fully on land was Telamoon able to regain control of his body and run as fast as he could. There were deafening sounds behind him that sounded a lot like the creature's growls, but he didn't even think about turning around. He ran, trying to get away from the creature, but the mechanical creature was faster. It flew quickly over the traveler's head, and then suddenly put its body under Telamoon's feet, and he instantly fell face down on the ground. His leg ached like crazy again, and panic slowly devoured the young traveler's mind, preventing him from thinking properly.

"W...What the hell even is this place?!" - Telamoon barely spoke, lying on the cold floor, trying to pull himself together and get up. But would that make sense now? The rusty and creaking body of the horrifying, vile creature almost hung over the still living Telamoon, who was once again in unbearable pain from a relatively recent wound, but that was no longer the point. The traveler had already guessed what was going to happen to him, and he was ready to resign himself to a horrible fate, when suddenly....

The mechanical creature roared, followed by the loud sounds of gunfire and electricity. Telamoon saw the worm's rusty body shaking above him, and as he looked closer, he noticed that the cameras began to explode one by one. Telamoon couldn't believe his eyes. Right in front of him, something was destroying an enormous creature the size of a 20-story building.... No, this place was not something peaceful and wonderful. It was a whole new world with new rules. And how does one survive in it? How to be those who now deal with this monster, and not those who lie under it and do not shake with fear?

Soon, parts of the mechanical worm began to fall apart, and after a moment, its entire body fell apart. The pieces fell somewhere to Telamoon's right as he lay there like a coffin, afraid to even take a breath. He expected to hear the voice of a goddess, or at least an archangel who had come to protect Telamoon from an undeserved death, but then...

"Ay, Leron! Take a look at this!"

It was a woman's voice, high-pitched but clear at the same time.

"Huh? Who in the actual hell...?"