Chapter 12: His Awakening

Sorry for the delay. Schoolwork is piling up. Also, Fallout 4 came out. It’s taken up most of my time :( Here’s the chapter.

Cerien opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was a man sitting across from him.

“Oh hey. You woke up. Are you all right now?” I found you collapsed on the ground in this hallway. The man smiled at Cerien.

Cerien looked at the man. His clothes looked comfortable and well-suited for travel. The man himself looked like an ordinary human. He seemed to be a little dirty, probably from walking deep underground. He was definitely cleaner than Cerien, who was practically wearing rags now. His clothes had been torn apart from the magic beasts in the underground.

Cerien did not sense any danger from the man, so he let his guard down.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Cerien nodded his head. He looked around. He was still in the hallway that led to the exit. He was so close now.

“Thanks for the help, but I’m leaving now.” Cerien said his goodbyes and began to walk away.

“Hey wait up!” The man shouted as he ran after Cerien.

“Before you leave, there’s a question I want to ask.”

Cerien nodded and said, “Go ahead.”

The man placed his hand on Cerien’s shoulder before he could move away.

“Tell me your name at least, right?”

Cerien coolly looked at the man.

“It’s Cerien. What’s yours?”

The man’s eyes suddenly turned cold. His grip on Cerien’s shoulder tightened.

“You know, I normally wouldn’t mind telling you my name. But I don’t really see the point…”

The man’s eyes began to glow with a blue light. Before Cerien could react, he suddenly was sent flying into the wall. He gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of him.

“…in telling my name to a dead man.”

Suddenly, an earthen spike rose from the ground. It pointed itself at Cerien’s, and shot forward.

Cerien, still slightly winded, stumbled out the way. The spike nicked his cheek. He tripped and fell onto the ground.

“That feeling of being betrayed…I imagine that’s what she felt. What Senia felt.” The man suddenly laughed. But there was no joy in his laughter. “But it’s not like you would understand.”

The man raised his hand. The ground began to shake as something emerged from the ground. A weapon began to form in the man’s hand. A great, long halberd. A giant axe blade was on one side. A long spike came out of the polearm’s top.

Cerien got up, recovered from the previous blow. The man slowly walked towards him with that giant halberd. Cerien raised his hand. A flame appeared in his palm. He sent the [Fire Ball] at the man and began running away.

With a single swing of his halberd, the man removed the incoming flame from existence. His eyes glowed once more. A spike emerged from the ground again and flew straight at Cerien’s leg.

The spike pierced his calf. He tripped and fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but his leg was completely messed up. He turned and shot a [Water Jet] at the man.

The man easily blocked the jet with his halberd.

Cerien couldn’t run anymore with his crippled leg. Before he could pull the spike out of his leg, the man was already in front of him.

In a desperate attempt, Cerien activated [Intimidation].

The man stopped, surprised at the sudden killing intent emerging from the boy.

“Wow. How completely…useless. If you want to intimidate someone, here’s how you do it.”

Suddenly, a great presence began to fill the hallway. Cerien began to feel an emotion that he had never felt before.

It was fear. Even when he fought the bear, he was not scared. He had nothing to fear from a mindless animal. When he faced the demon, he was not afraid. The demon had no interest in him. But the man standing in front of him. The feeling emerging from this man.

It filled Cerien with a sense of doom. Of certain death.

The man’s very presence seemed to suffocate Cerien. It took his every effort to remain conscious. The man drew his halberd back.

Cerien was paralyzed with fear. He could do nothing but watch the man.

“Forget your last words. A monster like you doesn’t deserve any.”

And with that, the man thrusted the halberd into Cerien’s chest, directly where his heart lay.

The man removed the polearm in one smooth motion and dropped it onto the ground.

Cerien watched the man as he walked away, leaving him to die.

Everything began to darken as his eyes shut.

* * *

“This is…karma isn’t it? You deserve this. You deserve to die.”

A boy was alone in the middle of a white world.

“What? No response?

…

Tch. What did I expect?”

The boy turned and began to walk away.

“Stop.” A new voice echoed throughout the world.

The boy froze and turned.

A figure stood in front of him. A boy with jet-black hair and red eyes. A boy who had the face of Cerien. He looked quite different from the first boy, who had brown hair and blue eyes.

“No. I’m not going to die.”

The first boy frowned.

“Are you kidding me? It’s not like you even have a reason for living.”

Cerien frowned. “… Your point? Is it so wrong to want to live?”

“Do you really think what you’re doing right now is living? Because right now, you’re just sacrificing innocent lives. Look where your actions have gotten you. A complete stranger ended your life because of your decision.”

