On the unknown parts of the castle, a figure garb in white traversed the dark and century old cobblestoned hallway.

Though the path was plunged in total darkness, a single light on the tip of his staff was the only beacon that allowed him to tread the unforgiving and secret passage like a firefly.

It was a passageway that even the Royal Family had no knowledge of.

Aside from him and his close associates.

His warm breath trailed off from his nose in every exhale, leaving a small cloud-like appearance. His footsteps echoed with a bit of a grunt, emphasizing his great haste whenever his long toed shoes touch the cobblestoned floor.

Upon reaching on what it seems like a dead end, the unknown man raised the brimming tip of his staff and began waving the wooden crook in eight strange strokes.

HUM HUM

CLICK!

A short, sharp sound echoed…and soon was followed by many rumbling sounds. The cul-de-sac budge then shifted, its rough texture vibrated as it began to move revealing a hidden metallic door.

Upon seeing the steeled portal being divulge in his eyes, the figure then hurriedly entered the room after locking the sole entrance.

He waved again his wand in the air and in a flash the contents of the dark room was revealed.

It was small, made of stone with several light orbs attached to the walls radiating luminance to the narrow chamber. However what stood out inside this ancient lodge were the series of magic circles and arrays presented on the floor.

The said complex structures began to glow, emitting golden sparkles that brought a somewhat divine presence.

In the large glowing circle an apparition came forth and instinctively the unknown figure knelt on the cold floor, his head lowered.

“Mulifiam, Avesula. I presume that you have taken action in regards with that matter.”

The apparition, who wore some fancy, expensive and high ranked clerical clothing, said with an elderly tone that denotes his higher authority.

“Yes Kalimam. Though I would like to say that it was King Zeargivt who issued the order of assassination.”

“Hmph. The Vruedipis could’ve avoided such state if you just got rid of that accursed runt five years ago.”

“I… I’m aware of my failings, Bishop.”

“You should. Nonetheless, the Mastam will be delighted with this progress. And regarding with the current plague… the Mastam will lift the curse once the subject is dead.”

“That would be highly appreciated.”

“Contact me when his life is no more. Derashte, High Priest.”

Without warning the apparition disperse into light, signaling that the communication on the other end was cut off.

“Derashte… Bishop.”

The High Priest unenthusiastically replied with a grim expression.

In reality the thought of using the plague as the justification for killing the Unsorcerer, a child at that, was quite clever yet morally awful. He detest it but he had to uphold his duty to the Gods, expelling and banishing evil away from the continent in order to protect the balance of the world.

Sighing, he exited from the secret room with a single thought in mind.

After this ordeal, he’s done serving the Church.

--

Opening my eyes, I saw myself drifting endlessly among the clouds.

I wonder, is this what my inner world look like? Is this the innermost part within my conscious?

To be honest I am quite surprise. I’ve read many stories with description of each protagonist’s inner self like a white room or a large giant cell… but this one was similar to the inner world of a dense main character with a powered exoskeleton.

Does this mean I’m dense as him…?

…

…

…

Banishing the thoughts of comparing myself to a fictional character, I surveyed my surroundings. From left to right, and then from up to bottom.

Ohh, it seems aside from the clouds and the infinite azure sky there was a man above waving at me with his hand…

Seriously!?

I look up the second time again, and I forced myself not to gape on the ridiculous and insane sight above me…

…Only to fail miserably.

“Hohoho, it seems after 3 years of meditation you finally manage to get here.”

The man laughed as he appear in front me with a big grin in his mouth.

I stared at him with dumbfounded eyes. My gaze fell on his facial structure, mostly his eyes and his meter long goatee then to his garb that looked like from one of Jesus’ twelve apostles.

His only response was just a sigh, with a background head scratch…

“How could you forget the one who gave you a second life?”

The man with a meter long goatee said and noticing his voice pattern, I literally froze.

It can’t be…

“The wrong with you people? Do you need any more proof than this?”

He asked while gesturing all of his figure.

