"At the beginning… the price to pay seems so very meager."

Zodiak let out a sigh, got up from that dark corner and searched for a few objects. One of them was a tiny metal objects, seemingly harmless but very dangerous to the frail mortals. He scratched on the wall riddled with holes then looked to the exit of this room, hearing the yelling of his drunk father.

With emotionless eyes, he peeked through the hole and patiently waited till the man fell asleep after rambling for quite a while. With soundless steps, he walked toward his father and slashed down with his dagger, showing not even a tiny bit of hesitation. First, he cut the man's throat, causing him to wake up and clutch his injury, try to stop the gushing blood which resembled a beautiful red fountain dying the whole ground scarlet.

Zodiak's face was splashed by blood yet he didn't care, he struck again with the self-created weapon, this time focusing on the wrists and abdomen.

It was long after that the father died miserably like a dog, his body convulsed for a few brief moments before it ceased breathing, the last bit of life finally extinguished.

The kid, Zodiak, stared at the man's lifeless corpse for a very long time, doing nothing but stand there, blood-soaked and motionless, his inky black pupils never leaving the body laying before them.

"Living such a life… you quickly come to understand that it's not only the nobles who are corrupt and twisted. Red blood flows through all of their veins… they're all humans, same nature and same behavior. If that is what it means to be human then I don't want to be one."

He threw the sharp metal object next to his father's lifeless body before taking out a small match pack and lighting a few of them. He emptied the alcohol bottle in a tiny haystack, causing it to immediately catch fire. Less then five minutes later, the hut was engulfed by ever-so rising flames, turning the body into ash. As for Zodiak, he left empty-handed, not even taking what he considered precious belongings with him.

This was his way of declaring his permanent decision, letting go of the past and his humanity. He willingly chose to become a monster so that he can survive and live a proper life.

He just murdered his father in cold-blood and even though his body was turned into ash, the mage brigade will easily be able to trace him.

Like a ghost, the short silhouette of the boy left the gates, noticed by no one. His steps were slow as he marched on the cold snow with bare, reddened feet, moreover, his clothes were thin and barely covered a third of his body, nonetheless, he didn't even let out a groan as he clenched his fists and disappeared.

******

"Faster!"

A group of young boys was currently looting corpses of the empire soldiers, from the looks of it, there were at least fifty or so dead men. Zodiak was amongst these looters, he was 'recruited' not long after leaving the city and his job here was to help bandits loot corpses after a long battle. He was given the bare minimum of food, as for shelter, he'd sleep in a cage along the other kids.

The others were either orphans or slaves who had escaped from one hell to another, only Zodiak was an exception.

In fact, one night, one of the boys, the oldest of the group, saw a sharp object hidden in Zodiak's sleeves. He relentlessly threatened to tell the bandits, eager to get a reward but his end was truly gruesome sight.

The rest of the boys watched from the corner of the cage, unwilling and afraid to either help or stop this dispute. They never thought that the mute Zodiak would hide such a dangerous weapon which can cause their end, which is part of the reason they didn't step up to defend him, after all, in this place, to survive you have to be obedient.

There have been cases of revolt but anyone who tried escaping or retaliating was tortured then killed. When the boy, who was one head taller than Zodiak, walked up to him and was about to forcefully take the weapon, all he received was a clean slash on his neck.

The bronze-skinned boy fell on the ground, writhing and desperately holding his neck. Zodiak walked up next to him, crouched down and plunged the weapon into the victim's skull, killing him on the spot.

After one last glance at the dead kid, he left the supposedly locked cage and started a killing spree before disappearing from that camp. That night, one boy and seven men were brutally murdered, and the assailant? A kid who's not even fourteen years old.

What Zodiak didn't expect was the stubbornness of the bandits, who gave up on attacking the merchants and started chasing him, over and over again. It turned out that the bandit chief was a vengeful person, he couldn't tolerate losing face, more so by a young boy who was working under him.

This cat and mouse chase lasted for three full months, in which Zodiak had to survive alone, not daring to enter civilized settlements or show his face. However, no matter how witty he was, he could not outrun a big group of pursuers who had a magic-user amongst them.

Aware that his chances of survival are very low, Zodiak led them to a beast's lair, a mutated fire crocodile, to be more precise. The monster was over ten meters in length and bathed in a lava pool in a secluded part of a place called the Lav Forest.

The bandits' arrival awakened the slumbering crocodile and angered, causing a fight to break out. The young Zodiak watched from far away, fully determined to bring down every single bandit present in this forest. He simply couldn't live while knowing that people are searching for him so his best chance was to take care of them all in one sweep.

He saw the crocodile breath a tsunami of fire which burned down trees and evaporated the rivers. Both the bandits and the boys acting as looters were struck by the fire, they fell on the ground and rolled around, crying in agony. Zodiak didn't even bat an eye when he saw the innocent kids die… from his perspective, it's either them or him. He didn't feel guilt or pity, actually, he felt nothing, not even the satisfaction of getting rid of his enemies.

Sadly, the end wasn't so fortunate as the bandit chief was more powerful than expected. A fierce fight occurred between him and the monster, devastating the forest and exposing Zodiak's small figure. The chief attempted to rid of him but the crocodile was ferocious, lashing out with its tail and spitting one fireball after the other hence forcing the bandit to retreat.

Everything happened in thirty minutes or so and by the end, both the monster and the bandit died, one was beheaded and the other engulfed in flames. As for Zodiak, he was trapped inside the flames with no way to escape route.

***************

Somewhere on Earth, inside a popular shop that sold detailed and expensive figurines, a handsome man wearing a black-suit checked the displayed merchandise. He was accompanied by what seemed to be his personal secretary, she was holding some documents while quietly following him. She was already used to his strange behavior but didn't let her curiosity get the best of her and maintained silence whenever she's with him. In fact, she only spoke when spoken to.

The man checked one figurine after the other until he found one that pleased him a lot. As he leaned his face closer and stared at the figurine, he started laughing, probably from joy…

"Get me this one."

He pointed at the figurine, to which the clerk started preparing it almost immediately. Upon a closer look, the figurine was that of a red alligator enveloped in flames. It wasn't that special compared to the other ones, which are much more famous, nonetheless, the worker did as asked and soon transferred to a more luxurious glass interior.

Cynthia finished the payment and was about take the figurine with her only to hear her boss' voice behind her.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

The young girl grimaced and forcefully nodded her head, not knowing what exactly to say. The figurine looked creepy and probably had been abandoned for a long time, she really didn't know what's beautiful about it.

At that time, if she knew what his thoughts were, she would have been dumbfounded.