Young Flame (Veigue's Past)

[Deleted]

This is a small past telling of Veigue's childhood. I'm not sure if I want to make it into a constant updated story, but I thought I'd share it with you all just in case I do (which is highly unlikely).

So...getting straight to it, here we go. Feel free to comment.

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Young Flame

The Beginning

It was a clear and bright morning. Very sunny and no trace of a storm cloud. This beauty made the plains of Sacae stand out after all. There was even a chilly breeze blowing on through in conjunction with the heat, giving the weather a warm and humid temperature for my body. In the center of a very enormous clearing, I was standing out by a large tree that was sitting next to some bushes in front of the man that I called ‘father’.

“That’s all you’ve got, boy? Show me more!” his deep, yet strict voice sounded in my ears.

The man had the appearance of a master swordsman of Sacae, having his blade drawn in front of me as I wielded a wooden sword and a long stick nearly the same length as the training weapon in my other hand, but holding it in reverse like it was a sheath. One would think that if you were training a newbie like me, you wouldn't use your real weapon...especially since my weapons were made of wood. But at the time, I was too passive with it and shrugged it off as his way of taking me seriously.

When I swung the wooden sword and stick at the swordmaster, the attacks came out awkwardly and clumsy-like, ultimately missing my target every time as my father seemed to hardly place effort in dodging.

“Veigue!!” he shouted again with a disappointed reaction. “...Your stance is wrong. Your attacks are unbalanced and you’re not focusing at all. Show me more effort!”

“...I-I’m sorry, father. I’m trying!” I tried to make an excuse. But I honestly was trying as hard as I could.

I braced myself again and tried to confront him, trying to get into the proper stance of the fighting style I was being taught. I couldn’t help but being disappointed in myself as well, as I tried time and time again to land a single blow on my father. But my attacks came out slow and predictable...and every time I missed, the more and more I saw that disappointed look on my father’s become deeper. It made me lose a bit more focus when I swung my sword so hard that I ended up spinning around a few times and ended up shoving myself into my father.

When I looked up, he seemed like he couldn’t tolerate anymore of my failures, since he only moved back a single step and maintained that angry look. He then shoved me backwards with his elbow and charged at me like he intended to harm. He kicked my wooden sword out my hand, then swung his sword one time. I tried to dodge it, but I wasn’t fast enough. I turned to my side and ended up getting a cut from his Wo Dao’s edge to my left arm. Afterwards, he delivered a punch to my cheek, throwing my footing completely off balance as I stumbled and fell down on my back, dropping the stick out my other hand and covering my bleeding wound in pain. Then I saw the shadow of my father covering me completely. When I raised my head, I saw him sheathe his sword slowly, but he slammed it in it's saya out of anger.

“...I didn’t see any kind of reflex to my attacks. What if I aimed for a vital point? What if I was intent on killing you just now?! You would have died, boy!”

As I listened, I tried my best to let go of my wound and reach for my wooden stick, but my father placed his foot in front of my hand to stop me.

“You think you can try again? You’re only wasting your time.”

“But...father! I can still--!”

“No! Lay your sorry excuse for a swordsman on the ground and bleed some more for your failure. Your sister had significant skill when she was your age and was able to endure this training with ease!”

He was comparing me to my sister...who was completely a different person. Yes, Lena was definitely a prodigy, but I really dislike it when I’m compared to others. Though at that particular time as a child, I didn’t understand. I was all about trying to impress my old man. However, he did nothing but return my love with hatred, but I was persistent and tried time and time again to live up to expectations...if he allowed me. I harbored no jealousy of my sister...in fact, I loved her the most out of anyone.

“If you can make it back home without me, then I MAY consider taking you seriously again. I at least taught you survival techniques. Hopefully you aren't a failure at that either...” my father walked off on his own as he was heading back to the direction of our village. “...Until then, take the time you have on your own to think about taking this training more seriously.”

As I watched him walk off, I held my wound again. I didn’t even remember the punch I received after the cut, but when I did, it made my pain worse. I reached out for my wooden sword, but as I kept grabbing it and trying to get a firm grip, I ended up staining the handle with blood. I grabbed the stick I had and tried my best to tie them both around my waist while dealing with the misery of my injury.

When I was finally finished, I limped my way near the path my father took, but he was long gone already. I used a cloth I had to tie it around my wound to at least stop myself from leaking with blood. Despite the village only being a few miles away, it was going to be a real painful journey back. It was like I was left to die. Thankfully, the animals weren't harmful. I just had to survival the walk...

--

I finally made it, but the evening struck. It only took so long because I eventually stopped walking several times and ended up losing energy from concentrating too much on my wound. I didn’t have any vulneraries, so I had to improvise with stuff I found on the way. It didn’t work too well, but the bleeding did stop when I made it back. To the point where I barely felt the wound. As such, I slowly entered the village on my way home. I could finally walk without a limp anymore.

I walked through the village and passed through the other Sacaeans from the Kutolah. None of them seemed to be concerned with me...In fact, I don’t even think anyone was paying attention to me strolling along. But that was normal. People just saw me as some stupid kid. But I didn’t care...and I still don’t to this day. Soon, my pain turned to anger. I hated being around others mainly because I was never taken seriously by any of them other than my sister and mother. I still loved my father, despite his resentment for me. But what could I say? I was just a ‘stupid kid’ after all, but that love for him was about to change...

As I was almost at my family’s hut, I was blocked by three other younger Sacaean children when I fell down to my knees from my wound again. Out of any time the pain could come back, why at that moment? Either way, they all seemed to be enjoying themselves as they looked down on me like they wanted to do something to me. I saw them before...days ago. Ever since I accidentally bumped into their little 'ring leader', they all never stopped bothering me...and no one does nothing but watch. Is there entertainment in seeing a child beaten by others? I'd like to believe not and think it was either them ignoring us or just people being bastards.

“Hey, look. It’s Veigue...” the child standing in the middle said with a grin. “Having trouble? How about I help you up?”

I couldn’t believe those words. It was too deceiving. But me, desperately wanting to get back home to father, held out my hand, giving a gesture to help me. My hand got grabbed, but I saw the smirk form on the little bastard’s face as I felt him squeeze my hand and yanked me up from the ground. Then a suffered a kicked to my side and got sent back down. After a few more seconds, the other two joined in and started repeatedly kicking me while I was defenseless in the dirt. I refrained from screaming out of pain so I took the hits, crossing my arms and trying to curl up into a little ball on the ground. I tried closing my eyes to help a little. At least it was working.

I opened them again when I saw my father’s feet behind the children. I thought my father had finally come back for me. Was he going to save me from these brats? But I heard him talking in disappointment again.

“...Veigue? Didn’t I tell you how to defend yourself? If you’re expecting my help, then you’ll have to earn it.” I saw him crossed his arms, waiting. “Show me what I taught you to get these troublemakers off you.”

That was absolutely absurd and heartless thing to say! Was he really going to sit there and watch me get beat up while having my face full of dirt?! Nonetheless, I needed to get those punks off me regardless of what my father was going to do. I felt the rage build up in my heart. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was tired of being everyone’s punching bag. I had to show them that I meant business.

I grabbed one of the boy’s legs and pulled back, tripping him and causing him to hit the dirt on his back. This caused them to stop kicking me for a brief few seconds, which was plenty of time for me to try and get them all back. I pulled out my wooden weapons and started beating one of them mercilessly on his head with them, since he gave me that opportunity when he placed his hands over his head. But the other one grabbed me from behind and pinned me down. The other one I tripped raised from the ground and they all proceeded to kicking me again as I dropped my weapons.

So much for a comeback.

“...Hmph. How disappointing. I don’t have weak children.” my strict parent said aloud.

I tried holding out my hand to my father, but he simply ignored me as I saw him walk back to our hut. For that moment, I finally felt betrayed. How come my childish mind didn't catch on the moment I was left to die out in the plains? He didn’t even give it second thought to help. He left me...just like that. I even saw him enter the hut without looking back. No regret.

...Nothing could express how I was feeling at the moment. I didn’t even feel the kicks anymore. I clenched the ground in my anger. It seemed like I didn’t release all the rage I had back there after all, as I still had faith in my father at the time. That was it...I couldn't take this pain anymore. Both the pain being dealt physically...and the pain emotionally. It hurt so bad, it felt like my entire body was on fire.

Now I was at that boiling point where I found the strength to lift them all off me and didn’t even think about getting my wooden weapons. I lifted myself up and tackled the boy that started all this mess to the ground and started punching him non-stop in the face like a raging beast. I couldn’t control myself...I needed to let it all out. No one should feel how I did at that moment. Plus, the little punk deserved it. People were walking away from the scene, trying not to get involved. So I was alone...

As I tried to calm down, I raised off the boy, who had a bloody nose and bruised up face. When I looked to the other two with a cold stare, they both merely backed off and started walking back as I slowly approached them. I was tired of getting treated like crap. Now I was ready to inflict some of the pain I’ve been feeling throughout my abuse. But the two little punks ran away before I could do anything. If they were smart, they could have taken advantage of my rage and beat me to a pulp worse than before...but that's how fear worked.

I walked to the other I roughened up and kicked him hard enough to jump from the ground and follow his friends, but he was slow due to the pain I inflicted. He doubt this was the end though. Even when beaten, some bullies get persistent if they could push you the way they did to me.

