Infernum

Chapter 1

The weak perished easily.

She knew this much, ever since she had known the warmth of the sun. She'd only known the garden ever since she was born. The huge tree in the middle stood imposing against the backdrop of the temple, its golden leaves fluttering restlessly with the wind. Every season, it resisted the fall, its foliage shining against the light of the dawn. She looked down at the rose bushes that were trying to flourish by its side, and felt the eyes of a priestess look down on her in a gesture of pity. "The tree will not allow anything else to survive while it lives, Eve."

Her eyes looked up from the crown of golden leaves resting over her eyebrows. "But... why?"

The priestess had a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Because that is the Law of Nature."

She was the Eve of Eden. She was meant for the greater good of mankind. She wasn't meant to mourn the loss of a shrub that managed to grow beneath the shade of the Tree of the World. Her robes flew freely with the wind, as she tried to hold them together, bunching the sleeves of her cape in between her fingers. The familiar shame of someone seeing her skin crept up inside her heart, as she got up from her bench, keeping her mandatory distance from the priestess. "The wind is picking up."

The priestess hummed in approval, as she held out an umbrella to shade her from the sun. "There is unrest in the world outside, my Eve. The lord is punishing us for their crimes. He sends his wrath in the form of plagues-"

"Priestess Amaya," the Eve asked, her voice almost a whisper, "Who are the Outsiders?"

The Eve had been taught to avoid many questions. Questions about the outside were a taboo subject inside the walls of Eden. Her mouth dropped, before she pressed her lips into a thin line, revolted that this Eve was still immature enough about her role. "We do not need to know about them."

The Eve hung her head in sorrow, knowing she had crossed a line. She shouldn't have asked such a frivolous question. Of course, the priests and priestesses warned about the dangerous men outside the gates of Eden, but Eve had seen no more than the kind men who engaged in a peaceful discourse with the lord Seiji. The only harsh behaviour she had encountered from the Outsiders was whenever they tried to ask the lord of his past, or about the Eve. It was common knowledge not to encroach upon such territory, but it was people's nature to forget boundaries from time to time.

"I am sorry, priestess." She refused to make eye contact with the woman, knowing she would only be glared down at if she asked about anything else. She was not supposed to know much. Only that which was valuable was presented to her as information.

"Let us go back into the castle, Eve," the priestess said, smiling a bit. "The winds mean trouble."

Eve smiled at her, and raised her head towards the woman. "All right."

***

The sword swung high above the captain's head. He effortlessly delivered a sharp blow at the commander riding before him, knocking him down from his horse. The lieutenant took care of the rest, his sword digging into the man's chest, making a huge gaping hole into it. His intestines flew about as the lieutenant slashed through his sword once again, garnering a laugh from the captain. He barked at the ones behind him, "Let's get it over with, boys, Fuck them really good in the ass!"

The rookies laughed with him as he parried with the second in command of the rival army. His red hair peeked through his helmet, his bright green eyes glaring at his enemies through the shield, instilling an unspeakable fear inside them. The captain was known to be unforgiving to those who stood up against him, and this time it wasn't so different. The army men cried, begged and bargained, but the captain didn't care much. The only thing he knew about was swinging his blade and feeling warm blood on his cold, dead body.