#herogeneration

Nightmare

A small comic about a boy who lost everything

And a man who wants to make things right

I finally have a solid character design for Brooke that won't change anymore (hopefully? pls?)

She's the main character of the book I plan since 2014 - so she changed a little.

Small shoulders, more chub, childlike eyes and less femininity - also I made her pretty small in general. I think she went from a 5'6'' to a 5'3''. I kinda enjoy the image of her fighting others while being a little grumpy bean.

I hopefully get the other 19 characters done soon - we'll see :)

A Hero Generation Story

>> As a Knight of Light, Kresimir's duty was to protect his people. Those who had once lived peacefully on the Earth's surface in harmony with the Light. Who were hunted, driven away, and if found, killed, after the Darkness took power. In the underground, the People of Light were safe, even if life wasn't pleasant—at least they had one. One of these people was Cary. With her cat ears and tail, it seemed like there was more to her than just a simple human. However, this showed the Knight that she had great potential to become a good Witch of Light. And they couldn't lose this potential again to the darkness. <<

This is a Masterlist of my Story "At Night All Cats Are Grey". You can find all the Chapters here:

Chapter 1-3

Chapter 4-6

Chapter 7-9

Chapter 10-12

Chapter 13-15

Chapter 16-17

This Story was made for a competition; therefore, the rules on how long a chapter could be where kinda strict. I hope you can still enjoy this story! I'm already writing on the prequel, which is more like the main part, so you can see this short story almost like a long prologue!

I would love to hear your opinion, so let me know in the comments or write me a DM! Thanks for taking the time to read this story, it means super much to me!

Credits:

"I... I don't want to feel that way! I want to be happy again, want to be able to smile everyday and feel not this... This horrible burden on my shoulders! I can't do this anymore!"

-Cary

Knight of Light - Kresimir

"From what we know, he's the only survivor of the massacre on the Himmelsinsel. But even though he's apparently capable of transforming into an Engel, he refuses to do so. Even though this power is critical in our fight against the darkness, I will not force him to do it."

- Brunhilda, Master of Knights, in a letter to unknown

"He's, like me, one of the few men in the Light Army. Even weirder that he's supposed to be an Engel. Like, I thought they only trained women for anything magic-related? Well, guess they ran out of women!"

16.

The smile that Cary previously had on her lips was long gone. “Kresimir…? Is everything okay?” But again, she got no answer. His gaze remained fixed into the distance, his eyes wide in shock. Her tension slowly increased. “Hey…Kresimir…” She cautiously walked towards him and reached out for his arm. When she brushed against him, however, she flinched back a little herself. ‘Fuck… so much dark energy…!’ That wasn’t good! Hadn't he explained it to her himself?

“Schattenfresser are attracted to negative energy. That’s why it’s important to control it as much as possible.”

That meant if he didn't stop, then...! “Kresimir, calm down!” Cary said in a panic. She definitely couldn't take on Schattenfresser! "E-Everything is fine...!" Could she really calm him down like that though? She knew what it was like to be in shock. Such words didn't help. She had to find out what was causing it –

Her gaze went where Kresimir himself had been staring the whole time. “The fire…?” She looked at him again. "Are you afraid of the fire...?" Cary didn't expect to receive an answer, but she saw the knight search her gaze for a moment. What she saw in that moment was more than a thousand words could have explained to her. She could see…raw fear in his eyes.

Without hesitation, Cary took his hand and pulled Kresimir behind her. “Hey, what’s going on–,” she heard the workers calling after them. But the cat-human didn't answer them. Her primary goal was to bring Kresimir to safety. The fire scared him for some reason, so it was certainly better if he got away from it. Right?

What did she know about what was right or not! But it was better to try that than risk Kresimir attracting Schattenfresser to the camp. "Everything is fine...!" Cary said firmly as she turned to him. "The fire will not come this far–" She stopped when she tripped over a stone and landed full broadside. “Ouuuuch…” Cary moaned heavily. Man, that really hurt! But she couldn't complain now! She had to be there for Kresimir!

At least he didn’t trip and fall. Still, he didn't look good. He was breathing haltingly and seemed to not be getting enough air in his lungs. Shit, was running a stupid idea? “K-Kresimir, are you having trouble breathing?” The cat human jumped up and turned to the knight. He didn't look at her, but he nodded slightly. At least he was approachable again. That calmed Cary down for a second.

But she still had to help Kresimir! Shortness of breath... did he feel constricted? "S-Should I take off your armor?" Even though Cary asked him that, she didn't know exactly how best to go about it. Before she could act further, however, Kresimir placed his hands on his chest and his other arm. Shortly afterward, the pieces of armor dissolved in a soft light. 

“Oh… I guess that works…” Cary was glad that he could get rid of the armor himself. However, she quickly held his arm as Kresimir slowly slid down the wall behind him.