With them gone, I looked down to the ground and stared in space, thinking about everything that just happened. Normally, this would be a perfect time to cry for normal people...but I didn’t. If anything, I’ve always wondered why no matter what happened, I never shed a tear. Of course I cried when I was a small baby, but when I got to that age I was, I couldn’t remember a time I cried at all. I even went as far as to thinking that my eyes were dried up and unable to drop anything. I felt so much sorrow at the moment, but I couldn’t express it at all other than anger. Sometimes, I even doubted if I was a normal human being if I couldn't express my sadness like a normal little boy.

I eventually fell down on my knees, trying to calm down. It was then that I felt someone’s arms wrap around me like a blanket. When I turned my head, it was my older sister, Lena. Her voice was soft as usual, but I can tell by her lower tone in voice that she was hurting pretty badly on the inside.

“...If only father didn’t tell me to stay in, I would have helped. I’m sorry, Veigue...”

I just sat there, still paralyzed in thought. This day turned from bad to evil. Not only did I ended up getting bullied AGAIN, but I had my own father walk off on me instead of being an adult and stopping what unfolded. That man...I couldn’t call him father anymore. In fact, I did exactly what he did to me...I despised him greatly. I only had a mother and a sister then. At least they treated me with respect compared to that bastard and the others of the village. But my sister was always there to comfort me in my time of need. I still respect my mother, but at the time, she was too sick to parent me. Lena basically looked after me all the time. But my mom couldn't help it...she was born with that illness.

“You are strong, Veigue. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise...show them all. I have faith in you, little brother.”

I didn’t say anything in response. I couldn’t really. But I took those words as an inspiration to get stronger and more skilled...not just stronger in general, but stronger than the ones who put me down, abused me, and despised my existence. Even if I have to respond to them all coldly. I no longer had a reason to act friend towards others like a little kid. I was going to show them all a true warrior of Sacae!

[Deleted]

Promise

About three years passed since the day I seriously buckled down and tried to get stronger...without the help of my father. Of course, I still needed to be taught by someone who knew the fighting style. As close as I am to my sister, she answered to my worries and decided to teach me herself. When the day she told me she’d train me, I first had doubts that it’d work with our father around. But she told me that when it came to me, he didn’t care what I did. That didn’t even hurt me anymore...I already hated his guts. But I’m thankful that Lena never mentioned nor brought him up when we trained or talked. She most likely discovered how I truly felt about him.

Speaking of training, that’s what we were doing at that moment.

“Heeeeey! Veigue, you aware over there?” Lena shouted out to me from a distance. She was obviously teasing to make me pay attention.

I spent too much time thinking at that moment. At the time, I improved my training weapons. Lena crafted a wooden sword in the shape of a katana and a wooden saya to train better, as the katana was the symbol of our style. I was amazed in my sister’s crafting skills. If they weren’t made of wood, I would have been fooled to thinking they were real. But I needed to focus, as she charged right at me. Unlike my father, she trained me using the same wooden weapons.

Several minutes passed and we went at it for several rounds. Of course, I lost all of them so far. I basically couldn’t keep up with her speed and she packed quite a punch in the process! At times when she’d get an opening, those blows from either the sword or sheath stung like a bee. But one memorable moment of this point was when we were on our final round.

“All right. Let’s call it a day, kiddo. I don’t want to wear you out.” she said with a smile, about to slide her training weapon back in it’s saya.

I was tired from taking all those hits and moving around so constantly...but I felt as though I could keep going. If I kept taking it easy, my growth in my skill would be sluggish. I wanted to get stronger...to prove it to my father’s face one day. So I kept my weapons out and maintained a serious expression while trying to catch my breath. When I did, I stood firm and ready for more.

“No...I can keep going! One more round.” I tightened my grip afterwards.

“What? Are you sure? You don’t have to push--”

“...Please? I can handle it.” I was persistent. I was going to keep it that way until she agreed.

Thankfully, she giggled a bit without saying a word, getting back into stance. That was a strong enough sign that she agreed. At this point, I wondered what was going to happen. When I trained with father, he declined my desire to keep going. But Lena allowed it. Not wasting any time, I confronted her again and we clashed. The fight was going like it usually would, me missing and having a wide opening. However, when she came in for a strike with the sheath, I reclined my upper body flexibly as the sheath missed me completely. I flipped myself back up as quickly as I could and got between her. While she had that opening, I took it! I swung my sword horizontally and delivered a blow to her stomach before her own weapon could hit me. It was a close call though, as her sword was right above my head. She backed off after that, putting away her weapon and clapped her hands. She rested her hand on spot where I hit her afterward.

“...You’re full of surprises, bro.” she started laughing afterwards before walking closer to me.

When I put my weapon away, I sighed out of exhaustion. It was difficult to get an opening like that. I started to doubt it was chance. More like luck. But it was obvious that after that, I couldn’t go on anymore. I was starting to lose my breath again. However, when I looked back up to my sister, she had sheathed sword in her hands and held it out to me.

“Happy birthday!” she held the sword closer to me.

I had a startled reaction when seeing the sword. Was it really for me? Well...of course it was, since ‘Happy birthday’ was followed right after. I was wondering if I was even old enough to wield a real weapon. I had just turned ten that day. But after thinking about it for a bit, Lena was only five years older than me and she started using a sword when she was eight or nine, if I recalled correctly.

But the age requirement wasn’t important. That was my first real sword given to me. I took it with much joy, much like a child getting a new toy. However, I tried to not get THAT excited. Weapons are no toy. I held it for a good while to get a good feel of it. Funny thing was, I forgot all about my fatigue at the time. I drew the sword from it’s sheath. Even for a slim sword, it still looked a little big in my hand. Just had to grow more was all.

After admiring the blade, I sheathed it and immediately thanked Lena, followed by a hug. I guess I felt more happy because it actually felt like I earned the sword. That’s when I realized that if I kept pushing hard even if I feel like I can’t do it, I’ll keep getting better eventually. Actually, I still feel that way now.

After that, we conversed some more before Lena decided it was time to return to the village. It was still afternoon, so the weather was still enjoyable. While we were walking, my sister gave me a question that kind of came out of nowhere.

“Hey, Veigue. Do you have a goal in mind when you grow up? You know, besides becoming a great swordsman?”

Sudden indeed. The future wasn’t something I thought too much on. I was ignorant to the rest of the world outside Sacae. All I really looked at was just honing my skills and becoming one of the best swordsmen in Sacae. I had to think on that one...I was told that Sacaeans were looked down upon. I had no idea why were were hated at the time, but with my childish mind at this point, I thought anything regarding the outside world would be easy to take care of. All I know is that this hatred these people had bothered me.

“Well...I want to get rid of the hate people have for us. We all should get along, right? I’m gonna change that!” I said, barely knowing what I was talking about.

“Interesting. I’d bet you’d be able to pull it off!” she enthusiastically replied. “Once you’re strong enough, you can travel the world...learn more about it. Once you know the world well, I’m sure your dream will come true in the future! But promise me that you’ll try your hardest on your goals. Whenever it looks dim, you have to keep moving forward.”

That shed a lot of light on my goal. But hey, I was just a kid after all. Any kind of encouraging words would sound great. Not that I’m doubting what my sister said was true, but I was easily convinced back then. But she was spot on. Can’t change without knowing a thing about what you want to do about the problem. I simply replied with, “...Promise!”.

Just as we were arriving near the village, Lena held her arm out in front of me. I didn’t know what was going on, but her facial expression turned to a serious one. Breaking the silence, I finally asked what was wrong. She simply replied, “Thieves” before unsheathing her own sword.

I heard the movement of bushes and trees on the side of us. People were there like she said. But how did she know it was thieves? I wondered that the whole time as I started to shake out of nervousness.

When she kept her arm on my shoulder, a man suddenly leap from above out of a tree! Lena grabbed me closer, getting a strong grip before making a huge side step, as the man was aiming for me.

Lena released me and immediately dashed at the man. He had a dagger, so he couldn’t really combat her sword effectively. What he had witnessed, the thief was just trying to dodge attacks. After a while, Lena swung her sword and knocked the dagger out the man’s hand and kicked him down in the dirt. She began to interrogate him while keeping him down with her foot on his back.

While that was going on, I heard something behind me. It was another thief who hopped out the bushes! I was still on the ground after I was suddenly lifted up by my sister earlier, so I tried my best to get away. I had to crawl for a bit and roll in the dirt to evade his first attack on me. I managed to stand after that and made a break for it. My sister jumped off the defeated man and immediately dealt a deadly blow to the one attacking me. I guess she decided to attack him with the blade to make sure he couldn’t harm me. He fell and bled, unable to move.

She checked up on me and see if I was hurt. I only received a few scratches and bruises from hitting the ground and rolling around though.

The previously defeated thief regained his weapon and attacked Lena while she was taken off guard because of me. I saw him moving before he even began to charge, but at the time, I doubt Lena was going to be able to react in time. She did see him at the last minute, grabbing me again and falling down in the dirt from being taken off guard.

“Nothing personal, kiddies. All I want are your goods. Hand everything you have over and I ‘might’ let you go.”

I didn’t know what to do in this situation. It was because of me that my sister let her guard down. From the looks of it at first, she seemed to have sprained her ankle with the fall. When she tried to move, she would fall back down. I froze in fear as the thief was becoming impatient, eventually licking the blade of the dagger sadistically....yeah, that’s pretty disgusting. It was obvious even for me that he wasn’t planning on letting us live regardless.

“Time’s up!” he spun the dagger once before running at us.

Lena still couldn’t move. She struggled though, trying to ready herself for battle. I was still frozen stiff. All I knew was that we were going to die. I closed my eyes when my fear turned into action. I pulled my new sword out it’s scabbard and just thrust myself forth with it when the man came within range.

