Where there had once been light, now there was only boundless darkness.
The feverish heat of impending death throbbed urgently through his veins. Though he had expected the bitterness of the curse, it was unbearably unpleasant now.
This was what he had long known would befall him.
This was the inevitable consequence of naively trusting the goodness in human hearts.
Death filled his mind. Blood stained his teeth, and the stench of blood flooded his nostrils.
It all felt like yesterday. Memories buried deep in those bygone years came alive in his mind once more—lightning occasionally flashed through the perpetual night, while everyone remained silent in terror.
Then light and hope had come from beyond that rotting darkness, promising a beautiful future.
But now, the vision of that future stabbed into his mind like a spear of light, shattering that hope to pieces...
The world struggled amid death. A massive eye striped in black and red watched the blazing flames as all living things fought to the death beneath a scarlet sky.
A black bat fell from the heavens.
Visions of all things collapsing and ending flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, and he cried out in agony.
Many voices rang out in his head.
He heard his name—the name his mother had given him, and the name his people had bestowed upon him beneath the dreadful watch of darkness.
Diego, Shadow Prince.
Bitter tears mixed with blood, stinging his eyes.
He opened his eyes, and the visions in his mind immediately faded. The real world returned before him, and he turned toward the voices calling his name.
Faces twisted by fear stared at him. Their mouths mumbled something, and they kept vomiting.
But that was nothing new. He was unmoved by the sight. The voices he had