《Refasten》 Alexis Verdice Alexis never had much as a child. His parents neglected him, threw him out to survive in the world by himself. He could barely sustain himself, let alone afford education. Left without friends, family, without anyone, he was bound to break. No one was there to take him in. But instead of wallowing in self pity, instead of giving up, against all odds, he was able to make it work. Life beat him down until his legs could no longer hold, and he pulled himself back up with his battered, tired hands, and forced it to give him what he deserved. Against all odds, he was able to get a stable job, meet amazing people, and meet the love of his life. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Eleanor, sweet Eleanor. Warm, hazelnut eyes, smooth, stunning black hair, and fierce spirit that could rival his own. Someone he thought he could only dream of. He had never imagined that he could marry someone like her. But he never hesitated. He didn¡¯t regret it, any of it, at all. Not for a single second. He won. He made it. Now all that there was left to do was to enjoy life to the fullest, to the very end. Prologue 1 - The Little One ¡°You¡¯re leaving early today?¡± Mr. Halsey¡¯s face stiffened up as I started to close my computer. There was a lot of work today, but there were more important matters to attend to. [¡°I know there¡¯s work to be done, but something has come up. Ellie''s water broke, I need to go visit her at the hospital.¡±] Worried, albeit excited, I quickly packed up my things. ¡°Oh! Look, the clients being a real piece of work, so you head back as soon as you can, alright? Go take care of her, and congratulations.¡± [¡°Alright, alright. See you!¡±] Hastily making my way out of the door and into my car, I began to drive to the hospital. My parents never believed in me. They distrusted me so intensely they didn¡¯t raise me. I wish I could see the look on their faces if they were to find out that someone like me, was having a daughter! If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Of course, I was worried. This was premature. We still had about a month to go. But above all, I was excited. Having a child is a blessing to me. A new glimmer of light to brighten up the beautiful world I lived in. __________________________________________________________________________ Entering the hospital, my mind started feeling floaty and ethereal. My excitement rose with every floor passed.. Exiting the elevator, I quickly made my way to room 405, the room where Eleanor was held. Had I not been so euphoric, I might have noticed the strange lack of workers, or even people that were on this floor. There were no lights on in any of the rooms, no worried family members waiting outside the rooms, nothing. But I was in too much of a daze to notice. As I open the door to 405, there was nothing in the room but darkness. ¡°Congratulations, Alexis¡± A cold, deep, smooth voice greets me. I quickly awaken from my trance. It was strange. I only noticed after the voice pierced my ears. My hair stood up on end. The voice was unfamiliar. The room was too dark to make out any details. Before I¡¯m able to say anything, a sharp pain pierces my throat, as a knife is lodged straight through from the front to the back, and I am left on the floor, choking and sputtering. The last thing I hear is the cold, unfamiliar voice. "Off to the next then." Chapter 1 - The Stagnant World A tall, slender, man with pointy ears flees from the army of the infamous ¡®Demon King¡¯. His sharp black eyes, usually brimming with confidence, were filled with fear. His neat, short brown hair was unkempt and ruffled, as he had no time to take care of his appearance. The man in question, Alexis Verdice, an elf appointed as royal mage, is unable to do anything about the arrival of the Demon King, and thus, shamefully flees, as if his normally composed, noble demeanor and pearly white robes were all for show. But nobody could blame him, the Demon King was a being beyond comprehension. The city of Fawksmarch was doomed. Palojia was doomed. __________________________________________________________________________ The island of Palojia was varied and beautiful. From dazzling rivers that fed into the great Catacer waterfall that seemed to flow upwards, to the colorful forest that the Catacer resided in, and the strange twisting mountain range that bordered the ocean, preventing anyone inside of Palojia from making easy contact with the outside world. But the Palojians had no desire to have contact with the outside world. They enjoyed the peaceful isolation. The world was cruel, and this was one of the only safe places they had. It was a place they could call home. A place untainted by the outside world. Of course, not all Palojians were good people, but they believed that their God, Aldir, would protect them from malevolent forces. __________________________________________________________________________ The Existence had many names over the lifespan of the world it created. Its people were divided on its existence. Some called it God. Some did not believe in it. However, it did not mind. It was proud of its creation, and gently corrected the mistakes of the sentient beings, believing that they would learn from them. But it started losing patience. Over thousands of years it struggled to see how the sentients could not change. The sentients used the gift of free will to rip each other apart, and destroy all the blessings it gave them. The sentients were too fixated on destroying themselves, and as a result, failed to progress as a civilization. The Existence grew tired of fixing the sentients'' mistakes, time and time again. They would never learn. The Existence stopped interfering with the world, and simply watched, thinking that it handheld the sentients too much, that they could change by themselves. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. __________________________________________________________________________ The world is in turmoil. A great war is happening. The Kingdom of Hedel is unable to support refugees, but it would not be good for their image to abandon them. Thus, the king sends the refugees out to sea under the pretense of being sent to shelter. The refugees were hopeful at first, but soon realized they were left to die. A week came without food. Land was nowhere in sight. Children lost their strength to cry. Starvation drained their morale, and the refugees had no energy to survive. But somehow, under some miracle, they sail onto the island of Palojia. There, their thirst and hunger was mended, and so were their souls. They had regained hope for the future, and wanted to forget about the outside world. These sentients managed to develop something all the nations had failed to do before them. They created a place where everything lived in union. They had created a happy nation. A peaceful nation, where war was not known. It was exactly the kind of thing the Existence wanted. But it was too late. The Existence was already indifferent to this world. It already planned to abandon the world, and its parting gift was the Demon King. __________________________________________________________________________ With a world in constant turmoil, there were bound to be hateful people. People who had no hope for the world, and wished for it to end. Orph¨¦e was one such person. His circumstance was not uncommon. He was the result of a noble who forced himself on his mother, who worked as a prostitute at the time. He hated how he couldn¡¯t help his mother, and how she had to overwork herself to support them. But above all, he couldn¡¯t stand the fact that she loved him. Despite being the son of a dirty man, he was still cherished by her. Due to this, in spite of the dire circumstances, he was happy. Of course, a situation like that could never last. After his wife was found to be infertile, and an heir was not possible, the noble found Orph¨¦e and took him away to be his heir. Orph¨¦e couldn¡¯t resist, being only an adolescent boy at the time. His father taught him how nobles operated, the dirty jobs they got into for profit. Orph¨¦e became desensitized to it. Starting wars, making deals with scum, using innocent people as scapegoats, all for profit. He became numb to the rot of the world. His only feeling was longing for his mother. That feeling overpowered any guilt he had. He only listened to his father because eventually, his father¡¯s deeds would catch up to him. And they did. His father¡¯s corruption was exposed, and he was to be executed for his crimes. After his father¡¯s death, Orph¨¦e finally had the opportunity to see his mother. He headed to the brothel that he used to live with his mother at, hoping to find out where she went, or if she was still working as a prostitute. It had been years since he had seen her, Orph¨¦e was now a fully grown man. Truthfully though, he hoped that she had found a better job. But all he got was an obituary. His longing turned into grief and regret. When he did dirty jobs, his excuse for it was that it was all for the sake of his mother. But, with this, he was unable to forgive himself. He didn¡¯t only blame himself, he blamed the world. If the world wasn¡¯t so sick, he could''ve returned to his happy life with her. His repressed hatred for the world all came rushing back to him, and he cursed the world. He was exactly the kind of person the Existence wanted. Someone that would end the world if given power, rather than someone who would save it. So the Existence gave him a blessing, allowing him to turn his hatred into physical power and followers. And thus, the Demon King was born. __________________________________________________________________________ No matter how much the denizens of the world prayed, they would not get a response. The Palojians begged for their god to save them, but Aldir remained silent. It was clear now to Alexis. God had given up. God had abandoned this world. Chapter 2 - Collision His legs wouldn¡¯t move anymore. Panting, Alexis stood at the top of the Fawksmarch castle. The threat was unfathomable. The most dangerous thing he¡¯d ever seen were burglars and petty criminals. In his 80 years of life, there was no war or turmoil in Palojia. So while his magic capacity was quite high, he never mastered utilizing his magic. Abandoning the city was a horrible thought, but that was the only thing that could be done now. Reluctantly, he held his palms open, pointed them straight at the ground, and began to chant. ¡°O¡¯mighty flame, let me take to the skies!