With my eyes still closed, all I heard was a small scream and a stab. When I opened them, I saw the blade lunged deep within the man’s stomach. Blood got all over my arms and face. He dropped his dagger and forced himself off my sword. He took several steps away, then lost his footing and fell to the ground next to his injured partner. They both were dying from excessive blood lost.

But it was a shocking experience. It was the first person I’ve ever killed and I was still frozen...stuck standing in the same place and my arms lunged forward. Being covered in blood made it worse. Seeing a person in pain like that and me being the cause of it made it feel like a cold murder. Of course now when I think back on this moment, it was mere self-defense out of fear. But when it first happened, it was the most frightening thing I ever saw.

Lena managed to walk on her sprained ankle. But it probably would be only a matter of time before she fell again. She walked in front of me and tried to snap me out of it by shaking me back and forth. I eventually came to my senses and stared at her, still having a frightened expression. She comforted me and still forced herself to walk with me. My body just kind of dragged along until she fell and so did I.

I finally dropped my bloodied sword on the ground and looked at my hands. No matter what I did to try to calm down, the blood was still there to look at. It looked like for the moment, we weren’t going anywhere for a while. Until what seemed like a merchant wagon was coming up from behind. It seemed like it was going to be a good while before it arrived, since it was going at a sluggish rate. I wasn’t sure if that was what that was. Most likely, Lena was going to ask for a ride when they arrived. That would be the smart thing to do instead of trying to walk back on a sprained ankle. I was finally about to pick my sword up, but I didn’t sheathe it.

A couple of minutes passed and the wagon did arrive. A chubby-looking man leaped from his wagon after halting his horse. He asked what happened and Lena of course explained. Afterwards, he helped us both into the wagon and then took off in the direction of the village once we were settled in. It was awkward silence during the trip, but Lena still kept me close. After what happened, I’m pretty sure we both were frightened from the events overall. It’s just that words escaped us...

[Deleted]

Despair...and Hope

I ran as fast as I could through the village. When I returned, I heard people talking about my mother's condition worsening more than ever. She was always ill, but at the time, I was deluded into thinking she'd eventually get better, as my sister...and surprisingly my father told me lies just to hide the fact that her natural illness from birth would eventually turn from bad to worse. However, it was with good intention. I didn't want to lose my mother so soon. She, along with Lena was all I had that I cared about.

I guess I should have noted that four more years had passed since the day I received my first sword...and the same day I was forced to kill someone with it. Even with the blood gone, it still felt like it was there, half-washed away. That event was still traumatic, but I had my mother and Lena to take comfort in. I didn't want to see that vanish.

When I made it there, someone stopped me. It was another boy around my age. When I took a closer look at him when I halted, it was the same idiot seven years ago that beat me with his friends...coincidentally, it was the same spot it occurred. This boy and I were the same age...we grew pretty well...and we both were trained in the sword. I could tell just by seeing his weapon on his side. But with his arms folded, he didn't seem like he was intending on moving. It was then that stormclouds were just beginning to come in.

“...Move.” That was all I allowed to escape my lips. I wondered why he chose this of all times to bug me.

An awkward silence struck for moments on, until the boy rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Do it yourself.” he said, having the fire burn in his eyes before he drew his blade. “This was the spot where you humiliated me...did you think I've forgotten?! Prepare yourself!”

He came raging and charging at me like a bull. I hadn't even drawn my sword yet. But thanks to my training with Lena, my senses and reaction speed increased. While I still wasn't exactly too 'good' at the time, I could tell from that fool's reckless and slow charge that he and I had a huge gap between skill. That was the first situation where I actually felt superior in my entire life.

When he swung his sword slow enough for me to see his movements completely, I leaned to my side, yet slid my entire body at the same time to swiftly avoid it. After that, I used a cool technique I managed to nearly perfect after seeing Lena do it to me many times. I used my thumb of the hand I held my scabbard in to hold it on top of the guard of my weapon so it wouldn't slide out the sheath. Then swung it at the reverse side of the boy's blade with the sword still in it's scabbard with the same hand. When he lost his stance and balance, I drew my blade at a quick speed and knocked it clean out of his hand. Before he could keep up, I let my anger get the best of me, smashing my fist in the center of his face after putting my sword back in, causing him to fall on his back in defeat.

“Get outta the way!” I yelled before storming off to my home. I didn't even look back, but I had more important things on my mind than some bully wanting revenge for something he clearly deserved.

When I made it to the Ger, I saw Lena walking out. The look on her face was full of sadness. But she noticed me approaching. When I made it there, I was out of breath from both running and the small rumble just now. After catching my breath, I pretty much broke the ice and asked her what was wrong. After we conversed more, she claimed that mother was fine at the moment and suggested I went to be with her, seeing as she spent her time while I was out training on my own. I wasted no time entering.

“Mother!” I exclaimed after barging in.

To my surprise, that sorry excuse for a husband wasn't even there by her side at her time of need...unless he was there earlier. My mother was just sitting alone, bedridden as a nasty cough continued to make her suffer, almost like she couldn't stop...until she looked to me and used her weak strength to smile and gestured for me to come over.

When I approached, she took hold of my arm and gently pulled me closer until I sat down, pretty much lying down with her. This reminded me when I was just a tiny child, clamping onto her like a baby and listening to her stories, as well as the things she taught me that Lena herself couldn't because of age. If I got bullied or mistreated, I'd run to this same spot just to seek comfort...knowing my mother would always be here. While it was a good thing, it was also bad at the same time...as she always remained sick. I could never recall a time I saw her leave that bed other than obvious reasons required to get up.

After absorbing in the moment, she finally spoke to me, very weakly. She started bringing up happier times, even with father. She seemed oblivious to the tension going on between he and I, but I thought that was for the best, as I didn't want to ruin the moment by saying something like, 'I hate that bastard'. I just listened carefully. When she coughed, she turned me loose for that moment before keeling over on the opposite side as I saw her cough out a lot of blood. After cleaning her mouth with a cloth, she laid her head on the pillow and grabbed me again. After a while, she reached for something, which turned out to be a small pendant with a emerald crystal embedded in it.

When she placed it in my hands, her eyes started to shut. But she mumbled out words that I could still hear. When she told me she loved me, her eyes closed completely. She was still breathing for a few more seconds...but after I tried to wake her up, she couldn't. I lightly tried to shake her to help, but to no avail. It was then after while, I checked her pulse...something Lena taught me. She didn't have one...and I didn't feel her breathing on my face anymore. My heart pounded with every beat, but thankfully, Lena was still outside, as I saw her shadow. So I raised my voice high enough to alert her.

We both looked at each other, then I saw tears fall from my sister's eyes before she turned her back. My mother...was gone. Despite that, I clenched onto her body as if she were still alive. Even with the passing of my mother...tears didn't fall from my eyes. But there was so much pain and sorrow going on in the inside of me that my head felt like exploding because I couldn't express it at all. What's wrong with me...?

I just sat there, rocking myself to simulate how mother did when I was sad. It was too much of a shock to accept reality at that moment. She couldn't be gone...I needed her more than ever. After a while, it was like I was in a trance. But I was able to hear the rain pouring down outside.

Mother...you're up there with Father Sky now. May you rest in peace.

--

Hours had passed and my mother was properly buried. All the people of the village came to pay their respects in the area just outside the village where we buried our loved ones who passed. Everyone...except my father. Where was he? Was he that torn apart to not show up or did he just not care?! It only made my sadness worsen. But after several minutes, it was just Lena and I...staring down at our mother's grave. I was stuck in that spot, feeling Lena wrapping her arm around around my shoulders, then saying, “...Take all the time you need, Veigue.” before walking off. Most likely, she was going somewhere to mourn alone. I could understand that, so I remained silent as I kept staring down.

I found myself stuck there for more than twenty minutes...just there. Those stormclouds began to form once more. But as the wind blew harder, I heard a step in the grass several feet behind me. When I looked to the corner of my eyes...it was him. He didn't show up for the service...but he came by anyway. While his timing could have been better, maybe he did care about mother after all. But moments passed as he stood next to me, then said a prayer before he embedded flowers in the ground in front of the grave. He then walked away, but stopped midway...still having his back turned.

“...So, you've improved.” He said, though there was a bit of distaste mixed with sadness in his tone.

I kept my back turned as well. I still didn't want to look at him. I just allowed him to talk.

“Child, you've only begun to feel true pain. You may be able to fight like a man now...but you aren't. You're standing there...not even shedding a tear. You're trying to mature...but you're failing. However...I never knew that on your path to maturity and strength lead you to...taking your own mother's life.”

“...What?!” I immediately turned around. 'I' took her life? What was he getting on about, I wondered. “Spill it! What are you talking about?! Why the hell would I kill my own mother?!”

“You did it without noticing. Your mother...she cared 'too' deeply for you. To the point where if you left her side at all, she began to worry about what the outside world would do to you. Then you came back home covered in blood those four years back...you weakened her further with your recklessness and weakness until she passed.”

“That wasn't my fault!!” My anger was showing again, but this time...I didn't hold it back. The rage burned from within...then expelled in the same manner. “You bastard! You're a cruel beast with no soul! Where were YOU when mother died, huh?! I can't even stand looking at you...you're a monster! I hate you!!”

“Good, child...show your anger. It only shows how much of a monster YOU are!”

I paused, really confused at what he just said. I meant what I said back there, so I turned back around to allow the man to speak.

