《Re: Death's Melancholy》 Chapter 1 - Awakening I opened my eyes. I was in an abandoned room that was in shambles, light could be seen shedding through the walls breaking the darkness that enveloped me. Then before another thought passed me . I realized that I was alive. Alive. Something that shouldn''t be so for a man who could still remember the shudder of death. Quick and easy yet above all helplessness. To be able to do nothing to stop death is not an ordinary kind of terror. It makes insanity seem like child''s play. A mind such as mine snapping back into sanity at its revelation. My last moments had been with friends. Comrades that held the respect of each other. We all held the same trade and it would have been difficult to be calm around any others. I trusted them. And that had become my mistake. "So this is how I die." Those had been my last words. I had said them somberly. I knew it was true before the last word had even left my mouth. No one else in that life had given me more trust. But now I was alive again. Reborn. But why? My last life had been a graveyard filled with bones of my enemies and some friends. A splotch of water caught me on the forehead snapping back to my current state. A single tattered black blanket covered my body. It had a curious symbol upon the the front in white. Similar to a to sliver of a moon yet teeth like a lion jagged from the inner edge. Almost like a half smile. Directly above this was the image of a broken dagger. It pointed towards me, the edge with a reminding red color. "Blood" I said aloud. Yet, I only heard the high pitched tone of a young child. I flinched at the echo in my mind. Desperate pleas and cries of those I dispatched in the past. But this time I heard the voice come from myself. I looked to my body and saw a tragedy. I was a child again. Not even past the age of two. This was a cruel but appropriate fate for one such as myself. To be reborn alone completely helpless without even the pity of another. "Ha, hahahahaha!!!" Momentarily, I snapped into a craze. After all I was experiencing a situation beyond human understanding.Surely if anyone had happened upon me at that moment they would have been deeply disturbed. Children do not laugh as I just did. But it didn''t last for long. I steeled myself. I would not let this situation beat me. "I would not let any situation beat me every again" I thought determinedly. Taking my time I crawled from the bed and attempted to get to the door. I saw the bed as my first obstacle it was high off the floor for my small body. Double my height. So I needed to carefully buckle my knees upon landing. But first, I tried to stand. I needed to know the capabilities of my small body. I stood for 2 or so seconds to only to fall to my ass. I tried again. And again but the same continued to occur. It was infuriating. I who had had perfect motor skills in the last life could not even stand. So I was determined to try again. But this time I fell forward falling to my belly. "GoryHell!!!" I cursed my pipsqueak like voice. "If I could not stand I will crawl gracefully." I thought determined. I took the cover that had been wrapped around me and painstakingly curled it into a ball. Kneeling down to the edge of the bed and let the blanket fall to the floor. It was still held close together so I considered this my first success. Allowing my knees to hang from the edge directly above the blanket, I fell onto the padded ground. It was hard but not enough to bruise me. Right before I made the long crawl to the door. I looked back at the tattered blanket. I had grown attached to it for some reason or another. Perhaps because I was a child attachments were very easy to develop. Whatever the case, I carried it along with me. Now I needed to reach the door. There was no floor panels or concrete just cold hard and slightly muddy dirt. My hands and feet would sink into the ground at some places as I crawled to the door. Reaching the door wasn''t actually difficult. I had a meter or so to get to the door but out of the corner of my eye I noticed a faint reflection of light in my eyes. I turned to look at the obstruction and it made me feel faint. I saw a baby around the age of two or three with blond hair that swirled beautifully on the top of its head and the eyes were a deep depth of blue that seemed to almost be black. But the oddest part of the babies appearance was the same mark on the blanket was directly upon the corner of his forehead. The child was bewitching. The strangest realization was it was myself. In my past life my appearance was strongly suited to be easily forgotten. A mob character appearance that blended into any situation my trade needed me for. It would be difficult to follow the same path as my last life since this was the case. But at the sight of the mark questions were forming. Where was I? Casting my self away from the mirror. I hurried myself to the door with blanket in tow. I could hear talking and the hustle and bustle of a city square. But the language I was hearing was odd. I could pick bits and pieces from the languages I knew in my last life but none of them were dead on. Laughing was prominent. Also crying and jeering could be heard. I tried to push upon the door but it wouldn''t give no matter how hard I tried. It would not move. But just as I was about to give up. I felt the door give way slightly. But then it was pushed open from a force that could not have been mine. I turned around but nothing was there. Shaking my head I face back towards the open door and crawled my way through. I looked in disbelief. Men, beasts, inhuman creatures were everywhere. I rubbed my eyes over and over again. But the images did not change. A human man holding the hand of some cat like female? Ears that spouted through the hair. Another man behind a stall was holding a leash of a weird monster like a pet for sale. It was a baby reptile with the body of a dog. At every shift of my head I saw things that made me baffled. Men with faces of lions. Beasts in human form. Elves even littered the square. The people displayed a type of social order that gave me a headache. Almost at all hips and backs were swords and bows, Knives and staves. Armor of sorts that could only be attributed to some fantasy novel that my last life had created. "Adventures?" I guessed. Some held the look of beginners and others like hardened veterans. A few even had guards at all sides walking through the throng of people. "Nobles?" I thought. Within one such circle was a female that made me gasp. I could see the back of her body. She wore a gathered skirt of a some obviously high grade metal armor that covered her thighs loosely sparkling blue and gold with each glare of the sun. Her upper body was not covered so thoroughly.A bra like armor covered her breast still a shroud like cloth covered the the whole of her upper body. Not so much that you couldn''t see the marble skin underneath just enough room for the imagination. Her golden hair flew wildly behind her. Her feet had padded sandals closely resembling ones that the Romans wore in my last life. Her body suddenly turned towards me as if noticing my attention. At first her eyes were fierce. Shining a gold that would stun all,but settled into a warm amber color. Her face had a confusing smile on it almost as if in confusion. She had noticed me. No one else had even glanced in my direction. She turned and whispered a few words to her guards. They moved behind her now as she approached me. I could now tell that the women before me was a goddess. Her beauty made many men other than myself follow her every movement. She stopped a few feet away from me and crouched low. The guards had made a perimeter around the women and I. The crowd of people were beginning to notice what was happening. It was like someone flipped a switch that said off. The noise around us had stopped almost instantly. I didn''t know what was happening. I heard a few sentence''s from the crowd that I could slightly understand. "Isn''t that?!!!'' one hushed whisper said. "Who''s that child?"Another voice said lowly. "Look at its forehead." Gasps could be heard from different places around the crowd. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The goddess before me. Turned her head and looked at the crowd and they once again shut up. She began to place her hands out towards me. I looked at her curiously. I knew the way the crowd treated her and the fact the guards followed her orders. But who was she. As if she could hear my thoughts. "Angeline" she said pointing towards herself. I shook my head. I could tell by her body language that she meant me no harm. So I crawled towards her. I had no other options. Wherever I was to go from here. The safest bet was with this beautiful women. She picked me up.The blanket left at the ground below. Then she began to tickle me and say odd noises here and there. Resembling much the adage of "guchi guchi goo" women and men alike would do in my previous world. An to my horror I giggled. One such as myself has to much pride to giggle. My mental age was somewhere around 30 and this woman made me giggle. It would be years before I would live this down. "The shame..." I thought trying to cover my face. Angeline picked up the blanket on the ground, eyes narrowing at the symbol before wrapping my body into it. I could now see the the crown that was neatly wrapped in her silky golden hair. A tiara of silver with a large ruby in the center. I was coming to realize this woman wasn''t just any noble. She motioned one of the guards forward. Most likely the leader. He had full body chain-mail on, just as the other 5. A helmet covered the his face so I couldn''t describe him other than having a rough voice. The conversation consisted of something about a castle and safety and something about whether this was wise.Honestly though, the conversation was far too advanced for me to understand what the meanings of their words were. If what the people in the crowd had said was commoner than this was another language altogether almost. The man backed away and bowed as did the other guards. They barked a few more orders to the crowd and they backed away accordingly. Angeline pulled me into her arms closely and two wings of white spread from her back as if from nowhere at all. I cannot say why or how this occurred but it was far far away the most extraordinary thing that I have ever seen in this life or the previous. They could only be described as the wings of an angel. I heard many people clapping and cheering. As if they themselves had never seen this spectacle before. I was once again reminded that I was in the presence of a very important person in this world. Angeline gave me a tight squeeze and threw a glance to her backside. The guards and most of the gathered crowd all bowed before her majesty. We lifted into the air. I looked the crowd below and saw the crowd go about their previous business with no glance or thought about what had just occurred. I saw that the area that I had been in was far larger than what I had imagined before. It was beyond the scope of just a large settlement. Just from the small we had climbed into the air so far, I could tell the marketplace itself was as large as 5 acres of land by itself. In the distance I could see large structures and buildings that looked like residential dwellings. I decided then that I would explore this city in the fullest one day when my body had grew large enough. "Look" Angeline whispered into my ear as we were flying higher and higher into the air. I could see as we peaked through the clouds we were coming upon something even more stunning than the wings Angeline flew with. A large Palace was in our view. It was sitting mid air upon clouds as if rooted into the air. A stunning structure of marble like building material shown with a gold sheen from the sun. There were two separate entrances into the palace. Large doors of a type of wood that I had never seen that rose 5 or so stories into the even larger structure. The smaller door was one of simpler design with just uniquely carved stone. I could not describe the image as it was nothing I was familiar with a circle of similar to the sun with strange letters that I assume are this worlds language all around it. Angeline approached the larger door. I saw from the corner of her eye that she was smiling. Almost glaring at the door. I didn''t understand why. Without even a word the door began to open. ''Why is she taking me to this place?" I thought. As the door open I saw the beginnings of a courtyard. It was nothing unique or special. Just a courtyard that screamed to me a familiar feeling. But I could not place it. While this feelings began to settle into me. I understood at the words that rung through my ears. "What in the Damn hell was that, shit stain one? You give it your all to the moment you see him lose his advantage like that but no you felt sorry for him." The man was being extremely dramatic almost as if he had noticed Angeline. The same man then went to kick both children in the guts till they puked blood. Then he called next. Even if the children did well it was the same display. Beating the absolute shit out of them. This same was happening all around us. Multiple teachers doing the same to their own group of 8 to 10 children. I could say it was evil but I chose to ignore it. This was outside me. I could do nothing of now. There was strange tension in the air as Angeline began to approach a man in the back of the court yard. The man was dressed in an outfit of mourning . He he had neither a smile nor a frown on his face. I could say this man had seen almost as much of death as myself just based on the vibe he let off. But it was a bystanders kind of vibe. A witness of death but never a practitioner. I hated him almost instantaneously because of it. He took one look at me and his eyes spread wide. Shocked could be the word but I believe fear described the action better. Honestly, I began to enjoy this reaction people had towards me. It would eventually make this world a very easy place to live in. But something gave me the feeling this world played by a whole new set of rules than my last. " This child is marked," He said to Angeline "still I cannot say by whom." I could hear the word ''perhaps'' come to his lips but he just shook his head dismissing the thought. She looked down at me. And then back at the man, handing me to him. I was still wrapped in the blanket from earlier. But he started to scowl as I squirmed in his arms. "You know the fee will be quadrupled because of what he is correct?" He said greedily. "Raise him" She said firmly. I could feel myself become increasingly sad as the moments passed but I was still alive. I did not want to become separated from this woman. " It is not up to us if he survives it is his own will that will allow it." He said. She merely shook her head. And began to leave. "Angeline" I called out. She stopped and turned. The rest of the courtyard had quieted to a whisper. She turned and saw me wave with my tiny hands from the arms of that man. "Sun. Call him Sun. If he survives." I could see the hint of a motherly smile upon her face and then it was gone. "Very well" the man said to the back of the fleeting women. Angeline walks away and whispers to herself. "Survive my little one and grow strong." A this same moment the man looked at me and said words that would shape my future beyond his own reasoning. " I''ll call you death since that will be your imminent future." He said as he carried me into a dark corridor. I could feel a dark smile cover the mans face. At that time I could not understand why.