“What the hell are you saying? Don’t tell me you want me to give up my life for someone else.”

“I just want you to retain just a little bit of humanity! I want you to actually live for a reason, not just mindlessly survive on the sacrifices of others!”

“A reason? Where the hell am I supposed to find one?!”

The two boys’ voices rose as they shouted at each other. Tensions rose. Frustration could be heard in their voices. The two boys stared angrily at each other.

Then, the first boy opened his mouth.

“Screw you.

There’s no way that I’m just going to stand by and watch, you cold-blooded murderer.”

Cerien angrily shouted, “No! That’s exactly what you’re going to do. Stand and watch. This is my life now. You gave up yours. So shut up and watch like a good little boy.”

An expression appeared on the face of the boy with brown hair and blue eyes. An expression that never had appeared when he was alive. An expression full of defiance. Of bravery. Of determination. Two words came out of his mouth. Two words that expressed feelings that he had never experienced before.

“Hell no.”

* * *

A boy lay on the cold floor in a pool of blood. A hole lied in his chest right where his heart was.

Even though he should be dead, the boy’s body still twitched every now and then. Slowly, flesh began to fill the gaping wound in his body. As the hole began to seal, the boy woke with a start. The first thing he noticed was the dull pain in his chest.

When he looked down, the hole in his chest that the man had left in his body had closed up. However, he noticed something strange. Right where the man had pierced his chest was a scar. His body should have healed from [Rapid Regeneration], yet there was still a scar.

Cerien was confused, but decided to ignore for it now. What was important was that he had managed to survive the encounter.

The man thought he had finished off Cerien by piercing his heart. However, Cerien’s new ability had managed to save him from certain death.

Thankfully, the man had not went any further than that. If he had removed Cerien’s head, then Cerien would probably not be standing up right now.

Cerien noticed the halberd lying on the ground. He walked over and picked it up with his right hand.

He looked down at the stump he had for a left arm. The wound that he got from the bear was gone now, but it was time to reopen it.

Cerien raised the halberd and brought down the blade on his left arm.

The remaining stump was sliced off.

Cerien fell to his knees as [Rapid Regeneration] activated once again.

Suddenly, a bone burst out of the open wound in his left shoulder. More bones began to follow. Strings of muscles and flesh twirled and twined around the bones.

The bones began to move down from his shoulder, forming a new arm. New sinews began to connect his joints. Flesh and muscle quickly covered his bones. More and more flesh appeared until finally layers of skin began to cover his left arm.

Soon, a newly formed arm had replaced the one he lost. Red veins filled with glowing mana on the arm pulsed brightly before slowly calming down and fading away.

Cerien clenched and unclenched his fingers, getting back a feel for his left arm. After swinging it a few times and testing his nails, he judged that his left arm was back to normal.

He began to walk down the hallway, taking the halberd with him. It was the first weapon that he had found. However, it was quite heavy. He could not hold the halberd up for long. Thus, he decided to drag the halberd along the ground.

The hallway was angled upwards. Cerien began to see a faint light and hear a soft wind up ahead.

As he reached the end of the hallway, he found a mirror. There was knob on the right side of the mirror, so it was obvious that it was a door. Light shone through a crack between the mirror and the wall. The wind gently blew through the crack.

However, before he opened the door, he looked at the mirror to take a good look at himself for the first time.

He was wearing clothes that were about to fall apart. His shoes had been long abandoned, worn and broken apart. His black hair was so dark that it did not seem to reflect any light. When he looked closer, he saw a streak of light brown in his hair that was obviously out of place.

He fingered the strands of brown hair, wondering why part of his hair was colored differently.

As he looked back into the mirror, his red eyes stared right back. His eyes were a crimson red. They were cold, failing to convey any kind of emotion or feeling.

As his eyes wandered, Cerien noticed something strange.

His eyes were drawn towards the scar on his chest. He would have normally just dismissed the scar. Perhaps, the injury was too much for his body to completely heal the wound. Maybe that was why a scar was left behind.

However, that would not explain the shape of the scar.

The scar was in the shape of two letters. He didn’t know why or how, but he could read the letters.

M and A.

Suddenly, the scar began to burn, as if there was a fire in his chest. He fell to his knees as his heart began to burn.

From deep within his mind, a face emerged. The face of a beautiful girl. Long, flowing hair that was flossy black. Flawless, white skin. Piercing blue eyes. A smile that was kind and caring. A smile that hiding something twisted and cruel.

A single memory emerged from his mind.

A dark classroom. Empty save for two people. Him and the girl.

He is tied up. She is over him, heavily breathing and wearing that perverse smile.