“...I saw how you made short work of your opponent back in the village. While that boy was poorly trained...you crushed him; heartlessly. If you weren't worried about your mother...you would have killed him, haven't you? Out of revenge for how he treated you? That day those boys first attacked you...I watched out the window. You could have killed them there too. You aren't the same little boy I used to train...nor are you pure. You do show skill...skill I didn't think you possessed. But it will soon be used to slaughter more once it grows. After the departure of someone so dear to you that YOU'VE killed, your despair...will turn into pure hatred and anger towards all living beings. Veigue, you're a hedious monster inside a child's body...who will soon take pleasure in killing innocents because of your 'mistreatment'. You can't control your emotions...and because of that, it will eventually break the chains that binds the true beast inside you.”

“...Are you finished?” I said, placing my hand on my scabbard and releasing it from my side. “Because all I hear is nonsense that you're probably making up from the top of your head!”

“Foolish child. You think you can take me on?” He did the same with his weapon, our family sword.

“...You're the foolish one. You throw all these accusations at me when I didn't do a single one!” I felt myself heating up, but I could feel my eyes like they were going to water. But nothing dropped...nothing but anger was expressed. “You don't even deserve to hold that sword in your hands, you blackheart! I'll defeat you, then take the sword from you. And once you're defeated, you'll live with the shame for the rest of your life. You're nothing but a disgrace to Sacae!!”

“Hahahahaha! Fine, boy! I'll finish what I started. But...let us go out into the plains and settle this. I wouldn't want to battle around your mother and every other fallen Sacaean's grave here...”

After I saw my father walk away out the graveyard and towards an open space in the plains, I followed behind, but kept my distance. I didn't even want to walk near him, despite going to meet him face-to-face in true battle...

--

Once we became quite far from the graveyard, we had a stare down. It was kind of strange how the sky darkened more than earlier and rain fell before we both got into battle stance. Once I look back on that moment, I could plainly see that I was just an angry child that easily became heated up by deceitful words. My father basically baited me into that battle...but at the end, I wanted to fight him anyway. His actions and behavior were completely opposite of a true Sacaean. I wanted to settle this by beating him down...even if I was entirely out of my league, thinking I could take on a Swordmaster.

When a large lightning bolt struck from afar, we charged each other head-on. It was only going to be one round...as this was no longer training. When he swung, I parried. When I did, he either dodged or reacted the same. It was nothing but a clash war going on for an entire five minutes. We didn't care about the thunderstorm...the heated moment of battle took our minds off of it. Not only did we fight because we hated each other, but we also fought to see who was right and who was wrong...we fought to settle the aggression.

After a while, I noticed that he was holding back. So I parry countered him and smashed my scabbard on the side of his skull twice, then kicked him in the stomach. When he staggered backwards and held his sword in a guard position, he placed a serious frown on his face. It was truly on now.

We attacked and countered each other again. But as the battle raced on, an fiendish-like smile formed around his lips. He was enjoying this...watching me struggle. But after more seconds passed, I came to find out that I smiled as well. Honestly, I have no idea why I did that. Perhaps it was just the environment of the battle that caused it. But...I realized that while we were complete opposites, we had one thing in common at that moment only: We wanted to beat the tar out of each other, even if blood was spilled. I hated him...if I had to make him bleed to show him the pain he inflicted on me for my entire childhood, then I thought so be it.

When I thought I had him on the ropes, he sped up dramatically to where I could barely block his attacks. I then found myself pacing backwards trying to hold him off. Then in an instant, he knocked my sword out of my hand. He hit it so hard, it twirled in the air to the point where it looked like it was going to hit the stormclouds. When I looked back down, his sheath smashed into the center of my face and I was down for the count.

I lost. I shouldn't have expected to win that day, but I still wanted to. It made me so mad to see him staring down at me with that face like he knew everything. But he approached, as his shadow covered me.

“Impressive, son. If I had gone full force from the beginning, it would have been different. But...you're still weak. And I must relinquish the beast that you are. While you may say I'm a disgrace, you're the biggest one...so I'll give you a proper...death.”

Wait...he was going to kill me?! That was all that ran through my mind as I saw him raise his blade. At that time, our definitions of true battle were completely different. I wanted to defeat...he wanted to kill. Silence struck, as the bringing down of his sword was going in slow motion as I stared in terror, unable to move at all.

But he suddenly stopped his action after I saw him turn around halfway, but only to be struck in the area near his torso and then received a slit throat afterward. He keeled over and dropped dead right next to me. His breath was taken away instantly without any last words. I doubt he even knew what happened or who did it to him. Though when I looked over, it was Lena...she kept her head sunk low as I saw father's blood on her sword, sliding off the blade and dripping onto the grass.

I wondered how she managed to get here and find us at the right time. When that first happened, I wasn't thinking because of the shock. But now...I think Lena was watching us the entire time. She most likely felt that she wasn't supposed to interfere. I could tell from the look on her face and how her sword arm trembled. She was scared.

So I looked over to father. There were no signs of life from him. This was the third time I've seen someone die right before my eyes. Those thieves...mother...and then father. It was horrifying to look at. But I know it was tougher for my sister because she was the one who did it. This time, it was my turn to be useful. I forced myself up and walked closer to her, wrapping my arm around hers. When she cleaned and put her weapon away, we both fell down in the wet grass, as the rain was beginning to stop. Silence struck again, but I clamped onto her like I used to with mother. All of this happened in one day...I honestly thought it couldn't get worse.

But my sister did manage to say one thing as she looked me in the eyes. “...I couldn't...let him kill you. Our father or not. He transformed into a...twisted man. My body moved on it's own...and stuck him down without hesitation. I'm...a terrible daughter.”

I just shook my head, and forced a smile on my face as I held her tighter. The rain had stopped completely then...and it was time to head on back with the sin over both our heads.

--

On the same day, we had another burial service. However, it was near the end of the day. The sun was going to start setting soon. But while we and the villagers were around father's grave, we heard them all wondering how he was killed. We would have said something when we dragged his body back to town...but the shock of the moment when it happened sealed our lips. We couldn't have spoke about it even if we wanted to.

But as they were beginning to head on back home, I looked to Lena. She had a very sad and guilty expression. She looked like she was going to say something, so I slid my hand onto hers and shook my head again. I couldn't let her take this. It was I that battled father in the first place...so it was all my fault. Lena wouldn't have needed to kill him if I had just kept a cool head and avoided fighting him altogether. I released her hand and turned to the villagers as I called out to them.

“...I know who killed him.” I held my head down, not being able to face the shame with direct eye contact with any of them...but I continued as all eyes were on me. “It was I...I ended Sigmund Magnus's life. I know the consequences of such actions like this one. I'll take my punishment...leaving forever.”

That was the punishment for crime; exile. I went on and did the honors, as I didn't want to say anything else. I immediately walked away as they all cleared the path and looked at me with extreme shock. Nothing but awkward silence as I passed by each and every one of them. I then realized that same boy from earlier stood there, though even he seemed to be petrified with shock. When we stared at each other for moments on, he finally stepped to the side next to his own father. After that, I made my way to the village, wanting to walk through to the path to see home one more time before leaving.

--

About another hour passed and the sun was finally setting. I had just exited the village after taking a good amount of time to stare at our home for the last time. I would have stuck around a little longer to say farewell to Lena, but...I didn't think she needed to see me. She needed time alone. She probably hated me anyway because I took the blame.

Before I could move any further...

“Veigue! Wait up!!”

Lena. Well, at least I could say good-bye. When I turned to her, she had a smile on her face for some reason. But me, I still felt bad. I couldn't return one back.

“...I'm sorry, Lena. I know you didn't want me to take the blame, but...”

“...You're off the hook, kiddo. I confessed after you left. Now I'm the one leaving, not you.”

“Wha-” I was speechless. She was off the hook! Why did she tell them? That's what I first thought at the time.

“There's no need to blame yourself for what you didn't do, Veigue.” she seemed serious this time. “I killed father, so I'm taking responsibility for it instead of just crying over it. So please...stay here, with both of them.”

I stood there, silently. I didn't know what I wanted to do anymore. But...I did know that I didn't want to go back to the village. I've already said my farewells and I wasn't going to look back. “I understand...but I was going to leave the village after this anyway.”

“Huh? Why?”

I placed my hand over my chest, closing my eyes. “I have no place here. You're...the only person I have left in this world. I don't want to lose you either. Chances are...there's no place for me on the outside world too. So, I have to travel the world...to become stronger so I can be sure that you're safe. But since you're leaving too...I don't know what else I'll do out there.”

“Veigue...” she herself seemed speechless. I wondered if what I said did any harm. But she smiled at me and rested both hands on my shoulders. “...If your mind is truly made up, then fulfill the promise you made to me.”

I stood there, confused a bit, but I allowed her to continue.

“Your promise...to get stronger and also free the world from prejudice, or at least improve it to a feat where no one else could. It'll be a hard journey, but keep your chin up. And if you are afraid, then we both can journey together.”

“I...but I...” I stumbled on my words. As much as I wanted to travel with her...it was something I had to start off on alone. “...I have to go alone then. I don't know if this will make sense, but thanks to your teachings, I feel as though I can grow stronger on my own from this point on. Then...when we meet again, I'll be strong enough to make that promise come true.”

“Then I'll hold you up to that, little bro!” She said after immediately pulling me closer to her and giving me the biggest smile ever. “Elibe is huge. But that's point of travel. Once you're more familiar with the world...then work on your goals. When situations turn grim, listen to the voice in your heart. Never ignore or doubt the instincts of it, as it is your guide to success. It never steers you incorrectly. Now go...go explore this vast land and please...take good care of yourself and be careful! I don't want to see you in a grave somewhere, you hear me?”