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Chapter 2 - A Glimpse of Growth. "What dictates that which is now and that which is yesterday? Progression would be the obvious answer but what if tomorrow is known before yesterday? Who''s to know what happens in between. The time between isn''t a set piece of a puzzle but an ever changing ever evolving moment that fits into the seam as if it were always there when it becomes known. Time is never set." Death read confused. He had been searching for something for a long time and he believed he was onto something. But he didn''t understand it just yet. This tome seemed to hold another ''Memory'' he needed. Death was interrupted when he sensed 3 entities approaching. He set the book down and went and took a look. Death was watching the children who had entered the library. The heavy doors leaving a resounding ''thunk'' as they shut closed. Three people had entered his territory. Their lives were his. From his vantage on the third floor balcony, Death slowly nocks his bow. A bow of white wood with a black string that he had claimed for his own years before. He still had his dagger but this situation called for hidden means. The three who had entered were no slouches. Princes and a princess of some far off country sent here to gain fame for their respective domains. Two men and one women. It was obvious that they were here for him. Killing death would make them famous. The one who had yet to perish even once in his stay in the tower. Long ago, he had thought it a palace but it was truly a prison. Death was an expert on prisons, real and phantasmal. No matter how many floors he traveled down there was always another. A deeper depth that seemed to always give off an ominous air. Death though gave no fear when going further only disdain. From the day he had been able to care for himself it had always been that way. Memories of the last life would come to his aid whenever he needed them. But otherwise he had realized long ago that he wasn''t the person he once was. He thought his emotions greatly improved but his desires fickle as always. Afterall, his current predicament lay in his own success. From the day he had entered into the tower or better yet the academy. He had stunned those who tried to raise him. From being able to speak to having the desire to read books he had found. Most children who were in the nursery were very young. In the times they were awake they were allowed to watch the battles of older children be they inspiring magi, warriors, and even archers. Death on the other hand was not interested in the least he would see a book and point to it and ask to read it. Death was trying to get a better understanding of the world that lay around him. He had been able to break down language that had been foreign to him even reading them aloud to the other babies. This made those in charge of him happy as well bone chillingly afraid. They understood he had been blessed but none knew by whom. Marked children were usually heralded as heroes and future kings. Saviors and the like. But at this time there was a great peace. No God had ever marked someone when peace was all around. But now they saw him as an omen of troubling times. The other children at the time not knowing what the odd child was tried to befriend him, but he would only pat them on the head and send them away. They started to place him along the same perch as the teacher and caretakers on the field. Whenever a problem occurred they would first come to Death. This had also been noticed by the caretakers. It gave them kind of trouble you never hear about. As the ideas that would be given to fix the problems were always straight forward and blunt. After all by the time death was around the age of four. He was the leader. Not a bad thing at the thought but eventually it made difficulties. No one of course were allowed to have names at this time but he would begin to name the children in ways that made it easy for him to remember them. Around this time they decided to allow him to join the tower seriously. His body size was around that of a 5 year old. While his new classmates would be six or seven but they figured that it would help to tone down Death''s ego. After all no one could die on the tower grounds. They were wrong. On the first day he had gained the name that the friar had so childishly thought to call him. ************ "Allrigh yu bratssss. Time ta welllll" the mad stopped to take swig of his jug,"cum a nuewww memba." The large man said dramatically. Obviously inebriated, I watched him closely as he began to sway back and forth. Taking a swig from the jug regularly.The other children were shivering back and forth in what looked like terror. Both boys and girls were completely nude, it made not sense to wear clothing to only have it saturated in blood. I couldn''t help but have a sort of disdain for this man. I knew it was appropriate for the training but it was disgusting all the same. "Yoo git ova heer!" The man said. I walked slowly to where the man was. Upon closer inspection I could see the copious amount liquid saturating the tip of his beard and his stained white shirt; the grotty hair showing through. We were currently one of three classes having training in the courtyard. All the other classes were already screaming in pain or triumph. There was truly nothing special from the interior of the courtyard. No dummies were staged anyway probably on the belief that no one but the children would need to get be damaged here. "Brilliant tactics to create hardened soldiers." I thought " Still it is not so pleasant when it becomes your own training regimen." I chuckled. Mistake number 1. A kick came out of nowhere and sent me barreling away. "EYYY, Tis Ain''t NO Time Ta LAugh" the Basterd screamed. "He will die." I resolved. I slowly rose to my feet feeling each individual muscle and bone to calculate the damage. A skill I had picked up in the last life. After all the most important skill is to know when to flee. Coward you may call me but I lived to tell the tale and finish it in more favorable conditions. My condition was favorable based on what could have happened. I didn''t have any weapons to fight with but I after all I am a master of going with my gut. Five not even that. Three seconds later. The man was in front of me. His jug already swinging down towards my head. I had two maybe a half a second to dodge. So I fell to the ground. Far easier to dodge if your body is a third the size of a your opponent. At the moment I had two choices. I would either attack or die. Just based on his agility if he had not been drunk this would have failed miserably. Always take the advantage in cases such as these. Pity your enemy for a second and it will be your blood being shed and not theirs. I took a half a second to overheard roll between the bastards legs, jutting to my feet. Thanks to my tiny size. I could hear the giant roaring words that would have made his mother disown him. To bad. I quickly rolled back on heels into the focus all the small amount of weight that I could muster into the backside of his knee. I rebounded and was at his neck the moment he fell to a single knee. Imagine now a common child holding on lovingly to the the neck of his father. Playfully swinging back and forth showing affections to the father. All the while the father laughing and smiling at his own sons innocence. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Now imagine the opposite. I was indeed on the mans neck like the other child. Still anyone who repeats the events of that day, speak once about the man who was in a drunken rage but always twice about the child with a cold look of Death upon his face as if this was a completely natural action. I didn''t stay on his neck for long. I quickly straddled the neck. He had just comprehended the situation and was beginning to grab for me but I had one chance and I already saw the opportunity. Pointing with index fingers with both my hand I slammed them into his open eye sockets going to the extent of wiggling the back of the cortex. The deafening scream of the man could be heard from the furthest edges of the corners of the courtyard. No doubt the friar had been somewhere laughing his little head off. But I knew the other teachers would be on me in seconds. So I needed to be thorough. I would not allow anyone to hurt me ever again. I grasped the back of my right hand with left. Shoving the palm adjacently into his nose. Any other child would have broken his nose at the actions, but I had the experience and no how of a master. I could feel the bone hit soft pallet of meat. With a loud squish. He had stopped screaming and was now silent. He fallen to his knees. I slowly crawled down the mans back and stood looking at the other teachers around me. I could say it was ominous. But I felt in my element. It was my first kill in this world after all. The teachers had witnessed the majority of the debacle. Quite frankly they had heard of the child that was marked and now attending their school. But none had thought more than that. It would be an underestimate to say that the child gave them fear, after all they had seen him just kill their colleague with hardly a trouble. They stared at the child in the nude that was standing before them. His blond hair coming to his shoulders. Blood saturating the majority of his palms and dripping to the ground. His black eyes staring at them mockingly, as he wiped the his palm through his hair as if saying ''nothing to it''. All the while a black colored mark gleamed from the roof of his forehead. They felt dread. Slowly I noticed as a man in black made his way over to the seen. He looked calmly at the child and the teachers and said a single word. "Splendid." The man had a genuine smile upon his face as he said this. "How is this ''Splendid''?" one of the teachers voiced,"He just killed Jon." The man was the friar I had met before. He was the man that I naturally hated. But as he went to lift me into his arms I didn''t protest. These adults after all still thought of myself as a child. " Have you ever heard of a child that could do what this one could?"the priest said quietly. "How will we teach the children without him?" another one said. "Split the children among yourselves. There will be a replacement soon enough. But until then I''m going to personally train this one." He said. As the priest carried me away I could hear the words of the teachers. Mutter and christen me once again the name that followed me for so long. " That child is Death." ************ Refocusing back from the memory of that day years ago. I let the arrow fly. It landed directly in front of the party. There was a group flinch as they began to comprehend the situation. "Come out Death, fight us like a man!" A male voice shouted. I laughed. The eerie sound echoing throughout the dark library. I could here the quivers of the female of the group already. My reputation truly preceded me. "Well, I wouldn''t be much of a coward if I fought 3 vs 1 would I?" I yelled out. I saw the mage of the group begin to cast a spell. From his words I realized it was a common light spell. I wondered for a moment why would he need something like that. "Of course!." I realized . "They couldn''t see in the dark." It had become almost natural to me to go days without seeing light of any source. The very need of it seemed funny . "Let''s play with them a little bit" I thought to myself with a smirk on my face. Nocking another arrow from my hidden quiver. I pulled my bowstring once again and let it glide through the air. You could hear a faint whistling sound could be heard. "What can you not aim that bow of yours!" the oaf barked. I notched another one and shot . "Is he an idiot? Even I co-." the oafs tease cut halfway short. I didn''t have the patience to kill these kids, my goal was to scare them away so that I could continue my research. I was about to make a breakthrough and this was fast becoming a pest. A chandelier fell causing a great scream through the air. Just as the spell was activated the crash resounded throughout the library. The floor now littered with glass was reflecting the light from the mage''s spell. I hadn''t seen the library illuminated before so the sight before me truly was beautiful. "Do you really wish for me to play with you?" I said. The children sat back and talked among themselves. Whispering and the not. I could wait for them to come to a conclusion or I could end this now. I decided to end it. I jumped from the balcony and appeared before them. They called me many names. Death, Dark prince, End of the road. I went by the first on all common occasions. But their was only one that annoyed me to no end. "Sun!"The female called out assertively. I couldn''t help but want to shed a tear. This was more trouble than I had bargained for and here she was once again coming to find me. No doubt lying to these two about her ambitions in the first place. "Regine, what is the occasion?" I said sarcastically. "Our mother is searching for you? You passed the ordeal years ago. Why do you insist on staying in this place?" she says this half caring and half upset. I had met her years ago and goes to say her presence unnerved me. With looks so similar to the woman that had given me a chance so many years ago of course I couldn''t outright kill her. I looked at the two others that had followed along with her and sent the warning that they must leave now. They bolted faster than I would have thought them capable no doubt already feeling betrayed by the woman. "Come. I guess I should show you what I have been researching all this time?" I called out to her. She followed with a humph. I sighed miserably.
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Chapter 3 - Training and Defeat The rhythmic sway of a sword resounded through the cool air. A small child could be seen in the courtyard, swinging a sword far beyond his need through the morning air. He had been there for hours. ''Fwoush'' And silence. ''Fwoush'' And silence. Once again ''Fwoush'' and silence again. The steamy sweat that rose from his body was convening at a pool beneath the boys feet. The boy wore no clothes. His blond hair dark with grime, eyes focused with precision gleaming from a depth of know how far from suiting his age. He swung the sword. ''Fwoush'' and silence. No one else was present. If they had been, they would have come to the conclusion that he was without fault. Peerless physic that would eventually turn his body into sculpture beyond the realm of men as he grew older. For the past two years this boy had done this routine. He was now approximately seven years of age. After having displayed a cold blood thirst in front of the eyes of his fellow students and teachers. He graduated from the cruel group study to the lonely study of silent play. Which suited his specific personality perfectly. He did not have to endure cruel methods to motivate his desire to change. His desire was innate. Beyond the memories of his last life, perhaps stretching from feelings of lives long gone. It made him seem cold to all others but it fit the name accustomed to him. "Death" they had called him. Whenever whispers of the past came to service, he would generally ignore. Still when they reach a point of sneers and challenges , even he would become angry. It had began when the friar of the tower explained the situation did Death actually feel on the right path. ************** The friar sat me down on a bed in a small vacant room with the only other furnishings being a a wooden desk and a matching chair. A single window looked out upon the city below. Nothing much had changed in the few years that had passed a marketplace and slums were visible, you could even hear the buzz line of voices below if you listened closely. The friar pulled up the chair next to bed and sat down. He eyed me closely. Watching me watch him. " My name is Francis. I am the Esteemed Celebrater of this academy. I first met you a few years ago." He said slowly. The slits of his dark eyes looking for the hint of recognication upon my face. "The man you just killed was Jon ''Silverhand'' Nadere. 8 years ago he failed himself and the women he loved when battling beasts. Losing her forever and thus leaving him the state you found him in today. He was known for his agility aptly giving him the name ''The Silverhand''. The mans voice had been empty void of any emotions. Rather they been so numb that if any emotions that did come out from it seemed empty and hollow thus rendering them meaningless even if he tried to sound lively. Indeed had he not been drunk I would not have lived to tell the tale. A queer smile appeared on my face. Killing the man had been the first bit of fun I had in a long while. My fear of death had been numbed after reincarnation. The whole sense of it no longer a mystery at least in my eyes. This jon fellow was better off dead anyway. After all I can respect an enemy only after he is dead never before. It led to far to many supposed friends kicking the bucket in the last life. Francis watched me his trying discern my thoughts. "His family name ''Nadere'' is a part of an esteemed group of nobles that are only a few tiers below that women who brought you to me. Today you have made more than just a few enemies." He smile slowly came across his face. ¡°As well as friends." I could only asume by the way he had said that woman. He had meant Angline. I had come to find out she a was very important person. To the extent of earning the title ''Valkyrie''. She was existence nigh considered indispensable to the country. I had been impressed as well as completely untaken by the news. I would do anything to repay her kindness. She was an existence that gave me an opportunity to survive after all. " What do you mean by friends?'' I asked my face showing a small hint of interest. " As I mentioned before that I am an esteemed celebrator. One of eight that at are alive. I have friends in high place and..." He stopped " low places." " How would your friends already know about this incident?" I said. " Let''s just say a better kind of incident had been planned and you slightly derailed that plan." He answered. The pieces of the puzzle started to come together within my head. This man didn''t have the smell of death on him for no reason. It''s saturated his existence because it made him feel alive. Jon''s death had been already orchestrated before today. Was the alcohol tampered with? "I am only a mere child. I can do nothing with what you are telling me. If anything isn¡¯t my knowing just an extra risk?" There was something in the way he was speaking to me. In the way he looked me over. It wouldn¡¯t have been obvious to another but to my trained eyes I could tell he knew something about me that no one else did. "You are not an ordinary child." He said." Your actions are characteristics of a someone who has lived for a great number of years, following my profession." This conversation was leaving the realm of child to adult talk and extended to that of evil instance. But evil is only defined by those who are not in control of their own fate. For me I always thought of my actions as discreet justice. " What gave me away?" I asked. The man named Francis pushed his chair from under his feet and bowed his head to the floor. I was stunned. "Your Mark, my Lord" he said. "Lord!!??" I shouted. The celebrator looked me in the eyes suddenly. Questions floating on the surface. There was a silence. "Sit back down and explain." I said lowly. My child voice cracking. The man did so. "When I was perhaps your age, I had a dream of the future and my place within it. It was not the place you see around you today. In that life, I had chosen to be an apostle of powerful deity reaching the same position as today. But war broke out. The same people who had claimed peace now sought destruction. With the sky''s black with the power of magi. Crops stopped growing, the Sun no longer shown, and the moon was dyed red. My god, whom, I sought help from refused saying this war not his to fight not his to control or interfere with." He stopped gasping for breath. "He killed me in spite. When I begged the other gods to do help." Then he looked at me and began to cry. A man whom gave off the presence as much as him crying was unsightly but I allowed his story was not finished. "But then I met you, my Lord. You appeared before me sitting on a throne of skulls and ashes. I ,who knew not your name begged for mercy." The man had finished crying and was now entirely monotone. No hint of past emotion or feeling even touching his visage. "What did I say?" My curiosity was peaked I asked quickly. "My name is Death. I am the fallen and the risen. The lost and the found. My carnation is approaching. Will you rid yourself of the past and begin anew on my word?" You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Those words made my heart shudder. They words familiar but clouded. As if the words my own but at the same not my own. "Your likeness showed me the mark. That you bare now." He said his voice low. I took a moment to think clearly. Upon my death, I could remember nothing. No bright lights. No man that looked like myself. No mystical voice. It was all missing from my memory but this man had cried tears of joy upon realizing I was who he was meant to guide. I could not deny his words, this man was speaking the truth. "I need to rest. Come back tomorrow at first light." I assumed he would listen to my every word whether I''m a child or not. "As you wish, we have much to talk about my lord." The celebrater said. Before he closed the door. He spoke one last time. " There are seven original esteemed celebrators. My last was life. And it rejected me. You gave me Death." Francis smiled a sincere smile. One that could be considered only haunting upon his face. "A Celebratory of Death" I smirked this was going to be fun. I knew deep down if I was death as he said I was. It would be my pleasure. *************** Memories such as these floated through my mind occasionally. The pieces of the puzzle so far from being complete that the whole matter seemed futile. Pain shot through the tendons of my left hand. It hurt enough to slow my movement but not enough to stop them. Pain was a way understand you were alive. It was growth incarnate. Pain was a blessing. So I powered through. In the last life I had never practiced sword fighting. I didn''t have the strength nor training to fight up front to the common swordsman. I therefore practiced with bows and knives, and deadly poisons. Academy life forced the students to duel one another on a monthly basis. I had yet to lose. It would not have fit my name otherwise. As I swung the 10,000 time. I let the sword finally fall to my side. I did this daily for two years I could do more but it would cut down the time for the rest of my training. I walked over to a multiple wooden boards with a varying bulls-eyes on them some almost invisible to the eye from up close much less 10 meters away. Beneath one a large quiver of arrows and a large bow. It was a little large for my body but I had trained hard to be able to use it. I shouldered the quiver hung the bow around my neck and held the base in my left hand. Walking back across the courtyard I didn''t think much of myself. I was doing everyday training of my own course I did this everyday. Sometimes the teachers would be teaching the other students the way the world worked by breaking their spirit. And other days I would be forced to teach the children how to aim and fire the bow. I didn''t mind as long as I was allowed to practice. Finally, I had reached the other end of the courtyard. Honestly it was to short of a distance. But precision was more important than distance in any case. I pulled tightly on the bow imagining as I always had taking aim first with my mind and second with my sight. You must believe you can before you ever can do anything. Shooting a bow was just one example. As I let the first arrow zip through the air. I shot off a second and then a third. They hit all at the same time. Not too difficult if you practiced well enough but it was indeed miraculous looking from the outside. Many master archer couldn''t achieve such. Did I mention they all hit their mark. Bulls-eye. " How did you do that?" A voice called out from him behind. Death turned to see a small girl around or a little above his age walk up to him. She was wearing clothing of a Lilly based flower dress and small black glistening shoes that almost looked like they should come from outside of her era. On her head sat a small tiara, positioned perfectly between the honey colored hair that came just below her shoulders. "Who are you?" I asked the fiery eyed little girl. She looked me up and down and slightly blushed at the sight of my exposed body, slightly less than even some of the female teachers. I was quite large. " Did no one ever teach you manners?" The girl began. "It is impolite to answer one question with another question." The way the girl said this irritated me to no end. Her elegance was too far reaching. I had a desire to best her intellectually. I would lose on this battlefield often. I would soon come to learn. " My apologies, my lady." I bowed. "That was rude of me." She looked at me directly in the eyes now. It felt as if she were staring at my soul. Since it had been so long since someone had the nerve to actually look at me, or even talk to me. She unnerved me but I would not give up. I returned her stare. " I was luckily blessed by an unknown god when I was a child and it is for that reason that I can do this." I repeated the display now with 6 arrows instead of 3. Turning around even before the the arrows hit their Mark. She looked stunned but I could tell she was trying to suppress the look. This is the same look that all the teachers and students tend to give when I explain over and over again the ''true'' reason I could achieve this ''miracle''. When honestly any could do the same if they had years of practice like myself and the will. I smiled inwardly. "Now, my lady." I focused on her eyes trying to invoke the same feelings she did to me. " Who the FUCK are you?" I asked again. I could tell she felt something but her red eyes concealed it all. I was thoroughly the losing party now. If not now... " My name Regine Darlone Brellend." She smiled the way of a conniving witch. Something told me to fear her next words. But my damn ego forced me to laugh. " So?" I said mockingly." I know of..." She broke me off. " My mothers name is Angeline Antoinette Brellend." Her smile widened. A rock was forming in the pit of my stomach. It was dragging low as if I could feel a snake ready to bite off my glorious member. "I am your sister as well..." She couldn''t say it. There was no way she would say it. Right? This world is based on logic right? " Your fiance!" She perked up at the words as if her trap had been set and sprung catching me like a mouse. On that day, Regine, had her first victory over Death. Signalling many many more to come in the future. "Why Me?" I thought. Sighing. She laughed.