Understandably, I shook my head.

“You might be wondering why I am here. You see, when we part ways I forgot to give this to you.”

“This is… a shade…”

As I grasp the pair of black spectacles, I couldn’t help but wonder why an all-knowing being would give me this such eye protection…

“It’s for you to wear, mortal. Gosh, how could you be so ignorant?”

Well sorry, Almighty One.

“Blah! Save your excuses for some other time and just wear that sunlight protector, will ya?”

“But why the rush?”

“Because mortal as we speak, your life is in grave danger.”

Eh?

CLAP!

He clapped his hand as he tried to shove the shades on my eyes.

“Come on now, there’s no time. If you want to live then just wear that expensive thing already.”

Though I wanted to ask about how my life was in mortal danger, seeing him eagerly wanting me to wear this pair of Raybans I did what he told me to do.

Hmm, well this is a good and exquisite Polaroids.

“By the way lad, do you know Charles Irving Bartowski?”

I responded with a shrug. I never met or know someone with that name in my past life. Is he a very influential person?

“Figures…”

The One Above All sighed with rolling eyes.

“In any case, other than 2 what is the answer for 1+1?”

Hearing that question I looked at him with an expression saying “Are you serious?” with a raised eyebrows. You couldn’t blame me though knowing that it was a very childish question.

The all-knowing being just sent his own answer with an expression telling me “I’m dead serious.”

With a sigh, I stated my answer.

“Eleven.”

The higher entity gave me a teasing grin as if he was hiding something but before I can spit out my query, some kind of rectangular box smeared on my vision.

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In an instant, without warning my eyes were bombarded with thousands of millions images sending an intolerable pain in my head.

--

A lone figure.

Shrouded in darkness, he plied against the corridors that were enveloped in shadows with slow yet eager movements as if he was the shadow itself.

Shadow Cloak.

A skill that allows an individual to cloak in himself/herself in total darkness, making the user invisible to targets and monsters. Though the skill has weakness against daylight and light related spells, it was formidable at caverns, forests, and night time such as this present time.

For the figure clad in black hooded robe, the Shadow Cloak was the appropriate method for his current objective.

Earlier that night, a messenger from the Royal Family came to their guild with an urgent request.

Normally the Assassin Guild, unlike the Church, doesn’t pledge any allegiance or loyalty to any nations as they were an organization that operates independently.

“Money is all that counts” was the motto that every assassin held up to.

But as the Guild Master had read the contents of the letter, it became personal.

Though the unknown figure didn’t know what the letter was all about, all he knows was that he had to kill someone.

He had to kill a child.

Killing in secrecy and away from the public’s eye was the everyday life of an assassin. Corrupt nobles, politicians, Dark Guild members, and criminals, the assassin had manage to decapitate every single person that fits into the category.

Killing children was no different.

However, this time was different.

The child that he must kill under the orders of his Guild Master and request from the Vruedipis Royal Family, was the bane of all existence in Iarica and the enemy of the Church.

Despite the fact that Assassins and the Church’s relationship were not that good, both orders adhere to the old texts in the Old Scripture describing the devastation that happened a thousand years ago by a manaless person.

How could a manaless person, a child at that, be a dangerous existence?

It was a query that resounded in his head for a while nevertheless, the consuming plague that had been affecting the kingdom for almost a week now seems to be the answer.

To the figure, becoming a hero who killed the existence that even Gods hated wasn’t in his agenda. The promise of riches and gold coins was more enticing to him.

Entering the orphanage was quite an easy task, knowing that ever personnel in the institution were asleep due to fatigue in taking care of the children and the nuns who had been struck by the incurable disease.

Locating his target was also easy for him, being a person who can use mana he can sense every part of the orphanage from the mana that everyone had, so he had to look for a room that didn’t have any ounce of magical energy radiating from it.

Arriving at his intended location, he silently opened the door and quickly slip inside.

His eyes, even though it was covered with a mask and the room was entirely dark, could see clearly the tiny figure of the target, sleeping in a seated posture.

