Sneak peek at TENEBRIS

This translation is just a test to see how my writing turns out in English(so there might be some typos and errors).

NOT final version.

Translated by Yoojin Choi, the co-creator of the TENEBRIS universe.

First Part of Prologue:

Fear. It transcends on us all as all living things dwell in its presence and coexist with their own fear. While some fight against it, others succumb and kneel before it, to serve it until death. Yuri, the Spirit Hunter, also has her own fear. However, the terror which she dwells in, is unlike what others normally cower from. It is not of the cursed spirits and monsters she faces every day, nor is it the ever-existing possibility of death. It is love. A memory of her past love which became that of what haunts her nightmares. A lover, who turned a murderer.

Yuri was a spirit soother, those how serve the dark deity, when she stumbled upon a young man named Mir. The dark deity is worshiped by the nocturnal race of humans called the Night Striders, which descends from their ancient ancestors, the bloodsuckers. Yuri, being a Night Strider, lived with her fellow spirit soothers and their master, Jinyul, in the suburbs of Crescent City, which is located in the capitol of the Bloodcrown Empire. Yuri and the others were all parentless; orphans for whatever reasons, which Jinyul took in under his benevolent wings, as he was also orphaned long ago. He felt sympathy for the younglings without parents who cared for them and so, provided shelter, training as a spirit soother and a chance for a meaningful life at his monastery. First there only a couple of children, however after a decade, the monastery grounds were bustling with ten apprentices and one master.

Yuri was the tenth child to be taken in. She was slightly old when Jinyul took her in; 17 years old and since Jinyul already had nine mouths to feed, he needed not another. However, when Jinyul saw a 17-year-old Yuri being beaten by her parents for no particular reason that he could see, and after questioning her parents of the reason for such brutality which had clearly gone on for quite some time comprehending from the bruises and scars on her body, he took her in as the last apprentice.

Although being shown the light of kindness from Jinyul, Yuri was not able to adjust to the monastery life. The years of abuse and beating had left their mark on Yuri to a point where she did not believe others as well as herself to fulfill tasks and duties. However, as time heals all wounds, after befriending one of the apprentices named Sunwoo, Yuri started adapting to her newfound life. Her knowledge towards books and scriptures expanded, however, not as much as her skills with her blade. She was the finest if not, as strong as Jinyul himself and he was a veteran spirit soother that had been hunting and putting to rest, all kinds of cursed spirits and monsters. No apprentice was a match when it came to honing skills with a blade in combat. As the years went by in the monastery, Yuri came to think of Jinyul her father and prayed to the deity that a life with her fellow spirit soothers would be everlasting.

Part of Chapter 1:

Yuri opened her eyes and looked around. Something was not right. She found herself suspended in mid-air, dangling upside down as if some unknown force had her by the ankles. As she hung there, she spotted a hooded figure cloaked in pitch black garments, holding out his hand, clutched in a fist, towards her. As he closed his fist, she could feel herself being pulled towards him.

“A mage!”

She thought, as the memory of the burning golden eyes from her nightmare struck fear into her heart again. No matter how much she struggled, the invisible grip on her would not break. In matter of seconds, she was drawn across the air and placed in front of the mysterious figure. The man just stood there, unmoving, stared at her from beneath his hood.

“Put me down, now!” Yuri cried angrily.

“Silence.”

Said the man as he removed his hood. At first sight, he was no different from any other night strider with dark hair, red eyes, and a pale complexion. However, Yuri noticed that he did not resemble any ordinary night strider. His hair was abyss-like as it was distinguishably darker than the darkening night. His skin was as white as the coldest winter frost, which seemed to douse the warmth around him. The sharp, red, sizzling eyes burned into hers as it glowed like two sets of rubies displayed in front of a roaring fire. He was fair and yet, the fairness was of the nobility with a pointy nose yet a smooth, amicable jawline. The qualities which made Yuri sick.

“Put me down!”

“Your babbling is sickening.”

“I said put me down, n..”

The man eased his fist and lowered his arm back into his cloak. With that movement, Yuri plummeted to the ground before she finished her sentence as the rocky ground digging into her elbow told her she was sprawled on the ground. She had gotten her wish, but altogether in a very painful and humiliating way.

“Are you out of your mind? What the hell is your problem?”

said Yuri, looking up at the man in despise.

“To hear the exact words I wished to speak, from your mouth. How intriguing, from a sacrilegious wretch.”

said the man in a dry, unemotional tone.

“Sacrilege?”

“Yes. Sacrilege. This is a holy realm where the servants of the deity lie in rest. And you thought it would be wise to stain it with your blood, however worthless you believed your life was.”

“What?”

This infuriated Yuri. For a moment she thought that this stranger may have cared enough to save her, to have offered aid. However, to know that a noble’s reason in saving her, was that he did not want the ground stained with blood, was disgusting. Yuri laughed at the man, looking down at her as if she was an insect.

“What would a noble know of serving the deity?”

Yuri looked at the man and spat,

“Sacrilege? A holy realm? Where was my creator when I was starving out on the streets begging for scraps? Where was he when I was betrayed and left for dead, clinging on to dear life, asking him for answers? Where was he when I offered him my life? He wasn’t there. He was never there. He never listened to me, he never showed up to save me. Instead, you showed up. A noble boy who doesn’t know anything about what we go through. A noble who knows nothing of despair and sorrow. You have no say in my life. You have no say in my death. You know nothing of it. How dare you accuse me of sacrilege? How dare you..”

