The whole city was something else, extremely beautiful and lively.
"Wow, look at all this stuff!"
The three kids stared around them with wide eyes.
Cerys City had completely changed for the festival. Colorful decorations covered the streets, music could be heard from almost every corner, and people from different parts of the kingdom had gathered to enjoy the celebration.
There were games for every age group, small competitions, gifts, food stalls, performances, and even merchants selling strange items from different parts of the kingdom.
"Where do we even start?" Kevin asked, his eyes jumping from one stall to another.
"Food!" Melissa immediately answered.
"Games!"
Qasim pointed in another direction at the same time.
The two looked at each other.
"Food."
"Games."
"Food."
"Games!"
Kevin sighed.
"You two are impossible."
A few minutes later, the three were standing in front of a small game where players had to throw wooden rings onto several targets.
The winner would receive a small stuffed animal.
Qasim looked at the prize.
"I want that."
Melissa laughed.
"You? You can’t even aim properly."
"I can aim!"
Kevin stepped between them before their argument could become serious.
"Alright, alright. Let’s make it a competition."
The three paid for their turns.
Qasim went first.
He threw the ring.
It missed.
"..."
Melissa immediately started laughing.
"Hahahaha! You said you could aim!"
"Shut up! The wind moved it!"
"There is no wind!"
Kevin tried next.
His ring bounced off the target and landed on the ground.
Melissa smiled proudly.
"Looks like I’m the only competent person here."
She threw her ring.
It landed perfectly around the smallest target.
The merchant smiled and handed her the stuffed animal.
"Yes!"
Melissa hugged the prize happily.
Qasim looked at Kevin.
"We need a rematch."
"Definitely."
And so they continued.
They played games they had never seen before, tried strange sweets, watched performers dance in the middle of the streets, and even joined a small competition where they had to carry a cup of water across a short obstacle course without spilling it.
Qasim failed spectacularly.
Kevin nearly fell.
Melissa somehow won.
By the time the sun began to move lower in the sky, the three were exhausted.
They sat together on the edge of a fountain, eating the food they had bought earlier.
Qasim leaned back and looked at the sky.
"This is fun."
Kevin smiled.
"Yeah."
Melissa looked at the two boys beside her.
"You know... we should do this more often."
Qasim turned toward her.
"Of course."
For a brief moment, none of them thought about the war.
They were simply three children enjoying a festival together.
And for Qasim, that was enough.
...
After some time, the sky began to darken, but the people only became more numerous.
The main event was about to begin.
The fireworks.
The three kids made their way toward the main square, which was packed with people. Everyone was waiting for the fireworks to start.
Then Kevin suddenly pointed at something strange.
"By the way... Did you notice the papers on the buildings? They’re familiar..."
Qasim looked around.
A strange feeling of uneasiness suddenly settled over him.
"You’re right. It’s like..."
"Like the paper we use with the camera..." Melissa finished his sentence.
Before the kids could react, something happened on the largest building in front of them.
Someone released a huge sheet of the same paper, allowing it to roll down the building until it covered almost the entire front.
Then something appeared on it.
Melissa’s eyes widened.
Her heart began beating rapidly.
A person wearing a creepy fox mask appeared on the paper.
A deep voice suddenly echoed across the entire city as everyone watched the mysterious figure.
"Oh... This camera thing is actually smart. It helped us improve our idea to show my movement for this big announcement."
The masked person talked and moved. Although his movements on the paper weren’t smooth and his voice wasn’t very clear, Qasim couldn’t shake the feeling that this person had created something very similar to a moving display.
He looked at Melissa.
She was trembling in fear.
"Melissa, what is it?"
"It’s him..."
She could barely speak.
"It’s him."
Qasim immediately became alert as he looked back at the masked person.
"Ahm... So, hello there. I hope you’re having fun at this festival. I am here to have fun with you all."
The masked person bowed deeply before removing his mask.
What appeared underneath was a fox beastkin, but he was wearing a strange disguise. He had human hair, broken glasses, and a large ball covering his nose.
People began laughing as they thought his appearance was part of the festival’s entertainment.
"Although I can’t see you or hear you, I hope some of you laughed at what I’m wearing. Haha."
"As everyone knows, our kingdom is currently at war, and we are being bullied by the enemy! But who said we can’t have fun, huh?!"
"Yeah! That’s right!"
The crowd still believed this was simply another part of the festival and answered with excitement.
"I hope some of you said yes! Haha! We won’t just sit and watch as the enemy who hurt us walks away without getting our anger first!"
"This is not the enemy’s festival! This is OUR festival!"
"Yeah!!"
"Raise, friends! Raise! Because I have something special for you..."
The fox spread his arms.
"The fireworks!"
"Our fireworks that we will enjoy together!"
"It doesn’t matter if you are in prison or being held in a dark basement, because all of us will be free now!"
"Uhh... Yeah, I guess?"
Some people in the crowd were beginning to look confused.
"So raise, friends! Raise against the nasty humans and follow me to glory!"
"Huh?"
"Is this another joke?"
"What’s going on now?"
The crowd became even more confused, but the fox continued.
"I, who already managed to help many of you escape and take revenge on humans... It is me, and it will be me from now on!"
"Come on, friends! Scream my name! Call my name and let the low humans fear us!"
"I, THE SAVIOR, WANT YOU TO JOIN ME!"
No one spoke in the square.
Everyone was too confused and uncomfortable to respond.
"With this... LET THE HOUR OF JOY BEGIN!"
In the next second, the voice stopped.
The image changed.
This time, the fox beastkin wasn’t wearing anything funny.
His face was covered in scars. Part of his mouth was burned, and simply looking at him made the people uncomfortable.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
"What is this?"
"What’s going on?"
"Who is that?"
Qasim looked at his friends.
"We need to leave. Now."
But the moment Melissa tried to move, she suddenly fell to the ground.
"Qasim... I don’t feel well."
She looked at him.
A small stream of blood dripped from her nose.
Then, in the next second, something happened across the city.
Some children suddenly widened their eyes unnaturally.
Their eyes bulged forward.
Then came the sound.
Not like an explosion.
It was a wet crack.
Like something had been crushed from the inside.
Blood splashed everywhere.
Onto the ground.
Onto the children’s parents.
Onto their friends.
Onto everyone standing nearby.
Qasim’s eyes widened.
He saw fragments of Melissa’s skull scattered through the air before her body collapsed completely onto the ground.
Blood and brain matter slowly spilled from what remained of her head.
People began screaming and running in every direction.
But Qasim remained beside Melissa’s corpse.
He simply stared.
Unable to believe what his eyes had just witnessed.
The entire square descended into chaos.
But Qasim couldn’t hear any of it.
All he could feel was the cold silence tearing his soul apart.
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