text: Nick Venom I'm Not A Hero 
   
   
   Episode One "The Selfish High-Tier" 
   Hollow lived in poverty for his entire life. Born as the abomination that ruined many relationships, Hollow was kicked out of home and forced to live on the streets. His mother had an affair with another man and Hollow was the consequence. His parents fought which cut their relationship into pieces and their families hated each other all because Hollow’s mother made a mistake. Hollow was also being treated differently by his parents as they both had pure anger towards Hollow since he was a living reminder of Hollow’s mothers’ action. Constant years of frustration lead to Hollow being kicked out of his parents’ home. Neither his mother, who wanted to kick him out so she could be forgiven, father or relatives wanted him. They left him on the streets with little money to survive on. He was kicked out at the tender age of 4 and the war between the demons and humans ended when he became 16.  The kingdom congratulated the hero, his party, the church, and the royal family on their aid in bringing down the demons. Ice, the hero, lived a luxurious lifestyle while many people suffered. The royal family and church turned the other eye towards slavery, homicides, drugs, and poverty. They ignored the existence of evils that occur in land claimed by the people stuck under the poverty line. Ice and his party saved the kingdom from being destroyed by the demons, but also didn’t care about the kingdom’s inhabitants. They were simply trying to be set for life. 
       Hollow was in the alleyway he called home looking for food. He found some almost rotten bananas that he was quick to munch on. This is a daily thing that Hollow is forced to go through. With no money or future, Hollow was left to rot in the streets. He walked out of the alleyway and was quickly hit by a person fleeing. He knocked the guy down and seconds later the police arrived. They handcuffed the guy and thanked Hollow for the assistance. He didn’t think much of it since the policeman gave him some money. He never knew that he stopped somebody that was of mafia roots. He slowly learned what happened when, two weeks later, three thugs appeared. They beat him senseless until he was at death’s door. The thugs left thinking that they finish their mission and paid back what Hollow owed them. He was visited by Cask, the goddess of darkness, and given a special power. Shadow Control. She healed Hollow which gave him a second chance at life. This time Hollow is determined to get revenge on the mafia for trying to kill him as well as the High-Tier for deserting the poverty-stricken people. He wanted to teach them a lesson. With his new found ability to control shadows. 
     
   If only there wasn’t a person who could control the sun. Two opposites cancel each other. Ray. 
   
   
   
   Episode Two "Shadows" 
   Hollow tracked down the men that attacked him finding an abandoned warehouse with guards posted everywhere. It remained nighttime so his power was at its peak. He counted the number of guards outside and came up with the two at the front entrance. The lights were on, eliminating the shadows and impeding his plan. Hollow scowled as he needed to take out the lights before he attacked the inside. The two guards that were posted outside had a small light source that illuminated a small area of the front entrance but left a small piece of darkness in the shadow of one of the guards. Hollow noticed it and formed a dagger from the darkness. He took the guard by surprise by plunging the dagger into his leg, knocking him down to the ground. The other guard looked over at the fallen guard with a surprised look. “You okay? What happened?” The guard went over to the fallen guard and checked his wound. “You got a dagger in your leg!” He exclaimed, crouching down, and creating more darkness. Hollow utilized the darkness to create more daggers that went straight for both of the guards' necks, killing them. Hollow went around the building finding a guard covering the fuze box. He summoned a dagger from a small shadow formed behind the fuze box and killed the guard. He went up to the fuze box and disconnected the lights. He went back to the front entrance and sneaked inside with the cover of darkness hiding him. He stood in the biggest room with the majority of guards standing around idly shouting orders. He summoned forty daggers from the darkness and struck all of the thugs directly in the heart. Cask followed above him smiling as he continued through the rooms and killed all of the thugs in the room. He went through the entire floor before snapping out of his bloodlust. He looked around noticing the carnage of bodies littering the floor. The smell of blood stained the air, hitting Hollow hard. He started coughing. He got over it after walking out of the warehouse and getting hit with clean air. He took in a couple of deep breaths before returning into the warehouse and stealing all of the money and destroying the guns. He went back to the biggest room on the floor when he noticed a door that he didn’t see earlier. Cautious, he pulled out a dagger and entered the room, realizing that it led to a new floor. He went down the stairs and found slaves stuck in cages with some of them looking to be on death’s door while others were dirty and disease-ridden. Hollow saw the keys sitting on a table and opened all of the cages. Hollow then cleared his throat.  
   “If you have someone waiting for you then leave! If you’re here because of debts then leave!” He shouted. He scanned the slaves’ faces, noticing hope being installed into them. “There isn’t anybody left that can claim your debts. You are officially free so enjoy your new life!” He shouted, his voice booming and echoing throughout the small basement. The slaves were hesitant to leave but moved after Hollow started ushering them upstairs. There they were met with corpses and the smell of blood---some people gagging, throwing up, or nearly fainting. The slaves ran out of the building and into the clean fresh air, entering their second life. Hollow searched the corpses of the thugs when two slaves came up behind him. “What do you want?” He asked. He looked around to notice that they looked to be elven siblings. 
   "We don’t have any family and we can’t return home.” The boy said. 
   “So what?” Hollow spat. 
   “We want you to take us in.” The girl said. 
   “What I’m doing will lead to my death, are you sure you’re willing to follow me?” Hollow asked. The elven siblings nodded. 
   “You’re our savior. Our lives are yours,” The girl said, kneeling down. The boy followed the girl.  
   Having kids like them will allow me to sneak into public places easily, he thought. “Fine, what’s your name?” 
   “Hunter. My sister is Cat.” Hunter, the boy, said. 
   “Well, let’s get going before the police arrive,” Hollow said. Hunter and Cat nodded their heads, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to survive on their own in this post-demon war era where many discriminate against every race aside from humans. Hollow took them in to train them as assassins and to use them as easy ways to infiltrate buildings without using force. Cask watched above Hollow with a creepy smile, chuckling slightly as Hollow fled the building with Hunter and Cat following after them. 
   