“...Of course!”

A few more seconds and she handed me a sword...it was our family weapon! I was confused as to why she was handing it to me, but I decided to let her speak first.

"This weapon...it rightfully belongs to you. When you feel as though you are strong and worthy enough, use this sword. The spirits of our ancestors will be with you at all times. I have a feeling you may use it better than I could."

"Lena..." I didn't want to take it, but after she said all of that, I couldn't refused. I simply nodded my head and took it with pride.

After that, we embraced our final moment together, holding each other tightly like we didn't want to be separated. But in order to get anywhere, we had to split. There was that chance that we could never cross paths again, so I wanted to make sure I wanted to be at peace when I saw her depart.

After a few more moments, we turned each other loose and started to walk into opposite directions. As I watched her depart and the sun setting beautifully on her path, I clenched my first, but I managed to smile. I was scared, but I couldn't let fear stop me. I made that choice to journey alone and I needed to see it until the end. I couldn't run up behind her. While Lena wouldn't have minded, I still needed to be a real man. So I turned around after seeing her from a distance once last time, then walked off onto the vast plains. Where I was headed...I had no idea. I was just a drifting swordsman now...

To be continued...

[Deleted]

Struggle

“Ahhh! Sooo...hot. Why?!”

Don't get me wrong...I love the heat. But that day was just murder. It felt like someone threw me on top of a campfire and left me there for hours. I began to question myself on if Lycia was always like this. While I've only traveled on my own for a year now, I haven't really experienced or studied much of the country's climate over the first cycle of seasons. Perhaps it was just one of those days where the weather rose to unexpected temperatures. Even to this day, I never found out what the deal with that day was. Now when I go to Lycia, I never experience a heated day like that one...or maybe this was all just my imagination?

But thank goodness I found some shelter in Santaruz. A very friendly village took me in for a few days after one of the villagers hauled me on his back and looked after me when finding me collapsed from hunger one day. Of course, I knew how to hunt...but being so used to the plains of Sacae, I didn't know where to start with hunting. I've only gotten by for a year because of luck on my hunts. But when that luck ran out...oh boy.

Either way, I was on my way back to the village from an errand the kind man asked of me, seeing as some illness was plaguing him to where he couldn't do it himself. He didn't seem sick when he rescued me, but I didn't see him when he got me at first, so I would never know. I didn't plan on staying there for too long though...at least until the man was feeling better. Seeing how an illness killed Mother, I wanted to do everything I could to help with a speedy recovery.

When I arrived, I mistakenly dropped the canteen of water the man wanted me to look for...something he lost while doing something in the forest nearby. The village...it was in shambles. But I was only gone for about an hour or two! What could have happened here, I thought...and why. What did these nice people do to deserve such destruction? I ran around, looking for survivors...but all I witnessed were corpses and destroyed homes. It just looked horrible...like a terrible storm rolled in and wiped out everything, only leaving behind crumbled remains.

Then it hit me to check and see if the man was all right, rushing to his home as quickly as I could...nearly tripping over myself along the way. If there was at least one person left, maybe I could be useful instead of just seeing people die left and right. First that thief I killed years back...then Mother and Father...I refused to see more die! While I hated my father, I didn't want him to die...I just thought that when I grew up, he'd respect me more. Maybe that was still the childish mind speaking. The sight of me plagued him. Deep down, that man was still the most despised person I knew...despite him being deceased.

Arriving at the home, it was in shambles as well. But I pushed myself through the debris and managed to be within an area of the home that wasn't buried...and that's where the man laid on his back. I rushed to his side and asked what happened here. He was on the verge of dying, his voice growing sore and dim. He was hurt badly...accompanied with his illness taking it's toll on him. I couldn't even begin to fathom how miserable he was feeling there. But he spoke weakly, saying a handful of bandits raided and demolished the village. They came out of nowhere...and struck as fast as a lightning bolt to them.

After a few moments, he handed me two objects. They looked like charms. I couldn't understand much of what he was saying, but all I remember was “Please...find Sasha and Sean...my children...and give them daddy's...final gift.” I never knew he had kids. I never saw them around the village, but he soon elaborated as best as he could. His children went missing. He said they both were so very young...they could almost pass as little babies. Though he never found out how and why they disappeared. While it was a task beyond me...it was his dying request. I couldn't turn down a man on his back pleading for help...especially when his family was involved. But the passing of cherished items...it reminded me of the necklace given from Mother that I wear around my neck, but hidden under my clothing. Feeling too sorry for him, I accepted. This was probably how Mother felt when she passed...she cared to deeply for Lena and I. She most likely gave something similar to my sister as well during their final moments together.

After a while, I noticed he stopped moving. I shook him, but it was just like mom...another person passed in my arms. But it was more than sadness that filled my heart this time...anger started to form. Why did something like this happen? How could those heartless beasts slaughter so many innocence?! It infuriated me! And then they were nowhere to be found, leaving the aftermath of their destruction behind.

I walked from out of the destroyed home of the man, who I prayed for and hoped his soul could rest in peace. He entrusted me with finding his children...even though I had no idea where to start looking. But that was my new current mission. He had no idea where they could have gone...or possibly been taken. I'd have to search all over the places of Elibe I could. But I took that promise.

As I looked up in the sky, the clouds formed like they did during the death of my parents. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling. But I looked at the destruction one last time...before losing my composure and yelling as loud as I could out of pure anger as the raindrops hit my face.

“Why?!” I exclaimed. “This wasn't supposed to happen! This is...madness! Why?!”

I fell down, punching the ground without regard to my knuckles. I could feel them bleeding with each assault...but at the time, I didn't care. Those people...they were taken too early and without a cause. My pain was nothing compared to theirs. Bandits...what monsters.

--

Significant time passed and I managed to bury every villager with the help of a traveling merchant who just happened to pass by. After some more time, he asked me if I needed some company while traveling...but I politely declined. So after that, we just parted ways and wished each other luck. If it wasn't for his help, night would have fell by the time I would have finished burying everyone. There were many people bigger than I, so that would have been even more difficult alone. So I looked back at the destroyed village before walking away. I wasn't going to forget what happened there.

So on the path to my next location, I pondered about what happened and how would I track the missing children with the limited information I had. It was all too much to handle...however, I had to endure and try as hard as I could. Lena would have said the same thing. She told me to follow the instincts of my heart, so that's what I was going to do.

Still within thought, I heard some really loud noises over by the bushes. At first, I thought it was merely forest animals. But focusing more, they were human voices. My curiosity was going to get me killed, but it was bugging the hell out of me.

Going through a series of trees, I arrived behind some bushes and crawled in as the voices were right beyond them. Peaking through, it was some ragged men seemingly parading around. It looked really stupid. I raised an eyebrow, wondering just what in the world they were doing. Looked like they were celebrating...but what? I listened carefully, hearing them each talk consecutively.

“Yaaaa! I feel good. That was a good workout!”

“We scored some big ol' loot! Today must 'ave been our lucky day, boys!”

“'ey! Let go of me cut! I earned this fair and square!”

...What the hell? Just what were they getting so excited over? Did they find some kind of treasure or something? Obviously, it was something great for them to be hoping around like kids. I listened some more...

“Yea. Lately, all we been gettin' is trash from people.”

“Uh-huh! And such a puny and weak village too! It only took six o' us to take care o' the job!”

“Hehehe! Who'd a thought such a small village would have such perdy stuff too!”

“...!”

...THEM?! Impossible, I thought. So these were the bandits that destroyed the village. Their selfish little party and they're obvious choice of words were proof. Fiends! They murdered many people and they're celebrating over it...how inhumane!

I couldn't control myself. There were six of them...I couldn't handle all of them by myself. I probably could barely handle one. The best thing would have been was to just silently slip away and don't cause trouble. But those people...they didn't deserve to die. I swore I'd never forget about them...and my chance to punish the people responsible was right under my nose. At the time, I should have let my feelings go...but I felt it would be cold-hearted to let them go. So I jumped out the bushes with my cold stare and grabbing their undivided attention, clenching my scabbard tightly. Even to this day, I don't know if the decision I made was right or wrong. But it didn't matter. Too late to go back now.

They all stared at me as they stopped moving. I was shaking like crazy all over. What was I getting myself into?

“...Heh. Heh heh heh heh! Look! It's just a lil' runt...”

“Must 'ave missed one durin' the excitement earlier. But eh...it's just a kid. Scram, ya brat!”

I stood there for a few seconds, lost in silence. They didn't even take me seriously, despite me holding a weapon. I wasn't even bothered by that though. I took a glimpse over at the stuff they stole. The thought of it was so wrong...those were possessions of slain villagers. People who were just living their average lives and not inflicting any harm to anyone. Tightening the grip on my Slim Sword's scabbard harder, I locked eyes with the nearest one.

“Y-you...you...” Well...it was definitely too late now. I had already drawn my blade and took small steps closer. “...Do you have any idea how those people felt when you murdered them?!”

A smirk pierced the man's lips. “Yep. Each one I cleaved squirmed like little rats. Ohhh! Painful, ya? Heh heh...”

“...Heartless!”

...and I was off. However, my straightforward attack was parried...easily. His counter even knocked me off my feet and I landed on my back...defenseless. I could hear them all laughing at me, but I could feel the one I attacked getting closer. I looked up, seeing him staring down at my right side. What was he looking at, I wondered.