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Chapter 4- Explanations. Francis came to find me just as the sun began to rise. He had come with a assortment of weapons upon his back as well. He carried a large crystal in his left hand which glowed a faint blue hue and in his right there was a book. The Title saying, "The Complete History of Aleron". The books I had been reading as a child were all useless they held no significant information at all about the world. Titles including, "Cook like a God", "Bargain for Who", even " "Make men follow your every Command". This world was exactly like my last when it came to common matters. He placed the assortment of equipment along the wall opposite of my bed. Upon closer inspection, there were bows, swords, daggers, maces, shields, and others. But their size was that befitting my own.Something that I could wield. A slight feeling of excitement started to grow within me. My favorite past time had been training my body and I was finally old enough. "My Lord, hold out the backside of your left hand." He said. He touched the back of my hand to the crystal. "Whats the point of this?" I said. I had never heard or seen of such a ridiculous thing in the last life. The mans eye went dark for a moment and then began to explain. "This crystal is special to this academy. It is the main reason why the regimen we apply to the students is acceptable. Otherwise Nobles would never entrust their children to us" He took the crystal away and placed it on the table. "What does it do?" I asked my eyebrows narrowing. "The students who have this crystal on their person, power have the ability revive on the grounds of the academy." He said such an unbelievable thing without the slightest doubt. "And you expect me to believe such a thing?" I chuckled a small laugh escaping my lips. "It is not a measure of belief,my lord." He said. He got up from his chair and motioned me to follow him. "I will show you." Francis had a smirk covering his depressing face. Francis led me down various corridors, down stairs and then back up stairs as if following some map. The academy itself, I had come to realize, was the size of a palace. It had 5 floors above ground that stretched a mile long in each direction. The interior designer felt the same and fashioned it to in suite. I was thoroughly impressed. You couldn''t go 3 minutes without seeing a sculpture of a beautiful man or women. I guess that was just the place it was. We came upon a door that was twice as large as the others and a huge sign was above it that said, "From Death We Learn". The door itself was made of marble and had the pictures of angels and demons fighting, neither side with the advantage, sculpted on it. My head started to pound. This place even though it was meant to teach the cruelties about the world to the students. Why was it so damn elegant? Nobles must keep up appearances at all times.You can''t show a lack luster academy to nobles who spend a fortune for their children to come here. Also the teachers were really disappointing. Later, I would come to find that the answer lay in the man in front of me. Francis opened the door and motioned me to enter before him. A white crystal pervaded the center of the room. It was rooted as if stuck to the ground and carved in place. A rail separated it from the rest of the room. Beds were placed along the walls of the room for what seemed to be an endless degree. As I started walking closer to the railing I realized that the railing did not only separate the floor from the crystal but also from an immense drop leading into sheer darkness. The crystal reached completely into the depths disappearing as well. The crystal let out a deep blue hue and then out of the air materialized a teenager at least 11 years of age. He was in the air unconscious to his own situation. He floated down to the ground and out of no where nurses had wheeled a bed over and had him strapped down and completely naked and under the covers in seconds. I couldn''t believe my eyes. I rubbed it again. And then the same phenomenon happened. I turned around and saw the friar look at the crystal lovingly. "What the hell!?!?!" I screamed. My face a mixture of amazement and disbelief. "It is not something so unbelievable, my lord." He said" This is a world of magic, within it anything is possible." "Are you telling me that if I somehow died then I can come back here with no harm?" I said. The mans face filled with unparalleled pity. "No." "Alright, now that I do-" I stopped realizing what he said. "Wait, why not?" "Your soul is not so easily reclaimed from death." He said. I just stopped thinking at this point. No point to lose my cool over something that I never needed in the first place. Not like I could possibly die in the first place. "Let''s move on." I said. Sensing my mood, he began to give me a tour of the school explaining the various functions of each room and the classes available to students as they reach maturity and pass a variety of tests. He had been showing the others "Then what about me?" I said. I was generally curious about how I would be treated given the fact that I could actually die. They would be forced to change the way they taught to accompany me. "I believe I can work around that, my lord." He said." Yes, I will assign you to permanent self study. You will be allowed to go and do what you please as long as you take monthly placement tests. This point is absolute. The various parents of the nobles wish to know the strengths and weakness of their future friends and enemies." He sighed at the last part as if saying it were a hassle he would rather not deal with. "When I first arrived you charged Angeline four times the going rate. Why?" I asked him. The man stopped in his tracks and said a few words that I would rather not repeat. "You may see her as a mother figure, my lord. But she is far more cunning than you could ever imagine. If I allowed a random child to just enter in the middle of a school year, I would have had to make many more exception at that." He said exuding very angry presence. "How much is the regular going rate?" I inquired. "More than you could imagine." He said his face sour.. I decided that was not a conversation he wished to continue. So I changed the subject to another direction. "Why is every room you show so large in the interior but the academy not even one tenth of the size that it should be?" I said intrigued. "As I said before, my lord. You are in a world of Magic truly anything is possible. After all, this academy was not such to begin with."He said. "How so?" " This was in the beginning a high class dungeon that was spoken about in legend. Your ''mother'' was apart of those who defeated it." He said."The dungeon had a special condition to the party that defeated it and here we are today with the reward." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He had said the word reward with disgust. "You said that I was your Savior who gave you a second chance to save the world? Is that the only reason you call me lord?" I asked him. "Yes and no. Not only are you the carnation of death but you were adopted officially by ''That woman'' years ago. She is the highest ranking general in the country second in power only to the king. That gives me the leeway to call you, my lord around others." he finished. So that would explain it. I didn''t know she officially adopted me but I was forever grateful for that woman. If only I were a little older. I laughed at the thought. "Anymore questions, my lord?" he said. I thought about it for a moment. "None that I can think of at the moment. The book you left in the room will answer the rest anyway." He nodded and the said something impossible aloud. "Show Status Window to Death"
Status Window
Name:FrancisAlignment:???
Level:???Class:Esteemed Celebrator
Race:humanGender:Male
Titles
Death''s Guide
Fame:??Infamy:??
-
Health:2000/2000Health Regen:33.5 / Sec
Mana:?? / ??Mana Regen:105 / Sec
Stamina:300/300Stamina Regen:20/ Sec
-
Strenght:90Agility:80
Vitality:50
Intelligence:1000Wisdom:1500
Luck:??
-
Attack:150Defense:500
It was a game display menu similar to ones in my last world. Once again. I was too stunned to speak. What was this a super cheat? How can this even be? Can I do something like this? "This is a status menu. All people born into this world have one. You should as well." He said." But because you can''t even connect with the crystal. I believe this is even a deeper kind of problem. You who are marked by death should be able to look and see more of the world than anyone." I heard another incredible thing. Why was my last world so boring and this one so unbelievable. "Try saying Show status menu." So I did. But nothing occurred. He started to laugh "Whats so funny?" I said my voice rising/ "You''re going to have to follow me." Francis held an open smile upon his face, laughing at the situation that I face. He took me down five flights of stairs until we reached a large black door with guards on both sides. The way they positioned there were almost like it was the gates of hell. Directly above it was a large sign similar to menu he had shown. It was a leader board. An assortment of names went down the left hand side with floor levels going down the right. There was also a board of party names as well. Individual and party achievements were displayed. Whether they returned or died was also displayed. The guards looked at Francis and I both and displayed a queer look. "Can we do anything for you Sir?" guard one said. "Relax men. I''m showing this one around the academy.This is our last stop." I saw sweat flowing down the face of one of the men. What had this guy ever done to these men? I can''t even begin to understand his position at this academy. Francis took me back to my room away from the two. "Death had told me one last thing. I mean I never thought that this would ever be the case...." "What did he say?" "To become whole, you must traverse to the depths lowest level of hell. I believe he was speaking about the dungeon I just showed you" "It couldn''t be that hard right?" "Worse. The dungeon can only be entered by those under the age of 20. Also no one has ever reached the bottom of the dungeon."He said with pity. Are you kidding me? Why all these ridiculous rules? What is the whole point of this place? Seriously if I ever meet this guy who looks like me I''m going to take all my frustrations on him. I swear by the blackness of my soul. The celebrator could see the dark eyes of the child glowing a faint red color. He slowly spoke. " Right now your around the age of 5. You have 15 years to reach the bottom of the dungeon and defeat it or else the world will be destroyed. Please consider your options carefully." He left the room. He may be my guide but I still didn''t like him. I looked over the room at the various weapons and then saw the book. "The Complete History of Aleron". I guess I should start there.
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Chapter 5 - Memories I briefly looked over the book and gazed at the cover. "The Complete History of Aleron" was a white leather cover with thickly bound paper that seen years of use judging by its condition. There were no superfluous pictures nor gaudy text stating the title. Curiously enough, the author chose to remain anonymous or more likely authors. I could not imagine a single individual recording history such as this without some cooperation of another. It simply seemed too important. Francis had looked over the book as if it were his very own child. I opened to the first page and read the opening words aloud as I do every book. How something is written is far more telling of its importance than the actual words. "I, You, Us, We. History is a form of time. Yet unlike time, History can be rewritten. Twisted, exaggerated, and forgotten. It began with I and ended with We. Yet still time marches forward no longer with I but with You. History is for the living. But true time is remembered by the dead. With each second time is lost and is replaced with History. Though the dead are different, they always remember. Whether lies and fallacies bring peace, whether truth and evidence bring war. It matters not to us. It matters to you. We no longer carry this burden. It began with I. Renews with You. Time is no longer with us. We are free."
"You Have ENTERED ???????''s Memory"
Just as I finished those words I knew something was wrong. The room was gone. It was replaced with a open field. Bloody. Ravaged with a struggle that left bodies everywhere sliced to a gory confectionery. Two different kinds of insignia''s were upon the uniforms of the bodies that were around the battleground. One I did not know. The other was what had been brandished upon the corner of my forehead since the beginning of this life. A crescent moon with sharp razor like teeth jutting from the inner crescent, while a broken dagger hovered over the teeth dripping blood onto them. My gaze shifted. One Man stood still in its midst. It was not a human per say. A man, maybe, it was something more. Something dangerous. It was the blood that made the mans own skin glow a vibrant shade of red. The lust that it exerted grew by leaps with every beat of its heart. I could feel the pressure even from where I stood 20 meters away. He needed no introductions. It was his hand that done this. There was no weapon at its side no clothes on its body. Just a red glow over a bronze skin tone. Its hair a furry mane of pure darkness, while the face distorted to a degree that could perhaps been demonic, but its eyes were without pupils.Just dark black pits that seemed to scream no hope. As I looked closer I realized I wasn''t the only one observing. It was watching me. Watching my every move. Before I had even realized my body had began moving toward it. There was a feeling of despair within me that I couldn''t exactly place as my own. It was as if tears were flowing down my face and dripping to the blood stain earth below. They were. That was when understanding of a sort was gained and another was lost. "What have you done?" A voice spoke through my body but yet not my body. The voice had been low. Full of a rage so strong that it even overwhelmed the lust for that the creature had been giving off. The rage covered the sadness that I felt so strong within. It could be said I was a bystander now watching from the eyes of this body. "What is this?" I thought trying analyze the situation. The emotions were too strong. I was being swept into the being of this man. Held there as if a puppet. I was going no where until this interaction had been finished. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" I yelled. An echo could be heard across the battlefield. The monster just looked at me as if I was a mere insect in its wake. I though had brandished a weapon. It was in my hand our hand now as if an extension of our being. Despite the anger their was no loss in form. He held the blade better than I. His mastery of the long lightning shaped blade was beyond human. "Who was this man?" I thought. Before I was within five paces the creature had begun to laugh. It was deep roar of a laugh. One that children hear in the darkness of the night, one that you begin to recognize as your own when your blade became bloody. I stopped. I just looked at it. I heard the man within me now. Heard his thoughts and anger and sadness completely. "Why did I tell him to seek power so strongly? This man was no longer Gregory, HE was no longer my brother. My brother was strong. Proud. Strong enough to save his friends and bear their grief. He was to be king. He was to be my king. I had no desire for it. No will for it. I CAN"T. I MUST. I CAN''T. I MUST. WHY? WHY? WHY? The GODS BE DAMNED. I readied my sword in a stance that I could feel emanated death. I could feel this man thoughts, goals, dream, desires and being transfer into my soul. His memories were mine. I could feel my world break and reform with new knowledge. His knowledge. I looked back at the creature and then I something small caught my attention. Small but so important that all that happened next as I would find out years from now that this was what had cascaded evil to cover the land. A head was severed at the bottom of the creatures feet. "Cass?"The voice within the body whispered. "CASSSSSSSSSSS!!!" He screamed. The man was no longer sane. His mind had snapped. It was but a second but the sword in my hand was already at the brothers neck. But the creature countered so smoothly that it was as if he could see the future. Its hand clasped the blade with no effort. Then I heard its voice speak. "What''s wrong brother?" The creature spoke. "Why are you not trying?" Its voice was indescribable. Maddening yet soothing. Insufferable to even the imagination of it. But I heard it. Shatter. Shatter. SHATTER. The mind screamed as if activating an ability of some sort. I had always believed myself to be a very strong individual in my world. Stronger than all others. But the next action that this body did was beyond myself as of then. We disappeared literally. His action left no trace, no movement, no sound. No condition that could be met. It was if we had gone so fast light itself was trying to find us. The blade in my hand was shivering holding up as if there were two. One in each hand. Slicing at the creature at every spot. But it was defending itself. Not so easily anymore. It was not as fast but it made that up with its unimaginable strength. Each slice we made was at the cost of the blade. It would not be long enough to hold out on this any longer. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I was shivering. Or maybe the body itself was shivering. I could feel everything that ran through this mans mind. Every hope, despair, and fear. The man had never encountered one such as this before. His brother was not this strong. No man god or creature had ever lasted and been able to keep up with his blade when he used this ability. An ability that transcended comprehension. "Look at the power I have been bestowed brother. Isn''t it wonderful? Death cannot even reach me now. Aler." The creature said. The mans name was it was. It was Aler. Aler. Aler. Aleron? The air around us became unnaturally quite. Death still. It was the quite that is told in story books. Told in valiant of tales Good vs Evil. But this was more. The wind didn''t breath. The earth didn''t smell of anything. The sun seemed to dim. I could feel the body that I possessed begin to become distant almost. I felt it as the mind began a hymn at first. But he spoke aloud. A grief filled hymn one that I would never forget. Never could forget. "I am death. The fallen are my brethren. The living are my children. The dying my birth. I come now in loss. I come now in grief. A soul offered. A soul lost. Death has descended." I could feel myself be kicked aside from the body. I didn''t see from the body any longer. I also saw something else be kicked aside with me. It was the soul of the other man in the body. His body. Aler. I wanted to ask him something. But my eyes saw what had given me chills throughout my last life. The embodiment of death. The body was no longer that of Aler''s. It was no longer of that of anyone. There was a cloak of darkness that surrounded the body. The swords that had been ours hands were now on the ground cast aside. I saw the body of the women being watched by Aler. He didn''t look towards Death, towards his brother, towards myself. He just looked at the body of Cass. What happens when death descends? I look at darkly cloaked figure. At his side was a scythe that was ice literally. It was as if carved from water but blood could not possibly stain its blade. I was stunned. No hand held it at the side of the figure. It was like the scythe had a will of its own. The monster roared. "Aler. I had always known you were the incarnation of death! Your strength to the average mortal is without peer. But Death cannot hold me." It spoke. Alar didn''t give no heed to the words of his brother. He was still looking at the body. Death moved slowly towards to the creature raising the scythe above him in an almost reaping fashion. The monster also produced a weapon now. But it was one of pure darkness. A long straight blade without a hilt, malice oozed from the blade as if a fountain. He brought the blade towards death and began to slash. The blade passed directly through the body as if it hit only an apparition of the mind. He swung again and again. But his blade hit nothing. "What is this?" The creature roared. "Its to late brother." Alar spoke. " Death isn''t something that can be defeated." He swung again and again but to no avail. Then it happened. Death swung his scythe and it passed through the body as if it were mist. The body of the creature had no scar. No wound nothing to show of deaths action but it no longer moved. I could see the mans spirit be forced outside of the body. Pushed into the realm I now inhabited. But death was not done. He still stood at the body when something else happened. Something more malevolent than the darkness that had been there. The sword dark energy pushed itself into the body. Ravaging it becoming a part of it as if a soul. Death stood by the body and watched it as if began a type of transformation. It changed into the same form as the soul that was just thrust out of it. A man that could be said to have a great beauty. Black curls cover his hair falling to his neck, feminine almost but the face was so hard in its features that it appeared rather handsome. His body not covered would be consider sculpture. It was a surprising change from the previous appearance. I could not understand what was happening. "Death." the body spoke in clear hard voice. Death itself changed into an appearance that gave me shivers. Into an appearance that would be mine one day. Long blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin. The reaper held no expression. Emotionless, the eyes held no depth just gave almost a reflection. Scythe to the side, and cloak around the body. "Vix" Death said. "Leave there is nothing more you can interfere with now." He said. Death smiled an eerie smile. Whether it was in irony or sadness I couldn''t tell. Death turned just briefly but I knew he could see me. Whether I was truly here I knew not but he knew I was there. "For now." Death spoke. Disappearing into nothing. Leaving the body of Aler falling back to the ground. I could see the soul of both Aler and his brother, Gregory both standing there watching me. Not speaking. As if they were rooted in there place. I saw the being named Vix take the body of Aler into his arms and walk away from the battlefield. Aler spoke to me for the first time. The battlefield disappearing beneath my feet. "I leave you my memories of this day. A hint at the truth. It is up to you now. Save Death. Save this world."
