Mana is not unlimited. Excessive use of mana will lead to a time when it shall become the most valuable substance in the world. Mana wars will erupt. Such is the flaw of human beings. Selfishly we will abuse our power. Selfishly we will sacrifice our claim as intelligent beings to hurt each other. Is there no salvation from our faults? Unselfishly, someone must rise up and cast away this sin…

October 21, 2173…
The thunderstorm rages fitfully onward. Torrential cascades of rain pound the marble pavement. Rivers of rainwater drench the sacred grounds of the Royal Estate. Only shadows move in the midst of this black hurricane. It is a single light, the light of a candle, towards which they flock.

“Mercutio, do you read me?”

“Yeah.”

“Please advance approximately sixty meters to the Royal Household. We have confirmed Caesar will locate himself at Bedroom 4 within fifteen minutes. Success rate will approach 88% in the following three minutes. Go.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you listening?!”

“Yeah.”

The assassin slips off the ledge he’d been resting on. He slides down the wall with relative ease and lands in a puddle. “Crap, my boots are wet!”

Two guards turn to each other in the dead of the night. Their masked faces hide their perplexed looks. “Hm? Did you hear somethin’?”

“I didn’t hear nothin’,” his comrade responds.

“Wait. I see somethin’ movin’ in those shadows.”

A flash of lightning explodes out of the pitch blackness. It does not come from the sky. The eruption of colors conjured by the lightning flash dissolves in the freezing sleet. The two members of the Imperial Guard lay dead on the ground.

A pair of radiant brown eyes watches the life drain from their bodies. The eyes slip away back into the darkness, where Caesar awaits.

The assassin slides a handgun from his pocket. It clicks gleefully upon recognition of its owner. The candlelight continues to glow from the window. The assassin splashes silently towards the light. Caesar enters the room inside. The finger of an assassin presses against the trigger.

The alarm sounds. The dark-haired youth is dragged into a languid wakefulness. He lethargically flips over in bed to silence the alarm clock with his fist. After a few more moments, he rises from his bed.

He sighs. “I wish I could shoot that alarm clock dead.”
————–
A preview of what I have in store after Tales of a Lost World. This is the prologue. Recommended for readers 16 and over. It’s a mere 392 words, well below the 500 word rule, but meh, that’s why it’s a prologue.
Disclaimer – I don’t own MapleStory, belongs to Nexon even though they don’t deserve to make money off it, yada yada yada. All respective characters belong to me, story belongs to me, you may not redistribute this without my consent.