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Condemned To Death
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11th September, 1507
“Finally, I’m free” One of the teenagers exclaimed as he took in the fresh cold air of the mountain.
“This might have been the most stressful day of my life yet”
“No kidding I just want to jump into my bed and forget about everything”
All the youths had similar comments as they made their way out of the mansion and into the bathing sunlight of the sunset in the distance.
The scenery was extremely beautiful since the village was on the mountain so you could see the giant river at the base with small dots of shining lights coming from the commoner’s households near the river.
Once everyone had gathered at the front gate of the mansion, Elara walked forward in front of the youngsters with elders walking behind him.
Elara announced in a loud and authoritative voice “Those of you who now have the qualifications to become a Lexarch will head to the Academy tomorrow at 8 am which is on the north side of the Chimera Vale’s first peak”.
Then Elara’s voice turned dark and sinister as he said “One word of advice for those who failed the Rite, DO. NOT. GO. TO. THE. ACADEMY. If you do decide to sneak in, there will be harsh consequences”.
With a smile then he said in a light tone, “Have a nice day”.
...
As Seren was getting ready to leave, someone tugged on his right sleeve and when he turned around, he saw Susie standing there, her face red, fists clenched tight from anxiety, and she appeared visibly smaller like a mouse.
“Is there something wrong?” Seren asked with an expressionless face.
“I-I don’t have any money to stay at a place and as you know it's hard for a commoner to live in the upper village where Lexarchs typically reside. If it's not too much to ask, I was hoping you could let me stay at your place for a few days. I promise to pay you back after I become an official Lexarch.”
It took everything Susie had to bring herself to ask Seren for this favor since she didn’t have any friends ever since she came to the upper village and Seren was her first proper friend in over a year.
Seren observed Susie for a second who was too embarrassed to look him in the eye and then he said, “You shouldn’t trust someone you just met a few hours ago so easily. What if I do something to you during your sleep?”
Susie didn’t say anything as she just stood still there in front of him.
Seren thought for a moment and then let out a sigh as he said, “Fine”.
“Thank you...” Susie replied meekly.
Seren started heading down the street towards his home and Susie followed behind. On the way there, most shops had been closed and few people were on the streets. Most of the people that live in the upper village are either merchants, business owners, or Lexarchs, with the majority of the population being human guards or servants belonging to a Lexarch family.
After walking for 20 minutes, taking some turns and twists here and there, Seren and Susie finally reached their destination. Seren’s residence was a bit run down but still in relatively good shape and outside the front door of the house was the house name that said ‘86 Ruinside Row’.
Seren opened the door and was greeted by a hallway that had a door to the left and another to the right and at the end of the hallway was a flat of stairs that led upstairs.
“Other than me, 2 other families are living here. The landlord’s family lives upstairs and to the opposite of us lives a family of a servant of some Lexarch family. If you want to take a shower or go to the washroom then you will have to go to 80 Ruinside Street which has a free public washroom and a shower there” Seren introduced.
Susie, who was standing behind Seren didn’t say anything and only nodded. After they entered Seren’s room, Susie saw that other than a small table that had a candle on it and a blanket with holes in them, the room was completely empty.
Susie didn’t seem surprised at the lack of things in Seren’s room because in her mind Seren appeared to be a minimalist who only had things that he absolutely needed for everyday use.
Seren took the single blanket sheet he had and gave it to Susie as he said, “Use it for the night and I will be sleeping in that corner over there” he pointed to a dark corner in the small room.
Susie appeared conflicted because Seren only had 1 blanket and he had given it to her. She was also worried that Seren would get cold in the night, so she tried to hand it back, but Seren refused her and went to sleep in his spot.
“Goodnight,” Seren said with a yawn before promptly falling asleep.
Susie just stood there in her spot without saying anything as she stared at Seren’s back who was lying down with his eyes closed.
She then laid down in the corner opposite of Seren and put the blanket over herself as she tried to fall asleep.
As the crickets sang softly in the night, the room shimmered in the light of the blue moon. Just as Susie was trying to sleep, she caught Seren’s scent lingering in the blanket. She tried pushing away any odd thoughts, but she couldn't help but be carried away by the comforting fragrance, lost in the moment.