“'ey...that there looks like a pretty nice-lookin' sword, kid.”

Crap...he caught sight of it. Well, it WAS out in the open. There was no way I could hide a sword like that. But this Wo Dao...Lena entrusted me with it. I swore not to use it until I bettered myself, so I wasn't going to let some brigands take it. I crawled away and he inched closer with every movement. It was then that I tricked him and temporarily blinded him when I tossed a handful of dirt I happened to grab when I clenched the ground. I took that chance to regain my footing and took off within the see of trees. I heard them screaming not to let me get away. I didn't like running like this, but if I couldn't handle one of them, I would have been toasted against all six combined.

So I was gone. Those legs of mine...I didn't even think they could have made me run that fast. Of course, fear played a big role in that. You'd be blazing through this forest too if you had six psychopathic brigands on your hide.

But I managed to lose them for the moment. I was leaning on the back of a tree trunk and took heavy deep breaths. Maybe there was a way out of there without running into any of them. Since I took off with my head clouded in fear, I lost the direction I originally entered from. Not good...but as I tried to assess the situation, I heard something on the opposite side of the tree. When I gazed upwards a bit, a shadowy figure's head peeked out of it. Some light shined in the area momentarily...

“...Boo. Heh heh heh!”

Stupid bandit...! He actually spooked me there. I had no choice but to flee in another random direction as I saw him tailing me. But there was no time to keep looking back. I just had to keep running...!

Lucky, the sun was going completely down and nightfall would arrive within the next ten minutes, at least. It was getting dark and I lost him again. So now I was walking slowly and cautiously until I arrived at a clearing. It would be a bad idea to go out in the open, but seeing as I took off ahead of all of them, they shouldn't be able to see me yet...or so I thought.

As soon as I walked out, I got tackled to the ground by the same bandit I threw dirt in his eyes. They must have gotten ahead of me while I was hiding behind the trees earlier. This man was three times bigger than me and there was no way for me to get out of his hold. He had me pinned and everything. I couldn't even move my sword arm. He gripped my wrists so tightly to where I was forced to release my weapon. Was this the end...?

After a while, he grabbed my ankle and lifted me off the ground along with himself. He started spinning me around briefly before tossing me back in the dirt. So I was defenseless...again.

“Nighty night, kid!” the man smirked as he was about to bring his axe down upon me.

This was just like before with the thief way back. Except...I didn't have it in me to defend against the attack this time. If I did, all that ran through my head was that I could kill him. But I could hear my conscience yelling at me...telling me I took on many tasks and promises already...that it was too early to let this all end right now. I was even reminded of the children I had to find. So I rolled to my side when I barely evaded the axe, then retrieved my sword as I stood there and ready for battle. When we went another round, he was just about to beat me again. Though there was an opening when he missed his last attack, my body...it reacted on it's own when I went for a thrust to his chest.

I stood there in horror like last time. Though I saw exactly everything from the moment I moved my sword to where it pierced his chest and the blood came flying out. But I couldn't look away for some reason. The blood began to cover the entire blade as I was trying to slowly pull it out. But every time I yanked, the man screamed in pain. I happened to drop my scabbard from the other hand and gripped the hilt with both hands, just ripping the blade out his chest to relieve this horrible moment. He fell backwards just like the thief did...it was a shame how the same blade was used to end an enemy the same exact way.

So I stood there, staring at the corpse as I felt bad again. I mean, yeah...he killed an entire village. But what I was going to do was just teach them a painful lesson...not one ending in death. I was still a naïve child back then, so I wouldn't have understood how things worked in life or death situations.

I heard more movement within the bushes and that was a sign to get going. Though I didn't just want to leave the man there...even though it was too late. But for once, I was able to snap myself back into reality and finally decided to start moving. I kept running through the trees and bushes until I made it to yet another clearing...though it was extremely huge this time. I had seemed to have stumbled upon the ruins of yet another devastated village. Who'd of thought Lycia had a village in a forest...but not like it mattered. It looked like it was destroyed years ago. Bandits did it, no less.

Maybe I could hide in one of those buildings until the mess calmed down, but I had to move quickly...as those footsteps grew closer. I couldn't let them see me, otherwise they'd know I'd be in one of the destroyed homes.

So I made haste towards the middle of the town and witnessed a very good hiding spot as I pushed my way through debris. But a good part of the interior still seemed to be in okay shape, so I ducked off behind a huge piece of the ceiling that was smashed into the floor and simply waited. During this, I took a moment to stare at the bloodied blade.

“I-I...stabbed him, didn't I...?” I said quietly to myself with trembling in my voice. I couldn't believe I killed someone...twice. It seemed as though I couldn't really face human opponents in life or death situations. I forced myself to clean the blade, still trembling as I moved it upwards.

Why couldn't I back my words up with appropriate action? That bandit actually deserved something more cruel to happen to him, but it was still the fact that I took a life. It's a precious thing to have...whether are were good or evil. Everyone deserved to live...and I look that away from the brigand. I felt like a murderer. Anyone would say I was just spineless, as this is what soldiers had to do when they serve and protect their masters. They have to kill...so they could all can survive. It was too hard to accept that my action was justified. It just didn't feel that way.

I stopped as I heard the bandits trampling through the destroyed village. I could hear their rage...they knew I killed that man. If they found me, they'd eat me alive. At the time, I didn't know what bandits did. I was so afraid that I earnestly believed they ate people.

As time passed, I was about to peek my head from behind the piece of ceiling until I heard a huge thump in the house! One of the brigands...they were in the same room as I. I could hear him stomping around and tearing things up more to see if he could find me. He then got closer to the piece of ceiling...I could fell my heartbeat so fast as the sweat came falling from my head and dripping from the bottom of my chin. He was getting even closer. I kept my movements silent, as it didn't seem to appear he knew I was there yet.

“Bah! This is a waste o' time...” I heard him yell as he ran out the house from what I heard.

I finally peeked my head out from behind the piece of ceiling about three minutes later just to be on the safe. I could hear them talking outside. I guess they really thought I wasn't there...hearing their voices and movements decline slowly to where I could make them out. They were leaving...thank goodness.

I did a heavy sigh as I slouched over and got in a relaxed position. But given how they could still be within the area around the forest, I figured it wouldn't be wise to leave this place just yet. Though suddenly, I was getting really tired. All the stress from the situation really poof'd me out. Before I knew it, I had drifted off into slumber...not even realizing night had completely fallen.

--

“...Ahhh?!”

When I had finally woke up, I could see light beaming through the destroyed portion of the home. Was it morning all ready? I couldn't believe I slept in that long until night had passed over. When I retrieved my sword, I went storming outside to see if I was in the clear. I searched around as best as I could, trying to be sure none were still here to sneak me. I didn't really understand the general intelligence level of a brigand at the time, so I had to be extremely careful.

Several minutes later and the natural air of the area returned to a dead zone. So it was over. Revenge wasn't even on my mind anymore, seeing as the life I took was more than enough. I didn't want five more bodies piled on me, even if I didn't have the general power to do something like that. But I stared at the morning sky, trying to warm my insides with a gentle breeze. Now this must be normal Lycian weather. I could almost let my worries drift away, but that didn't mean they stopped haunted me. I know what I did and I still felt guilty about it. But I finally came to that realization I had striven for as I replayed that moment of the bandit's death...perhaps the breeze was helping. But if I had to fight to the point where I have to take lives, then I had no choice but to get used to it. From what I heard, brigands are all over the place. I know Sacae was plagued with them, despite not seeing much of them myself.

But in the end, this was just a part of facing reality and growing up. It was a tough struggle I could foretell, but one day...when I'm old enough...I'll fight without hesitation, I thought. But only time will tell...will these wounds truly heal at all?

[Deleted]

Bloody Snow

[Now takes place a year before Veigue's entry into the RP]

Man...did seven years really pass? Time sure does fly when you're just aimlessly traveling around. But it wasn't a dream or anything. I was still alive and breathing. Nothing didn't change though, other than me hitting a growth spur at a retardedly fast rate. But at this point, my teenage years was way over and my drastic appearance change was years ago after my encounter with those bandits...I physically became a man without really noticing it, but did I really grow on the inside too? I had plenty of skirmishes with brigands and troublemakers on my journey...which meant more blood was spilled. The lives I took to survive...their blood still remained. You can wash it away all you want, but it'll always cover you. Though now, I've fought so much to survive to the point where I didn't find myself hesitating in the slightest anymore when I have to swing my blade. While that was particularly a good thing, I still struggled on the inside. I guess those feelings will never go away.

But now I found myself wandering into Ilia after leaving a border town many hours ago. It was my first time in Ilia though. It's a good thing that a couple of years back, I got a jacket to both keep myself warm and to kind of conceal myself...as I've seen the looks of disgust I've received on this journey. People could tell right off the bat that I was a Sacaean from my clothes. Of course, when people hired me for my sword, they didn't discriminate then. Mercenary work was something I picked up on my journey to help have something in my pocket, as well as keeping my belly full.

So now I finally managed to reach a town. As I strolled on through, it seemed as though the condition Ilia was in turned out to be true. The harsh weather was making it pretty tough for Ilian citizens to live. The border town didn't look any different from there either, except it smaller than that town.

Before I could take another step, a girl cleanly bumped into me. With me being bigger, I didn't flinch...but she fell down hard. As I tried to help her up, she slapped my hand out of the way and marched off with a frown. The little brat. I could see someone wasn't taught manners. I didn't even get two steps out before getting hit by another kid. Though it was a boy. At least he had the courtesy to face me.

