The darkness of Yuri's eyelids was being infiltrated by rays of light, he opened his eyes slowly as the light of the sun filtered through the window into the room, he looked around surprised to have woken up in his bed then looked at the bed on the other side of the room where Arthur was sleeping peacefully laid on his back without his armor on, this was one of the few times Arthur let his guard down at all, even while sleeping.

"Thank you, Arthur." For the first time in a while Yuri felt somewhat content with his situation and like he could be happy, or at least not feel like the whole world was against him.

The day of the parade.... a.k.a three days before the princesses birthday.

Yuri had spent most of his day learning the language while resting properly during the night being force by Arthur to sleep at least ten hours since according to him a a young body and mind need much more rest in order to develop properly in the future, then during the day from sunrise until sunset the boy had Elric teach him a bit about basics of literature, he had learned how to read basic and important words and sentances alike, but he still had ways to go, writing however was a whole other burden that Yuri felt far too overwhelmed to even start even though the old man kept reminding him of THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE with every chance he got.

Although Yuri wanted to train physically too, Arthur did nott let him as there was nowhere to train, the streets were busy of civilians minding their business and guards who would arrest him if they were to see him using magic or fighting, as for the alleys, they were full of less than desirable individuals to encounter so he had no choice but to give up and live the hermit life for a few days until they left the city.

.....

"What a pain in the ass." Yuri was trying to read a book for children his age however he felt annoyed since he barely understood any of it as most words looked like ua scramble of letters to him, barely piecing them together from time to time.

"Now now Yuri, you mustn't underestimate the power of knowledge and the many paths it may open up for you in the future, you may not realize it now but you will understand the reason for my strict teachings in the future." Said Elric, the blind old porcupine demi-human, in his usual collected stoic voice.

The annoyed boy closed the book with a satisfying thud and laid it on the wooden table in front of him before pivoting in his chair a bit to face the demi-human. "By the way old man, how come you don't have a last name? You taught nobles and rich people with last names before the war, right?"

A soft chuckle escaped Elric's mouth. "Well, that's because like you and most others I was born of commoner descent, I just happened to have much more talent for reading and writing than others, you see, when I was young, around 15 or 16 I left my home to go to a big trading port city that was near my village, I joined the church for a bit where I managed to show off my talent and thanks to making a bit of a reputation for myself in return landed a few tutoring jobs here and there, hell I even seduced a few noble ladies that I was teaching whilst in my youth."

"I see, you must have been very smart then, by the way..... when my mother read me stories she mentioned ports being next to giant lakes named oceans that were so big that they would go beyond the horizon and that they were filled with many giant scary creatures, is that true?"

Before the conversation between the two could continue a mysterious pair of people entered the almost desolated inn, however Yuri and old man Elric seemed to have expected the entrance of the duo as they stepped into the light, it was M'Ur and Arthur, they seemed happy.

The two men walked over to the boy's table and leaned on it. "Well, y'all ready to go?" M'Ur said.

Yuri nodded excitedly while Elric just made as simple hum of approval before sitting up, the four men..... three men and a boy walked out of the inn, leaving the place almost deserted except the barmaid who seemed like she was ready to close up shop too, after all, nobody wanted to miss the big event.

The grand parade before the birthday of the eldest daughter of the King of Fang, Xavier Abawi also known as the Lord of Brawls and the Queen of Fang Husnyia Abawi who earned the title of the Mistress of Technique during the war, the two were not only royalty but also known for they're close combat capabilities and destructive hand to hand fighting styles but don't sell the other royal families short, they're monsters in their own ways too, the humans for their cunning and tenacious nature and the elves for they're insane mana pools and the ability to talk to nymphs.

The existence of nymphs and they're origins was still much of a mystery to most as while yes they were bound by the rules of nature, they would only live in mana rich zones, be it forests, deserts or bodies of water... and due to they're sly nature they tend to be quite playful often pulling off pranks on people who travel through these areas, while others can interact with them unless you are of elf descent you cannot understand them though they can, nobody knows the reason, it's as if it were another rule of nature in itself.

As for they're origins, well Yuri hasn't learned about that yet.

While traveling through the giant city the child's crimson eyes scouted each detail of the capital curiously, he had barely seen any of it since he came here, as he looked around he noticed just how much the black material the walls of he city was used for most things, he approached Elric and now walked side by side with him.