17. A glimps of hope

Kresimir took a deep breath and then exhaled again. His body, which had been shaking until just a moment ago, slowly calmed down. He carefully raised his arms and placed them around the cat woman in front of him, who was still holding him gently against her. “I’m with you…” she murmured again, now gently stroking his head. Her warmth, her gentleness, everything made him calm down more and more. The panic that had just permeated every fiber of his body disappeared. All that remained was an inner warmth that he hadn't felt in so many years…

He took another deep breath. His hands, which had just been clinging to Cary's clothes, slowly relaxed again. However, this caused her to immediately back away a bit. “O-Oh, w-was that too much?” she asked, now much more unsure than she had seemed before. But the blonde-haired man shook his head.

"No. Thank you.” Kresimir found it difficult to look at her at that moment. The fact that he had let it get to the point where Cary had to help him was eating away at his self-esteem. “I'm sorry I was like that. It won't happen again‒"

“Hey, don’t say that!” Her raised voice made the knight look at her confused. She shook her blonde hair vigorously and glared at him. “It’s obviously not your fault! That was definitely a panic attack that you couldn't get out of so easily!” But Cary's self-confident behavior disappeared as quickly as it came. “Ah-Well… of course, I don’t know if that’s exactly what it was,” she corrected herself and now looked uncertainly at the ground. “But… to demand that this doesn’t happen again… is harsh. I think.”

Kresimir thought about her words for a moment. Of course, he knew that he couldn't stop himself from going into these states of shock so easily. Luckily that didn't happen that often, but when it did... he'd been more than lucky that Cary had been there for him. If she hadn't pulled him away from the fire...he knew this could have ended badly. Like Cary, he would have attracted Schattenfresser, putting himself and others in danger. She had done the right thing, whether consciously or unconsciously.

"...you're right," he admitted to himself, shaking his head slightly. “It’s not going to stop that easily…”

"And that...that's okay." Cary's voice was softer again, and he saw a slight smile on her lips. “I… well, of course, I’m curious what exactly happened,” she admitted and laughed, a little embarrassed. But then she shook her head. “But that’s not so important right now. The important thing is that you feel better again and that you are not afraid. I'm... glad I could help you with that. I'm happy to be here for you! Don’t forget that!”

A gentle smile appeared on Kresimir's lips. Now he was really happy that he had agreed to the training. Not only was he able to help Cary... she was also a great support to him. He definitely didn't want to miss it anymore. For now, he didn’t speak his thoughts out loud. All he did was nod slightly. 

But it didn’t take long for him to form some words again. “...can we stay here a little longer?” His question made Cary look a little surprised. Kresimir didn't really know why he had this wish either. But the thought of being alone with Cary for a bit was nicer than joining the others again. Especially if they hadn't put the fire out yet.

To Kresimir's surprise, the cat woman nodded. Silently, but with a soft smile, she sat down next to him so that their arms touched so slightly.

Even if he somehow wanted to feel a hug from her again…

There was something nice about thís too.

13. Just chilling a little

“Now tense your whole body…”

Kresimir saw Cary's facial muscles, her arms, legs, hands, and feet tense tightly. She let them rest like that for a few seconds before letting them loosen again. “Take a few more deep breaths and exhale…”

He heard the woman breathing deeply in and out. She did this a few more times before blinking her eyes open and stretching with pleasure. “Ah, that was really good!” Grinning, she sat up from her lying position.

“Slow down... your circulation has to catch up.”

Cary actually held her head for a moment before turning to the knight, somewhat sheepishly. “Whoops, you’re right. But I feel so good right now!”

This made Kresimir himself smile slightly. “I’m glad you like progressive muscle relaxation more. Then let’s incorporate that into training from now on.” Today was also the first day that he felt a stronger change in her energy.

“But when can I finally learn to use magic properly?” Cary looked at him full of energy. The question made the blonde-haired man smile a little inwardly as he looked at her cat tail sticking out excitedly. After all, it wasn't as if she hadn't been able to use magic all along. But he knew what she meant.

“We can happily train that starting tomorrow. First of all, it was important to me that you learn ways and means to regulate your energy yourself. So you know it’s not that hard to accumulate positive energy.”

"Yeah, I get it... so I don't have to rely on dark magic..." The fact that she wasn't allowed to use it still seemed to bother her. She probably found it easier to convert negative energy into magic.

“There are reasons why witches, and even people in general, carry so much negative energy within themselves.”

This was taught to them very early on in their witch training. Was it about time to find out more about Cary? Kresimir wasn't much of a social person...but as her trainer, he should at least try.

“Man, I’m so hungry…” Cary pulled him out of his thoughts and placed a hand on her stomach. "That annoys me so much... I don't want to be hungry all the time." He didn't quite understand what she was getting at. After all, even if they didn't do much, the training was still strenuous. Or was she unusually hungry? Her weight at least suggested unhealthy eating habits.