" Aler''s Memory Ended "
"Memories of Death obtained "
The room came back into focus. My body was once again that of a child''s. "Memories of Death?" I spoke aloud. The white book that had been called "History of Aleron" Changed into another. A black book that had pages and pages of nothing. No words. No pictures. Nothing. "What is this?"
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Interlude- Life before death part 1 Hey guys. :) I opted instead of making a prologue I would make interludes that gives you peaks at Death''s character and why he is how he is. Thanks for reading. _____________________________________ I was young. Maybe 7 or 8 when I first killed someone. Two people particularly. I had locked the doors to my home back then. Barricaded the bedrooms and tied the fools to their silly little bed. How could a measly child as I had done any of this? Simple, they were drunk, the woman and that man. They drunk more than they ever could hold. Always ending with them brutally angry at each other and at me. That was normal. They were actually nicer when they were drunk. They could only hit me for so long when they were inebriated before they passed out. I had become so accustomed to it that I actually thought it was a good day when they drunk themselves to unconsciousness. They would say we do this because we love you. Love you so much that you need to be better than everyone else. Better than us. So they made the Rules. -No telling anyone about what happens at home. -No Failure is accepted. -No Real Friends are allowed. -No Questions. -NO Losing. Looking back I couldn''t remember when it all began. I assume it had always been their it just became worse as I aged. Much, much, worse. I learned that their are two ways to make someone do as you wish. One with rewards. To give them reason with positive reinforcement to do as you ask. The second is with fear. The promise of pain is an extremely powerful tool. Pain is simple but fear breaks the mind. Coiling around your very soul. Tightening until ,if your not careful, pieces crack and fall away. Their abuse was breaking me. I couldn''t understand it. I could not understand why would these two giant like figures in my life hurt me so much. With every bruise, with every cut they inflicted upon me, I asked myself ''why?'' over and over and over again. Until the why had changed into ''when?'' When will this torture seize? They say the only thing that separates Humans and animals is the ability to question the information that it gains. To make decisions based upon those questions. I was questioning the very foundation my life. Pain was the reward for my hard work. Pain was normal, right? The funny thing is. Fear of pain had become such a daily occurrence. I no longer feared it. Children have the most simplistic view of death. Its not uncommon for them to smile at funerals not because they are happy but because in this stage of life they aren''t afraid. Why be afraid of death when you cannot even understand your own existence as living? The piety of death wasn''t established yet. My young mind though knew exactly what it was. They had taught me how to pretend so well. How to lie to others and smile when in pain. It wasn''t intentional of course. It was survival. I couldn''t question their abuse. I had no understanding of their intoxication with torturing me. I just accepted it. Just as you cannot question gravity. I did not question their treatment of me. At least not at first. Sometimes I see my life as it could have been, had they been loving and caring parents. But that is only a dream within a dream. No matter what I did. How hard I tried. Or who I impressed. They did not care to reward my effort but to punish me and say I wasn''t good enough. My family was actually quite famous in our little town. My father was a business man and mother a lawyer. We were technically well off financially. We had large house and a spacious back yard. Our closest neighbor was miles away. We were after all the model family of the town. With myself being the rising young star of the town. I was exactly how they wanted me to be. A child who followed the Rules. Who did better then any other child my age or years ahead of myself, and made it impossible to say I could have done better. But they still said those words. My mask had become so well made I did not know where I began and it began. I would forget myself when at school and pretended my family was like the others kids parents. I had thought my ''parents'' would somehow stop it all and tell me they loved me if I just did a little better. They never did. One night, they had told me the truth in their drunk stupor. I wasn''t related to either of them. I was just there so they could put on a perfect little display of a happy family. They adopted me when I was two or so. I understand this now. The words they had said made little to no sense to my young mind. But one thing did. The words my ''mother'' had said to me after that decided everything. "Your going to be a big brother. Teach her to follow the rules like we have taught you." To another child that might have been merry news. But to me I felt cold. "Sister?" I had thought. "Rules?" "Sister?" "Rules." "They will make her follow the rules. Rules hurt." I realized. "NOOOOO!!!" I had screamed in my mind. This was moment was when I had broke the barrier of right and wrong and entered that grey undefined portion of morals. I knew the only way to stop this was through action. I came up with a plan to stop anyone else from having to follow the rules. They had recognized the change in me almost instantly and they only beat me harder, fed me less, tortured me more. As well as expected more from me. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I needed to stop them from making another person like me. And empty shell of a being that didn''t know what living meant. Months had gone by and they were preparing for the other child to arrive. So they celebrated even let me eat a little more than normal. A few friends of theirs had even came over. When they had finally fallen asleep drunk to high heaven. I went and watched them sleep. I had never had the courage to do something like this before. I usually would sneak from bed and eat a little food that I could find. I had learned not to leave any evidence long before. But this night I watched as they held each other in each other arms for the first time. Only now can I conjecture that they loved me. They were just psychotic about it. Don''t be mistaken that doesn''t excuse their actions. I just can''t help but feel that at least within their twisted minds they believed they were helping me. I watched them for a time before I accepted what I was going to do. In the house we had plenty of supplies that we never would need. It was just so they could keep up appearance when a guest were over. A rope was easily found in a supply closet as well as duct tape. The rope was tied around the bed with them in it like the twirl of a candy cane. I had made it as tight as it needed to be. I didn''t want them to free themselves. I tied the rope in such away that it would tighten even more if they began to struggle with it. I went into kitchen and grabbed a few supplies that I would need. All household materials that are used in daily cleaning. I opened much of the liquid cleaners and spread them along our carpet floor. I soaked almost all the furniture I could. I even went as far as breaking most of the valuable items that were located around the house. I remember contemplating if this would kill me as well but the urge to save any future children from this agony was well worth the hollow life I had. I then barricaded my parents room with myself inside.They were still sleeping soundly under the affects of their alcohol. I took one of the the bottles by the bed and put paper through the top. I also took the lighter and phone off their nightstand. They were just as heavy fans of cigars as they were of alcohol. I laid against the wall facing towards their bed watching them. I dialed 911 but let it sit their without pressing call. I began about the task of binding my feet together with duct tap. I made it tight enough that I couldn''t even run away if I wanted to. Then I took out a match that I had been carrying since the beginning. I looked at it slowly and lit it. I watched as the flames flicked with the air. It was intoxicating marveling at the little flame that would set me free. I lit the paper that was inside the bottle. It caught quickly on fire and was slowly burning through. I threw it at the wall behind my parents. Few moments in my life seemed like they slowed to a stand still but this one slowed to the point where I could see each individual waver of the bottle. As it wavered through the air. Just as it made the sound of breaking glass. I saw the fire bleed across the wall. I had become a statue as I watched the fire slowly build. I could my parents starting to wake but I didn''t say anything. I was watching the flames. It reached their bed. Black smoke was accumulating now. The fire alarm was going off as well. But it was too late. Even I could not do anything to stop it. I called 911 at this moment and did what my parents had taught me we so well how to do. "Hello 911, What is your emergency?" "Help a fire. Murderers are here." I told them in a hurried tone. I then snapped the phone in half. Looking back up and I saw that my parents had awoken and noticed I was on the floor. They were about to be covered in flames themselves but they didn''t speak They just looked at me and I them. No emotions of any kind showed on their face or mine. It was like they had expected this somehow. The flames then consumed them. I heard their screams. It was piercing at first but just as quickly as it began they were no more. They were dead just like that. I relaxed against the wall. I could no longer breath. I didn''t fight it either. I didn''t scream. I just slowly melted in to a warm dream. A peaceful dream about what could have been but was never to be. I would like to say I died then. It would have been better for everyone. But like all stories they come in many parts. Mine is just a little more exciting than most. Sometimes I wonder if I might have sent three souls the afterlife that day. The third being the one I wanted to protect the most but that is a question of morals for another day.
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Chapter 6 - Reaching Nirvana Death stared dumbfounded at the screen that appeared before him. After returning from the strange place. He was still lost about what was going on. "Memories of death?" I whispered. The screen had appeared before me without a description of what I had obtained. Beyond that, who was Aler? Vix? How did I see that battle? The book was still in my hand. I looked at each page carefully. Within black paper was filled the books bind. On a stroke of luck or genius I thought back to the words that Francis had said when he showed me this worlds system. "Show stats." I said. Nothing happened. I expected a little more or at least a little something for my effort. "This broken fucking world." I scowled. "If I''m expected to save the world why does it give me this bad of a handicap?" I mused aloud casting my eyes across my room as if asking an invisible audience. I sighed. I had always hated puzzles. They left me angry, confused, and above all else tired. Whether they were hard or simple. They would sit in the corner of my mind for years if I couldn''t find the answer. Frustrating really to realize my worst obsessions can cross lifetimes. Shoving this particular puzzle far into the back of my mind. I changed into the uniform I had been given for class. The celebrator had left it with the jumble of items that he had given me. I grabbed a leather bag as well and placed my strange book inside it as well as a few other items that I thought I might need. Dressed and ready to go I''m sure I looked like a model school boy. I left my room and headed for a class room that I had been shown. Francis had said it would be in my best interest to take this as my first course. The academy had numerous classes that covered subjects from Magic to Gardening to Combat: Ranged or Close Quarters. One particular classroom he had shown me was littered with marble sculptures and even some wood. He had said a particular man comes by every few years to teach a class of those who were interested about sculpting. I had shook my head at the mention of it. I did not need to learn something so useless. It would take years to achieve even a small portion mastery over it. I would rather just stick with what I know. The art of killing was always one of my favorite past times. This world seemed to revel in it. I didn''t see any other students walking the halls. So assumed classes must have already started. When I came upon the room I was looking for I slowly opened the it. But for some odd reason the door had other motives. Leaving an impressionable ''clang''. I clutched my right ear at the noise while entering the room. My visage no doubt winning me some pity points with all who were watching. After all, I was going to use this child adage for as long as I could. Before I did anything else I inspected my surroundings. My previous life had taught me to always observe your immediate vicinity. To have an escape route at any moment as well as knowing the objects that are around the room. More than once in my last life I had to use some blunt object to defend myself. This room was exactly as Francis had shown me before. 8 rows of seats that progressed upon stairs reaching further and further in level. Able to hold up to 50 or so students if it was needed. A black board was in the normal place directly behind the teachers podium, which itself was was off to the far end left end. As well as small area in between the podium area and seating that could be used for demonstrations. I smiled at the thought of actually attending school ,after all, school was not something I attended for very long in the last life. I could hardly contain my excitement. "Excuse me CHILD," A voice snapped at me. "What do you think you are doing interrupting my class?" I focused my attention on the direction the voice came from. The woman was at least 25. She was strikingly beautiful. Fire red hair and green eye''s glaring at me. I payed no attention to what she had said. I looked her over once and then a second time for it to imprint into my memory. Her body really left nothing to the imagination. Pearl white skin, curvy hips and a thin waist, also a rack that made heaven blush. Color me impressed. She wore a normal lab coat that scientist would wear in my old world. A black button up, black pants, and black shoes. I was wondering if black was some special color. But the best part, she wore glasses that settled on the nose. Particularly reading glasses. I was in love. "I have no time for this lecherous child." She said as she started speaking extremely fast in another language. In front of me a type of earth creation was forming. I was legitimately astonished as well as excited. But the cold pragmatic side of me took over when I realized I was the target of whatever this thing was. It began to form into a humanoid figure very quickly. "She must be very good to make something like this as fast as that." I pondered. Taking off my bag. I puled out a small dagger. Slightly heavy but a good fit for my hand. "Hey, teach if I destroy then can I take this class?" I asked her with a grin. She laughed. "Not even one of the students in the room can take this golem down." She peered over at the students lining the desks. "How do you think you could even do it?" I had failed to recognize the age of the students in the room. Sometimes I forget how small I am. They were all young adults at least ages 15 to 18. More men than women, I must say they had fine taste these gentlemen did. No matter how hard it would be to kill this thing I had already made my mind up that this woman and I would get to be very very good friends. "Watch me." I said as I sprinted toward the creation. You would think I would be slow. I was a child. No muscle on my little bones to speak of. I hadn''t begun any type of physical training at all and even if I did it would do nothing for this situation. Let me introduce you to my third favorite hobby. Third behind only killing and Women. The body. I had had a unique obsession with learning the best way to kill. I was an expert at the movements of others and especially the movements of my own body. My previous body had been not well cut out for arduous exercise. So I taught myself how to use the body that I had to best of my ability. After exhausting every practicals means understanding every muscle, joint, and bone in my body. I had come upon the concept of meditation. I taught myself from the ground up on how to do everything through intense sessions of imagining the absolute action performed as if it were physical. The process sounds simple but I could only be considered an expert. The man who showed me was a master. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was only two seconds before my dagger was penetrating into the golem. My dagger sunk into easily into its belly.I pulled it out and jumped back distancing myself trying to understand why it took no damage. The teacher watched the seen from the sideline. Partially stunned as well as amused. This kid was quick but she had no doubt that he could not destroy it. After all not many know the way to kill a golem without harming its spell caster. I took a moment and center myself. The golem was charging at me and I didn''t think i could take even single hit from it. It lunged with its right arm trying to hit me. I dodge but only by the nick of my teeth. The fist hit the ground making a hole. It looked like right before impact it would hard en the earth in its fist. He charged at me again and again. Near hits almost at every swing. I wasn''t really nervous but I knew I wouldn''t be able to keep up this for long. I didn''t have any stamina so I was already reaching my limit. But something odd about its movements. It walked but always with its left foot behind the ride as if protecting it. When its swung its arm it would pull circle me always holding it at the farthest distance from where I was. I decided to test something. When the golem swung at me the next time. Instead of dodging like I had been I lunged as well. I avoided arm and slashed the rear leg that he had been protecting. I had watched the teacher when I slashed and she had reacted ever so slightly. Just enough to know I was going in the right direction. I noticed that some of the older students were watching intently and some just staring off into space. I wonder if I''m being used as a demonstration. But the thought was short lived as my back had touched the wall. I had been side tracked and the golem was coming straight for me. I couldn''t do much in terms of dodging so I took a leap of faith. No I literally took a leap right between the creature legs as it attacked me. There was a slight moment where it would open its legs wide using the momentum of its construct to swing the hardened limb at me. I took it. I even had the gall to slash at the leg back leg again. Much to surprise the dagger had caught upon something hard not breaking it but sliding past. The golem seemed to sag a little and fall but it reformed quickly. I looked at the teacher and realized that she was genuinely showing astonishment on her face. I laughed and stood on my feet distancing myself from the golem. "Hey teach, if I beat this thing. Can I call you Sis too?" I called back. I heard a few whistle from the male students now. There were even a few girls saying things to the affect of how adorable I was. "No You MAY NOT." The teacher yelled. I dropped to my knees in a defeated pose. Showing the agony that her words caused me letting my hair fall over my face. I had a little smile hidden from the on viewers. The students were for my cause. They were discussing among themselves in hushed tones on how cruel the teacher was for breaking my poor innocent young heart. My smile deepened but was still hidden. One particular voice, female. Called out to others and said "I''m going to boycott this class if she doesn''t let him call her Sis if he wins." Then some one also said me to. Me to. I''m in. I like this bet. All the sudden it had become unanimous decision. I was in tears. "Thanks Guys. It means so much to me." I sniffed."I always wanted a sister." They started to chant wildly "Sis,Sis,Sis" repeatedly. Something told me this class already picked on the teacher normally. "Alright. Alright. But do you guys really think that he can beat my golem. Not one of you have beat it yet and he''s a kid." She reasoned. The golem was still there but not moving just waiting for orders. It seemed that I was right on my other theory as well. The golem was directly controlled by the teach. It didn''t think. This had given me enough time to catch my breath. It was only a bonus that I would get to call her Sis when I won. I stood rubbed my eye. "Can I call you all brother and sisters as well?" I asked the students. I forget to mention how absolutely charming my little body is. Combined with my voice I''m a little prince charming. The class had truly been stunned by my actions. A young man spoke up first this time. "Anytime little bro!" The same young woman from before spoke up again. "Call upon me whenever you need me, Little one." The students began sharing their names and what families they come from and the picture was quite odd. This was a legitimate duel. The teacher had watched the whole scene. She couldn''t determine if this young child was a genius or an idiot. It was as if he was holding the whole room in the palm of his hand. She was sick of the interruption that had cost her valuable class time. She willed the golem to attack the kid right now since he wasn''t paying attention to it. He would be injured and reawaken in the med bay anyway. No permanent damage could be done to him. I heard the students call out to me. Yelling watch out. Move. Some even almost ready to jump in front of the creation. I had been wait for this. "Sis. Save me." I screamed. The golem flinched. Stopping mid swing just long enough for me to slam my hand into the golem and pull free the obstruction that I had hit previously. The golem had been a second away from killing me but my heart had never even increased. All had gone according plan. The golem melted around me returning to the earth as I had suspected. I stood up straight smiled wide to the students and walked over to the teacher. "Here you go, Sis." I said handing over the little ball of metallic substance. "How did yo-?"She whispered not finishing the though. "Thanks for saving me, Sis. Teach me well Okay." I hugged her right leg. I was too busy reaching nirvana to hear the the students erupt into cheers. "Oh Sweet Merciful Buddha. It has been far too long." I thought as I squeezed her leg tighter.