He wondered how could someone slept in such manner though he immediately banish the thought as he walked closely with careful steps.

Approaching the target, he raised his right hand with a dagger high in the air, its metallic pointed tip aiming at his neck.

And the assassin lunged his dagger with all his might.

--

A moment earlier…

As the consciousness of the child was trapped in a different place, inside his brain something had occurred.

Something had taken form, shape, and self-thought as every neurons of his brain ran in a superluminal speed bringing large quantities of data in every part of the human mind.

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An electrical surge flowed from the brain down to every organs.

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An unspoken voice echoed inside the consciousness as massive influx of data made its way on the brains memory storage.

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As numerous information flooded the human mind, the self-aware thought overseeing the process transfigured its host’s brain, tweaking, altering, and refining every bits inside. Trying to accommodate the countless neurons within the bounds of the fragile organ.

A sudden and abrupt electrical surge entered the brain superhighway, prompting the self-aware thought to analyze the information connected to the sense of hearing.

It recorded the sound of the door slightly opening.

Having connected to the functions of its host, the interface then hovered at the piriform cortex and thalamus, analyzing the sensory information that it just gathered.

There was an unfamiliar scent.

The interface then interacted with its host’s auditory system, maximizing its capabilities while decrypting and interpreting the sound waves that were transduced into the nerve impulses in the temporal lobe.

Bringing the sense of hearing of its host’s between peak and superhuman levels, the self-aware thought manage to come to a conclusion.

>

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The neurons and synapse began to work in fast pace as the interface started to override its host’s capabilities.

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--

CLINK!

A sound of clanging metal echoed inside the room.

“!?”

The assassin’s eyes went wide as a blue barrier appeared out of nowhere managed to block his strike, prompting his Shadow Cloak to be neutralized.

Confused, he look at his target who was now wide awake. The child’s eye were glowing in the midst of the darkness together with the energy barrier.

This, of course, made the assassin to back away.

“What the hell is going on? I thought they said he has no mana…wait,”

Still bewildered at the sudden turn of events and wondering whether he was misinformed, he tried to discern the child’s magic power…

…yet there was none.

“The heck!?”

This made the assassin to be baffled in every way. A drop of sweat formed in his forehead as he watched how the manaless child, the enemy of Gods stared at him with analytical gaze as the barrier disappeared.

“Tango in sight. Threat level, High. Proceed Elimination.”

Hearing the kid utter some gibberish words that he couldn’t understand, with a resolve he lunged himself as he coated his dagger with a magic skill.

“Stinging Dagger!”

Stinging Dagger. A skill that every assassin has, it was a magic skill that allows the weapon to be coated with piercing and speed gaining ability.

An attack that could even pierce a Knight’s armor and land an instant deathblow.

Yet…

CLINK!

…It was blocked by the same blue energy barrier.

“What the…”

The assassin could only gape in astonishment as his one hit knockout skill, an attack that could even pierce a Knight’s armor was defended by a barrier with no magical power.

“Accessing Weapons Cache. Materializing equipment.”

On the other side, the 5 year old child spoke again in an unknown language as hexagonal specks, covered in sparks of electricity enveloping his right arm.

In a flash, the kid pointed his hand, now holding a metallic-shaped thing and squeeze the trigger.

A loud bang reverberated inside the Azola E Eccuriim orphanage.

--

He was known as Hashel the Swift.

He earned the moniker for his quick assassinations and his method of swiftly incapacitating his targets with one strike.

Every job that he had done was perfect and smooth…except for this one.

He felt his ear was ringing in all directions.

The assassin, for all his life, had engaged himself in fights with exploding noises yet this was the first time he had experienced this kind of noise-induced hearing loss.

There was something or some kind of object that went past his left ear, feeling the grazing sensation that his skin just felt.

A burning sensation.

The smell of burning flesh invaded his nose and the feeling of something dripping from the side of his face followed by a scent of blood, and an aching sensation.