   
   
   Episode Three "The New Recruits" 
   Hollow returned to the alleyway that he first met Cask at. He brought the elf siblings along with him. Cask granted him Shadow Movement and now he wanted her to grant the sibling a skill each. He couldn’t see Cask unless she materialized. She did so behind Hunter, who stood at the back of the group. “Cask, I need you,” Hollow shouted. 
   “You rang?” Her soft angel-like voice whispered from behind Hunter. Hunter scurried away, dragging his sister away.  
   “Yes, I need a favor from you.” He said bluntly. 
   “A favor?” She asked. 
   “Yes, I need you to grant them a skill of their own.” 
   “Well, what is in it for me?” She asked, her voice not louder than a whisper. Her dark purple flower pattern dress that went down to her toes floated in the air as if the ground rose two feet. A beautiful woman, but she was far more dangerous than any device could estimate.  
   “What do you want in exchange?” He asked. 
   “I want blood.” She said, her voice becoming unnerving. 
   “My blood?” Hollow asked. 
   “No… I want corrupted blood.” Cask demanded. 
   “Uh, uh…” Hollow stammered. 
   “What about the Holy Church?” Cat whispered. 
   Hollow turned around and thanked Cat before turning back around to face Cask. “I will spare you the corrupted blood of Pastor Litch and Saint May Flower.” He declared. Cask smiled creepily.  
   “Perfect, that will be a sufficient trade,” Cask remarked, winking at the siblings. The wink set chills down their spines. Cask chuckled before disappearing into thin air, leaving them speechless. Hollow looked down at his body and noticed slight shaking. He turned around and noticed the siblings were frozen stiff out of fear. He shook his limbs to cast off the fear. The siblings followed Hollow out of the alleyway and into an abandoned warehouse that Hollow would occasionally visit to sleep at.  
     
   The next day Hunter noticed that he now has a power, that being Forcefield while Cat has the powerful skill Weapon Creation. Hollow smirked as the siblings told him of their incredible powers. “Today we will attack the pastor and saint. If you are strong enough to be by my side, then I will continue to take you as my apprentices.” The siblings nodded in agreement. 
   “Please take care of us,” Cat said. 
   “We’ll be under your watch,” Hunter said and bowed his head. Hollow smirked and turned around.  
   “Let’s go,” Hollow said. “We’re going to kill them.” 
     
   They made it to the church with the only people inside being the pastor and saint. Nobody aside from them is inside the church. It struck midnight, a perfect time for the assassination to begin. Hollow turned around to face the siblings. “We’re going to get inside using my power. Once inside, you’ll take your targets out. If you can do it successfully, then you’ll stay by my side or else…” Hollow instructed the siblings. The siblings nodded before Hollow opened his shadow to allow them inside of his shadows. They jumped into his shadows before Hollow moved through the shadows to sneak inside. Hollow moved to a balcony overlooking the front entrance of the church. The siblings got out of Hollow’s shadow and moved to meet their target. Cat’s target is Pastor Litch while Hunter has to assassinate Saint May Flower.  
   Cat has an offensive power while Hunter has a defensive power. The pastor would be more of a target than the saint. The pastor read from the bible on his podium out loud, not noticing Cat sneaking upon him.  Cat created a dagger from his power and sneaked closer to the pastor. She raised her dagger and stabbed at his leg. He let out a yelp as he fell to the ground. Now on the ground, Cat used this to her advantage and stabbed him in the face. His body twitched as his body didn’t understand what was happening. Cat looked up at the balcony and smiled, her face having blood splattered onto it.  
   Hunter sneaked into May’s room, who had a pair of headphones on and not hearing Litch’s yelp of pain and surprise. He sneaked into a dark corner of her room and held onto a knife that he got from Cat. His hands started sweating as May stood up from her desk and laid down on her bed. She rested one of her arms over her eyes. Hunter walked out of the shadows and sneaked over to May’s bed. May took her arm off her eyes and looked up at her attacker. She opened her mouth to scream but Hunter plunged the knife into it; stopping her from screaming and wounding her. He cut her throat and tongue, effectively stopping her from making any sounds. He then took the knife out of her mouth and plunged it into her skull, effectively killing her. He wiped his brow full of sweat and sat down on the wooden floor. “That was hard,” He whispered. 
   Cask appeared moments later and forced everybody to meet at the podium. “Corrupted blood,” She remarked. “I will surely enjoy this.” She said while nibbling at the pastor’s throat. “Your powers are now yours.”  
   “Then it’s time to finally target the hero Ice and his group!” Hollow declared. Cask smiled and nodded. 
   “It’s your time… “ Cask remarked. “To end your suffering.” 
   