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Chapter 7- So Close When the teacher finally calmed down she looked upon me closely for the first time. Before she had never payed me much mind. I was a disturbance. She was a teacher, it was her duty to get rid of the disturbance.Though, if she had paid slightly more attention to me she would have realized sooner who I was. Still when she finally saw my mark up close it finally dawned on her. "So your Death?" She said Bluntly. "I had heard you were an unsociable child who killed his first teacher." I could not mistake a hint of pain in the voice when she said this. Perhaps she knew Jon. "Yes, Beautiful Sis." I smiled. " You are all the first friends I have made. Everyone else is really afraid of me." I said the last bit in a grieved voice. "Why did you kill him?" She asked in a more personal tone. My real answer would have definitely been "Because he was a Bitch." But I knew that would probably upset her. So I thought about it for a second. What would a child my age possibly say was their reason for killing an adult? "I didn''t mean to kill him. I just didn''t want him to hurt me anymore." I made my eyes water a little. "Next thing I know he wasn''t moving." I let a few tears fall dawn my face and wiped them slowly adding to the deception. She seemed slightly moved. I even felt a little bad for lying to her. But don''t be mistaken, I wasn''t feeling guilt. I was disappointed that as of right now I had to use a mask to hide my true thoughts. I had to hide my maturity for doing everything. It made things easier. Sure. But it goes against the grain to act younger than you really are. I wasn''t even through puberty yet. Imagine what I will do when my hormones go fucking with my mind. "It''s alright. You did what many others wished they could do" She paused for a moment. "Jon and I were once close.But I do not blame you." She said low enough for only my ears. "I''m sorry. Sis." She smiled one of those smiles that stays with you.Though not with me. I had seen that kind of smile many, many times before. I have never had what you would call a true love. That''s fictional. I had killed far to many people to ever believe in notions like those. I even killed a few lovers. Not in cold blood of course. They were assassin''s I knew, they just didn''t know I knew. Killers seem to think their the best until they die. Point being I''m no exception. This time though. I have a healthy body. I would not allow failure this time. "My name is Scarlet Treboine. Francis told me you might be coming but I have been distracted lately." She said. "Go take a seat. You can choose whatever seat you would like since you are a special student." She resumed her teacher like behavior and tone. Completely leaving no trace of her previous behavior. I nodded. "Sis, if you want. You can call me Sun." I said before I walked away and picked up my bag and put away my dagger. I only told her to call me ''Sun'' since I didn''t want this classroom to come to fear me. Many had already seen my mark and probably heard my name. I couldn''t let them think that I was some sort of monster. It had not even been a week since I killed that bastard. I surely didn''t tell her to call me Sun because it would make her see me as a different being than the child called Death. Nope. I definitely did not do that because she was still upset. Never. I''m not that kind. I always do things because it benefits me the most. You could say the students had been watching the teacher and I but the interaction itself was generally very short. Only a few had even heard my name. I had not said things so loudly as I had before. I knew how to play the game and right now wasn''t the time. I was here to learn about magic. Not scout out potential future romances. I was only six. Even I knew I was only so great. I made my way up to a seat on the back row. The students had calmed down and nodded at me as I made my way up. I saw more than a few friendly smiles some that were even a little naughty. I shivered when I saw one girl licked her lips. I loved women but I wasn''t a rapist. But can a woman actually rape a man if they are beautiful? I pondered the thought as I sat far above everyone else. There were only two more students on my row. They seemed a little stunned that I could sit there I didn''t understand but it must have something to do with my status as a special student. I focused my attention back to the teacher. I wanted to imagine the things I could do to her. But I could do that later. I was here to learn. "Enough is enough. We have lessons to get to before we begin does anyone have a question about today''s lesson?" The teacher began. A female two rows below my own raised her hand. She was not what you would call pretty but her face was peculiar it had a unique attractive nature that made you want to study it. "Why is little brother sitting at the 8th row?" She said while peering up at me. I only smiled at this as I tried to feign ignorance. It would not do me well to have others jealous of me. I also heard a few other students voicing similar concerns. "Little brother''s" She said with emphasis," real name is Sun." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "He has been given the Special status for multiple reasons. Not only is he extremely talented but also his sponsor is high ranking individual of Aleron." "Then why did you force him to fight the golem earlier if you knew who he was?" the girl continued. "Sun is also the child everyone has started to call Death" She said. I heard a gasp from a few places in the room. I could already see a few glances thrown my way in fear but also anger. "Just great." I thought. "Isn''t Death that crazy eyed child who laughed manically as he killed Instructor Jon? Wait I had laughed? Crazily? I can''t remember that. "Didn''t he also horribly scar one of the nannies of the nursery when he was only three years old?" "Supposedly she can''t even go near children now without passing out from fear." How did I do that? "But worst of all he is supposedly Celebratory Francis''s only student?" I could see a group shudder makes its way through the students. I admit he is probably a bastard and I don''t really like him but really how could he be that bad? I need to speak up before my hard work is ruined. Too late. "Do you all really think this adorable little boy right here could actually do all of those things?" I felt two fresh mounds touch my face. They were absolutely the best. I could hear the conservation continue as I was suffocating in a tight hug of pure joy. "Exactly. I didn''t know Sun was death because the image we all think of when we here of this new Death character is one that does not fit the image we see in front of us." "Now Princess can you let Sun go before you kill him." I heard the teacher say. Princess. I always wanted to-wait don''t let me go I want to die a happy death. "Alright." She sighed. Bye Bye heaven. The princess was a large breasted,silver eyed, black haired woman. Her figure was similar to the teachers but not as developed. It would not be long though for the growth. She had been one of the two others siting in the eighth row. Still this was getting old I needed to learn and they were far to curious about me to let it begin. I needed to kill this topic quickly or I would go insane. "Brothers and Sister''s I didn''t mean to kill him." I began the same thing I told the teacher but I wanted to kill this topic forever so I''m going for the grade A performance of the year. "He hit me so suddenly. Next thing I remember was wanting to run away and save myself. But all I remember after that was waking up in a pool of blood." I had been playing the water works ever so slightly and quivering my voice at the parts that made the best impression. I had even started to blow snobs of goo. All in all by the end of it. Half the students were encouraging me it was all right and the other half was crying right along with me. Finally. I could get to learn something. "I think we should take Sun to see the city as a way for him to forget that day." Oh no. "That''s a great idea." another student said. "It''s been a while since we went to the city." "I think Sun will be able to really enjoy himself if he lets himself forget what happened." The one the teacher had called princess had finally spoke up. "Miss Scarlet, please allow us to chaperon Sun around the city. It will allow us to make Sun happy and let you catch up on work." She said. "What about class?" The teacher said. "Do not worry most of us are top tier anyway. We already now all the fundamentals of magic anyway." She replied. No. no. no. It can''t be so. I was so close to the MAGIC. "But I thought I couldn''t leave the Academy till I had take the Test?" I was at my last straw. "It alright." the princess replied. "It''s not a problem if I say you can." I started to tear up. Crying from the disappointment. I had been so close to awesome that wonder thing. I don''t even know what it is but damn I want to be able to do it. Think of the ways I could kill my enemies. "Look how happy he is. He''s crying tears of joy." "Fine. I''ll end class short for the day. Take Sun to the city but don''t let anything happen. I will also be adding more work for another day." The teacher said. I was still crying at this point as the princess lifted me up on her shoulders. "Aren''t you happy Sun?"I heard the princess say. "I''m SOOOOO Happy." I say through my tears.
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Chapter 8- Meeting the King Honestly, I was surprised the princess could hold me on her shoulders with little to no effort. She seemed to not even feel my weight. I assume it must be something to do with the ''status window'' that I cannot access. I was in no mood to continue upon my childish rouse but I needed it to gain a least small amount of information about the academy for all this trouble. I would learn about magic on another day but I wanted to at least to know of it now. The princess herself was a curious specimen. I understood that their were many nobles who went to this school but none who had such status as this women seemed to. The teacher herself almost seemed to treat the princess not as a student but an equal. From that I would assume that she was very powerful in her own right not just for show. The princess, of course, had grabbed my bag and hung it around her shoulders. She didn''t change the length as it seemed to automatically adjust. "Is everything in this world made with magic?" I whispered aloud to myself. "Not everything. Most items are ordinary. Their would be no reason for everything to be so expensive.Looks like Francis really wishes to spoil you while he can." The princess answered my question to the wind. I had been so caught up with my thoughts that I had spoken aloud. Francis is a schemer. The man has plans within plans within plans. I would need far more information before I could figure out his true goal. For now I would allow it. I couldn''t contest him even if I wished to. "Sis, do you know why Francis made me a special student?" I asked her searching for some answers. "Hmm, I think its because he thinks you are so much like him." The princess mused. We had left the classroom a few moments prior and almost half of the students were already gone. The rest, at least 8, were walking with us to the what they had called the ''lift''. I assumed these were the friends of the princess. The others were of the lower ranks I could tell from their seating position. It had been a big deal when I sat next to the princess at the top row on accident. So I assume only the most high of nobles can sit above all others. "Sun its not because you are like him. As a son is to his father. It because your situations are similar." The princess replied to me. The princess looked to a guy who was at worst the most handsome man I had ever seen in this world just yet. He had angular face with a jaw line that screamed he was a ladies man. His black hair swooped around the edges of his face leaving sets of two silver eyes that seemed to pierce every direction. His body was at its peak condition every muscle bone ligament were exactly as they should be. For no better words, I was jealous. He need no introductions beyond his pure presence. I could say that women are the fruits of my eye but men have my respect on a level no woman could ever reach. "This man must be someone important. A noble not below the princess." I thought. We had reached an area of the building that I had never seen before. After having gone down at least 5 flights of stairs we had reached the "lift". The room itself was tightly guarded. Men in chain mail and suits of arms positioned at all the right places. No one would be able to escape unless they had killed everyone. Examining at least one of the soldiers I noticed that he had extraordinary training. I would need to be at least twice my current age before I would be able to take down even one of them. The guards were tough. The room itself was of the greatest design. A waterfall covered the walls and sculptures were everywhere. "Dmitri would you look after Sun while I go inform the madam of our departure." The princess had a loving smile on her lips as she finished the words. The man I learned to be Dmitri was not fazed. His face held still and closed as if within its own world. "As you wish, My Princess." Dmitri did a small bow one hand placed behind his back and the other in front. The princess left with three of the girls leaving me with my bag which adjusted itself automatically, Dmitri, and 4 other guys that looked at me as if they wanted to teach me the world. The girls had left through a door opposite of the one we had entered. I instinctively drew towards Dmitri. "Tell me Big Brother, do you understand what the princess meant by calling saying Francis situation was similar?" I asked. Dmitri looked over me slowly as if in thought. Then spoke aloud after seemingly making up his mind. "No, I do not." He answered curtly. "But I believe your auras are very similar but-"He trailed off. He was thinking to himself once again. "Whats an Aura?"I said quietly. It had been a long time since I had heard of auras in the last life. They were at least in that world an idea that touched mysticism and the occult and generally by people who wanted to make a quick penny. My teacher had taught me closely on the basics of auras but I was no good in that body. I could not increase my physical ability to the level where it could manifest in spirit. My master had said that mine was different that he but had refused to explain why. "What is the moon? The sun? The Earth?" Dmitri asked rhetorically." Auras are life. They are the breath of the soul. The glimmer of the stars. The energy of all things. It is what most would call the energy of life." Dmitri looked me over and I shook my head. He believe me a child. Which helped the rudimentary explanation. It had been a time since I actually practiced its use. "What''s different about mine?" I asked my eyes wide as if in amazement at the idea. "Yours is black, which is not impossible. Francis''s aura himself is black as well. But the thing about yours is that its-" He stopped for a moment taking a breath. "Darker than the night sky. But yet when I focus on it trying to imagine your depth the darkness becomes white. White. Pure White." He had been almost whispering towards me at the conclusion of his sentence. Not speaking to me but rather talking to himself. This was news to me as well. I understood what auras are and what they represent at least by my own standards but it would seem it means much more in this world. Did my aura change because of reincarnation or was it always like this? The thoughts continue to swirl in my head until I shoved it away at the look on Dmitri''s face. I unconsciously had let my eyes relax outside the normal facial movements of a child as I was thinking. It did not seem I could play it off. His eye seemed to see much more than I could hide as of now. "What does that mean?" I asked him normally but I''m sure the point was across. He smiled at me for the first time. His handsome face giving into a jovial grin. "You are far more than what you seem." He answered my question. He had obviously already noticed the small mark at the corner of my face. Francis had told me not many know what the significance of the mark is but if they do know they will fear me. He had called me an incarnation. The living embodiment of death and his faith. Where I was his lord. I do not understand the specifics yet but I would learn them when I traveled through the dungeon he told me. This mans grin almost seemed to want to revel in what I would become. Not in fear but almost as if wishing he could challenge me now. I could see it written as plain as day on his face. He wanted a challenge. "Be ready." I said accidentally the words slipping from my lips. Dmitri only laughed aloud at my mistaken words. I believe he and I could be fast friends. "Can you tell me about the system of rank in the academy?" I let all hindrance of childish behavior leave my demeanor. The other students were busy playing around telling each other of their exploits of their various affairs with women and the like. Most were an obvious lies. But when one described the body of some snake women like creature. I made a mental note to explore the truth of the statement in the future. I would never discriminate. That would limit the possibilities. "Little brother," Dmitri said mockingly. "The academy is divided into levels of ability. Level 1 the lowest tier and level 8 the highest tier. The classes themselves are split based upon status. An 8th tier class will have the best of the best but will still be divided based on rank within the kingdom. You can only join a class if you are found to wield talent in that field. As an example, you cannot join a class in the field of magic if you have no talent. This rule is universal. Ability far outranks status. In many cases students with no status whatsoever are above students with titles of nobility. Nobility have the option to pay for their child''s induction into the academy at the age of 6 but all others are drafted. By draft I mean that nation is scoured at every corner looking for those who show promise. From orphans to high class nobility none are left unseen. Of course this is seen more as an honor in these cases. For a family of low birth to have a child of great talent allows them to quickly rise in status often even granted parcels of land. It is a kingdom wide search for the talents of the future." Now it made sense. Francis knew I would be most interested in magic and had suggested this class for me to become acquaintances with the princess. He probably didn''t estimate this would happen though. Or could he? "I am an orphan who was scouted by the royal family itself." Dmitri said proudly. This was news to me. I had thought Dmitri was a Prince of his own right. The others treated him the same way they treated the Princess. "Dmitri, that smile tells me you had an enjoyable time with Sun?" I heard called from behind. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Yes my princess, he is" He stopped and smiled at me "full of surprises." The princess furrowed her nose and eyebrows. "As he should be. Angeline would never choose someone so boring." She responded. She said Angeline as if she were close to the woman. I had only met her a single time when she left me three years ago. I was curious to what she had in mine for me to go to this school. I don''t believe her and Francis are on good terms. "We need to be back by tomorrow morning or else the ''madam'' will punish us all." The group started to leave the room. "Wait, we haven''t even left yet?" I called to them. "Sun we are already there. This is connected space. We have been here since we entered the room." one of the guys said. The idea of magic once again dawned on me again. Is there nothing it cannot do. I followed after them into a red and gold dipped carpeted hallway even more luxurious than the halls of the academy. "Hey brothers and sisters, where are we going?" I asked them. The group laughed stopping in their tracks. "To meet the king." The princess said to me. I heard one of the group of four guys from earlier joke about the time he didn''t greet the king. He laughed but their was a edge of pain in his voice that you have after you overcame torture. I relate it to torture because that was the face the victims would make after I stopped. "So we meet the king then." I thought to myself. The halls were decorated in the fashion of old royalty. Everything looked sparkling new but the objects themselves felt old. As if you were to touch anything that decorated the halls it would fall to ash at your feet. I did not relish the fate of the maids that worked here. We came upon many doors. Big doors, small doors, Pink doors and orange doors. Some double many single but none could quite be like the door that we finally came upon. The place was a maze but the others walked through it like it were home for the princess and Dmitri it was of course but the others I still did not understand their positions. The door was large but to just call it large would be an understatement. This door was at least two stories high and three across. It was so large that it had two door keepers one on both sides. They were similar red and white uniforms and pants. The princes had spoken to one of them quietly so that I couldn''t hear but I still caught the words. "You come through this door today princess?" The doorman said. "Yes, now hush, we are trying to give Sun the royal showing. Open the door so I can see my father." "Yes, my princess." The doorman looked and at the other and signaled. They walked congruently from both ends to the center of the door. Turned and both pushed slowly. It opened faster than I thought was possible. Obviously they were stronger than they seemed. It opened to an enormous room that held the meaning ''Money is only an object." They were showing me the throne room and they were showing me it in fashion. Nobles I assumed were talking to another on either side of the room and speaking in hush tones at our entrance as we made our way forward. I even heard a voice call out the princess and our group introducing us to the gathering. The carpet was decorated to the point of being its on mural. No single space was less than the work of a master craftsmen. I saw the numbers one through seven lining the back wall as if they held a greater meaning. The throne itself was white and another smaller throne next to it. It held no semblance of what I had imagined a throne to look like but it wasn''t the chair that made me wide eye. It was the man within the chair. His hair was black but had turned grey at the roots. The eyes were silver, the same as his daughters but it was an older wiser silver. Eyes that had seen many things. His clothing were simple but not too simple possibly made that way for a reason. He wore a single robe much the same as Francis wore on a regular bases black but he had a type of armor covering the top so it looked as of the robe were only an undershirt. His legs were hidden underneath the robe. Atop his head there was a single black crown. Nothing extravagant about it. This man had the same aura as my master in the last life. An unbreakable calmness that swept my entire being. I looked at the others an had failed to realize that they had all bowed. I thought to do the same. But I was far too late to save any sort of face now. "Are you not afraid of me child?" the king said. I thought of twenty different answers the moment he finished his sentence but I realized this meeting was that which would shape all other interactions that we would ever have. It was important to establish now before everyone that I would not be his instrument. "Are you of me?" I called out not in the voice of a child but with that of a mans demeanor. I was not below the status of a king in my own mind. I was below no one. I heard a few gasps at my response even one from the princess. I saw a smile come to lips of Dmitri.The bastard was surely going to be a close friend as I aged. The king looked me over. I felt something pass over me. If it was magic I had never felt it before. Not harmful but it was gone before it even began. "No, I have never been afraid of a child before." the king replied a smile coming to his lips. Our conversation was watched from every inch of the room. Our voices rising and falling with not even the sound of a murmur in between. "I have never been afraid of anyone before either. No matter what seat they may sit within." I said slowly. The king had listened closely to my every word. His smile getting larger and larger with my every word. By the last word he was standing and coming towards me. I merely stood my crowd I didn''t feel any danger from the situation. I believed him to be deeply intrigued. When he was only steps away, I realized how tall he was and by his strides how disciplined his body was. He stood above all other men at height no less than seven feet. His strides were tight no excess movement but he was comfortable in the pacing. I was right to compare him to my master. He was no less than the best. He was the king in a world where power was everything. I respected the man. But I respected myself just as much. My head never lower in his presence. "He looked from above towards me with a sleight smile. He then lifted me into his shoulders faster than I could react. I was starting to believe this family had a type pride in this. The daughter must do so in habit because of her father. "Father!" The princess stood. The others remained bowed to the ground. "Calm daughter, this child will be someone very important someday so I will teach him something while I can." His voice was wise. I believed he must be older than my combined age. He had me sitting on his left shoulder holding me still with his left hand. "Tell me young Sun? What does it mean to rule?" The king asked me as I looked down on the others in the room. I thought carefully about my answer using all of my experience. I didn''t wish to disappoint the man who reminded me so much of my master. "To be strong." The king laughed at my simple answer. He laughed heartily as if he had heard a similar answer before. "Angeline said the same. No doubt she felt you were a kindred spirit when she found you." The king laughed a little lower this time but a the memory not at my expense. "Listen young Sun. To be strong is to be weak when in the presence of someone equally strong. But to rule is to have a strength without peer." I began to laugh at this and hearing this the king laughed again. We were to young and old food laughing again over over as if we had heard some old joke. My master had said the same. The nobles all around the room had seen the situation but could not understand what was happening. It was as if the child and king had gone into a world where only they were allowed to tread. The princess was reminded of her brother and the time the king had counselled his son one his future. It was uncanny the resemblance was. It had made her tear at the laughter. Her brother would never return home. I stopped laughing an had a warm smile on my face. I could be friends with this man. It would be an honor I had thought kings would be superficial and completely enamored with their power but he was simple. He believed strength gives you the right to rule but not the right to govern. "Then what of governing?" "Who said anything of governing?" The king replied. The king patted me on the head. "Let us go talk of the future in my study. I''m sure Angeline must have heard you were here by now and would love to see you." The king walked out towards a door behind the throne that had not been there before or was it? I could no longer tell. It seemed to have materialized out of the thin air. "Magic" I thought.
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Chapter 9- The Promise Hey GUYS its RegalMania. Its been a long journey but we are finally almost at the end of the first arch. The next chapter will bring closure. Its almost crazy to think that I haven''t even began to talk about the actual rules of Magic and Adventuring and yet I still have 150 followers even 39 favs. The blue box is the life blood of RR. But Isn''t it all about the build up the characterization. I can''t just make an OP character. I have to make you fall in love with the character first. I hope I have succeeded. Now onto the important matters. The next chapter will be all about Magic and Fighting. No ands ifs or buts. If you have made it this far. I congratulate you on your stead fast faith in my ability to weave stories together. I think I am improving. But I can''t tell so I once again beg for more reviews that tell me your frustrations with my story. But first let me tell you that I wanted the beginning of the story to confuse you at least a little. Remember how Death is intrigued by puzzles I hope you are a little to. I mean to make it this far you must have been a little bit right? Now to end this little Recap. Coming next time. Chapter 10 - An impossible World ------------------------------------------------------- The king carried me into the study and sat me down, the impromptu door disappearing the moment we had stepped into the space. The walls left and right of me were lined with books top to bottom, it was neat and well kept. They themselves seemed to be thick volumes, containing information that I could not imagine. The king had left me to look about the room. He was relaxed against a large red wooden desk that was the rooms centerpiece. A large red chair was at its side. A large window that rose from the floor to the ceiling behind the desk looked down upon a unmistakably beautiful landscape. A lake with an endless prairie at its side filtered into the distance. The kings desk had nothing atop besides a few writing utensils and stamps most likely of his approval. I look towards the king once again. A man that was the ruler of the nation of Aleron. Aleron was still a mystery to me. I knew nothing of it other than that to be where we were. I understood it was a country of humans at least. Other humanoid creature are also allowed within its boundaries. Which meant the king was at least on decent terms with the rulers of the other races. Francis had said my existence signaled the end of peace. A just statement. I could only imagine the future. The king had his eyes closed. Only now did I realize what had been staring me in the face for so long. The king was old. Not so old that he was weak but preferably a powerfully wise man. He knew what he was doing. If anything I believe he is securing my allegiance to the nation of Aleron and at worst he would warn me of ever betraying it. I walked slowly behind the desk subverting my view of the king towards the landscape within its view. "Disgustingly beautiful is it not?" The king spoke. I paused to turn to the king just for a moment. I wanted to see the angle his body and the tension on his face. He had not moved even to look towards me. He was facing the opposite side of the room. His eye most likely still closed. I would have to face this interaction with no hints of what information he wished to peruse from me. If he was trying to find the depth of my character I would do the same. "A world where peace may reign forever, Greed filtered, Agony hidden, Blood spared and trust severed, Peace, Indeed, A beautiful world." The words had left the room cold. There was no room for idle words. I continued to watch the calmness of lake below. Minutes passed before the king spoke. "Dmitri." The king said flatly. He voice held no inflection. It was a statement as to himself as much to me. "What is your impression of the man?" I thought back to my meeting with him. The words I had spoken and how he reacted to them. It was a few moments before I answered him. "Respectable." I finally answered. The room was so still I could hear the sound as the king ran his hand through his hair. "Respectable." he stated it as a matter of fact now. I could tell now the king was pondering a situation that must have been on his mind for some time. "Strong?" I sat down onto the floor. My back leaning against the window pane,my head titled back, eyes closed. "No." I heard a few shuffled steps and the cushioning release of air someone makes when they sit hard into a comfy chair. Another round of minutes pass as the two of us think about our own set of situations. Though I had this aching feeling that I would be absorbed into his at any moment. "I had a son once." The king paused I could hear sadness in his voice. "He was strong." another pause. "Strong enough to rule." I didn''t need to know what happened to his son. It was bleeding from his every word. I wanted to help this man through his thoughts. He seemed tired of it all. As tired as my own soul felt at times. I laughed. It was a laugh that had the full weight of the circumstances I had been given pressed upon it. A low rumbling ironic sort of laugh. One you hear from those suffering from great despair. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer responsibility of being reborn. Ever since the day I had awoken. I had been moving forward at every moment. Taking in so much around me. Sometimes thinking on it but before the brunt of it affected my mind. I would shove it in some corner of my mind. I wasn''t ready to deal with the level of stress that comes with being in a child''s body again. Only now within the presence of this now sad and powerful man does it all come rushing over me. I could no longer hold it in. It was as if the damn that had been holding it back had finally collapsed under the weight. The emotion did not rush forth in the form of tears. Just laughter. Sad unbearable laughter. The king was silent at this. He seemed to sense what I was going through perhaps because he himself felt similar about his own situation. When the laughter finally stopped. I did not feel better. I did not feel anything at that moment. Only time would heal the situation that I found myself in. Time as well as information for what I was dealing with. I needed more information. "Young Sun," The old man said. "Dmitri is the future king." I understood his plea now. "The old are all dying and the young are now rising. They even think themselves important and powerful." He sighed. The king rose from his chair and looked out the window. "The axis of power is changing. I fear that when I meet my fate. Aleron will-" He stopped his eyes looking past the scenery past the landscape into a future where the world he knew was falling apart. "Fall." He said it in such a way that I could not even contest the idea. Dmitri was not king material. It is a mater of presence. He had a culmination of a pride that blocked his future.A good man but not a great man. His enemies could never fear a ''good man''. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "There is a common misconception that incarnations are champions of their ''Faith''." He said the last word with hint of ire. Almost as if the notion itself were ridiculous. "Listen Young Sun, In this world few may know the truth of what you are. We have all heard the legends you know. Scant tales of peerless beings stronger than the gods. Absolute authorities that are shrouded in mystery. And here before my eyes sits a young child with the mind of man. A mark upon his forehead. As well as a presence that cannot be mistaken. A limitless power that will only grow. Dmitri will be King and my only daughter his Queen." The king paused but only for a moment. Debating the way he would come about the question. "I need you. I need your power. I have no plans to lock you in place. To hold you as if a prisoner. I don''t care about the schemes of Francis. I don''t care about the sake the world. I only care about my kingdom." The king said the last bit with a smirk. "I can give you anything you wish. Anything that you would ever wish for. But what I can''t give you is a reason. I don''t have hidden machinations of any kind. I rule by my power but even that is slowly fleeting." There was truth in his words. There is no reason that I should offer what I will be. Or the power that I will have. I can''t promise the future. I can''t even promise to tomorrow. I have at this moment so very little control over my own fate. But this man could see beyond my appearance. He could see my depth and was truly astonished. He was grasping for something I could not promise him. He knew if I were to agree it would only be an empty lie. No substance. The strength did not lie within this body. It did not lie within the mysterious title of ''Incarnation''. It was within my soul. So I could promise only one thing. Though this promise was small. It would give this worried old man an ease of mind. "I will break his pride." I had long since opened my eyes and watched the king go from a face wreathed within deep thought to an old smile. One that made me think this man was old enough to be even my own grandfather. Though wisdom does not come from age. It comes from experience. Which I had more than enough. "That is all I can promise for now." I was looking towards the other side of the room when I saw the door from before once again materialize out of thin air. "This is enough." The king said lowly bringing his attention to the door. From it appeared a woman wearing a a white silk gown that held attention at her every curve. I had a warm smile on my face. It had been three years since I met this golden haired woman and it was far to long. I held almost a childish attachment to this women. "Angeline, how nice of you to join young Sun and I." The king sat back in his chair all the tension of the previous conversation leaving his body. The women strode forward and grabbed me off the floor. Once again to fast for me to react. I was beginning to wonder if this was some type of skill that made its victim unable to react. She stood me on my feet and was crouched next to me. Wiping specks of dust from all over. Brushing my hair the right way, nitpicking the way you would only know a mother to do. This was actually the first time the action had actually been done to me. My previous mother had been not so motherly. "That Francis, allowing you to come here dressed like that." The woman began. "I should take you away from that old senseless fool and have you live here in the palace." No matter what will be said of me in the future. The names I will be called. The people who will come to fear me. Let it be known that I officially adore this woman the same way a young child adores his own mother. Her existence was as close to mother to me after all. Closer than actual mother. "Young Sun, you would not believe the way this woman walked the palace over and over again after Francis said you might be coming." The king laughed aloud. "She came to me saying such things as "How do you treat an Incarnation?" or "Do you think he will like me?" and "What if he doesn''t like me?". The king was going to laugh again but saw the scowl directed towards him on Angeline''s face. "How would I? Even you didn''t even seem to know how to treat Sun. Or if it was right that I could even name him. We barely even know anything about incarnations and Francis keeps his mouth shut at every corner." Angeline had turned and faced the king. I could see a small bit of nervousness trembling through her body. I deigned this to be the perfect time to dawn my childish behavior again. I would be frank with her another day. But today she seemed to be afraid. I hugged the woman embracing her with my tiny arms for the first time. It took her only a few moments to respond. It was surprisingly natural. When the embrace finally ended I gave her a wide smile. "Mother don''t let Gramps fool you. He didn''t know how to treat me either at first." At the sound of the word ''mother''. Angeline had a small tear run down her face. I could not imagine why she cried. But I could still feel that she was happy. I wiped the tear from her eye setting my hand against her face. I am a killer. I am a perfectionist. I am broken. Those would be how I would describe myself in the last life. A flawed being wielding so much ability but with no cause to champion it. I was no hero. And I would be no hero now. But being reborn has brought back emotions that I had thought were gone completely. I thought I would be the same with my previous memories but I was changing. I would be more than my last life. I was even allowed to be called son. It was a new world and I had not wrapped my mind around it until now. The king had visibly recoiled at the sound of ''Gramps''. I saw a visible glint in Angeline''s eye as she looked over me now. "You remind me so much of-" Angeline. "Angeline, let us speak to about that subject another time." the kings voice cut her off. He didn''t wish bring up the past right now. "Now that Angeline is here. Young Sun, I believe it would be a good time to show you our training room. I won''t have you thinking my power is weak now." All the sudden I was thrust onto his large shoulders again. This was beginning to become a annoyance. He summoned the door with a wave of his hand again. "Angeline, let us speak about Henry another time." Her face was slightly dark but brightened when I waved her forward. I was excited to see this ''training room''. We strove through the door with Angeline falling behind.