"By the way old man, what's the city made of? I know the huts are wood and stuff but what's the black rocks they use here? I even saw them outline the soldiers' armors like metal but they also use them for building houses and counters and stuff."

Elric was walking at a slightly slower pace than the others while using a staff with what looked like a metal ball the size of a baseball on the end of it to find his way around and not bump into anything, he looked at Yuri's general direction and responded in a uniforme tone.

"What a most wonderful question Yuri, you see these 'black rocks' as you call them are actually a clay that is called Onyx Clay due to its appearance when it hardens being similar to a crystal called Onyx, anyhow the clay is extracted from the outskirts of the country deep in the swamps, it's found only near the roots of willow trees, after making the general shape of what they want out of they clay they infuse mana into it as it dries and so you get this, it's very moldable and light while in it's clay form so that's why you see so many different sizes and shapes, but after it hardens it's becomes very hard to break and also surprisingly heavy despite it's crystal like appearance, even a handful of it would be around five kilograms."

"I see." Yuri kept walking besides the blind old man, now not paying much attention to anything as he seemed deep in thought.

As they walked the crowd became denser and denser finally reaching near the main street of the city, the crowd was so thick Yuri had accidentally lost himself, separating from Arthur and the others, he immediately started searching for them, a few minutes later the adults were cheering as the sounds of hundreds of gallops and giant carriages being drawn passed by on the road.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The small boy tried to push his way through the crowd in order to see the parade however by the time he had reached a point where he could see, the carriages had already passed and were already at least 20 meters away, they left a trail of white petals on the road made of gray bricks, he could make the effort and try to catch up to the carriages and get a look at the royalty but to him that wasn't the important thing right now, it was finding Arthur or any of the others, as far as he was concerned he would probably see the royalty the day of the feast anyways.

Yuri walked away from the crowd as the citizens scattered through the streets going back to they're daily lives, the event had finished almost as soon as it started.

He looked around all he could while trying to remain as discreet as possible as to not draw the attention of random people or guards as he maneuvered through the crowd he noticed a familiar face that made his heart sink, it was Noir, the boy stood at the entrance of an alley looking directly at Yuri as his half black half white hair swayed with the wind, Yuri shook his head and when he looked again Noir was gone.

Yuri's blood red eyes glowed softly, he immediately rushed to the alley pushing through the fleeting crowd even knocking some people down leaving an angry mob behind however he did not slow down at all nor care.

Before he had even noticed it Yuri was already deep in the alley, the tall buildings loomed overhead blocking out most of the light and casting long shadows that cloaked the narrow passage, the alley was abandoned, completely deserted with no other signs of life.

Yuri's eyes darted around the alleyway then looked back ahead and there he saw him, Noir was standing two or three meters away from him, his body was covered by the same type of shadow Molly's was in Yuri's past dream, he was holding a wooden sword, the same one that they used to spar.

"Why..... WHY DO YOU KEEP HAUNTING ME YOU BASTARD? WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST STAY DEAD!"

Yuri's memories of Noir and everyone else had been twisted far beyond the actual truth, in his mind everyone in his past either disliked him or pitied him for being different, to many this may not make sense but people who experience such terrible tragedies often delude themselves or erase they're memories subconsciously as a defense mechanism in order to not feel guilt or sadness from their past.

Suddenly Noir vanished into thin air again leaving absolutely no trace of his presence, not even a gust of wind, just as Yuri was about to react to the sudden disappearance he felt a throbbing pain in the lower right side of his abdomen sending him plummeting to the ground, vomiting as he groaned.

Looking up Yuri saw Noir standing right in front of him, he was just staring back with a look of disinterest.

"What's wrong Yuri, I thought you would be stronger than me by now? So how come you couldn't even see my strike?" Noir's voice sounded robotic, almost as if there was a static between the two of them.

Noir stomped on Yuri as he groaned in agony, his face smashing in the ground and the vomit.

"Why, why does my body feel so heavy right now?" The small boy thought to himself as his head kept getting stomped on.

"What's wrong Yuri, you managed to survive when the bandits killed us all and now look at you, pathetic, had I been the one to survive I would have gotten strong enough and avenged our village's death by now, but you don't even care anymore do you? Your existence is nothing but a curse, a stroke of bad luck in this vast world that you plague."

Noir kept his foot on Yuri's head, smothering his face in the small pool of vomit and blood.