   
   
   Episode Four "Archer Hero Uin" 
     
   Uin (pronounced: U-in) 
   Quzin (pronounced: Q-u-zin) 
     
   Hollow once lived in the town of Star, riddled by others and abandoned by his parents. He stuck to the town out of vague nostalgia, but now with rumors flying around about the murder of the saint and pastor, he felt no connection to the small town anymore. Instead, he chose to depart the town and the faint connections he had with it to venture on his road of vengeance and spite.  
   Hollow decided to follow an obscure path to a town far from Star, being the merchant-heavy town of Looms. The town was run by the archer of the hero party, Uin. Uin built the city up from a plot of land and nurtured the town and its economy to rival the economic juggernaut that is the capital, Quzin. Uin resided in the town in a mansion that became to be known as the Archer Paradise, a four-story mansion that took up two football fields, width, and length. Hollow didn’t have any specific hate against Uin, but he was known to indulge himself in girls, using drugs or his charm; Sometimes, he would use both. Hollow shook his mind of any thoughts about Uin before dropping a black duffle bag that he picked up before leaving Star. He opened the bag and took out a small notebook. He flipped to a specific page and scanned it. The page is a hitlist of those in the top tier of society. The hero and his party were listed as well as the royal family and the church. The pastor and saint’s name were crossed out. He closed the notebook and dropped it into the bag, zipping it up. He picked the bag up and continued walking, expressing no words to Cat or Hunter. The siblings looked at each other, clearly confused but didn’t exchange any words with each other. The only words that could be heard was that of Cask. Her spirit was stuck in the town of Star but could be moved by using a human body as her host. Hollow volunteered to be her host to move her to Looms.  
   “The top tier has wronged you,” Cask whispered to Hollow. “You must help him.” He told the siblings. The three nodded and allowed Cask to slowly infuse herself with their minds.  
   Hollow continued on the path that took him to the town of Looms. He reached the gate and chatted with the guards, bribing them with cash he took from the church. They took the money and allowed them through, not noticing the mysterious aura that hovered over the three.  
   Once inside of the town, the three parted ways due to Cask’s instructions. Cask sent Cat to gather information from the taverns while Hunter was given the mission of finding the weak points of the town. Hollow was sent to figure out Uin’s escape plan and the layout of his mansion, which he completed by sneaking in through his shadows and marking down the layouts of individual rooms on the notebook. Once all three completed their missions, they returned to meet up at a room they rented out. Cat learned an estimated location of the hero and his remaining group members while Hunter discovered a sheet displaying the guard shifts and vulnerable parts of the wall. Hollow, on the other hand, sketched a layout of every room in the Archer Paradise as well as figuring out the guard shifts. Hollow discovered the same sights every time he ventured into the mansion, finding items that you would expect a millionaire to have from paintings to vases and even expensive-looking furniture. Passed out women would lay all over the floor and couches, some in Uin’s bed along with him. Hollow investigated Uin’s room and discovered drugs stuffed away in closets. He drugged and raped the women, who didn’t understand anything when they woke up in the morning. Knowing this, Hollow attempted to grab one of the girls that Uin drugged and brought in moments ago, but a voice echoing off the walls interrupted him. “Where’s the new girl?” Uin’s voice shouted. “I want to take a taste of her soon.” Hollow cringed and crept back into the shadows, mouthing off apologizes to the woman who will soon join the list of women Uin has raped. He decided to return to the inn room with Cask’s plan now set in motion. 
   “Two days from now… Uin will be dead,” remarked Hollow. “Two days… “ 
   
   
   Publication Date: May 18th 2020 https://www.bookrix.com/-na50a1c958baf75