"Have a nice travel dear."
"Papa, bring gifts!"
That morning, Rakasha was going off to the nearest city. Something he often did once or twice a month to go purchase local materials, sell his products, and buy tons of food that lacked in these mountains, such as most fruits and vegetables, which he wanted for the growth of his daughter.
"Then I'm off, take care, I love you two."
"Love you daddy!"
"Don't buy too many things or you won't be able to carry everything!"
"Sure, sure. And I love you too, my little princess."
Rakasha hugged his little girl and his wife, kissing both of them as he walked away, quickly going across the mountains with his carriage, an enormous three-meter big Rock Lizard Azalaia had tamed years ago named Rock.
"Alright Rock, lets get going! We'll buy tons of fruits for Saphira!"
"GRAAOOH!"
Rock slowly went down the mountain with a relaxed smile, admiring the beautiful scenery in the background, unaware the darkness lurking near the tribe of the Mountain Giants. He spent the rest of the day walking around the city, selling his products, peddling around, and talking with several people he knew for years now.
After he was done doing his things, he quickly meet up with a friend, an elf he often drank beer with before going back home in a local bar named Eurel.
"Hey Rakasha! How's it been! How's the family?"
"Everything's going alright. The girls' getting more and more hard to deal with as she's growing up, but damn… she's looking more and more like her mother."
"Hahaha, I bet she's going to be the most talented in the future, isn't she?"
"Yeah, I've got high hopes for her but… To be honest, I don't really want to pressure her. What she's dong is all because she really likes it, I've never forced her to do anything. Honestly, I am just happy as long as she grows up healthy, that's all…"
Rakasha smiled as he saw the mountain in the distance, suddenly noticing several black smoke clouds.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, another friend, a catkin ran towards the two, named Samuel.
"Eurel! Rakasha! This is bad!"
The black cat-faced beast-kin began panicking.
"W-What's wrong?!"
"Samuel what's going on?"
"Some explorers that go around hunting at the mountains reported to see an enormous army of Trolls, all of them were hundreds! They were wearing black armor and emanating some weird black aura! The Adventurer Guild Master said they might be being helped by some remnant of the Chaos Spirits! Shit's wild! …Wait, isn't your house in the mountains, Rakasha?"
Rakasha's face opened wide, looking into the distance.
"Saphira, Azalaia!"
He ran away immediately after that, jumping over Rock and leaving all the luggage behind, rushing as fast as possible wearing two swords he had forged, armor, and a shield while jumping across rocks with his loyal Rock Lizard.
"Please be okay, please be okay, PLEASE BE OKAY…!"
Rakasha continued rushing forward, after less than ten minutes, he finally reached the entrance of the tribe's territory… And the first thing he saw was blood, guts, and countless corpses, of both trolls and mountain giants everywhere.
He saw several Trolls wandering everywhere, sneakily, he rushed into the entrance of the tribe's caves, finding blood and guts everywhere, his eyes filled with horror and shock.
"GRUOH!"
"GRAGUH!!!"
The trolls quickly saw him, as they rushed towards him. Rakasha used his magic and his weapons to fight back, barely managing to fend them off as he ran further into the town, only finding countless familiar faces dead, one after the other.
Adults, children, elderly, nobody was spared. Their bodies splattered over the floor, torn apart and half eaten by the brutal savages.
"Hahhh… HAHHH…"
He began hyperventilating, with a dozen Trolls running to chase him, he entered his house made of stone and hardened mud he took so long to build with Azalaia. His wish for them to be okay, his faint hope was shattered in that instant.
Blood everywhere.
Guts and blood.
The crushed, splattered little head of a girl over the floor.
And a tall woman's body sliced in half, with her head half eaten.
"Hahhh… Hahhhh… HAHHHHH…"
He continued breathing faster and faster, about to have a heart attack.
His entire life crumbled apart in a mere day.
Everything he had built, everything he made, all of it.
All the memories he built in this place…
All the laughs and happiness, all the smiles…
Even the little paintings his daughter had made around the walls this morning were still fresh, but now covered on blood.
"GRUOOHHH!"
"GRAGGGUUH!"
The Trolls roared, quickly reaching him, as Rakasha ran away from his home, crying desperately, screaming like a madman.
"No…! Nooo… NOOOOO! AAGGGGHH! GRAAAAAHHH!!!"
He began fighting furiously, some Trolls were suddenly afraid of his very presence, an enormous, powerful aura surged in that very moment as he grew furious. Without realizing, he killed dozens of trolls, one after the other.
But ultimately, his energies ran out, as he was surrounded by trolls, their blows becoming heavier, as they began throwing him around and crushing him mercilessly.
He didn't had anything to lose now, not anymore. He continued screaming and struggling, with everything he had…
As his vision continued getting darker and darker, he suddenly heard the footsteps of dozens of people, explosions of magic echoed all around the caves, as he saw several adventurers coming to exterminate the trolls, led by the adventurer's guild master.
His life was saved, even when he just wanted to die there.
He had nothing to live for anymore…
He became a shell of a man.
For years since then, since that day he simply went back to his continent.
As if this family he had here, and everything else with it was just a small part of his trip.
As if it was just a small part of his life that came to an end.
Sometimes as he recalled such beautiful days, he felt it was all an illusion, a dream…
Yet, everything changed once more when she appeared.
Trembling in the middle of the snow, covered on blood and bruises, with red eyes and long red hair.
Despite being a completely different person, she reminded him of her…
Of her daughter.
"…Ruby?"