"Shut up." Yuri's voice was barely a whisper.

"You're worse than the bandits that burned our village, you think that you can do whatever you want without consequences, that you can kill the innocent for any minor inconvenience?"

"Shut up." His voice began picking up.

"WRONG, you are nothing, you are the scum of the earth, a selfish brat who only cares about himself and drowns in self pity for security, how much longer until Arthur dies because of you huh? Because of your greed and pride."

Just as Noir was about to continue bareting Yuri, he felt his foot shift. Yuri's head lifted off the ground as he used his arms to push his torso up, straining against the pressure of Noir's foot.

Noir's gaze met Yuri's, the crimson eyes stared back at him, brimming with a seething hatred toward everything in their sight.

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Yuri cried out as he grabbed the leg that was supporting Noir's weight and yanked it, sending him to the ground directly on his back, the blonde boy climbed on top of him, they looked at each other intensely as if staring into each other's soul.

"What now Yuri, are you going to kill me? You know Molly was right, you're nothing but a monster who thrives off of your own hatred and egotism."

Yuri's red eyes glowed violently as he started pounding away, punching Noir in the face again and again and again, it felt as if the flow of time had slowed down, each punch growing weaker and weaker, the time passed as if they were mere moments in this savage surge of violence.

The blonde boy stopped, the mix of dry sweat, vomit and blood on his face making the hair on his face stick to it, he looked at his knuckles, they had become raw, blood dripping down his hand from his outburst then he looked at Noir.

"What's wrong Yuri, already tired." He expressed in a whisper as his face was pretty much busted up, from a split lip to bruises, black eyes, broken skin bleeding, etc...

Just as Yuri was about to start another barrage of murderous blows he got sent flying by a attack he couldn't even see or predict, he crashed into a wall cracking it slightly then falling on his ass, lucky during the barrage of blows he used Physical Enhancement to strengthen them and consequently he also boosted his defense.

"What the-....." He looked up to see Noir was already standing up, the damage he had received was repaired not even leaving a scratch behind, his gaze was nothing short of infuriating to Yuri, he looked down at the blonde boy with a stare of pity, as if he was so much more superior than Yuri, that the boy was not even worth fighting.

"Pathetic." Noir approached Yuri and stood over him, before the boy could blink he felt a heavy hit across his face that made him spit out blood, it was a strike from the wooden sword.

He tried to speak but his voice was silenced with another hit followed by another and another and another, it was almost like looking at a stray dog being beaten by a man with a stick, however Yuri didn't give in as each strike while damaging him it also fueled his rage.

The sword swung once again for the hundreth time, however this time it didn't hit it's target, Noir's eyes widened a little at the sight, Yuri had grabbed the wooden sword with a grip so tight and immovable it felt as if a beast had clenched onto it.

"Stay dead this time you talented bastard." Yuri tugged the sword to himself lunging Noir, he used his foot to trip him making the boys shadow covered body fall directly onto Yuri's, the blonde boy used this opportunity to go in for the kill, he grabbed Noir by the shoulders making sure that he had no chance at escape and bit his throat out ripping it out viciously like a wild animal before spitting it out.

Noir's eyes widened and his body now went completely limp as it rested onto Yuri's.

The light in his eyes was extinguished as Yuri stared at him with a vicious grin as his teeth were covered by Noir blood.

Overcome by exhaustion and the injuries he had sustained, his eyelids grew heavy, as if weighted down by iron, despite the encroaching darkness, his gaze remained locked on Noir's as he was slowly choking on his own blood and wheezing due to the lack of air, he tried speaking but all that came out where hopeless whimpers before finally he met his demise, his body began to dissolve into the air, disintegrating into shimmering particles of mana that were carried away by the wind, leaving nothing behind but a haunting emptiness..

"You were both right, I may be a monster but I am alive, unlike you."

With those final words Yuri felt a fleeting sense of triumph, he tried getting up but his limbs betrayed him, refusing to move, so he just sat there staring up at the sky, by it's orange hue he could tell the sun was already setting and the day was coming to a close, just how many hours did he fight with Noir, if you could even call that a fight instead of just a series vicious beatdowns between the two.

Just as he was closing his eyes, preparing for his consciousness to leave him, he saw three figures standing over him, one of them murmuring something, however it was too late, Yuri could not make out any of they're features and was already deep in a state of sleep.