While Seren on the hand was thinking of what his next course of action was going to be with his relationship with Susie.
Did Seren really care about Susie and decide to be kind and let her stay in his room while showing subtle acts of kindness by giving her his only blanket? No, that was far from it, Seren had only decided to make contact with Susie because she was an ethereal grade, received a gift from the Luminar tree and she also didn’t belong to any Lexarch family.
In his eyes, Susie could prove to be very useful in the future if she was nurtured properly that her strength was enough to accompany him after he was done with Chimera Vale, and that she was loyal to Seren. If she didn’t meet his expectations, then he could simply abandon her when she was no longer needed.
It was also easy for Seren to start building trust with her since she had an injury and Seren had a way to reattach her arm.
‘I could attempt to include her among the six individuals called the 'Fallens' whom ‘He’ said to bring with me’.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
After thinking for a while, Seren slowly drifted off into sleep.
...
Seren opened his eyes, and then suddenly found that the world around him appeared fuzzy. He looked at his hands, watching as they changed shape and distorted of their own accord. It didn't take long for him to realize he was dreaming. This was a regular occurrence for him; Seren almost always experienced lucid dreams where he was acutely aware of everything happening.
A light smile played across Seren's lips. He knew that dreams were perfect for self-reflection, offering a unique window into what his subconscious thoughts and feelings were.
Focusing his mind, Seren willed the blurry surroundings to sharpen. Slowly but surely, the scene before him began to unfold with increasing clarity, like a photograph developing in real-time. He saw a abandoned warehouse looming in the darkness, its walls rusted and lit up dimly by the half-moon in the night sky. The scene then changed and he saw himself, standing with his sword dripping with fresh blood, over the kneeling figure of Perseus. The old man's silver hair was matted with sweat and grime, his once-imposing frame now bent with age and the weight of his wounds.
Seren realized this was a scene from one of his past lives.
Perseus was a man who embodied honor, dignity, and pride in every aspect of his life. For decades, he had served the people of his country tirelessly, always striving to do what was right, even when the path was unclear or fraught with danger. To the world, he was a respected figure, a pillar of the community whose integrity was beyond question.
But to Seren in that life, Perseus was so much more. He was a teacher, yes, but also a mentor, a guide, and the closest thing to a father that Seren had ever known in that lifetime. Perseus had found Seren when he was just a lost boy on the streets and decided to take him in on a whim.
Over the years, Perseus had shaped Seren, molding him not just into a skilled operative, but into a man who understood the weight of responsibility and the complexity of morality.
But things took a turn for the worse when Perseus betrayed the righteous path and suddenly started rebelling against the nation that had fed him. Seren, at the time, did not understand why his mentor was doing this. Seren abandoned his whole life and always chased after Perseus, trying to persuade him to return to the path of righteousness, but Perseus never budged. Their encounters always ended with Seren running away, unable to bring himself to fight the man who had been his guide and protector.
*Cough Cough
Perseus coughed violently, blood spilling on the floor as he looked up at Seren, his eyes clear despite the pain etched on his face. "So, it's come to this," he said in a weak but steady voice.
Seren tightened his grip on the sword, his knuckles white with tension. He had been prepared for this moment, or so he thought. But now, faced with the reality of it, he felt a wave of uncertainty wash over him.
Perseus coughed again, a wry smile playing on his lips despite the pain. "You're still young, Seren. You see things in black and white, in terms of mission objectives and collateral damage. But this path we walk... it's more complex than that. It's about understanding the world in all its shades of grey."
"I don't understand. What do you mean 'we'" Seren replied, his grip on the sword loosening slightly.
Perseus's eyes seemed to look into the distance as if seeing something beyond Seren. "You have always fascinated me, Seren. You had neither talent, nor the skills to stand up and somehow you were always the first to serve justice when other faltered. Always coming back alive from the jaws of death but... Seren, tell me, who are you really?"
Seren's heart shook, his eyes widened a bit as they observed the old man in of them.