Those information were enough to let him know that his ear was blown off.

To think that a kid would wound him…that even the adults that he had fought in the past didn’t manage to do so.

It enraged him. His pride was offended in unimaginable levels.

Sensing his target’s finger starting to twitch, with gritted teeth he moved twice his normal speed and appeared behind.

With a swift movement beyond an average human speed, he grabbed the kid’s neck and threw him out of the room through the window with all his might.

CRASH!

PSH!

With a powerful push from his legs, he propelled himself outside the dagger in his right hand coated in another Stinging Dagger spell.

“This will be the end!”

Without restraint, he landed a fatal strike.

CLINK!

However for the third time, it was blocked by a three layered hexagonal-shaped blue barrier.

“ORYAHHH!”

With a powerful roar, Hashel put more force in his strike pushing the kid with such great strength. His strike managed to drive the child to extreme speed and collided unto a large tree trunk.

BAM!

The fragile frame of the child ricocheted upon collision with such strong force and upon seeing this, the assassin Hashel the Swift didn’t hesitate to make a move as he thrust his bladed weapon to the child’s chest.

DASH!

Before his dagger could reach his target, a red blur came in front of his vision,

CLANG!

And manage to parry his deadly thrust.

“!?”

SLASH!

Before Hashel could react, he jumped back immediately as he sense an incoming strike.

“Keh…”

Landing on his feet, Hashel’s surprise was overwhelmed with his painful grunt as he gripped his now bloody left arm with a missing limb. Staring at the red hooded person who intercepted his blow, Hashel the Swift’s face turned into a troubled frown.

--

The Blood Crimson Executioner.

An infamous assassin that wasn’t part of any Assassin Guild. A condottiere assassin whose fame was known in every parts of Iarica due to her unique way of assassinating her target.

Indeed, the renowned assassin was a female but other than the gender, there was no other information about the femme fatale.

Identity… Race…

Everything was unknown.

Now that a world class assassin was in front of him, Hashel began to contemplate his options.

To fight or flight.

“Blood Crimson Executioner… what is your reason for stealing my prey?”

“…”

The red hooded female assassin didn’t respond his inquiry.

He knew that he had no match for her, even the Guild Master, the strongest assassin in their guild was wary of this person.

That Church also was also very antagonistic with this assassin. Although the reasons for such hostility were not fully detailed, there were rumors that the female assassin somehow managed to hurt the image of the Church by exposing its corruption to the public.

A scandal that until today still haunted the religious organization.

Fleeing was the suitable option however, seeing the unconscious manaless boy on the ground and the promise of tons of gold as a reward…

It was an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up!

Activating his Shadow Cloak for the second time, Hashel blended with the blinding surroundings. Using the dark environment to his advantage, the male assassin slowly move in accordance to his breathing.

Nevertheless, the second he let his greed clouded his judgment was the moment his life ended.

“GAH!”

With blinding speed, Blood Crimson Executioner appeared in his front and rammed her blade to his gut before swinging the cutting edge weapon with force to the side.

SPURT!

THUD!

Blood and entrails burst out in the open air as the man named Hashel the Swift popped out in the open before stumbling on the ground, lifeless.

Seeing the man had been deprived of his breathe, the female assassin swayed her katar with a mighty swing cleaning it from the lifeblood that it drained.

SHEATHE!

Sheathing her unique blade in the scabbard, Blood Crimson Executioner’s gaze then fell over to the child who was still laid unconscious on the cold grassy ground.

She checked his pulse and the assassin let out a sigh of relief. Though there were some minor bruises and splinters, there was no sign of heavy injuries in his body.

“Who’s there!?”

A voice echoed inside the orphanage as every window were illuminated.

Hearing the voice and the upcoming footsteps, Blood Crimson Executioner carried the unconscious boy on her back with both of her arms tucking in the kid’s legs on her waist.

“Windwalk.”

And like a dashing wind, the red hooded female assassin rushed out from the scene with floating feet and with the Unsorcerer in tow in the middle of the night.