“Ahh...I'm sorry, mister. I...have to go. See ya! Heeeey! Don't leave me behind, Sasha!” he screamed before running off with her to another part of the town.

While I tried to ignore them, that name...Sasha. A few more seconds and it finally clicked in my mind. Could those children really be the two missing that I've been looking for? It had been seven years and on a cold trail. I had no leads. Of course, the descriptions their father provided was way outdated...for if his kids were still alive, they would have outgrown those appearances. But...it wasn't something I could ignore. Those two did fit the age range I fit the missing children in at this date, as the man implied they both were a year apart from each other, the girl being the oldest, four years old at the time of their disappearance. I didn't take a good look at the suspected child that passed by, but she definitely looked around eleven. Only thing that was left was to question them...but they were long gone. I figured I'd run into them again, so I decided to go and get something hot to drink to warm my body up. There was a pub conveniently near. It's a good thing liquor wasn't the only thing they served, as I never touched a drop of that stuff. I hope I never pick up that habit though...

--

So I sat there, leaning in my seat as I enjoyed my hot tea. I was thinking it was good to get a give my legs a nice break. I have been putting them through hell with all the traveling and work. I'm surprised they hadn't given out on me. Guess that was the result of building up some heavy endurance while never staying still.

As I sipped on my tea, I could hear two idiots speaking with each other at the table behind me. I wasn't really trying to hear their conversation, but something one of them said disturbed me greatly...he had said some man nicknaming himself “The Slasher” with a sword as red as blood was going on a bloody rampage, killing random people for no apparent reason and slipping away quickly afterward was reeking havoc in small towns in both Ilia and Lycia. I guessed with him being a slippery serial killer, the authorities couldn't catch him. But he didn't sound like someone I would want to come across. If there was one thing I was taught on this journey, it was to not go jumping ahead and trying to play hero aimlessly. This man seemed to be a professional, yet psychopathic killer. While my skill with the blade had greatly improved compared to my child/teen years, a man like that would tear me to shreds. But if he was killing for no reason...then our paths would cross one way or another.

I was growing bored of their talk after that, as it led to other rumors and pointless chatter that I had no business listening to. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop after all. That drink hit the spot perfectly after my second glass, so I decided to up and leave.

Before I could leave, some drunk guy placed his hand on my shoulder. I just stood there, ignoring everything he was saying. I really didn't care. But then his drunk talk led to him showing his true colors: He had his eye on me from the moment I walked in. People like him checked others out to see if they had nice-looking things on them. I was one of his next 'victims' so to speak, as my family's sword was his attraction. That was the main reason people tried to attack me. Greed leads to stupid situations and this instance was one of them.

Then here came the fist flying at me. I saw it coming a mile away, so I swiftly evaded it and released my Slim Sword from it's side, smacking the man as hard as I could on the side of his face with my scabbard. I did one quick draw of the blade and immediately clicked it back in, cutting the man on the arm within that single instant. I then exited the pub as he fell to the floor in pain. That's how most situations went. They attack, fail horribly, then I'm forced to hurt them. When people seek to harm you for your possessions, you had no choice but to do more than 'fight back'. If I had been passive and let him off with a bruise on the face, then he would have attacked again with lethal intent. You had to place fear into people to get them to leave you alone.

So now out the pub I went. Now it was time to find those kids I saw. For the time I was in the pub, they should have been all over the place by then. I searched around, but nothing. I had hoped they weren't traveling around either. If they didn't live here, then they may have left completely. But after a while, I saw some commotion was about to build near the town's entrance. It looked serious. I was going to leave it to the town's protectors, but...when I came here, this town was completely defenseless. If something was going down, I figured they would need my help.

As I arrived, people seemed to be running away now. Yeah, at that point...I had a really bad feeling about taking another step. I had a pain in my head for a split second. I could tell this was bad if my head was even trying to say it had an ill feeling about what lied ahead. I kept my sheathed sword gripped tightly, as I decided to keep walking regardless. If people were running, then no one most likely isn't doing something...or not doing a good job with handling the situation.

Then I witnessed the horror as I was outside the town completely. Two men who seemed to be fighters keeled over and in a pool of their own blood that even the snow hadn't even completely absorbed yet. By this time, the townsfolk had fled back in town and I witnessed two individuals trying to attack those two children from earlier. I didn't know who they were, but I wasn't going to allow them to hurt those kids. I dashed in quickly and parried the odd-looking sword of the man trying to attack the girl, who fell in the snow.

“...Eh? Hey! Get outta my way, man!” the man exclaimed. “I'll SLICE you later. I gotta SLICE these kids first!”

It was really...creepy. Every time he said 'slice', his eye twitched strangely. After letting each other go and giving some breathing room, I shielded the girl as I gestured her and the boy to get away. I stared at the man and his weapon...it was a Killing Edge, though it looked like old blood covered it to the point where it was stained like a natural color. Who was he...?

Before I could say anything, I heard footsteps from behind. More people from the town seemingly trying to join the fight. The man came charging at me first, so I defended myself accordingly. Though the five fighters from the town got closer and I distanced myself as quickly as possible to let them in. It was five against one, as the individual with the sword fighter wasn't fighting at all. That one distance himself as well when the men came charging like bulls. This man should have been taken down with without much of a sweat...or so I thought.

He was making a fool out of those men. He was taking them out one by one swiftly and with general ease as he yelled, “...SSSSSSSLIIIIIICE! Hah hah hah! Slice, slice, slice!!” sadistically with every killing stroke. That twisted smile on his face during the fight sent chills down my spine as the blood of the fighters went flying everywhere. Was he even human? Or better question...was he even sane? I had never seen anyone make a face like that in my live and act so strangely.

After he literally slaughtered all of the men, he kept poking one of the dead bodies with his sword as he stared at the children with his still insane smile and blood covering him. They both were terrified, holding onto each other as the man stopped poking the body and walked slowly towards them. But he must have forgotten I was still there.

He was getting closer to the children though, so I had to swoop in and get them out of the way. With the idea in mind, I rushed over as I sheathed my sword and placed it back on my waistband. Before he could attack, I went in as planned and grabbed both of the children, but I received a wound on my arm from a strike from his sword in the process. His smiled turned to a frown as he pointed his sword at our direction when I distanced myself again with the children still in hold.

“Arrrrrggh! You little bastard! Stop getting in my way! I TOLD you I was going to SLICE you later! Don't make me perform unscheduled SLICING like I had to do to those fine, dead gentlemen over there...It leaves me unprepared, as I can't think of good SLICING styles and performances on the spot, you know!” He was getting all fired up.

“...What the hell's wrong you?! Stop this nonsense!” I couldn't take this anymore. Something was clearly wrong with that man.

But then it hit me. Meaningless killing...blood-red sword...he was the one. He was that infamous “Slasher” I heard about. He just had to be! No wonder everyone that ran at him died a crude and painful death with ease from him. I had picked a bad time to run into him...and right after just learning he existed! But I couldn't just run. Those kids were at the wrong place at the wrong time, ending up being the next ones on this serial killer's list of his random killing spree. It was a battle I was locked in, as from the sound of it...I was right behind the kids on the list if he managed to get them from me.

So he then came running like a madman towards me. He attacked me with every movement as I kept evading him while trying to keep the kids out of danger. His attacks were just crazy and wide of range...not to mention he was fast as heck with them. This game of cat and mouse continued for minutes on until I purposely fell down in the snow and crawled away from him. With the kids nearly frozen with fear, it was easy to move around with them without having them try to break free or anything.

But now, I got a head start and tried to get as far away from that psycho as possible to put them down in a safe distance and try to hold this guy off until they could run away and out of sight. At this point, it seemed like I had no choice but to go to a death match with the guy. But as I ran, that person from earlier sneaked up on me and rammed into me hard as he quickly scooped up the kids and ran off to another distance. The crazy man shouted out from a distance with his usual smile.

“Nice one Jack, my man! Keep those kids for me...I'll SLICE 'em later!”

With a nod, the man stormed off quickly before I could recover from the ground. But when I did, the other one was coming closer until he was a few meters away. He rested his blade on his shoulder while maintaining that smile.

“With you breaking this much of a sweat for those kids, it'll be so much more enjoyable to tear them to nice little red ribbons after rightfully earning to do so. You're my obstacle in receiving my gift...and you ain't half bad with that sword of yours, huh?! Another swordsman I can SLICE before getting my prize! Wooooo yeeeeah!” he said as he kept moving and twitching around.

I gritted my teeth out of frustration and annoyance at this guy. What purpose was there to kill people like that? Did something happen to him that caused his mind to snap and just start killing people left and right? I didn't know, but I refused to get cut down so easily without a fight. But the thought of him just going up to a random person and killing them for no reason...it was inhumane. This guy was worse than bandits!...not saying that was a good thing. They killed due to greed. This guy was killing just for the hell of it. I wasn't going to tolerate that kind of behavior. If no one else could catch this guy, then it might as well have been me, even if I was biting on more than I could chew here...But from the sound of it, at least the kids wouldn't be harmed...for now. I had to keep an eye on the other guy though.

So now, it was personal. “...I've had enough! You're insane! Don't you find this wanton violence unnecessary? I questioned fiercely as I clenched my fists.

“Nope! I'm Walter Slasher! I named myself after SLICING, you see! SLICING'S in my blood, man! It's a SPORT! My partner over there is Jack Blaster! He doesn't SLICE, but that magic of his is BLASTING! Though he's just watching my killings so he could one day be a famous BLASTER with STYLE!” as he twitched his eyes constantly again and laughed maniacally, he licked a small portion of blood off his sword before looking at me again. “Say, I know you've got a name, man! What is it? I wanna know the name of the swordsman I'm about to SLICE!”