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Chapter 10- An Impossible World Here it is. Chapter 10. Wow. I didn''t think i would make it. Tables are not my thing. Anyway this marks the end of this ark. But I am having second thoughts on how to begin the next. Would you the readers prefer me to continue with this frame of time or jump to one that I already set up? Originally I had planned to move right along to the time when Sun was in the courtyard swinging the sword and training. But otherwise i could use one or two chapters to get there. Sortah like a training regimen chapters or something. Eventually you will see all the different time frames from the beginning but honestly everyone becoming confused is my fault as the author. Tell me in the comments if you wish for your voice to make a difference. Also please please vote on my story I think it would awesome to get in the top fifty. Now that my story is becoming established I''m going no where. I''ll just keep writing till its finished. Anyway thanks for reading my story. ;) ___________________________________________________________________________ The king brought us into a room that seemed to be without end. A completely white space with a blue cloudless sky above. If I strained I could see three figures in the distance. Two large and one small. The smaller one leaning forward looking in the distance itself. I looked to my rear and saw the same display now with the smaller figure looking back. It dawned on me what was occurring. "This is my personal ability. I can create unique dimensions that are under my control completely." The king said so almost smugly. I nodded. "This particular space is much smaller than when I train my men." Though his ability seems quite handy, I could not imagine how he could possibly go about creating it. It was becoming quite apparent that the discipline I noticed earlier from the guard was a result of his personal training method. Thinking back, most of the adventurers from when I first entered the marketplace when I was three did not visibly look half as disciplined. I nodded once more following this train of thought. For a king to personally train his men shows that he places martial power above many other aspects of his rule. A strong king needs strong men especially in a world ruled by power such as this. "This power alone is one of the reasons I was able to succeed my father, Gregory Amnest the Third. A putrid man that almost collapsed the kingdom because of his shortcomings. My two elder brothers even had the audacity to try to succeed him." A fiery smile appeared on the kings face. "They quickly changed their minds of course, with a little negotiating." "Now I do not mean to bore you with old tales of the past. Angeline and I were informed by Francis that you are having troubles with checking your status. One of the blessing that all people have. At first we were quite stunned by this but it seems Angeline has come up with a work around for now." Angeline who had been a background character until now smiled. She seemed to be an impatient woman. I had noticed that she was rolling her eyes at various points during the kings dialogue as if he were telling obvious or rather unimportant information. "Finally, I can''t be here all day as much as I wish to. Who else would run your nation while your playing around?" Angeline scolded the king as if he were as little boy. The king in turn looked away avoiding her eyes. Angela > King. So this was the balance of the power in this great country. How women can make even the greatest men tremble. She redirected her gaze towards me. I could see a small portion of her motherly love shine through but there was a precise focus in her eyes. "Now Sun as the phony King has said." she spoke sarcastically. "Francis, as much as I hate the man, and I came to two conclusions as to why you cannot see your status." This was something that intrigued me deeply. I was a patient person but most of that patience had been worn thin as I grew to the age of six. Never in your wildest dreams would you understand the boredom I faced as baby with an adult mind. I didn¡¯t have the patience to wait any longer to start training this body. "Your strengths are either simply immeasurable or they need a tool to work through." "And in either of those cases what would the solution be?" I asked. "In the first, I would suggest you simply get over it." She chuckled. " But the second case, which I believe, is far more likely." "Francis gave you a book correct?" I nodded. A smug smile was starting to come over her face as if she had won some sort of contest. The king pulled the book out of some pocket in his robe and handed it to Angeline. "This book is far more important than anything you will ever own." She grins. "What was the title of this book when you first looked at it?" "The History of Aleron" I said. ¡°The book will display whatever information that you wish to know before it binds with a host. You could say its a potentially symbiotic relationship. It feeds off your life energy binding to only you and by the look of it you have already formed your bonding. I no longer see anything but a white leather book with black pages within.¡± She tossed me the book to me. ¡°Its a unique cursed item. Which means it has a potential to be just as harmful as helpful for the user. Honestly we don¡¯t know whether it will be similar to status.¡± ¡°Harmful in what ways?¡± ¡°In short it can kill you.¡± Oh great. There is always a catch. Why can¡¯t I ever get lucky and the catch be something like ¡°You will forever have women chasing you trying to steal your seed.¡± Thats something I could get along with. But alas, I am never so lucky. ¡°So you gave me a book that could kill me but you act as if that isn¡¯t a problem? I don¡¯t even have an idea of how to use this thing.¡± I forgot to speak in a respectful tone. ¡° If anyone has the ability to use a cursed item it would be you.¡± She glared at me and looked to the king. ¡°What does my being an incarnation have to do with anything? What is an incarnation!!?¡± screaming into my head. The king took from his robe my dagger and tossed it to me. As the dagger curled through the air, I had that small sense of dread that would come over me whenever I need to prepare myself. Life and death situations have a way to teach you things. I learned how to see them coming. For example I noticed, the way the king and Angeline kept glancing back and forth at each. The almost unnoticeable impatience of her their muscles the way they seemed to shift back and forth for no reason at all. They were tense. Far too tense for a simple exercise to teach me how to use the book. No, their tension was of those that have no other option. The kings body though stiff seemed poised. Angeline s own was roaring. The strong beat of her pulse was easily discernible from her hardly covered body. Maybe if I had been paying a little more attention I might have caught on to what they were playing at. But by then my dagger was already in my hand and the lights had flashed out. It wasn¡¯t as if I was afraid. I wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t as if I was mad. I rarely ever do. It was not that they quite literally ,as well as figuratively, left me in the dark. No, that¡¯s how its always been. It was that I was being underestimated. You see in the last life. I had built quite a reputation for my cruel and unusual ways. I am killer. Hero would never be attributed to me. It just never felt right. Save a pretty girl once they expect you to save them every time. Torture them even a little bit and with just a small amount of kindness and they adore you for not killing them and beg for more. Crazy. I never understood it. Being reborn gave me some of my emotions back but its not like I never had a sick sense of being in the first place. If i''m to be a hero in this world. I''m going to be the darkest hero there has ever been. I¡¯m going to do what I want when I wish to. Rules are followed by the weak. Ironically Francis called me the incarnation of Death. If I¡¯m going to be honest with myself, I might as well say that sounds just about right. I used to kill who I wanted when I wanted and spare who I wanted when I wanted. Sounds fickle but I never said I was deliberate in everything I do. Now I can say I used some of my ability in the classroom facing the golem but my skills right now aren''t attributed to be used in the daylight. I was a killer better put an assassin without peer. Sure if you places me in front of someone and said fight I have no doubt I would win but for arguments sake I feel that its a little barbaric. I didn¡¯t just blantaly stab a man in the heart for all to see. No, I blatantly stabbed that man when only I could see. They could question how it got there at another time. If, of course, had they ever found the body. The longest I ever waited was about five hundred and eighty seven days. Spoiler alert, I ended using poison. The man was to damn cautious. Now what any of this has to do with current situation I guess you could say the darkness fits me perfectly. If I couldn''t see them, they should not be able to see me either. But that doesn''t mean I couldn''t find them. I stopped breathing. I stopped moving. I stopped thinking. I placed myself into the air. I placed my being into the very moment. I absorbed the fleeting impatience that tainted the space only to finding several other emotions as well. My master had called this technique, ¡°Eno¡±. Since it could be used in any situation from meditation to fucking. It helps you feel the emotions within the air. If you know how your opponent is feeling you know how he will react to your own emotions. You could categorize this as a direct use of what''s known as the sixth sense. If i were to place you blind folded, ears plugged nose stuffed. Completely without your senses into a room of a dying man. You, unless you''re so consumed with your own emotions, would notice the stale vibe, the lack of vibrancy, the lack of life that was around you. Change that dying man into a young non reincarnated child unlike myself and you would feel the direct opposite. Eno has levels of use. I¡¯m not entirely sure how many since I died before I completely perfected it. I am only at the expert level. I can sense the direction emotions emanate from as well as leak false emotions. My master was at a level that made people faint from overload of their emotions. Could I have killed my master. The answer is undoubtedly yes. But he would have killed me first. I felt a variety of emotions within the air. Impatience, fear, disappointment, worry, carelessness, and a few others. Whatever the situation was I felt bloodlust lining each of these emotions. Bloodlust a crude form of informing those around you of your intent to kill them. Crude because it gives them a warning. ¡°Hey I¡¯m right here about to kill you!¡± It comes off as much as big red spot in a white canvas. No. True bloodlust I have learnt is near the opposite. Its the white part of the canvas. Its the feeling of comfort. Of trust and endearment but instead underlining helplessness. The worst fear of death is the one you''re always waiting for. I did not lust after their blood. I lusted after their lives. I began to fill the air with my own cloak of darkness. I let the emotions of despair, shattered wills, and hope. Hope is the false profit. If you believe in hope you lose the ability to change your destiny with your own hands and leave it to random probability of someone else changing it for you. I felt the way the emotions enter the minds of those hidden. First, they seemed be a hive mind. Ready to attack in moments. But slowly one mind started to despair for what seemed to be no reason at all. Despair not from of course this exact moment but from their own life. I only mirrored the feeling I do not have the ability overwhelm them with it. They did that to themselves. Another felt it and then another. I felt the way of bloodlust fall short. Their wills shattering at this moment. No longer knowing what they are doing this for.Then like a phoenix hope appeared. Glorious rejuvenating hope. The bloodlust came back. Their will returned but their hearts were still confused but they held hope in this moment. Then I crushed it. I ran towards them. They recognized that I found them almost instantly but they were confused almost as if I shouldn''t have been able to. I still had the dagger in my left hand and the book in the right. There had been six of them. They had been grouped closely planning. Now with my attack they were confused and short two men. I could tell they could see me directly in the dark as if the sun was shining down upon me. Which was odd. It must have something to do with the Kings ability to manipulate the dimension. I had killed two of them on the preemptive strike and the remaining four were already oozing the kind of emotion you see at an execution. Their own. Perhaps this wasn¡¯t their choice. I let the thought go when I noticed one of them coming forward trying to attack me. It wasn¡¯t that I could see them but I noticed the sound of his body miles ahead of me. I could even tell he was wielding a sword. Sadly enough for him, I parried his attack and aimed for his throat. Mid swing his sword flashed inward from his slash almost making an L shaped slash with his sword. I had never even seen such a technique much less prepared for it. I was playing around and I got burned. I blocked the slash with my right hand. The book slightly torn and blood dripping from my palm. Still my dagger had already been embedded into his throat by this time. I held the sliced book still blood soaking its pages. The three remaining people huddled together crying, I¡¯m sure, not that I could see them. I sat down. The body inches away from me. I left the dagger in the mans neck as I grabbed the other end of the book. The oddest occurrence was happening. The blood from my hand was being absorbed into its pages. A screen of blue popped up before my eyes.
Sun¡¯s Grimoire
You have fed your grimoire. A second form has became available. Do you wish to change forms? Warning may cause harm to the owner.
YesNo
¡°Yes¡± I could not say no to such an interesting development now could I. The book in my hands began to change. By change, I mean morph out of my grasp. I could not even tell what was going on. Then like magic the lights were back on. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Then I noticed the king was next to me as if he had never left my side. Angeline must have left long ago getting back to whatever she was such in rush to do. I raised my right eyebrow at him, questioning the situation. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to kill them so easily. Angeline said you would be able to call on the books power if I placed you in a dangerous situation.¡± We were both watching the book now as it changed into a black glob. It seemed to form a piece of a human body then consume it all over again. A black cloud laced around it ever so slightly but was slowly beginning form into a shapeless human blob. A small blob. But then the characteristics started to become outlined. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked the king. He looked forward at the weird display and shrugged his shoulders. It was changing into a shadow form of myself. It had my features but none of the exact colors or detail. No eyes or clothing either. I bent down and picked the knife out of throat of the mans body I had just killed. Upon closer examination I noticed it wasn¡¯t human. It was a cross between human and pig. Disgusting. ¡°A group of Tandrals that we know were part of an illegal slave trafficking system. Capturing boys and girls who live in villages at the edge of our country.¡± He said with disgust in his voice. The three I hadn¡¯t killed were actually females. I must have subconsciously killed only the males of the group because of my love of women. ¡°The men are dominant in their society as well as hideously ugly but the females are held in a type slave manner.They follow the orders of the alpha whether they agree or not.¡± I looked at the cowering girls. It was surprising to notice that they were extremely beautiful. ¡°They though are considered high class females when in our own society. For some reason or another they cannot be without a master.¡± I shook my head away the tangent thoughts that were arising in my head, focusing back to the now completely reformed book. It had changed into me. ¡°Young Sun, in all my years, I must say I have never seen that kind of abomination. What did you do?¡± The king asked watching the figure as it began to practice walking. ¡°It asked me to transform after absorbing a small portion of my blood.¡± The king pulled out a small glass orb. The orb started to shimmer and glow. ¡°It looks like we have a small problem.¡± The king whispered to me as if dumbfounded. ¡°How small is a ¡°Small Problem¡±?¡± I said back quietly. ¡°Hmm, somewhere between Greater Boss level to Deity level.¡± The dark version of me started to punch in the air slowly. It was as if it were testing its newly acquired body. ¡°Wait are you saying I have to fight it?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°No, I¡¯m saying we are going to have to fight it.¡± the king said. ¡°Is it that strong?¡± ¡°Stronger. Prepare yourself its coming.¡± ¡°Wait, why is that strong?¡± I got into a fighting stance. ¡°Its you and knows everything you know. I¡¯m starting to think you''re far more than you even let on.¡± The dark version of me now had a dagger similar to my own. He began swinging it back and forth to the point it was mesmerizing. Oh, fuck. ¡°Close your eyes!¡± I screamed at the king. The king didn¡¯t have to ask any questions his eyes shut on command. He had a staff in one and a sword in the other. He was set in a position to counter attack the moment someone came into his space. ¡°Your no fun.¡± The other me said in my own voice. It was almost identical. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just talk this out?¡± I assuaged to the other me. I can¡¯t even say how much I didn¡¯t want to have to fight myself. If it could use my abilities we are about to have some serious problems. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be any fun at all.¡± Hopefully, the king has some strong magic on otherwise this is going to be difficult. I changed into the state Eno without further argument. I watched as my clone did the same. It was somewhat ironic that my own techniques might just kill me. ¡°King, use that ability to make it where that thing can¡¯t see.¡± I realized earlier he hadn¡¯t made the lights go out. He had made me unable to see. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Angeline casted the spell, I¡¯m currently busy keeping the dimension together. If I could help you further I would but if that thing has your abilities. Then you should be able to use them to right?¡± Easier said than done. The other me started to fall to the ground slowly using gravity to increase its initial speed. I could only defend as it was already too late to counter its rapid movement. My blade meeting its own. I sidestepped, our blades making a terrible screech as I redirected the force away from myself. In this moment I tried to kick at its left knee but it dodged quickly blunting the force of the blow with its other hand. Stalemate. This was going to go no where fast. Even if we descended into using killing techniques they would just counteract one another. Then the obvious answer is I would have to use a technique that it did not understand. I noticed the body of the tandral I had killed earlier out of pure luck an idea flashed upon me. The pig mans technique had actually been able to harm me. I might as well see if I could copy it. I began to meditate. I didn¡¯t of course leave my body unaware. I was leaving it to the natural conditioned fighting patterns that had already been fixated into my soul. Breaking down the movements the man made earlier showed it was something more than a physical technique. I could not reproduce it without something else I didn¡¯t actually know that much of. ¡°King, how do I use magic?!¡± I called out my body still fighting with the fake. ¡°You couldn¡¯t possibly learn it in the middle of a fight.¡± he said. ¡°Just fucking tell me.¡± I called back. ¡°To use magic, first you need mana. Mana is energy you have that comes from your souls connection with all things. The deeper the connection. The more you have. You could have all the mana in the world but if you don¡¯t know any spells. You can¡¯t use it. Or vice versa. If you knew every spell in the world but have no mana it wouldn¡¯t be worth anything.¡± ¡°How do I feel how much mana I have?¡± I called back the fakes dagger narrowly missing my face. ¡°You would need to meditate and reach into your soul. Establishing a link with your mana and this world. If you could do that while fighting that thing I will never doubt the name incarnation again!¡±The king yelled. I was beginning to wonder why it was so hard for the king to hold the dimension. He had an easy time before the book transformed but these thoughts were second on trying to establish a mana link. ¡°Does aura have anything to do with mana?¡± ¡°If you can use your aura, mana should be no problem.¡± I started to delve into my body. I drug my mental attention away from the fight that was occurring, leaving it to the automatic functions of my body and focused on the aura I had trained in the last life. A black flame consumed me. It was my very being. It wasn¡¯t warm. It was frigid. Cold. I could feel my soul hidden somewhere in the flame. But I wasn¡¯t looking for that. I needed to find mana. The mana that hadn¡¯t been there before. My mind started to become one with the black flame as I was searching. I could find endless paths leading to endless other paths with no one destination. I searched the corridors of my being until I came upon something I had never seen before. Water. Water had never been here before. I touched it with my flame and it seemed to absorb the endless stream constantly almost as if thirsting for its life. It never stopped absorbing rather it continued until above the flame a waterfall of water formed it constantly flowed into every part depth until- ¡°Sun, I can¡¯t hold it any longer!¡± The king yelled. " The book is constantly trying to deconstruct this dimension. I oriented myself to situation. For some reason the dimension had lost the its gleam and shine from earlier and rather was become unstable. I could feel a single pulse now. It was as if it was the beat of the earth itself. ¡°How long since I talked to you last?¡± ¡°Hours, I am about to be out of mana. You need to finish this quickly.¡± ¡°I think I can use mana now.¡± I told him finally. ¡°Im-possible.¡± the king shuddered. ¡°Watch me.¡± I listened to the pulse that resounded in my ears. It was soft and musical. As if making a melody of my very own soul. I breathed it in. I held it. I could feel energy that I never felt before rush through my body. It was indeed magic. But I realized it needed an outlet it needed to be used before it leaked into nothingness. I began forming a picture of the move I had seen in my mind. I dashed but surprisingly I was faster even than before. I was on the fake before it could even lift its own dagger. I slashed but this time I copied the movements of the other man. I slashed down but used the mana that filled me to chase the direction of the movement. I don¡¯t know how it did it but it felt to me only as if I were slashing downward. The results were now obvious. I had won. The fake me head was rolling on the floor. Suddenly the sun and atmosphere returned to the way it was before. The king appeared right back next to me as if he were fine. ¡°If I had not had been here I would not have believed you. Direct mana manipulation.¡± The king whispered. I didn''t understand what he was saying but once again the displays appeared before my eyes.