“So, this is how you thank your savior?”

“What?”

Yuri’s voice shook with anger. She had not noticed, but her vision was being clouded by tears, from both sadness and fury.

“You think you did me service by saving me, but you of all people, you nobles will never know what it’s like to pass winter with a piece of cloth for a blanket. You will never know what it’s like when your lips split and bleed. When you chew on twigs and leaves to not starve to death. You wouldn’t know a single thing about those would you? And you say sacrilege? Where was the creator when whole villages were slaughtered by cursed spirits because they had not the coins to hire a mage to protect them? Where was the creator when the people I loved were slaughtered and left to rot? Where was the creator when I begged my parents for mercy when I was a child? Where was he when I was starved and broken? While you’re twiddle your magic-wares in your armchair in front of a warm fireplace, what would you know of serving the deity? You know nothing of the world. You know nothing.”

Yuri screamed at the man in fury. The man spoke, his tone unchanged and his eyes unwavering.

“And you, a lowlife would know enough of a noble’s life to judge me?”

“All nobles are the same. And seeing that you are, you are no different.”

“How fortunate of you to see the world in such a miserably simple way. I’m almost beginning to envy that mindless life of yours.”

Furious, Yuri tried to say something, but the man suddenly raised his hand and pointed at a cliff nearby.

“If you wish to die, go, and die where you please, but not in the sight of mine or the servants of the lord, for you disgust and disgrace our race by your mere existence. The degree of selfishness and idiocy sickens me.”

The man turned and left without another word. As Yuri stared at the fading figure, she again, thought of what he had said and the death of her master.

One of the battle scenes from TENEBRIS: The Fear from the Past:

The Gumiho charged at Yuri with beastly force. Yuri quickly dodged sideways as the monster smashed against the cave wall. The ceiling shook as the wall cracked like a damaged glass where the beast had rammed. Yuri slashed mercilessly at the hind legs of the Gumiho.

Blood seeped into its snow-white fur and became flaring red like a rose. The beast let out an ear-splitting howl as it extended its claws and swiped at Yuri. She rolled sideways, the claws missing only by inches. Again, she danced with her blade around the front legs of the Gumiho. Yuri’s face was tattered in blood as it splattered from the flesh of the beast. Yuri’s plan was to cripple the legs and bar its movement, then go in for the kill.

However, a fully grown Gumiho was not an easy foe. The only way to kill it was to deliver the killing blow to it neck; snapping its spine in half. This was no easy task and the Gumiho did everything it could to protect its vitals.

As she leapt aside from a life-threatening stomp from the beast, she felt a slight breeze, a thin streak of cold air, coming from the entrance of the cave. As a former spirit soother, Yuri, not only used her blade but the power of nature as well. As the Gumiho prepared for another charge, Yuri opened her left hand and grasped the breeze. She thrusted her hand forward and the breeze became a mighty blast of wind, rushing towards the beast. The wind howled like a wolf, blasting the beast with the power of a hurricane. The Gumiho flinched at the sudden blast of icy wind, shielding its eyes from the torrent of air. Now was the chance. Yuri backflipped on a boulder behind her and launched herself towards the beast’s neck with her blade ready.

Suddenly, the Gumiho opened its shining golden eyes wide open, dashing away from Yuri’s blade. Her blade ringed like a bell as it bounced off the wall of the cave. As Yuri turned the beast was upon her, its eyes burning gold as it cast horrors of Yuri’s past onto her mind as live images.

“Yuri..”

“Yuri”

“YURI!”

Mir’s voice rang in Yuri’s head as the Gumiho circled Yuri, closing in for the kill.

“You should have listened”

“You killed your friends, your teacher, it’s all your fault. They’re dead because of you.”

Yuri dropped her blade as her head was filled with vision of horror. She remembered her dead brethren, the burned down temple, and her master, Jinyul, butchered and mutilated. She was too ingulfed in fear and horror, that she could not see the Gumiho lunge at her. It rushed Yuri with immense strength, baring its teeth. Its razor-sharp teeth gripped her by the arm, its claws piercing her flesh. Yuri let out a cry of pain as the beast flung her across the cave like a doll.

“It’s all your fault. You are the death of your family, your friends and your master.”

Mir’s voice seemed to ring louder and louder in her head. Yuri felt as if her head was going to burst, but no, she was not going to die here like this. Not this time. She was not going to give in.

“No, you’re dead. You’re gone. This is not real.”

Yuri rolled under the beast that pounced her and grabbed her sword. The constellations on the sword gleamed as Yuri staggered to keep standing. The Gumiho roared again and charged, sure of its victory. Yuri stretched her arm out again, dripping with blood. She clasped her hand around the blade and as she hurled the blade towards the beast, the blade began to sing as it rode the wind. The blade curved sideways and as Yuri dashed away from the beast, the blade went flying, wailing like a ghost. In seconds, the blade, with the force of the wind had cut clean through the beast’s neck and the headless body of the Gumiho faltered and crashed into the wall of the cave.