I stood there, still having my fist clenched and silent as the cold breeze blew on through. I was thinking that was something else wrong with him. Killing as a sport? Thank god there weren't more people like him...at least that's what I would have liked to think anyway. But this madness was definitely something I couldn't let go. I clenched my jacket as I took it off and thrown it to the side. This fight wasn't going to be easy at all, so I had to go all out from the start.

...And the final battle begins!

“...You want my name? Fine. I'm Veigue Magnus, a swordsman of Sacae. Walter...blood will fall on your blade no more! You won't be seeing your days of killing anymore, as the only red you'll see is the fiery flames of hell!!” I wasn't fond of giving my last name to anyone, considering how my father didn't treat me like a Magnus at all. But I decided to let that one slide.

“Oooooh! I like the sound of that! Come on then, Veigue! You're just making your own blood more satisfying for my sword!” he taunted.

This man was beyond redemption. No amount of normal punishment was going to make him realize the error of his ways. The only way he'd see it...was through death. As I laid my hand on the hilt of my sword, I was thinking how this helped me realize what I had to do when fighting a battle that could result in my opponent's death. Their actions...their reasons for their violence...it all had to be judged accordingly. If you took life willingly and without regret, then you deserved no mercy if you weren't going to show any at all for others. Punishment has it's limit...but even death itself can't reach said limit. However, it was the highest level of punishment available that's required for people like Walter...and he was going to experience it full-on!

No more words. All it was time to do was fight, so we clashed blades in this pointless conflict. But Walter had to die here, so no more could fall to his madness. But gosh, was he fast with those sword strokes...even faster than mine! He wasn't the Slasher for nothing, I suppose. But I was at least able to keep up with his speed to where I wouldn't let him get an opening. A single strong blow from that Killing Edge of his would end me for sure.

But then it started getting bad. When he parried one of my attacks, he cut me pretty badly on my other arm. I wasn't going to let that wound stop me, even if it was going to be a hindrance later. I had to keep fighting, despite me bleeding in the process. The lives of many more and especially those children were on the line.

So then we traded blows again. It was so hard to get an opening on this guy! His attack patterns had no specific rhythm and he was really unpredictable. Being able to take on the agile movement of the Magnus Style and block all of it's weak point-focused attacks with ease was both an impressive feat and a scary thing as well. But it all came down to speed in the end. If my opponent was way faster than me, then I was at an extreme disadvantage...which was the case in this fight. Soon after, he sneaked pass me fast enough and inflicted a wound on my back with an upwards strike. The attack sent me flying off my feet and about several yards away from him due to hitting the snow and rolling around in it. While the cold of the ground was helping my back wound, it also stung like hell...so I leaped up.

At this point, I was bleeding in several places, just realizing that I had received wounds I didn't even know I had. I was nearly about to keel over from all the blood loss. I was getting weaker...and this psycho was getting stronger off of my suffering. He didn't seem to tire at all as he walked slowly towards me with that same sadistic smile that's now engraved in my mind even to this very day. I could never forget that look. Ever.

But it was over. I failed. In my condition, I wouldn't be able to maneuver around like I could earlier, as my legs received some injures too...and I really needed to depend on moving fast to get away from that guy's crazy attacks. It felt so pointless to keep struggling, so I fell down to my knee in pain as I dropped my scabbard and clenched my arm. I could see my own blood falling to the snow as he was getting closer to me. But the thought of me giving up like this...it was hilarious. I was feeling cold, like all shed of hope escaped me. However, something began to warm me up from within. I couldn't put my finger on it, but just as the shadow of the man was closing in, I could feel my fighting spirit burning quickly.

“It's...not over yet! I rose to my feet as I gripped the hilt of my sword with both hands and giving Walter the look of determination. “...I'd rather...die with a sword in my hand than kneel down like a quitter...and I'm NOT giving up. Walter, prepare!”

So I started a sprint to catch him off guard the moment he prepared for an attack. When we both met, I swung forth horizontally while he brought his blade down. But I got him good near the torso, delivering a large cut on his side...However, he got me too. At least he missed a vital point this time. I ended up falling down forward in the snow anyway and Walter fell down as well. It was way too hard to get up for the moment, so I stayed down for a good while before forcing myself up and dragging myself near Walter, who was turned over on his back and giggling in pain. As I held my arm, I pointed my sword at him while he was down.

“...Hehe...Heh heh heh! That was...soooo fun...the best S...SLICING...I've had yet. So fun, Veigue...we've got to...do it again. Come on...! Let's SLICE some more, b-buddyyyy...hah hah hah!”

“You...pitiful fool. You're dying and all you're thinking about is killing some more...” I kept my tip pointed at him as I clenched my teeth. “Why...why are you so obsessed with tormenting people?”

But after that, I saw tears falling from his eyes, accompanied by his constant laughter. “S-SLICING'S...all I have! Without it, I'm nothing...just like my old 'friends' said. I'm nothing...empty! So I SLICED them...to pieces. To prove to them that I can do something! I had nothing...and if I could kill people just as good as I ripped my friends to pieces, then I found my purpose. I have to kill...kill...kill...and keep on killing! Veigue...allow me...to kill you! I want more blood on this sword...!”

Loneliness...I could empathize with him a bit as I frowned. I didn't have a soul I could depend on other than my sister, but god knows where she was at the moment. I'm alone in this world, not a single person to rely on. But...what Walter had done was wrong.

“Walter...there were other options. You don't need to kill people to feel special. There's no way you deserve a second chance, as you've done too much harm to this world. But now's the time to actually feel for the people you've taken from this world. What you've done to people is what you've just experienced what happened to you just now. When they were killed by you...you robbed them of their future...just as I robbed you of yours. Do you feel the pain? Take it in...and at least try to beg for forgiveness so you can rest in peace. It's not too late!”

“...N-no! I need to SLICE! It's my LIFE! You'll never understand, Veigue! Never! I'll slice you and EVERYONE IN THE WORLD! Hah hah hah hah!!” and with that, he got up, despite his wound and tried to finish me.

But I was forced to thrust my sword through him. It was the only way to relieve us both from this situation. “...Do it in hell.” I released my blade as I allowed him to fall back in the snow as a lifeless corpse.

It was a sad end for him...but it had to be done. If I didn't do it, then not only was he going to make others lives miserable, but he would have further made his own full of misery and sadness.

As I wiped the blood from my sword and sheathed it, I noticed my jacket had flew pass me and I grabbed it immediately. After putting it back on to relieve myself of the cold, I had to cope with my wounds for now, as I shifted my gazed over to the man Walter called Jack...who was staring at me with fright in his eyes. The guy hadn't said a single word since this whole thing began. I wondered what his relationship with Walter was, seeing as he was partnered with him. I was going to demand that he released the children, but he had already did the moment I looked over to him. They both had came running over towards me and Jack just slowly walked over until he grabbed Walter's body and gave me another stare before going off into a random direction. I presumed he was going to bury him of course. But at this point, it was all over and I didn't need to concern myself towards the entire thing anymore. It was already painful enough to look back on the whole situation.

As I checked to see if the kids were okay, it finally came to me to ask them who they really were. “...Are you two Sasha and Sean?”

They both looked extremely surprised. Yeah, this was definitely them. They wondered how I knew them and I reached deeper in my possession until I found the two charms their father entrusted to me. I asked if they looked familiar and they said they belonged to their mother when she left home and never returned. She most likely died on her journey. The story of loss in the family was all too reoccurring in this world. It was just too much of a saddening thing, especially when I had to tell them their father was gone as well. I gave them a moment to mourn.

After a while, I had to interrupt the moment. “...What are you two going to do now? You're welcome to travel with me until you find out where you want to go...or what you want to do with yourselves. I've...lost my parents too. I know how it feels, so you need to choose carefully on how you want to move on. But take your time. Rash decisions could end disastrous.”

They both fell silent after I spoke, but I could tell they were all ears. So if they weren't going to say anything, then I figured I'd give them more words to help. “Don't forget that this is only the beginning. You need to live on for your parents. The road ahead is a rocky one, but you have to walk through it with courage in your heart and pursue a new purpose. Whether it's to find your place in this world, or simply just live in it. There is no right or wrong, so you have all of your time as children to figure out what it is that you must do...and the rest of your live as a man and woman to figure out how you'll do it. I know it hurts right now, but that pain your feeling is part of what you have to endure. Don't let it consume you whole.”

I don't know how well my words reached them, but they needed to know that. Other than what I said being for them, that was also directed at myself. I still needed to figure out how I'll fulfill my goals and here I stand now, still unsure. I still feel the same, alone and no sense of direction in my path. But as long as I have the dedication to seeing those goals met, then I just had to push on through...so I hoped that those two kids could handle what the world has in store for them as well, whenever they found out what that is.

So moments later came and they both told me they wanted to stay with me until we were out of Ilia. With my injures, I wasn't leaving anytime soon, so by the time we would leave this place...their minds should be made up. I was completely fine with that and respected their decision. I could see the fire burning in their eyes.

So now, all I can do is live and keep on fighting. My dreams will come true one of these days...sooner or later. I just had to prevent myself from dying. Wandering around aimlessly won't get me anywhere, but until I find out what I need to do, that was all I could do beforehand. Everyone has to start somewhere.

But I refuse to let the fire burn out in my heart. I will be victorious and I'll give it everything I have!

Fin...