¡± As soon as the chant was finished, fire blasted out of his hands, shooting him up into the air. He took in the sight before him. Fawksmarch was lit ablaze. The architecture that they prided themselves on was unrecognizable. What used to be a city of new technology, where innovation and great minds gathered, was desecrated beyond recognition. A strange organism roamed the streets. It resembled that of amorphous ooze, sliding around, consuming, and seemingly growing larger as it ate. It was black in color, and there was no light reflected off of it. It was as though one was looking down at a void. The ooze flooded the hauntingly silent streets of Fawksmarch. There were no living beings in sight. Alexis had nothing left to protect anymore. The best he could do was warn the capital city about the attack. Fawksmarch was a coastal city and was the first one to be attacked by the sudden presence of the Demon King. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the actual Demon King of old, but it was fearsome enough to gain that title. Alexis floated upwards, preparing to boost himself out of Fawksmarch, when he heard a chant. {¡°May this breeze guide you back to me.¡±} The voice was gentle, barely heard amid the chaos. As soon as the chant was finished, a strong gust of wind pulled Alexis back to the top of the castle, and his neck into the small hands of the Demon King. The Demon King was dressed in dirty gray rags, with a black beret atop his head. He stood short, standing about 150 centimeters tall (4 ''9), had long white hair tied black in a ponytail, a soft, innocent-looking face, stunning blue eyes, and looked to be around his early 20s. Despite looking weak, the Demon King¡¯s grip on Alexis¡¯ neck was tight, and even with both of his arms trying to pry the Demon King off of his neck, he was unable to do so. Alexis had expected the Demon King to look much more fearsome, but he looked feeble. Was he really to die by the hand of someone like this? Was this frail, weak-looking man, who was so small it seemed as though a small gust of wind would blow him away, going to be the cause of Alexis¡¯ demise? He couldn¡¯t accept this. But the most infuriating thing for him was that the Demon King¡¯s eyes were sad. As if he had some regret for destroying countless innocent lives. It was horrible to think that the monster that gripped his neck was just like him. Someone capable of emotion, someone that was capable of empathy, had done this. As Alexis gasped for air, the Demon King spoke. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. {¡°You may resent me for this, child, but know that it is nothing but mercy that brings about my hand. This island is too good for this world, and I am only freeing you from it. This place must be removed before it is exploited by this world; this world that knows nothing but war, these people that know nothing but hunger, as they take from the world until there is nothing left to take but lives. People who deserve everything are left with nothing but scraps, as those in power grow in the most vile of ways, and are left unpunished. Peace will never be known if we are to let the hand of fate continue its work, so I will blow the hand away. I will give the world what it deserves, the everlasting peace that is death. Nothing but the end of all life will truly create peace.¡±} What the hell is this guy on about? Alexis thought. Choking, but also annoyed somehow, he retorted. ¡°H-how does this¡­ even matter? I don¡¯t even know who you are.¡± {¡°Then let it be known to you! I am Orph¨¦e, the one who will bring the day of reckoning! The one who will save the world from its miserly existence. I will bring retribution to-¡±} He started talking again. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Alexis placed his hands on the Demon King¡¯s torso. ¡°THE FLAMES OF THE FALLEN WILL DRAG YOU DOWN WITH THEM!¡± Reacting quickly, Orph¨¦e threw Alexis high up into the air, and a huge flurry of flames swirled down. Alexis had put almost everything into this attack. It had to do something. {¡°Take some time to rearrange the dizzy, swirling mess in your mind.¡±} Unfaltering, Orph¨¦e flicked his hand upwards at the flame, and a tornado sprung forward from his fingertip, redirecting the fire back upwards, and engulfing Alexis in his own flame. Then, closing his hand into a fist, the tornado condensed until it was a contained, swirling sphere of fire. He brought it down to converse one last time his face now twisted with displeasure. {¡°Well, I would¡¯ve enjoyed talking to someone for a bit longer, but it doesn¡¯t seem as though you were in the talking mood, now were you? I was actually having quite a good time talking. Just know that you, no, everyone will die in vain. Your efforts will bear no fruit, as I will have uprooted the tree. Now then, you better start brainstorming final words, reeaal quick, elf.¡±} Unfortunately, Alexis neglected to listen to the Demon King¡¯s speech while he was burning alive. Orph¨¦e opened his hand, releasing the whirlwind, and Alexis fell off the side of the castle and onto the streets, disoriented. As he hit the ground, he heard a crunch, but no pain set in, due to shock and adrenaline. As he heard groans approaching him, he cast one last spell. ¡°B¡­ barrier.¡± An airtight bubble appeared around him and blocked anything heading in. As the pain started setting in, the agony of it made him delirious. He started seeing things, and his chest started getting tighter as he lost his breath. His vision doubled, and as he drifted away, he saw something strangely familiar. A stark white room with clean, shiny walls. A woman lay upon a strange white bed atop a metal frame, with wheels on the bottom holding it up. Despite the identity of the woman being unknown to Alexis, it stirred an emotion of nostalgia. He wanted to call out to her. But he had no energy left to speak, or move. And so, he closed his eyes. This world''s Alexis had passed away.