3 November 2023

I really struggled when I tried to participate in Nanowrimo for 2023. It didn’t go well, as you will see.

Three hundred years.

Three hundred years.

Kyra shouldn’t have been surprised; she’d known the seal was supposed to last a long time. She’d known all her friends would likely be dead if she ever got out. But then again… she hadn’t actually thought she’d ever get out, had she?

But she hadn’t died like she was supposed to. Instead, here she was, alone, again. And this time, the world itself felt foreign.

Kyra felt this keenly when Brinja pulled out a small, black tablet with shaking hands. She tapped on it a few times, then held it up to her ear. Considering everything the girl must have been through, she was holding herself together fairly well; Kyra was impressed.

The tablet produced a ringing sound, and then a woman’s voice emerged. “This is the Krotlin City Police Department. What is your emergency?”

Kyra jumped at the voice, but before she could react, Brinja replied, “H-hi, yes. My name’s Brinja Sonorak. I… I was kidnapped by some demon cultists, but I… They… they’re all dead now.”

There was a pause. “I see. Do you know your location, Miss Sonorak?”

“I-I’m not sure, but I think they took me to the demon king’s seal.”

“Okay, we have people on their way. Are you alright? Are you injured in any way?”

“N-no, I’m not injured. The person who rescued me stopped them before they could hurt me.”

“Is that person with you now?”

“Is that person with you still?”

“Yes. U-um…” Brinja shot a glance at Kyra. “She said her name is Kyra. And… and I think she’s probably the Kyra.”

There was a long moment of silence. “Could you tell me exactly what happened, Miss Sonorak?”

So she did. The more Kyra heard, the less she regretted killing the lot. Seriously, had nothing changed in that three hundred years she’d been sealed?

Then, she heard a series of roars and squeals, accompanied by blaring red and blue lights racing toward them. Kyra stepped protectively in front of Brinja and readied her axe, right as three white beasts raced around the corner. Then they opened, and Kyra realized these were some manner of carriage. Men and women in dark uniforms poured out, pointing some sort of metal object her direction. One of them, a tall, burly man, called out, “Lower your weapons and put your hands on your head!”