"...No matter, you haven't told this old man your whole life, I don't expect you to do it now. But, now that I'm nearing the end, I can tell, that all those miracles you made in your lifetime, you weren't the one who caused them, it was something else, something far more otherworldly and incomprehensible"
Perseus's voice grew softer, but more intense. "You know, I once saw a man whose fields were deliberately set ablaze by his neighbor, destroying his livelihood. Yet, when the culprit came begging forgiveness, Do you know what the farmer did?"
Seren's brow furrowed, confusion mixing with the turmoil in his eyes. This was not what he had expected from a dying man's last words.
"The farmer embraced him and said, 'We shall replant together.' Their shared labor healed more than the scorched earth, all because the farmer forgave him." Perseus laughed lightly in a pained voice, not sure if he was laughing at himself or the foolish farmer who decided to forgive.
"Then there was this woman" Perseus went on, "Whose child was killed by a reckless charioteer. At the trial, she looked into the driver's anguished eyes and spoke of mercy, not vengeance. Her forgiveness lifted a weight from both their hearts."
Seren found himself lowering his sword slightly. He had expected anger, perhaps defiance. But this... this was something else entirely.
A cough wracked Perseus's body, blood speckling his lips. But he pressed on, his gaze never leaving Seren's face. "And I witnessed a slave forgive the master who had brutalized him for years. As the master lay dying, wracked with guilt, the slave tended to him with gentleness, saying, 'I free you from your cruelty, as I free myself from my anger.'"
Suddenly then out of nowhere, Perseus's composure started crumbling. Tears streamed down his weathered cheeks as he grasped quickly Seren's hand.
"Forgive me!" he yelled, desperation coloring his cracked voice.
Seren's hand trembled at Perseus's words as he went on, "Please, please forgive me" his voice breaking, "I know I messed up, I know..."
Perseus's body shook with sobs. "All those lives... changed forever by my actions. I didn't stop to question, I didn't stop to think. Forgive me, please... let my soul find peace."
Through his sniffles he mumbled, "...Please don't turn 'Your' face from me".
Seren's heart fell into trepidation because he could tell, Perseus wasn't saying these words to him, he was saying them to the entity he felt through him.
'No! No! No! No!' Seren was starting to lose control of his thoughts.
Perseus then looked up, his eyes lost and blood red from the tears as he asked in a trembling, "Seren... will I be forgiven?"
Seren didn't say anything as he stood there like a statue, Perseus staring at him expecting an answer. In Seren mind, something entirely different was going on.
'This can't be Perseus. This can't be Perseus. This can't be Perseus. This can't be Perseus. This can't be Perseus. This can't be Perseus. This can't be Perseus.'
Seren's real consciousness watched the dream of his past apathetically as Perseus asked him again and again, "Seren, will I be forgiven? Seren, will I be forgiven? Seren, will I be forgiven?" While he didn't respond to his last words. At the time, Seren's image of Perseus had already been at a breaking point, but he had always respected his strength, clinging to it like a flickering candle in a dark tunnel. Then, that image came crashing down when he saw the weak and feeble man in front of him called 'Perseus' desperately begging for forgiveness. He could not accept such an outcome, denying the sight before him—watching as his mentor and father figure in this life slowly bled to death at his feet.
Seren didn't move for a whole a day as he stood in the shed, his dead gaze still lingering on the rotting corpse of Perseus beneath his feet as sunlight slowly started pouring in.
The dream then ended, but Seren consciousness still remained. Not a single thought echoed through his mind as he stayed in the eternal darkness within the confines of his mind.
...
The next day Seren and Susie were walking on a dirt path in the middle of a forest. Seren noticed how tired Susie looked and had bags under her. Seren asked with a hint of concern in his voice, “Were you not able to fall asleep last night?”.
“No, I just stayed up late thinking about Realms Rite and what life is going to be like after I become a Lexarch” Susie replied with some tiredness in her voice.
“Don’t think too much about the things you can’t control, it's bad for your health” Seren advised sincerely.
Susie smiled lightly and nodded her head, looking down as she walked.
Seren on the other hand was thinking of something else.
'I wish someone had said this to me back then as well, 'Don't think too much.' If only I had heard those words, maybe... I could have spared myself from the insanity that ensued after that life'
Susie walked silently with a light smile on her face, completely oblivious to the thoughts and emotions churning behind Seren's words.
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Condemned To Death
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