He can do nothing but scream into his gag as she carves into his flesh with a knife.

He can only watch as she marks his body.

A memory that chilled Cerien. A memory that caused the fire in his chest to grow hotter.

With a hand over his burning heart, Cerien quietly whispered a name.

“Melodi.”

* * *

Students walked in the hallways of Lombania Combat Academy. They chatted as they walked to their next classes.

A certain red-haired boy was making his way through the crowds of students.

“Hey, Flane! Wait up!” Another boy shouted.

Flane turned.

“Just get over here, Dennius.”

Dennius quickly weaved through the crowd and made his way to Flane’s side.

The two walked to their class in a comfortable silence.

As they neared the classroom, they saw a familiar figure.

She walked gracefully and coolly, drawing everyone’s eyes. Students and a few teachers couldn’t help but look at the girl’s beauty. However, just as quickly, they looked away and continued walking.

The girl’s beauty was captivating, but there was no way that one could just simply ignore the coldness surrounding her. Melodi had always been a flower to the entire school – beautiful, kind, and delicate. However, something had changed. Ever since the trip to Grimwoods, the kindness on her face disappeared. There was a lack of emotion, of happiness that unnerved anyone who approached her. Her brilliant and shining smile had forever disappeared.

A flower no more. She had become a walking ice sculpture. She was fragile. Cold. Unfeeling.

Flane glanced at her and couldn’t help but remember the night over a week ago. The night after the boy named Kuren Sain had disappeared. The night that Melodi revealed to Flane her crazed smile and instability. In fact, that was the last time that Flane had ever seen Melodi smile.

When the students returned to the academy, Melodi didn’t seem to recover from Kuren’s death.

It was ironic really. Flane knew Kuren was the reason for her change, yet Kuren himself seemed to have been forgotten. No one talked about him anymore. No one mentioned his name. No one seemed to mourn his loss. Even Melodi herself never said anything about him.

No one except for Flane. Flane felt like he was the only who remembered Kuren. Flane felt as if the guilt would never go away.

If only he had another chance. If only he could go back in time and stop his bullying. But there were no ifs. There was only regret.

Melodi looked towards Flane. The two made eye contact. Melodi’s eyes seemed to have glazed over, not even recognizing Flane’s presence. She simply passed him, entering the classroom.

Flane accepted it. Melodi wasn’t the same girl that he loved before. He wasn’t even sure if he had the same feelings anymore.

No. He knew he didn’t. The very manner in which Melodi acted. The twisted smile he saw that night. It was as if she was completely different person. Or perhaps, these was Melodi’s true side that he had never seen. Cold. And uncaring.

As students began to sit down and wait, Monaco entered the classroom.

“Alright, settle down everyone. I’ve got a few announcements to make.

As all of you may be aware, we have recently acquired a visitor from the Grimwoods.” Monaco announced.

Monaco turned towards the door and beckoned someone with his hand.

A girl with silver hair walked through and entered the room. She was quite short, and looked young. Her eyes were a dull blue. Her face was quite pretty, still developing from a child into a teen. A very noticeable tattoo was on her left cheek. It seemed to be a rune, in a language unknown to the students. Gasps and murmurs went through the room.

The students recognized the girl. They had all met her a little over a week ago. She was the girl who had saved them from the demons’ attack in Grimwoods.

“Hello there. I am called Rai. Nice to meet you everyone.” The girl smiled and performed a little bow. The students clapped politely for the one who had saved all of them.

“Rai will be joining our class for a little while. I think this is also the first time that a Seeker will be in our school.” Monaco told the class as he looked down at Rai’s tattoo.

“A Seeker?”

“Wow! No way!”

“Really?”

“Do you…think I could get with her?”

Whispers went through the classroom as the students were shocked by the appearance of a Seeker girl. Most people have never even seen a Seeker in the flesh. They were extremely secretive, secluding themselves away from the other races in a ring of mountains guarded by fierce warriors and guardians.

“Before class starts, I have one more announcement. A little unusual, but we have another new student. Though, I think all of you may know him.” A rare smile appeared on Monaco’s face. He beckoned towards the door once more.

A figure walked through towards the front of the room. As he walked by, the class froze. They temporarily forgot about Rai for a moment.

The boy in front of them took away all their attention. Flane gripped the edge of his seat, his knuckles turning white.

The boy turned towards the class. His blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at the class. Short, light brown hair covered his head. His body was quite thin, but it seemed to hide strength underneath.

The boy bowed his head.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is…

Kuren Sain.”

The smile on his face grew wider.

“It’s good to be back.”