Dominance established.
Mana link created.
Status and Abilities understood.
Reverting to Grimore form.
The fake me had reverted back into the book. I retrieved it and looked to the first page out of curiosity,
Status
NameSunTitleIncarnation
Level1
Health100/100Mana37/300
Strength10Stamina65/100
Vitality19Intelligence87
Agility60Wisdom150
It was a bitter sweet moment. I was extremely weak. I needed to train. I flipped the page.
Abilities
General''s Focus
No matter the time, No matter the place. No matter the situation. You can focus on more than one front at a time. -Increased Awareness of surroundings -??? -???
Direct Mana Manipulation
A mythical ability heard from tales of the past. It bypasses the need of spells and allows the user to manipulate their mana anyway they see fit. -Allows the user to directly control his mana directly. -??? -???
Eno
A Mysterious ability not belonging to this world. By overwhelming the emotions of your opponent. You can make them feel anyway you wish. The uses if this skill are endless.
It seems the skills that were included were only ones I have used thus far. General''s Focus wasn''t something I even knew was an ability. But I would think about those things later. The king was still seemingly in a stunned state. He kept muttering "Direct Mana Manipulation" as if it were that unbelievable. "Yes, the book says I have the ability. What''s so important about it?" The king took his right hand and ran it through his graying hair. "Direct Mana Manipulation is what prevents mortal men from being gods. I am trying to wrap my head around your being an incarnation. " I tossed him the book. " Read it. I''m not half as strong as I should be." The king read the first two pages quickly. His eyes blinking multiple times as if from disbelief. He handed me back the book. "For a mere six year old, I feel like I''m talking to someone my own age." The sighed. "Your not wrong. But we should get back. I''m sure the princess is looking all over for us. " "Before I take you back. I need to tell you one more thing." the king spoke now resolutely. I patiently waited for his words. "You are not the only incarnation alive. There is at least five more that the legends speak of. Legends I''m afraid are becoming more and more believable by the minute. Whether they are alive. I do not know. If people hear that a young child is a incarnation they will come after you. That is why keep you locked in the academy. Until you are strong enough to face a god I suggest you tell no one." I understood his meaning and nodded. The king snapped his fingers and the door from earlier was in front of me. "Also Young Sun, do remind yourself to treat Angeline like a mother. She is like a daughter to me. " I flashed the king a devilish smile and followed him through the door. The beautiful tandral females were forgotten behind. They would be dealt with later.
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Chapter 11- Jack The princess was frantic when the king ''returned'' me to her. I use the term loosely because she treated it as if I were her newborn pup and he had stolen me from here. She dragged me off to her room after demanding from a servant that they bring me new clothes. The others, I had failed to notice were nearly rags. Now here, I stand within a room of white and pink. A true princess''s wonderland, oh joy. The room was at least ten times the size of my own room at the academy. The bed itself twice the size. What filled the vast space that no one man could ever hope to fill? Clothes, Jewelry, and a cat. And not just any cat. A giant cat that the princess ironically named ¡°snuffles¡±. It was at least twice the size of a full grown tiger. As if someone had said you know what lets put a spell on this thing and make it bigger. I could only feel sorry for the orange cat. I who was small and it who was so large. It could never fit into tiny spaces like it would so desperately wish to. The clothes neatly organized folded and hung as if on display at all corners of the room. On each table there were these weird manikin like figures. They were bare of any clothing but it seemed if I looked at a single item it would change into that item as if displaying what it would look like. The Jewelry was displayed in the same fashion. The cat. Well, the cat is being catlike. Mainly staying in its little bed that was fashioned out pillows. Still, I fail to mention a very important detail. Four girls were surrounding a blond haired, blue eyed child. The child seemed to be smiling the smile of a life time. The cheeks were flushed red, arms holding each tightly behind the back. "Hold still, Sun!" One of the girls who I learned to be named Samantha chimed. My right eye had a slight twitch. My breathing was shallow and my pulse raised. Anger cannot describe the thoughts going through my mind. "Teenage women are animals!" I realized. "Did anyone catch you?" Another girl called Joanne asked the princess in a low mischievous voice. They had left me in my underwear after convincing me they had gotten my new clothes. "Do these look like the work of someone caught!?" The princess flaunted. My heart sunk when I saw what she brought forward. I should have ran when they surrounded me the first time. I should have found Angeline and begged to leave I should have-. " Sun, we would never do anything to hurt you." Samantha began. "We would give you anything you could ever want." Iris smiled. "Can''t you do your sister''s a favor?" Jenny the last girl of the group bargained. "Please, put this on." The princess whimpered. A blue frilly dress with two yellow bonnet straps at the shoulders was held in her hands. I could see my reflection within the cluster of their demonic eyes. "Now sisters, can we not think about this?" I asked my voice cracking. An evil smile spread across their faces. "Get him!" One of the girls screamed. I ran. I admit not the most manly thing to do but what was I to do? Knock them all unconscious and ruin my facade? My pride was important to me but it wasn''t like I figured I would be caught. I would force them to give up when they got tired of trying to capture me. There is debate on whether I screamed at the top of my lungs as I righteously tried to escape. I prefer to think they had a overly active imagination. The battle had been going on for more than five minutes between a nearly nude little boy and 4 teenage magic girls, plus one yawning cat. ¡°Go Snuffles!¡± The princess screamed. The cat was on me. It was like I was the mole and it was the hammer. I could only dodge so well before it would be all over for me. So, I focused a little of the magic that I just learned about and warmed up the air around me. When Mr.Snuffle tried to capture me this time it brought down its mighty paw only to pull it right back as if it had touched something very hot. Confused and angry now. It swiped again but this time whimpered away realizing it had met its match. They them tried everything they could think of but alas the room was too large to be cornered within it. This was when Angeline entered the room. We all froze. "This isn''t what it looks like..." The princess murmured "Then what ''does'' it look like?" It was like the my own personal angel had appeared and come to my rescue. I ran over to her to hide behind her. "We wanted to see what sun looked liked in this?" She lifted up the dress. "Oh." Surely that wasn''t a twinkle of light I saw within Angeline''s eye right? Angeline picked me up into her arms and I felt safe. The lights flashed out. My heart sunk. I felt myself losing focus. Drifting to sleep in the devils embrace. "et tu, Brute?" I said right before I fell unconscious. When I finally did wake up, to my horror I was dressed. The blue cloth conforming to my body as I tried to move around. I was strapped to a chair facing a mirror. Children before they reach a certain age are amorphic. They are without the key characteristics that distinguish their sex. Girls can be dressed as boys and boys the opposite. I felt the mental scars forming as I looked at the image that lay before me. My shoulder length blond hair had been tied in pigtails. Red bows holding them in place. Make up had been applied to my face. I now had rich red lips and pronounced eyebrows. My cheeks powdered red. I could feel more and more pieces of my dignity chipping away from its already fragile state. They even went to the extent of placing knee high socks and black clad shoes on me. Even when I grimaced it only made me look as if I were frowning ''adorably''. " I would never had thought, my chosen master would be such a pervert." A voice called out. I flinched. Turning my head all around. I saw nothing but the room. The girls had left. "Who dares call me a pervert!" I lashed out of the bounds that held me. " I was sure the new master was a male. But I cannot help but see a female." The voice said thoughtfully. I looked around me in all directions but again no one was their. "Show yourself. I will make this sight the last you ever see!" I screamed. A black ring that I had assumed was just another decoration the girls had placed on me, leapt from my finger and quickly shifted shapes. "Ahh, I thought you would never ask!" The voice said. The ring transformed into a man. A tall black haired, neatly dressed man. His outfit was completely suave. Black shirt, black blazer, slacks the same, and black shoes. It matched seamlessly with the name Armani from my memories. The man looked at his outfit with a surprised look on face. It was a look I would never have imagined that face to ever take. "Forgive me, my master. " the figure bowed. "I saw this form prevalent in your memories. I chose it only out of curiosity." I stared closely at the form, sighing my hands covering my eyes. It was the book from before that had mimicked me. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Is there no other form you could possibly take?" I asked. "Unfortunately, for the moment this is the only form I can take other than your own. I have yet to familiarize myself with any other beings in your memory." I couldn''t let him take my own form. Unless I wished to explain the situation to the girls if they came back. I could claim this man was looking for me on Francis''s orders which would leave it less likely to mentioned to a more curious mind. I didn''t want them telling a family member about this. "I assumed as much." I said under my breath. The figure he had chosen was of course the one I would rather had not seen once more it brought forth too many memories. "What should I call you?" I held my eyes close avoiding looking at him. "Call me-" He tapped his fingers on the top of his head. "Jack. Yes I think that will fit this new life." ¡°OK, Jack.¡± my voice rough. I was irritated. I had one too many surprises as of late. And still they come. I didn''t want much else right now but to sleep. To cool embrace of nothingness sounded very nice right now. "Let me explain to you what I am. I find it rather strange you were chosen as my new master. Afterall-... Well, allow me to explain the things you could comprehend right now." He snapped his fingers. In his hands appeared my strange notebook. "I am called an obelisk. There is no other being like me, not to say there aren''t other obelisks. I''m just the coolest and smartest. I am specifically the obelisk of knowledge. My form after all before bonding is a book." He grinned. ¡°I will compare myself to something in your memory. Let''s see, I would be even more legendary than that Excalibur blade you remember. I cannot be killed. I cannot be destroyed. I just am. My abilities are based on your own. You are the first incarnation that I have ever formed a contract with." "How is that possible, wouldn''t an incarnation seek you out for their own use ?" "Don''t you find it odd that no one knows that you are an incarnation other than those that are close to you. Even then they have no idea what it actually means. Wait, forgive me allow me to teach you what an incarnation actually is by using your ''personal'' ability as an example? I nodded. I would finally gather a few answers from this thing.
Death''s Hand activated.
The space around me blurred as if in haze then it stopped. "Why did you knock him out?" The princess asked Angeline. "I think it will be amusing when sun sees the signature that we make of this." Angeline laughed. "Wait, explain to me what is going on?" I said my eyebrows knitting together. ''Jack'' snapped his fingers. The princess and Angeline stopped moving as if frozen in space. "This is the most marvelous ability that I have ever seen. Its uses are unlimited. I am really excited that we could form this partnership." The darkly dressed man was swaying back and forth with complete elation marking his face. "You still leave out the most important part." I told him frustration showing on my face. "I apologize your appearance right now is very hard to take seriously." He coughed mildly into a raised hand. "There are eight incarnation. Each represent an absolute part of all that is. Life. Nature. Human. Chaos. Control. Beast. Void. Death. Ironically, Death is not as revered as the others. I found it fascinating when I searched your memories and heard of Francis. I never heard of an esteemed celebrator for the principality of death, I didn''t think it would be necessary." "What do you mean?" "The churches of this world are dedicated to the carnations. The incarnations being the literal manifestations of the principalities themselves. Death though always elected for a champion rather than enter the mortal realm. Therefore, no need for an organization for its own worship." "Interesting. So I assume this ability is-?" I motioned to the area around us. "The personal ability of Death. Rather the only one you will be able to use for now. The others locked out of even my own reach." "What does it do?" "Allows you to view the memories of others. Right now you are viewing my own. I was awake when you were knocked unconscious." "Ahh, I don''t want to be reminded of that." "My question, Lord Death is why you pretend to be enormously weaker than you actually are. I understand that you don''t remember being Death but even the last life you were extremely strong." The obelisk asked. "I was reborn in the body of a 3 year old. 3 years of this life was spent around children that were completely absorbed their in own snot. Now, finally after only a few days after killing my first man I am given the answers I have been looking for. My name is even synonymous with Death itself yet I have no memory of it all. Now you ask why should ''Death'' hide himself? I wonder if you recall the memory from before. Is it not obvious that there was a reason I was brought here. "To think even Death has enemies." He smirked. "Let''s head back. I need to get some sleep before I start to train tomorrow. You can answer more of my questions then." "Are sure master? You still haven''t seen, the worst of what they did to you." Jack laughed. "Shut up!" I gritted my teeth at the thought of the humiliation. "Yes, my master, or maybe Sun. No Death. Might, I call you-" "You may call me Death. That ''name'' referee to a dead man. Let''s keep it that way." I said leaving all traces of humor behind. The obelisk now named jack snapped his fingers ending the memory. "Yes, Lord Death." He said sarcastically.
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_______________________________________________________________________ Hello readers, I will first say sorry for the wait. This chapter did not want to be written. I would start on and off and just get stuck at other parts. So what did I do? I started writing another story. Or rather world building for that story. Sci-Fi the last frontier or something type of setting. Anyway thanks for reading please Vote on my story and if you really like it or hate it review it and tell me about your heartfelt feelings. Anyway next chapter will be longer as I want to get going with the plot and feel bad for only writing so little for a 9 day wait. Thanks for reading.