Kresimir went to his bag and took out something wrapped in a cloth. "It's important to have enough energy. Let's take a break."

14.

It was surprisingly very interesting to learn more about Cary. Kresimir hadn't talked to anyone in a long time like that... so he could get to know anyone a little better. At least he didn't normally initiate these conversations, and so he never contributed much to them.

“I find it rather surprising that you always hang out with the workers so much!” she said and laughed a little. That made him a little curious.

“Really?”

“Hm, you always seem very... quiet and distant. That’s why I’m surprised you still sit with such lively people, you know?”

Kresimir could understand why she thought that. But he just shrugged. “I don’t talk to them either. But it’s easier to eat there than to look for a quieter place.” It was also his job to keep an eye on the workers. But she didn't need to know that.

Cary laughed a little. “Haha, that’s why you’re staying there? I find that kind of crazy! I’d rather be alone if I don’t want to chat with them!”

He noticed that at that moment she seemed to him like someone who actually enjoyed talking. But she said she didn't want to listen to unpleasant comments. “…so if you like talking to someone, would you eat with them too?”

Cary seemed to think about that for a moment. “Hmm, not always… but every now and then! If someone makes me happy, I like to spend time with them!” 

He could also understand that well. More than that, he could relate to that. When he has been still living above, he always found the company of his siblings pleasant. There was something calming about talking to them. 

“... it just hasn’t happened that often yet… y’know?”

Kresimir was silent for a second before he nodded slowly. “…you will find people who will accept you for who you are.”

“Hah…that’s what mom always said…” It was the first time he had heard of Cary’s mother. Although she had initially said that she no longer had parents, she had also lied about her story. At least her mother seemed to have been a part of her life long enough to influence her.

“But I wasn’t optimistic about it for a long time. I had friends here and there, but I never really felt like I belonged. I was always too fat, too loud, too excited. Had strange dreams that I would never be good enough for anyway...” Dreams... did she mean goals for the future? Cary lifted her head and looked skyward. But nothing more than bare stone walls could be seen.

Kresimir didn't ask, and Cary didn't elaborate. As she lowered her head, she looked at the knight for a moment and smiled. It seemed like she wanted to say something to him... but in the end, she looked away without doing so. What was it that she couldn’t bring herself to say to him… after opening up that much just a second ago?

15. The burning smell

Soaked in sweat, Kresimir opened his eyes. He breathed heavily in and out, trying to slowly calm his pulse. His dream... for a moment, he thought he remembered it. But no matter how hard he tried to think about it, he couldn't bring a single image to mind. It was clear that it couldn't be anything nice. Was it that terrible day again? He had been dreaming about it again for some time now. Was there a reason for that?

'...what's the point of worrying about it now?' Kresimir sighed heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Just ignore it... at some point, the dreams would subside again. Even if it were only for a few months.

Luckily, the thought of training with Cary again today put him in a better mood. They'd only been doing this for less than two weeks, but he was starting to really enjoy his time with her. He didn't know exactly why that was, but he didn't believe it was because he liked playing the teacher so much. Although he was looking forward to today... Somehow, Kresimir believed that Cary could finally make some progress.

“Hngh…!”

Well, maybe he had been too optimistic. "Relax, Cary," he instructed her. "You won't be able to direct your magic with tension."

“Ngh… I’m… not tensing up! I'm pushing...!" The cat woman sighed heavily as she lowered the arm she had been holding in front of her. “I really felt my magic... but somehow I couldn't get it in my hands! So I imagined pressing it! Like when you have to gotta go really big, you know?”

Kresimir had to hold back a laugh at her words. What kind of logic was that? “But you… do know that it’s not good to push there either?”

"What? You’re kidding me!” Cary looked seriously shocked.

But the blonde-haired man just shook his head. “You're tensing yourself up too much. Imagine a vein in your body. Blood only flows through as long as the opening is large enough. But if you were to squeeze it tightly... how would anything be able to flow?”

Cary slowly calmed down again. She breathed in deeply and then exhaled again. “Ease up…” she murmured, slowly raising her hand. “Just…don’t push…” Shortly afterwards, her hand began to glow with a soft light. “I-Is it working…?” She hesitantly opened her eyes, only to start jumping up and down, beaming. “It works! It works! How cool! Look, Kresimir!”

The knight smiled gently. He was honestly happy for her that she had finally made progress. However, just as he was about to say something, he stopped. A smell hit his nose...one that made his heart race. 

Cary seemed to smell it too. She looked up in surprise. “Where…is that burning smell coming from? Does it come from the camp?”

Without further hesitation, Cary ran towards the camp. Even if Kresimir didn't want to... he couldn't let Cary go alone. What if she and the others need help? It’s his duty as a knight… to keep the camp safe.